January 2018

Your choice. Their future. Our family. โรงเรียนนานาชาติการ์เด้นอีสเทิร์นซีบอร์ดบ้านฉาง January 2018
GIS HOSTS MUN
CONFERENCE
Find us at:
Website: w w w .gardenrayong.com
Twitter: w w w .tw itter.com/ gisrayong
Facebook: w w w .facebook.com/ pages/ Garden -International-School-Rayong-Thailand/128699487157809
Youtube: w w w .youtube.com/ user/ gardenrayongthailand
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From Mrs Hawtree: Principal
Dear GIS Community,
It’s hard to believe that we are already more than half way through the academic year. It’s just over 3 weeks
since we returned from the Christmas break, and yet we have seen a whole host of activities including the
hugely important mock examinations for our Year 11 and IB2 students, a wide range of trips and activities
across various age groups, the annual book fair, and our first ever GIS MUN (Model United Nations), which is
featured elsewhere in this issue.
For those of you unfamiliar with MUN, please do take the time to read about it. As I said to the students who
gathered here from 5 schools around Thailand, ever since I first came across MUN about 10 years ago, I’ve
always been hugely impressed with the commitment and passion of MUNers (as those who do MUN are
known), and I’ve come to see MUN as one of the most amazing extra-curricular activities that schools can offer.
MUN develops students’ communication skills, their confidence, their teamwork, their research skills, and
their knowledge of the world. It encourages them to forge friendships across schools and beyond, and inculcates
an ethos of tolerance, internationalism and intercultural understanding. It prepares them to be compassionate,
responsible, problem solving leaders of the future. It is an amazing organisation, and I was delighted
to see so many of them joining us for our first ever GIS MUN, which I hope will be the first of many, and will
become a regular feature on the MUN calendar.
It’s also the time of year when I am kept very busy with staff recruitment, although with only 4 teaching staff
leaving us this year, and two additional posts to recruit for, it’s less busy than most years. Just 4 staff leaving
represents extremely low staff turnover of around 6% which compares very favourably with typical 20-25% at
schools internationally. It’s a good indicator that we have a teaching staff who are happy in their work, and who
enjoy what they do – and this stability is certainly good for the students in our care. Over the next few weeks, a
number of candidates will visit the school for interviews, and I am heading to London to interview UK/Europe
based candidates next month. We have excellent fields for each vacant position, and I am confident that we
will be able to maintain the high quality of teaching staff that we currently enjoy. Further details about staff
leaving and about our new teachers will follow in a subsequent newsletter.
Finally, preparations are underway for the Friends of Garden AGM, which will take place on Thursday 26 April,
at 6.30pm – please put the date in your diary. At this meeting we will elect committee members to lead
Friends of Garden over the coming year, ensuring that this important support network for the school continues
to grow and flourish. Please consider nominating yourself or a fellow parent (with their consent!) for a position
on the committee – we need people with ideas, energy, organisation skills, but most of all a commitment to
working with the school leadership to provide the best possible all round experience for the students of GIS.
Kind regards
Dinah Hawtree
Principal
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Upcoming Events
Whole School
Feb 1-2: Book Fair, in the Primary atrium
Feb 9: Mufti Day
Feb 12-17: LAMDA examinations
Feb 14: House T-Shirt day
Feb 20: World Social Justice Day
Feb 20: Chinese New Year celebration, from 6pm
Feb 23: End of half term (school starts again on Monday March 5)
Primary
Feb 1: Nursery trip to Rayong Aquarium
Feb 2: Book Day
Feb 7: Primary Parent Forum: Learning through play, 6.30pm-7.30pm
Feb 14: Foundation Sports’ Day
Feb 15: Primary Sports’ Day
Feb 16: Year 1 Trip to Thai Thani Cultural Village
Feb 20: Foundation Lion Dance
Feb 22-23: Trip Year 4 to Royal Varuna Yacht Club
Secondary
Feb 1: Science Fair at St Andrew’s
Feb 1: UK Maths’ Challenge (intermediate)
Feb 5: IB2: History and Visual Art’ Internal Assessments due
Feb 5: Year 11 IGCSE World Literature portfolio due
Feb 6: Report Cards issued for Year 11 and IB2
Feb 7: Introduction to the Extended Essay, IB1 students
Feb 8: Parent Conference for Year 11 and IB2, from 6pm
Feb 12: IB2: TOK essay due
Feb 12: Year 11 IGCSE PE practical coursework due
Feb 16: Secondary Sports’ Day
Feb 19: IB2: Group 1 deadline for Written Tasks
Feb 19: Year 11 IGCSE Design Technology coursework due
Feb 21-25: U13 FOBISIA, Phuket
Feb 24: Model United Nations (MUN) trip
Feb 28-March 3: Drama FOBISIA (Years 7-9)
Many thanks to our generous GIS sponsors:
Platinum: Aditya Birla Encounter Church Indorama
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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
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From Mr Walsh: Head of Primary
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome New Students
A warm welcome to the 15 new students in Foundation
and Primary, and a warm welcome to their families too.
Welcome to the GIS community! I am very proud of how
well the GIS students have accepted and helped their
new classmates and they have already made friends
and become very well-established in the school.
Welcome to
K.Ning
Khun Ning is our new
TA working in the
Nursery class with Ms
Jane and Khun Nat.
Some of the new students from last term have already
been chosen to represent their class at the Primary Student
Council, and some have represented the school at
sporting events.
Mr Walsh
Head of Primary
headpri@gardenrayong.com
BOOK FAIR
The book fair at GIS has
caused lots of excitement
this week. It’s lovely to hear
students recommending
good titles and authors to
their classmates.
We are also looking forward
to Book Day on Thursday
February 1 and Friday
February 2.

WE WENT HORSE-RIDING!
Year 2 have been learning about the Native
American tribes who lived on the
Plains.
We found out that the Sioux and Lakota
tribes loved horses and considered them
to be part of their family.
They helped them to be much more successful
when hunting buffalo, and they
even let the horses sleep with them inside
their tipis. We went to Chomview
Riding Club to try out riding a horse for
ourselves. Many of us were quite nervous
but we were all brave enough to have a
go which makes us great risk-takers.
Thank you to everybody at Chomview
Riding Club for a fantastic experience.
TEACHERS’ DAY AWARDS
Congratulations to our teachers who were awarded 'Outstanding Teacher' and 'Long Service'
awards at the Rayong County award ceremony on Teachers' Day, on January 16. As
well as those pictured, several other teachers received awards: Ms Aren, Ms Amy, Ms
Jane, Mr Cullen, Mr Whittle, K.Nid and K.Pui.
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RIDING IN RECEPTION
Reception children had an amazing day at Chomview Riding stables.
The children had opportunities to ride a pony and take a pony and trap
ride up to the farm where they discovered what plants grow here in
Thailand.
They used compost to plant their own seeds and were lucky enough to
take a plant home to plant in their gardens. We visited the cows and
saw the baby chicks who had just been born. The children fed the
chickens and the cows on the farm and could see how they lived.
Thank you Chomview for an excellent day of learning and adventure.
From our Head Student
Well done to the
GIS MUN Team!
I hope you all had a lovely winter break and welcome back to
Term 2 of this academic year.
We started this term with mock examinations for the IB2 and
Year 11 students, which was of course a very stressful 2
weeks.
This year’s mock examinations have gone by very smoothly,
thanks to our new exams’ officer Mr Hawtree. This was not the
only successful event that has been organised this term, as this
year we have hosted our first ever Model United Nations
(MUN) conference, which included a performance of ‘A Million
Dreams’ by our chamber choir during the opening ceremony.
It was great to see so many students from other schools come
along and debate various global issues. It was also wonderful
to see so many of our own students taking part in MUN events
for the first time.
Next month our LAMDA examinations will begin which will
again be a very stressful time for our students. I wish them all
the best and am sure they will put on some stunning performances.
Head Student Rachel
We will also have our annual Valentine’s day celebration which
will be organised by our IB1 students so make sure to not forget
to buy roses for your loved ones!

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/

From Mr Share: Head of Secondary
Dear Parents and Carers,
This month we tweaked the Secondary uniform to make it, well, more uniform. A uniform shirt, shoes and
trousers or skirt may not be the ingredients for teenagers’ favourite outfits, and our students certainly embrace
non-uniform days (the next one coming up on February 9 has the theme Heroes and Villains).
Wearing a uniform is an important badge of pride, creates an identity for a school and is an important part
of being a student at a good school. If you ever wondered why we have a uniform the following may be of
interest to you.
Uniforms give students a sense of belonging to a particular school and create an identity for the school in
the community. The UK’s Guardian newspaper recently surveyed a number of schools and students and
the following were some of the responses. Uniforms show that you are part of an organisation, “wearing it
says we’re all in this together,” to “if you wear your uniform with pride, it means you are half way there to
being respectful, buying into what the organisation is all about.” A school uniform teaches students to
dress smartly and take pride in their appearance uniforms help students to prepare for when they leave
school and may have to dress smartly or wear a uniform.
Some believe that a school uniform can improve learning by reducing distraction, sharpening focus on
schoolwork and making the classroom a more serious environment, allowing students to perform better
academically. Perhaps most importantly, a uniform means students don’t have to worry about peer pressure
when it comes to their clothes. When everyone is dressed the same, worrying about what you look
like isn’t so important. There is no competition about being dressed in the latest trend, which would put a
great deal of financial pressure on students and parents. Potential bullies have one less target for their insults;
it’s hard to make fun of what someone is wearing when you’re dressed almost exactly the same.
In America, where a majority of schools do not have a uniform, roughly 160,000 children miss school every
day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. This might not be directly linked to what they’re
wearing, but having a uniform can be a safety net for many students who might otherwise suffer from bullying.
A uniform gives the impression that rules are important for all, perhaps helping maintain a sense of
order at school.
Even though our IB students have a less prescriptive uniform code they still have the smart dress rule. Not
only does it make getting dressed each morning a lot easier, but it sets them up as role models for younger
students, and that’s important.
Students uniform might not be what they would wear in their own time, but it gives them a sense of belonging,
takes away the pressure of what to wear and deters the bullies. School uniform isn’t fashionable, but it
is functional and has a good purpose. Thank you for your help in ensuring the success of our newly introduced
PE uniform since August and black shoe policy since January. There are no more changes anticipated
for this or the next school year.
Regards
Mr Share
Head of Secondary
headsec@gardenrayong.com

GIS HOSTS ITS FIRST MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE
GIS hosted its first Model United Nations (MUN) conference on January
27– and it was a huge success.
Visiting schools from around the region and Bangkok joined our own students
for a day of debate and discussion. In the MUN, students take on
the role of a United Nations country and then give their country’s opinions
about a range of topics. They also write and vote on resolutions.
At the GIS conference there were four main committees: the United Nations Human Rights Council
(UNHRC), the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) and the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC). Discussions included how to
prevent radicalism, how to counter the international wage gap, and the effect of ocean pollution.
The conference was opened on Saturday morning in the main hall by Mr Croft, who organised the event,
along with help from Ms Leong, Ms Laurence and Ms Francisco.
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MUN@GIS 2018
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IGCSE
MOCK
EXAMINATIONS
Students have been busy
preparing for their IGCSE
and IB examinations with
mock tests.
At the start of Term 2, the
students sat at newlypurchased
tables in the
main hall to take their
mocks.
After these are marked by
teachers, students will be
given Report Cards with
specific targets about
what they need to do to
achieve an even higher
grade.
That will be followed by a
parent conference on
February 8 from 6pm
where parents and students
can talk with teachers
about how to improve.

IB Diploma
This month we continue our look at what IB students are doing for Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS).
Jignil in IB2 has been running a chess club for Primary students.
Organising Chess for Primary students
As part of my one month project for CAS, I decided to organise a chess club for the students in
Primary. I wanted to run this particular activity because I believe that chess is both a fun and intriguing
game for anyone up for the challenge. For Primary students, this game would be a fun way to spend
time while learning to think strategically and increasing their cognitive thinking skills.
To get this club up and running I first contacted the Primary club coordinator and told him about what I
planned to do. After exchanging a few emails, the club was added to a list of different clubs the Primary
students could choose from.
I hadn’t expected a big turnout for the club but I was more than happy to see so many of the Primary
students interested in learning/playing chess. Before the clubs started I had a few tasks I had to complete
such as planning out each of the lessons and getting enough chess sets for the club.
The first lesson with the students was great, I taught the basics to many students who were playing
chess for the first time and then, after that, they had some time to play against their friends. In the following
lessons the students also set up their own account on chesskid.com which gave them the opportunity
to play chess at any time against children from all over the world. We also had many lessons
where the students played against each other and had the opportunity to see how they could improve
their game.
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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.

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ONE GOAL
More than 50 students from across the whole school attended a One Day One Goal’
football tournament at St Andrews. We really enjoyed it and came home with 4 sets
of team medals.
GIS EARN DRAW WITH ISE
The girls’ senior football team had a great game
against ISE recently, and came away with a 1-1
draw. This was great practice for the upcoming Senior
Games.
Garden International School
Your choice. Their future. Our family.
Find us at:
Website: www.gardenrayong.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Garden-International-School-Rayong-Thailand/128699487157809
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/gardenrayongthailand
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/gisrayong
Accredited by
Affiliated to
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