Harrovian Vol18 No.9 - Harrow International School Bangkok

the
HARROVIAN
the newsletter of Harrow International School Bangkok
Vol 18 No 9
5th February 2016
From the Head Master
Dear Friends,
There's a growing atmosphere of excitement around School at the moment as we
prepare for Expedition Week 2016. Whether it's a Year 1 child who is thrilled at
the prospect of sleeping in his or her own classroom, or a Sixth Former busy
cycling and doing leg dips to prepare for the powder snow of Japan, the rising
sense of anticipation is wonderful to behold.
Therefore it’s timely for me to observe that Expedition Week isn't about having a
jolly adventure with your pals, it's integral to ensuring that we provide the
opportunities to build the leadership attributes needed in adult life. There will be
many instances of laughter and frivolity, but there will also be frequent situations
that present challenges to be overcome, creativity to be harnessed and
communities to be serviced. Be assured we’re not sending our children off on
holidays in the middle of the school year, we are sending them on endeavours
that will allow them to learn about themselves and those around them, enabling
them to develop as young leaders who can have a positive impact on their world.
These are great adventures they are about to embark upon, but they are also a
core element of the Harrow Bangkok learning journey, and we thank you for your
support of them.
Best wishes,
Mick Farley
THE HARROVIAN
From the Lower School
While we have been enjoying a very pleasant spell of cool weather in Bangkok recently, our students have been impressing us
with their sporting talents. Hundreds of our Pre Prep students participated in Sports Days last week and BISAC at the weekend.
The Harrovian spirit was truly in action as our pupils gave their best at these events, and at the weekend three of our football
teams made the semi-finals. Well done to all and thanks to the PE staff for providing such excellent opportunities.
Excitement is building up for the forthcoming Pre Prep expeditions. Our expeditions give Lower School students experiences that
we cannot provide solely in our school environment. They awaken the desire in young people to learn new things and develop
their leadership attributes. From sleeping in their classrooms in Year 1 to rafting in Year 5, the expedition programme ensures that
our young people will receive a multitude of varied and stimulating encounters.
Next week through our Pre Prep Safer Internet Week, we will teach students across the School the importance of using modern
technology safely. Pupils will be involved in a range of activities designed to highlight the benefits and risks of using the internet
and other technology. On Tuesday morning, there will be two workshops on cyber safety – one for Upper School parents in the
Olive Theatre and one for Lower School Parents in the Pre Prep Performing Arts Centre in the Infant building. We really hope that
you come. In the meantime, here is some advice for parents:
ADVICE FOR PARENTS

Know what your children are doing online and who they are talking to. Ask them to teach you any applications you have
never used.

Keep the computer in a family room so that you can share (and supervise) your child’s online experience.

Help your children to understand that they are never to give out personal details to online friends.

If your child receives spam/junk email and texts, remind them never to believe them, reply to them or use them.

Help your child to understand that some people lie online. They should never meet up with any strangers without an adult
they trust.
Nicholas Prockter, Head of Lower School
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
Pre Prep Sports Day
Well done to the Pre Prep students who showed great effort and energy in this year’s Sports Day. Year 1 and 2 were active in The
Den, completing a number of events in a circuit. A highlight was the team relay, won by Nehru (Year 1) and Churchill (Year 2).
Junior School pupils were all challenged with a long run (400m/800m) which saw every child take part. Students have showed
much progress as they prepared for this event during PE lessons and completed the distance with enthusiasm on the day itself.
Joanne Preston
THE HARROVIAN
From the Head of Upper School
Getting your children into top universities
In early January at the end of a recruitment trip, I visited Cambridge University and met with a Director of Studies of one of the
colleges to get an idea of what they look for when they are interviewing students.
He told me that they are looking for students who are creative and can think quickly; it’s not about what they already know, it’s
how they approach something which they haven’t already learned. He was highly critical of students who have been excessively
tutored as it robs them of the ability to think creatively and critically. The way he put it was “we can smell them a mile away. They
seem good when they are in their comfort zone but then, when you move to unfamiliar territory, they freeze”. Top British
universities are not looking for students who have done three (or more) extra GCSEs. They have to compare them to students
from state schools in the UK who haven’t had that opportunity. When students have three extra GCSEs it “shows that their parents
have lots of ambition’’ to quote the Director of Studies.
When universities have to compare students who have come from a privileged school with students from a state school, if they are
rated equally, the state school student would get the place as they have got to the same level with less support. If you go to a
school like Harrow Bangkok, you need to show that you have taken the opportunity to read independently around your subject,
contributed to the community and worked as part of a team, shown charity, faced challenges and overcome them, taken the lead
and developed the ability to think creatively.
So what is the recipe for developing the creativity that top universities are looking for? We might think that the child who reads at
2, plays a Grieg piano concerto by 6, has a deep understanding of calculus by 10 and can speak 4 languages by the age of 12 is
creative and will be one of the geniuses who will change the world, but if we look at the remarkable leaders in Science, the Arts,
Politics and Business, we see that not many fit this profile. Practice makes perfect but it doesn’t make new. The 6 year old may be
able to play Grieg beautifully won’t go on to create their own concertos. The 10 year old who understands calculus will continue to
excel at solving mathematical problems but will struggle to develop new insights in the field. Creativity may be hard to nurture but
it can easily be killed. We don’t know exactly the recipe for developing creativity but we do know that there is a greater likelihood
of it developing if students are given the opportunity to grow holistically as well as academically and take part in everything the
School has to offer in sports, music, art, charity, service and expeditions. A balanced education breeds success and gets students
to the very best universities.
Jonny Liddell
David Foster, Director of Studies, speaks at a recent Sixth Form Open Day
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
IGCSE Development Studies Excel
In May 2015, a group of 29 students started the CIE IGCSE Development Studies course. Comprising of mainly Geography
students, they gave up a lunch time a week to be taught by Kathryn Gavin and Karen Prout and undertook a range of self-study
tasks. In addition, during the Year 10 Geography trip to Chiang Rai, they visited the UHDP (Upland Holistic Development Centre)
and studied a range of research techniques alongside the Geography fieldwork. They sat the external IGCSE examinations five
months later.
Their enthusiasm for the subject, willingness to give up their time and a desire to succeed was finally rewarded when their results
came through: 89% A*/A and 100% A*- B, giving every student an additional IGCSE and the confidence for their upcoming
examinations later in the year. Karen Prout and I would like to thank the students for being such a hardworking, energetic and
conscientious class and we congratulate them on their success.
Kathryn Gavin
THE HARROVIAN
The Sixth Form Charity Committee
A group of 10 Sixth Form students travelled to Sangkhlaburi to visit the Bop Htaw Education Empowerment
Programme. This educational foundation supports 20 Mon students to study and learn English and gain the skills to
enable them to become teachers back in Myanmar. Tan S13 found it a humbling experience:
“It was a heartwarming experience and very humbling to see their enthusiasm despite the fact that they had very little
to live on and the educational resources and facilities were inadequate - Harrow Bangkok it was not!
Even though we were only there for five days, by the time we left we felt like a family and were more than willing to
help them as much as possible to complete their training in 2016. The programme relies purely on private
sponsorship and funds are exceedingly difficult to come by.
This academic year, the Sixth Form Charity has raised 200,000 baht for the programme through two major charity
events: the Charity Mile and Sixth Form Charity Day. It is very empowering to be able to help others and we hope to
continue supporting them to improve the quality of education for future Mon generations.”
Willy B13 added: “Having spent time with these wonderful individuals in June last year, the school’s Charity
Committee would like to support them financially to fund their programme. With the students coming from poor rural
Mon communities with limited resources, fundraising will help change the lives of the next generation of young
teachers in remote areas of Asia.”
Julia Harrison
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
The Library
Members of Class 3h were thrilled when Darth Vader made a surprise appearance at
the Library recently!
THE HARROVIAN
Young Engineers’ Challenge Day
On 21st January the Year 7s spent the day contesting for the title of best young engineers. To triumph, each group
needed to show all their creativity and team work skills, as they were confronted with a series of tough challenges.
These included constructing a balloon powered car which could travel the furthest distance and prove fastest in a
race, out jousting (popping) an opponent’s balloon on a zip-line and finally, a water rocket which could stay in the air
for as long as possible after launch. It was great to see how enthusiastically the students took on each task. The
enthusiasm was matched by the number of our Year 11-13 Physics students who offered valuable assistance to their
young counterparts; a big thank you to Mr. Rothwell and the Physics department for organising this. Only one team
could be victorious and a big congratulations goes to the winners: Nina, Monet, Bam Bam, Kingpai and Sun, who
proved they had all the attributes to be great future engineers.
Tom Woods, Prep Science Co-ordinator
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
THE HARROVIAN
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
Introducing Bernd Hartner
We would like to welcome Bernd Hartner (Ben), Epicure’s new catering manager at Harrow Bangkok who took over from Khun
Dome this month. Ben oversees all the food we serve at School, and here he tells us a little bit about himself:
“I am very happy to be here running the catering at this fantastic campus. I have worked for Epicure in other international schools
in Thailand, so I have a great deal of experience in school catering. I have lived in Thailand since 2004 and before joining Epicure
I was a hotelier and have held management positions with Marriott, Accor and The Unique Collection of Hotels and Resorts. I am
excited by the many opportunities I see to build on the strong platform we already have at Harrow Bangkok. The food service at
The Hub next to the Boarding Houses is the best I have seen in any international school, and breakfast there wouldn’t look out of
place in a hotel downtown.
I love the challenges presented to me by catering – no two days are the same! My first initiative is that I would like to communicate with you regularly via the Harrovian about what’s happening ‘in the kitchen’ at School, with updates about healthy food, smart
eating, nutrition, food safety and interesting topics about food. I look forward to meeting you in the days ahead and if you see me
around campus please feel free to share your comments or suggestions with me in English or in Thai.”
Editorial
THE HARROVIAN
Year 9 Geography Day
On Wednesday 27th January, Year 9 students participated in the Geography Day where they learned about Global Fashion and
became sweatshop workers to enable them to empathise with the working conditions of garment factory workers around the world
who produce our clothes. They worked in large families, making paper bags to earn money in order to meet their family’s needs.
Whilst there was a lot of fun had, a serious message emerged. We questioned where our clothes were made and why, the impact
that production had on workers and the decisions and attitudes of various people in the global fashion chain. Thanks go to Mrs
Chappell who led the day and Mr Vernon, Khun Tum, Toby and Duncan who helped out throughout.
Kathryn Gavin
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
Cycling
On Friday 15th January, 140 Year 8 pupils did the annual Challenge Day cycle along a picturesque route through the countryside
from Lam Luk Ka to Chaiyapruek, Nakorn Nayork. Having already trained in PE lessons where they did a triathlon, the pupils easily faced their challenge of cycling 30km along gravel roads, reaching their destination and a well-earned lunch by 12pm. The day
was characterised by smiles and laughter (plus a few sore bottoms) and the lovely cool weather helped to create a memorable
experience for all.
Ride For Rainbow
th
Sunday 17 January started early with the first bus departing Harrow Bangkok at 6am. This group left Wat Chaiwatthanaram just
after 7am with their police escort and started their journey cross country to Pakkred, a meander through farm land and the
changing landscapes of Bangkok, arriving at the ferry crossing around 2:30pm for the final 4km to Rainbow House. The slightly
faster groups departed over the next 1½ hours and everyone met up just before the ferry, before enjoying the magic show at
Rainbow House. With a sizeable donation given to the Christian Care Foundation for Children with Disabilities in Thailand (CCD)
and over 100 Harrow Bangkok pupils, staff, CCD staff and friends cycling, the 8 th Ride for Rainbow was a resounding success.
Brian van den Berg
THE HARROVIAN
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
Climbing
This term, we started off the international climbing
competitions at Harrow Bangkok. There was a great turn out,
with many parents and staff coming along to watch the
climbing team in action. Both Patana and Harrow Bangkok
had a squad of strong climbers which created a positive
competitive atmosphere. It was great to see the two teams
helping each other out, solving the problems and spurring
each other on. Highlights of the competition included a draw
in the U17’s boys resulting in a game of plus 1 between
Tristan from Harrow Bangkok and Josh from Patana (two or
more people take it in turns to add climbing holds to make a
new route). Also a huge well done to Ethan who was the only
climber to complete all the routes. We are now looking
forward to our preparations for the next competition on
Thursday 11th February – we hope to see some of you there.
Thomas Myerscough
House Competitions
House football – Heroes, Changes and a Starman
All the young dudes gathered on the sports fields for an eagerly anticipated House football tournament. ‘It’s no game’ muttered the
ever-competitive Heads of House as the teams prepared for kick off. There was a sense of doubt among the pre-tournament favourites Suriyothai as news came through of an injury to their star player and by the end of the first day, after a fantastic voyage,
the super men and women of Nehru and Churchill were in a dominant position. Suriyothai’s pre competition confidence was here
today and gone tomorrow as they limped home in many fixtures, clearly missing their injured heroes. Thursday’s finals saw many
changes with Tuesday’s disappointed players keen to ensure no recurrence of earlier results. Nehru and Churchill were under
pressure to repeat their excellent performances from Tuesday and it was Nehru House who took their time and managed to stay
calm to survive a final push from Churchill, recording their first competition win of the season.
A big thank you from the Heads of House to the starman Mr Miles, as well as to all those who volunteered to referee, without you
all there would be no tournament.
Heads of House
THE HARROVIAN
FOBISIA Swimming Championships 2016
Over the weekend of the 29th- 31st January, the Harrow Lions Swim Team participated in the FOBISIA Swimming Invitational at
the British International School Phuket.
This was the team’s first long course competition of the season, with 17 schools from across Asia participating in the meet.
Harrow Bangkok entered a team of 35 swimmers for the event and all the students prepared thoroughly, including long course
training at Rajpruek Club Bangkok. All swimmers had a very busy event schedule over three days of competition, with the 12
years and over swimmers also having to participate in heats and finals for all events.
The swimmers excelled themselves over the weekend achieving the following results:
1 Gold – 11-13 Boys freestyle relay team
1 Silver – 9&U Girls freestyle relay team
9 Bronze - Z-Za Bencharit 13-14 years 200m IM, Aaric Tims 12 years 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle,
Unique Chokjrenwanit 13-14 years 50m breaststroke, 11 years girls freestyle relay team, 9&U boys medley relay team
9&U girls medley relay team, 13-14 years boys medley relay team
In addition there were 119 individual personal bests achieved at the meet, a testament to the amount of hard work that has been
put in by our swimmers over the last few months.
A big thanks must also go to all in the swimming coaching team who prepared our swimmers so well for this event.
Geoff Holt, Head of Aquatics
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
Sport
It has been a very busy few weeks of sport at Harrow Bangkok. There have been over 50 fixtures played, 25 tournaments
attended, a climbing competition, the 2nd Harrow internal swim meet and the FOBISIA swim meet in Phuket. Over 500 students
have been involved in some form of competitive sport over the last three weeks which has been fantastic to see.
As always, our students have performed with passion, pride and enthusiasm, and this has seen our teams do extremely well
across the board.
We have recently seen the whole of the Lower School participate in their annual sports days. It has been fantastic to see students
from Nursery up to Year 5 so engaged and enjoying every moment of their sports days. A huge thank you to the Lower School
PE department for all their efforts in running three fantastic sports days for the respective phases within the Lower School.
BISAC Season 2 culminated with the end of season tournaments played over the last weekend in January. Our teams did
extremely well, with 17 teams representing the School and 12 teams achieving top 4 finishes. Here are the stand out
performances:
U9 Boys Football – 2nd Place
U11 Girls Football – 2nd Place
U1l Girls Football B Team – 3rd Place
U13 Girls Football – BISAC Champions
U15 Girls Football – 3rd Place
U15 Girls Badminton - 3rd Place
JV Boys Rugby – 2nd Place
JV Touch Rugby - 3rd place
Lions Hall of Fame
In each edition of the Harrovian, three students are selected for special acknowledgement for their contribution to Harrow Bangkok
Sport.
JV/Varsity - Jason Allen (B12). Jason has been a dual athlete in Season 2, being a much valued member to both the Varsity
Rugby and Junior Varsity Basketball teams.
U13/U15 - U13 Girls Football Team. A team that has performed extremely well throughout Season 2 and were deservedly
crowned BISAC U13 Football Champions 2015-16.
U9/U11 – Nicky Pisalyaput (S6). Nicky has made huge improvements this year as part of the swim academy, and performed
extremely well at FOBISIA swim meet in Phuket last weekend. Nicky swam six personal bests at the meet and we are all proud of
her achievements.
Mike Preston, Director of Sport
THE HARROVIAN
Junior Varsity Touch Rugby
The JV Girls Touch Rugby team has progressed from strength to
strength this year and we are delighted with a fantastic finish to the season
with a BISAC Bronze medal. The preparations started in Season 1, where
most of the squad began as members of the U15 team with Miss Synnott.
From learning the rules and basic skills, the squad expanded and the JV
team competed throughout Season 2. The girls were fantastically dedicated
to both training and fixtures, even sourcing and funding team t-shirts and
hooded tops.
Looking ahead to the BISAC competition, we knew that the girls had the
potential to do well and we were fortunate to have a full squad of 14
players. We started the day with a tough match against BPS, losing 0-7
before going on to beat NIST 7-0. This took us in to the 3rd / 4th play-off
match against SHB. We had previously lost 1-6 to SHB earlier in the
season but following a tactics meeting we managed to defeat them 1-0 with
a fantastic touch down from Alia Brinn. The entire team played fantastically
well, stepping up to new tactics and Mameaw performed exceptionally well,
being voted player of the match by the rest of her team. Well done to all
girls involved – we are looking forward to another good season next year!
Squad from left to right below: Amy (S10), Mameaw (S10), Kitty (So10),
Tarn (K10), Bam-Bam (S9), Jess (S10), Fern (So9), Earn (K10), Pear (N9),
Alia (C7), Ako (K10), Wawa (N9) and Kaopod (C9).
Miss Synnott and Miss Ball
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
THE HARROVIAN
@HarrowBangkok students receiving valuable careers and university guidance from
@MyFuturewise advisers this
week.
Chris Conway HarrowBangkok
on the value of subject content in
student applications
@MyFuturewise #pathways
Parents learn practical strategies
to encourage #creativity in
#children in a fantastic workshop
today
Harrow by numbers. Want to
know about Harrow Bangkok in
a stylish #Infographic format.
#designthinking
HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK
Harrow sails away with 2nd
place at the Inter Schools Sailing
Competition #RoyalVaruna
Let’s get back to hand washing
basics! #cleanhandssaveslives
@CDCgov @KidsHealth
The Back Page: Green Earth Activity
New Green Earth activity is a great success
Throughout the course of the term, the Green Earth recycling activity has implemented many new projects around School
with the aim of making the campus a more environmentally friendly place. With that in mind, we have distributed over 200
paper recycling bins to every classroom throughout the School. The paper collected will be recycled through PCS and all
proceeds gained will go to a foundation which helps people with visual disabilities.
Another important milestone is that we gained sponsorship from PCS to purchase a multipurpose recycle bin with
compartments for different types of materials to improve efficiency in sorting and logistics. These bins contain a separate
compartment for organic waste where they can be removed more quickly, making our campus more hygienic. We are
looking to purchase more bins over the course of the year and they will be placed in strategic locations.
Our activity has been a success and we can only credit our achievements to the hard working members of our activity,
Mrs. Allen for her support and guidance, and Mr. Chappell for working closely with us throughout. We hope that this is
only a stepping stone towards our shared goal of an eco-centric environment and we look forward to developing our
project in the months and years ahead.
Finland and Poon, So11