February,
2010: Cooking at Coconut Club
Coconut Club students learnt to cook 'tin foil fish' when the Harries Family joined us from Hong Kong for a week. The children chopped garlic and herbs and made little parcels of their fish which they shared with other residential students at dinner. We're all looking forward to the Harries's next visit!
Absolute February Birthday Party
Saturday 13th February 20 very excited children climbed into two mini busses bound for Absolute Patong Ville. The students had a brilliant time swimming, eating party food and cake and watching the clown magician. Yet again, thank you to Absolute for organising such a great day out and for their staff for giving up their weekend to make this very special birthday party a huge success.
January,
2010: Turtles at the Marriott
Coconut Club students had a great day at the Marriott! First, they participated in JW Marriott's Kid Sole - helped by the amazing Kid Sole staff including Nit Noi, Turkey, Gee and Pee. Students tried juggling, bicycling, trapeze work, mini trampoline, and giant trampoline. Lunch was at the noodle bar, where students got to make their own meal and eat delicious chocolate cake. In the afternoon, we went to the Mai Khao Turtle Foundation where we learnt about turtles and the students made posters.. A fantastic, informative, fun day!
Thank you so much JW Marriott.
January Birthday Party at Coconut Club
Take face painting clowns, amazing balloon animals, pass the parcel, plus our friends from Rockfish with a brilliant party game and a guitar to sing happy birthday add a huge cake from Les Anges - and you get 30 very happy birthday children! A huge thank you to all the donors and volunteers who make these very special birthday parties such a success.
January,
2010: Tie Dye T-shirts
Whilst visiting from Hong Kong Isabelle-Marie, Adam and baby Alexis came to Coconut Club. They brought with them T-shirts and students tie dyed shirts one Saturday afternoon; the children were amazed when they took out the knots to find the patterns they had made. Other students got to stencil shirts with cats and dogs which was great fun. Thank you guys!
January,
2010: PIMEX Boat Show Phuket
The organisers of the PIMEX Boat Show in Royal Phuket Marina were kind enought to give the Foundation a free stand at the Boat Show. Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation staff and volunteers were able to say hi to old friends and tell many new people about the amazing work we are doing in Kamala and Kalim Schools.
December,
2009: Absolute Birthday Party
One Saturday afternoon in December all of the children with a birthday in December and January piled into Absolute mini buses and excitedly watched the beautiful beaches of Kamala and Patong pass by through the windows. In no time we arrived at Patong Absolute Ville in Patong, where an amazing scene awaited them. Balloons created an archway into the swimming pool area - more balloons were hanging from the walls, others were filled with water and were floating in the huge pool.
A great time was had splashing around, practicing swimming under water and bombing each other with water balloons. But there was more. There were clowns and magicians to entertain; the looks on some of the childrens' faces when the ball appeared from nowhere was great to see. There was also a huge birthday cake for the after swimming munchies. Happy Birthday to some very happy Coconut Club students and thank you so much to Absolute for a great afternoon out!
December,
2009: A4Art Exhibition
In August residential students produced some amazing art at the Coconut Club silk screen workshop. On Wednesday 9th December some of their best paintings were on show together with donated art from generous local and international artists. A huge thank you to the artists who donated their work; all of the money made from sales will be used to ensure the Foundation can continue to change the lives of children in Phuket. A big thank you also to Wine Connection, Royal Eastern Beverage Company and Absolute Vodka who sponsored the drinks on the night. If you weren't able to make it on the night - some of the art is still on show in the foyer of the Sheraton at Laguna..
November,
2009: Birthday Party at Coconut Club
Residential children with a birthday in October or November had the best afternoon at Coconut Club on Saturday 21st November. The students invited two of their friends to join them for a fun filled afternoon.
Yet again, many thanks to Banyan Tree for providing
cake and party food, to Rockfish Restaurant and their staff for party food and games and to Bodega for the geat face painting. Welcome, for the first time, and thank you to Laguna's
Banyan Tree Management Academy Staff for the birthday treats, gifts and games.
November,
2009:Coconut Club Swimming Lessons
Phuket International Academy (PIA) hosted their first Coconut Club swimming lessons on Saturday 14th November. The lucky students were amazed when they arrived to see just how huge an Olympic pool is.
Thank you for the amazing lessons PIA staff - one student, swimming for the first time, was able to swim the full length of the pool having just watched his brother to see how it was done.
November,
2009: Playing Conkers at Coconut Club
Volunteer Kathy brought conkers all the way from the UK and introduced Coconut Club students to this great game! The students drilled holes in their conkers and strung them on string. They then took it in turns to hit their opponent's conker until the winner's conker broke the other open and it fell off the string. The students, and some of their teachers
not from the UK, were initially bemused by this game but soon got into the swing of it.
November,
2009: Making Flower Vases at Coconut Club
Volunteers Cristy and Sarah brought masses of purple orchids to Coconut Club this week. The students were given old water bottles which they covered in paper and decorated with great drawings and flowers to make their very own flower vases. The students were delighted to take these beautiful flower arrangements away with them to brighten their dormitories.
November,
2009: Duck Race
Phuket Community Foundation (PCF) invited Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation to set up a both at their fundraising Duck Race at Laguna. Ten lucky students went to Laguna with us and had an amazing afternoon joining in the carnival like fair. Congratulations to PCF on their fun filled event and thanks for letting us be a part of it.
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September,
2009: Surfing Coconut Club style!
Luke Remmer of Surf House, Surin Beach, took 14 lucky Coconut Club students surfing at Bang Tao beach. To start with some of the children were very nervous and didn't want to learn to surf. An hour later with help from Luke, their teachers and volunteers every child was standing up on their board! The students learnt such a valuable life lesson: they can achieve anything they want as long as they put the hard work in...
September,
2009: Skateboarding Tuesday at Coconut Club
Every Tuesday from 3.30pm to 4.30pm the residential students at Kamala School can be seen showing off their newly acquired skateboarding skills thanks to Luke Remmer of Surf House, Surin Beach, who brought Skateboard Tuesday to Coconut Club. The first week boys and girls alike pulled on their safety helmets and showed themselves naturals at the sport. Over the next few weeks Luke is going to teach the students how to do simple tricks.
September,
2009: Saturday Swimming Class
On Saturday 26th September Coconut Club students had swimming class at Nakatani. Teachers and volunteers went through a skill set with all of the budding swimmers
can you: put your head under water; collect a sunken object from the bottom;
push yourself off the side? By the end of the lesson even those who were
nervous to begin with were competing in the races and jumping in off the side.
September,
2009: Birthday Party at Coconut Club
Residential students with a birthday in August and September had a very special
afternoon on Friday 25th September. Many thanks to Banyan Tree for providing
cake and party food and to Rockfish Restaurant and their staff for party games complete with prizes and laughter. For a special treat Nick Anthony gave each child a copy of "Princess Sausage" a story about a happy Thai dog rescued on Surin Beach.
Many many thanks to all of our supporters who have donated backpacks, stuffed toys, marbles, yoyos and
kites for birthday presents. Please keep these donations coming!!!
September,
2009: Jewellery Making at Coconut Club
The weather has worked against our swimming classes this month. However, that
has not stopped the fun for groups of children at Coconut Club. One rainy
Saturday morning, Clara Chiang and six of her classmates from Singapore (who came to Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation for their Challenge Week) brought
jewellery making kits for the students
to work with. The students designed and made some beautiful necklaces and
bracelets.
September, 2009:
Fun at Coconut Club
This month Coconut Club had a new dress up box and the students have been having fun with the clothes stretching their imagination to the max! Coconut Club is the after school program for students who live at Kamala School seven days a week. Our teachers and volunteers run the fun sessions from 3.30 - 4.30 Monday to Thursday. The children are able to play games and sports, having fun whilst practicing their English.
September, 2009:
An ABBATASTIC! Charity Fundraiser
On Saturday 12th September Les Anges held a fantastic fundraiser for the
Foundation. Peter Webber from Les Anges provided spectacular entertainment and
amazing food and 91.5FM great music for the 150 guests at the event. Superb
auction and raffle prizes were on offer on the night including a one off ABBA
plaque and a trip to London's West End to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
August, 2009: Art
Workshop
On Sunday 29th August two of our teachers, Ashley and Lena, ran our second silk
screen printing workshop for ten Coconut Club students. The children
cut out shapes and silk screened over them to produce interesting paintings.
The students also cut pictures from magazines and made collages over their
pictures. Some of the best pieces will be on sale at a Fundraising Art
Exhibition
in December at Hung Fat's Restaurant.
August, 2009: Charity Golf
Day
On Tuesday 18th August the Phuket Junior Golf Foundation held its inaugural Charity Golf Day.
Two lucky students from Coconut Club joined the players for the prize giving ceremony
and Oliver Bates, Golf Pro at Phunaka Golf Club, took the students to the practice putting green and helped them with their stroke.
Congratulations to Avnish Dhall, Winner of the Individual Event and Mat Partridge and Rory Byrne, Winners of
the 2BBB Team Event.
August, 2009: Art
Workshop
On Sunday 9th August Steve Tothill and Khun Whan ran a silk screen printing
workshop for ten lucky Coconut Club students. The children
learnt about mixing colours and how to use layering to produce interesting
patterns. They also cut out silhouettes to create shapes on their
paintings. Steve was really excited by some of the pieces the students
produced. Some of their best paintings will be on sale at a Fundraising Art
Exhibition
in November.
August,
2009: Saturday Swimming Class at British International School
On Saturday 8th August the British International School invited twenty Coconut Club students to practice their swimming skills in their
Olympic swimming pool. The children were excited to be driven across the island
in mini busses and were amazed when they saw the size of the pool. The students
worked really hard at their swimming strokes and had a fun time with huge floats
and volleyball afterwards.
All of the students and volunteers had a great time - thank you BIS we'll be back
next week with 20 of the students we had to leave back in Kamala this week!
August,
2009: A Special Birthday Party at Coconut Club
On Sunday 2nd August there was a very special birthday party at Coconut Club. Residential students' birthdays often come and go without a celebration and the teachers at Kamala school decided that that just wouldn't do. At Coconut Club we asked our students "when is your birthday" and we made a birthday list. A couple of the children didn't know when their birthdays were so we told them they could celebrate in July. Every child with a birthday in May, June and July wrote birthday invitations for two of their special friends to "come to my party".
On Sunday morning, with children queuing up outside hours before the party was due to start the teachers set up Pin the Tail on the Elephant, Pass the Parcel and Balloon Game stations. The children had a fantastic time. We sang Happy Birthday to You and the birthday children received a small birthday present such as colouring crayons and books for the younger ones and shampoos and soaps or sports T-shirts for the older ones. Shafar and Adila donated some amazing birthday cakes which they had bought at The Hilton Hotel. Paul and Bill from The Children of Phuket brought along three bikes for all of the residential children to share.
Students can 'sign them out' any time after school or at the weekend to ride
around the school grounds.
June,
2009: Phuket International Fashion Week Opening Party
On Tuesday 23rd June six Coconut Club students were invited to open Phuket International Fashion Week at the Celebrity Opening Party at White Box. The students were a little nervous but made great welcoming speeches telling the guests that we were looking for sponsors for them and their friends left back at the school for the night. They did a great job as three students were sponsored that night!
June,
2009: Laguna 5km walk
10 Coconut Club students, staff and Board Members of
Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation were excited to join the Laguna Marathon
day by entering the 5km walk. The students walked and ran the 5km with much
enthusiasm. They were delighted, when passing through the finish line,
that they were presented with medals! The day was capped off with face painting
and a cooling dip in the ocean.
June,
2009: Coral Seekers Team Building day
16 Coconut Club students and staff from Kamala School went on a trip to an
island near Ao Yon, by speedboat. The two teams of students, Lions and Monkeys,
engaged in fun games involving leadership, team work and problem solving
skills. Thanks so much to Coral Seekers for providing the fantastic day out and
to Jonathan Fowler for the excellent photographs!
June,
2009: Coconut Club Pen Pal Program
In February, Coconut Club members at Kamala School wrote letters to
students at Meridian Elementary on Grosse Ile Island in Michigan, US. On June
8th, students received much anticipated replies from their pen pals in the US.
Some students even received two letters, as well as stickers, photos of Meridian
Elementary, and photos of their new friends. The partnership was set up by
Grosse Ile residents and PHBGTU volunteers, Rick and Ann Gartland, who were on
hand to help students read the letters. Students are very eager to send off
letters to their new American friends!
May, 2009: The Big Picture
- The
Foundation's Fundraiser at Hung Fat's
On Thursday 28 May over 100 art lovers gathered at Hung Fat's restaurant in Kalim for 'The Big Picture', an inspirational photography exhibition with works
on show by students and friends of the Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation.
The evening was a tremendous success; 20 photographs by Coconut Club students
and over 40 by professional photographers and friends of the Foundation were on
sale. A huge thank you to the artists who donated their work; Paul Roubicek,
Daniel Wolf, Cameron Hansen (who also printed our students' photographs), Wayne
Maule, Michael Weinstein, Tommy Karlsson, Pim Taecharachkij, Khun Nok, Khun
Soong, Jason Lang, Marsha Lutz and Kareem.
Some amazing prizes were also for the taking at the evening's auction and
raffle. Over 100,000 baht worth of prizes were donated by Sheraton Grande Laguna
Phuket, Nine Bar and Lounge, The Chedi Phuket & The Chedi Chiang Mai, The
Village Coconut Island, Les Anges, Angsana Spa, Laguna Phuket Golf Club and Twin
Palms Phuket, Siam Supper Club, Lemongrass House and Catch Beach Club. Thank
you to all our donors.
And the evening wouldn't have been complete without the wine donation from BB&B
and the beverages kindly provided by Royal Eastern Beverage.
Click here for media coverage of the event.
March, 2009: Foundation Launches Fan Page on Facebook
The Phuket Has Been Good to us Foundation now has a "fan
page" on the popular Facebook website. The page enables the
Foundation to post photo albums of the
children and their activities in the Kalim and
Kamala schools and with The
Coconut Club. We plan to make other uses of the sites potential
functions in the future as well.
For now the fan page will serve to increase the Foundation's exposure both locally and worldwide.
The Foundation can also easily send
out messages to all its fans via Facebook about upcoming events or other initiatives.
Become a fan today!
March, 2009:
Coconut Club
Hold Week-Long Photography Workshop
Earlier
this year, the Foundation was approached by photographer Martha Lutz who was
interested in working with the children to teach them about photography.
It was decided Marsha would lead a week long
workshop with the children of the Coconut
Club. Aged 12-14, the children were given six cameras donated by
Marsha's friends back in the US.
Click
here
to read a recent Phuket Post article (.pdf) about the event. The best of the photos taken by
the children will be printed and offered for sale later this year. See
some of the rest of the photos at the Foundation's
Facebook fan page.
February, 2009: Fundraising Dinner held
at Hung Fat's Restaurant in Kalim
Recently, a group of approximately thirty supporters of the Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation attended
a charity gala dinner organized by Board members Peter Hamilton and Michael Weinstein at Hung Fats restaurant in
Kalim. The restaurant is adjacent to the Kalim school, where the Foundation is
completing its three year pilot program. The dinner paired the highly regarded French chef Jerome Nutile, with Joes Downstairs' executive chef Aaron
Hooper, recent winner of the King of the Kitchen, Thailand award granted by HAPA (Hospitality Asia Platinum
Awards). Hung Fats is the newest of the four restaurants of the Baan Rim Pa restaurant group, formerly owned
by our founder, the late Tom McNamara. The event raised over 250,000 baht for the children served by
the Foundation. Thanks to all who helped organize and conduct this dinner, your support is much
appreciated. Click here to view an article on this event in the magazine
Traversing the Orient.
January, 2009: TEFL Phuket: Teach, Meditate, Volunteer
Earlier this semester, Stewart Keith of TEFL Phuket
approached the staff of PHBGTU with a unique partnership idea: new volunteers
every month in exchange for training hours at our schools. TEFL Phuket, located
in Kamala, issues Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification,
for students who complete the classroom hours and spend twenty hours practice
teaching or observing. So far, ten TEFL candidates, all to wanting to
experience working in a Thai government school, have created materials, worked
in Coconut Club, and assisted in the classroom. In addition, candidates have
the choice of coming to the course early or staying after its completion to work
with PHGBTU. TEFL Phuket is unique in that it is Thailands only TEFL school
that also offers meditation retreats through The Karuna Center.
December, 2009: Sneakers for Students
The second semester of school, Kamala and Kalim students
participated in an exciting competition orchestrated by the PHGBTU staff.
Students, who earned three Star English tickets, won a pair of brand new
Adidas, Nikes, or Asics. The sneakers were donated by Shaun Boulter, organizer
of the Triballistics Triathlon events in Phuket. Laura Gray, head teacher,
explains, Students were awarded tickets for working hard, good behavior, and
independent thinking. Some of them have never owned sneakers before, so it was
real motivation for them to strive for new shoes. Teachers gave out thirty
pairs of sneaker, as well as t-shirts, bags, medals, and trophies. We are hoping
to continue our incentive program, if you have any clothing, sports equipment,
toys, etc, that can be used, please contact us.
In Memoriam: Thomas Joseph McNamara, 1946-2008
We are sad to report the passing of Thomas Joseph McNamara in Bangkok on Sunday, November 24 after a long battle with prostate cancer. Tom is survived by
his wife Khun Pensri, daughter Fleur and sons Casey and Pure. A public cremation ceremony will be held at Wat Chalong on Phuket, Saturday 28 November from 11:30-12:30.
Tom is known to most people on Phuket Island as a highly successful restaurateur and owner of the Baan Rim Pa group. His bold personality and delightful
presence in the restaurants will be sorely missed. He was an inspiring and visionary man to all who knew him.
Having lived and prospered on Phuket Island for 20 years, Tom started the Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation in 2005 following the Tsunami, as an effort
to give something back to the community he loved so much. He believed that education was the best gift he could provide towards a better future for the
community. His tireless efforts over the course of the first three years of the Foundation's history will now be carried on by his daughter,
Fleur Birch-Atkinson, and the members of the Foundation's Board of Directors and Board of Managers.
The Foundation is now making an appeal to all for help in carrying on his legacy. At the request of the family, rather than sending flowers to the funeral
we ask that you consider making a donation. Thank you for your support.
Thai Language Version of Foundation Website Launched
The Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation's website is now available in Thai language. We hope this will prove to be a convenience for the families of
the children we serve, our neighbors, governement officals and all other Thai citizens that seek to learn about our organization. At first only the
homepage was posted in Thai, but eventually the entire site will be translated and posted online. The initial work was done by a volunteer from Bangkok,
Ratirose Supaporn. The Foundation seeks ongoing volunteer assistance to keep the Thai version accurate and up-to-date.
Scuba Diving Day Trip for Kamala Students
Usually at 7 am, the residential students of the Rachaprachanukroh school in Kamala find themselves about to start another day in life limited to living
and attending classes within the confines of the walls of their institution. But on this particular day, 33 extremely grateful children were about to
embark on a day of fun under the sea, compliments of Phukets Scandinavian Scuuba Doo. The day trip was arranged through our Foundation. Senior teacher
and English program coordinator Laura Gray, had arranged for Scuuba Doo director Hakan (Hogge) Larsson to provide the all expenses-paid trip, including
transportation for two groups to and from the school in Kamala to the Chalong pier, from where the children were transported on boat to Coral Island.
Scuuba Doo provided four dive masters led by Khun Tad, who spoke to the children about water safety and environmental issues as they enjoyed fruit on
the way to their snorkeling adventure.
While our mission is primarily to provide Enlgish language education, we also work to give students a sense of hope, self-esteem and to connect them with
their community, noted Ms. Gray, who was joined by another of the Foundations teachers, Jonathan Higgins. Two Thai teachers from the Kamala school also
were on hand. Following their approximately 90- minute swim and a free lunch, the students were treated to a boat ride displaying the beautiful views of
the waters around Phuket and were given free Scuuba Doo t-shirts before heading back home.
Some very happy children would soon thereafter make beautiful cards for the Scuuba Doo staff expressing their gratitude for their special day.
The Foundation will engage in further such collaborations with local business in order to improve the lives of Phukets children.
We've Moved! Our New Office In Kamala
Since its inception in 2005, the Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation was housed in the Kalim offices of the Baan Rim Pa restaurant Group. The generosity
of the staff of the Baan Rim Pa group cannot be overstated. But as we have grown over time, it has become necessary for us to stake out on our own and
establish an independent office. Since at this time we operate in schools in Kamala and Kalim, it made sense to try to locate a suitable building close
to our former offices.
In July 2008, we were lucky enough to have been offerred a space in Kamala, just around the corner form the Kamala school where we
have placed four teachers. We have moved in and are in the process of getting fully set up. We of course welcome any donations of computers, office furniture, equipment
and supplies. See our in-kind donation page for more information. Our new address and phone are: 80/4 Moo 3, Kamala,
Kathu, Phuket 83150. Tel: +66 (076) 278 146 Fax: +66 (0)76-342-460. Once we're all set up and established in the neighborhood, we plan to have a special
event to celebrate our new home.
Program in King’s Foundation School Enters Second Year
We have entered our second year of operating an English Program in the new Rachaprachanakroh 36 school in Kamala. The school is the 36th in Thailand to be built under the auspices of H.M. the King’s Rachaprachanakroh Foundation, which can be translated as ‘the King and the people helping each other.’ Our Foundation’s program, formerly provided for grade levels 1-3, has been expanded to levels 1-6, for a total of approximately 500 students. The English sections of the school now include classrooms, a library and an office for the growing staff.
The expansion of services has transformed the process of assessment into a major undertaking.
The Foundation’s first oral tests, at Kalim School, little more than two years ago, were conducted with 120 students.
In contrast, 1500 oral tests will be carried out with 609 different students in the current school year. In addition, the Foundation carries out two written tests with each child every school year.
A small army of volunteer testers donate their time, in May, September and March of each year and the Foundation is always on the look-out for more native English-speaking adults who can help out. If you can spare a few hours, please get in touch with us!
Behind The Scenes: Benchmark Testing
- All oral test papers are scrutinised twice and recorded on a spreadsheet, allowing the progress of each individual student to be tracked throughout their school career.< br>
- Teachers are not allowed to carry out oral tests, or to see the papers.
- There is no selective teaching to raise the mark of the tests. Progress made is a natural step by step learning experience rather than exam-targeted vocabulary teaching.
- Targets are set for academic achievement, based on students’ test scores.
The tests are based on a lexicon supplied by the Ministry of Education, so the words in the test are those the children should have learned. Students are asked questions based on pictures, which increase in difficulty with each section.
The test examines students’ understanding in a number of different areas, including colour, size, quantity, object recognition and use. Two local Thai mothers gave their advice on the suitability of the images used and some minor changes were made to the existing benchmark test in May 2007, in response to feedback from testers. Please go to the Foundation website for full details of progress with each grade. Click on “Progress to Date”
Test Results:
The Foundation carried out its sixth set of benchmark oral tests in March 2008.
The average increase in score at Kalim School was 8% and at Kamala School 18%
Donor Profiles
Nicos Coronis
Nicos Coronis is a Greek citizen born in Alexandria Egypt in 1947. He now resides in Athens, Greece, and is married with 3 children. He is the Managing Director of a medium size Greek shipping company operating bulk carriers and chemical tankers. Nicos and his family first came to Thailand about 15 years ago. They soon fell in love with the country, the people, the food and the weather, and have been coming quite often ever since. After the tsunami Nicos’ daughter Chiana came to Phuket with many toys from various schools in Athens.
Together with Board member Kathy Paine, she distributed these, and other presents such as computers to children and schools affected by the tsunami. They are also sponsoring the education of 2 children whose parents died in the tsunami. Nicos Coronis’ contributions to our Foundation have been a tremendous benefit to the current English programs in the Kalim and Kamala schools.
Marissa Attard
On her first venture to the Thailand, Maltese painter and illustrator Marisa Attard was, in her own words "immediately struck by the beauty of the country and the special qualities of its people. Speaking to Thai people and watching them go about their daily lives left me spellbound with their courteous manner and their seemingly inner serenity."
After meeting up with Kate and Stephen Cope at the Phuket International Blues Festival, it soon occurred to her that it would be a good idea to hold an exhibition at home in Malta, and donate part of the proceeds to the Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation.
Going through the many photos she took, Ms. Attard realised that what impressed her most were the people - their faces, posture and expressions. She opened her exhibition of portrait paintings, “Faces of Thailand,” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the nation’s capital, Valetta, on 6th December. The exhibition featured a number of paintings of children from Kalim School.
Volunteer Nuala Cabral produces video for Teach To Reach programme
We will also soon begin our programme Teach To Reach, in which we will train Thai-speaking teachers of English in the two schools, and in other schools, in our approach to teaching. The course contains eight modules, and has been funded by the Rotary Clubs of Laguna Phuket, West Shore, Victoria in Canada, and Rotary International. The video, produced by Nuala during her stay in Phuket, will be used throughout the course to demonstrate our methods. The video uses various forms of non-verbal communication to put its message across, and places very little reliance on the spoken word.
The course will demonstrate interactive and multi-sensory teaching methods, and show the benefit of learning by listening, speaking, seeing, movement and touch. It will contain real-life examples from the Foundation’s current practice, which are used daily at Kamala and Kalim Schools. Teach to Reach will look at behaviour management, and present a variety of strategies for organising and controlling the class, to make full use of the lesson time available. Additionally, the course will focus on how to create a stimulating and welcoming learning environment, which liberates students’ desire to learn, and where interesting materials are used to appeal to their natural curiosity.
Places in the course will be offered to Kamala’s Child Development Centre, which teaches children under the age of five years, before they enter Rachaprachanakroh School, to make a truly ‘upstream’ investment in the English education of local children. The first course is due to begin this August.
How We Teach: Kate Cope discusses learning as it relates to synapses in the brain
If you have ever amused yourself by reading those messages that are miss–spelt, or with letters missing, you will know that humans are capable of recognizing a word when only seeing part of it. We can speed read or skim passages accurately as the signals pass through synapses in our brain. When thinking in this way, the synapses are like little sign posts. Young children have about 10 quadrillion synapses; but this number declines with age. Learning and memory formation are thought to involve structural changes in the brain, specifically at the synapses. So it is important to develop a young child’s brain as well as possible at an early age.
We keep this in mind when we educate the children in our programs. A child learns the letter ‘a,’ then the letter ‘n,’ then the letter ‘d’. Subsequently they learn that those three letters together make the word ‘and.’ A recall message sent through the synapse will retrieve the new combined information faster than going through three different directions to get back the three individual letters of ‘a,’ ‘n,’ ‘d.’ This is a powerful piece of learning. That’s how we teach, like building bricks, using ways that quickly form meaningful patterns and bonds, to start those neurons firing and to utilize as many of those time limited synapses as we can.
Peter Hamilton Joins Our Board of Directors
Peter Hamilton has joined the Foundation’s Board of Directors and has become an active participant in the development of our donor base. Peter was educated in the UK obtaining his law degree from the University of Wales. After qualifying as a lawyer Peter joined Cable and Wireless and in 1987 moved to Hong Kong where he worked with Hong Kong Telecom in a number of senior positions. In 1995 Peter left Hong Kong Telecom to co found Chinadotcom. In 2001 Peter stepped down from the board of Chinadotcom and moved to Thailand in 2002.
Peter was one of developers of the Hong Kong Telecom Foundation - established to administer the charitable donations of the Hong Kong Telecom group and served on its board of advisors for several years. Peter looks forward to being an active member of Phuket Has Been Good To Us Board.
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