Head’s Lines: Forging a vibrant international community

Launch of the ECA Programme

The Saturday extra-curricular activities started this past weekend and it was great to see so many children and parents in school taking part. This week the full extra-curricular programme will start with activities taking place after school from 2.45 to 3.45 p.m.

Parking at the Primary School

Over the first few weeks of term there has been congestion around the Primary School campus at 2.30 p.m. due to the limited size of our front car park. Some of the pressure has been alleviated by parents taking advantage of the MaxValu parking and shuttle bus service as well as parking at Gateway and using that shuttle bus. The start of the extra-curricular programme will further split the number of children being collected at the end of the day into slots: 2.30 - 2.50 p.m. and 3.45 to 4.00 p.m.

Please be aware that there is some construction taking place at MaxValu which started on 10 September and is due to run until 2 October. From 24 September there will be four generators on the site. Please take extra care when using this parking facility during these dates.

We realise, however, that this does not solve the problem and we have been continuing to look for other solutions.

We have been very fortunate to have had discussions with the owners of the land adjacent to Soi 26 on Sukhumvit 71, which is very close to the Primary School. This is a large area of land which has already been initially developed and covered with a concrete floor. The landowners are looking to open a really impressive market in the near future, which will be called Suk 71. They have agreed that we will be able to use this area for our school community to park their cars at the beginning and end of the school day which will be a huge benefit to our community. We are in the process of working out the details with the Suk 71 owners which will include our school security guards being present throughout the day to help parents to access this parking and ensure that is clear of our school communities cars at the end of the school day. I look forward to telling you more about this great development in the near future.

International Days

This is now week five of the first term. It is amazing how quickly time flies once term starts. Our International Days will be held on Friday 12 October at the Primary School and on Friday 19 October at the High School. I know our PTG is already working hard with the country representatives about setting up the food halls and cultural displays for the wide range of nationalities we have in our school community. During each International Day there is an assembly which is a great celebration of the rich cultural diversity we have within the school community. We have already had several groups approach us wishing to be a part of these assemblies with a dance or a traditional song or show from their home country. If you would like to be involved, please contact Grape (email grape.ch@standrews.ac.th) in the Primary School and we ask that you keep your performance to 5 minutes long so that we can accommodate everyone. In the High School, these dances will take place at break and lunchtime. Please contact Mr Andrew (andrew.wh@standrews.ac.th) if you would like to perform.

Our International Days are always really fantastic days for our whole school community and I hope you will be able to come along, enjoy the assemblies and soak up the colour and beauty of all the national costumes and colours.

Student Photographs

This week Rembrandt Family Studios will be taking individual and class photographs at the Primary School from Monday 17 September to Monday 24 September 2018. While the main photos will be used in the school yearbook, families can also purchase photos directly from the studio. Details have been sent to parents via email last week.

Please review the information below to see when your child is scheduled to have their photograph taken:

• Monday 17 September

  • FS2 Chicks, FS3 Lions, Y1H, Y1L, Y3P,  Y3K, Y4R, Y5G, Y5E

• Tuesday 18 September

  • FS1 Bunnies, FS1 Kittens, FS3 Leopards, Y2J, Y2L, Y4D, Y4P, Y4K, Y4G, Y5N, Y6S

• Wednesday 19 September

  • FS3 Lions, Y1E, Y3S, Y3J, Y3R, Y5J, Y6R, Y6T, Y6G

• Thursday 20 September

  • Y1S, Y2R, Y2E, Y2H, Y2S, Y4J, Y5L, Y5M, Y6L

• Friday 21 September

  • FS2 Lambs, FS3 Tigers, Y1C, Y3N, Y6F

• Monday 24 September

  • Y4S, Y5D, Y6M

Please ensure that your child is wearing his or her formal school uniform on the assigned picture day. You may wish to have them bring their own comb or hair brush as well.

Important Note: Students who have their photos taken on Friday will need to wear their school uniform. They do not need to wear House shirts on this day.

Sibling Photos

If you would like family sibling photos to be taken, please take your children to the Drama Studio at the times indicated below. Due to the logistical difficulty involved in gathering siblings, these photo sessions will only take place before and after school, and students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

The photographer will be available at the following times:

• 7:00 am - 7:45 am, except Tuesday 18th September which is reserved for Nursery only

• 2:30 pm - 4.00 pm except Wednesday 19th September and Monday 24th September (not available for sibling photograph after school)

Please note that High School photos will be taken at a later date.

Extra-curricular Activities

ECAs and Swim Squad training in Term 1 start today  and will run for 10 weeks. Details are shown below:

• Monday: 17 Sep, 24 Sep, 1 Oct, 8 Oct, 29 Oct, 5 Nov, 12 Nov, 19 Nov, 26 Nov, 3 Dec,

• Tuesday: 18 Sep, 25 Sep, 2 Oct, 9 Oct, 16 Oct, 30 Oct, 6 Nov, 13 Nov, 20 Nov, 27 Nov

• Wednesday: 19 Sep, 26 Sep, 3 Oct,10 Oct,17 Oct, 31 Oct, 7 Nov, 14 Nov, 21 Nov, 28 Nov

• Thursday: 20 Sep, 27 Sep, 4 Oct,11 Oct,18 Oct, 1 Nov, 8 Nov, 15 Nov, 22 Nov, 29 Nov

• Friday: 21 Sep, 28 Sep, 5 Oct, 12 Oct, 19 Oct, 2 Nov, 9 Nov, 16 Nov, 23 Nov, 30 Nov,

• Saturday: 15 Sep – will be the first session for all clubs, an email with all dates will follow soon.

Please kindly note that ECAs and Swim Squad Training follow the same schedule.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Amp at ecaps@standrews.ac.th for Primary School and Ms Aanchal at ecahs@standrews.ac.th for High School.

For parents with enquiries about Primary School, please contact officeps@standrews.ac.th or Tel: +66 2 381-2387-8

For parents with enquiries about High School, please contact officehs@standrews.ac.th or Tel: +66 2 056-955