Yesterday was Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, with some students and teachers wearing black or white to pay their respects.
Of the many tributes that I have read, I thought that this one, from the Buddhist Society in London, was especially thought-provoking:
“The death of Queen Elizabeth I has come as a shock, and many of us are grieving and feel the sadness of the event very keenly.
Although expected, this knowledge does not protect us from the event itself.
The Queen has been a fixed point in a changing firmament; the majority of our members will have known no other monarch and will have grown up with her as head of state. While Prime Ministers have come and gone, the world experienced wars, famine, and pestilence, (Covid) and every kind of difficulty, the Queen experienced hardship too, in her family, but Her Majesty remained serene, far from untroubled by the events, but bearing them with patience and optimism.
We as one people, not only here in these islands, but all over the globe, now face unprecedented difficulties in the coming years, this will require from us great generosity of spirit, fortitude, resilience and forbearance.
The Queen's example will not be here for us to look up to and take strength from.
In many ways Her Majesty represented the ideal monarch as described in the sutta of ‘The Wheel Turning Monarch’1, in the belief she held in the virtues of her own people whom she served.
Our own late majesty ruled by example and the will of her subjects, through patience and kindness, respect and dignity, generosity, forbearance, and hard work, espousing justice, equality and liberty.
May we reflect in the coming days of national mourning on our good fortune in having lived so long with such a monarch, may King Charles III have our support in stepping out from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's shadow, by following in his mother's footsteps in his own way.”
1 (Cakkavatti Sutta: The Wheel-turning Monarch/Emperor DN 26 PTS: D iii 58.)
Our Year 8 ED students created another great episode of STA News last week.
You can watch this second episode above, and look out for future episodes on our Facebook page.
There are three very different trips taking place this week, for Year 11 Art, Graphic Communication and Photography students, Year 12 and 13 students and a small group of string players. It is great to have all these “normal” events happening again.
Over the next two weeks, all High School students will have their photo taken. We know that many parents like to share these photos with their families.
Tutor Group photos will be taken later in the year, to allow new students to be included.
Students should be aware of the time for their individual photo and should come to school in their full school uniform, not wearing their House Shirt if their photo is scheduled for a Friday. Heads of Year will email parents with more details soon.
You can view all the School's live Google Calendars, and add our calendars to your personal Google Calendar, via Moodle.
Mr Roo
Head of High School
With the goal of providing meaningful help to the flood victims in the northern regions of Thailand, our entire community at St Andrews Bangkok came together to raise funds and donations for the affected families. In the span of a few short weeks, added to donations of food and clothing, we managed to raise an astounding total of 386,676.50 THB in donation funds. To all students, teachers, parents, and staff who participated in our efforts and contributed to this cause—thank you!
