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the
HARROVIAN
the fortnightly newsletter of Harrow International School Bangkok
The Benefit Bash !
Vol 15 No 16
17th May 2013
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
FROM THE HEAD
OF LOWER SCHOOL
Mr Marshall received an excellent letter from our Head Girl, Khanom, about her Harrow experience. Here is an extract from that
letter:
I am very proud to be at Harrow International School. I felt very welcomed when I first came to
this school. All my teachers are very kind, and fabulous! I have had a memorable time with my
teachers; I actually started at Harrow when I was just three years old! I enjoy seeing students
being friends, and working hard. I know that Harrow International School students put lots of
effort into all their work. The School is very good at welcoming new visitors and students. I
have made lots of new friends throughout the year, I fitted in very quickly.
Thank you for these lovely words, Khanom!
Over the next month we will see the building of the shade area over the Friendship and the construction of a path from the clock
tower to the Infant building. Other features, including a mound area, will follow. As Phase 1 finishes we already have significant
investment to finish Phase 2 in the summer. This will include a shaded area for the whole of the concrete area in front of the
Junior building. I promised the pace of change would accelerate once we had the Friendship in place. We have an ambitious aim
to make the best playground in Thailand – aesthetically pleasing and full of play value. We will make good on that promise.
Ian Connors, Head of Lower School
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
EARLY YEARS
Pre-KS children are, without a doubt, art-lovers! They are naturally inquisitive and each has a unique sense of art. To further
enhance children’s learning, we headed over to the Secondary Art Department and paid a visit to Paron Mead, our fun-loving Art
teacher; he warmly welcomed us into his art studio, and engaged the Pre-KS children by showing samples of drawings and art
creations.
Paron explained to the children how pictures in books inspire him. He said, “I go to the library often and when I see a picture in a
book that I like, I make a copy of the picture so I can keep it.” Then he showed the children his collection of pictures, allowing
them to individually pick their favourite one. While he drew their favourite picture, as a memento to bring back to our class, the
children watched intensely. “How about me? Me too!” they called out, wanting Paron to draw one for them.
Pre-KS were inspired by beautiful lines, spirals and perfect circles. When they returned to class, the art table was an immediate
hot spot! Gunn tried to draw his version of Paron Mead’s lion, imitating the use of dots and lines in his personal work; true
inspiration!
Suzanne Uthaichalanond
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
FROM THE HEAD
OF
UPPER
SCHOOL
A night of laughter and fun tinged with an element of sadness and some tears as Miss Liz and Mr Johnson bid a very fond farewell
to our Year 13 boarders at a casual and yet warm and comfortable barbecue this week. I am sure the leavers were touched
(certainly Terry, our Head Boy was, who appeared to have just been peeling onions again as he did at the Prefect Disco!) as all of
the younger students and boarding staff shook hands with each of them at the end of a delicious farewell supper.
As well as the business and stresses of examinations, we can all look ahead to the Sixth Form Leavers’ Event this Friday
evening, the Leavers’ Prom on Saturday 22nd June, the Class of 2013 Graduation on Monday 24th June and Speech Day on
Friday 28th June, the last day of the academic year.
Each event will have fun, laughter and tales from both students and staff from antics both recent and distant past. Well done
congratulations, fond farewells, good luck messages and let’s keep in touch promises will also be evident at all of these events.
I, for one, am left in no doubt that the friendships formed at Harrow International School Bangkok will last with our leaving students
and staff way beyond the sound of that final House Shout as we all depart for the summer break and head off on expedition,
holiday adventures and life changing experiences at university and professional life. On behalf of our Harrow International School
community, I wish all eighty seven of our Year 13 leavers every success for the future. I believe Harrow has prepared them well
for their transition to the 21st Century world awaiting them.
Allan Forbes
FROM THE PREP SCHOOL
Academic and examination success are important elements of the educational experience enjoyed by students at Harrow
International School.
The Leadership in Action experience is also part of the holistic ethos that we actively promote. Increasingly universities are looking
beyond “A” grade students; they want to see both academic excellence as well as a broad range of involvement in extra-curricular
activities with students making the most of leadership opportunities and experiences.
The content of a recent Prep Assembly gave me a great deal of reassurance that we are moving in the right direction and
accomplishing our Mission Statement: Leadership for a Better World. The assembly programme included the responsible use of
social media, awards for golf, softball and scrabble, winners of the FOBISSEA short story competition, the recognition of student
leadership positions both past and present, the promotion of the running club, the winners of the House Poetry and the House Art
Competitions, prizes for environmental service and two outstanding performances of musical excellence. Furthermore the whole
assembly was led by our Prep students. All of these successes took place outside of the classroom and away from academic
curriculum time. Next year we are looking to use the opportunities created by the Leadership in Action programme to apply skills
taught within subjects to real life situations, problem solving and solution finding. With this approach, we intend to install the
leadership skills that all students will need to lead a long and fulfilling life.
Jonathan Horsnell
THE HARROVIAN
The next edition of the Harrovian newsletter will be published on
FRIDAY 14th JUNE
This will be the final issue for this academic year
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
FOCUS ON THE
ICT DEPARTMENT
Year 6 ICT Junior Inventor Final
Year 6 students have completed a project called ‘Junior Inventor’ where they have invented and promoted a new product for the
market. The project has been integrated into the Year 6 ICT IMYC curriculum where units of Balance, Creativity, Risk and
Collaboration have been explored and interlinked.
The ICT Junior Inventor final next month is on the 14th June in the Olive Music Room. There will be only eight group finalists
presenting to our judges so it has all the makings of being quite a special day. Student finalists will:
•
have a two minute slot to present their invention in whatever way they wish: a song, a dance, using an iPad or using a
laptop.
•
be judged by a panel of three officials: John Horsnell (Head of Prep School) will look at the quality of presentation;
James Beere (Head of Business Studies) will assess the business potential of the invention; David Foster (Director of
Studies) will judge the quality of the product. Each judge will give a mark out of 10 for each group presenting. The
winner will be the one who scores highest with a possible maximum 30 points available
•
have the opportunity to win a prize of Central Gift Vouchers. 1st place winners receive Baht 3,000 per group; 2nd place
receive Baht 2,000 and 3rd place get Baht 1,500. They will also receive a certificate.
Good luck to all the Junior Inventor finalists from Year 6.
Year 7, 8 and 9 end of year presentations.
The Year 7 students have been completing their ‘Price of a Bean’ projects showing determination when producing their ICT work
to date. The challenge of learning quite difficult business terminology in addition to applying their skills when producing their
coffee shop designs has been a highly rewarding for the Year 7 students in Prep School. Meanwhile the Year 8 and 9 students
end of year presentations have also illustrated the ICT development the students have shown when completing their Junior
Journalist and Music Promotion themed units of work.
The challenging nature of these units of work has enabled the students to use more advanced software features when solving real
life ICT problems.
Gary Owen
Head of ICT
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
THE JAZZ BAND
This year, the Jazz Band has continued to develop and demonstrate a superb level of musicianship. The Band, which includes
several new members, has been led by Mr and Mrs Marshall and Miss Jeffries. The repertoire has been expanded to include a
range of new pieces, as well as a number of Jazz standards. On a number of occasions, the Jazz Band has recorded ensemble
pieces to support students in completing their Music examination coursework.
This year, the Band has performed on a number of occasions including the Harrow Fair. One highlight of the year was the Band’s
performance, in March, at the SEAMC Mathematics Competition Gala Dinner. On this, as on other occasions, the Jazz Band were
outstanding ambassadors for the school, performing a range of music from classic swing to more modern pieces, and including a
number of songs featuring a vocal soloist. This was the Band’s first performance at The Miracle Grand Hotel, and the acoustics
certainly lent themselves to the mellow tones of the Harrow Jazz Band.
The Jazz band continues to evolve and play an important part in the musical life of Harrow.
Richard Marshall
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
YEAR 5
HARROVIAN
GEOGRAPHY
Cross-phase teaching in Geography
Twenty four Year 10 Geography students from Mr Vernon’s Geography class went to teach Year 5 with the objective to educate
them on River Basins. The aims of the lesson were to create and label a river basin, define the main features and landforms in
river basin and finally to understand what happens to water when it flows from the start to the end of the river.
The Year 10 students were split into four groups and assigned a Year 5 class to go and teach. After a brief explanation of what a
river basin is, templates were distributed to students. They were then instructed to locate and draw the main features of a basin on
to their templates. Although some of the Year 5 students did not understand at first, we managed to complete the tasks of
drawing, cutting and sticking the template into their books. The final product was a fun and creative “pop up model” that lifted out
of their book when it was opened. To reinforce the content, we followed the model-making with a couple of exercises such as
matching the words to their definitions and completing a missing word paragraph.
We would like to thank all the Year 5 teachers for allowing us into their classrooms and also the students of Year 5 for being so
cooperative and fun to work with.
The Year 10 Geographers
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
THAI
HARROVIAN
STUDIES
TRIP
Students in Year 5 enjoyed a fun-filled day of Thai cultural activities on this week’s trip to Suan Sampran. They somehow
managed to get through twelve different cultural tasks in two hours and learnt a huge amount along the way. They looked at
herbal compresses, Thai boxing and sword fighting, rice husking, bamboo pole dancing (Law Grathop Mai), coconut milk making,
umbrella and fan painting, clay modelling, making a fish from leaves, Ramwong dancing as well as silkworms and weaving plus
playing Ranat and Ankhalung – phew! It’s a wonder they had time for the delicious international buffet lunch! The teachers learnt
as much as the children and a great time was had by all.
Khun Gerry (Head of Thai Studies)
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
WHITE CITY ART PROJECT
Year 8 students drew from the skyline of Bangkok, as well as the juxtaposing architectural forms from across the city, as a source
of inspiration for their most recent Art project. Students created sculptural works which became a homage to our home city. 100
modernist sculptures in a monochrome white, depicting elevated high rises, towers in half construction, tangled cables, forms in
stages of collapse and decay became part of a beautiful installation which was exhibited on the evening of the East Meets West
Concert. It can now be seen along the Prep School ground floor, entitled ‘The White City’.
Paron Mead
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
HOUSE
NEWS
Prep School students put aside time during the Songkran holiday this year in order to create entries towards this year’s House Art
Competition. This year students created pieces of work that responded to one of 4 titles designed to shine a light on their
creativity. Guest judges of practising artists were invited in to school to look over the colourful array of works. They praised the
Prep School students for having produced high calibre works which demonstrate an impressive level of skill and initiative. The Art
Department extend their congratulations to Suriothai House who ranked at the top of the competition but also to Harriet (7W) who
created the winning entry, a meticulously constructed piece of work in response to the title ‘A birthday cake fit for the Queen of
Africa’. Well done to all students involved.
SCRABBLE NEWS
The 13th HIS Scrabble and A-Math tournament took place recently. Around 100 participants from Bangkok schools and further
afield took part in the annual event that is the longest running school crossword gaming event in the world. Performing creditably
for the School were Pete, Y5, and Perth, Y8, who took the Best Harrow International School honours in the student divisions. In
the professional division World Championship qualifying points meant that there was a very strong turnout with two past world
champions and the world youth champion in attendance. Emerging victorious was Marut Siriwangso for his second win. Gerry
Carter was eighth. Well done to Chanon, Kingpai, Bogie from Pre-Prep, Peak from Prep, sixth formers Toh and Guy and teacher
Peter Fotheringham who also took part.
Gerry Carter
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
THE BENEFIT
BASH 2013
My write up for the Benefit Bash starts with a humourous observation made by Mrs Tara McDonald who was driving towards
school one day in the lead up to the Benefit Bash Rock Concert and on the top road off the toll way she was following a red
London double decker bus and she said to herself…..’that has to be something to do with the music department at Harrow!’ Well,
as many of you will have seen for yourself, it was to do with the music department as it was their latest marketing tool to promote
this year’s Benefit Bash Rock Concert.
The number and standard of bands originating from students within the School this year was truly outstanding. It’s always risky
saying ‘the best ever’ for fear of offending performers from previous rock concerts….but it truly was the best set of performances
throughout the entire evening that we have ever had. With eighteen student rock bands wooing the crowds and Mr McDonald’s
psychedelic and truly top notch DJay group bringing the students’ contribution to the evening to a fitting climax; K Da Endorphine
had a lot to live up to, but wow, was she wow. If you were not a convert or an avid follower before her performance you certainly
were by the end of her performance.
K Da Endorphine has an absolutely electric stage presence - she stole the show… it was tops. From strutting her stuff across the
huge stage, to intimate moments with the crowds sitting at the front of the stage or waving proudly above her head the Harrow
flag…..to the final amazing countdown to the spectacular firework display that eschewed. The one hour++ that she was on stage
seemed like only a few minutes before being whisked off side stage to make a quick get away in a private limo. Needless to say, K
Da Endorphine was as impressed with Harrow as we were of her. I am sure she will put in a guest appearance at Harrow again in
the not too distant future.
I am going to end this music report like a football report since most football games seem to have a man of the match. This year I
am going to step out and say the man of the Bash this year was for me was Keith in Year 13. We were very proud to see Keith
lead his band in the way that he did. Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Bash. We will present a separate article
later in the year sharing with you how monies raised from this year and last year have helped those less fortunate than ourselves.
Christopher Johnson
Director of Music
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
GYMNASTICS
Girls
We recently took five teams of gymnasts to the BISAC Gymnastic competition hosted by ISB. In the junior team Prae won a
bronze medal on the vault and beam and she came in sixth place overall. Millie achieved fourth place on vault, and Jinny achieved
fifth place on beam. The team, which also included Asia, Lily and Aimee, came in third place. In our senior team Mind achieved
fourth place on vault and Alice achieved sixth place. Also in our senior team were Nano, Nanna, Memie and Stefanie. Well done,
girls!
Our level 2 junior and senior team competed admirably. My proudest moment was seeing Sophia win gold on every apparatus and
being crowned BISAC champion 2013. Special thanks go to Bua who, with a little persuasion, came and competed for us. She has
been concentrating on her FOBISSEA training, so has not been in the gymnastics room for a while. Thanks to her efforts and
those of Sonia, the girls achieved third place in the team competition. A great achievement with just three gymnasts! In the senior
competition Annie won a silver medal on the vault. Yara achieved fourth place on vault and sixth place on the bars. Special thanks
also go to Ako who was drafted in to help make up a team.
Boys
In the level 1 junior competition, Tonsom put in a great performance. He won gold on vault and bronze on the floor, pommel and
rings. He achieved fourth place on the parallel bars and came in fourth place overall in the individual competition. Prin achieved
fifth place on the floor. The team, which also included Tonmye and Nemo, came in second place. Fabien in his first ever
competition in the level 1 senior category performed to the best of his ability and was rewarded with a ribbon for fourth place on
vault. Punn competed at level 3 for the first time and won a gold medal on the vault. Well done, boys!
Tina Jurado
Head Gymnastic Coach
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
BISAC T-BALL
The BISAC U11 T- ball competition had been a tournament that we had worked hard for. Weeks of training and fixtures had
culminated in a strong squad being selected for this Saturday morning competition. The competition consisted of a round robin
tournament were we got to play everyone. The girls did us proud by winning all their games, apart from a tight match versus
Patana. The final was set and we got a second chance to beat our close competitors. After two innings of great batting and
fielding Bam Bam hit the home run of the century to clinch gold and our first Championship trophy of the year. Well done, girls on
a truly remarkable morning enjoyed by all.
Chris Rock
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
BISAC BADMINTON
U17 BISAC Badminton Competition (boys)
Recently, the U17 boys badminton team played in the BISAC badminton tournament at RIS. Our team, ably captained by Bright
(B11), eased into the semi-final, only dropping one match on the way against the eventual gold winners, Shrewsbury. In an
intense semi against RIS, we narrowly lost 2-3. Then in the third place playoff, assisted by heroics from Bright (N11) with a
bruised toe, we comfortably outplayed ISB to capture an extremely well-earned bronze medal. During the day, the newly formed
doubles team of Oak (So10) and Balloon (C10) performed superbly, winning all six of their matches. The long-standing team of
Pong (S11) and PP(So11) in the second doubles played with energy and commitment, while Ice (So10) as second singles player
produced some breath-taking displays against tough opponents. Next year the team are looking forward to turning bronze into
gold with even more hard work and preparation in the months ahead.
Andrew Hardy
U17 BISAC Badminton Competition (girls)
Recently, we hosted a major BISAC Badminton tournament, this time with the U17 girls competing. The day started early with an
8am encounter with ISB to kick things off. Many of the girls have only just taken up the game and it was quite a baptism of fire to
be in a real competition against more experienced opposition. There were some outstanding individual performances especially
from the team captain, Luke Kid in Year 9 who won all but one of her matches as the inevitable tiredness showed and the midday
heat started to set in. Although we did not progress past the round robin stages this time it was a superb experience for all of the
girls and there were plenty of positives to talk about in future coaching sessions. In the end Ruamradee beat off TCIS to take the
Gold with ISB seeing off NIST for the Bronze. Our girls showed amazing spirit and we will return stronger and wiser next year.
Well done, we are very proud of all of you.
Austin Heeley
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
SPECIAL REPORT
Imagine you are riding an extraordinary ship through the magnificent Chao Praya River. Year 5 created a wonderful spectacular
river basin on their barge trip. We looked at some beautiful water hyacinths to see which animals live in them and realised how
pollution affects our rivers. We had a fantastic day!
Vic (Year 5)
N E W
M E N U
N O W
A V A I L A B L E
(Closed Monday) Open Tuesday - Friday 4.00pm - 10.00pm
Saturday and Sunday 10.00am - 10.00pm
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
THE
HARROVIAN
FRIENDS
OF HARROW
The FOH committee are pleased to announce that Mini (Y12) won the FOH Travel Award of 50,000 baht. Her project is to go to a
remote Cambodian village and live and work with a few underprivileged families and children using art as a form of teaching.
Pat (Y11) won the Charity Award of 20,000 baht and Bea's application was read in detail and approved by the committee to award
her the Additional Award of 20,000 baht. Pat hopes to help at the Baan Non Rung school lunch project for the Lion Heart Society,
which provides meals for the children of agricultural workers in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Bea (Y11) hopes to go to Pakistan
in the summer, to help cancer patients at the Shaukat Khanum hospital rebuild their lives with as much as she can do to help.
This is but a brief glimpse of the many ideas, aspirations and practical strategies that the three young awardees are hoping to
accomplish with 'intentional community giving'. Please join us in congratulating them.
The Friends of Harrow Committee
Friends of Harrow Committee Elections for 2013 / 2014
Terms of service on the Committee are usually two years.
Nominations are invited to fill four vacant seats on the committee.
Application forms can be picked up at the Main Reception area from Monday 20th May.
The deadline for nominations is Thursday, 30th May.
Application forms may also be downloaded from the School website.
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Harrow International School, Bangkok would like to thank the sponsors of the ‘Benefit Bash’ concert
featured in this newsletter.
MESSAGE
FROM
THE
HEAD MASTER
Dear All,
On Wednesday I visited four of the migrant schools on the Thai/Burmese border that we support through our Leadership in Action
Programmes, in co-operation with the 'Burmese Education Programme' (BEP). My first visit was to review the training of teachers
in the Mae Sot Refuge camp, and administration of Cambridge exams in order to professionalise their career
progression. Walking in to the Camp was a remarkable experience; 180,000 long term residents make it the largest temporary
refuge camp in the world. Yet it was relatively well organised and orderly, and felt safe. The most challenging issues they face
relate to boredom, which is to be expected in a large township surrounded by barbed wire, with limited supply of power and water,
no internet access and a ban on leaving and entering. So no commute to work, no bike rides or walks in the woods, no visits to
the shops. The boredom must be oppressive.
Our work to support the Schools of the camp makes a real difference to the lives of many, and has a long term positive impact.
We then moved on to three 'migrant schools', each desperately short of resources and facilities. The BEP is vital to these schools
and their on going viability. I'll let pictures tell this story.
On our arrival, an empty kindergarten – no resources and few staff; Mr Van den Berg and the BEP staff deliver resources from
Harrow; Happy children – the kindergarten is transformed.
Thank you to all of you who support our many service and community activities, and to Mr Van Den Berg for his commitment.
Harrow is adding a lot to many lives on the Burmese border, and I know we can do more.
Mick Farley
www.harrowschool.ac.th