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Awards galore
as CMIS celebrates athletics
Mike Wood,
CMIS Athletics Director
Chiang Mai International School held its first Inter-House Sports Finals and
Sports Awards evening on June 4, 2007. CMIS implemented a traditional
four-house system, wherein each house is named after a mountain in the
northern region of Thailand, and is assigned a primary color: Doi Ang Khang
(blue), Doi Chiang Dao (yellow), Doi Inthanon (red), and Doi Suthep (green).
The special day began with elementary and high school inter-house football
(soccer), followed by futsal and volleyball matches, and capped off with
basketball finals. House Ang Khang took most of the honors this year, but
Suthep, Inthanon, and Chiang Dao were all also represented in the winner’s
circle.
 CMIS
Athletes of the Year Jake Wannemacher and Becca Couch. Photo by Spencer
Davis.
In the evening ceremony, the overall house winners for each sport, together
with the elementary house champions, the high school house champions, and
the school overall house champions, were presented with awards. At the
beginning of the event, Athletics Director Mike Wood gave a speech about
some of this year’s sports program highlights, as well as providing a
glimpse into his plans for next year. Then the many hardworking coaches who
gave up hours of their time to contribute to the success of the after-school
athletics program were introduced and thanked, and the presentations to our
athletes then commenced.
The first award given out in each of the four main sports was for Most
Valuable Player, voting for this award was done by opposition teams and
their coaches. The next awards were for Most Improved Player. These
recipients were decided upon by CMIS coaches. Principal Terry Gamble gave
out a total of 56 awards in those two categories alone. Under the schools
new Gold and Silver Colors award scheme, which is based upon the old British
tradition of gaining your blues at Oxford or Cambridge, another 35 awards
were presented by Director Supaporn Yanasarn. An official presentation was
then made of the six Chiang Mai Athletics Conference (CMAC) championship
trophies won by CMIS teams during the 2006 – 2007 school year, including:
Under 13 Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball, Varsity Boys’ Basketball, Under 11
Boys’ Futsal, Under 13 Girls’ Futsal, and Varsity Boys’ Futsal.
The final presentations of the evening were made to the year’s top male and
female athletes. Several talented students were nominated for these
prestigious awards, and all students from Grades 6 to 12 who took part in
the sports program at CMIS had an opportunity to vote for their choice. The
male athlete of the year award went to Jake Wannemacher, and the female
athlete of the year was Becca Couch. Well done, and congratulations to all!
Teachers and students visit counterparts in Leicestershire
Since 2006 the British Council Chiang Mai has been linking schools in Chiang
Mai with schools in Leicestershire in the UK. These links have been through
the British Council website (vac@britishcouncil .or.th) and the schools have
shared photos, videos and blog’s, exploring each others different cultures
and customs and of course the similarities which exist between teenagers in
this global world.
 The
Thai teachers and students were received by the Chairman of the County in
Leicestershire during their memorable visit to the UK.
In March 2007 the BCC was able to send three Thai teachers and three
children to the UK. They spent a week in Leicestershire and London and
visited their partner schools. Meeting face to face has really motivated the
children in the UK and we are now strengthening the virtual links between
the schools by holding monthly workshops where the Thai children agree
projects which they will then post on the site.
During the visit the Thai youngsters demonstrated traditional Thai dancing
which really impressed the kids in the UK. The teachers and students also
visited the town hall for a formal reception with the Chairman of the
County.
Lanna International students travel to Vietnam
The Lanna International students on a field-trip
to Vietnam as the explore and learn the history of a foreign country.
For the first time Lanna International School offered its students an
opportunity to travel and study outside of Thailand.
Last month a group of students from grades 7 and 8 and their French teacher
Ms. Ketty left Chiangmai for Vietnam. The first stop was Hanoi, the capital
city in the North where students had the opportunity to visit many places
where former President Ho Chi Minh used to stay. The second day a boat-trip
on a “junk” took them all around the scenic Halong Bay, exploring caves and
enjoying fresh seafood. Then they flew to the ancient capital town Hue with
its Perfume River, Holy Lady Pagoda, Royal Palace, and Emperor Tu Due’s
tomb. The next day they discovered the particular city of Hoi An, famous for
its typical Chinese town houses, streets laid with cobble stones and
rickshaws. Their last destination was Saigon, also known as Ho Chin Minh.
This big city surprised everyone with its French colonial buildings, its
extraordinary Central post office and its covered market. The visit to the
Cu Chi tunnels where the Vietcong used to hide during the war and was the
highlight attraction for all the students.
The adventurous students learned plenty about Vietnamese history and their
civilization. They enjoyed the beautiful countryside scenery and enjoyed the
local food. Their trip will last them a lifetime of memories.
Latest Thai dictionary to go online
The Royal Institute will launch an online version of the 1999 edition of its
Thai dictionary on the website sanook.com at the end of July to promote
correct usage of the Thai language.
Mrs. Jintana Phanfak, secretary-general of the Royal Institute, spoke about
the online version of the Royal Institute Thai Dictionary 1999, stating that
the web-based dictionary will enable users to search the meanings of about
40,000 officially used words.
The project is progressing under collaboration with Sanook Online Co. Ltd.,
which owns the sanook.com website.
Mrs. Jintana said the Royal Institute realizes the importance of placing
Thai language knowledge on the Internet medium. She disclosed that the
dictionary would also link to the Royal Institute’s website to encourage
correct usage of and promote enthusiasm in the Thai language. The online
dictionary will be launched on the 29th of July on the occasion of the
National Thai language day. (NNB)
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