Key Stage 2: Swiftly becoming more technologically savvy

Coding with Apple

Today, Mr Jose took along a group of 17 students made up of our digital experts and some students who won a coding competition to Apple’s flagship store at IconSiam to take part in a Learn to Code session. The children were given an introduction to Apple’s coding language - Swift. The children worked their way through a series of challenges to use code to move a character around a number of obstacles. They then moved on to programming a dancing robot.

Air Purifiers and the monitoring of air quality

Unfortunately, we are now moving into the time of the winter haze in Thailand. The air quality in Bangkok has visibly been poor, particularly last week. As a school, we have already taken steps to help improve the air quality within the school buildings with the purchase of 100 air purifiers earlier in the school year. We are currently seeking solutions for the larger spaces and are waiting on delivery of the largest version of the Xiaomi air purifiers. Each morning the air purifiers are placed on a boost to help quickly improve the air quality in the classrooms and shared areas. We have also requested that all external doors are kept closed to keep the clean air in.

On a daily basis, we monitor the air quality on campus using air visual monitors and make decisions on outdoor activity using these readings along with our Air Quality Policy. 

ECAs are not generally cancelled if the AQI is under 200, as we would need to make this decision by 1 pm in order to inform providers and rearrange buses. Often the conditions will improve in between 1 pm and 2.30 pm. If the AQI is in the Red Zone, where we cannot find large indoor spaces for sports activities, all providers will make activities less intensive and take more breaks. If the AQI spikes to 200 at 2.30 pm we will inform parents that the ECAs are cancelled.

Hacking Challenge

Hacking is a long-standing tradition at MIT and an integral part of its culture. It can be defined as the implementation of harmless pranks, tricks and creative inventions that demonstrate ingenuity and cleverness! Over the holidays, lots of primary pupils found ingenious ways to hack items destined for the bin and turn them into something new. Linked to Unicef’s Global Development Goals, this challenge explored goal 12 ‘responsible consumption and production’. 

Pupils were encouraged to consider the items they consume and how they could:

• reduce the consumption of these items;

• reuse these items in your household;

• recycle these items and/or generate a new purpose for their function

The student’s work is displayed outside the office - please take a look but be careful, the children have worked very hard on their projects and we wouldn’t them to get lost or broken.

Here is a selection:

If your child is inspired to create something please take a picture of it or come and show STEAM Miss Sarah (6C) in the Year 6 quad.

Reports and Parent Consultations

Parent Consultations start tomorrow and continues next Tuesday. It’s not too late to sign up for these using the links below.. Tuesday 14th and Tuesday 21st January. Please use the links below to request a time.

• Year 3 Consultation time request
• Year 4 Consultation time request
• Year 5 Consultation time request
• Year 6 Consultation time request

The teachers will allocate times on a first come first-served basis. You can use the links below to check the confirmed appointments. Please note that EAL and learning support group times will be shared separately.

• Year 3 Confirmed Appointments
• Year 4 Confirmed Appointments
• Year 5 Confirmed Appointments
• Year 6 Confirmed Appointments

NAE Parent Satisfaction Survey 2019-20

Before the holidays, you should have all received the link to this year’s NAE, St Andrews International School Bangkok Parent Satisfaction Survey. Your feedback is important as helps us to provide the best possible experiences for your children. 

Please note that parents need to complete the survey once. The survey is designed to capture feedback on a per-family basis, but if both parents take the survey this is also fine. 

The closing date is Friday 31st January 2020.

Upcoming events 

• Parent Consultations - Tuesday 14th and Tuesday 21st January

• Moodle & Seesaw Training Session in Library - Wednesday, 15 January (8:00-8:30am)

• Y3 Thai Parent Consultations - Wednesday 15th January

• Y4 Thai Parent Consultations - Monday 20th January

• Y5 Thai Parent Consultations - Tuesday 21st January

• Y6 Thai Parent Consultations - Wednesday 22nd January

• Lion Dance for Chinese New Year - Friday 24th January

• INSET Day (School Closed) - Monday 27th January

• Year 3 Residential - iCamp - Wednesday 5th - Friday 7th February

• Last day of the half-term - Friday 7th February

• First day of T1.2 - Monday 17th February