November 2017

Your choice. Their future. Our family. โรงเรียนนานาชาติการ์เด้นอีสเทิร์นซีบอร์ดบ้านฉาง November 2017
POTTER MANIA!
Find us at:
Website: w w w .gardenrayong.com
Twitter: w w w .tw itter.com/ gisrayong
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gardeninternationalschool
YouTube: w w w .youtube.com/ user/ gardenrayongthailand
Accredited by
Affiliated to
1

From Mrs Hawtree: Principal
Dear GIS Community,
November has been an extraordinary month at GIS, where we have truly shown what holistic education is all
about. For me, a holistic education is one that encompasses not just academics, but the arts, sport, community
service and development of soft skills such as empathy, communication, resilience and reflection through
students engaging in wide range of activities which stimulate and challenge.
There has been a huge focus on our Community Service activities this month with flood relief campaigns,
Christmas box filling, special days raising awareness of world issues such as Remembrance Day and International
Day of Tolerance, various IB CAS projects, and a number of fundraising activities to support our work
with our partner charities. This continues tomorrow (December 2) with children from our partner charities
attending our Christmas Fair and receiving their gifts from Santa.
In terms of arts, we have had a number of students take ABRSM music examinations, talent shows, an excellent
Secondary production of ‘Almost, Maine’, art examinations and a record number of students signing up for
music lessons and LAMDA, as well as a plethora of other artistic activities. The sports have also featured
highly this month with many successes at the U15 FOBISIA games, and a vast array of swimming, basketball
and football fixtures alongside our weekly sports schedules. The Mathematics’ department led the celebrations
of Fibonacci Day (1,1,2,3,5,8……) and of course we celebrated the festivals of Loy Krathong (featured in last
month’s newsletter) and Diwali (featured here).
December may only be two weeks long in school terms, but it is incredibly busy with concerts, shows and
feasts amongst the many events planned, all starting with tomorrow’s Christmas Fair.
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow and at our other festivities.
Kind Regards,
Ms Dinah Hawtree
Principal
2

Upcoming Events
Whole School
Dec 1: World AIDS Day
Sat Dec 2: Christmas Fair, (10am-2pm)
Dec 5: Public Holiday — Fathers’ Day
Dec 7: Christmas Concert, 7pm
Dec 11: Public Holiday — Constitution Day
Fri Dec 15: Whole school Christmas assembly
Fri Dec 15: End of Term 1 (school finishes at 12midday)
Tues Jan 9: Start of Term 2
Primary
Dec 1: Reception trip to see trains
Dec 6: Term 1 Foundation and Primary Reports issued
Dec 8: Year 5 trip to Pala beach
Dec 13: Year 1 and 2 Production
Dec 14: Foundation Christmas Show
Secondary
Dec 1: KET and PET-style examinations (last day)
Dec 3: Model United Nations in Bangkok
Dec 4: IB2 submission day for the Extended Essay
Dec 4: IB2 Design Technology IA due
Tues Jan 9: Start of IGCSE and IB mock examinations
Dec 6: IB visiting Hand to Hand Foundation in Pattaya
Dec 9-11: FOBISIA Model United Nations (MUN)
Many thanks to our generous GIS sponsors:
Platinum
Aditya Birla
Encounter Church
Indorama
3

DAZZLING DIWALI
By Languages’ Prefect Anjali
On November 7, GIS held its annual Diwali Celebration
Evening and like every year, it was a huge success.
Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights and is celebrated
every year as a sign of hope and positivity.
It was an eventful evening filled with a variety of delicious
Indian food prepared by the parents and lots of amazing
dance performances by students from Year 1 up to IB2.
The dances ranged in style from classical Indian to hip-hop
and, as always, we had to have a staff performance as this
This year, Diwali was organised by Khushi and myself and
it was incredible seeing the main hall packed with so
many teachers, students and parents. I am already looking
forward to next year’s Diwali Celebration as it is most
definitely one of my favourite events that we have here at
GIS.
The event was kindly sponsored by
Indorama and Aditya Birla.
4

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.
Follow our tweets on Twitter!
https://www.twitter.com/gisrayong
See our snaps and stories on Snapchat!
Our username is gisthailand
5

GIS Remembers
Students and staff from GIS have remembered
the victims of armed conflict as part of a Remembrance
Day assembly.
Year 9 students visited the War Cemetery in
Kanchanaburi to meet war veterans and lay a
wreath on behalf of the school.
The whole-school assembly, led by Principal Mrs
Dinah Hawtree, featured a moving example of
how families are affected by war. Mathematics'
teacher Mr Nixon, whose own ancestors were
involved in World War I, World War II and the
Vietnam War, read a passage from the poem For
the Fallen, which was followed by the Last Post
and a minute's silence. There were also poetry
readings and a performance of Bryan Adams'
'(Everything I Do) I Do It For You'.
GIS has also been helping the local branch of the
Royal British Legion and as a result collected around
18,000 baht. Some of this will also go to help victims
of armed conflict in Thailand.
6

POTTER MANIA HITS GIS!
Students across the school dressed up
in Harry Potter-themed outfits for a Mufti
Day on Friday November 24.
With cloaks flying and wands sparking it was a wonderful
way to raise some money for charity. Witches and wizards
ate hot dogs thanks to the Year 5 students’ charity fundraising
stall, inspired by their entrepreneurial topic, which shows
what a magical community GIS is lucky to be the centre of!
7

From Mr Walsh: Head of Primary
Community
November has been a very good month for our community service
projects. Teams of teachers and students have been
working tirelessly to develop projects to help those in our
immediate community and national community who are less
fortunate than ourselves. We have so much happening to help
these causes. Some examples are:
The GIS Community Service Project, which involves pairs of
classes from Primary and Secondary linking and working with
local charity projects and causes. This whole-school initiative is
led by Ms Laurence.
The 6 groups that we support are: Kru Boonchoo School, The
Camillian Center, Hand to Hand Foundation, Bethlehem
House, Phala Community and The Sea Turtle Conservation
Centre. All the money raised this year will be shared between
these charities.
World Kindness Day – We raised 15,000 baht to repair two
Thai schools damaged in floods (see below)
Mufti Day – The Harry Potter mufti day generated an amazing
17,000 baht for charity.
Primary and Secondary school trips are increasingly being
linked to community projects.
Community projects and social justice learning is sometimes
built into curriculum units. This was the case with the recent hot
-dog sale which was organised and run by Year 5 students.
Reports
All of the Foundation and Primary
teachers have been writing the
end of Term 1 reports. The
Primary reports have been
written using our new information
management system, Engage.
This system centralises the
information about the students
and allows teachers to share and
track student progress and
attainment.
The report should give parents
all they need to know about how
well their child is doing personally,
socially and academically. As
mentioned previously, we will not
be running obligatory meetings
this term. However, parents are
more than welcome to email any
teachers to arrange meetings. All
contact information will be given
out with the reports which will be
emailed to parents on Wednesday
6 December.
Matt Walsh
Head of Primary

CYCLING CHAMPS
Foundation students Hero and Hachi took part in a children’s cycling competition in
Chiang Rai. Hero came first and Hachi was fourth.
They will soon be in Udon Thani again for another competition. Next month they will be in
Malaysia to represent Thailand.
FLOOD SUPPORT
Thank you to everyone who
helped support the flood relief
campaign that was started on
World Kindness Day. Children in
Reception were so kind helping to
collect donations from around
school.
GIS raised a total of 15,000 baht.
Your generous donations will go
towards helping to repair two
schools in Thailand that were
damaged by floods. You have all
shown kindness towards others
and the Global Action Committee
thanks you for your support.
Ms Elyssa
9

SUCH A COOL TRIP!
Year 1 went on an amazing trip to Snow Land in Harbor Mall, Pattaya early in November to
introduce their Heading North topic. The children got to experience cold and snow first hand,
many for the first time!
EAGLES SOAR INTO THE LEAD
The results of the House Mathematics’ activity were:
1st Eagle
2nd Tiger
3rd Gecko
4th Cobra
This makes the overall House points scores:
10

From our Head Student
Head Student Rachel
GETTING READY
FOR CHRISTMAS
November has been an extremely eventful month in school.
We’ve celebrated Diwali and Loy Krathong and we even had a
Harry Potter-themed mufti day!
Moving on to the festive month of December we have ahead
of us, the school committees have been busy organising
events and activities for us to take part in. We have also been
collecting Christmas boxes for charity.
Our school’s annual Christmas Fair will feature performances
by Primary and Secondary students and there will be many
games and food stalls, along with our popular prize raffle. The
Christmas Concert, which the Arts’ Department has been busy
organising, will take place on December 7.
Our CAS Co-ordinator, Ms Clifton, has been organising an IB
trip to the Hand to Hand Foundation in Pattaya, where the IB
students will be helping out by either doing gardening, arts
and crafts activities with the children, playing games or cooking
lunch.

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
IGCSE
IB
ELS
http://year7to9.gardenrayong.com/
http://gisigcse.gardenrayong.com/
http://ib.gardenrayong.com/
http://secondaryels.gardenrayong.com
WHOLE SCHOOL BLOGS
Extra-curricular Sport
Extra-curricular Music
http://gissport.gardenrayong.com/
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
Global Action
http://gisserviceprojects.gardenrayong.com/
http://friendsofgarden.gardenrayong.com/
http://gisboarding.gardenrayong.com/
https://globalaction.gardenrayong.com/

CENTRAL VISIT
Staff from GIS spent a
weekend promoting our
school at Central Festival
Mall in Pattaya.
Several Prefects also
came along to help, as we
spoke to dozens of interested
parents and students.
As well as showing videos
about life at GIS, staff
handed out leaflets explaining
the benefits of
studying here.
FORMER IB STUDENT 3RD IN
NATIONAL ESSAY COMPETITION
Congratulations to former IB Diploma student
Emily Chen for winning 3rd place in
a nationwide essay writing competition on
gender equality in Malaysia.
The prize, awarded by United Nations
Malaysia, was presented by YM Tengku
Rithauddeen, former Minister of Finance
& Foreign Affairs & current President of
the United Nations Association, Malaysia.
13

From Mr Share: Head of Secondary
Dear Parents and Carers,
We have had a very busy and exciting month in the school with the focus on our Arts’ department. They
have just produced the performance of “Almost Maine”, held the first of our new musical showcases called
“live at lunch” and are also busy preparing our students and staff for the “Christmas Concert” whilst our
staff and creative arts students are heavily involved in designing new symbols for the school's Core
Values.
In a month when we have had our IB and IGCSE information evenings, the Arts are sometimes an area of
the school that are viewed as necessary for social and cultural development but not necessarily academically.
However there is clear research that found that pupils studying art, music, drama and dance accrued
heightened enjoyment and fulfilment in school and in after school life, an increase in skill and knowledge,
advances in personal and social development, development of creativity and thinking skills and the enrichment
of their personal communication and expressive skills. All key skills that are judged beyond the classroom
in other subjects and utilised in workplaces across the world.
Findings from the UK National Foundation for Educational Research showed that early exposure to the
arts greatly improves future achievement. Whilst some ideas around in the 90‘s such as the “Mozart
effect”- eg studying music - can help you improve mathematics, have largely been disproved, the Arts can
clearly help and generate a wider area of potential success for your child to find their place in life. As we
continually look to build our children's wellbeing, awareness of the world around them and a child's ability
to critically evaluate what is engaging and gives lasting pleasure is important. Exposure to Music, Art and
Drama can not only present key life skills but also encourage your child's wellbeing and appreciation of the
wonderful opportunities and diversity of the world around them.
So do please continue to support our students who are taking a risk with their performances, building cultural
and social awareness and giving them confidence to perform in all areas of life in school and out.
Having a dedicated team of Music, Art and Drama teachers is a vital sign for a successful school and it is
more than visible at the moment. Do encourage your children to make the most of the opportunities the
school offers in these areas.
Regards
Mr Share
Head of Secondary
headsec@gardenrayong.com

THE MAINE EVENT
The Secondary production of Almost, Maine was a sell-out success.
Almost, Maine by John Cariani is a series of short plays based around the fictional community of Almost.
The show played to sell-out crowds for three nights in the Drama Room, which featured snow
and a wintry backdrop.
Secondary students put on some exceptional performances.
Some have appeared in several productions while, for others,
it was their first time in a show.
Well done to all the students, teachers and staff involved in another excellent show.
The production was sponsored by Encounter Church.
15

IB Diploma
IB Taster Day and Information Evening
Dozens of parents came to our IGCSE and IB Information Evening on November 16.
They were given presentations about both courses and then had the chance to meet subject teachers
and see displays about the various departments and the work they do. Year 11 students also
enjoyed the IB Taster Day, where they got to wear the IB uniform and go to some IB classes as
they prepare to start studying for the IB Diploma next August.
CAScade
Every month, we feature an example of what the IB students have been doing as part of
their Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) work. This month, Erica tells us about all the organising
and planning that was needed to stage a recent talent show.
To hear what Erica got up to, click here.
16

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. These are compiled by our Humanities’ Prefect Aniela.
17

19

20

21

Sport
GIS MEDAL HAUL FROM FOBISIA GAMES
GIS athletes returned home with a haul of medals following
the U15 FOBISIA Games in Phuket.
Overall, we picked up 13 medals for swimming (2 gold, 5 silver
and 6 bronze). For Track and Field, GIS won 13 medals
(3 gold, 6 silver and 4 bronze).
Mrs Longstaffe, Head of PE and Sport, said: “The team were
fantastic. They performed and supported each other the
whole way through.
“Special mention to Ben as he competed in extra events due
to injury and came away with 2 gold and 1 silver. His attitude
was outstanding and was commented upon from other
schools.”
On the second day, the basketball team played well. All the
games were very close, showing how hard they all fought to
win. The last match was a nail-biter with GIS winning just at
the end.
On the 3rd day, it was time for football. The team came out
fighting and performed well. The atmosphere was great and
the whole team cheered each other on. Our last game saw
us winning and in with a chance of the bronze medal when,
in the second half, we conceded 2 goals and ended with a
final place of 4th. Overall it was a great experience for everyone
involved.
22

CROSS-COUNTRY SUCCESS
Just before the mid term break, GIS competed in the Primary and
Secondary ESAC cross country competition at St Andrews. Over
40 pupils from across the whole school took part.
It was a great competition for GIS where both Primary and Secondary
took home lots of medals. All the pupils who took part worked
extremely hard and we came 3rd overall out or 7 schools.
Well done to all the GIS Titans!
Garden International School
Your choice. Their future. Our family.
Find us at:
Website: www.gardenrayong.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gardeninternationalschool
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/gardenrayongthailand
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/gisrayong
Accredited by
Affiliated to
23