ST. MARK'S INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL eNewsletter

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: ONLINE LEARNING (16 – 18 NOVEMBER)

With the recent announcement from the government that all schools in Bangkok are to close during the APEC meeting, St. Mark’s will comply with this instruction. Hence, online learning will be carried out for those days and the details are as follow:

Online lessons for Kinder – Year 9, from Wednesday, 16 November to Friday, 18 November.
Online lessons for Year 10, from Wednesday, 16 November to Thursday 17 November.

We will send parents the online links for lessons and timetables shortly.

STUDENT SHOWCASE: YEARS 5 - 10

Our program, the Student Showcase, aims to provide an opportunity for parents to experience what our students have been learning in school across different levels. It also provides a venue for our students to demonstrate their capabilities and presentation skills. By getting involved with the Showcase presentation, our students learn to develop their soft skills, which are increasingly essential skills for the 21^st century.

The upcoming Showcase for students in Year 5 to Year 10 will be held on Friday, 11 November from 3.30 pm to around 5.00 pm.

Parents of the performing students in the Showcase are strongly encouraged to be present at our Showcase, to support your child during his/her performance. At the same time, other parents who wish to attend the Showcase are also welcome. Please note that not every student will be performing in the Showcase, but every student will have their turn in at least one of the Showcases.

Please see below for detail of our Showcase Itinerary

Parents of the performing students for this Showcase are strongly encouraged to be present at the Showcase to give support to your child. At the same time, other parents who wish to attend the Showcase are also welcome. Please note that not every student will be performing in the Showcase, but every student will have their turn in at least one of the Showcases.

SCOUT CAMP 2022: YEARS 1-5 CAMP AT NONGNOOCH, PATTAYA

St. Mark's annual Scout Week is designed to give students the opportunity to participate in different hands-on activities that foster the development of their physical and teamwork abilities as well as helping them build the skill of self-dependency. This is a regular part of our school curriculum and all students are required to participate. Below are details concerning this year's Scout Week. If you have any questions about these details, please feel free to contact the School Office or visit the Nongnooch Camp's website ( https://www.nongnoochpattaya.com ) for more specific information. The cost of this scout camp, inclusive of transportation, food, accommodation, and admission fees to all the activities will be 1,800 Baht.

Day 1: Trip to Nongnooch Camp (Tuesday, 6 December)

On 6 December, students are expected to arrive at school by 7:30 am and our bus will be leaving at 7.45 am for the trip to Nongnooch, Pattaya in Chonburi province. They are expected to wear their colored sports uniforms and sports shoes for the trip. Please have your child arrive at school on time to ensure a timely departure. On arrival at the camp site, students will be briefed on their groups and the rules of the camp, followed by lunch and afternoon team-building activities. After dinner we will have group activities followed by a campfire.

Day 2: Return Trip to School (Wednesday, 7 December)

On Wednesday, students will participate in additional activities at Nongnooch Garden prior to lunch and return to the school by about 3:30 pm. Those who ride the school bus will be sent home at this time on the regularly-scheduled school buses.

Day 3: Activities at School (Wednesday, 8 December)

On 8 December, students will participate in various team-building and character-building activities at school from 8:00 am to 3:10 pm.

IMPORTANT DETAILS

NO PHONES, ELECTRONIC GAMES or IPADS. If students wish to bring their own cameras, they must be responsible for their own, as the School cannot take the responsibility for any lost item during the Scout Camp.
All children will be in a group and supervised at all times. However, please stress to your child the importance of staying with the group and following instructions.
Please make sure any medication your child might need is given to Ms. Ivory, (our School Nurse) before the camp. Please also notify her if you have concerns related to your child's food or health restrictions.
Please make sure all clothes and bags are labeled with students' names to help us avoid lost items.
Students will be sleeping in tents in groups of three. Camping grounds for boys and girls are near to each other but will be separated by the teachers' camps. They will use separate showers.

Our teachers will take turns being on duty during the night hours to ensure safety.

PACKING LIST

Wash kit: toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo, comb/hair brush and a towel.
Sleeping clothes
Swimming clothes
Two changes of clothes including: t-shirts, shorts, undergarments, sock
Sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows are provided but you may bring your own
Mosquito spray or cream
Sunscreen
Flip flop shoes
Hat (optional)

SCOUT CAMP 2022: YEARS 6-12 SUAN PHUENG, RATCHABURI

St. Mark’s annual Scout Camp is designed to give students the opportunity to participate in different hands-on activities that foster the development of their physical and teamwork abilities, as well as helping them build the skill of self-dependency. This is a regular part of our school curriculum and all students are required to participate. Below are the details concerning this year’s Scout Camp.

The venue for this year’s scout camp will be at Suan Phueng in Ratchaburi province, where Nava Church has offered us to use their accommodation facilities during our stay in Ratchaburi. The cost of this 3-day and 2-night scout camp activity, inclusive of transportation, food, accommodation, admission fees to all the activities will be 2,400 Baht.

Day 1 (Trip to Suan Phueng)

Students should dress in their sports uniform and sports shoes. They must arrive at school by 7:30 am on Tuesday, 6 December since the buses will be leaving at 8:00 am. If your child is not here at that time the bus is unable to wait for them. We will stop at a restaurant in Suan Phueng for lunch (students to pay for their own lunch) before heading to Nava Church. On arrival at Nava Church, students will be briefed on their accommodation arrangements and they will get ready to go to Namtok Kao Chan waterfall for water activities. After that, students will return to Nava Church to have dinner, follow by a short talk about the History of the KAREN people and team-building activities before bedtime.

Day 2 (Social Activities)

After having breakfast at Nava Church, we will bring our students to Ban Tha Makham primary school where they will teach English, Maths, and Science to some Karen primary students. Students will spend the whole day doing this community work before returning to Nava Church for dinner. Subsequently, students will participate in Skits activities before going to bed.

Day 3 (Recreational Activities and Return to Bangkok)

We will leave Nava Church after breakfast and will then continue our trip to a hot spring in Suan Pheung. Students will spend some time in the hot spring before heading for lunch at the Scenery Resort, where they will enjoy a set-lunch menu at the resort restaurant. At the resort, students can enjoy a farm tour and watch their interesting show activities. We will leave the Scenery Resort for Bangkok at 1:30 pm and the estimated arrival time at St. Mark’s is around 4:30 pm.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

MOBILE PHONES ALLOWED BUT NO ELECTRONIC GAMES or IPADS. Mobile phones are allowed for photo-taking purposes.

If students wish to bring their own cameras, they must be responsible for their own, as the School cannot take responsibility during the Scout Camp. They are welcome to bring cards and board games.

All children will be in a group and supervised at all times. However, please stress to your child the importance of staying with the group and following instructions

Please make sure all clothes and bags are labeled with student’s names to help us avoid lost items

Students will be sleeping in dorm facilities provided by Nava Church. Boys and girls will sleep in different rooms. They will use separate showers as well.

PACKING LIST

Wash kit: toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo, comb/hair brush and towels
Four changes of clothes including t-shirts and shorts (for swimming), long-sleeved shirts, long trousers, undergarments, warm socks, and jackets
Swimming suits (for hot spring)
Blankets and pillows
Sunscreen and hat
Snacks for the trip
Flip flop shoes
Students will need pocket money of about 1,000 Baht for one lunch and souvenir purchases

KINDER ART CLASS: PAINTING WITH SPONGE

When it comes to sponge painting, it is always a favourite activity to create art, and a perfect activity for young children. Recently our Kindergarten students were given the opportunity to use their free imagination to draw, colour and express themselves through this simple art. The process of painting itself also helps with their eye-hand coordination, an essential part of their motor-skill development.

YEAR 2 SOSE: INTERNATIONAL CURRENCIES

In this week's SOSE class, Year 2 had the opportunity to learn about international currencies. To make the lesson come alive, the students were presented with the banknotes and/or coins of various countries for them to see and touch. In this activity, after the students became more familiar with those currencies, they were able to point out a currency from a specific country. They also examined and identified some features of the currency they were holding. By understanding different currencies, the students would see that different countries have different money. This will help prepare them when they go abroad for a holiday.

YEAR 5 ENGLISH: LETTER WRITING

Our Year Five students have been writing letters during their English classes as they are learning the power of a three-paragraph template. The task was to create a hypothetical company offering some kind of random service or product and then attempt to sell this to the decision-makers in charge of the new Srinakarin Campus.

As you can see the students successfully used some exciting persuasive language as they offered a variety of services and goods including waterproof paper, a private monorail, plush sound-absorbing carpet for the offices, and even a selection of garden gnomes to make the children happy

SAMPLE LETTERS

Year 6 students investigated in their Science class how a spring behaves and the type of force it exerts on objects that compress or stretch. They experimented with the behaviour of a spring as it was stretched in this activity. They conducted thorough observations and obtained results that they compared to their predictions. They also deduced the various uses of spring after their experiment.

YEAR 9 ENGLISH: INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS

Our Year 9 students read up on the IGCSE lesson about inventors and inventions with a listening exercise about James Bond’s gadget master “Q”.
The students had to listen to a conversation between Bond and Q and answer comprehension questions.

STMARKS NEWSLETTER 11 (04 NOVEMBER 2022)