29th September 2023
Dear Samakee Community,
Upper school Assembly this week was led by one of our Year 9 students. She is currently working on a sports leaders course each week. The importance of being physically active was the theme on Tuesday. Students were encouraged to get out of their seats and exercise. Well done!
Each week we celebrate individual credit achievers in our Upper School assembly. Students earn credits across all areas of school life and these are recorded in their student planners. Certificates are awarded in assembly.
Our first Swim Meet of the academic year was hosted by Shrewsbury City Campus. This ‘Starfish’ meet was well attended by International schools from across Bangkok. It gave our young Samakee swimmers the opportunity to test their skills and speed in a friendly environment.
All Samakee Stingers achieved Personal Best times across the range of competitive strokes – Well done to all!
We are looking forward to another great event on Saturday 7 October at the Puppy Cup hosted by Bkk Prep Primary.
Teaching and Learning Highlights!
KINDNESS AT SAMAKEE
Kindness starts with small acts. At Samakee, we teach our children that even the tiniest gestures of kindness can have a big impact. Here’s a glimpse of our young ambassadors of goodwill in action!
KEY STAGE 1 FARM
Year 2 has loved using the farm this week! They got stuck in with everything from climbing aboard the boat, being pulled along and fishing objects from the water. They had to be careful not to wobble the boat and used excellent teamwork skills!
YEAR 3 CHOCOLATE MAKING
Year 3 have been learning everything about Chocolate! From its first origins to how it is made and the journey it travels to get to us, we have been exploring many different themes each week. One week we carefully followed a recipe to make our own chocolate in school. We practised our cooking skills and staying safe around kitchen equipment.
SPANISH COOKING
In Y5/6, our non-Thai language students get to have an extra Spanish lesson instead. What better way to improve our vocabulary and cultural knowledge than to do some cooking. We made Torrijas (Spanish- style French Toast). Torrijas have been eaten in Spain as far back as the 17th century, a tradtional dish from the Spanish Holy Week Celebrations. We worked out the key ingredients from our recipe and translated the steps into English. They were very tasty!
EINSTEIN EVENT – BOOK SWAP
For our “Book Swap” Enstien Event in June last term, the remaining books were donated to two schools in Thailand. Banmai School in Nan province (โรงเรียนบ้านใหม่ จังหวัดน่าน) and Marist Asia Foundation in Ranong province (มูลนิธิมาริสท์เอเชีย จังหวัดระนอง); they were happy to receive books in both Thai and English. What a great community event where the children at Samakee, donated to their friends and the wider community. Thanks to everyone Involved.
UPPER SCHOOL VISIBLE LEARNING
Upper School students have been engaged in principles of attack and defense through Invasion Games such as Football, Netball and Basketball. They have been using visible learning tools such as ‘Beat the Teacher Avatar’ to inform feedback and improve performance.
Upcoming Important Events
Samakee Open Day
You are invited to experience teaching and learning at St Andrews International School Samakee at next week’s Open Day event – Wednesday 4th October – 8:30 – 11:30. At Samakee, we take pride in showcasing our commitment to excellence in education and Open Day provides a unique opportunity for you to witness firsthand our dedication to teaching and learning. Event highlights will be:- Interactive School Tours; Meeting our experienced Senior Leadership Team; Live classroom demonstrations; and Insightful conversations with students and teachers. We look forward to welcoming you.
October
- 4th – Open Day
- 11th – Einstein House Event
- 13th – HM King Bhumibol Memorial Day – Holiday
- 17th & 19th – Parent Consultations
- 19th – Wai Kru – (Teacher Appreciation Day)
- 23rd – 27th – October Break – No school
November
- 2nd – PTG Meeting @ 8:00 am
- 6th – Science Week
- 17th – Year 3-9 Sports Day
- 20th – 22nd – Music & Visual Art Workshops
- 22nd – 24th – Year 4 Residential
- 23rd – 24th – Year 3 Residential
- 26th – 2nd – Proposed Hong Kong Exchange at Samakee
- 27th – Spanish Day
- 28th – Loy Krathong
- 30th – Upper School Production
- 1st – First School Christmas Fair
ARTIST OF THE WEEK
One of our Year 6 students takes the prize this week for artist of the week for his outstanding piece of homework.
Every child is unique, and at Samakee, we celebrate that uniqueness! Our small class sizes ensure that each student receives personalised attention from their teachers. It’s not just about teaching; it’s about understanding and empowering each child.
SAS LINE COMMUNICATION PLATFORM
LINE is a widely used communication platform in Thailand, and it’s a platform that Samakee has been utilizing for quite some time. We encourage all our families to connect with our official SAS LINE account to ensure we can easily disseminate important school-wide updates to our entire school community.
Due to Wednesday’s Open Day, we have decided to postpone the PTG Meeting planned for Thursday the 5th of October and our next PTG meeting will take place on Thursday the 2nd of November. Thank you.
Best regards for a wonderful weekend to all!
Monica L Sudhirak
Head of School
Head of School, Monica L Sudhirak: msudhirak@standrews-samakee.com
First School Phase Leader, Tabietha Sudhirak: tsudhirak@standrews-samakee.com
Middle School Phase leader, Hannah Riddi: hannah.ridd@standrews-samakee.com
Upper School Phase Leader, Nicky Page: npage@standrews-samakee.com