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Kid's Corner
Marvin has been learning all about recycling at school
and he has been collecting lots of stuff. He has been saving all of our
newspapers in a neat pile so that we can use them to cover the table when we
are doing very messy jobs like painting and gluing.
He has been collecting all of our old plastic and glass
bottles, tin cans, old boxes from cereal and old shopping bags too. He makes
sure that he washes anything that had food in it or otherwise it would be
very smelly. He doesn’t keep potato peels or old food as recycling because
these things will go bad and they can’t be used again.
The stuff that Marvin is recycling he likes to give to
the man who comes down our Soi with a special cart to collect it all. Then
he takes it to a special place where they can make it into new boxes, paper,
plastic and glass. Marvin likes doing this because he says that it is
helping to protect the environment. He is right. Do you recycle anything?
What do you recycle? Write to Marvin and tell him. You can send your letters
to:
Marg and Marvin
Chiangmai Mail Publishing Co., Ltd.
142 Im-boon Housing Estate
Soi 1, Muangsamut Road, Tambon Changmoi
Muang District, Chiang Mai 50300
Email: kids@chiangmai-mail.com
Fax: 053 234 145
JOKES
1) Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Midas.
Midas who?
Midas well let me in. I’ve come to see you.
2) Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Pasta.
Pasta who?
Pasta bananas please.
3) Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Tock.
Tock who?
Tock to me please, I’m lonely.
4) Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Fido
Fido who?
Fido known you lived here, I’d have come to visit you sooner.
Bye from Marg and Marvin
London House celebrates the achievement of young learners
On Saturday, 11th May, London House School of English
held its first ever award ceremony for children who passed their University
of Cambridge Young Learners certificate in English.
Young
scholars proudly show off their University of Cambridge Young Learners
certificates in English.
The awards were presented by David Hopkinson, director of
British Council in Chiang Mai, who stressed the importance of English
language skills for Chiang Mai’s future graduates.
Rocha Trislip, principal of London House, thanked
parents, staff and especially the students themselves for all their hard
work in supporting the school over the last year.
She said, “London House will continue to provide high
quality English language courses for the children of Chiang Mai, working in
partnership with other educational establishments.”
For more information regarding courses contact: Rocha Trislip, London
House School of English, tel. 0 5341 6374.
“Spider Tom” and his interesting hobby
At the Christian German School (CDSC) one of the students
has developed a big interest in spiders. The following is an interview with
13-year-old Thomas, who is hoping to find some people in the area who share
the passion for spiders.
After
seeing the movie Spiderman, 13-year-old CDSC student Thomas developed an
interest in spiders. He says he’s been bitten “about a hundred times”
but still enjoys everything about them.
Q: How did you get interested in spiders?
Thomas: After I saw the movie “Spiderman” I
developed this interest in spiders.
Q: Have you ever been bitten by a spider?
Thomas: About one hundred times. It’s comparable
with the sting of a bee. Sometimes I also had a headache or fever.
Q: What do you find interesting about them?
Thomas: I observe their behavior, the kind of web
they build and how they live.
Q: What do you know about a spider web?
Thomas: I know that some spiders can build webs
strong enough to be used to catch fish. Some are big enough to catch birds
and some have colored webs. And then there are the ones that hunt without a
web, like the tarantula.
Q: Which spider is the most dangerous one?
Thomas: It’s the Funnel Web in Australia. Her bite
is deadly, comparable to a cobra bite.
Q: Do we have this spider here in Thailand?
Thomas: No, we don’t. But there are others that are
also very dangerous like the tarantula and some water spiders.
Q: Do you have spiders at home?
Thomas: I had different ones already like Tarantula,
Orb Weaving Spider, Jewel Spider and Jumping Spider. I observe them and feed
them.
Q: How did you get the Tarantula?
Thomas: In a Lahu village north of Chiang Mai. My
father and a friend brought me to a spot where we found a big spider hole in
the ground. I caught the Tarantula with the equipment I had brought with me.
I was really scared because she looked very dangerous.
Q: Can spiders see us?
Thomas: They can’t see very well but the Tarantula
for example has sensors under her feet so she can feel the slightest
vibration.
Q: Thank you very much for all this information.
If somebody would like to exchange information with Thomas about spiders
or share this unusual hobby please contact him at spidertom2003@hotmail.com
CMU welcomes this year’s crop of freshmen
Nantanee Jedsadachaiyut
Photos by Nuttanee Thaveephol
The Chiang Mai University Students Union, in cooperation
with the State Railways of Thailand, organized a welcoming ceremony for CMU
freshmen May 23-24.
Freshmen
from the Faculty of Fine Arts prepare for the welcoming.
The
unofficial ceremony starts with the University song.
Sophomores
from the Faculty of Medicine perform a welcoming boom for their freshmen.
The
Faculty of Agriculture Industry students wait for the new generation to
arrive.
The welcoming ceremony is traditionally held every year a
few weeks before the beginning of the new semester, and involves bringing
CMU freshmen from Hua Lampong Railway Station in Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
CMU staff arranged many activities along the journey,
such as an introduction to the university and games to create good
relationships among freshmen. New students from 17 faculties participated in
this year’s activities.
This year, trains left the Hua Lampong railway station at
3 p.m. on May 23&24, and arrived in Chiang Mai the following day at 6
a.m. The first trip had around 700 students, and the last one had around
650.
In the early mornings on May 24-25 at Chiang Mai Railway
Station, sophomores from 17 faculties, including the Faculty of Medicine,
Fine Arts, Humanities, and Engineering, prepared jasmine necklaces to give
to the freshmen.
Shoe Day in Sadosa
Story and pictures by Renee Vines
On Sunday, May 18th, members of the Board of the
Foundation for the Education of Rural Children visited the Karen mountain
village of Sadosa to give away 100 pairs of new Buster Brown shoes and
boots. The American company had very generously sent the footwear in a
partnership with the Fayetteville, Arkansas, Rotary Club.
A box
for keeping treasures can be as precious as the shoes themselves.
Last year the Foundation, FERC, built a pre-school in
Sadosa, a two-hour mountain drive beyond Mae Chaem. The funds were raised at
the 2001 gala held at Twelve Gables and attended by many local Chiang Mai
residents. Now in full operation, the pre-school offers day care and early
childhood education for village youngsters while their mothers work in the
fields, a two-kilometer hike from Sadosa.
FERC has recently established a partnership with the
Fayetteville Rotary Club as the Rotary’s international project. The local
club, along with the Arkansas District and Rotary International, has awarded
a 20,000-dollar grant to be administered by Chiang Mai Rotary and FERC. This
money is designated for educational resource materials for schools for the
poor in the north of Thailand.
These
boots are made for walking! Sadosa youngster has to get used to the feel.
FERC
Board members Marc Dumur, Renee Vines and Jo Steele distribute the shoes to
the anxiously waiting kids.
The Fayetteville Rotary is located in the same town as
the headquarters of mega-chain Wal-Mart. Some of the club members thought it
would be a good idea to give Wal-Mart suppliers an opportunity to
participate in this international outreach. The first company to respond
positively was the Buster Brown Shoe Company. The shipment included various
sizes so, it was hoped, all the village children could be fitted. Just in
case any child was left out, T-shirts from Habitat for Humanity were
included as a supplement.
After the visitors arrived in Sadosa and were met by a
throng of children, it was quickly determined that it would be impossible to
fit each child with his or her correct size. A translator explained to the
mothers that each child would receive a pair of shoes and that they could
swap later for their correct size. Sizing, however, did not seem to matter
to these kids. Boxes were opened quickly and shoes, regardless of fit, went
on to waiting bare feet. The Karen mothers, who on previous visits had been
shy and reticent around the foreigners, started laughing uncontrollably as
they watched their kids.
The empty shoeboxes proved as popular as their contents.
In a village where household goods consist mostly of homemade essentials, a
cardboard box can be a treasure. Language did not seem a barrier on this
special day. Board members and villagers all understood and participated in
the fun and good will.
Here’s hoping those Fayetteville folks can convince other American
companies to share their products with more kids in the North of Thailand!
Freshmen welcoming ceremonies changed at Rajabhat Institute
Surachai Tungteerabunditkul
Rajabhat Institute Chiang Mai (RICM)
has changed their freshmen welcoming system, emphasizing more warm welcoming
activities with northern cultural conservation style and atmosphere.
Assistant Professor Sanit Sattayopath, vice rector for
Students Affairs and Research Department of RICM, disclosed that the welcome
ceremony this year emphasized activities that promote unity and good
relationships between the freshmen and seniors.
All activities had to be safe, useful, and inspiring for
the freshmen. The institute has abolished the old traditional welcoming
ceremony, which always belittled the freshmen. Any faculty or its students
who violated the new rules would receive a warning to leave the institute
immediately.
On June 5, the institute organized a traditional Thai welcoming
performance, paid respect to their teachers at the Meeting Hall and
organized a mini-concert from Pan Tanaporn.
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