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How studying at Stamford International University helped me in so many ways

9/9/2020

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Photo credits: Bunmi Thomas
By Arshi Banerjee
Freshly graduated from high school, I knew it was time for me to start applying to a good university for my bachelor’s degree. There was a long list of universities in Thailand that came to mind. However, as I saw the advertisement for Stamford International University on social media, I was instantly drawn.

Being an expat myself, I felt like I would fit in quite well at the university which made me take the decision to apply. I was told by my middle school friend who was also a student that it is very different from other universities in Thailand; I thought maybe she is referring to the campus or the laid-back dress code. Little did I know it is actually a different experience.

As I am just a term away from graduating, the recollection of all the time I spent and the experiences I have gained being a part of the Stamford family comes to mind. Looking back at the memories I had there, everything seems to have passed by rather quickly.

Being an international university, one thing that defines Stamford is the geographical diversity of the students and a melting pot of different cultures. Many expats including myself, as well as exchange students who decide to study in Thailand join Stamford for an international experience. This makes Stamford a great place to meet new people and learn about different cultures.

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Headmaster says Harrow’s legacy is alive and well in Bangkok

17/3/2020

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Jon and Suzie Standen are happy with their decision to leave the UK and help bring the unique Harrow experience to young hearts and minds in Bangkok.
By Maxmilian Wechsler
Among the more than 70 international schools in Bangkok, Harrow International School stands out as one of the very best. Harrow first came to Thailand 22 years ago, but the institution was founded way back in 1572 under a Royal Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I in London.
 
Alumni include Winston Churchill and six other British prime ministers; the first  prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru; and monarchs like King Hussein of Jordan. The school has educated a long list of renowned business and sports figures, artists, actors and so on. Besides the Bangkok campus in Don Mueang district, the UK-based Harrow has overseas campuses in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The BigChilli is pleased to present an interview with Bangkok Headmaster Jon Standen, whose wife Suzie is Harrow Bangkok Ambassador.
“Our school in Bangkok is in a partnership with Harrow School in London,” said Mr Standen at the start of the interview. “Our coat of arms comes from Harrow London’s, which will be 450 years old in 2022. It is one of the most famous independent schools in the United Kingdom and one of the best.
 
“We have been in Bangkok 22 years and here in Don Mueang district for 16 years. We were the first of the branded British schools in Thailand. There are more and more international schools opening in Bangkok all the time, but none can match Harrow’s history of excellence, which extends to this Bangkok campus.
 
“How my wife Suzie and I got here is a good story. I was previously headmaster at Plymouth College, an independent school in the southwest of England. The college is particularly famous for swimming and aquatics. Suzie was originally an accountant there, and also did a lot of work at the college helping our physician and working with the parents. I was headmaster at Plymouth for just under four years, and gained a lot of experience and recognition there for my work.
 
“Suzie and I came to Southeast Asia to recruit foreign students to study and board at the school. One day I got the idea that when it came time to move another step up the career ladder to a bigger school, maybe we should look for a school in Southeast Asia rather than in England. Suzie thought about it and said ‘yes.’ She likes travelling and she loves this part of the world as much as I do.
 
“We agreed that when a position at the right school in this region became available we would apply. When Harrow International School Bangkok announced an opening we went for it, and here we are. There were a number of applicants. We were interviewed initially at Harrow in London and the final interviews were conducted here. This was in early 2018; 10 months later, in January 2019, we came to Bangkok.” ​

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Interview with Cameron Fox, Founding Head of School, VERSO

10/3/2020

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VERSO, a new international school located at Thana City, opens in August 2020 and is currently accepting applications and hosting campus tours.
Cameron Fox is the Founding Head of VERSO International School.
 
For the past 19 years, Cameron has served the American International School (AIS) in Hong Kong, as a teacher, vice-principal, principal, and since 2005, as the Head of School. As the school’s senior administrator, Cameron has a deep knowledge of the educational and operational requirements of a dynamic international school community. He is also an experienced Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Chair and regularly leads accreditation visits to international schools across the East Asian Region.
 
Cameron is originally from Scotland where he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Strathclyde in Politics and Industrial Relations. He moved to Hong Kong in 1993 and did a master’s degree through the University of York in the UK in Teaching English to Young Learners. This was followed by a post graduate diploma in Education at the University of Hong Kong, where he received his full teaching qualification.
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VERSO’s iconic looped buildings create a feeling of flow, movement and an underlying sense of continuous learning
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The Arena at VERSO will be a space for all types of events
Please provide details of the school – the history, background, and philosophy.
The starting point for VERSO International School began in 2014 with a simple question: How can we design a new international school that will truly prepare its students for a world that is changing faster than at any other time in human history?
 
When my team and I sat down to answer this question, we realized that this was a challenge because as educators, we were conditioned by years of being in a traditional school environment.
 
I decided to approach IDEO, one of the world’s leading design and innovation firms in San Francisco, with this same question. IDEO is recognized globally for using Design Thinking, a methodology that uses a human- centered design process to find solutions to a problem in a creative an innovative way.
 
I took this question to a group of people whose job was to innovate, create, and look at things from a different angle. I asked them to help reimagine what a school of the future could and should be,” Cameron explained, adding that the intention was to get a different perspective from non-educators on what a future school could be like.
 
Intrigued and challenged to design a new kind of international school, IDEO formed a team comprising their designers, and together with me and a group of international educators, we spent 4 months in Bangkok, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore, visiting more than 25 innovative schools, doing extensive field research, and looking for powerful insights on how to design a school for the future.
 
Using this research data, the IDEO team tested a number of school design prototypes with students, families and educators in Bangkok. This feedback and insight shaped VERSO’s unique purpose pillars, the mindsets and behaviors that our students will develop, as well as our signature learning experiences. The construction of the school began in 2017 with the hiring of the architects, interior designers. Contractors and landscape artists. Many of our teachers, who we call Learning Designers, joined in 2018 to help develop VERSO’s innovative curriculum, approach to teaching and assessment.
 
VERSO is located close to Suvarnabhumi Airport (15-minute drive) on a total project space of 168 rai, or 66 acres, making VERSO the largest school in the Bangkok metropolitan area. The school is divided into three sections which we call loops: Lower Loop (Early Years 2 – Grade 4), Middle Loop (Grades 5-8) and Upper Loop (Grades 9 -12) with a total capacity of 1,800 students.
 
What is the school’s philosophy?
VERSO is built on three simple beliefs. We are an international school that supports learners to develop a strong sense of personal and cultural identity along with a deep understanding of, and an ability to actively engage with the world around them. Our students will gain the confidence to lead their own journey and pursue any path they choose.

VERSO is the first international school in the world to be designed in partnership with IDEO. VERSO’s unique DNA fuses human-centered design with a progressive future-ready international school education.
 
VERSO is designed to give students a much more meaningful and personalized school experience. Our goal is to give students an international school education that empowers them to achieve their full potential. We see VERSO as offering students and teachers a highly creative and collaborative environment where kids are active participants because learning has relevance and purpose. When our students graduate, they will be confident young men and women who understand how to navigate the world around them, and that’s really what VERSO is all about.
 
What is the school’s chosen curriculum?
VERSO delivers an innovative American curriculum from Early Years 2 to Grade 12 that is aligned to New York State Education Department Standards with an emphasis on learning that is interdisciplinary, project based and increasingly personalized.
 
We chose the New York State Education Department Standards because they’re comprehensive, research based and internationally recognized. They also provide clear learning progressions for all students, outlining what learners should know and be able to do.
 
The key components of our curriculum include immersive language-learning, human-centered design, digital media arts, and a holistic approach to health, physical activity and well-being.
 
VERSO students will be organized into cohorts instead of single grade levels. A cohort combines two grade levels and is served by a dedicated team of teachers coordinated by a Cohort Leader.
 
Students will work in a variety of group settings, including one-on-one, small groups, and larger project teams. Our student to teacher ratio ensures that each student receives a high degree of personal attention and individual support. This is an essential piece of VERSO’s educational philosophy.
 
VERSO will be fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and our high school diplomas will be accepted by universities around the world. 

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What sets KIS apart from other international schools By Paul Johnson, headmaster of KIS

9/1/2020

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​What makes KIS different and special compared to other international schools in Thailand? 
KIS is in its 21st year and is one of only three full continuum IB (International Baccalaureate) schools in Bangkok. All IB programmes (PYP, MYP, and DP) are challenging, accessible inquiry-based frameworks or curricula that are very well-regarded around the world. The IB diploma for students in grades 11-12 is recognized as one of the preeminent set of high school curricular standards in the world.
 
KIS' smaller size compared to many schools in Bangkok aims to intentionally blend a student-centered approach to academics, activities, and self-discovery within the context of a smaller school community (currently KIS has about 800 students).
 
Finally, it is KIS' carefully curated sense of community that is observable to both first-time guests and long-term KIS families that creates a welcoming and enjoyable environment for learning. While I am one of the older learners at KIS, I am excited to come to school every day! 
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What are the demographics of KIS by nationality?
KIS intentionally strives for diverse national representation amongst its student body and teaching faculty. Towards that end, it uses nationality guidelines in its admission processes to ensure that it remains truly international. For both our foreign and Thai students, it creates an environment for global understanding and sharing of perspectives while offering a rigorous and well-rounded programme.
 
There are 55 different nationalities at KIS, all learning together in a multicultural, English speaking environment.
 
What criteria do you use when recruiting teachers?
We hire certified and experienced teachers from around the world, many with advanced degrees. In fact, we seek out teachers who are particularly experienced and heralded for their teaching of the IB programmes and who have a love of students and learning. Whatever their background, KIS teachers engage their students and want the best for them. KIS has very rigorous child protection standards that are a critical part of our hiring process and each candidate that makes the final stages of the hiring process will have had three different people from our hiring team interview them.

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5 Reasons Why Playgroups Are Important for Your Child’s Development

18/12/2019

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The first time leaving your home environment to attend a playgroup can be a nervous and challenging experience for any parent and their child, but the benefits far outweigh any negatives.

Here are five reasons why attending playgroups should become an important part of your weekly schedule.
 
1.Develops Social Skills and Confidence
Experts agree that children begin to develop their social skills between the ages of one to three. In a playgroup setting, children learn to negotiate with others, take turns, share, and resolve conflict. In a playgroup, they can do this while still being supported by their parent or main caregiver which gives them a much-needed safety net to develop at their own pace.

2.Encourages Physical Activity
From the time a child starts to become mobile, keeping them entertained can be difficult! Playgroups provide well thought out, age-appropriate activities for children that often focus on developing their gross and fine motor skills. The use of indoor and outdoor spaces offer lots of opportunities for running, jumping and climbing alongside cutting, gluing, painting and moulding. Occupational therapists advise parents to offer many opportunities for physical movement. Every good playgroup should provide these!
 
3.Elicits creativity and fosters their imagination
80% of all brain development occurs in the first few years of life and exposure to creative environments can only enhance their development. Having the opportunity to play using open-ended resources allows children to begin to think creatively, develop their own ideas and explore.  This also aids speech development as they learn to describe the world around them.
 
4.Builds Resilience and Prepares For ‘Big’ School
Attending a playgroup can enable children to cope with new situations, manage stress and adapt to change. Research has shown that separation from a parent or main caregiver when starting school can be a stress-inducing. However, at a playgroup, children get to test separation from their parent over time, which builds their confidence and encourages them to be independent from an early age. This will support them emotionally when they go to school on a daily-basis.
 
5.Opportunities to strengthen the bond between parent and child and make new friends too!
Spending time at a playgroup strengthens the relationship between the child and parent because it creates a shared experience. Parents enjoy seeing their child grow and develop more in confidence as they become more familiar in the playgroup setting. Playgroups are also fantastic places for parents to meet other parents. To know you are not alone, but instead have a network of people to talk to, ask advice and make friends with can be hugely comforting. Building a community as an expat can be challenging as day-today activities can often feel so unfamiliar. Playgroups allow parents to come together, have a coffee and make friends.
 
Shrewsbury International School Bangkok – Riverside, is starting a brand new playgroup with weekly information and advice for parents from Early Years experts. Beginning on Wednesday the 15th of January, parents are encouraged to register online to secure their place.

www.shrewsbury.ac.th/riverside/events-community/playgroup
​

Contact Shirley O’Sullivan on 02 675 1888 for more details
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‘Our aim is to become one of the best schools in Asia and truly recreate the King’s College School, Wimbledon ethos in Bangkok’

12/11/2019

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 Interview with Founding Headmaster Thomas Banyard
​What makes King's College International School Bangkok different and outstanding among Bangkok international schools?
We have a great location, outstanding facilities and will have some of the best teachers in the world, but our main strength is the way in which we educate. We truly believe that students need a community centred on kindness, good manners and wisdom and this makes King’s Bangkok a great school. We believe that Thai and English culture share the same aim of educating students to try their best and succeed through valuing others and showing respect. It is the well rounded and humble characters of our students that will set them apart.
 
What are the school's primary objectives?
We wish to provide an outstanding education for our students and to develop a community in which parents, staff and students feel a sense of identity centred on shared values. Our aim is to become one of the best schools in Asia and truly recreate the King’s College School, Wimbledon ethos in Bangkok.
 
What is your target market?
We want students who are eager to participate fully in sport, music, art, drama and a full range of extra-curricular activities. To do this, students must be interested in everything they do and have a ‘can-do’ attitude. For parents, we want them to share our values and to support the school on our journey.
 
What languages will the students learn?
All students will be taught in English and English is our main language. Thai is taught from the youngest students upwards and they all have four lessons a week in Thai language and culture. We also provide a number of Thai extra-curricular activities and celebrate the major national festivals as we wish all our students to value Thai. All Thai students will study Thai GCSE. Mandarin is our third language and all students from reception age and upwards will study Mandarin. In the future, we will also offer a range of languages for GCSE and we will listen to our parents and students to see what they are interested in studying before confirming these options.

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Shrewsbury principal is taking primary education to a fine art

7/11/2019

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 Shrewsbury International School Bangkok City Campus can certainly justify calling itself a ‘happy school’. Right from the time of arrival, a happy Thai security guard, speaking in English, directed me to the car park. A happy principal, Ms Amanda Dennison, alongside happy staff I met, happy children on campus and happy parents who came to collect them, all confirm my case.
By Maxmilian Wechsler
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The primary school, catering for over 650 pupils aged 3-11 years old, covers 15-rai between New Petchburi and Rama 9 roads. The area of the school is a quiet and picturesque oasis in the city. The school’s environment is very calm. The landscaping throughout the campus has been designed to be very green. On the way in, after passing the lovely fountain, you will see the trees and grass. “We are in a great location,” Ms Dennison shared proudly, and after being shown round, I couldn’t agree more.
 
The British Ambassador H.E. Brian Davidson was on hand together with other VIPs when the campus was officially opened on 22 August 2018.
The school, designed by American architect Bob Holmes, consists of low-rise buildings with connected spaces and large windows, letting in plenty of natural light to aid learning and creativity.
 
Ms Dennison showed me around the campus accompanied by another happy member of the team, Ms Ruth Boxer, Marketing Manager.
 
“I fell in love with Thailand when I was travelling many years ago,” Ms Dennison began the interview. “I always hoped that one day I would return. Back in England, I built my career at home and after working in inner city primary schools – quite tough and challenging schools for that time – I remembered my dream and applied for a Vice Principal, Head of Junior School role, internationally at Shrewsbury. The position was offered to me, I took it with both hands, and now here I am starting my tenth year in Bangkok.

“Shrewsbury is in the county town of Shropshire, in western England. Our Shrewsbury schools in Asia have very strong links with Shrewsbury School UK (which has been at the forefront of British private education for over 450 years). When I go back to England to recruit our staff – I recruit directly from the UK – we hold the interviews at Shrewsbury School UK, so that our teaching candidates know where our story started.”

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DENLA BRITISH SCHOOL (DBS) is ranked as one of “THE BEST INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS IN BANGKOK AND THAILAND 2019

15/10/2019

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One of the leading premium international schools in Thailand, emphasising all-round education and preparing students for world-class universities

Outstanding and different with The Unique DBS Vision.

Mr Mark McVeigh,Principal of Denla British School, who is an expert in education and has all-round experience from leading schools in England and South East Asia, comments that DBS has been created from a vision “Nurturing Global Leaders” that aims to promote educational excellence and leadership in a happy and enthusiastic environment. To build and support students’ successes, DBS operates with the 4 pillars of The Unique DBS Vision, which are An Enhanced British Curriculum, Academic Excellence for All, Entrepreneurship and Creative Thinking, and Community and Global Perspectives.

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THE AMAZING BAMBOO SCHOOL

19/9/2019

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ounder Khun Narawa with Khun Pao, who helped transport the mature banyan tree to the site. His organisation has helped to save doomed trees in Bangkok by replanting them elsewhere.
With its tropical gardens and community spirit, this is a special place
 
By Colin Hastings
Kids learn first about nature and the environment in Bang Saray’s inspirational project
 
A stunning environmentally-friendly school constructed mainly of bamboo is nearing completion in beautiful hilly woodlands near the fishing village of Bang Saray, some 20 kilometers south of Pattaya.
 
The school, the first of its kind in the region, is the highlight and major feature of an inspirational project known as the Baan Sunsaray Community Space, which will also offer local residents all kinds of recreational facilities and amenities like a bakery, grocery store, library and gym as well an area for regular farmers market and other events.
 
In addition to the bamboo school, this remarkable project features a spacious partially-covered area known as the Eco Dome, which brings to mind famous cultured gardens of Europe and Scandinavia with its glorious collection of rare and beautiful tropical plants and flowers. An adjoining area has been set aside to grow vegetables for use in a quaint café-cumworking space located within the project grounds.
Teaching young children to appreciate and value their surroundings is a key element of the Community Space. This message was brilliantly reinforced recently when the project managers had a huge 100-year-old Banyan tree that was about to be uprooted and destroyed to make way for a new section of the Skytrain in Bangkok transported 200 kms from the city and re-planted as a centre-piece of the project grounds.

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BACK TO SCHOOL- THE BIGCHILLI GUIDE TO INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS IN BANGKOK (PART 2)

26/7/2019

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​RIS Swiss Section Deutschsprachige Schule Bangkok
Principal Simon Dörig
Curriculum
Primary: all students will be led to multilingualism beginning with German and English. Bilingual English elements in selected subjects. Additionally, all students learn French from Grade 6 onwards up to the Matura.
Secondary: Subjects will be available in German, English and French and other basic classes. There also special weeks that allow students to explore learning that goes beyond the established curricular content.
Fees
Registration: 200,000 baht one time or 20,000 baht per semester.
Tuition: Nursery - Grade 12 starts from 300,000 - 645,000 baht per year.
Contact
Tel: 02 518 0340, 42-44
www.ris-swiss-section.or
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Singapore International School Bangkok
Curriculum
Nursery - kindergarten: all subjects taught revolve around themes and integrate all the curriculum standards of Socio-emotional development, Literacy, Science and Social studies and etc.
Primary: Uses renowned Singapore curriculum which is ranked top in the world for Math and Science.
Sixth Form: The Cambridge IGCSE offers a flexible and stimulating curriculum, supported with excellent resources and training. The curriculum helps improve performance by developing skills in creative thinking, enquiry and problem solving.
Contact
Tel: 02 158 9090
www.sisb.ac.th​

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