Dear Parents 

 

Another term in the ledger. As you see in the bumper newsletter below, an amazing amount has been done. And – for your information – an amazing amount has been planned and scheduled for the next six months as well. 

 

On Wednesday, I was in a Reception class, reading a book with the children. It was about Stick Man, an anthropomorphic piece of wood who has many dangerous adventures but, in the end, finds his family and celebrates Christmas with them.   

 

There’s always a lot to learn from any good book. In this case, I felt two things in particular:  

 

(1) fear is not the worst thing in the world – sometimes, it’s even necessary;  

(2) relationships might just be the best thing in the world! 

 

And (2) is a very good thought to end the term with. 

 

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, and that your children get plenty of much-needed rest, relaxation, and relationship time over the holidays. See you on Tuesday 9 January 2024! 

With best wishes 

Chris 

Dear Junior School 

 

As I reflect on this very busy half term, there are endless highlights and wonderful memories that I would like to share. The first of these was our annual Poetry Week, with a deep dive into the Wellington value of courage. Students explored this value through reading a range of poems around this theme, then creating their own class poems to encompass these ideas. Such collaboration and creativity from all.

 

I also thoroughly enjoyed our dress up days this term – our ‘non scary’ Halloween, as well as of course the more traditional and absolutely stunning Loy Krathong. It is always such a delight seeing our students celebrating such a diverse range of festivals whilst learning more deeply about the meaning of each of these. 

 

Our Friends of Wellington Warrior Run was a further delight to watch, with students of all ages taking part, alongside some very enthusiastic parents! I was very impressed with those who not only ran once, but who also managed to run on multiple occasions!

Our students have continued to impress through all the sports this half term. We have seen further successes in swimming, gymnastics, basketball, cricket, table tennis and athletics – with showcases of courage and great pride throughout performances. The teams have become increasingly competitive in their fields, and we are very proud of all that they have achieved. It was also great fun taking part in our House basketball and football competitions – what a super way of developing House spirit whilst also learning about competitive resilience.

 

Parents remain such an important part of our school community, and I have very much enjoyed spending quality time with our class parent reps, getting to know everyone a little better and having the opportunity to explain some of the new initiatives that we have in our school (as well as the incredibly positive impact they are having on children’s learning). It is always so useful having conversations with parents, hearing your feedback and views – thank you to everyone who makes the time to come and speak with me!

 

We have had many visitors to the school this half term, including the CIS inspection team who spent a week seeing the school in action, talking to many members of our community and getting a really good sense of who we are and what we believe in. Following that week, it was very reassuring to hear from them that we are doing a very good job! We also had Ed Fest, to which many of the Wellington College International Primary Heads and other local educationalists joined - what a pleasure to talk with such an exciting and forward-thinking group of individuals. 

 

Always my favourite time of year, Christmas began early with decorations appearing in November in preparation for the FoW Christmas Fayre! And what a Christmas bonanza it has been – with every Junior School student from Pre-Nursery through to Year 6 performing (at least once) through our series of Christmas concerts and sing-alongs. A huge thank you to our Music team for organising each of these performances.

I do need to give a special shout out to our Year 1 and 2 students this term, for their wonderful Bee Musical. It was truly wonderful to see each of these students up on the stage, acting and singing with such a buzzzzzzzz! 

 

And finally, taking a moment to think of others at this festive time, I want to thank each of our families and staff who sponsored a child as part of the Giving Tree project. How important it is for us all to be thinking of those less fortunate at this time of year.

 

Next term promises many further exciting events, including our Family Pages reading event in the first week back, along with residentials and sports days (to name just a few).

 

Wishing you all the most happy and restful of Christmas periods.

 

Kind regards

Hannah

Dear Parents 

 

It has been a wonderfully festive end to a jam-packed second half of Michaelmas Term in the Senior School.  

 

Since the end of October, we’ve been joined by Rupert and Izzy, two Year 10 visitors from The Wellington College (UK), we have had a Sixth Form Scholarship Assessment Day, we’ve had Geography field trips, joined the Remembrance Sunday service in Kanchanaburi. We have celebrated Year 11 student successes gaining Bronze Duke of Edinburgh awards and sent Year 10 students off for their qualifying hike.

 

We have hosted an outstanding inaugural Bangkok Festival of Education; we have launched the WCIB Sixth Form to great aplomb, and Year 9 students have begun their mentoring programme with Year 12 students at TWC. We’ve hosted University visits, taken part in a Robotics scrimmage, had three House Open Mornings and four House Competitions, celebrated Loy Krathong, and our students have been involved in numerous volunteering, service, and charity initiatives.

However, as we move through December, the highlights have of course been our preparations towards Christmas. Many thanks are due to Ms Corrigan, Mr Denyer-Green the Music Team, and our very many talented musicians for an exceptional Christmas Concert last Friday. This week has been largely a House and Student Council affair. The Student Council, ably coordinated by Shawn (Year 11) organised a wonderful series of festive events – Karaoke, a Christmas Quiz, a Candy-Cane Limbo, Face Painting, House Musical Chairs and a Cake Sale Mr McKee chaired an amazing House University Challenge with Murray coming a convincing first. Mr Atherton impressed everyone with his phenomenal speed in the Santa Dash!  

 

The family-style Christmas lunch yesterday was a real treat – teachers and students sat down together for a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. 

 

This has been another long and very busy Michaelmas Term. I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and  Happy New Years.  

See you in January. 

Jim 

Dear Wellington Parents 

 

As we bid farewell to another exhilarating term of sports at Wellington College International Bangkok, it is my pleasure to present to you a comprehensive roundup of the wonderful achievements, growth, and passion displayed by our dedicated athletes and coaches. Our Heads of Sport have shared their accounts, providing an insightful glimpse into the journey we've experienced across a spectrum of sporting disciplines. From gripping matches to moments of triumph and resilience, this term has been a testament to the unwavering commitment and sportsmanship that define our sporting community. Please join us in celebrating the collective spirit and achievements that make Wellington College a hub of sports enthusiasm.  

 

Additionally, I'm thrilled to share an exciting development with our parent and student community. Our sports website, seamlessly integrated into the inWellington platform via SOCS, is now live. This dynamic platform offers a user-friendly interface where parents and students can access detailed information on all upcoming fixtures, as well as team lists. As we transition to this centralised hub, we will continue to keep you informed through emails, but this innovative platform aims to streamline communication and reduce email traffic by consolidating all necessary information in one place. I encourage you to start familiarising yourself with the platform's features. Streamlining communication through SOCS should serve as a catalyst for more effective and efficient information dissemination, fostering a stronger, well-informed sports community.

Basketball 

 

Wellington's Basketballers have had a great season this term, where they have competed across all age groups from U9 to U18 in GBAC matches. Our U11's narrowly missed out on silverware at the GBAC invitationals with both boys and girls finishing runners up. Our U13 girls also competed fantastically well to finish second in their GBAC league.   U15 Girls capped off an unbeaten season by winning the GBAC League championship against Amnuay Silpa by 27 points to 20.  We are really proud of the students’ efforts this term and look forward to seeing lots of them back out on the court in term two.   

Football  

 

Football has been immensely popular this term (and it’s not even our “season”) and we have seen over 100 students participate in competitive and friendly tournaments and matches at Harrow International School, Bangkok Patana School, and Kings College. Our WEX numbers have continued to grow, and this is very exciting – especially with the opening of South Field allowing us to accommodate even more footballers. It was great to see the term end with Junior School House Football again demonstrating the passion our students have for football here at Wellington College.  A huge thank you to all our students and parents, CUKI, and teachers for showing your support in many different ways throughout the term. I look forward to football season starting in Lent Term.

Golf  

 

This term, our golfers showcased their skills in six international school golf tour events, with the junior team impressing in two. The sport's popularity is soaring, boasting a Senior team, Development team, Junior team, and Young Cubs team with various programs beneath all these. Golf remains the leading sport, creating pathways for all.  Exciting news awaits in January with developments in our golf programme. Shoutout to Marker from Year 9, our standout player, achieving an elite level this term. His -6 personal best tournament score and victories across several events both in school and outside competitions showcase Wellington's golf excellence.      

 

Table Tennis

 

The Wellington College Under 12 Table Tennis squad completed their Michaelmas Term training with a highly competitive fixture against Singapore International School Bangkok. Both schools fielded a squad of 20 students, who competed in teams of 5 players. The Wellington A team, under the captaincy of Mattie (Year 7), narrowly lost in the Final against the SISB A team by 6 matches to 4. The top-ranked Wellington player, Gabriel (Year 5), won three of his four matches in the tournament for the A team. The Wellington B team also just missed out in their 3rd place play-offs, losing 6 matches to 5 on the tie-breaker. One of the highlights of the tournament was the 5th place performance of the young Wellington D team, which comprised four players from Year 4, Raphael, Sky, Jordan, and Ben, supported by their captain, Pete (Year 7).  

Cricket

 

The Cricket highlight of Michaelmas Term was the inaugural Under 12 GBAC tournament hosted by Wellington. Wellington enjoyed a clean sweep at the tournament, winning Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Wellington Cheetahs, under the captaincy of Sky (Year 7), completed a narrow victory in the final over the Wellington Werewolves. The Cheetahs contained the Werewolves to 32 runs through tight bowling by JJ (Year 6) and Punn (Year 4). The bowlers were supported by outstanding fielding in the deep by George (Year 6) and inspired wicket-keeping by Mattie (Year 7). When the Cheetahs came to bat, it was the attacking style of the left-hander Gabriel (Year 5) that helped the Cheetahs to a winning score of 44 in their 6 overs. Third place went to the Wellington Dukes, captained by Mike (Year 7), who beat the Thai Sikh International School in the bronze medal match.  

 

Happy Christmas and see you next term!

Dear Parents,

 

Time flies and we are approaching the end of Michaelmas Term. 

 

In term of FoW activities and events, this term has been exceptional. We have had a number of fun activities and the support from members of the community was enormous. All our committee members are very grateful for that. The Christmas Fayre has shown everyone how strong, unique, and cosy we are as a community. Many times I’ve heard people say being at Wellington Bangkok you get not only good connections but real connections with genuine friendship. 

 

This term we have been fortunate to receive active support and involvement from many parents who volunteered to support FoW activities. Coming with these ‘extended members’ were various new and fresh ideas which contributed greatly to the huge success of the Christmas Fayre. I would like to thank this special group and hope you guys will continue your active involvement with FoW.

 

Having said this, in the next term, the Lent Term, we will start the nominations and elections process for the FoW Committee. The aim is to open doors for anyone who wishes to be an active member. The involvement can be in many forms: elected positions, specific-duty committee members, at-large committee members, and volunteered parents (this one is for active parents who wish to be behind the scene). So please think about this during your holiday and when the process starts please let us know which roles you want to play. Our WCIB community is getting bigger and bigger so the FoW Committee will have to be expanded. Diversity and inclusivity is something we aim for so the committees can be from any nationality, can be either dads or mums, can be from any year group, and certainly can be from any occupation.  

 

We will work on the precise details of the process and will have you all informed. Please submit your name so we all can work together for our children and our WCIB communities. 

 

And in case you are wondering, please don’t worry about the activities. We are still planning and the election process will not interrupt our work !! 

 

For now I wish everyone a fantastic holiday and look forward to seeing you all next year when the Lent Term starts.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !!!!

Notachard Chintakanond (Noat) 

FoW Chair 

Dear Parents 

 

It’s been another very busy term and we have been meeting many new families hoping to join Wellington. Thank you all, as always, for your referrals and for being great ambassadors for our amazing school!

 

As you will know already, we are full in Early Years for August 2024 and are now processing all applications. All new applicants will join the waiting lists. We always do our best to help families find a place but we are very popular in these year groups! As you know, we always prioritise siblings where we can so just in case you haven’t notified us of a sibling who needs a place – please let us know now! 

 

We have places available in August 2024 from Year 1 to Year 12. We are very happy to receive all enquiries and applications. We invite your friends and family to join our Open Morning on Saturday 3 February to find out more.  

 

If you are the parent of an academically exceptional Year 8 student – please note that our Scholarship Day for Year 9 Academic Scholarships will be on Saturday 27 January. To apply please contact Admissions@wellingtoncollege.ac.th including a letter to the Master from the student explaining why they deserve an Academic Scholarship. Please drop by and see us and we can explain further.  

 

From a Marketing point of view – we love hearing from you with all your ideas. Please get in touch. And for everyone who has shared ideas this year – thank you! This is a wonderful community to work with!

Happy Christmas and see you in 2024!

Jane 

Family Pages - Junior School Event  

 

Please save the date for a wonderful event to start the new term. See the message from Gary Pidgeon -

 

We are delighted to invite you to a special event called Family Pages – a unique event designed for parents and children to read and enjoy stories together.

The Family Pages events will take place on the following dates and times and will provide a wonderful opportunity to witness the learning environment firsthand, engage in literacy activities with your child, and gain valuable insights into how we teach and support reading in the classroom. 

• Years 1 and 2 – Wednesday 10 January (14.30 – 14.50)
• Pre-Nursery, Nursery and Reception – Thursday 11 January (14.00 – 14.20)
• Years 3, 4 and 5 – Friday 12 January (15.15 – 15.45)
• Year 6 – Friday 19 January (7.30 – 8.00)

As this will be a popular event, we are able to accommodate just one adult per child (to ensure comfort for all in the classrooms and learning studios).  

 

We look forward to welcoming you to the Family Pages event, witnessing the joy of reading shared between you and your child. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me – g.pidgeon@wellingtoncollege.ac.th  

Take a look at issue 4 of What's Up Welly by students for students, parents, teachers and friends.