STMARKS NEWSLETTER 12 (24 APRIL 2023)

COVID-19 PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES

We are writing to inform you that due to the foreseen increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring countries, as well as in Thailand, students will now be required to perform ATK test every Monday morning, starting this Monday, 24 April. Students are to submit their ATK test slab to the school nurse upon entry to the school premise every Monday morning. This decision has been made after careful consideration of the current situation and consultation with the relevant health authorities.

Early Years students (Kindergarten, Pre-Prep and Prep) will continue to have their snacks and lunch in their classrooms.

We would like to remind everyone that, it is important to practice good hygiene habits such as washing hands regularly and informing the school about your child(ren) well-being, especially if they have flu-like symptoms such as coughs and fever.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and make any necessary adjustments to our policies and procedures in response to changing conditions.

PHOTO-TAKING AT SCHOOL

We would like to inform parents that our annual photo-taking session for all of our students has been scheduled for the following dates:

Wednesday, 26 April – Individual photos and class photos of students

Thursday, 27 April – Whole school photos, Individual photos re-take

On the days mentioned above, we ask that all Early Years students to wear their white polo shirts while all other students wear their regular white student uniforms to school.  Students who have P.E. on those days may bring their P.E. uniforms to change for their P.E. class. 

ISA RESULTS 2023

We are thrilled to share some exciting news with you regarding our students' recent performance in the International Schools Assessment (ISA). The ISA is a prestigious, internationally recognized evaluation that measures student achievement in core subjects like Math, English, and Science.

Our students performed exceptionally well in this year's ISA, with many achieving exemplary results that exceeded national and international averages. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, as well as the expertise and commitment of our teaching staff.

We are particularly proud of our students' results in Math, where they demonstrated a deep understanding of mathematical concepts and showed exceptional problem-solving skills. Additionally, our students' performance in English and Science was equally impressive, with many demonstrating excellent reading comprehension and scientific inquiry skills.

We believe that our school's commitment to providing a well-rounded education that focuses on academic rigor, critical thinking, and social-emotional learning has played a significant role in our students' success. We are dedicated to continuing this approach and providing our students with the tools and resources they need to thrive academically and personally.

We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all our students for their hard work and exceptional performance in the ISA. We also thank our teachers, staff, and parents for their unwavering support, which has been instrumental in making this achievement possible.

We look forward to building on this success and continuing to provide our students with the best possible education.

SECRET PHRASE TO TURN YOUR KID INTO AN AMAZING STUDENT

Fixed versus Growth Mindset

Children who have a fixed mindset believe that you are as smart as you’ll ever be. You can’t change how smart you are, no matter how hard you try. And you can’t change your personality or how creative you are. 

But children with a growth mindset believe that if you work hard, you can become smarter. These kids thrive on challenges. Whereas fixed-mindset kids see failure as evidence of not being smart, growth-mindset kids see failure as an opportunity for growth. In fact, they don’t even see it as a failure. They see it as LEARNING.

Can you take guess which kids are most successful in school and in their careers later in life? Which kids have the greatest capacity for happiness?

More than 20 years of research show that the key to success in school and life is having a growth mindset. In other words, if you believe that trying hard will make you smarter, it will.

However, if you believe that nothing you do will change how smart you are, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. What’s more, these fixed-mindset kids don’t enjoy the learning process. Their mindset even drives them to lie about their school performance in order to maintain the perception that they are smart. They simply can’t handle mistakes.

“In one world, effort is a bad thing. It, like failure, means you’re not smart or talented. If you were, you wouldn’t need effort.

In the other world, effort is what makes you smart or talented.”

In the Words of a Genius

This idea may be hard to accept. The whole concept goes against what a lot of us have believed our whole lives. Myself included.

I’ve always thought: You’re either smart, or you’re not.

In the words of Ron White: “You can’t fix stupid.”

But here’s what another famous person had to say on the subject:

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein

“This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way – in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments – everyone can change and grow through application and experience.

Do people with this mindset believe that anyone can be anything, that anyone with proper motivation or education can become Einstein or Beethoven? No, but they believe that a person’s true potential is unknown (and unknowable); that it’s impossible to foresee what can be accomplished with years of passion, toil, and training.”

Here’s What We’re Doing Wrong

Have you ever told your kid they’re smart? I sure have.

But we need to stop, and here’s why.

Telling your child “You’re smart” is playing right into the fixed mindset.

In just one of the many studies that show what happens when you praise your child by saying they’re smart, the researchers studied fifth-grade students:

The researchers would take a single child out of the classroom for a nonverbal IQ test consisting of a series of puzzles – puzzles easy enough that all the children would do fairly well. Once the child finished the test, the researchers told each student his score, then gave him a single line of praise. Randomly divided into groups, some were praised for their intelligence. They were told, “You must be smart at this.” Other students were praised for their effort: “You must have worked really hard.”…

Then the students were given a choice of test for the second round. One choice was a test that would be more difficult than the first, but the researchers told the kids that they’d learn a lot from attempting the puzzles. The other choice…was an easy test, just like the first. Of those praised for their effort, 90 percent chose the harder set of puzzles. Of those praised for their intelligence, a majority chose the easy test. The “smart” kids took the cop-out.

But why?

“When we praise children for their intelligence,” [researcher Carol Dweck] wrote in her study summary, “we tell them that this is the name of the game: Look smart, don’t risk making mistakes.” And that’s what the fifth-graders had done: They’d chosen to look smart and avoid the risk of being embarrassed.

In a subsequent round, none of the fifth-graders had a choice. The test was difficult, designed for kids two years ahead of their grade level. Predictably, everyone failed. But again, the two groups of children, divided at random at the study’s start, responded differently. Those praised for their effort on the first test assumed they simply hadn’t focused hard enough on this test. “They got very involved, willing to try every solution to the puzzles,” Dweck recalled. “Many of them remarked, unprovoked, ‘This is my favorite test.’?” Not so for those praised for their smarts. They assumed their failure was evidence that they weren’t really smart at all. “Just watching them, you could see the strain. They were sweating and miserable.”

Having artificially induced a round of failure, Dweck’s researchers then gave all the fifth-graders a final round of tests that were engineered to be as easy as the first round. Those who had been praised for their effort significantly improved on their first score – by about 30 percent. Those who’d been told they were smart did worse than they had at the very beginning – by about 20 percent.

Telling your kid they’re smart stresses them out. It shifts their focus to getting and keeping that label of “smart.”

And when they’re focused on labels instead of learning, they don’t learn as well, they don’t enjoy the learning process, and they actually do worse on their schoolwork because of it.

Okay, Okay! Tell Me What to Do Instead!

If you’re like me, after reading this you’re all “Wait, whaaa? Not tell my kid they’re smart? That’s just MEAN!”

And yes, you may feel like a meanie at first.

But the secret to turning your child into an awesome student and setting them up for a life of success is to praise their effort, not the outcome.

Every time you feel the urge to say “Wow, you’re so smart” or “You’re really good at math,” say this magic phrase instead:

“You worked really hard.”

That’s all.

Just comment on how much effort your kid put into what they’re doing. Add a “Wow” at the front if you want to kick it up a notch. (But if you start to feel like a robot always saying that one phrase, you can keep your encouragement fresh with some encouraging phrases. 

Over time, your child will learn that it’s okay to struggle. That it’s okay to make mistakes and learn from them. And even better, they’ll learn that it’s fun to challenge yourself to learn new things.

By: Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator

PRE-PREP SCIENCE: MUNG BEAN PLANTING

Our Pre-Prep class has been actively engaged in a fun and interactive science activity - planting mung beans in their class!

Our young learners have been learning about the different parts of a plant and their functions, the process of germination, and the important role of plants in our ecosystem. As a part of this learning journey, our teachers decided to give our students hands-on experience by providing them with mung bean seeds to plant and observe their growth.

Our students were overjoyed with excitement as they carefully prepared the soil, planted the seeds, and watered them regularly. They were amazed to see how the seeds transformed into little seedlings and eventually grew into healthy plants. Through this activity, our students learned about the importance of taking care of the environment, the patience required for the growth process, and the joy of watching their hard work come to fruition.

PREP THAI: SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Our Prep class has made significant progress in learning and understanding sentence structure during their Thai class.

Students focused on the basics of constructing a sentence structure, specifically the order of subject, verb, and object. They also discussed the importance of this order and how it can affect the meaning of the sentence.  Students also explored the use of adjectives and adverbs in Thai sentences and their placement in relation to the subject and verb.

To reinforce their learning, our teacher conducted several activities involving the arranging of sentences in the correct order. These activities helped students to apply their knowledge of sentence structure in a practical way, and they were able to see how their understanding of the subject, verb, and object order can affect the meaning of a sentence.

YEAR 2 MATHS: TELLING TIME

Year 2 students have been learning about time, specifically how to tell time using analog clocks.

They started the lessons by reviewing the parts of a clock and the different ways in which they can measure time, such as hours, minutes, and seconds. Students then learned how to read and write the time on analog clocks, focusing on both the hour hand and the minute hand.

To further enhance their understanding, they practiced identifying the number of minutes and seconds in a given hour. They learned how to convert minutes to seconds and vice versa, and how to express time using both digital and analog clocks.

They also had fun participating in various activities which helped them to consolidate their learnin

YEAR 4 SCIENCE: EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION OF SOLIDS

Last week, the Year 4 class has been learning about the expansion and contraction of solids, which is a fascinating topic in science. During the lesson, students explored the concept of thermal expansion, which refers to the increase in size of a material when it is heated. Students learned that all materials expand when they are heated, but the degree of expansion depends on the material's property and the amount of temperature change.

To illustrate this concept, the teacher conducted a simple experiment in which they heated a metal rod and measured its length as it expanded. They also discussed the real-world applications of thermal expansion, such as the design of bridges and buildings to account for temperature changes.

In addition to thermal expansion, they also discussed the phenomenon of contraction, which occurs when a material is cooled. Students learned that the particles in a material move closely together and more slowly when cooled, causing it to contract or shrink in size.

Overall, our students have gained a deep understanding on the expansion and contraction of solids.

YEAR 9 MATHS: TRANSFORMATIONAL GEOMETRY (TRANSLATION)

Recently our Year 9 students explored the concept of transformational geometry, specifically on translations.

Translations are a type of transformation in which an object is moved from one location to another without being altered in any other way. In Maths, translations are important because they allow us to explore how shapes and objects move in space, which is a key concept in geometry.

During the discussion, they have been exploring how translations work, and how the concept can be used to move objects around a graph. Additionally, students were also given opportunities to find the point coordinates of a given translation.

STUDENTS' SHOWCASE #3 (21 APRIL)

PREP SHOWCASE: THAI MUSIC

We are delighted to inform you about the outstanding performance of our Prep class in Thai music during the Student Showcase last week. The students put on a spectacular show, displaying their remarkable skills and talents.

Our Prep class students have been learning Thai music in their music classes, and their hard work and dedication were evident in their performance. The students' ability to perform as a group was remarkable and their synchronisation was perfect.

During the performance, the students demonstrated excellent technique and a deep understanding of the music they were playing. Their passion for music was clear, and they performed with such enthusiasm and joy.

It was wonderful to see our Prep class students embrace Thai culture through music and to showcase their talents to the wider school community. We are extremely proud of their performance and grateful for the support and encouragement they received from their music teacher.

We would like to extend our appreciation to all the parents and guardians who attended the showcase to support our students. We hope that you enjoyed the performance as much as we did and that it was a memorable experience for you.

YEAR 2 SHOWCASE: A PLAY - "THE PICKY PRINCESS"

Last Friday during our Students' Showcase, there was a wonderful participation of our Year 2 students in the English play called "The Picky Princess". The play was a resounding success, and we are extremely proud of our students' performance.

The Year 2 students worked hard in their English classes to learn the script and perfect their roles. They showed great dedication and enthusiasm in rehearsals, and it was a joy to see them come together as a team and bring the play to life.

During the performance, the students displayed exceptional acting skills and confidence on stage. They delivered their lines with clarity and expression, and their gestures and movements were well-timed and engaging. It was evident that they had put in a lot of effort and practice to ensure that the play was a success.

The play "The Picky Princess" was an entertaining and engaging story that taught valuable lessons about kindness and acceptance. Our Year 2 students did an excellent job of conveying these messages through their performance, and the audience was captivated throughout the play.

Once again, congratulations to our Year 2 students on a fantastic performance in "The Picky Princess." We are extremely proud of their hard work and dedication, and we look forward to seeing them continue to grow and excel in their studies.