STMARKS NEWSLETTER 7 (23 SEPTEMBER 2022)

SRINAKARIN CAMPUS – IMPORTANT SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT MEETING

The next academic year in August 2023 will mark our 24^th anniversary of school operation, a new milestone for St. Mark’s, as our Primary and Secondary students will be moving to our new campus on the main Srinakarin Road.  The campus will comprise a state-of-the-art 8-storey building, equipped with underground carpark, school café, parents’ waiting room, multi-purpose exam hall/indoor gym, 2 large 60-seater computer labs, a movie theatre, 8 music rooms, 3 modern science laboratories, bright and modern 480 square-metre library, a 230-seater auditorium, stair garden, soccer field, running track, large indoor multi-function sports hall (for basketball, volleyball, badminton).  

Currently, construction is on target and the main building structure plus the indoor gymnasium are now completed.   It is anticipated that the building will be fully operational by June 2023, ready for our commencement in August 2023.

St. Mark’s is the only school in Thailand to be licensed and accredited by the Government of Western Australia to deliver the WACE (Western Australian Certificate of Education) for our senior high school.  We are the first international school in Thailand to offer an Australian-Singaporean based curriculum since our inception in 1999, and today we are the only government-approved school in Thailand to provide Australian education, offering study programs which span from early years to secondary. Our educational journey has been extensive as we continue to provide a quality international program for the local and international community of Bangkok.  During the course of 24 years, we have grown gradually, yet confidently. 

In celebrating our 24^th Anniversary this August 2023, the time has arrived to take another significant step forward in securing the future for our young.  The management of St. Mark’s is pleased to officially announce our plan to move our Primary and Secondary students to our Second Campus on Srinakarin Road, commencing August 2023.  

On this note, we would like to invite all parents of Kindergarten to Year 10 for an information session on this important milestone and how parents can be a part of this plan in securing your child/children’s future with a quality education at St. Mark’s.  The school has proposed 3 sessions for this meeting and parents are free to choose to attend just one of the meeting sessions below:

Monday, October 3                        8.30 - 9.45 am

Tuesday, October 4                        8.30 - 9.45 am

Thursday, October 6                        8.30 - 9.45 am

In this meeting, parents will be given general information regarding campus location, facilities, timeline in the transitioning process of moving our students, logistic plan between the 2 schools, or accreditation and partnership with Western Australian Government and Cambridge Assessment International Education, where we will be the official examination centre for both the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank), as well as the Cambridge IGCSE program.  In addition, we will be discussing on the financial options that we will be offering to significantly provide a cost-saving option for students studying at St. Mark’s.  

Please join us in ensuring the future of St. Mark’s International School in this next important stage of our school history by registering your attendance through the following link: Meeting Registration

We look forward to meeting with you and answering any queries you may have with regard to our new campus at this meeting.   

COVID-19 UPDATE

The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration has announced a series of measures in line with the reclassification of COVID-19 as an “infectious disease under watch”, as Thailand officially moves into a post-pandemic era from Friday, 1 October.  Starting from Monday, 3 October, students will be expected to conduct ATK test twice per week – every Monday and Thursday.

PARENT - STUDENT HANDBOOK

We would like to draw your attention to our Parent and Students Handbook. It is recommended that parents read the details in this important document to understand the expectation and procedures that our school follows.  For your information, this handbook can also be found in the school's SZapp App. 

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO COME TO SCHOOL ON TIME

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

In order to make our school environment more conducive to learning and to reduce distraction and potential loss of property, our school does not permit students to bring mobile phones, tablets, laptops, or any other display device into the area beyond the security point in the Parents Waiting Room. It's the student's responsibility to ensure that between the period from 8:00 am to 3:10 pm, mobile devices are kept in their bags.  If a student is found in violation of these restrictions by using such items in the classroom, such items will be confiscated until the end of that week. For subsequent offences, the items will be held in school for a longer period.

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

We are delighted to announce the following students who received our Award of Excellence in Effort and Punctuality this week.

As a way of acknowledging our students' achievements, students will be given a special "Award of Excellence Breakfast" on Friday, 30 September.

Benyaporn - Year 4 (Effort -  Completing Assigned Work)

Rachata - Year 4 (Effort -  Completing Assigned Work)

Nira - Year 7 (Punctuality)

Punn - Year 7 (Punctuality)

Kanchnipith - Year 7 (Punctuality)

KINDERGARTEN PHYSICAL EDUCATION: SIMPLE BALANCE EXERCISES

Learning to balance is a very important skill for young children.  In this physical education activity, our teacher gave an example on how to walk and balance while walking along the plank and putting the ball into the basket.  Later students took turns walking and practicing their balancing skills.

Students worked in pairs, each holding a ball, crossing a single-plank bridge, and then dropping the ball into a plastic bucket. This is a fun and rewarding activity that allows students to practice their balance and muscle control in their limbs.

PRE-PREP ENGLISH: RECOGNISING OWN NAMES

To be able to recognise one's own name is an important skill that every student learns in the Pre-Prep curriculum. 

In this seemingly simple process, students begin to gradually become familiar with their own names in English and how to spell them.  By using phonetic skills to combine the letters to make meaningful sounds and memorising the sequences of the alphabet, students learn to recognise their own names. In addition, students were given the opportunity to practice their eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills in using the scissors.    

YEAR 3 ENGLISH: SHOW AND TELL

“Show and Tell” provides young children the opportunity to stand up and speak in front of a small group, which is a wonderful introduction to public speaking. It allows the children to speak about something they know and are interested in, hence building their confidence in a safe and familiar environment. Children will also become more comfortable contributing in class and asking questions.

Being part of a “Show and tell” audience is also an important part of learning. The audience learns to be respectful by listening closely to someone other than their teacher. As a result, they learn to consider their own ideas, think of questions about the topic and raise their hand to ask questions in a well-mannered way.

YEAR 5 SCIENCE: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ANIMAL CELLS & PLANT CELLS

During this week's Year 5 Science class, students used microscopes to observe the structure of their own skin cells, in order to learn the differences between animal cells and plant cells. 

Our students applied red food colouring to their hands, and after the pigments had dried, they used tape to stick the coloured area, and then attached it to microscope slides.

Under the guidance of our teacher, students observed samples of skin cells on the glass slides, after which our teacher explained the basic structural differences between animal cells and plant cells.

We believe a hands-on activity such as this one will enable students to remember what they have learnt for a long period of time.

YEAR 10 MANDARIN

Our rigorous Mandarin program ensures that by the time students progress to secondary, their Mandarin proficiency is at a high standard.  Our secondary program focuses on reading, comprehension, and writing Chinese at a comprehensive level.

In this week's Y10 Mandarin class, our teacher asked students to role-play the roles in the text, completing a conversation about climate. In the process, they became familiar with the phrases commonly used when discussing climate.

Students were asked to read an article in their textbook, while our teacher guided them to understand the new words that appeared in the text while inferring what they had learned before.  This approach helps reinforce students to remember new vocabulary, as well as revising on the words learnt previously. 

Finally, the teacher asked our students to practice writing the new Chinese characters they have just learnt on the whiteboard, ensuring that all the strokes were correctly written.