Primary School Sport: Let the journey begin

All the children have now had their first PE and swimming lessons and I hope they are enjoying their lessons.  All our squad trials are complete other than the Years 1 & 2 boys’ football trial which will take place on Thursday 6 September on the field after school. We have had an amazing turn out for our squad trials and it is incredible that so many children want to be part of school sport.  Unfortunately, not all children can get into one of our squads but we have tried to open up more squads to give these children the opportunity to play and enjoy sport at St Andrews International School Bangkok. New this year are Basketball U11 Blaze squads that will train during lunchtimes every Friday from 12.40  - 1.10pm. We also have brought back Development squad Girls’ football during Tuesday lunchtimes in the Red Room. Also new are the various dance and gymnastics squads that Miss Cherry and Miss Bogi are now offering. If you your child did not the make the squad they wanted to be in please email Mr Damon who would be happy go through their possible pathways for the different sports.

All our Primary Squads start training this week.  

Next week, starting from 10 September, we will be carrying out the 1000m challenge for all KS2 children. We feel it is important to start the year by talking to the children about their fitness levels and their understanding of the importance of sport and exercise to their health. Also, we have some athletics events coming up and we will be looking for some of our strongest runners.

Sporting Recognition

One of our own and captain of our U11 Boys football team, Ayran, has been scouted by the Football Association of Thailand.  He will be taking part in some intensive coaching every other weekend at the FA Thailand training facility. We wish Aryan all the best in being the best he can be.

Teacher Achievement

Over the weekend two of our teachers competed in the Rock Man Triathlon/Duathlon. Mr Bob swam 1.5k, biked 30km and then did a 10km run. Khung Seung ran 5km, biked 30km and then did a 10km run.  Both teachers finished first in their categories. Mr Bob is on track for his Ironman in November!

Swim Rewards Scheme

Another new development within our Sports Department is our new swimming rewards scheme. Children will receive their certificate once they have passed the level they are trying to achieve. This is a great development and rewards and motivates the children the reach that next level.

STA Sports ECA & Squads Programme

ECA Programme

Our ECA sports programme is a “sports for all” programme with many different sports on offer from dance and gymnastics to tennis, basketball, golf, football and badminton. We also have football, basketball and gymnastics on Saturday mornings with our STA coaches. We also hope to add dance lessons to the Saturday programme. Our aim is to encourage all children to be active and be part of our sports ECA programme and love playing sport at STA.

Swim timetable

Sports ECA timetable

The Sports ECA timetable can be found here. There are still some pending times and locations so please be sure to check this sheet again.

Squads Weekly Schedule

Monday

• U9/U11 Boys Football Squad

• U11 Girls Basketball Squad

• Years 2 & 3 Cheerleading Squad

• U11 badminton (lunchtime)

• Gymnastics Y3/4 Squads (lunchtime)

Tuesday

• U9/U11 Girls Football Squad

• Years 1&2 Gymnastics Squad

• U9 badminton (lunchtime)

• Girls Development Football (Redroom, lunchtimes)

• Cheerleading Blaze Squad (lunchtime)

Wednesday

• NAE Games Teeball

• Years 4, 5 & 6 Dance Squad

• Year 1&2 Boys Football Squad

• Gymnastics Year 5 squad (lunchtime)

• Boys Dance Squad (lunchtime)

Thursday

• U11 Boys Basketball Squad

• Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 Gymnastics Squad

• U9 Girls & Boys Basketball Squad (lunchtime)

• Blaze Dance Squad (lunchtime)

Friday

• U11 Boys Basketball Blaze Squad (lunchtime)

• U11 Girls Basketball Blaze Squad (lunchtime)

• NAE Games Teeball

• Gymnastics Year 6 Squad (lunchtime)

• Boys Dance Squad (lunchtime)

Tennis

We are pleased to welcome Coach Pair to our St Andrews community this year. Pair comes to us with a wealth of experience in both coaching and playing tennis; having represented the Thailand Tennis Team as a Junior and Lead High Performance Tennis Programmes in Shanghai, China. She will be a valuable addition to our team. Pair will take on the role of Head Tennis Coach to offer new and exciting developments to our entire community.

With a dedicated member of coaching staff for ennis, the organisational structure of our programme will change allowing all children to enjoy tennis at a level appropriate to them.

Weekly Breakdown

• 8 squads for all ages and abilities

• 12 seperate coaching sessions

• 196 available spaces

Assessment week

• All children from Year 1 on will be able to show us their tennis skills from Monday 27 - Friday 31 August 2018.

• It is important to understand that all children will be put into a squad, the assessment week will allow us to assess the level most beneficial to them.

For a breakdown of assessment times and locations please see the timetable below.

How to Register

• If your child is at our Primary campus you will have received an email to register your interest as part of our wider primary sports programme.

• If your child is at our High school campus your child can register their interest at the sports sign up fair on Tuesday Lunchtime in the Sports Hall.

• If you have any questions please email: pair.ch@standrews.ac.th or adam.cu@standrews.ac.th

Squad Sign Up Process

• All parents will receive an email communication by Friday 31 August.

• This will inform them of their child’s squad and give individualised detailed information.

• Sign ups will be open from 9:00 a.m. on Saturday 1 September to 9.00 p.m. on Tuesday 4 September.

• All tennis sessions will be priced at ฿300 per session and charged on a termly basis.

• Spaces in some squads will be limited therefore the sign up process will be a first come first served basis.

Parent Tennis

We are pleased to be able to extend tennis to our parent ECA programme. Sessions will be free of charge and you can sign up using your parent Moodle account. Term 1 sessions will be organised as follows:

Tennis Xpress
Where: STA High School Blue Area
When: Wednesday 8.00 - 9.00 a.m.
Who: Beginner Level (Max 5 players)
What: Tennis Xpress is an easy, active and fun tennis programme for adults. The main focus is to introduce beginner adult players to tennis using the slower balls on a full size tennis court. The programme helps beginners to serve, rally and score (play the game) from the first session. All adults will know the basic techniques, tactics, rules of tennis and will be able to play points on a full court.

TGIF Tennis League
Where: STA High School Blue Area
When: Thursday 7:30 a.m. - 9.00 a.m.
Who: Beginner/Intermediate Level (Max 6 players)
What: Early morning tennis match play for adults from beginner up to intermediate level. The league will provide a fun and friendly format organized by the coaches.

• Introduction to match play. Players will learn the correct court positions, scoring of games, rules of the game and some tactics for Singles and Doubles.

• Singles/doubles/mixed doubles format.

• Coaches provide tennis tips during the match plays.

• Tennis balls are provided and courts organized by the coach.

Nord Anglia Games (NAE Games)

The NAE Games is a 2-day sports tournament, held in late November, involving NAE Schools across South East Asia. The Games have been running for the last 2 years, with STA hosting the Games last year. It is a great tournament involving 1 day of teeball and 1 day of basketball. Twenty four children are selected (12 girls and 12 boys from Years 5 & 6). This year we will fly to Cambodia and look forward to getting the team ready to produce our usual high standards of performance. If your child is selected for the Games then the training will be the following during Term 1 only:

Teeball

• Wednesday, this session is optional as we are aware that children want to do other ECA’s (STA sports field) and Friday (Arsenal training facility) - 2.45 - 4.15pm

Basketball

• Monday - Girls 2.45 - 4.15 p.m.

• Thursday - Boys 2.45 - 4.15 p.m.

The 24 children will be selected from how well they do at either the basketball or teeball trials. Children must all play teeball but not everyone has to play basketball. In previous years we have had teeball specialists who just want to come to play teeball.

Trial Dates

We have completed a number of trials and have a full week of trials coming up. Emails will be sent to all children’s parents who attended the trials to let them know of the result. Please be patient as some of the decisions are not easy to make. We have had an amazing response to sign ups with over 350 children signing up and over 650 squad places. The remaining trial list is below. If you have any questions or would like to have your child participate in the squads please email me.

All trials are from 2.45 until 4.15 p.m. unless otherwise stated. For your information, the U11 category encompasses students from Years 5 & 6 (other than tennis which includes Years 4, 5 & 6) and te U9 category includes children from Years 3 & 4.

Football - Field

• 6 September – Y1/2 boys

Dates for your diary

We have some major sports competitions coming up in the first term of the new academic year. Please keep the following in your diary.

• 29 September - U11/U9 Football @ Shrewsbury

• 30 September - Tiger Prawn Swim Meet

• 30 September - BISAC Cross Country

• 13 October - Patana Friendly Swim Meet

• 3 November - BISAC U11 Basketball

• 9 November - Athletics @ Shrewsbury

• 10/11 November - ISB Swimfest

• 17 November - Marlins Swim Champs

• 18 November - U11/U9 Harrow Cup

• 22-25 November - BISP Soccer 7s U9 Boys, U11 Boys and Girls

• 29 November - 2 December - NAE Games

• I December - Gymnastics Bambi Games

• 8 December - Gymnastics Junior ISB

Here is a small selection of fun videos from last year for you to enjoy and remember what a fantastic year of sport we had:

• Primary School Week in Review video.

• KS2 Dance Performance video.

• NAE Games video.

• FOBISIA Primary Games video.

If you any questions about Primary sport you can either email Mr Damon (damon.se@standrews.ac.th) our Head of Primary PE or book an appointment to speak to him about the opportunities your child’s/children’s will have at STA.