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Summer wrap up of Grandma Cares Partnership Program English Camp
Students attend the closing day to receive
certificates of accomplishment at the summer camp.
By Sarah-Kate Hawkins
Grandma Cares Partnership Program (GCPP) concluded its first Annual Summer
English Camp with 89 students receiving certifications. Certifications were
earned by attendance and participation. At no cost to them, over 100
students attended the Monday through Wednesday morning lessons from March
13th to April 25th at Ban Mae Yoi, Ban Lukpan, and Sai Moon Schools.
The principals of these three rural schools partnered with GCPP to support
their students to be successful in their English learning, which is part of
the 2015 ASEAN integration. With huge support from the international
volunteers from Payap University, the children learned English through
reading, writing, playing games, and much laughter.
Games were the main feature for their graduation held on April 27th at Sai
Moon School. After the 9:00 introductions, the students were paired for a 3
legged race that was followed by a ping pong race. Both ended with much
laughter! For the next hour, the students moved through six different
stations where they played such games as earthball, bowling, and chalk
jumping. Mask painting was also one of the fun activities. The closing
ceremony had a student representative from each school to share their
thoughts and feelings about attending the English Camp. The volunteers also
shared and this was followed with the handing out of 89 Certificates of
English Completion along with prizes for excellent attendance. A group photo
was taken and then lunch was served to end the exciting day.
The final
day was filled with fun and games as
kids enjoyed the last day of camp.
The children
were pleased to receive their certificates
of completion on the final day.
Kids played
all sorts of games including the old favorite;
the three legged race.
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Team Ace & EducationUSA’s “Stripes & Stars 2012”
U.S. Consul General Kenneth L. Foster met with
families and students who attended the gala evening on May 18, 2012.
With support from the U.S. Embassy,
Bangkok, Team Ace (the EducationUSA advising center for northern Thailand)
hosted over 200 guests for “Stripes & Stars 2012: A Gala Salute for Students
from Thailand to the U.S.A.” on May 18, 2012.
In US Consul General Kenneth Foster’s
keynote speech, he noted the growing number of students from northern
Thailand pursuing all levels of university education in the U.S.A. and
warmly congratulated this year’s students for their achievements in U.S.
college admissions. For scholarships won by their advisees and students Team
Ace reported a significant increase from US$1.6 million in 2011 to $1.95
million this year, against a total of US$12 million for students advised by
all EducationUSA centers nationwide. By overwhelming demand, the Gala
Program featured a “Meet The Families” talk show segment where 3 CMIS, NIS &
PTIS families shared real-life experiences of success in U.S. college
admissions and scholarships through the value-added EducationUSA advising
services from Team Ace. Excellent performances by the CMIS Concert Band and
Jazz Band complemented the glamour of the evening’s program held in the
stunning teak Convention Hall of Khum Phucome Hotel. (Courtesy of TeamAce,
EducationUSA)
The
students, families and advisors joined Consul General Ken Foster for a group
photo.
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Chiang Mai Governor checks out school uniform prices
On May 16, Chiang Mai Governor ML. Panadda
Diskul and staff from the Chiang Mai Commercial office visited Waroros
Market to check out the prices of school uniforms as there are concerns that
traders will take advantage of the upcoming term to boost prices. The
Governor said that a random check of prices showed that they had not changed
much. He also met with store owners to discuss price gouging and the
difficulties such tactics would cause. (Nopniwat Krailerg)
Young chefs looking for the taste of Prem
Joy Huss
A finger dipped to check for balance,
an extra sprig of coriander added to the pot, an additional minute or two
left to simmer are just a few culinary decisions made by twelve new “Young
Chefs” as part of Prem boarding students’ new cooking discovery program.
Tomato and coriander soup was the dish of the day, and proved to be a tasty
introduction into the world and art of cooking!
A “young
chef” stirs his creation.
Unlike the popular competitive
television series “Young Master Chef”, cameras, intimidating panels of
judges, tears or disappointment will not be found at our “Young Chefs”
cooking pavilion. Created by boarding parent, food aficionado and cookbook
author, David Buck, the program is similar to the television show, but with
a twist. It is not a competition, but rather a course in culinary discovery
designed to be fun and experimental, open to all boarders from Grades 4-12.
Starting in Term 4, the program will
run over three consecutive terms with eager chefs learning the ins and outs
of cooking safety and hygiene; fruits, vegetable, herb and meat preparation;
identifying textures, aromas and tastes that combine to create diverse
dishes and the art of food presentation.
With a culturally diverse group of
participants from Korea, Bhutan, Thailand, England, Australia and Nepal,
David hopes over the months to inspire the art of fusion cuisine: blending
the culinary traditions of two or more nations to create and discover
innovative and sometimes quite interesting dishes.
The grand finale will come at Christmas
time when the young chefs, instead of simply reproducing an old family
favourite, an internet recipe or something copied from a cookbook, will
create their very own three course menu created from fresh local produce.
Their creations will come from their own experiences during the previous
months’ trials, experimentation, new-found knowledge and risk of discovery!
Their respective dishes will be conceived on taste, creativity and
presentation.
All participants are winners with their
final creations to be published together in the first edition of Prem’s very
own cookbook. Cooking classes are held every other Saturday for ninety
minutes – two hours. Instructors David Buck and Three-Generation Cooking
Academy’s very own, Khun Nae, are presenting the class at the Cooking
Academy Pavilion.
“Young Chef” balances stirring the
student's excitement with encouragement, aims to raise standards and develop
culinary talent, introduces new dishes and local produce and celebrates
Prem's distinctive gastronomic appeal amongst its young boarders.
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Tree planting at Royal Rajapruek Park to honor National Tree Day
The Royal Rajapruek Park will be honoring
National Tree Day by planting trees all week at the park, students and the
public are invited to join in the event which will plant Rajapruek trees in
the park and surrounding areas. The Park will also distribute seeds and
seedlings including rubber trees and other trees to park goers and
interested farmers. Activities will be held from June 1-10 to increase
awareness and education on environmental issues. The Park will plant 8,599
Ratchaphruek Trees to honor HM the King on his 85th birthday. National Tree
Day is held on Visakha Bucha Day which occurs on June 4 this year.
Art Relief International exhibit features unique children’s art
Art Relief International Volunteers man the
booth at the exhibit opening at 2nd Floor Gallery on May 4, 2012.
By Shana Kongmun
Art Relief International, a program
which works to help struggling social groups transform their lives through
art, put on an exhibit of art created by disadvantaged children through
their Young Lions Global Art Program. The exhibit, titled “The Playing
Field” featured the art works of children as young as 3 and 5 years old and
reminds all of us adults of the very unique view of the world children have.
The art isn’t as childish as one might think given the ages and is often
quite thought provoking. The exhibit runs through the end of May and all
works are for sale with proceeds benefitting the ongoing work with the
children. The show is located at the 2nd Floor Gallery at the
Ratwithi and Ratchapakinai Rd intersection. Closed Sundays.
This
beautiful watercolor was created by one of the children in the program.
This piece
represents the planets and the stars, done by a 5 year old it caused a lot
of discussion as many people saw different things in it.
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Wat Don Chan kids get the thrill of a lifetime at Flight of the Gibbons.
This intrepid kid was happy to glide along the
zipline alone at the day out at the Flight of the Gibbons on May 1, 2012.
50 kids a day from Wat Don Chan school
will visit one of Chiang Mai’s most exciting attractions, Flight of the
Gibbons for 3 days this week to take part in the thrill of ziplining. The
added bonus for these youngsters is, as they zip and trek through the jungle
they will learn about nature and the importance of conserving the
environment.
In addition to a morning at Flight of
the Gibbons, they kids get lunch, a trip to bathe in the waterfall in the
hot afternoon and a souvenir t-shirt. For most of these kids, this kind of
trip is beyond their imagining and the delight on their faces as they
strapped in was more than apparent. Flight of the Gibbons regularly hosts
underprivileged kids from the city schools to visit the camp.
Flight of the Gibbons has also started
a new program for those less adventurous, Segway tours around the old city.
Contact Flight of the Gibbons for more information. 053 010 660-3, 089 970
5511.
info@treetopasia.com. (Photos courtesy of CityNow!)
Looks like
the teachers had as much fun as the kids ziplining.
These two
went together, sometimes it feels safer in numbers!
Kids from
Wat Don Chan are joined by Tim McGuire at the Flight of the Gibbons on the
first of three days out for children from the school.
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Unique Global Issues Camp to be held at PTIS
PTIS is holding a
brand new Global Issues Camp this summer. This experiential learning
experience is perfect for students with an interest in current world events,
who take part in the model United Nation or just want to see a different
side of Thailand.
The camp is presented by
Three-Generation Camps located on the campus of the Traidhos Community
(http://threegeneration.org) and Prem Tinsulanonda International School.
Here young learners will discover, explore and investigate a whole range of
global issues from poverty and HIV, to sustainability and elephant
conservation, to the opium trade and organic farming.
Throughout the camp students will
develop skills in research and enquiry, have the opportunity to take part in
structured debates to help highlight the complexities of these issues and
become culturally aware global citizens. Students will achieve this through
practical community service, meeting staff and clients from NGOs, visiting
small communities and talking to local people.
Students will also get the chance to
feed and bath elephants, cook pizza in an earthen oven on the farm, visit
beautiful temples, milk goats, shop in the busy night bazaar, eat
traditional northern Thai food, swim in the swimming pool and much, much
more! The camp will run from the 16-24 June, 2012.
Individuals can attend without a
chaperone. Please contact jaytanat@threegeneration.org. See the website for
full details and application form
http://camps.threegeneration.org. (PR)
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