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Student dance performance raises funds for charity
The younger
students performed for the audience of family and friends.
By Shana Kongmun
Even the smallest of performers got
their chance to shine at the Sangdao School for the Performing Arts recital
at the Imperial Mae Ping on Sunday, December 18, 2011. The youngest students
hopped, skipped and twirled to the music, and while several seemed
overwhelmed by their first time on stage in front of such a big audience,
other kids took it in their stride and seemed to really enjoy the event.
Older students also had a chance to
shine, with the ballerinas dancing en pointe showing their skills to the
family and friends that came for the charity show.
The
ballerinas’ skill and talent was on show at the Sangdao School’s charity
event.
Former Chiang Mai Governor Amornpan
Nimanand was at the concert and noted the importance of dance in children’s
lives, adding that his own daughter had taken dance lessons and that he
would encourage the same in his granddaughter when she became old enough!
The show was punctuated by students
receiving their certificates and a tea break that saw many costume clad
dancers joining their family for the intermission.
Everyone
took part in the dances for the show.
Children
performed the routines they had learned in order to obtain their
certificates of accomplishment.
Modern jazz
dance is also in the school’s curriculum.
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Anti-corruption rally brings out youth of Chiang Mai
“Hear it,
See it, Speak Up!” was the theme of the anti corruption rally.
The USAID sponsored event “Thai Youth
Against Corruption” held at the CMU Art Center this past weekend brought out
students from around Chiang Mai to rally against corruption in Thailand.
With a theme of “Hear it, see it, speak up!”, the rally and subsequent
concerts were held to promote awareness among youth of the evils of
corruption and its effects on society.
Three days of events were held, with
many famous pop singers including Not and Am, performing at the free event.
Students participated in a rally, led by Chiang Mai police, around the area
on the first day as well as put up posters and exhibits against corruption.
The
students all wore t-shirts as they took part in the march, to show they
won’t tolerate corruption anymore.
The kids
brandished fake cash along with ironic banners to show their feelings about
corruption in Thailand.
Students
made billboards and exhibits displaying the issues and effects of
corruption.
Chiang Mai
traffic police led the student march from CMU Art Museum on December 16,
2011.
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PTIS Parent School Association’s charity Christmas performance adds warm glow to the holiday season
By Joy Huss
The PSA’s mission to spread holiday cheer and provide continued
support to the victims of Bangkok’s recent floods got underway 9 December at
Traidhos amphitheater where a well turned out audience of students, family
and guests gathered to enjoy the warmth of giving and spirit-lifting music
by The Chiang Mai Voice Choir.
With a full moon backdrop and clear crisp weather “nipping at our noses” a
yuletide ambiance permeated the stage where 7 female and 2 male singers led
by Ajarn Tianchai Suktieng, well-known classical singer of Chiang Mai,
performed an evening of inspirational songs, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical
hits and classical Christmas carols.
Other evening highlights included audience Christmas carol participation,
PTIS youth taking central stage to sing “We are the World”, the arrival of
Santa on motorbike, ginger bread cookies, grilled sausages, sandwiches and
refreshing beverages provided by the PSA.
The Yuletide performance which was proudly organized by members of the PTIS
PSA historically has supported a variety of charities. PSA President,
Christine Avril, and event organizer, Pu Ostertag, were touched and thrilled
that over 100,000 baht has been raised from the PSA Masked Ball, JS
fundraising event and the Christmas performance with all proceeds going to
Central Thailand’s flood victims through the Thai Red Cross, the
Chaipattana's Foundation (King's Foundation) and the Royal Project.
“Christmas is a very special time of the year besides being the birthday of
Jesus Christ. For me, Christmas is a giving and sharing time of the year.
Since there is a big flood down in Central Thailand it was a wonderful
community thing for us to do to raise an awareness of the current problem
around us and for us to reach out to the people in need”, said Khun Pu.
The PSA wishes to continue this traditional PTIS Christmas Carols & PSA
Charity Choir Concert as an opening to the holiday season with the
aspiration to further cultivate and nurture a sense of kindred spirit and
social responsibility within a community consisting of all faiths and
backgrounds.
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Developmentally disabled kids visit Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium
Developmentally disabled children from the Northern region paid a visit to
the Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium on December 15 to learn and explore about the
underwater world. They visited the underwater tunnel and attended a fish
feeding show. Both students and faculty attended the Aquarium with students
rating it a great thrill. The students attend a school under the Foundation
for the Welfare of the Mentally Retarded in Thailand, under HM the Queen’s
Royal Patronage. The Northern Welfare Center is located in Saraphi.
Global Citizens Unite – THINK Global School teams up with PTIS International School
Students participate in the
THINK Global School’s mobile high school program.
By Joy Huss
In January 2012, twenty-five students
from fifteen countries will travel to Chiang Mai from THINK Global School
(TGS) for a trimester like no other, at a school like no other! These two
like-minded education institutions that share the same global inquiry-based
philosophy will unite together on the Traidhos campus where PTIS will serve
as host and classroom for the world’s first “mobile-global” high school of
its kind, integrating education, travel and technology.
TGS’s specifically sought a
multicultural learning environment for its students with a specific focus on
local Thai immersion – welcome to Traidhos! This group of multinational
students selected from all corners of the globe and from all walks of life
will become an integral part of the Traidhos Community using classroom
facilities, science labs, art studios and other learning spaces whilst being
taught by their own accompanying teachers.
TGS’s motto Don't teach me WHAT to
think, teach me HOW to think has removed the walls from today’s classroom
opening up the whole world to the 21st Century student. With a demanding
trimester of intense course work and a desire for a rich cultural and
historical exploration into a remarkable country, one sees why TGS selected
Thailand for their fifth trimester abroad.
The Traidhos Visiting Schools Program
(VSP) has organized an enriching line up of excursions with a taste of what
Chiang Mai has to offer inquisitive minds. Remarkably, two students from
Thailand make up the student body presently travelling and learning with
THINK Global School.
With the world as their classroom
hailing “Twelve countries in twelve trimesters”, TGS students have recently
completed four legs of this globetrotting journey: Stockholm, Sydney,
Beijing and Cuenca, Ecuador where they have studied biology in the Amazon
rainforest, Mandarin in China, history standing on the Great Wall of China,
and science classes under the ocean surface off the Galapagos and Great
Barrier Reef.
Founded by Joann McPike, THINK Global
School’s mission is to develop true citizens of the world, young people
whose unique skills, values, knowledge, and experience will make them
leaders and difference-makers in the multiethnic, multicultural,
multilingual world of the 21st century.
For more information about THINK Global
School, visit their website - http://thinkglobalschool.org . Read more about
the students’ experiences at PTIS and Thailand on the TGS blog -
http://thinkglobalschool.org/blog
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Traditional Thai kite festival comes to Chiang Mai
By Joy Huss
In celebration of Thai kite flying
history and culture Traidhos Three-Generation Community for Learning is
hosting their inaugural Traidhos Kite Festival 2012, lasting for one
weekend, January 21-22.
Kites large and small of every shape
and shade will be coloring the skies above the PTIS cricket grounds from 11
– 5 pm each day. This is a family event, open to the public and will include
a colorful display of BIG kites flown by professional kite flyers,
traditional Chula (male) and Pakpao (female) kite flying competitions and
kite making workshops. A history of royal kite flying in Thailand will be on
exhibit and a chance to practice flying a kite with the professionals offers
a day of fun for everyone.
The kite is something that Thais of all
walks of life cherish; royalty as well as ordinary folk have enjoyed this
popular sport dating back to the Sukhothai and Ayutthaya periods. The
tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) revived the tradition and first held the
Thailand International Kite Festival in 1989 at Sanam Luang, opposite the
Grand Palace. Interest in annual kite flying events has gathered and
continues to spread throughout the country.
Now in Chiang Mai – you won’t want to
miss one of the more colorful events of the year watching clear skies
decorated with kites spinning, floating, soaring, swooping and at times
crashing to the ground in a festival of live music, tasty Thai and Western
food stalls, entertaining circus skills workshops and much more throughout
the day.
At Traidhos Three-Generation Community
for Learning/site of PTIS International School, Cricket grounds. 234 Moo 3,
T. Huay Sai, A. Mae Rim. 053 301 500. The entry fee of 100 Baht includes
kite making and a chance for a raffle prize. A shuttle bus from Chiang Mai
to PTIS will be running from a selected rendezvous point (to be announced).
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The Stratton ABC Foundation (Registered Charity CM310) is looking for community help
Students work together to
paint a boundary wall.
For the last few weeks, in a quiet village, outside
Sarapee, Chiang Mai, a group of determined children have been steadfastly
working, not only for themselves but to earn your respect, compassion and
support; to show you that they are a group that truly deserve it.
You can see all they accomplished with their “Villa and
Sport Project” on The Foundations Website
www.thestrattonabcfoundation.com.
Open since November 2009, The Foundation was registered
as an official Charity in July 2010. All but two of the 10 children at the
Foundation Home, Stratton House, have been there since 2009. In that time,
with the opportunities and support given to them by the Foundation, these
children have made huge leaps and bounds in development of latent and new
skills, including arts and crafts , music and in their academic studies, an
area where many were struggling prior to arriving here in Chiang Mai.
The Foundation is working hard to develop the highest
standards of care, encouraging unannounced visits by Police, Local
Authorities and School Teachers to monitor its operations.
Whilst it welcomes genuine visitors, The Foundation is
determined that it is not to be seen as an extension to the Chiang Mai
Volunteer Tourist industry and has firm guidelines covering visits to its
facility.
One of the families that will
be living on the recently acquired land.
Having recently acquired land, The Foundation, currently
in rented accommodation, is hoping to build a permanent facility that can
not only offer more places to children in need but also offer their
services, such as arts and crafts workshops and English Language Tuition, to
children from the wider community. The facility would also act as a base for
future hopes to work far more within the rural communities that the children
come from to help create conditions that would negate the need for the
children to leave..
However, as a relatively new Foundation, they are still
struggling to find the sponsorship they need to cover their present
operations and really need your support. You can find their collection boxes
in many outlets around Chiang Mai.
You can find full information on the Foundation on their
website or follow the latest news, updated every week on their Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Stratton-ABC-Foundation-Registered-Charity-no-CM-310-Chiang-Mai/147151415326823.
Or check out their Promo Video on Youtube..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPFkJtfs3ek.
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German students get creative on German Day
(From left) German Cultural
Attache Annette Sévery, German Honorary Consul Hagen Dirksen, DAAD member
and German lecturer at CMU Christian Koerner are joined by Martin
Venzky-Stalling of the Chiang Mai Creative City Committee for German Day
held at CMU Art Center.
By Shana Kongmun
The German Department at the Faculty of Humanities at Chiang Mai University
organized a German day for Mathayom students at the Chiang Mai Art Center on
Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Students from schools around the city and from
Lampang took part in the events that saw German Embassy’s Counsellor for
Press and Cultural Affairs Annette Sévery and German Honorary Consul Hagen
Dirksen on hand to view the projects and presentations of the students.
 This
little girl read Little Red Riding Hood aloud in German, replete with sound
effects.
There are several schools with thriving German language programs in Chiang
Mai aside from the German Christian School. These include Dara Academy,
Watthanothaipayap, Prince Royal’s College, Pingkarattana School,
Nawaminrajuthit School and Suan boon in Lamphun. All these schools sent
students for the event which saw students play games, recite books and
speeches and present projects based on the theme “Your World, My World, Our
World” in German.
Students range in ages from Mathayom 3 up to 6. Many go to schools that are
partner schools with the German Embassy which seeks to promote the use of
the German language around Thailand and offers free books, scholarships and
short trips to students from partner schools.
The event was sponsored by the Goethe Institute, Chiang Mai based SPB
Software, the German Alumni organization DAAD, Pager Farms, the German Book
Center and Deutsche Butschaft.
Some of the projects on
display at the event
These students played German
classical music with a twist,
using traditional Thai instruments as well.
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Payap International Day is truly international
Payap officials joined the Consul Generals from
the U.S., Japan, and China as well as the South African Ambassador to open
the Peace Park.
By Shana Kongmun
The South African Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Douglas H.M. Gibson
joined Payap’s International Day to open the new International Peace Park at
Payap University. He was joined by Chinese Consul General Zhu Wei Min,
Japanese Consul-General Kazuo Shibata, and U.S. Consul-General Susan N.
Stevenson for the opening and the International Day annual fair.
With students from all over the world preparing food from their homelands,
as well as local businesses both Western and Thai, the International Day at
Payap is a foodie’s dream. Turkish, German, Vietnamese, Burmese, Indian, and
many many more different foods were on hand for people to sample and at very
reasonable prices.
US Consul General Susan Stevenson enjoyed wandering around the crowded
grounds looking at the different foods and tried the Vietnamese Spring Rolls
while Japanese Consul General Kazuo Shibata paid a visit to the Japanese
booth.
Students performed in the talent show offering singing, dancing and music.
The bit of rain didn’t dampen things and the food ran out before the fun
did!
The South African Ambassador to Thailand, H.E.
Douglas H.M. Gibson talked about the need for reconciliation and the long,
hard path that South Africa has taken to reach that at the opening of the
event.
Payap students ran a well organized festival
with coupons or cash for food.
The students were encouraged to wear national
attire, the Japanese booth took this to heart in their summer yukatas.
Korean students sold Korean dishes and snacks
for the event.
The girls at the Turkish booth were very popular
as their unique and tasty food kept bringing people back.
The South African Ambassador presented
a flag to join the flags decorating the venue.
Students had a great time participating in the
event and in preparing food for sale for the crowds of hungry people.
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