REGENTS’ NEWSLETTER

EDITION 1 TERm 1 2014/2015

PRImARY

Dear Parents,

Before our students returned to school on Tuesday August 26th we took some time as a Primary staff to consider what makes a good teacher, how and when children learn best and what factors most impact upon a child’s learning.

We were very fortunate to have some renowned international educationalists join us in school to facilitate our thinking on the above:

Sir John Jones, Sir Ken Robinson, Mary Kooy and Richard Gerver to name the main participants.

Unfortunately, none were able to join us in person but the internet today is a wonderful tool to support learning and promote thinking so we were able to call upon these experts in the ‘virtual’ sense and they were all a great help.

Whilst very few of us heard anything that was completely new, it was an excellent chance to remember the importance of some of the most basic elements of being a great teacher.

Educational experts, teachers and children alike agree that great teachers:

• are kind, make children feel cared about • have a good sense of humour and make learning fun • know the children in their care as individuals

There are of course many more characteristics of great teachers but the above are the common top 3. It is my sincere hope as the Head of Primary that every child in our school feels cared about by their teachers and enjoys coming to school to learn, above all else.

It really is a privilege to work in a school such as Regents where the teaching staff are passionate about their work, the students are engaged and energetic learners and the parents supportive and involved in their child’s education. I look forward to another successful, dynamic and fun year at Regents.

Hopefully I will see many parents at Jester’s Fair at Regents on Sunday – the fun starts at 10am.

Nonie

WELCOME TO OUR NEW STUDENTS

MEET THE TEACHERS

SERVICE BASED LEARNING

EXCITING CHANGES IN PE NONIE ADAMS, HEAD Of PRIMARy

A SchOOL’S GREATEST RESOuRcE IS ITS TEAchERS

ThIS WEEk IN ThE PRImARY NEWSLETTER

“Children will forget 90% of what you made them think but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Sir John Jones, UK-based Educational presenter

By Mrs Karyn Walton and Mrs HannaH naoWasuK, assistant Heads of PriMary

WELCOME TO ALL Of OUR NEW STUDENTS IN PRIMARy

As we opened the doors to another exciting school year at Regents International School Pattaya last week it was wonderful to see so many new faces! In Primary alone, we have welcomed over 120 new children from many different countries around the world.

As you can see from the photographs they have had a fantastic start at school. Children have enjoyed making new friends, challenging themselves and exploring all aspects of the curriculum.

NEW YEAR WITh NEW FAcES

BIG WARm WELcOmE TO ALL NEW FAcES

By nonie adaMs, Head of PriMary

“THE ONLy REAL TRAINING fOR LEADERSHIP IS LEADERSHIP.”

This year in Primary we have introduced a new management structure which best meets the needs of our growing school.

As we are now four-form entry from Reception through to Year 6, we have introduced Heads of Year in each year group. We also now have two Assistant Heads of Primary as well as a Deputy Head of Primary. These changes have enabled a more streamlined leadership process to be implemented in Primary as well as providing increased opportunity to build leadership capacity amongst our very capable and experienced staff.

Primary Management Team:

• Head of Primary: Nonie Adams • Deputy Head of Primary: James Baker • Assistant Head of Primary EY and KS1: Karyn Walton • Assistant Head of PrimaryKS2: Hannah Naowasuk

We operate an ‘open door’ policy in Primary so all staff are available for a quick chat at any time.

For matters that may require a more in-depth conversation please make an appointment to see the relevant staff member by emailing directly or contacting through the Primary Secretary, Khun May.

Any questions about the Curriculum, Timetables and Reporting should be directed to James Baker, queries about assessment, parent helpers, school transport issues, the key stage in general to either Karyn Walton or Hannah Naowasuk. I am happy to take queries or feedback on any matter from any parent.

Heads of Year:

Pre-Nursery and Nursery: Juliet Perrin Reception: Kate Rand Year 1: Jenny Hernandez-Stalder Year 2: Laura Crew Year 3: Jo Smith Year 4: Jon Crew Year 5: Kayleigh Smith Year 6: Jo Brown

If parents have questions or concerns about day-to-day life or learning in their child’s year group they should, in the first instance, contact their child’s teacher or Head of Year. All email contact addresses can be found each week on the Weekly Contact Sheets.

There are many other positions of leadership in Primary and over the course of the next few newsletters we will highlight these as well.

By JaMes BaKer, dePuty Head of PriMary

PARENTS ATTEND THE fIRST MEETING Of THE yEAR WITH THEIR CHILD’S CLASSROOM TEACHER

What’s my child’s new teacher like?

Will my child settle quickly?

What are some of this year’s expectations?

These are all very normal questions which parents have at the start of the year, and ones which our teachers gladly answered during the ‘Meet the teachers’ sessions that were held during the last few days.

It was a pleasure to see so many parents in attendance and to see teachers leading some humorous and lively presentations on the expectations and learning opportunities being offered to students this year.

Effective communication between home and school was a common theme throughout as was the recognition of the wonderful opportunity we have to educate such an interesting and diverse set of pupils here at Regents, a truly International school.

It was rewarding to see parents and teachers interacting and engaging with each other so early on in the term and we hope that this sets precedence for a happy and healthy relationship between home and school.

Many thanks to all those who attended and participated.

mEET ThE TEAchERS

By eMMa dunn and Jacquie Hunter, year 2r teacHer; learning suPPort teacHer

ENGAGING TEACHERS AND CHILDREN WITH OUR COMMUNITy PARTNERS

In the Primary school at Regents, our Community Partners play a key role in our students’ learning experiences outside the classroom.

Each year level is matched up with a Community Partner and over the course of the year, the children engage in various service projects with their partner organisation, such as raising money, raising awareness and spending time with the children from our Community Partners, helping to raise their quality of life.

Community Partners in the Primary school include the Fountain of Life, Sanuk Day Care, Hand to Hand Foundation, Bang Phra Wildlife Centre, the Abundant Life Home, the Mercy Centre, Wat Pong School, PAWS, Heartt 2000 and the Father Ray Foundation.

Service Based Learning is an exciting new initiative at Regents International School, which we are working to embed in the culture of our interactions with our Community Partners.

At the core of this approach is that Service projects should be student-driven, rather than teacher-driven. Although our children already benefit from the work they do with our Community Partners, Service Based Learning will help us enhance the children’s experience, by placing them at the centre of process.

This year, we hope that children in all year levels will have the opportunity to be actively engaged in investigating needs, choosing a course of action, implementing their plan, reflecting on what worked and what didn’t, and celebrating their success. In this way, we believe that our children will have more enriching, more rewarding learning experience, contributing to the holistic education they receive during their time in the Primary School

SERvIcE BASED LEARNING

AN ExcITING NEW INITIATIvE AT REGENTS INTERNATIONAL SchOOL PATTAYA

By roslyn Mcconnell, Head of PHysical education

‘ALL CHANGE’

It gives me great pleasure as the new Head of PE to introduce some fantastic changes, not only to our PE curriculum but in staffing too.

Our Primary PE curriculum now consists of 2 x 60 mins lessons each week with a particular focus on our students developing competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities whilst encouraged to lead healthy, active lives too.

However, the greatest change in the curriculum is within our EY PE programme which has 1 x 30 mins swimming session as well as 1 x 30mins PE session.

This welcomed addition of time will allow us to introduce our fundamental movement programme that will focus on developing our students’ balance, coordination and agility through dance, gymnastics and games.

As always we have an extensive after-school programme of sport delivered by our PE staff as well as a large number of external coaches to deliver a range of activities this first term.

Again, we have another huge initiative that is being introduced this term, our Saturday morning Sports

Academy will begin on Saturday 13th September which has a range of sports on offer throughout the morning for all ages.

More details can be found on the school website or you can contact me direct.

And finally, I would like to introduce our new, but highly experienced, PE staff to you all.

Mr Dave Collins is the Primary PE Coordinator, Miss Simone O’Connor is Head of Year 7, Mr Tom Hart is the Secondary PE Coordinator, Mr Drew Crush is in charge of our IB SEHS course and Mr Ivan (ex-Spanish gymnast) is our PE assistant.

As I’m sure you will agree this is a lot of change that is happening in PE but we are all looking forward to the exciting times ahead this year to Love Sport for Life.

ExcITING chANGES cOmING uP IN PE

By Mrs lucy leWis, Head of PriMary Music and WHole scHool instruMental

WELCOME BACk TO MUSIC!

As Head of the Primary Music Department I am delighted to welcome Ms Maria Gaskell to our Primary Music team and we are very excited to be working together with our students both within our Choral Programme and our Curriculum Classes.

We have had a delightful first week catching up with the children and meeting many new and enthusiastic students. As well as opportunities to perform regularly in assemblies and at our concerts during the year, students also have the opportunity to perform at various functions. These include instrumental recitals, cultural festivals, community events and special assemblies. We are already planning the performance schedule for the year, and we will let parents know all the essential dates in the next couple of weeks.

In addition, we are incredibly privileged to be able to offer our families an extensive Instrumental Programme that provides private tuition in numerous instruments as well as a growing Ensemble and Orchestral program.

Students who learn instruments are also strongly encouraged to join the ensemble and orchestral groups within the school. Students who learn outside of school

are also urged to further develop their musical skills by joining the ensembles.

Our departments in both Primary and Secondary now offer tuition in:

Percussion and Drums; Vocal and Singing; Brass (Trumpet, Cornet, Flugelhorn, Euphonium, French Horn, Trombone); Woodwind (Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone); Strings (Violin, Viola, ‘Cello); Guitar and Ukulele; and Piano.

The Instrumental Programme compliments the philosophy of our department by giving students an interest in and an enjoyment of making music with other students and teachers. It provides children with the opportunities, not just to learn an instrument but also to read music, develop aural and sight-reading skills and take London College of Music and Associated Board Music Exams.

Students can sign up for instrumental lessons at any point in the year and there will be video clips of lessons, photographs and information on Moodle’s Primary Music page.

By Mr dale farrington, PriMary round square coordinator

HOUSE COLOUR DAy

On Friday the 5th of September, the whole of the Primary school, from Pre-Nursery through to Year 6, was a riot of colour, as we launched our annual inter – house competition with a fun House Colour Day. The four houses - Bussarakum, Morakot, Pailin and Tabtim – were all well represented as Regents’ students showed their support for their teams.

At lunchtime, we played some fun games in the playground and on the Oval and we also had a short quiz during assembly. Over the course of the year there will be lots of opportunities for our pupils to earn house points for their respective houses. Let the games begin!

See more pictures on our Facebook.

By Mr dale farrington, PriMary round square coordinator

GREEN GRUB

Green Grub is the well established Primary school tuck shop. We are open every Friday during term time and sell a wide variety of healthy snacks and drinks – such as fresh fruit, homemade yoghurt, fruit smoothies and pasta dishes - at low prices.

The shop is run by staff, students and parents and is a non profit making venture.

If you would like more information about Green Grub, or would like to volunteer your services, please contact Mr Dale Farrington by e mailing:

dale.farrington@regents-pattaya.co.th

Green Grub will be open for business from Friday September 12th.

Green Grub is the well established Primary school tuck shop. We are open every Friday during term time and sell a wide variety of healthy snacks and drinks – such as fresh fruit, homemade yoghurt, fruit smoothies and pasta

AND IT IS JuST GETTING BETTER !