Since the beginning of the school year, 97 Year 3 and 4 students have spent several hours a month visiting children at the SOS Children’s Village in Koh Kaew, with many saying the experience left them feeling “proud” and pleased to meet “new friends”.

The SOS Children’s Village is just 1km from British International School, Phuket (BISP) and was set up in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. It is one of several orphanages established after more than 1,200 children in Thailand lost their parents.

Today the Village provides care for children who can no longer live with their parents and also operates a free kindergarten for those in need. About 60 children aged three to six attend the kindergarten, many of whom live permanently at the Village.

Year 3 and 4 BISP students undertake three one-hour visits to the kindergarten throughout the school year as part of the school’s community outreach programme. 

The students take resources and spend time playing with the children: learning each other’s names, building with construction toys, role-playing, singing songs and developing their communication and English skills.

Year 3 student, Dea, said she befriended a girl called Sushi. “She was so excited to see me she would always climb on my back. I helped her learn the colours of the rainbow. She knows pink and purple,” Dea said.

When asked how it made them feel to build relationships with the children, Anna, Dea and Lash, Year 3, said they felt “happy” and “proud”. 

Year 4 student Kate said she enjoyed singing nursery rhymes with a group of three-year-olds, and Samhita, Year 4, felt so passionate about the programme she decided to donate some of her toys. “The children were so happy,” she said. They were joyful and spirited when we played and sang with them.”

Year 3 teacher Paul Jackson said many students who have completed their hours of service have asked to return to the Village to further strengthen their connections.

“It’s a privilege to be at a school that emphasizes active service within the local community,” said Mr Jackson. “The symbiotic partnership means that we can all grow together. 

“The magical consequence of caring about the wellbeing of others is that our own wellbeing is enriched. My hope is that this project inspires, within our children, a life-long dedication to supporting communities wherever and whenever it is needed.”

Children from SOS Children’s Village also visit the BISP campus twice weekly to work with our Year 12 and 13 IB CAS students in the Early Years teaching space. For more information on BISP’s community outreach programmes, please visit our Outreach page on our website.

We have been very fortunate to have the talented artist Kanjana Khumcruth and her team in the studio for our Artist in Residence week. Thai artist Kanjana has delivered daily workshops to all of our Year 8 and our Y12 IB Visual Art students. Kanjana works in a Pop Art Surrealism style. Her work is reminiscent of her happiness in childhood and takes the form of bright doll-like figures.

The students have learnt how to compose a similar self-portrait in this style with wide eyes and pink toned facial features. They have discovered new blending and brush techniques in acrylic paint. “We were delighted to have the opportunity to work with Kanjana,” commented Charlotte McGuigan, Head of Art and Design at BISP.

If you would like to see, or purchase, Kanjana’s work, she is based in the Gantu Studio in Phuket Town. She is also available for private workshops. https://www.gantustudio88.com/

Kanjana will be joining us again to open the Imponderabilia IB Visual Arts exhibition on the 23rd of March. Click here to watch a highlights video of last year’s exhibition.

Pedro Haueisen de Souza

The soaring and courageous eagle seems to follow Pedro Haueisen de Souza wherever he goes.

In Thailand, the Brazilian-born Portuguese footballer wore the Sea Eagle on his playing shirt at British International School, Phuket (BISP) as he intercepted and boxed balls from the goalkeeper line.

For the imminent future, Souza will continue to wear the symbolic eagle on his shirt, having just signed his first professional contract with top Portuguese club SL Benfica – nicknamed The Eagles.

The club’s emblem features a bald eagle on top of the club’s crest, and its trained mascot – an eagle named Vitória (Victory) – flies around the stadium during home games carrying red and white ribbons. After a few laps, he lands on the club’s crest, completing it.

Pedro (orange shirt) in defence mode for BISP Cruzeiro

Seventeen-year-old Souza has spent the last three seasons as a goalkeeper for Benfica’s U18 academy side – the reigning national youth champions.

His newly penned professional contract will start next season, linking him with last year’s first league champions – and the most decorated club in Portugal – for at least the next three years.

Souza was in the BISP Cruzeiro Football Academy from 2015-2017 under head coach, Jonathas Candido.

“It’s a pleasure to see someone like Pedro reaching out to his dream of becoming a professional football player,” said Coach Jonathas. “I’ve known him since he was an under 9 player at Cruzeiro in Brazil and have followed his career closely ever since. His hard work and dedication have paid off.”

Pedro catching the ball during a training session at BISP

Coach Jonathas added that the path to professional football is not an easy one. “It’s complicated and there are no guarantees. The road is very hard and full of barriers. 

“Young football players must reach for their playing dreams and stretch beyond their comfort zones. Pedro did that when he decided to move from Brazil to Thailand and he has reaped the rewards of this brave step.”

For more information on the BISP Cruzeiro Football Academy, please contact info@bisphuket.ac.th.

On 14 February, more than 50 stuffed toy animals were gifted to children in Phuket Town – each one handmade by an IB CAS student from British International School, Phuket (BISP).

The recipients were the children of Baan Lung Pitak, a daycare centre for children aged two to five whose parents have been jailed for petty crimes.

The Year 12 CAS students conceived the project back in January and quickly got to work making the stuffed toys. They then secured the support of Colgate Thailand, who agreed to support their project by donating a toothbrush, toothpaste and soap to every child at Baan Lung Pitak. In the hope of providing the children with more supplies, the students reached out to the BISP community to sponsor each hygiene pack for 100 Baht. An additional 17,700 Baht was raised, which was then used to purchase diapers, stationery, cleaning products, rice, and a towel for each child. 

The children of Baan Lung Pitak spend their days in a two-room schoolhouse singing songs and doing activities with their teachers. At times there are up to 50 children cared for by three adults. 

Year 12 student, Megan, said it was emotional to see the children’s response to their gifts.

“They all gave us big hugs when we entered and I could see that this little act truly made a positive impact on their day. Once we had left, we couldn’t stop thinking of other ways we could work with this group in the future.

“We would like to extend our thanks to the BISP community for supporting our project and the children of Baan Lung Pitak,” Megan said.

BISP Extended Curriculum Coordinator, David Berman, commented: “This project was 100 percent student-led and is a perfect example of a meaningful CAS project. It’s fantastic to see our BISP students putting so much time, effort and thought into their projects.”

If you are interested in sponsoring this, or any other IB CAS project, please contact info@bisphuket.ac.th.

This week, BISP’s Year 8 students attended lessons on angles and bearings, so it was a good opportunity to learn some practical mathematics outside of the classroom. Students, equipped with compasses, trundle wheels and school maps used their knowledge of bearings and map scales to navigate a course around the school field.

Being able to use compasses effectively put their maths knowledge into the context of real life and is an essential survival skill for any jungle trek! Seb, a Year 8 student who took part, commented, “It was very interesting to use bearings outside, it was a very entertaining exercise!”

Once students had completed the task, they went back into the classroom where they used Google Maps to locate airports around the world, identifying the three figure bearings written on each runway. Each runway has a 2 digit number printed on its approach, to which you can add a 0 to make the 3 figure bearing. For example, the runway at Phuket has 09 printed on the approach, which means the runway is at an angle of 090. This then helps pilots navigate accurately in case of bad weather or equipment failure. Overall this was a nice opportunity to apply the maths of the classroom to a variety of real life situations – and to combine traditional resources such as compasses and trundle wheels with more modern satellite data maps.

This year’s Eco week (March 2nd – 6th at British International School, Phuket (BISP) will be featuring the theme – REDUCTION.

On Monday, the Refectory will offer mostly meat-free options, while on Tuesday the 2020 Eco Newsletter will be launched. You can read last year’s newsletter here. On Wednesday, E-waste Awareness Day will be observed and school tutors will talk about ways to reduce and recycle e-waste safely. Thursday, Carbon Mindful Day, will focus on the school’s energy dependence across the school campus.

Friday will feature an exciting food-waste weigh-in at the refectory to see how much waste we have managed to reduce at the refectory.

A display booth of the Solar Cells we have installed on the Primary roof and a ‘BISP green love’ booth with games to learn more about our BISP trees and plants will be set up over the entire week in the Primary Foyer.

For more information, please contact Ms Mariela or Ms Danielle.

Did you know British International School, Phuket (BISP) is home to 30 different plant species and an estimated 900 trees? With a student body of 875, that’s one tree for every student.

These trees and plants not only add to the wonderful aesthetic of our large, 44-acre campus, but they literally breathe life into it: emitting oxygen and improving air quality.

Trees provide shade in our playgrounds — their leaves absorbing the sun’s radiant energy and reducing UV-B exposure so our students can happily enjoy our outdoor spaces. Trees and shrubs combat climate change by breaking up the heat and releasing water vapour into the air. They support numerous wildlife, both big and small, and benefit the health and wellbeing of all people — especially children.

Trees may just be synonymous with BISP. Together, over 50 prominent Monkey Pod trees form an enchanting archway outside our school gates. In the Early Years playground grows one of the school’s oldest Monkey Pods — its sturdy 26-year-old roots boastfully protruding from the ground. The tree evokes many thoughts and questions from the young inquisitive toddlers who play at its foot.

Trees are, without a doubt, one of nature’s greatest gifts. Through trees, children discover small treasures like bugs and bird’s nests, brightly-coloured flowers, fruits, or fallen leaves that enrich the soil. Trees provide food for many. In the Primary playground, you will see a number of Dolichandrone Serrulata trees, which produce a beautiful white flower often used in Thai cooking.

The Primary School is also home to many Golden Shower trees. With their vibrant yellow flowers, the tree is one of Thailand’s national symbols — and an organic representation of King Rama IX. 

Among our eight boarding houses, sweet Frangipani trees grow alongside fragrant Queen’s Flower trees, which produce seasonal purple blossoms. Coconut and Teakwood trees surround BISP’s upper fields, offering the perfect tropical backdrop for a game of football. Outside the sports hall, the leaves of several Masterwood trees rustle in the wind. 

Our Ravenala madagascariensis trees resemble giant fans and many are over seven meters tall. Their Thai name translates to ‘fanned banana’, and they are commonly known as the ‘traveller’s tree’.

On the walk to the refectory, students often pass towering Mahogany trees that border the school’s lower fields. Half a dozen Banyan trees, with their thick, woody trunks can also be found throughout our campus — majestic in meaning as well as footprint. They need space, and BISP is fortunate enough to have plenty of it.

Near our Brahma shrine is a flourishing Lotus tree. The Lotus is often associated with the Brahma God, known in Hindu as the creator of the world and all creatures, which is why it was planted there. In Thailand, the Lotus is a symbol of prosperity and purity and many believe it represents spiritual awakening.

The Banjoin tree planted in memory of Mr Iain Richardson.

Last year, a special Benjoin tree was planted near the Main Teaching Block in memory of Mr Iain Richardson, our former Head of Science who passed away. In Thai, Banjoin means ‘protection’ — a symbolic and fitting tribute to a much-loved teacher and colleague.

To learn more about BISP’s thriving plant-life, please visit the BISP Green Love Eco Week booth in the Primary Foyer from 2-6 March. For more information about BISP, please contact info@bisphuket.ac.th.

Term 1 featured a flurry of seasonal Performing Arts events that reflected the variety of high quality Music and Drama at BISP. We started our seasonal programme with “Peter Pan the Pantomime” (photos here) performed by an energetic cast of students from Year 7 to 13, followed by our environmental musical performed by a cast of KS2 students telling the tale of plastic pollution in our seas (photos here).

Members of the Primary Cantamus Choir and the BISP Concert Band thrilled audiences with their talent at the Christmas Fair (photos here) organised by the BISP PTA and our traditional “Here Comes Christmas Event” (photos here) in the MTB. BISP parents Choir and Secondary Singers also performed at the latter event – what a truly superb sound they made! The Primary Christmas Concert is always a triumph of choral talent – our Primary students do make Christmas so special.

And now the Secondary students are rehearsing “Legally Blonde” for performances at the end of Term 2.

Try using QR code for the newsletter!

The Second Edition of the ECO@BISP Newsletter has now been released to celebrate this year’s ECO week at British International School, Phuket (BISP).

Click here to read.

This 10-page newsletter is written by students of Eco@BISP, with a passion for the safety of the environment. Their goal is to spread awareness of environmental action taking place in our school and the wider community to address local and global environmental issues and promote practices that address these important issues. Every article is written by students ranging from Year 6 – Year 12 with the support of Mrs Duncan & Ms Jennings. This is a clear display of the passion, interest and knowledge these students have about the world around them. We hope you enjoy reading it.

You can also download a pdf version here.

For more information with regards to BISP’s Eco activities, please contact Mrs Duncan or Ms Jennings. For more information about BISP, please contact info@bisphuket.ac.th.

In celebration of International Women’s day, we are hosting a photo competition inspired by “EyeEm”(a photography & videography website) with the purpose of capturing the diversity and authenticity of women through photography. Diverse imagery of women helps to challenge perceptions and to fight stereotypes and bias. Authentic imagery of women also helps to reflect the vibrant and varied communities in which women live, work and thrive worldwide. To participate, please send your images to relate@bisphuket.ac.th. The winners of the competition will receive prizes!

Important – All pictures must be original and based on females in our community.

Tuesday 10 March: In the wake of many sports cancellations throughout Asia, British International School, Phuket (BISP) has launched a series of internal sports competitions, many of which will run into Term 3.

Last Saturday, the tennis centre held a doubles tournament for its academy players. The knock out event included 40 players (20 pairs) at U10, U14 and U18 level. Matches consisted of one set. Congratulations to U10 winners Ellie and Vanda and runners up Sofia and Claudia; U14 winners Vlada and Zhanna and runners up Ig and Eloise; and U18 winners Jada and Asshwin and runners up Vihana and Jazzmin.

Saturday 7 March also saw the launch of the BISP 3 on 3 Football League. The league will run each Saturday from 8am – 11.30am for the next seven weeks. There are four age groups, from U9 to U18, and matches are 18-minutes duration. Senior players are being given the opportunity to showcase their coaching skills by managing the younger teams. The finals will take place in May. There are still places available, so please contact Coach Jonathas for more information.

After school today (Tuesday 10 March) the sports hall will play host to a 2 on 2 secondary basketball competition. The half-court tournament features 22 teams and games will be 5- minutes long. On Friday 27 March, there will also be a 3 on 3 mixed-grade competition and in Term 3, Primary players will get the opportunity to take part in the ‘Junior NBA League’, beginning on Friday 8 May. Players will be selected from the Primary basketball activity. For more information, please contact Mr Blake.

This Thursday (12 March), the golf centre will welcome players and non-players for a special tournament starting at 3pm. A maximum of 30 spots are available in the draw, so be sure to enter by emailing Coach Nick. There are also prizes up for grabs.

The second LTS Swim League of the year will start at 2pm on Saturday 14 March. This is a fun exhibition event for all swimmers in Stingrays, Seals, Swordfish, Dolphins and Sharks. Please contact Coach Luke to register.

For more information on BISP, please contact info@bisphuket.ac.th.

 During BISP Eco Week, students aged 8 to 18 worked on creating a collaborative art installation using recycled books.

The books were collected over a period of time from our Primary and Secondary libraries; they had been replaced with new copies. Some of the books were more than 15 years old and would have otherwise been sent to a recycling center. This provided us with the perfect opportunity to create some art that brought our students together.

We explored different ways in which to create unique shapes by folding the pages of books in different patterns, as well as rolling tubes with younger students to build a larger structure.

The students very much enjoyed this process and even took books home to fold over the weekend!

We look forward to displaying the work once it has dried in place.

More than 120 swimmers turned out for the second BISP Flying Fish Club Champs of the year on Tuesday 3 March at the 25-metre pool.

Swimmers from Swordfish through to High Performance were able to choose from a variety of events, including the Individual Medley, and were encouraged to register in three or four races.

The event provided students with an opportunity to swim in a relaxed, yet competitive environment and to practice key racing skills.

Coach Charlie, Aquatics Director at British International School, Phuket (BISP), said the swimmers have shown huge improvements since the last Club Champs held in November.

“The swimmers are hungry for competition, which is great to see and are technically looking much better and racing smarter,” he said.

This weekend (Saturday 14 March) the LTS Swim League will take place at the 25m pool from 2pm. The final Club Champs of the year is scheduled for 6 June and a Blue versus Orange inter-squad meet will also be announced shortly.

You can view the Club Champs #2 Flickr album now. For more information on the BISP Swim Programme, please contact info@bisphuket.ac.th.

Legally Blonde is the musical version of a famous Hollywood movie. As usual, we have a fantastic live band and phenomenal choreography, acting and singing to take us through the story which challenges stereotyping on the grounds of looks alone. The cast is made up of students from Year 7 to Year 13 and we know their entertaining performances will leave you with a smile on your face for a long time to come! The performances will take place Monday March 30th, (8.15am & 1.30pm), Tuesday March 31st (10.45am) and Wednesday April 1st (10.45am) in the auditorium.

Students and parents are welcome to join in on the entertainment at the mentioned times. For everyone else, we will be livestreaming multiple performances on our brand new live streaming gear! Watch the stream here on our student-led Youtube channel. Please read the notice below, and be sure to tune in to our livestream if you can’t make it! Livestream link.

NOTICE:

This week we celebrated books!

In the Primary School, this year’s Book Week included a book swap, book quiz, special ‘breakout’ challenges and a masked reader competition, all in the Primary library.

In the breakout challenges, students were asked to complete a series of tasks in order to unlock the code on a lockbox. The Year 1 and 2 students’ tasks were based on rhyming and the Year 3 and 4s on fairytales. The students had 40-minutes to complete the tasks and subsequently break the code on the box. 

Unfortunately, the Year 5 and 6 students were unable to complete their Breakout challenge, which was to be based on a series of books called Mr Lemoncello’s Library.

The masked readers competition saw students uncovering the mystery readers of some of their favourite books. Students were asked to scan QR codes, which led them to all the pre-recorded masked reader videos. They then had to work out who the staff were behind the animated masks. 

For the book quiz held on Tuesday, students were asked questions based on the 18 shortlisted books in this year’s Bangkok Book Awards. More than 60 students across Primary joined the quiz. 

During break time on Monday and Tuesday, Primary students also had the opportunity to listen to books ready by our Year 13 students in Mandarin and Spanish. 

In the Secondary school, Book Week included a daily tutor group literacy challenge, a March Madness book tournament, in which students voted for their favourite book of the year, and a Book Week quiz in which students from each house colour team collaboratively answered questions about books. Congratulations to the Green Falcons who earned 50 points. The winner of the March Madness, garnering 42 votes, was Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown came second place. 

For more information on British International School, Phuket, please visit www.bisphuket.ac.th or contact info@bisphuket.ac.th.

Between the 2-6 of March 2020, BISP held its third annual ECO week! The theme for this year’s event was “Reduction”. This aimed to promote awareness on the many ways our lives can impact the environment and to educate on how we can reduce our impact. ‘Meat-Free Monday’ started the week and students were encouraged to reduce their carbon footprint by choosing vegetarian options. Not only is this good for the environment but also for students’ health. This is a popular initiative run by many organisations across the globe.

Secondary students had many discussion points throughout the week with a popular session on Wednesday in which they looked at E-Waste and why it is not often managed sustainably. Students showed great interest in the impact their devices can have on resource exploitation and were given ways they can make smart, and more “eco-friendly”, consumer choices.

Thursday saw the introduction of “Carbon Mindful Day”, during which classrooms saw the elimination of an energy source every hour. This showed teachers and students just how much energy we use throughout the school day. Students were keen to take these methods of reduction home.

Throughout the week, in Primary, we saw real community spirit. Our Parents committee set up a stand to show students how to make “Eco-Art”. Students loved the activity and we are grateful for our parents giving up their time to educate our students. Along with this, our maintenance staff and Mr. Berman ran classes to educate the students on how our new Solar panels work. We are delighted to say that they are currently covering 15% of our powering needs, and we look to further develop this into the future.

One of the biggest highlights of this year was the introduction of the “BISP Green Love” project. Our CIS team has been working hard to create a QR key and map to educate the community on different plants and trees around the school. Please keep a lookout for these signs as you walk around our beautiful grounds.

The Art Department ran another fantastic initiative to promote reduction. Primary and Secondary students took part in creating collaborative sculptures made of folded paper. Students spent their art classes creatively folding paper from old unwanted library books. These structures were then compiled to create sculpture boxes.

As we look into the foreseeable future, we look forward to our eco committee continuing to help reduce BISP’s carbon footprint.

With extraordinarily well thought out events throughout the week, the BISP ECO club put making the world a better and happier place to live our top priority.

For more information on British International School, Phuket, please visit www.bisphuket.ac.th or contact info@bisphuket.ac.th.

On 14 March 2020, BISP’s Flying Fish swimmers competed in the 2nd Learn To Swim (LTS) event this academic year.

A total of 80 swimmers took part in this competition which included freestyle, butterfly and object collection races. This wonderful event focuses on our younger swimmers being inspired by the older High Performance Team swimmers!

Photos here.

Even under a very hot weekend sun, parents of the swimmers and other spectators filled the stands and cheered on the young athletes.

“As is tradition, the main focus is on our swimmers to showcase their skills, improvements in their techniques and, quite simply, have a good time in a relaxed and fun atmosphere,” commented Luke Curtis, BISP’s LTS Coordinator, who was very happy with the success of the event.

Read our previous story about the November LTS Swim League here.

For more information on British International School, Phuket, please visit www.bisphuket.ac.th or contact info@bisphuket.ac.th.

BISP’s Primary School Principal sends a message to the students. Click here.

BISP’s Head of Wellbeing sends a message to the students. Click here.

BISP’s Primary School Principal’s End of Term 2 2020 address. Click here.