16th August 2024
Dear Samakee Community,
We are delighted to welcome you back to a new school year, and we hope you had a restful summer break. Seeing and hearing the excitement as students reconnected with friends and teachers this week was delightful. The transition has been seamless for both our new students embarking on this journey and our returning students. This positive atmosphere signifies the strong sense of community that defines Samakee and is a reminder that our school isn’t just a place of education but also a place where relationships are nurtured, memories are created, and growth is fostered.
Over the summer, we have been working tirelessly on school improvements. Despite the challenges of heavy rains causing some delays, we have made significant progress. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and we are excited to share the details of these improvements with you.
- The Inclusion Centre has a new roof and internal layout that benefits students, teachers and therapists.
- The 25-metre pool drainage channel has been extended around the dive blocks to help prevent flooding and overspilling. The pool was also emptied, and the tiles and surrounds were cleaned.
- We are converting the small football pitch into a basketball court. Due to a lack of time and heavy rainfall during the holiday, the project is being split into three stages. We expect to complete the first stage over the weekend so the children can access both Playing Field 1 for football and the new Basketball Court. As soon as the court has had sufficient time to dry, the court lines will be painted on, completing stage 2. We will add a roof to complete the project during the next long holiday.
Swim training, basketball and football ECAs for participating Year 3-9 students will begin next week, and there are still spaces for late signups! Please visit the office for more information. Thank you.
End of School Day Routines
We love seeing our students enjoy time with their friends and play games after the school day ends. However, once you collect your child from their teacher or the hall at dismissal time, we kindly ask that you supervise their play while on the school grounds. Our teachers have other commitments after school and are not available to provide supervision during this time.
We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring a safe and happy environment for all our children. Thank you for your understanding and support!
Parent Welcome Evening
This is just a friendly reminder that our Parents’ Evening is coming up on Thursday, August 29th! This is a wonderful opportunity to meet with your child’s teachers, visit their classrooms, and connect with other parents.
We look forward to seeing you there and having a great evening together!
Bangkok International School Athletic League
St Andrews Samakee is proud to be a founding member of the North Division Athletic League, where we will participate in a series of invitation tournaments. To kick off, we will organise Football, Basketball, and Swimming competitions for U9, U11, U13, and U15 age groups. This means that all students at St Andrews Samakee will have the opportunity to compete if selected from their respective ECA teams.
We are excited to see this as the beginning of expanded opportunities for our students, starting next week with Football and Basketball ECAs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Simon Dale.
BISAL Mission Statement:
BISAL (Bangkok International School Athletic League) was established to foster camaraderie, sportsmanship, and healthy competition among schools by providing regular opportunities for organised sporting events, creating a positive, mindful, and inclusive environment for lasting memories and friendships. We aim to inspire a love for sportsmanship and competition through events and emphasise not just winning, but the development of teamwork, community spirit, and meaningful connections.
Teaching and Learning Highlights!
Welcome Back to School – First School
It has been an absolute delight to welcome our youngest children back to school this week! We are so pleased to see how quickly they are settling into their new routines, making new friends, and getting to know their teachers and learning spaces. Their enthusiasm and smiles brighten our days, and we’re excited to see them grow and thrive in the coming weeks.
Welcome Back to School – Middle School
We had a heartwarming day back in Year 2! We started by sharing what we did during the summer. Each child introduced themselves and shared one thing they love. The children also had some time to explore EBL activities. One activity they thoroughly enjoyed was observing a real-life caterpillar. We read a book called “A Letter from Your Teacher” and created “All About Me” posters. We also made our class rules and went through routines and expectations.
We have had a super start to Y3! Well done to all of the children for coming to school with a positive attitude, enthusiastic and ready to learn. The children have taken part in lots of fun activities such as team building games involving speed cup stacking, finding out about and doing some research on our new topic and sharing with their classmates what they have been up to in the break. Great job everyone!
We had a fantastic day back in Year 4! We settled into our class routines, planned our Y4 class agreement and had some fun playing games. It was a great first day back and the Y4 team look forward to working with your child this year.
Welcome Back to School – Upper School
It was an absolute blast as they kicked off their first day in Upper School! We started the day by getting back into the swing of things with some fun icebreakers, and then joined the rest of Upper school for a lively welcome back assembly.
After break, we dived into our House group activities with a focus on mindfulness—exploring Mindful Movement, Mindful Art, and Mindful Thought. It was a great way to get centered and ready for the exciting year ahead.
Post-lunch, the real fun began as they teamed up in their Houses for some action-packed challenges! From the intense Apple Annihilator, to the Samakee Mini Olympics, and the speedy Minute to Win It games, it was a day full of teamwork, laughter, and a whole lot of energy.
What a fantastic start to the year! Here’s to many more adventures ahead!
Upcoming Important Events
August
- 29th – Parent Welcome Evening
- 17:30 – Refreshments (Hall)
- 18:00 – Meet the teachers (Classrooms)
September
- 2nd – Club Fair – 14:30
- 9th – ECAs / Clubs Begin
- 10th – Little Learners Begins
- 11th – 1st House Event
- 14th – SHR Swim Meet-Mini Storm
- 19th – MS / US Stay Late
- 25th – 26th – Music Workshop with Estevao Marques
SAS LINE Communication Platform
LINE is a widely used communication platform in Thailand, and it’s a platform that Samakee has been utilizing for quite some time. We encourage all our families to connect with our official SAS LINE account to ensure we can easily disseminate important school-wide updates to our entire school community. Click to add
Monica L Sudhirak
Head of School
Head of School, Monica L Sudhirak: msudhirak@standrews-samakee.com
First School Phase Leader, Tabietha Sudhirak: tsudhirak@standrews-samakee.com
Middle School Phase leader, Hannah Riddi: hannah.ridd@standrews-samakee.com
Upper School Phase Leader, Nicky Page: npage@standrews-samakee.com