Bloomsbury Newsletter, December 2021

Bloomsbury International School Hatyai Principal’s message We have had a lot of communication about Covid19, our risk assessments and keeping safe. Today, we wanted to write to you about the reason why we have been doing all of that hard work. This term we have been truly blessed with the amazing things that have been hap- pening in school. We thought we would share just some of the things that has been happening in school that has made our return worthwhile. As I finish this newsletter, I am truly amazed at just how much we have squeezed into the last month. Thanks must go to the staff and their incredible hard work and determination. News We are now Our term started full in Year 2. There will be a with this happy waiting list for new students news. in this year group. We only have a few places left in Year Staff Training 4 and Year 9. We know that in normal times we could Staff have had easily have more students in training on prepar- each class but during Covid19 ing the school to we must abide by the rules. be safe. The staff If you know of anyone that have been trained may wish to join us, let them on the days the know that we are filling up children were not fast and that if they don’t join in school as well as soon there may not be space. staying late after school. We remain the only school open in Songkhla and we are Year 2 proud of our record in keep- ing Covid19 at bay. Year 2 built London of Our new sports coach, Mr 1666. They practiced Jordan Chalk has joined us. He is a fully qualified teacher by making a Lego as well as a sports coach. He is a keen fitness enthusiast. model first. They will He has coached at Chelsea Football Club in the past. We safely set fire to their are pleased to welcome him to our team. Joining us as a model houses. TA is Ms Adeelah in Y2. Mr Kolick and Ms Toey join us as interns. Ms May is a new PA and Mr Tum is our new pur- chasing officer. We welcome them all.

EYFS Our EYFS children are so glad to be back in school. Some children have never been to school before. They have the chance to do so much that they can not do at home. They have started to make friends and have really quickly settled into Bloomsbury International School. What makes our EYFS so great? Really good EYFS is not all about play and it is not about sitting down with a pencil. It is about crafting great opportunities to learn in a variety of ways. Here you can see children learning to sequence a story, develop their fine motor skills in order to write beautifully, playing whilst learning to count, practicing early writing. EYFS is great fun, not even a mask can hide their enjoyment.

KS2 Year 4 have made some Anglo– Saxon houses using lollipops sticks in class. They decorated them using grass. They have been researching that time period and know what village life was like. The Year 5 have made a display about the story Primary learned— Kasim and the Greedy Dragon. This is our first proper Talk for Writing unit. Ms. Beers will be leading a parent workshop on this in January for those that are interested to find out more. Thai Culture by Pai-Eng Art If you have not had the chance to Ms Duncan continues to inspire the next generation of artists. The work here is from Olivia watch the amazing Pai-Eng playing in Year 12. Below is life through miniature bottles which represents the earth in micro- then click on the picture above. cosm and the ecosystem in which we all thrive. The work also depicts the eternal nature of She performed this to the whole our existence and what we leave behind after we pass from this world, reflected in the school on Loy Kratong. idea of a message in a bottle. These pieces from Bam shows the dichotomy between the internal struggle people endure and the strong outward persona they project, all within the nature of our throwaway culture which rejects all that has been discarded as worthless. The mess in the picture above showing how we metamorphosize as we grow and discard our younger selves, like a snake sheds it skin. Well done, Bam!

Year 7 have been experimenting with colour wheels. They studied the na- ture of contradictory and complimentary colours, as well as hot and cold colours. Then they mixed and designed patterns. Year 8 artist, Torfun, has created this self-study. The work is fantastic, it is even more astounding when you realize that it has been created using charcoal, which is one of the hardest mediums to use. There were many more examples of superb art that we could have chosen from Year 8. Year 11, left, have been using printmaking to achieve unusual effects and textures. Science at Bloomsbury A regular Y12 A-S Level Chemistry class, being taught by Mrs Hall. They Someone has been waiting to ask a question at have been learning how to recognize the four levels of protein structure. the back of the science lab for a while!

Loy Kratong was a total success and many thanks to Kru Goy and Kru Nid for organizing such a great day and for the pupils for getting involved so enthusiastically. We also held a Trashion Show- when all of our students used recycled or old clothes to show how we do not need to go out and buy new every time. Recycling can be fun and cool. We celebrated Halloween this year with a fancy dress parade.

Black History Month Bloomsbury held Black History Month this year in November. It was a great success as you can see. The fantastic work below is from Year 1 and the video is from Year 4. You can also see a slide from the Year 2 presentation. Thank you Ms. Wells for organizing a great workshop and assemblies to promote our intercultural understanding. The importance of diversity We believe that schools are better when they embrace all the people of the whole world, all types of people from all different backgrounds. Celebrating Black History Month is an important part of a well rounded education. The Year 4 presentation shows why As you can see from the Year 3 work produced to the left, it also provides a valuable opportunity for high quality learning too. Well done all.

COP 26 Our Secondary students responded to the Cop 26 conference which highlighted the Global Climate Emergency by each writing a pledge for how they would help the environment. Here they are holding up their pledges for all to see. Below are some photos from other recycling and green events they led. Here the students show off how to make useful items from recycled materials. Note Ms. Duncan’s dress made entirely from old bin bags. Very impressive!

Y7 Science Balancing chemical equations is normally an IGCSE topic. But thanks to Mr Anderson here our Year 7s show just what they are capable of. Keep in touch Student Council Phone number: Our Student Council have met twice already this Lunches term and have been keen Our school lunch provider is to pass on their requests Foodhouse. They publish about food and playtimes. their menu on line; hot Thank you to Mr Chase school dinners cost 115/ and Ms Shamima. 145THB per day. If you have a comment or EAL suggestion please contact them directly. Congratulations to our students who Family Support have graduated If you want to speak to our from Mr Strubelt’s staff please contact the classes, we are school office and we will be proud of your pro- happy to help. Office Hours gress and achieve- are 7:45am—4:45pm Mon- ment. day to Friday and 9:00am— 12 noon Saturday. If there is To the left is our new sports an emergency please leave a coach Mr. Jordan Chalk line message and someone who used to be a coach at will return your call shortly. Chelsea football club. Here he is pictured wearing his Drop off and Pick up Chelsea coaches kit. We ask that you do not get out of the car when picking up or dropping off your children. We look forward to easing these restrictions when the Covid19 situation allows. Thank you for your help. Principal: Mr John Calvert [email protected] Thai Director: Dr Kantarin [email protected] Vice Principal: Francesca Beers [email protected] Website: https://bloomsbury.ac.th Email contact: [email protected] Phone contact: (+66) 074 251 255