December 2016

Your choice. Their future. Our family. โรงเรียนนานาชาติการ์เด้นอีสเทิร์นซีบอร์ดบ้านฉาง December 2016
Inside this month's newsletter...
GENEROUS GIS GIVES GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS
Find us at:
Website: www.gardenrayong.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/gisrayong
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Garden-International-School-Rayong-Thailand/128699487157809
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/gardenrayongthailand
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From Mrs Hawtree: Principal
From the Principal
Dear Parents and GIS Community,
It has been great to see so many of you in school over the last week or so, at the
Christmas Concert, Christmas Fair and other smaller events in school. We will bring our
term to a close on Friday with a whole school assembly; unfortunately with so many
students, we already fill the hall so we can't invite parents to join us for this festive event.
Our canteen provision continues to improve, although we are still struggling to recruit a
high-quality canteen manager. However, after the break we are very lucky to have one of
our parents and active FoG members, Ms. Ilse Vaneynde-Schaeke volunteering to support
in the canteen, helping with quality control and training canteen staff to cook easy and
healthy Western dishes. We are very grateful for her kind support and look forward to the
canteen provision improving further under her influence.
Referring back to the parent meeting that so many of you attended in September, we have
been working on many of the suggestions and ideas that were discussed for making GIS
even better, and I am hoping to be in a position to start feeding back to you on some of
these in the January or February editions of the newsletter. Watch this space!
Finally, wherever you are going, and whatever you are doing, I wish you all safe travels
and a peaceful and happy festive season with your loved ones.
Kind Regards,
Mrs Dinah Hawtree
Principal

Upcoming events
Whole School
Dec 9: End of Term 1 (school finishes at 12 midday)
Dec 10: Constitution Day
Monday Jan 9 (Day 5): Term 2 begins
Jan 9: Friends of Garden coffee morning, 8am at the canteen
Jan 10: Whole school assembly – Global Action (period 3)
Jan 10: Cut Your Energy Costs Day
Jan 30: House T-Shirt Day
Primary
Jan 20: Nursery trip to Khao Kheow Open Zoo
Jan 27: Foundation Lion Dance, 10.30am
Secondary
Jan 12-20: Mock examinations for Year 11 and IB2
Jan 13: All Mathematics’ IAs due for IB2
Jan 25: Assembly (period 4), Languages
Jan 26: Chinese New Year celebrations, from 7pm
Jan 27: IB2 Geography IA deadline
Jan 30: PSHE collapsed morning for Year 7 – online safety
Many thanks to our generous GIS sponsors:
Platinum
Aditya Birla
Encounter Church
Indorama

Head to our Facebook page for the latest news on
what’s been happening at GIS. This month, you
can read about:
www.facebook.com/gardeninternationalschool
You can also watch our latest videos about what’s
been happening at GIS by going here:
www.youtube.com/user/gardenrayongthailand
Follow us on Instagram! Find us at
garden_international_school or search for
#gistitans
Check out our Pinterest page and see the dozens
of photos showcasing life at GIS.
https://www.pinterest.com/GISThailand/
Follow our tweets on Twitter!
https://www.twitter.com/gisrayong
See our snaps and stories on
Snapchat! Our username is
gisthailand

DIWALI
Diwali was celebrated at GIS with a special whole school
assembly.
The 'festival of light' saw dozens of students dress up and
perform traditional Indian dances and songs. The event was
organised almost entirely by the students themselves, a great
sign of how organised and creative the GIS students are!
Before the show, students painted temporary henna tattoos and
played traditional Indian games on the new hard court.
Many thanks to Indorama for sponsoring our Diwali event.
See our Facebook and YouTube page for more images and
videos.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Christmas came slightly early to GIS with a special Christmas Concert packed with
traditional favourites.
Students dressed up in festive gear to sing a combination of Christmas classics - including
Let It Snow, Santa Baby and I Wish It Could be Christmas Every Day.
The Main Hall was full of parents and guests - who all enjoyed a free mince pie - who
heard students from Primary and Secondary perform and play a range of songs. Well done
to the Arts' department for another fantastic show.

CHRISTMAS FAIR
SANTA, seasonal snacks and songs combined to make a spectacular Christmas Fair at
GIS.
Youngsters had the chance to see Santa in his grotto and tell him what they would like for
Christmas. Students took to the stage to perform their own mini panto and sing some
Christmas classics, such as Do They Know It's Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nosed
Reindeer (sung in Spanish by the IB students).
Friends of Garden helped provide some international snacks, which ranged from a
barbecue through to Russian salads. There were also lots of games and handicraft stalls,
where parents and guests could pick up some early Christmas presents. A raffle was held
at the end of the event, with around 200 prizes being won.

CHRISTMAS HAT
COMPETITION
During a mufti day on December 8,
students also held a Christmas hat
competition.
Cobra gained points thanks to a
Christmas-tree inspired hat, while
Gecko gained points for having so many
entrants!
See more photos from our mufti day below – the event raised thousands of baht for the
Dek Dee Special School in Ban Chang.

From our Head Boy and Girl
Well, wasn’t Term1 wonderful?
It seems only days have passed since GIS had its 21 st birthday celebration in August. This first term
has been quite busy, with lots of different activities.
Here is an overview of the fun events that the Prefects have organised in Term 1:
From the treasure hunt on Dictionary Day to the delicious Chocolate Cupcake day, we have
covered it all. On Authors’ Day, organised by Languages’ Prefect Narisa, students watched videos
in registration time and took part in a 10-word story competition which was held in Mr Beales’ room
during lunchtime. Along with this, GIS also celebrated United Nations’ Day. Organised by Activity
Prefect Prem, this event involved a presentation in the morning registration, and a short quiz in the
afternoon registration.
To end the term, we held one of the most entertaining Christmas concerts yet on Thursday
December 1. Many students displayed their talents on stage, including the popular samba band led
by Mr Abbs. The Christmas Concert was followed by the much-awaited Christmas Fair which was
held on December 3. The day started with wonderful musical and theatrical performances from all
the age groups; these were then followed by an open fair with many games and delicious food. As
the day went by more winners of the raffle draw were announced - we even won some of the many
prizes! All in all it was a great day filled fun and smiling faces.
We hope you have enjoyed Term 1 as much as us.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Head Boy – Jignil
Head Girl - Shilpi

From Mr Walsh: Head of Primary
Dear Parents and Carers,
As always, instead of winding down to the holidays, in Primary we have been winding up
and up and up with end of unit events, awards’ assemblies, concerts, fairs and shows. The
students and staff have worked so hard this term and all deserve a well-earned rest.
Thank you to all of the parents who have attended the Primary events this term, it is so
nice for the school to be the centre of such a friendly and supportive community. The
students are already planning things they would like to do in Term 2 (I think they have
more energy than the teachers!) Looking ahead, we will have more sharing assemblies,
Primary Has Talent, more school trips and residential visits, International Day and so much
more.
Have an enjoyable break in December. We look forward to seeing the Primary students in
the new year, well-rested and ready to learn!
HOUSE DANCE OFF
Here are some photos from our recent House Dance Off in Primary.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT
The Christmas Concert was a big success. It was wonderful to see the Primary and
Secondary students performing to such a high standard on the same stage. Years 4 and 5
did some beautiful singing, including many brave solo singers. Year 6 performed a very
ambitious but well-executed rendition of the Sugar Plum Fairy using a whole array of
different orchestral instruments. See below for more photos.
FOUNDATION CHRISTMAS PARTIES
Here are some photos from our Foundation students, enjoying themselves at their end-ofterm
Christmas parties.

YEAR 1 AND 2 CHRISTMAS SHOW
Here are some photos from the wonderful Year 1
and 2 Christmas Show.
Well done to the teachers for taking time to
make this a fantastic show, and especially well
done to everyone who took part in the
performance – you were wonderful!
Mr Walsh
Head of Primary
headpri@gardenrayong.com

GENEROUS GIS STUDENTS HELP CAMILLIAN CENTER
Big-hearted students from GIS have helped fill dozens of boxes with toys and gifts to give to
underprivileged children for Christmas.
Students and staff packed specially-decorated boxes full of gifts, which will go to children from the
Camillian Center in Ban Chang, Wat Somnatton and Attithan Kindergarten School.
Well done to the students and staff who donated all the gifts and decorated the boxes to help those
in need. Thanks to Ms Elyssa for organising this event.

We have some great school
blogs to tell you about life at
GIS. Click on the links below to
see what’s been going on!
PRIMARY BLOGS
Early Years http://earlyyears.gardenrayong.com/
Nursery http://nursery.gardenrayong.com/
Reception http://reception.gardenrayong.com/
Year 1 http://year1.gardenrayong.com/
Year 2 http://year2.gardenrayong.com/
Year 3 http://year3.gardenrayong.com/
Year 4 http://year4.gardenrayong.com/
Year 5 http://year5.gardenrayong.com/
Year 6 http://year6.gardenrayong.com/
ESL Blog: http://primaryels.gardenrayong.com
SECONDARY BLOGS
Year 7-9 http://year7to9.gardenrayong.com/
IGCSE
IB
http://gisigcse.gardenrayong.com/
http://ib.gardenrayong.com/
WHOLE SCHOOL BLOGS
Extra-curricular Sport http://gissport.gardenrayong.com/
Extra-curricular Music
http://gismusicblog.gardenrayong.com/
Extra-curricular Drama http://gisdrama.gardenrayong.com/
Library
http://library.gardenrayong.com/
Community Programmes http://communityprogrammes.gardenrayong.com/
Community Service
Friends of Garden
Boarding
http://gisserviceprojects.gardenrayong.com/
http://friendsofgarden.gardenrayong.com/
http://gisboarding.gardenrayong.com/

From Mr Beales: Head of Secondary
Dear parents and carers.
As we come to the end of Term 1, this seems like the ideal time to look back at what
students have learned and achieved over the past few months.
In terms of what they have achieved, I am proud to say our students again lead the way in
terms of generosity and kindness. As well as raising the most money during the Poppy
Appeal in November, the students recently filled dozens of Christmas boxes with toys and
gifts, which will be given to underprivileged children in the local area.
With Christmas approaching, we have had several seasonal events. The Christmas
Concert was followed by the Christmas Fair – both events proved very popular and very
well attended. Congratulations especially to the Arts’ Department and everyone who
performed; it was a great reminder of the rich array of talent we have in school.
For many of us the break will be a time to relax, but for Year 11 and IB2 students, they will
be busy preparing for their mock examinations, which will be from January 12-20. This is
good preparation for the real examinations in May and June, as it allows them a chance to
experience examination-like conditions. I wish them well.
Our new-look PSHE lessons continued with more ‘collapsed mornings’ where students
spent time looking at a range of issues. This time students considered how to deal with
personal issues and also looked at road safety in Thailand and what it means to be a safe
and responsible driver. I would like to thank PSHE Coordinator Mr Lund and his many
helpers who spent considerable time ensuring that these mornings were productive and
beneficial; the feedback from students has been very positive.
This will be my final newsletter as Acting Head of Secondary; in the new year Mr
Christopher Share will become Head of Secondary and I will return to being IB
Coordinator. I would like to thank the Secondary teachers for their hard work and support
during what has been a busy term. I would also like to thank all the other staff at GIS for
putting in so much effort to help our students; their commitment and dedication is greatly
appreciated.
Finally, I hope you and your families have a pleasant and relaxing break and I look forward
to seeing everyone back in school at the start of Term 2.
Regards
Mr Beales
Head of Secondary
headsec@gardenrayong.com

House Competitions
COBRA SNEAKS
AHEAD IN HOUSE
RACE
The House activities for
Term 1 have come to a
close. All four houses
have battled their way
through this long term.
Each House has shown a
range of skills from,
kicking, shooting, eating,
decorating, singing,
dancing and laughing.
Cobra have taken an
early lead in the race to
be crowned House champions but will they fault at the final hurdle again? Can Eagle win it
two years in a row? Tiger have shown strength, is this their year? Surely Gecko want to
claim back their title. It’s going to be an entertaining Term 2!
Brand Creators, 3D printers and
Graphic Designers of the Future
In Year 9 this term students have
been working hard on designing a
brand image for their imaginary
company, an image that conveys
the right values and message.
Students then used their logos to
generate ideas for 2 ideas of
corporate merchandise - a 3D
printed keyring and a T-shirt. All
students designed their keyring
using CAD and then generated
G-codes for the 3D printer.
Following that the students drew a promotional image on Paint software and printed it on
sublimation paper to iron onto their T-shirts.
Here are all the happy CEOs posing with their branded T shirts and keyrings.

STUDENTS GIVEN SPECIAL AWARDS
Well done to the students who are supported through our Special Educational Needs'
department - they were given a range of awards for their hard work and improvement
during Term 1.

IB
Each month, we will be highlighting some of the
work IB students have done for their Creativity,
Action Service (CAS) work.
This is Da Seul’s reflection.
As a part time job / hobby I've been working as a
Taekwondo instructor in Cisse Taekwondo Gym,
Pattaya, since the last summer holiday. I started
learning Taekwondo at the age of 13 and now I am a
black belt taekwondo champion.
I go to competitions and sometimes take part, other
times I just go to coach and take care of the fighters,
getting them registered and help them looking for their
fighting fields. Recently, there was a competition in a
sports centre next to Big C Rayong and I want to share my
experience as a Taekwondo coach in a competition.
Special training for competition began two weeks before the competition. During the days
we only train by coming to the gym, put on the fighting gear and fight whoever gets to be
your pair. Our master is one of the strictest masters in Pattaya, with him there's no 'giving
up'.
Since I was registered as coach I didn't do the fighters' training with them but I did some
other training such as running and practising kicking skills while others were lined up in
two lines fighting behind the punching bags. We have training every Tuesday, Wednesday
and Friday but since they were 'special training weeks' master had arranged morning runs
in a park near the gym at 8am at weekends.
I joined the morning run and it was really challenging to keep up with our master since he
ran so quickly, but because of how scary he is no one dared to drop out of the running
squad even if they couldn't catch their breath anymore! Everyone trained very hard for the
competition.
The competition was packed with people from different gyms all wearing different gym
shirts in different groups. Once we got to the place, we went to register all the fighters and
the coaches. There were 10 fighters from our gym and 3 coaches including myself.
Fighters registered with their belt colour, age and weight. When we were done, all the
fighters got fighter badges and coaches got coach badges which allowed us to get into the
fight fields.

PSHE STUDENTS OFFER
IDEAS ON ROAD SAFETY
As part of the new PSHE programme, Year 9 students had a special morning of activities
based on Road Safety on November 30.
They learnt about the dangers of text-driving, drink-driving and all the factors that make a
good and a bad driver. They were asked to write down their top recommendations
regarding Driving Safely.
These were the most popular:
1. Do not drink and drive
2. Wear a helmet / a seatbelt
3. Check your surroundings, be
vigilant
4. Use your indicators
5. Do not drive fast in harsh weather
6. Do not show off in front of your
friends
7. Always be equipped with the
proper equipment in the car (in
case of a crash)
8. Do not text/call while driving. If you
must, stop at a reasonable place
or ask one of your passengers to
reply for you.
9. Do not do stupid things/actions on
the road
10. Leave a safe distance between
vehicles
11. Do not drive under age
12. Be calm. Do not panic
13. Do not drive while exhausted or
feeling sleepy.
Other students came up with these thought-provoking questions:
1 If cars are sold with fitted seatbelts, why are not motorcycles sold with helmets?
2 Why are not cars fitted with a device that would prevent them from starting as long as
the seatbelts are not fastened?
Overall, it was a very successful morning.

We continue to celebrate all the countries represented at GIS by flying a different
nation’s flag each week. Here are the countries that have recently been recognised
at the front of the school.

Sport
FOOTBALL VICTORY
Our Senior girls football team
played Regent's at home. The
girls played really well and won 3-
2. A great start for the lead up to
the senior games.
Garden International School
Your choice. Their future. Our family.
Find us at:
Website: www.gardenrayong.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/gisrayong
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Garden-International-School-Rayong-Thailand/128699487157809
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/gardenrayongthailand
Accredited by
Affiliated to
Rayong Campus : 188/24 Moo 4 Pala-Banchang Road, Tambol Pala, Amphur Ban Chang, Rayong, Thailand 21130. Tel. +66 (0)38 880360-3 Fax. +66 (0)38 030805
Bangkok Campus : 2/1 Yen Akart Soi 2,Yen Akart Road, Bangkok, Thailand 10120. Website : www.gardenbangkok.com
REPS Campus : 188/46 Moo 4 Pala-Banchang Road, Tambol Pala, Amphur Ban Chang, Rayong, Thailand 21130. Website : www.repsrayong.com