September 14, 2018

Dear Students, Parents and Colleagues,

It was great to see nearly 150 parents in school on Tuesday for our Residential briefings. These Trips are an integral part of our curriculum, allowing us to develop closer relationships within the year groups whilst increasing student independence and wider skill sets. They are keenly remembered by all participants and in many cases act as the catalyst for lasting friendships. If you didn’t manage to attend the briefings please check out the Firefly Residential pages, which will also be the main avenue of communication whilst the students are away. Please note that after consultation we will be only sending SMS messages at the beginning to inform you of safe arrival and at the end to notify you that the students have departed their locations. Each day Trip Leaders will be adding about 6-10 photos and 2-3 short sentences about their days to the relevant Firefly page.

Currently, we have awarded over 6000 House Points in school for behaviours that showcase our 11 Life Values. On average each child would have received around 10. I am very pleased to see this, because worthwhile and meaningful praise acts as a great motivator and reinforcer of what we want our students to see as being important behaviours. Do you know what your child got them for? Do they know why they got them? I was fortunate to be in a position to give to two students this week for ‘community-minded’, one had found a wallet in the cafeteria and sought help in returning it. The owner probably had no idea who had found it and taken the effort to hand it in.

We are beginning to see the inevitable post-holiday illnesses that occur when nearly 700 students and teachers return from their travels across the globe. We monitor health patterns closely and would like to ask that students do not come to school if unwell with a temperature. The best place for students when ill is at home getting rest. Unfortunately, when they come to school unwell, viruses can be easily spread. Reviewing general hygiene is a good idea and we would like you to support us in ensuring students wash hands properly with soap and water and whilst covering their mouths if coughing. We have also had a deep-clean in school this week and continue to have alcohol based hand-washes in all classrooms.

Finally our Sixth Formers were kept very busy today raising funds to support their Community Service work on their Residential and in school with Asylum Access. Teachers and staff were invited to order ‘coffee and cake’ that would be delivered around school. Alongside a bake sale at break time the Sixth Formers are aiming to raise 50,000Baht. If you have any other fundraising ideas then please let us know! FoBP were also treated to the cake and coffee when we met on Friday afternoon. It was a great way to end the week!

Kind regards

Nigel Wilsonlock

Head of Secondary