NEWSLETTER

From Mrs Gordon: Head of Primary
Dear Parents and all friends and family,
So the final week of the year has arrived and my first year as Head of Primary is almost
complete. What a whirlwind! There are lots of exciting plans and developments for the
Primary building over the holidays with a new Year 1 and 2 unit being created, playground
developments and extra classrooms being created upstairs to accommodate our
increasing numbers.
There is a lot of packing up to do as teachers prepare to move classrooms. Let’s hope we
all make it to the holidays with a smile on our face still .
Our Primary Summer Concert and Open afternoon on Tuesday saw us invite parents in to
experience life in the classroom and to see what their children have been learning this
year. We hope you were able to join us. Plus, we had our Foundation Graduation
Ceremony in the Primary Hall on Friday morning followed by a pot luck feast.
We’ve had our transition day where the children got to meet their new teachers both
virtually and in real life and the Year 6s got a taster of what their new school life will be like
when they move to Secondary next year. Change can be both exciting and nerve-wracking
so we hope these mini sessions will help the children look forward to the changes.
Year 5 and 6 have all returned safely from their adventures around different parts of
Thailand. There is more later in the newsletter on this, or please visit their blogs
6jb.gardenrayong.com and 5ch.gardenrayong.com to see what they got up to. Our Primary
FOBISIA team of 19 all had a fantastic time in Vietnam and brought back 75 medals in
total, mostly from the swimming and athletics competitions.
The end of the school year is also a time for goodbyes and in an international school
setting there are always people moving on to pastures new and learning to say goodbye is
all part of being an international student. It doesn’t stop it from being an emotional farewell
though. I would like to take this opportunity to say a formal thank you to our staff who are
leaving. Ms Jill from EY, Ms Sally from Year 1, Ms Ellie from Year 4, Ms Brenda from Year
5, Ms Claire from Year 5, Ms Karen from Year 6, Ms Wong, our Mandarin teacher and
Khun Rose, one of our Thai teachers. Your dedication and care of the students at our
school has been fantastic and I am very grateful for all your hard work and support over
this year. Good luck in the next step of your adventures, we will all miss you.
We also have to say goodbye to some of our students. Jeena and Gemma are heading
back to the UK with Khun Rose and Mr Chesters, Edward and Cynthia are off to Australia
with their parents Mr Coleman and Khun Apple, Dylan and Evan move to Malaysia with
their mum Ms Karen, Isabella is returning to Phuket with Mr Turnbull and Ms Elena, and
Kalin is going back to Canada with his mum Ms Brenda. Sanika and Swamini have a big
adventure ahead of them as they move to Sweden – hope it’s not too cold for you there
girls. Lavi, Shrey, Shreya and Gauri all return to India. Pangpond is off to New Zealand
and Fabio is moving to Burapha School in Chonburi. We hope you have enjoyed your time
with us and will leave with happy memories of your time at Garden.