Head's Lines: Red-hot Flames squads scorch the competition! Sports festivals and fixtures aplenty. Primary teachers and students busk their hearts out for their favourite charities. A Thai actor & prominent environmentalist will be sharing his vision with High School for a greener Thailand.

Sports festivals and fixtures aplenty. Primary teachers and students busk their hearts out for their favourite charities. A Thai actor & prominent environmentalist will be sharing his vision with High School for a greener Thailand. 

Last weekend our sports teams were in action both at home and away. There was a BISAC track and field event at which our STA Flames Under 13 and 15 squads competed,  while our U15 Boys and U15 Girls teams took part in an invitational volleyball tournament held at ISB.

We also hosted a Touch Rugby Festival, the first ever U11 Touch Rugby event for schools in Bangkok, and it was both a pleasure and an honour to host it at our High School campus. We invited four other schools - Bangkok Patana, Bangkok Prep, Shrewsbury and Harrow - for an action packed morning led by coaches who made sure all matches were competitive, friendly and fun. The Festival was a great success with over 120 children coming together to enjoy playing rugby. In fact, touch rugby has continued to grow for both U11 and U9 children at STA. Now our teams will work towards preparations for the Bangkok Games in June, where another touch rugby tournament will take place. Thank you to all the staff who supported and organised Saturday’s Touch Rugby Festival, all the children who worked and competed so hard, but also to the parents who came to support the event.

But the weekend’s events didn’t stop there! On Sunday the BISAC varsity girls badminton team competed in a tournament held at Thai Chinese International School. Meanwhile the STA varsity boys teams participated in a badminton tourney held at Bangkok Prep. Special thanks to all our players, coaches and parents who joined these events, as well.

Busking Week

This week we look forward to lots of performances all around the Primary School as Busking Week kicks off. This event celebrates the talents of so many students and staff who are encouraged to perform individually or in groups around the school before school, during break and at lunchtime. In return for their performances, they ask for donations in support of their favourite charities. As in previous years, many of the performances will be musical shows, with no shortage of dance shows also taking centre stage in the Quad at break time.

A Visit from a Thai Star & Prominent Environmentalist

This coming Friday 2nd April, HS students will be directing their Thai literacy skills towards one of the most important global issues: protecting wild and endangered animals in Thailand. Immediately following their learning sessions about this topic, they will attend a presentation from a popular young Thai star and environmentalist, Alex Rendal. He is a great role model to inspire the young generation to make their lives have meaning, as he discusses how he has dedicated his life to activities in support of environmental conservation.

He will be welcomed by our Head of High School, Mr Roo, then interviewed by our student representatives. After the interview, some of our students will share with him their ideas on preserving the environment and how he has inspired them to take up the cause.

Decisions for next academic year
Thank you to those families who have already let their teachers and the school know what their intentions are with regard to next academic year. We appreciate that this may be difficult for some families to know clearly what the future holds at this time. Whatever your plans may be or however uncertain, we ask that you please take the time to complete the questionnaire if you haven’t done so already. Even answering ‘maybe’ to questions about your family’s plans will help our academic team to place children in their classes with their friends for next year and help us plan accordingly for next academic year.

Calendar 2021-22 Change
I know everyone has been following the global pandemic news closely. We all hope that the vaccine roll out across the world will finally bring this crisis to an end. However, travel restrictions remain in place, making it difficult and expensive for us to plan holiday visits back to our home countries. With the vaccination programme in Thailand not yet underway, we know that many people are debating whether returning to their home country is even going to be a viable option at all this year.

In response to comments from parents and staff, we have re-examined our school calendar for next academic year. By reorganising a bunch of single-day holidays on the calendar, we have been able to allow for a four week Christmas holiday at the end of Term 1. This extended break which would give families a second, longer opportunity to return to their home country to be with their families. Hopefully, by December the global vaccination programme will be much further along and travel restrictions will be eased. Rearranging these holidays in the calendar ensures such that no teaching time would be lost. Parents can click here to review this revised Academic Calendar 2021-22 which has Term 1 set to finish on Friday 10th December 2021, and has Term 2 scheduled to start on Monday 10th January 2022.

Please click here to see upcoming dates and holidays in the updated school calendar for the current 2020-2021 academic year. The most important changes to be aware of here is that Tuesday 6th April will now be a school holiday instead of Wednesday, 26th May (Visaka Bucha Day).

For parents with enquiries, please contact support@standrews.ac.th. Or call the Primary School at +66 2 381-2387-8 or the High School at +66 2 056-9555.