BANGKOK INTERNATIONAL PREPARATORY & SECONDARY SCHOOL (BANGKOK PREP)
PREPAZINE BANGKOKPREP | BKKPREP.AC.TH
ISSUE 26 | FRIDAY 31 MARCH 2017
FOBISIA TRIP TO BEIJING Page 19
INSIDE: Page 3 Important Events Page 5 Prep staff beat Brighton Page 11 Early Years Bake Sale
Page 13 Secondary Campus update Page 17 International Award expedition Page 18 History Bee and Bowl report
BANGKOK INTERNATIONA L PREPARATORY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL
WHOLE SCHOOL NEWS
Important Events 1 April: Y5-Y6 U11 Girls & Boys Football 3 April: Y11-Y13 Cambridge Coursework Deadline 3 April: TEDx Youth@Bangkok Prep (Free tickets available from the Front Office now) 4 April: Spring Recital Concert (Free tickets available from the Front Office now) 5 April: Whole School Songkran Festival 2017 5 April: Last day of Term 2 24 April: First Day of Term 3
bkkprep.ac.th | 3
WHOLE SCHOOL NEWS
Letter from the Head of School Dear Parents, After another very busy and successful term we approach the Songkran holiday, breaking up on Wednesday next week. The last few days of Term 2 will continue to be very busy with events including Primary parent/teacher conferences on Monday and Tuesday after school, the eagerly awaited TEDx event on Monday 3rd at 6pm in the Auditorium, our Spring Recital at 5pm on Tuesday (also in the Auditorium) and our Whole School Songkran celebration in the Sports Hall on Wednesday morning. I hope that you join with us in our celebrations. On a more practical note our Term 3 calendar has been published today and can be found on Firefly. Finally may I wish you all a restful and enjoyable Songkran Holiday and to those who celebrate it I hope you have a Happy Easter! Best regards,
Val Thomas-Peter Head of School
4 | PREPAZINE | Friday 31 March 2017
WHOLE SCHOOL NEWS
Prep staff beat Brighton College 7-2 The Bangkok Prep staff team took to the field on Thursday in an eagerly anticipated match against new rivals Brighton College. Starting the match the Prep team were high in confidence and quickly established a 1-0 lead and dominance of possession. With K. Pon solid in goal, Mr Pollock and Mr Cantrill bossed the midfield to establish total control for Prep. The final score was Bangkok Prep Staff 7 - 2 Brighton College. All over the pitch the Prep staff showed their superiority, K. Chalong with two poacher’s goals and Mr Callow with a fabulous hat trick were ably supported by the defensive rocks of Mr Woods, Mr Bannister, K. Bird and K. Joe. Special mentions to Mr Jones, Mr Groves and Mr Kellner for their tireless running. Overall a great performance and good game.
For more information, please contact Steve Rudall: srudall@bkkprep.ac.th
Badminton and table tennis trials Please note the following dates for Badminton and Table Tennis Trials: Badminton Trials U11: Monday 24th April, Sports Hall, 14:30 - 15:30 U13: Tuesday 25th April, Sports Hall, 15:30 - 16:30 Table Tennis U15: Tuesday 2nd May, 15:30 - 16:30, Dance Studio U13: Thursday 27th April, 15:30 - 16:30, Dance Studio
For more information, please contact Ben Cantrill: bcantrill@bkkprep.ac.th
bkkprep.ac.th | 5
SECONDARY NEWS
6 | PREPAZINE | Friday 31 March 2017
PRIMARY NEWS
Letter from the Head of Primary “A focus on manners during April’s Value of the Month - Respect” Dear Parents, Although modern life can tend to be rather hectic and some days it can feel like we are rushing through our life, we still need to ensure that our social relationships and interactions with others are of the highest quality. It is essential that our children learn to treat others with great respect and that in school they are given guidance in the social graces. Good manners are at the heart of a civilised society and, during the month of April, we will be asking the children to carefully consider the feelings of others, and being the kind of person that others will like and respect. Clearly, it is important to start as early as you can so manners become something a child does automatically, whether she/he is at home or away. Learning good manners is a lifelong education and doesn’t happen overnight. Experts have stated that awareness and demonstration of polite manners are a distinct advantage in social development. During assemblies and classroom sessions, teachers will be talking to children about manners and respectful behaviour. It will also be insisted upon as children move around the school. We would appreciate your support in reinforcing your children’s good manners.
For your information, I have listed below some of the manners that we will be instilling in our children as part of our social awareness programme: • Saying good morning or good afternoon if you are walking past an adult who you know. • Asking if you can borrow something, not just taking it. • Returning things that you have borrowed. • Waiting your turn before you speak. • Saying ‘excuse me,’ rather than pushing past someone. • Holding the door open for the person coming in, especially if he is carrying something or is a guest. • Respecting your own and other people’s property, especially school property. • Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Polite regards and have a respectful Songkran, Duncan Stonehouse Head of Primary
bkkprep.ac.th | 7
PRIMARY NEWS
Notice: Students should not bring expensive ‘smart’ objects into school We are writing to you as we have noticed a rising number of children bringing valuables such as Apple watches and smart watches to school. If your child is lucky enough to own one of these items, please could you make sure they do not wear this item in Primary school as it is a wifi enabled device that can act as a mobile phone and camera and it is therefore prohibited in school for safeguarding reasons. If you are unsure of what children may or may not bring to school please refer to Parent Handbook on our school Firefly page for more information. We have copied these extracts from the parent handbook for your convenience (p33): ‘Students should not bring expensive watches (such as Apple Watches), toys, ‘pretend’ weapons or any potentially dangerous objects into school.
8 | PREPAZINE | Friday 31 March 2017
‘The use of electronic devices such as MP3 players, mobile phones or other mobile devices is strictly prohibited during the school day unless sanctioned for educational use by teachers in specific lessons. Use of these devices during school hours will result in immediate confiscation and we reserve the right to return it only to the parent of the student concerned if we see fit. Other confiscated items will be returned at the end of the school day. ‘Primary aged students should not bring electronic devices to school and secondary aged students should ensure that all electronic devices such as mobile phones or MP3 players are securely locked in their locker during school hours (as should any other valuable items). Locks are available for purchase from the School Shop.’ We thank you for your cooperation, Ania Bialek Year 4 teacher and Primary Computing Coordinator abialek@bkkprep.ac.th
PRIMARY NEWS
U11 Boys show great improvement On a hot Thursday afternoon last week, the U11 Boys football team made their way to KIS for their final three league fixtures of the TISAC league season.
In the other two games, Prep lost 2-0 to KIS and were unfortunate to lose 1-0 to Ascot despite dominating in the match.
In their first match, they faced a very strong St Andrew’s 71 side (who went on to win the league for the second year in a row). However, Prep went into the game with an impressive level of intensity and matched their opponents all over the pitch, particularly in midfield where Ashvin must have come close to running a half-marathon with some excellent pressing to disrupt St Andrew’s passing.
Whilst Prep were left to reflect upon their finishing in the final third, they can take a lot of encouragement from the way they have developed as a team and will be looking to end the season on a high at the upcoming TISAC performance, now that they have shown they can compete with the best.
However, St Andrew’s made the breakthrough in the first half to go 1-0 up. Prep were completely dominant in the second half, which shows how far they have come but were unable to convert any of the chances they had worked hard to create, hitting the woodwork twice.
For more information, please contact Dan O’Sullivan: dosullivan@bkkprep.ac.th
bkkprep.ac.th | 9
PRIMARY NEWS
10 | PREPAZINE | Friday 31 March 2017
PRIMARY NEWS
Please return your books As we approach the school holidays please support your children to return any home reading or library books they have finished reading. We encourage all children to continue to read during the holidays but if we could have back any of those books that might be ‘hiding’ at home we can tidy, repair and re-organise before the new term begins. Thank you for your co-operation, Elizabeth Compton Year 3 teacher and Primary English Coordinator
Early Years enjoy bake sale Thank you to our Reception parents for helping the children create their chocolate Easter nests for the bake sale this week. In Reception, we have been exploring different types of change in our current topic all about ‘Changes.’ This week was one of our favourite learning activities. We tested how chocolate melts when we heat it, and then goes hard when we put it in the cold fridge. Hope you enjoyed our tasty Easter nest treats. For more information, please contact Helen Young: hyoung@bkkprep.ac.th
bkkprep.ac.th | 11
SECONDARY NEWS
Letter from the Head of Secondary Dear Students, Parents and Colleagues, We were happy to welcome back our intrepid IA expedition from the jungles of Khao Yai on Sunday, as the 19 students and three teachers successfully completed their International Award Bronze expedition. Students have other elements to complete before they receive their final award but I am sure some will now be looking to complete their Gold and Silver Awards in the near future, but not until their aching limbs have recovered. Their experience should now act as a catalyst to younger students and encourage them to complete the IA Award too. It is a fantastic programme that offers students the chance to stretch and challenge themselves beyond the curriculum. Our FOBISIA U13 Team also returned at the weekend bringing medals and stories of their exploits. We medalled in five of the six events at the competition held in Beijing, and received very favourable reports from other schools on the conduct and character of our students. I am hopeful of us moving on to even more success next year, as we provide our students with the excellent facilities of T77. If you were in school on Friday you might have noticed the abundance of pink clothing everywhere as we raised funds and awareness of breast cancer and women’s health through our ‘Think Pink!’ events. Awareness of such issues supports our PSHE programmes and Life Values to create actively aware citizens. Please also don’t forget about our TEDX Youth event and Spring Concert next week. Some tickets are still available through the Front office. This will be the last Prepazine article before our break, so I would like to wish you all a relaxing and restful Songkran after what has been a very busy and enriching term. Kind regards, Nigel Wilsonlock Head of Secondary
12 | PREPAZINE | Friday 31 March 2017
SECONDARY NEWS
New Secondary Campus update: when will we be able to see it? Report by Key Stage 3 Leader Joshua Watters As you may know, we are providing a weekly update focusing on how work is progressing on the new Secondary Campus at On Nut, and what students can expect when they get there. One of the questions we are frequently asked by parents, students, and staff is ‘when can we see the new campus?’ Obviously, there are restrictions on when we can visit due to safety reasons (as building work is still taking place); however, as you may have noticed from the Term 3 calendar, a number of visits are already planned. We are intending on giving all students the opportunity to visit so that they familiarise themselves with their new surroundings ahead of the coming academic year. There is also a opportunity for parents to see it at the end of the year. Part of my role this year has been to help with the transition to T77. If you have any queries, please do get in contact. For more information, please contact Joshua Watters: jwatters@bkkprep.ac.th.
bkkprep.ac.th | 13
SECONDARY NEWS
T77 park is completed Ready for some exercise? The new T77 park, with a jogging trail, is now completed and available to our Bangkok Prep families and friends. Situated right next to the Secondary School, this 7 rai park opens everyday from 6am to 6pm.
14 | PREPAZINE | Friday 31 March 2017
SECONDARY NEWS
Trade Challenge at UN Centre Next week students Marsha and Champ take part in the Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge workshop at the United Nations Conference Centre. These students have been selected to represent Bangkok Prep due to their diligent work in Business Studies. The JA International Trade Challenge, ITC, (www. jathailand.org) is an intensive step into the world of business and entrepreneurship. This is a programme designed to engage young people from across nine countries in the Asia-Pacific region through the creation of an ‘International Market Entry Strategy’ plan and through competition. They will be competing with students aged 15-19 from schools all across Thailand. Marsha and Champ will attend a one day seminar on the 5th April where they will be taught business skills such as research, marketing, innovation and pricing, which will then be followed by a lecture to hone their presentation skills. After the workshop they will work in together to prepare a market entry strategy for a product or service in just three weeks. In preparation Marsha and Champ have been attending additional after school classes and extending their knowledge of marketing and business economics which will help them develop their paper study. Please wish them luck in advance of what is sure to be a challenging and enjoyable day. For more information, please contact Neil Groves: ngroves@bkkprep.ac.th
Prep student meets Thai tennis star Year 8 student Pooh was recently invited to participate in the Singha TATP Tour Press Conference 2017, where, among other star players, he met former Thailand number one player Paradorn Srichaphan.
bkkprep.ac.th | 15
SECONDARY NEWS
International Award Bronze Expedition The inaugural Bronze Expedition for the International Award at Bangkok Prep took place last weekend. Early on Friday morning, 19 students from Year 10 to Year 12 set off to Khao Yai to experience a set of challenges on the adventurous journey section. During Term 2 the students have been attending training sessions on route planning and navigation, camp craft and cookery, teamwork and equipment, in preparation for their weekend away. On Friday, the first task was setting up camp. Students quickly erected the tents that they would be sleeping in and got ready for the practice expedition. We then proceeded to the Sala at the Wild Lodge in order to plan the route for the practice journey. Students had to fill out route cards to give landmarks and grid references from the map they would follow, so that they would know where they were at all times - or at least that was the plan. One group went wrong at the main gate and had to navigate back to the start! The weather was hot and humid, but luckily it started raining during the trek and the students were relieved that it cooled down while they completed the expedition. Everyone of the groups had a chance to reflect on their practice route and to suggest where they might improve their teamwork for the second day - the qualifying journey.
Saturday morning arrived and the students were up and about early, a 6am start. The groups followed their meal plans and organised breakfast and packed up camp. They had to carry all the tents and other equipment with them, so their packs were much heavier than before. The groups set off at intervals and they were all out on the route by 8.15am. Saturday was a particularly hot day and all of the groups suffered to varying degrees. After a few false turns, some blisters and a couple of cases of dehydration, all groups successfully made it to the second night’s camp at the Khao Ito ranger station. Sunday, the final day of the expedition arrived and the groups were much quicker sorting themselves out and packing things up. Luckily after the hardships of the day before, they no longer had to carry the tents, so the packs were much lighter. We finally made it back the the Wild Lodge in time for a 1.15am departure back to Bangkok. It is fair to say that even though it was a tough weekend, everyone enjoyed themselves and were proud that they had made progress. The staff were very proud of the way that all of the students worked together to overcome any issues that they experienced. A great time was had by all and we now cannot wait for next year’s Silver Expedition.
For more information, please contact Nichola Giddings: ngiddings@bkkprep.ac.th
16 | PREPAZINE | Friday 31 March 2017
SECONDARY NEWS
History Bee and Bowl report Last Saturday Mrs Dixon and Mr Rudall travelled with 12 historians to the International History Bee and Bowl event held at ICS. This was our first experience of the event and there was some trepidation about what to expect. Our teams soon settled into a good rhythm though competing in the Bowl rounds as a middle school and junior varsity team against 23 other teams from schools from Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Our Junior Varsity team performed particularly well and they were unlucky to be eliminated at the semi-final stage. In the individual competition, the Bee, students had to think quickly to buzz in their answers. We had two middle school students, Liam and Khao Pun through to the finals and Edward made it to the finals in the junior varsity category. In the final round Edward was magnificent coming second overall. These results qualify the students for the Asian finals in Singapore and the History Olympiad in Berlin in 2018. For more information, please contact Steve Rudall: srudall@bkkprep.ac.th
bkkprep.ac.th | 17
SECONDARY NEWS
Great experience on Beijing trip Report by Ben Cantrill The U13 FOBISIA trip to Beijing was a great experience, with students representing themselves and the school with pride, respect and performances of a high standard. Schools complimented how well our students performed, especially considering we had one of the smallest squads.
Parents on the trip were very supportive and the staff really pushed the students to work hard and try their best, and overall the competition and visit was a resounding success. Our attention now turns to the Primary FOBISIA Games in May.
There were too many great performances by the students to name individuals, but Malissa and Sean received the Sportsman and Sportswoman awards for the games.
Out of six events, Prep placed fifth:
The trip was topped off with an amazing visit to the Great Wall of China, where some students saw snow for the first time. Students enjoyed throwing snowballs on top of one of the wonders of the world.
4th Athletics 3rd Boys Football 3rd Boys Basketball 3rd Girls Football 2nd Swimming 1st Girls Basketball
The views were exceptional and students really appreciated the history. Lastly the students got to travel down the wall by toboggan, which was great fun.
18 | PREPAZINE | Friday 31 March 2017
For more information, please contact Ben Cantrill: bcantrill@bkkprep.ac.th
SECONDARY NEWS
bkkprep.ac.th | 19
SECONDARY NEWS
Friends of Bangkok Prep JOIN US AND MAKE NEW FRIENDS, GET INVOLVED IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND HELP US ENHANCE THE CHILDREN'S EXPERIENCE JOIN NOW BY EMAILING FOBP.BKKPREP@GMAIL.COM
20 | PREPAZINE | Friday 31 March 2017