December 2008

Amnuay Silpa Becomes First Bilingual School in Thailand to

Serve as a Cambridge International Exams (CIE) Centre

Martin Clarke, Head of Mathayom, and Daryl Chan,

Inspector of Exam Centres for CIE, discussing

proper examination rooms.

Cambridge International Education (CIE) Accreditation

          On October 10, 2008 Mr. Daryl Chan, Inspector of Exam Centres for Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) visited Amnuay Silpa Bilingual School for an inspection visit.  This visit is an integral part of the CIE Accreditation process where a school is assessed for its ability to provide proper facilities for the rigorous International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and Advanced Subsidiary (AS) academic programs. Only 1,100 schools and education providers are registered as Cambridge International Centres worldwide, and Amnuay Silpa is the only bilingual school in Thailand also serving as a Cambridge Centre.  Students at Amnuay Silpa will join students in over 6,000 schools in 150 countries in studying CIE courses.  Becoming a Cambridge Centre requires a school to meet strict international educational standards for facilities including:

              ∙  A secure room and container for examination papers

              ∙  A library with reference, nonfiction, fiction, and careers sections

              ∙  Well lit, quiet, and spacious examination rooms

              ∙  An adequate science laboratory with appropriate preparation

                 and storage areas, and relevant health and safety procedures

              ∙  An ICT room with up-to-date technology

Amnuay Silpa Approved as a CIE Centre

          The Amnuay Silpa Community will be pleased to know that Amnuay Silpa was approved on October 29th 2008 as an official Cambridge International Centre.  Starting January 1, 2009 Amnuay Silpa teachers and students will have access to resources online through the CIE website.  This website is an invaluable asset for teachers and students offering a wide range of opportunities for students to prepare for examinations and for teachers to participate in professional development activities.  Students can access revision checklists, past papers, and model answers and teachers can download schemes of work, teaching units, and recommended resources.  Students and teachers can also participate in discussion groups online.

            Martin Clarke, the Head of Secondary, has taught CIE courses for twenty years in four different subject areas: geography, history, economics, and environmental management.  For him watching an IGCSE programme grow from the ground up is particularly satisfying, "This year we are laying the foundation for the IGCSE programme and I've already seen substantial improvement in the academic conduct of our students," he said recently as he reflected upon the progress made in Term 1.

Mock IGCSE English Exams

     On November 28th Mathayom 4 students took a mock IGCSE English exam under exam conditions.  This mock exam provided students with an opportunity to show their English proficiency across three language domains: reading, writing, and listening.  The speaking component of their exam will take place in their regular classrooms.  An entire day was set aside for this exam and students were expected to abide by international standards of conduct required of international exams.  Mock IGCSE exams play an integral role in the delivery of the IGCSE English curriculum giving teachers valuable data about student proficiency in English.  Students get assessed with mark schemes provided by Cambridge International Examinations and learn about their strengths and weaknesses. 

Mock IGCSE ESL Exam Results

Grades B & C

Grade B

Chankajorn Nichakarn  Pim 

Chaovanaopas Tachapol  Kob

Krsaesub Sittipoj  Phai

Seetubtim Pornchanock  Atom

Thattananurat Kamolpaht  Peach

Vatanasuvarn Sompat Pat

Grade C

Bendjalakporn Napat Tata

Komolvanich Jate Ben

Suwanparin Suparat Pan

Waeachatdacha Schyutt

Congratulations!

Key Stage 4 Term 1 Academic Awards

           Congratulations to the students who were recently recognized for their academic achievement in Key Stage 4.  Teachers selected two of the best students academically and one most improved student for each section taught.  The following ten students received the highest honours in being awarded multiple awards across subjects.  (To see all of the Key Stage 4 Term 1 Academic Awards go to the awards page.)  It should be noted that these students succeeded academically in a bilingual environment, performing well across both English and Thai language subjects. 

Key Stage 4 Term 1 Academic All Star Award Winners

 Gold

M3/2: Chotika Parinayok (Bee)

 Silver

M4/2:  Ming Sirakowit (Ming)

M4/2: Pornchanok Seetubtim (Atom)

M3/2: Cholatorn Anuntasate (Taew)

M4/1: Peranut Plitponkarnpim (Nut)

 Bronze

M3/1: Piti Chaiwattanasaransuk (Piti)

M4/1: Boonyakorn Papangkorn (Boony)

M3/3 Pimpitcha Youthong (Pizza)

M3/1: Piti Chaiwattanasaransuk (Piti)*

 Honorable Mention

M4/1: Jongthipa Sowawatthianakul (Paeng)

 Most Improved

M3/1: Chanakant Kulnipat (Joke)

*not pictured

Key Stage 4 Homerooms

          Term 1 in Key Stage 4 was a huge success with the introduction of the Key Stage 4 homeroom and assembly system.  Each student carries around a homework diary with a form teachers can sign for exemplary work.  Ten signatures earns a student a commendation certificate which is awarded at Key Stage 4 assemblies.  Homeroom offers a time for students to prepare for their day and a chance for homeroom teachers to touch base with students and how students are doing in school and also to make announcements. Key Stage 4 assemblies provide opportunities to recognize student achievement and a forum for student presentations.  Thai and foreign teachers work together on a daily basis modeling cross- cultural communication and cooperation.

Mr. Sinnott and Mr. Songrit guiding M3/2 students during homeroom.

Key Stage 4 Commendation Awards

Key Stage 4 Assembly

11 December 2008

Key Stage 4 Assembly

10 September 2008

IGCSE: Moving Forward

         In Key Stage 4 the IGCSE program made great strides.  Students in Mathayom 3 began IGCSE maths and English ESL.  Selected Mathayom 4 students will sit the IGCSE English ESL exam this May/June. An IGCSE officer has been appointed who will manage the  IGCSE exams timetable, collection of exam results, and the professional development available for teachers through CIE.  Mock IGCSE exams will be conducted in November to identify student ability and to offer practice for students to perform under exam conditions. 

IGCSE Maths: Real Life Application

           In maths students began a rigorous two-year program where they will learn how to think critically using mathematical concepts.  Included in the maths syllabus are the following outcomes:

          1.  organising, interpreting and presenting information accurately in written,

               tabular, graphical and diagrammatic forms;         

          2.  recognising and using spatial relationships in two and three dimensions,

               particularly in solving problems;

          3.  making logical deductions from given mathematical data;

          4.  recognising patterns and structures in a variety of situations, and form

               generalisations;

          5.  applying combinations of mathematical skills and techniques in problem

               solving;

          Over the course of their IGCSE maths program students will engage the following math domains:

∙  statistics, probability,

∙  ratio, proportion, and rate

∙  graphs

∙  algebra

∙  geometry

∙  trigonometry

∙ number

           In term 1 students in Mr. Millington's maths class learned about probability. Probability is a major part of mathematics as it is a direct link between theoretical and experimental mathematics. The students in Mr. Millington's class have been working on this link and the practical way it is used in business without losing track of the fact that chance plays a huge part in all our lives every day.  Mr. Millington tries to teach students to ask important questions and encourages the application of mathematical concepts to the real world.  For example, students have calculated what it would cost to insure someone for healthcare and life insurance based on statistical information.

English: The IGCSE ESL Syllabus

          This past term students are building on the success of last year's IGCSE results on the ESL exam.  As they have been working through the IGCSE ESL syllabus they are becoming more confident across all four language domains: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  The following is a list of some of the important skills that are required in successfully completing the IGCSE ESL syllabus:

 ∙  reading a wide variety of texts

∙  writing in a variety of styles

∙  drawing conclusions

∙  distinguishing between facts, ideas, and opinions

∙  pointing out themes

∙  express opinions effectively

∙  conduct sustained conversations

∙  communicate arguments, ideas, and information

 Exemplary Work in English

 "It will blind you with tears like a lover..."

                                                      Carol Anne Duffy   

           In Mr. Theze's Mathayom 4/2 class students studied Carol Ann Duffy's poem "Valentine" where she compares love to an onion. They are alike, for example, because both can make us cry. The students were then given an opportunity to write their own poems using extended metaphors which are metaphors that continue into the sentences that follow and developed at great length.  Students in M2/3 and M3/2 studied a number of short texts in order to discover how writers successfully create mood and tension in their writing. "The Cellar" was a first attempt by students to practise the techniques that they had observed. 

            In Ms. Heider's class students wrote a letter to a friend about a holiday he or she had gone on.  Ms. Heider taught students how to write descriptively to make their letters more interesting.  

"For me I’m alone

in the night,

With the darkness

covering my sight,

For me now

the star is bright,

With the feeling of someone

blowing a  pipe..."

The Fragile Night

Sompat Vatanasuvarn (Pat) M4/1

          In Ms. Woo's class students read a poem, "The Sound Collector." The stimulus for the lesson was a poem called "The Sound Collector," written by a famous Liverpool poet Roger McGough. In the poem, he imagines what life would be like if the sounds we hear every day were suddenly removed. The class was asked to write a similar poem about sounds, which would be suitable for a younger audience. Ms. Woo was delighted with the poems the students  produced. The fact that they have been written by students who aren’t native English speakers makes them even more impressive.  Another thing Ms. Woo tried to get across was the idea that poets write with a certain freedom that allows them to experiment with language using language in unconventional ways.

 Social Studies (English)

Student presentations in social studies.

          In Mr. Sinnott's Mathayom 4 class students have been studying settlement and hierarchy and in Mathayom 3 students have been learning about the ancient civilizations of the ancient Hebrews and ancient Mesopotamia.  An important part of learning in Mr. Sinnott's classroom is the ability to think conceptually about themes about the topics that are studied.  Students are also required to gather information from various sources and then articulate their ideas about this information with each other in powerpoint presentations.  All students are then evaluated with a rubric for presentation and communication skills.  Students are expected to speak clearly and convincingly.  There are ten thematic strands which guide the teaching and learning of social studies in Mr. Sinnott's classroom:

 Social Studies Themes (English)

     Learned side by side with Thai social studies, students learn about the world through two different cultural points of view providing a rich understanding of the dynamics of history, culture, and society. 

Sompat Vatanasuvran    (Pat)

M4/1 Academic Achievement: Social Studies (English)

 ICT: International Computer Driving License (ICDL)

           This term the International Computer Driving License was introduced in Mathayom 4 in Mr. Martindale's ICT class.  In Term 1 Mr. Martindale taught students how to create a database using Microsoft Access.  Microsoft Access is used throughout the business world to organize data for a wide range of purposes and the ability to use Access in the real world is an extremely valuable asset for employers.  Students learned about objects, fields, and relational databases among other things and they learned how to think conceptually with others to complete tasks.

            The ICDL is a two-year course which prepares students to meet the standards of the international workplace. The Programme is currently featured in over 120 countries worldwide and offered in more than 25 languages. The ICDL requires students to successfully complete seven modules comprised of a worldwide syllabus culminating in an internationally recognised ICT skills certification, verifying competence in computer use across most commercial software platforms (Microsoft,Lotus, etc). Below is a list of the ICDL modules:

ICDL Modules

 1.  Basic Concepts

2.  Using the computer and managing files

3.  Word Processing

4.  Spreadsheets

5.  Databases

6.  Presentation Tools

7.  Information and Communication

Mr. Martindale, ICT teacher

IGCSE Science

 Mathayom themes progress at the end of Term 1 2008-09

     At the end of Term 1, 2008, the high school presented their work to date on their themes. Mathayom 3 presented their PowerPoint presentations and materials that they will be using to build their inventions as part of their innovation theme. This is excellent preparation for the IGCSE Combined Science practical exam. We have some wonderful student innovations this year including those shown in the pictures below.

          This group of students (above) has invented a mosquito catcher that uses light to attract mosquitoes and a fan to blow mosquitoes into a net. After several hours, there are enough mosquitoes to be collected and made into fish food.

Students in this group have designed a letter box that uses a sensor and electronics and gives off an alarm when a letter is in the letter box.

New Teachers

                   Ms. Michelle Woo

           Ms. Woo is from Liverpool, England and has taught for fifteen years and has a BA in English with a PGCE.  She has two children, Amanda, 27, and Steven, 25.  She has taught and been an examiner at a range of levels including O and A levels and has also taught adult education in a sixth form college.  In her busy life she managed to write and produce a play of her own also.  Ms. Woo's experience will be an invaluable resource for the English faculty.

Ms. Steffi Heider

           Steffi hails from Berlin, Germany where she studied and received a BA in Slavistic Studies at Berlin University.  She then left Germany for Ireland and completed a BA in Modern Languages from Cork University. She taught German in Ireland and then worked on the Isle of Man for two years as an EAL teacher.  She enjoys traveling, jazz dance, photography, and sports.  She took Mr. Demarky's place for the second half of term 1 as an English teacher and  she will be working again as an EAL support teacher at Amnuay Silpa School in term 2.   Steffi's background and skills are a welcome addition to the English program.

Mr. Johnny Lawlor

           Mr. Lawler recently joined the faculty and will be teaching maths and science.  He is from Cork, Ireland and received a BA in maths and economics from the University College Cork.  He also has Higher Diplomas in applied science and education.  He taught on the Isle of Man for three-and-a-half years and enjoys traveling, photography, music, and natural history.