Garden International School
Newsletter IB World School June 20, 2012 From the Principal Dear Parents, Students and Friends of GIS, This is the last newsletter of the year so unfortunately we will be sadly saying goodbye to many students and teachers. Of the teaching staff, we say farewell to Secondary teachers Geraldine Lopez, an inspiration to many of our budding linguists; David Barker, the helm of the science department; Katie Austin, a talented historian returning to the UK; Simon Hessey, whom we thank for coming here at such short notice; Charles Soprano, a gifted English teacher who is retiring and Rhys Tyers, who is moving back to Australia after such great work with our EAL students. From Foundation we lose Kam Uddin, a teacher who is always there for the students. Also leaving are six wonderful primary teachers: Lucy Lance and James Watkins, both returning to the UK; Erica Scott, returning to her studies in the USA; Patsy Smith, who has done wonders as our swim coach, is moving to Korea; Tiina Luukkonen is returning to Finland (she’ll miss the sunshine); and Siv Sivarajah, who is moving to Peru. Their outstanding energy and care will be missed. We do wish them all the best and thank them for the care and professionalism they have displayed. We also give our best wishes to the students that move on knowing that they won’t forget their GIS experience. In the first newsletter of next term the new Principal, Stuart Tasker, will tell you about the new staff. New and old faces will meet on Tuesday August 21st, the start of the new school year. I would like to add my sincere thanks to all the staff, both teaching and support, for their dedication to the children and to the students for being such a great group of young people. Kind Regards, Dave Moroney, BSc, PGCE, MA ---------------------------------------------------------------
Up-coming events: June 22: End of School Year. Free Dress. School finishes at 12.00 August 21: New School Year starts
News from Primary and Foundation FOBISSEA Games: Gold 'n' Friendships!
Garden International School Rayong hosted a major international sporting event in primary - and won a record medal haul. The 2012 Primary Fobissea team took advantage of being on home soil and set a new school record by collecting 78 medals at this year's games, which were held from June 5-9 at GIS. The previous record was set last year when 65 medals were won in Bangkok. At the final count, GIS won 28 Gold, 30 Silver and 20 Bronze over the competition, which included two of the three Gold medals in Year 5 and 6 Tee-Ball and two of six Gold medals in Year 4 Girls and Year 6 Boys Football. On the individual side (not including relays or team events), there were some terrific performances. Oliver (Yr 6) won seven medals (1 Gold, 4 Silver, 2 Bronze) while Jessica (Yr 4) took home six medals (4 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze). Sang Hyun (Yr 6), Nut (Yr 5) and Galatee (Yr 4) each won five medals.
Congratulations to all the athletes and coaches on their outstanding efforts. We look forward to bigger and better things next year at St Stephen's. GIS had many helpers who helped make the Fobissea Group C2 Primary Games such a great success. These include many teachers and staff and also several sponsors. MBf Taylors generously agreed to sponsor the swimming kits and hats. The other sponsors were: Fairway Thailand, PTT Global Chemical, SCI, Crathco, Advance Media, Lawton Asia, Elite Printer, Hydro-Tech, Union Sime Derby, Thunder Cranes (L) Ltd. and Ruampat Rayong Hospital and Mr. Frank & Khun Su Nichols and Mr Barry Soanes. Ruampat Hospital donated an EMS medical bag full of supplies for each school to use during the competition and in the evenings at their hotel. These proved to be extremely useful and we are very grateful for their support.
The GIS Team Year 4 Alex Austin Jeffery Ken Jung Derik Lily Tessa Galatee Jessica Inez Fiona
Year 5 Sarah Benjamin Kavisha Pygmy Lynsey Sun Chan Hazim Nut
Year 6 Simon Sang Hyun Aakheel Yury Azim Oliver Jezabel Stefanie Katherine Shaniya Mary
For more, visit: https://sites.google.com/a/gardenrayong.com/2012-primary-fobissea-games/ http://www.gisrstormsports.com/primary-fobissea/2012
Fobissea Photos
Goodbye to Garden The end of an academic year is always an emotional time. It is at this time of year that some teachers and students move on to different schools and we have to say goodbye. The following children are leaving GIS and we will miss them all: From Nursery we say goodbye to Elisa From Reception we say goodbye to Sea and to Snow From Year 1 we say goodbye to Gristenu and Tina From Year 2 we say goodbye to Martin, Amin, Koustav, Hugo and Hakimi From year 3 we say goodbye to Henry. From Year 4 we say goodbye to Ojas, Jeffry and Nadia From Year 5 we say goodbye to Lynsey From Year 6 we say goodbye to Hafiz I hope that each and every one of them is successful in their new school and that they remember us with fond memories. This year we have to say goodbye to a very large number of teachers: From Early Years we say goodbye to Mr Kam – this is Mr Kam’s farewell: "The two years I have worked at GIS have enabled me to develop the practical skills and underpinned the theoretical knowledge I gained as an undergraduate in England. I will return home with a wealth of experience which I am certain will benefit any school that I any work at in the future. In addition to my professional development, I have been exposed to different cultures and values which have enabled me to approach not only teaching but my life in general with a different perspective. Of all the wonderful experiences I have had whilst teaching at GIS by far the fondest memories which I will cherish for a lifetime are the children I have taught and their families. I have been made to feel so welcome and I shall remain eternally grateful. I will miss the children and I want to take this opportunity of wishing them and their families a long and joyous life." From Year 1 we say goodbye to Ms Lucy Lance – this is Ms Lucy’s farewell: "I have really enjoyed my time at Garden. The school’s friendly atmosphere, grounds and children have made it a great place to come to work every day. I have worked with two brilliant, fun classes and I will miss them very much. I have been supported by Khun Pom and Khun Nik who have been most helpful to me and very dedicated to the children. They have also rescued me when I have found myself in difficult situations or faced with language barriers. Thank you to Khun Ruth who assisted Year One at the start of the year and the teaching assistants who have helped with reading. I will miss fellow teachers who have been kind, supportive and never too busy to answer my many questions. I’ve really enjoyed being part of the Celtic Scene in Ban Chang in Ceilidh band and will miss it. Thanks to M.I.S for their technical assistance. Thank you to Mr Moroney, Mr James and Mr Grisdale for giving me this teaching opportunity and their support along the way. I will definitely miss Thailand and will be back to visit in the future. Wishing you all the best with the coming academic year and a lovely, relaxing break over the summer." Miss Lucy
From Year 3 we say goodbye to Ms Tiina – this is Ms Tiina’s farewell: "After having worked here at GIS for nearly 4 years it’s now time to say goodbye. I have enjoyed my time here and will treasure all the wonderful memories that I have." ‘It's time to say goodbye. Our time together has come to an end. I've made lots of cherished memories And many more new friends. I've watched you children learn and grow And change from day to day. I hope that all the things we've done Have helped in some way. So it's with happy memories I go out the door, With great hope and expectations For what next year holds in store.’ (Maria Cuellar-Munson)
Näkemiin ja nähdään taas! Ms Tiina
From Year 4 we say goodbye to Ms. Erica – this is Ms Erica’s farewell: "I will take with me many special and cherished memories from teaching at GIS for 3 years. Working here has given me a new outlook on teaching and what it means to be a teacher. I've spent 2 difficult but very rewarding years in Foundation and then to Year 4 and I would have loved to see my first group of EY children move up to Primary. It's always hard leaving a school in which I've taught but this school definitely shows what a special group of children it has. Thank you for the amazing opportunity to join the GIS team. I've formed many friendships and have been able to experience some incredible adventures. I sincerely hope that the school doesn't forget the most important asset it has-it's children--and the focus stays on what's best for them. Good luck to all of you and I wish you and the future of this school the best. It has truly been a challenging but very rewarding 3 years and I'll never forget them." From, Ms Erica
From Year 5 we say goodbye to Mr Siv Mr Siv has worked here at GIS for three years teaching in Year Four and Year Five. He will always be remembered for being the most loyal fan Tottenham have ever had, as well as his passion for strange food. He is going to Peru to take up a teaching job there and we wish him and his family – Marion, Jaya and the new baby – all the best of luck.
From Year 6 we say goodbye to Mr Watkins Mr Watkins has worked here at GIS for four years, teaching in Year Five and Year Six. He will always be remembered for being the tallest teacher we have ever seen, along with his gentleness and enthusiasm for everything. He is going back to England where he is taking up a teaching position in an independent school. We wish him and his family – Lucy and Sophie - all the best of luck. From the PE department we say goodbye to Ms Patsy Ms Patsy has worked at GIS for three years, teaching swimming and PE. She will always be remembered for the massive impact she made on the level of swimming at GIS. This was especially evident at the three most recent FOBISSEA events where we won medal after medal. Ms Patsy is going to be working in Seoul in South Korea and we wish her all the best of luck.
See later in the newsletter for the goodbye messages from some of our secondary teachers.
To replace these teachers we have recruited graduate teachers from the UK. Some of them have experience working overseas and all of them are eager to start here at GIS. The table below shows the positions of all teachers in Primary and Foundation for the academic year 2012-2013. Class
Teacher
Early Years
Ms. Tara Vellella
Nursery
Ms. Aren Aonok
Reception
Ms. Jane Vincent
Year 1KH
Ms. Kalyn Hales
Year 1SI
Ms. Sally-Rose llderton
Year 2LH
Ms. Lucy Howett
Year 3LD
Ms. Laurence Dombek
Year 3JG
Mr. Joe Galletley
Year 4CG
Ms. Claire Gordon
Year 4EH
Ms. Eleanor Holloway
Year 5KG
Ms. Karen Green
Year 5CH
Ms. Claire Harris
Year 6BL
Ms. Brenda Lane
Year 6JB
Ms. Jenn Blais
ELS
Mr. Michael George
Thai
Kru Nidd, Kru Renu, Kru Lalita
SEN
Mr. Richel Dapudong
Swimming
Ms. Aletta Wilson
The ‘House’ Situation Total End of Term 2
Primary House Music
Primary House Art
Primary Swimmi ng Gala
20th June Points
Merit Points
Position
Team
Total End of Term 1
Cobra
208
315
9
18
10
352
?
?
Gecko
194
272
12
27
20
331
?
?
Eagle
196
277
6
25
30
338
?
?
Tiger
187
272
3
24
40
339
?
?
This year it is the closest it has ever been in the ‘Inter House’ competition. There are only 21 points separating the top House Cobra from the bottom House Gecko. Still to be added are all the merit points from year, so it could all change. The winning House will be announced on Friday.
Primary FOBISSEA The recent Primary FOBISSEA event hosted by GIS was a wonderful occasion and a great advert for our school. We hosted eight other schools – three from Malaysia, one from Nepal, one from Vietnam and four from Thailand. The games were tough but fair and I am very proud to say that GIS gained its biggest medal tally ever, with nearly 80 medals. We won our fair share of medals in the Swimming and Athletics events but it was in the team games that we excelled. GIS are the T-Ball champions for Year 6 (for the third year in a row) and T-Ball champions for Year 5. In the football we were in four finals, winning two of them – the Year 6 boys and the Year 4 girls, and losing two of them – the Year 5 boys and the Year 6 girls. The children deserve a huge amount of praise for these achievements as well as for their conduct throughout the event. I am sure that elsewhere in the newsletter much thanks has been given to all the people who organised, raised money, sponsored or helped run the event. I would like to just add that it was a very professional job requiring much planning and I really feel that we did GIS proud. Well done to everyone for making it the success that it was. Year 6 Trip The year children spent a wonderful week in Chiang Mai last week and returned very happy and full exciting stories. Many thanks to the Year 6 teachers – Ms Blais and Mr Watkins and to Khun Pia for looking after the children so well and for arranging such a great trip.
Reminders
On Thursday June 21 we have the Primary Summer Concert from 10.30am until lunchtime. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to show off their musical talents and the children are looking forward to it enormously. After the concert all parents are invited to have a buffet lunch in the Primary building. This meal is provided free by the school as a celebration of the end of year and all the children's achievements.
On Friday June 22 it is a MUFTI day (no uniform) and we finish at 12pm. We have an end-of-year assembly for Foundation from 10.30am to 11am, followed by a feast in the Foundation area. This assembly will be in the Primary Hall and all parents are encouraged to attend. During this assembly the Reception children will be receiving a certificate of completion for Foundation. From 11.15am to 12pm we will be holding an end-of-year assembly for all the Primary children. We will be saying goodbye to a number of teachers as well as a number of children.
Have a fantastic holiday. This has been the busiest year I can ever remember and the holidays are well deserved. If you are returning to Garden in the summer we look forward to seeing you at school on August 21, 2012. Kind regards Rob Grisdale Head of Primary and Foundation
From tiny seedlings... "A great big thank you to all who helped out and contributed to the Seedlings Baby Group party on Thursday 14 June 2012, we all enjoyed the dancing and singing. The baby Group has been a highlight of my time at GIS and I will miss the Tuesday and Thursday sessions. It has been truly wonderful to observe those children who have attended developing both in terms of cognitive skills and personal development and I am certain this will make their transition into main stream education that much easier. May I take this opportunity to wish the Group every success for the future" - Mr Kam The Baby Group ran twice a week with Mr Kam, the Early Years Teacher, running the Tuesday sessions and Mr Grisdale, the Head of Foundation, running the Thursday sessions. The group is an introduction to school and is aimed at children up to the age of two. It includes activities such as singing, dancing, fine and gross motor skill development as well as sharing stories. It is a wonderful opportunity to allow children to become familiar with a school setting and with an Early Years specialist teacher and is also an opportunity for parents to develop social contact within an educational setting. The group will resume next year from early September and will be run by Ms Tara (the new Early Years teacher) and one other person. The group will continue to be twice a week. If you need more details about this group please contact Rob Grisdale on
[email protected]
News from Secondary IGCSE Graduation Dinner
GIS students celebrated the end of their IGCSE studies with a spectacular graduation dinner. Students, parents and teachers were at the Hilton on June 15. The evening started with a special performance of Oasis' 'Whatever' by Robert and was followed by Hyojung on the piano. After a sumptuous buffet, the audience enjoyed performances by Robert and Rohit, the Year 11 girls on the ukulele, Melissa, Hyojung and Rohit playing 'Cappuccino' and a dance by the boarding house girls. The audience had time to sample the desserts before listening to Sofia sing Taylor Swift's 'Crazier', Dy/Dx blasting out 'Sweet Child O' Mine' and 'Beat It' and finally a performance of 'We Are Young' by all of Year 11. IGCSE Exam Officer Mr Stokes was thanked for helping students run the event and he praised the students for their outstanding efforts and hard work. Some students will now go on to higher education but many will begin their IB studies at GIS in August.
Summer Concert
Garden ended a year of musical excellence with its Musician of the Year and Summer Concert. Held on June 12 in the main hall, the evening began with seven soloists competing for the title of Musician of the Year. After several fantastic piano and guitar pieces, the judges named Hyojung (above, left) as the winner for an intricate performance of 'All of Me' on the piano. In second-spot was Ben Bartlett, with a self-composed piece named 'Waiting for Tom' and in third place was Sarah, who played Chopin's 'Waltz in Gb'. Other runners-up were Natasha, Seren, Pauline and Reha. After a short break, the summer concert began with the orchestra playing 'The Girl from Ipanema' and 'Big Country', another Ben Bartlett composition. After a flute performance of Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday', the Ceilidh Ban played 'A Stroll Through Strathspey' and a Year 7 Ensemble played 'Vltava. GIS's jazz band then took on the tricky 'Take Five' and the popular ukulele played 'Brown Eyed Girl' and 'Tequila', with the help of some audience participation. The night finished with a tribute to the Bee Gees' singer Robin Gibb, who died recently. The Year 10 IGCSE class sung 'How Deep Is Your Love'. Finally, the school choir took to the stage to perform 'Hallelujah'. Well done to the music department for staging another great show and to all the performers for working so hard to entertain the audience.
Summer Trip to Samet Island
Have you ever wondered about travelling to Samet Island? There is nothing to beat a field trip to take you closer to nature. On 29 May, Year 10 Geography class with Mr Elderkamp and Mrs Morris, together with some IB students, went to Samet Island to collect data for our coursework report. During the three-day stay on this Island, it was wonderful to experience the magnificent scenery of the aquamarine sea. It was so clean that it reflected the sand from the bottom of the sea. What's more, there was a relaxing atmosphere and you could feel the freshness of the breeze while walking on the beach. The Chemistry IB 1 class went to Koh Samet after being given the prompt of “investigating the environment”. This was one of the first experiments we did in our IB course where we had to design and carry out all aspects of the experiment by ourselves. We started testing the health of soil and water, seeing how it related to pollution and human activity. As we were going to experiment at Koh Samet, we had to bring all of our chemicals in plastic water bottles; unfortunately we got our bottles mixed up and lost some important samples of water in the process. Some of us almost drank our collected sea water samples!. It wasn't all fun and games though, we did some serious work like swimming in the ocean and kayaking. Some of us overcame our fear of the ocean after lengthy persuasion from Mrs Morris. Even though in the end many of our experiments ended inconclusively, it was certainly a worthwhile experience. We learnt a lot about Chemistry, planning and the environment, and had lots of fun as well.
Words by Poom 10C and Ben B (IB1)
One of our Year 10 students, Trisha, wrote a special poem in her creative writing class with Mr Tyers. We thought it was so good, we should share it with everyone! If you have any poetry you'd like to see in the newsletter, email it to
[email protected]. The Weather of Your Soul It started when we were like summer: Eyes shinning like diamonds, Colourful like spring. Until I felt the coldness Of your sightless eyes, And diamonds appeared that Could tear someone’s heart Just by one touch. Now that the thunder is here, We are lost in our own battles. Beautiful flowers rotten; Soft comforting buds taken. Petals have fallen just like autumn days. A coldness chills the body to shut down. I wish for summer now And those eyes… Those eyes would shine… But they are gone now, Almost forgotten. Trisha Carandang (Year 10)
Charity Sale Helps Local Students IB students held a charity sale to help local children. Several pictures and household ornaments were donated and were sold to parents at the primary swimming gala. A total of 3,700 baht was raised, which will go to help local education needs.
A Turtle-ly Amazing Trip! Year 7 and 8 students enjoyed a day-trip to nearby Sattahip where they saw a mangrove conservation area and turtle farm. Students stopped off at a special eco area where they learned about the importance of mangrove farms. They also visited a wellknown turtle farm that helps protect these amazing creatures. Students finished the day by spending time on the beach.
Parents' Evening Dozens of mums and dads came to the secondary parents' evening on June 18. The main hall was packed for more than two hours as teachers discussed students' progress and targets for next year.
Maths Challenge Round-up Team Challenge: A big 'thank you' to a group of seven IB1 students for all their hard work in helping to organise and run this year’s Team Maths Challenge. They worked on the event from September through to the actual day itself and they can be proud that all their effort produced a successful occasion. The students involved this year were from GIS, Regents, St Andrews and REPs. The 2012 competition was slightly differently organised from that of the previous year as we wished to have the teams mixed in age and from various schools. Therefore, on this occasion each team of four students was put together at random from a mix of the four schools that were participating. The winning team (pictured above) contained one of GIS’s star Year 9 Mathematicians, Vishal. They were dominant in every round of the event and were winners by a large margin. Second place went to a team (pictured left) that contained another one of GIS’s star Year 9 Mathematicians, Arpan. For the next team challenge we hope to make the teams more evenly matched so that no team is a runaway winner. Well done to Vishal, who has been on both of the teams that have won over consecutive years. Can he do it again in the next event? Individual Challenges Senior Maths Challenge – aimed at IB aged students This year 40 students from IB 2 to Year 8 took the SMC. Rohit, Sarah, Ben R, Ben B, and Hui Eun were all successful in achieving Silver certificates whilst Luqman, Yogesh, Arjit, Rain, Hanna, Hyo Yung, Tae Won and Ha Bin achieved Bronze. Intermediate Maths Challenge – aimed at Year 11 aged students We entered 50 students this time round into the IMC. Hui Eun, Rohit, Sarah, and Vishal all achieved Gold certificates; Gauri and Luqman achieved Silver certificates and Pratiman, Abhiyan, Pauline, Yogesh, Ivan, Hyo Yung and Arjit all achieved Bronze certificates. Junior Maths Challenge – aimed at Year 8 aged students A total of 30 students were entered for the JMC. Arjit achieved a Gold certificate; Jun Beom and Shomit achieved Silver certificates whilst Ivan, Anushka Baldwin and Harshita all achieved Bronze certificates. Best in School certificates (pictured below) SMC – Rohit IMC – Hui Eun JMC – Arjit
A special well done to Arjit who was the correct age to enter all 3 Challenges and was talented enough to achieve a certificate in each Challenge. Can this achievement be matched by any of our talented young GIS Mathematicians next year? Mr Chesters
Kanchanaburi Trip The Year 9 trip to Kanchanaburi was great. We had a lot of fun there while riding elephants, playing by a waterfall and kayaking. Although it was quite tiring, we still had fun as we got a chance to experience new things as well as getting more knowledge about the history of Kanchanaburi. We got to see historical sites such as The Bridge Over the River Kwai, which was very impressive. We had so much fun and if there is a chance, we'd definitely go visit there again. Kyung (yr 9)
Saying Goodbye to Garden Several Secondary teachers will be leaving us at the end of the school year. Here are some of their goodbye messages and thoughts. "My time at GIS has been a great experience and one I will never forget. There have been numerous amusing moments and some wonderful extra curricular activities to be a part of, Diwali and FOBISSEA to name but a few. This is a very special school with a big heart and I would like to wish you all a great summer and bright future. Here's to 2013! Keep in touch and lots of love." Katie Austin "It has been an absolute pleasure to be able to work with so many talented, responsible and intelligent students. Every young person at Garden has something to offer and I have never taught in such a wonderful environment. I shall miss all the students here so very much. They have given me new expectations and I shall be taking that with me to my next post." Mr Barker
Chompoo's Noodle Master Class Here is Chompoo from the Year 8 PET (Intermediate English) class demonstrating how to make instant noodles. As she went through her own recipe, the other students had to write down each step using their laptops. Once the meal was complete, another student had to then try and make the same dish using another student's notes. The result: delicious noodles all round. The lesson proved to be fantastic fun for all as they got to eat the finished meals after each student had had their turn as a master chef. Well done to all Year 7 and 8 PET class for having a go at both writing recipes (together with such vocabulary as, stir, crack and kettle) and cooking in front of a live audience.
Keen as mustard Recently in the Year 7 & 8 PET (Intermediate English) class the students came across a new word, 'keen'. I decided to try and embed the word into their vocabulary as it is commonly used in their next level English class (Set 2). As a result, a dose of hotdogs and French mustard was the order of the day. For a whole lesson cooking was on the menu as students had to each cook their own hotdogs and serve them to the class. Some students' faces didn't even flinch as they tucked into the generous helpings of the spicy western equivalent of Wasabi sauce. Others, however, did get the kick that was intended!
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed towards the Garden newsletter this year.
