December 2018

Your choice. Their future. Our family. โรงเรียนนานาชาติการ์เด้นอีสเทิร์นซีบอร์ดบ้านฉาง December 2018
HAPPY CHRISTMAS
FROM ALL AT GIS!
Find us at:
Website: w w w .gardenrayong.com
Twitter: w w w .tw itter.com/ gisrayong
Facebook: https:/ / w w w .facebook.com/ gardeninternationalschool/
Youtube: w w w .youtube.com/ user/ gardenrayongthailand
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From Mrs Hawtree: Principal
Dear GIS Community,
What a lovely last few weeks of the year – with so many fantastic events! To mention just a few of these...
we had a beautiful day for Loy Krathong, with everyone looking wonderful in their traditional attire. Our Secondary
production of ‘Holes’ was a huge success, and our most adventurous yet in terms of multi-media productions.
We enjoyed an excellent Secondary swim gala, and a very cute (but highly competitive!) mini Titans cross
country, both of which had very good student participation rates. And in the last couple of weeks we were
thrilled by the talent on show at the Christmas concert (although slightly less thrilled by the talent on show in
Mr Ken’s jokes!) and an excellent (and super cute!) nativity show ‘Lights, Camel, Action’ by our Year 1 and 2
students.
I am sure that all our students and teachers are looking forward to a very well deserved break. I hope that
you all have a wonderful holiday, wherever that may be, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back,
bright and refreshed, on 7 January.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Kind Regards,
Ms Dinah Hawtree
Principal
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Upcoming Events
Whole School
Monday January 7: Start of Term 2
Jan 24: Friends of Garden monthly meeting, 7.45am
Jan 26: Pattaya Family Bike Fun Day
Many thanks to our generous GIS sponsors:
Primary
Jan 10: Year 1 trip to Snow World
Jan 21-25: Book Week
Jan 24: Foundation reading café, 8.30am
Platinum
Indorama
Aditya Birla
Encounter Church Ban Chang
Jan 25: Book Day and mufti day
Jan 31: Year 6 trip
Secondary
Jan 8-16: IGCSE and IB mock examinations
Jan 21: IB2: All IB Mathematics’ Internal Assessments due
Jan 23: IB1: Extended Essay Workshop 1
Jan 26: Model United Nations (MUN), Harrow, Bangkok
Jan 28: IB2: English B written assignments due / Geography Internal Assessments due
Jan 30: IB1: Extended Essay Workshop 2
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CHRISTMAS FAIR
GIS got into the festive spirit with its annual Christmas Fair— and gave generous donations to our school charities.
The event, on December 1, began with students of all ages performing a range of Christmas songs. After the show, students,
parents and visitors enjoyed a range of games and challenges on stalls run by teachers, while local charities also
sold produce to raise funds. Hand to Hand Foundation in Pattaya was given more than 500 kgs of rice and hundreds of
other toiletries. Children from the Camillian Centre and Bethlehem House in Ban Chang also came along to join in the
fun — all children from the charities left with a goody bag provided by GIS Foundation and Primary students.
The Christmas Fair was sponsored by Encounter Church, Indorama and Aditya Birla.
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LOY KRATHONG
GIS students celebrated Loy Krathong with a range of activities.
In Foundation, Primary and Secondary students made traditional
Krathong. There was also a show featuring traditional
Thai dance and song to mark this popular festival.
Our Loy Krathong celebrations were kindly sponsored by
Indorama and Aditya Birla.
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LOY KRATHONG 2018
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DANCING TEACHING ASSISTANTS CELEBRATE LOY KRATHONG
GIS teaching assistants took part in two shows at Eastern Star’s Loy Krathong Festival on November
22.
GIS VISITS PILC BAZAAR
GIS was at the Pattaya International Ladies’ Club’s Christmas Bazaar on Sunday 18
November at the Holiday Inn Pattaya.
Booths helped visitors learn more about GIS. Staff held workshops for children to take
part in activities and make paper Christmas trees and other craft activities.
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CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Traditional, international and modern festive songs got GIS into the Christmas spirit.
The main hall was packed out to hear students from across the school perform a range of
carols and Christmas songs. These included Year 5 singing ‘Frosty the Snowman’, a singalong
featuring ‘Feliz Navidad’ and a stunning performance of ‘Walking in the Air’ by a Year
10 band.
The Christmas Concert was sponsored by Encounter Church.
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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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REMEMBRANCE DAY ASSEMBLY
GIS held a special whole-school assembly to honour the victims of war.
The assembly, on November 9, was part of the Remembrance Day activities taking
place in school. A member of the Royal British Legion attended and spoke to students
about the symbolic meaning of the poppies many students were wearing. Students
also read several poems related to conflict.
A minute's silence was then held to remember those affected by all wars.
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LONG-SERVICE AWARDS FOR OUR MARVELLOUS MAIDS
GIS has recognised our longest-serving members of staff with special awards.
K.Baboo has been a maid at GIS since the school opened in 1994. She is retiring after more than
two decades’ of service to GIS. K.Wassana, also a maid, has been at GIS for more than 20 years,
and we hope will stay with us for many more years to come. As well as saying farewell to K.Baboo,
we said goodbye to K.Poy, who has been an outstanding TA in Foundation for many years.
At a staff meeting on December 14, Principal Mrs Hawtree presented both with a certificate and
cheque in recognition of their hard work.
SPORTS AFTERNOON
Term 1 ended with a whole-school afternoon of sport.
All students took part in a range of sporting challenges, from football and table tennis to
cricket and tennis. It was a fun and energetic way to end this term! Thanks to the PE
and Sports Department for organising this.
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From Mr Walsh: Head of Primary
Dear Parents and Carers,
GIS students and staff have worked very hard this term and are looking forward to a well-earned
break.
All of the events and celebrations at GIS are part of the curriculum, allowing students to express
themselves, encouraging them to appreciate different cultures and customs, and supporting
them to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world.
As Head of Primary, I was pleased to see in the recent reports, not only the high standards of
attainment, but also the personal comments and next steps challenges for each and every Foundation
and Primary student.
One of the school Core Values is being Reflective. At a recent Primary assembly the students
were able to identify their high points from Term 1, and also identify their best learning in terms
of knowledge, skills and attitudes. It is very important for our students to be able to do this so that
they can approach the next term with focus and motivation (after a nice holiday, of course!).
On behalf of the Foundation and Primary team, I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy
new year!
Mr Walsh
Head of Primary
headpri@gardenrayong.com

LIGHTS, CAMEL ACTION!
Year 1 and 2 students took to the stage to perform their festive show.
Parents packed into the main hall to see ‘Lights, Camel, Action’ on December 12.
The show was sponsored by Encounter Church, Indorama and Aditya Birla.
FOUNDATION SHOW AND FEAST
Foundation students put on some special Christmas shows for parents on Thursday morning. This was
followed by a ‘feast’ where everyone shared dishes that they had bought to school for their friends.
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MINI TITANS CROSS COUNTRY
On December 6 more than 120 students aged between 2 and 8 from GIS and REPS competed in the
2nd Mini Titans cross country event at GIS.
Students and parents had a lot of fun and the competition was tense. Well done to all those who took
part and thank you to the PE department for organising it. We look forward to the Mini Titans competing
again in Term 2.
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RECEPTION CELEBRATE FESTIVALS
This term, the Reception children have enjoyed celebrating several events, such as Halloween,
Diwali Loy Krathong and Christmas. They have loved dressing up, learning about and
participating in the different traditions associated with these events.
HARBORLAND VISIT
On November 30 Nursery had their
second trip of the year to HarborLand
in Pattaya. Developing gross and fine
motor skills is a key area of learning
for children in Nursery and students
were able to practise them all in a fun,
exciting and safe environment. The
first stop was the mini trampolines
where the children learnt how to jump
correctly, control their movements and
take turns. Then it was on to the model
painting area to practise some fine motor
skills by painting detail on our statues
with very small brushes.
After a picnic lunch students headed
straight for the giant block area. Some
children cooperated and worked together
to build large house structures
and operate the crane whilst others
preferred making and testing smaller
models on the speedway track.
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From our Head Girl and Head Boy
Head Girl — Liyana
Head Boy—Ashcharya
WHAT A HECTIC TERM!
The past 2 months have passed in the blink of an eye with several major events being held
at GIS. Firstly, as promised to the students, we organised a badminton tournament in November
to help raise donations for multiple charities. We not only had students competing,
but also teachers including our Principal, Mrs Hawtree! I must say, our Head Boy really
struggled going against her team.
Moving on, who can forget the spectacular Christmas Fair we just had? I’m sure you all
told Santa what you wanted for Christmas! Having more than 20 stalls, this year’s Christmas
Fair was packed with people, enjoyment and new stalls run by the IB1s such as table
tennis!
All of this was immediately followed by a Christmas concert where students joined to share
some Christmas spirit to GIS. The programme consisted of the orchestra, choirs and a
special performance from our very own staff choir.
This year, our IB1 leadership team organised a ‘candygram’ service, where students could
send each other candy canes with a sweet card they wrote. Having over 300 candy canes
being bought within Secondary alone, this event was a major success. As a result we
raised money for our school charities. Finally, as the holidays are coming up, we wish the
Year 11s and IB2 students the best of luck for their revision towards their upcoming mock
examinations in January. We are sure you will all do your best.

We have some great school blogs to tell you about life
at GIS. Click here to see all of our blogs.
FOUNDATION & PRIMARY BLOGS
Early Years
Nursery
Reception
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
SECONDARY BLOGS
Years 7-9
IGCSE
IB Diploma
Secondary ELS
WHOLE SCHOOL BLOGS
PE and Sports
The Arts
Library
Boarding
Friends of Garden
Global Action

JOIN THE GIS-SPONSORED PATTAYA FAMILY BIKE DAY!
GIS is sponsoring the Pattaya Family Bike Day on Saturday January 26. Come along to have a fun
day out and also raise money for charity at the same time.
The Pattaya Family Bike Day is a day of cycling, with 4 riding options. For details and prices, go
here http://pattayafamilybikeday.org registration. Applications forms are in our front office or you
can register by emailing K.Bonnie (bonniet@gardenrayong.com). After registering, contact our
front office staff to receive a FREE bike shirt. All profits will be divided between Women With a Mission
and Make-A-Wish Foundation Thailand.
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From Mr Share: Head of Secondary
Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been an incredibly busy term and this newsletter reflects the diverse and exciting opportunities that
our students have taken part in this term.
We have had the fantastic cultural events celebrating Loy Krathong, Diwali and the Christmas Fair that also
supported our numerous community and charity initiatives. We had students at FOBISIA competitions
in Sport and Drama, we have had dance competitions and football tournaments and our Performing Arts
students have put on the fantastic Secondary musical production of Holes and then followed it quickly with
the Christmas concert. A fantastic term.
We go into the Christmas Holidays with our IB2 and IGCSE students very much expected to be working
through the holidays on revision for the mock examinations that start as soon as they return in January.
For the rest of us, I wish all students and staff a restful break and for the those that celebrate Christmas or
Hannukah a fantastic time of celebration. I wish you a happy ending to 2018 and a happy New Year for
2019.
To give you a flavour of some things we are thinking of already for January and February, for those getting
new phone and tablets for Christmas, we are considering having non-digital days in school where all electronics
are banned from use except in a classroom situation. We will try and encourage greater bonding,
communication and social skills among our students and highlight that being glued to a phone or tablet is
not healthy. As a parent, if you have a view on this please do let me know. Enjoy the newsletter and enjoy
the upcoming holidays.
Regards
Mr Share
Head of Secondary
headsec@gardenrayong.com

HOLES, THE MUSICAL
The Secondary production of 'Holes, the Musical' was a huge success.
After weeks of rehearsing, the staging, songs and acting all came together for another brilliant
performance. The musical tells the story of Stanley and his battle to break his family's
curse of bad luck by digging up and discovering his family history. Well done to everyone
involved. To see highlights from the show, check out our YouTube channel.
Many thanks to our sponsors: Aditya Birla, Indorama, and Encounter Church.
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IB Diploma
IB STUDENTS REWARDED FOR
SUSTAINABLE IDEAS
By Orla (Global Action Director)
IB students have been to a special conference in Bangkok that
focused on sustainable development.
On Saturday November 3, nine GIS IB students woke up in the
early hours of the weekend to drive to an Sustainable Development
Goals (SDG) Conference at Wells International School
Onnut Campus in Bangkok.
After a 2-hour drive to Bangkok we made it to Wells International
School. We gathered into an assembly room full of people
who had come from schools all around Thailand. Most of
them were high school students and all shared the same goal
as us — moving towards a more sustainable world.
We began the day in discussion groups. I was a part of the
Women’s Rights group; we talked about the need for Reduced
Inequalities and Gender Equality. We also touched on different
issues that link to other Sustainable Development Goals.
It was interesting to find out other people’s views on certain
issues in the wider world that we don’t experience first-hand as
students. Everyone was so passionate about their causes and
the environment felt safe enough for us to express our own
opinions and solutions for change.
Later on that day, we took part in an afternoon full of activities
that link to all of the SDGs. We were grouped together with
people from different schools, forcing us out of our comfort
zones and working with other people. It was frantic running
around from activity to activity trying to get as many points as
possible. Everyone was very competitive and motivated.
The activities ranged from memory games, to throwing and
catching, to role playing games making it fun for all 150 people
that took part.
After this, we started on the case challenge, which was to design
a solution as to how to stop Thailand from being so wasteful.
Every group came up with a project to address Thailand’s
waste issue and presentations took place on the second day.
One of GIS’ teams that comprised of Ashcharya, Shann and
Chan managed to get through to the semi-final! Their solution
of implementing a reward point system in supermarkets proved
to be extremely creative and practical.

LEARNING MORE ABOUT IGCSES AND IB
Dozens of parents came to an information evening to find out more about IGCSE and IB examinations.
Parents of Year 9 students were invited to GIS on November 8, where they could hear more
about our IGCSE options and how they lead to the IB Diploma in Years 12 and 13. IGCSE and
IB teachers put impressive displays to showcase their subjects and chat to parents about the
possible options.
FIRST AID TRAINING
Several IB1 and IB2 students successfully completed a first aid course held recently
at REPS. This was one of their Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) experiences,
that is an important part of the IB Diploma.
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TOP IN THAILAND WINNERS
GIS students were celebrated at a ceremony to honour Thailand’s top students.
Two GIS students were awarded Top in Thailand awards by Cambridge Assessment International
Education following the May 2018 IGCSE examinations.
Shann was honoured for his IGCSE World Literature results while Nupur was named Top in
Thailand for IGCSE Biology. Shann went to Bangkok to collect his certificate. Nupur is currently
studying in India. Well done to both students on this outstanding achievement!
MODEL STUDENT
INSPIRES OTHERS
A GIS student who won a beauty contest has told other
teenagers how they should try and achieve their dreams.
Lana, in Year 7, won the title of ‘Little Miss Rayong 2017’
last year in the ‘Prince & Princess Thailand’ contest. On
Sunday November 18 she returned her crown and took
part in a fashion show at Central Rayong, where she had
the chance to demonstrate her ballet skills.
She also impressed visitors by giving a speech in English,
where she told shoppers that she studied at GIS and encouraged
other contestants to follow their dreams if they
wanted to succeed.
Lana said: ‘A dream is only a dream if you are afraid to
make it become reality. If I can do it, every girl can do it,
so be brave and go for your dreams’.
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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 Internationalism Director Sammy.

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PE & Sport
SECONDARY SWIMMING GALA
On Friday November 30 the PE department
hosted a new –look Secondary House swimming
gala. The main focus was to encourage
participation with the competition, so along with
the swim races, there were a number of fun
events. The gala finished with a very successful
water polo competition. Students and staff had a
great time and the house spirit was fantastic.
Thank you to the PE department and the staff
that helped out allowing it to be such a fun
event.
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SECONDARY SWIMMING GALA
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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