First Parent-Teacher Conference for 2016/2017

American Prep International has just had its first parent-teacher conference for the present school year. It was a highly successful event with 100% of parents in the Kinder Department and 97% of parents in the grade school arriving to have discussions with teachers.

These discussions are an extremely important part of our school communication strategy. It ensures that parents are kept informed about the progress of their children and teachers have the opportunity to correlate their classroom observation of students with how parents observe their children at home.

The 5 Anchor values of American Prep International School

American Prep has identified 5 core values that are to be emphasized in all aspects of our school life. These are Communication, Collaboration, Critical thinking, Creativity and Compassion.

The effective use of Parent-teacher conferences relate especially to the values of communication and collaboration. We thank all our parents who arrived for these discussions and thus helping us to keep our core values on a firm footing. Please read 15 more suggestions about how parents can collaborate with the school.

Donation to Hatyai Orphanage

In loving memory of His Majesty  King Bhumibol Adulyadej American Prep staff and students have agreed to donate an amount of 9000 Baht to the children in Hatyai orphanage. This money was collected by the students of the school in the annual Spelling Bee competition.

Staff and students inspired by King Bumibol’s compassion

Both students and staff are impressed by the compassion of King Bhumibol. The King’s compassion reached out to humans in need and even to the animals that roam the streets and lanes of Thailand without shelter or adequate food.

Staff and students of American Prep deem it an honor to follow in the footsteps of their king and to make this donation to the less privileged children in the care of the Hatyai Orphanage. It is our wish to follow the example of our King, not only this once, but throughout our lives.

May our King rest in peace!

American Prep International is a member of the International Schools Association of Thailand (ISAT). We have just received the following direct communication from ISAT:

Ref. No.: ISAT 058/2016                                                        13 October 2016

Dear ISAT Member Schools,

It is with utmost sadness that we hear the news of the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great. This is a sad day for Thailand and the world.

 We have received confirmation from the Permanent Secretary for Education and Head of Office of Private Education Commission (OPEC) approved by the Minister of Education that International schools should, out of respect for His Majesty:

• Close for one day, Friday 14th October
• Fly the flag of Thailand at half mast for 30 days
• Refrain from public festivities or entertainment events for 30 days
• Uphold a time of mourning for one year 

OPEC has asked ISAT to notify our member schools and they will send us a formal notification at a later stage.

Richard Bergh – High TOEIC scores

Congratulations to Mr. Richard Bergh who managed to achieve very high scores on the mandatory English language test that all foreign teachers who are not native from USA, Canada, UK or Australia have to pass in order to get a Thai teaching license. The test comprises two sections: English Reading and English listening. Each section has a total of 400 points. Mr. Bergh managed to score 395 points on each of these sections! This is an exceptionally high score and we congratulate him on it. Students at American Prep International are fortunate to have teachers such as Mr. Bergh to model and teach a high level of English speaking and comprehension!

Sponsored competition 

Part B of American Prep Annual Spelling Bee is a sponsored competition. Students find parents or friends to sponsor them for every word that they spell correctly. The funds that are generated in this manner are earmarked to help support a needy community project.

The results

We are pleased to announce that students, by and large, cooperated with enthusiasm and did their part to study their words and to find sponsors at home. In total more than 7000Baht has thus far been recorded by the school office. A few outstanding sponsorship forms will be submitted today or tomorrow.

The donation to charity

The local HatYai orphanage has been selected as the organization that will benefit from our Spelling Bee sponsors and a suitable time and place for handing over the gift will soon be announced.

Appreciation

We thank all parents and students who put in time and energy to make this program a success and we know that people will be blessed by your effort.

Spelling Competition at American Prep International

Spelling Competition Part A

The students at American Prep International all took part in a spelling competition on Friday, 24 September. Each class had several elimination rounds to get to the final winners. The members of each class competed against other members in their own class.

The winners

Winners of Spelling Bee Part A

The end result of Spelling Competition Part A was that four students came out on top. We congratulate them on knowing their
words so well and being able to write the word within the time limit of 5 seconds.

Spelling Competition Part B

Next week another type of spelling competition will take place. This time it is a “sponsored” competition. It means each participant will be sponsored a certain amount for every correct spelling.

Donation to local HatYai charity

The money that is collected in this way will be used to donate a lovely gift to the local orphanage in Hatyai.

Educational value of this competition

By means of the sponsored Spelling Bee competition American Prep is in a creative way teaching our students to be aware of the needs of others and to demonstrate compassion in a practical manner by donating to less privileged members of the Hatyai community. Teachers and staff at American Prep are always looking for ways and means to reinforce the core values of the school as described elsewhere on the school website.

A further report will be posted after the completion of the Spelling Bee test on Friday, 30 September.