Welcome to TSEP
International and Scout camps 09
Last Updated () Written by dennisadmin Friday, 18 December 2009 01:53
It was that time of year again, back to Nakhorn Chaisi for TSEP’s annual Scout Camp. This year Secondary headed off first while primary stayed back and did some fun scout activities. Here at the school we had balloon games, a three legged obstacle course, steal the bacon, and teacher David’s famous “egg sucking” trick which ended up not happening because he forgot to boil the eggs! Speaking of eggs, I ended up cooking probably 100 of them to make French toast for my scout activity. Of course I ended up burning a few and ended up smelling like a big gross burnt egg. We all got to the camp around two o’clock and I was able to take a shower.
While primary were doing their scout activities, secondary were on their way to camp. By the time we got there things were in full force. T. Dan and T. Bow were heading up the X-men game which had nothing to do with X-men at all except for T. Daniel’s super pony tail powers. T. Roger and T. Chai had the students dressed in overalls and were seeing how many balloons they could shove inside. I have no idea what you could possibly call this game. T. Keith and T. Earng were in charge of the Blind Fruit Basket Challenge where students had to guide each other around until they were forced to eat some nasty looking fruit. Good thing they were blindfolded. T. Tony and T. Aw did something with beads in a tank where they had to match some colors and T. Dennis and T. Toey had the big tube of water that you had to fill. The problem was it was full of holes. Students came up with some pretty creative ideas to fill it up. Our smallest teacher (T. Cream) and our tallest teacher (T. Brett) were in charge of the blind guessing game where you felt someone’s face and tried to guess who it was. The funny part was the guesser had their hands full of powder! If that didn’t amuse you enough, than just the site of T. Cream working beside T. Brett was enough to make you chuckle.
After the students washed up it was cooking time. It always surprises me how well some of you can cook! Everything was available from hot dogs to fried chicken, sea food, noodles, French fries and of course lots of Coca cola to keep the energy flowing. The students and teachers loved the food and some teachers had many plates full.
Students once again washed up in anticipation of the big show. The Grade 7 Gals put on a great dance just like they usually do. I think every other performance had some type of boy dressed as a girl. Some were funny and some were………never mind. Songs were sang, dances were danced and it was a really great time all around.
The evening culminated with a very special and emotional ceremony where the students came around to their teachers who tied strings on their wrists and wished them luck. I know all the foreign staff didn’t expect it but it was by far our favorite part. To be able to talk individually to each student, wish them luck, and give them some advice really tugged at our hearts. I know I almost cried a couple of times for some of my special students but I kept it together. Some tears fell, but that is okay as it was very special for so many.
It was an early morning for everyone as the alarm went off at 5 am. Oh too early for me! I know a few students and teachers didn’t want to get up but everyone managed to get washed and fed for the day ahead. There were a few more scout activities and the best scouts received awards. It was a great job done by all scouts and they celebrated with a cheer and a big throw of their hats. It looked really cool.
Meanwhile on the other side of the camp some initiation ceremonies were taking place. Grade 11 and 12 had organized their own “interrelationship” camp which included prickly heat powder, fish sauce, gross looking food, and eels. After talking to the students it seemed most enjoyed being “initiated” into secondary at TSEP but there were some who didn’t have all that much fun. Many students have been dreaming about taking revenge on their senior counterparts.
Finally, it was time to shower, pack up and get back on the buses for Bangkok. Many students said next year we should do scout camp for two days next year. I totally agree. Hopefully the mosquitoes aren’t so bad though.
Overall I think the camp was a success. Students had fun for the most part, the teachers had a good time and there were definitely some memorable moments we will all remember. I can’t wait for next year!
Birthday 09
Last Updated (Tuesday, 22 September 2009 02:55) Tuesday, 22 September 2009 01:56
Friday 18th September was a very special day here at TSEP. It was a day to celebrate teacher Narong’s 70th birthday and Thewphaingarm School 35th birthday. The day was spent having wonderful parties attended by both TSEP students and Thewphaingarm school students to show the deep respect and love that everyone has for teacher Narong. Many of the students have been working really hard to produce some wonderful acts to present on stage during the proceedings.
In the morning it was the secondary students’ show which started with teacher Narong entering to a round of applause. The first stage act was performed in Thai with students singing and dancing wearing traditional Thai costumes. It was a colourful and musical display. After this more students took to the stage and performed a montage of songs which were sung in French, including “Happy Birthday”.
Following this was a medley of excellent songs performed by TSEP students. Pukky and Fah from G8 performed “Yesterday” which was a hit from the timeless Beatles. Grade 10’s up and coming superstar, Boss, sang “My Way”, which is a very famous song written and sang by the legendary Frank Sinatra. Dao from Grade 9 was last to sing with a beautifully executed version of “Love Me Tender”, which was originally performed by “The King of Rock’n’ Roll”, Elvis Presley.
The penultimate performance of the morning saw students on stage mimicking their favourite Thai superstars. This was well executed and provided great entertainment for everyone. The last song was the “Umbrella Song” performed by an array of students from Thewphaingarm school.
After the stage show teacher Narong gave a motivational speech and was then presented with birthday presents. Then everyone lit candles and sang happy birthday to their mentor.
The last event was a superb presentation given by Charoen and Orawan Othong, a Thai couple who have achieved the amazing feat of cycling round the world. This chronicled their adventure in detail and included riding a bicycle for four months across a desert, surviving a gang shooting, confronting a western diamondback rattlesnake, and being jailed for illegal entry were part of the five-year, 11-month journey Wan and Mou took around the globe. In total they covered 43 different countries.
In the afternoon it was the turn of Kindergarten and the primary students to have their birthday celebration. This began with a beautiful presentation which showed the students in their school environment both at work and play.
The performances started with some very young students who performed traditional Thai dancing wearing a variety of colourful costumes. This was followed by Kindergarten students who performed a disco style dance to some rather upbeat music. They wore dazzling outfits which included some ballerinas.
After this, Golf, Zygnus, Nut and Wynn from Grades 4 and 5 at TSEP gave a speech to say how much they love teacher Narong and respect all that he has done for them in their young lives. They ended with best birthday wishes. Straight after this Grades 4, 5, and 6 sent a cohort on stage and performed “Stand By Me” which was originally performed by Ben E. King.
TSEP DAY 09
Last Updated (Tuesday, 22 September 2009 02:52) Tuesday, 22 September 2009 01:54
The afternoon of Friday 28th August was when this year’s TSEP Day celebrations took place. The event was held in the splendor of the grand hall on the 4th floor of Thewphaingarm School and was eagerly anticipated by everyone.
The event started as various students from different grades had a chance to demonstrate their piano playing skills while students were being seated and parents were arriving. Once everyone was sitting comfortably the days manifesto commenced.
The first thing to happen was a tribute to last years Grade 12 students. This took the form of a large screen presentation and chronicled the students’ achievements and lives throughout their time at TSEP last year. Farewell Grade 12 and everyone wishes you all the best for the future. This was followed by a recap of many of the important events which happened at TSEP over the last year.
After Rabert and Dee from Grade 12 announced the opening of TSEP Day, Teacher Narong took to the stage and gave a motivational speech. He focused on peoples character with respect to good manners, how one carries oneself, and personal values.
Following this all of the teachers at TSEP were introduced to the audience. One by one they were called to the stage with their homeroom teachers until the stage was full. Next year we might need a bigger stage!
Next up was a serious of speeches by TSEP’s head teachers. Teacher Thaneeya talked about TSEP and teacher Preet gave a presentation about last years academic achievements and about the curriculum. Teacher James Mansbridge talked about contact between teachers and parents and Teacher James Calder talked about the importance of homework.
After this the Kindergarten teachers presented their students with the coveted “Student of the Year” awards. These were given to students who have shone throughout the year and excelled in a variety of ways at TSEP.
The first show of the day was performed by all the students in Kindergarten. Teachers Heather, Louise and Sophia accompanied the army of tiny people onto the stage where they performed a wonderful dance routine to a song called “Do the Monkey”. The children dance well and had the chance to act like many of their favourite animals.
Second on the stage was a riveting debate between students from Grade 10. The topic of the debate was “EQ versus IQ”. EQ is a measure of your emotional intelligence, or your ability to use both your emotions and cognitive skills in your life. IQ is a number used to express the apparent relative intelligence of a person. The debate raged on and captivated the audience.
The third act of the day was performed by Grade 12. Many readers will have heard of a song called “Thriller”. This is a masterpiece of music and video created by the late and great Michael Jackson (RIP). The senior students recreated this on stage. It started with a classroom scene which was themed around Teacher Dan’s pony tail and soon transformed into a magnificent and thrilling dance routine which was true to Jackson’s original. The students made remarkably life like zombies of themselves and Poom portrayed Jackson so well that some students thought he had come back from the dead! It was a fantastic performance.
Grades 5, 6, and 11 created a game show atmosphere with a quiz show entitled “QuizMania”. Members of Grades 5 and 6 competed against each other in a Jeopardy style game which was presented on the big screen using a projector! Arty (Grade 11) was the enigmatic game show host while his fellow classmates P and Benz did a great job of being the question masters. The younger grades worked hard during their computer classes to produce the quiz using Powerpoint, and both the grades wrote the questions for each other. Congratulations to all who took part and especially to Grade 5 who had a landslide victory.
The members of Grade 7 were next to perform with a play entitled “Snow White and the Noodle Family”. This awesome performance was a modern day version of the Disney favourite “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” and was set right here in Bangkok. Unfortunately Disney wouldn’t let the dwarves out of their contract to make an appearance at TSEP Day, but luckily members of the Noodle family were available to step in and fill the breach. They were also accompanied by their rather scruffy soi dog who was played by Wawa. The act was a fantastic display of thesbianism portrayed by all of Grade 7 and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. It even included an authentic Tuk Tuk, a motorbike taxi, and a tree.
Straight after the previous show some of Grade 7 came back to the stage again accompanied by some of Grade 9. They joined forces and belted out a wonderful song called “Heal the World”, another song written and composed by the late Michael Jackson (RIP). The rendition was a superb recreation of the masters epic masterpiece and spookily his presence was felt by everyone.
The whole of Grade 2 and Grade 3 were on stage next and performed a wonderful rendition of the timeless classic fairytale which goes by the name of “The Three Little Pigs”. The show also had guest appearances by “Little Red Riding Hood” played by Beam in Grade 3 and “Little Red Riding Hood’s Little Red Sister” played by Beam’s own little sister, Moo-Yor in Grade 2. Teacher Adam incorporated a multimedia presentation to complement the performance which provided extra stunning visual and sound effects. All students performed admirably and professionally, and the wolves were really very scary.
The final acty of the day was perfomed by both of our Grade 4 classes. The boys performed a traditional Maori (from New Zealand) war dance called a Hakka. All the students made their own traditional Maori costumes and painted their faces to mimic Maori Tatoos. They all learnt the words to the Hakki in the Maori language. The girls performed a Maori dance that only women are allowed to do called a Poi dance. The Hakka is a warrior dance designed to terrify and put fear into the enemy – it seemed to work as a lot of the audience looked suitably scared.
After the shows were finished the parents had an opportunity to talk to the teachers and to view the wonderful array of projects and displays that were on show outside the main hall. All the students put a lot of effort into producing their displays and this could be seen in the variety and excellence of them all.
All in all TSEP day was a wonderful event and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Congratulations to everyone who was involved.
Singing Competition
Last Updated (Tuesday, 22 September 2009 02:59) Tuesday, 22 September 2009 01:52
A huge and memorable occasion came to TSEP on September 3rd. It was a huge opportunity for our TSEP stars to shine, and shine they did! TSEP’s annual singing competition was contested like never before15 budding popstars sang their hearts out and raised the roof of the ‘Green Room’ in the TSEP building.
The host for the afternoon was MC Jimmy Pow, who bought his usual panache to the show, while the judging panel was made up of the stars of TSEP, T. Roger, T. Rebecca and of course, T. Rob, who started the proceedings by demonstrating how it can be done. He took control of the stage and romped around it. His exciting and excellent version of the Beatles hit, Twist and Shout put the crowd in the mood for a huge afternoon of performances.
All the students love a good singing contest, and this was great. Singing is a great form of expression for students, and something you can enjoy in your free time. Boss from grade 10 started the show and really set the standard, his confident performance showed how easy it can be!
The grade 6 students, Oom and Dtua then came on and performed a huge dance hit duet. ‘Barbie Girl’ made them an instant sensation, with some great freestyle dancing from Dtua! Ball from grade 3 followed with a wonderful song, and Adele from grade 3 then really took the crowd to new levels with a wonderful performance which was clear and professionally performed.
Grade 6’s second entry from Noey was a huge crowd pleaser, a modern hit, which had the crowd clapping along and was as tuneful as the real thing! The first 5 had the crowd happily bopping along.
Juping followed this, his version of ‘Bad day’ which demonsrated the usually quiet Juping really does have a powerful voice. Prae from grade 11 followed with a classic number from Mariah Carey, never easy to do, but her hard work and effort paid off, she really entertained the crowd and her beautiful voice made the song just right! This was followed by another classic hit, ‘I just can’t take my eyes off of you!’ by Mathew from grade 4 – always a great contestant, this time with grade 2 girls as backing dancers, he put on a great show.
Grade 4 followed; Ryu, Wynn, Ne Ne performed a great track and kept the crowd clapping along. The second half of the grade 4 groups, Kamp, Power, Jean and Puri, with their dance team from grade 4 and 5 offered the Michael Jackson classic, ‘Black or White’, the singing was not up to Michael’s standards, but the performance was marvelous.
We progressed into the big numbers, Sierra from grade 10, who seemed nervous backstage powered onto the stage and gave a great version of a Tata Young number, which picked the crowd back up and bought a great voice to the stage. Her presence on stage dominated the crowd and she loved it! Fern and May from grade - - appeared and set the crowd alight with their lovely voices.
Tihear made his cameo performance at this point, a brave song and dance from Tihear. He didn’t stop smiling and clearly loved it! Then grade 8 girls, Paifah and Pukky followed this and gave the performance of their lives, their wonderful voices rang through the venue. Even when the music stopped they didn’t! Such an emotional performance from the girls, the crowd was swept away!
The highlight of the afternoon really was left for last, Dow from grade 9, a late entrant, stepped into the limelight; she took to the stage and left the crowd in awe. Her voice powered around the room and she performed her version of the modern hit ‘ If I ain’t got you’. Such an amazing voice left the judges with no choice of the winner for the secondary performance, Sierra came second, and Paifah and Pukky’s duo third.
Primary was won by a plucky Mathew, but well contested by Noey and Adele in second and third place respectively. The judges were strict, strong and stringent with their marks and it was a well fought contest from the TSEP students. I think the whole afternoon was a great success, and enjoyed by the crowd as well as the singers themselves.
Business Presentation 09
Last Updated (Tuesday, 22 September 2009 02:38) Tuesday, 22 September 2009 01:51
The Grade 10 computer class recently put on presentations for their business unit. The class was split into five groups and told to come up with a company. The scenario: The foreign staff are foreign investors looking for somewhere in Thailand to invest their money. The aim of the project was to practice IT skills, public speaking skills, and learn how to promote products. The students spent many hours designing brochures and websites for the project. At the end they presented what they had during this month’s assembly as a competition to see who could combine the best product with the best pitch.
First was Chai Talay Resort, a beautiful but fictitious place where you would be crazy not to stay at. Both Mint and Save did very well pitching the resort and even Wat and Earth spoke! Tong, a regular in speaking, both in and out of turn, was surprisingly quiet and did very good as well. Overall I would stay at Chai Talay Resort in the future but maybe I need some more money. It looked Hi-So!
After Chai Talay Resort’s presentation it was Bang Bang’s turn to pitch their product. Oak had quite the crew to work with: Chin, Aek, J, B and Mon. They were the perfect guys though because those stylish dudes created a clothing line for young guys like themselves. Their speaking was good, and they had designed some great images. Cool guys make cool clothes.
The third group to present up brewed up a great presentation showing us what a real cup of coffee should be. I drank up Cherry KoKo’s presentation of their coffee beans. Each member spoke clearly, was enthusiastic, and took the crowd by storm. Nut, Joy 1, Yok, Pear, Ploy 2, kept the crowd on their toes with great “espresso-n” and laughter.
Up next was Cakez. Cakez consisted of a pinch of Boom, mixed with a cup of Boat, a teaspoon of Siera, beat with some Ploy III, and then iced with some Joy II. Finally some sprinkles of Beau topped it off. The “cakez” they showed us looked amazing and they also provided comic relief as well. The design of the website was great and the charisma of the students was wonderful in the end.
Last but not least were Kanomthai who learned the value of preparing before the event begins. They discovered this when they were plagued with last minute issue that prevented their presentation from being appreciated to its full potential.
Oh the challenge of picking a winner! Groups were judged by the foreign teachers on their overall speech, group participation, information presented, and the visual and audio aesthetics of the presentations. Who came out on the top?
Congratulations to Cherry Ko-Ko who came in first. Their enthusiasm, great imagery, use of English and information was just too much for the other groups. Great effort by the rest of the groups for and it showed in their hard work.
T. Rob
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