FS1 family playdates, adventures to Ocean World and Eco-Beasts make compost!

Foundation Stage families experience the wonders and joys of our FS1 classrooms. Year 6 students write about their adventures at Siam Ocean World. The environmental Eco-Beasts turn food scraps into magical soil, learning about composting. Finally, our Speech and Language Therapist, Ms Niamh, puts on a Makaton masterclass for parents.

Parents getting familiar with the classroom 

Over the last few weeks, Foundation Stage teachers have been inviting students and their parents into the school to come and play in the FS1 classroom. These afternoons support the students in coming to school for the first time by familiarising a setting for them. It gives the teachers an opportunity to meet parents and talk to them about their child ahead of them starting school next academic year. It was wonderful to see so many new students come in and play. 

Year 6 venture to Siam Ocean World

A few of the Year 6 students have written about their experience at Siam Ocean World. You can read all about it below:

The trip to the ocean world was amazing! We saw so many animals and took many pictures of them. There were penguins, otters, sharks and there was even a swordfish, which is the only one in Thailand!

Our field trip to ocean world was unbelievable and beyond fascinating! It was so cool and exciting! On our way to Ocean World in the boys’ bus, we couldn’t stop talking about the ocean world and what amazing creatures they had there. We literally were so excited! As soon as we arrived, we were split into 2 groups, group one and group two.

Thynith 6M 

The otters were so cute!! There was also a miniature underwater city! It was so cool. One of my favourite animals there were the penguins. They even started to spread their wings in front of us, it was so funny and amazing .

Arnav Y6

Our trip to Sea Life is the definition of incredible! Memories were made, pictures were taken, there was no doubt that it was awesome!

On our way to Sea Life, we couldn’t stop chattering about the breathtaking sea creatures we would encounter at the aquarium. As we bustled our way through the entrance, we spotted tanks of vibrant, iridescent fish that varied in different sizes and patterns. Everyone was crowding around one tank to another trying to snap some decent shots. There were miscellaneous types of aquatic animals such as: seahorses, sea turtles, sharks, octopus, crabs, starfish, stingrays, jellyfish, as well as other animals that were related to rivers and rainforests. 

As we made our way through the tanks of cool sea creatures, there were guides to tell us specific facts about each species of animal. Did you know that the biggest clownfish is the only female in its whole school? The only thing that held us from being sharks’ lunch was the glass floor underneath our feet. There were glass tunnels too, holding schools of fish, swordfish, zebra sharks and turtles. I was awed by the various snakes and poisoned dart frogs and their vibrant colours. The baby otters were the main attraction: no one could take their eyes off them as we watched them twirl and play! The penguins were hilarious as they jumped and slid into the water. There was even a station where you could touch shark eggs and huge leathery starfish. 

All in all, Sea Life was a great experience for everyone to enjoy. 

Maya Y6R

Eco-Beasts learn about composting

In the Eco-Beasts club last week Mr Ewen was teaching his students about the benefits of composting. Taking all those food scraps and using them instead of putting them in the bin, reduces the amount of food waste that gets added to the landfill and can cause methane to harm the atmosphere. The compost that is made is rich in nutrients and helps the plant grow!

The students ate fruit, received food scraps from STEPS cafe and took the leftover food scraps from Year 2 to make their mini compost pots that, when ready, will be used to pout in plants around the school.

Makaton masterclasses for Parents

Parents got together last week to learn new and functional makaton signs to use at home with their children. Makaton is a language programme which uses signs and speech to support communication. The session was led by one of our school Speech and Language therapists, Ms Niamh who invited parents in our STARs programme whose children use makaton to communicate. By the end of the term the parents will have learnt 80 signs which they made a great start to learning in their first session this week. We look forward to educating and sharing signs with parents to allow our children in STARs to express their needs and communicate with their family members and peers.

Fun opportunity for STA students

STA is doing Taskmaster! Get your thinking caps on and try to impress. Your challenge sounds simple; It is to throw a tea bag into a cup. How far can you do it from? What creative ways will you think of to ensure that your tea bag makes it into the cup? Make a short video to show us how you have done it. You are encouraged to think creatively and use other items to help you. The winner will be the most impressive throw, so distance is not everything. There are two steps to submitting your entry. 

More details here.

First, submit your video to Global Campus. (Email Mrs Katie if you need any help doing this katie.od@standrews.ac.th)

Then email your video to Mr James for judging. (james.th@standrews.ac.th)

Good luck, we can't wait to see your creative and inventive entries!

Ms Katie, Mr Richard and Mr James