NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE

SISB V ICE
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER WWW.SISB.AC.TH Chiangmai

Christmas Week at SISB Chiangmai

This year has been a challenging period for many, but we were delighted
to be able to open the school gates for the last week of term and celebrate
Christmas together.

The students who had been preparing Christmas performances at home

were now able to sing and dance together with their friends. The students
were also able to bring the beautiful work they had been creating to school
and use it to decorate the classrooms.

As well as Christmas activities, the students spent the final week of 2021
catching up with their friends and playing together with classmates. On the
final day of term, all of the students and teachers dressed up in festive
costumes to celebrate!

It was fantastic for us to celebrate the end of the year together, and we’re
all looking forward to a new start in 2022!
 NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE

Singapore International School Chiangmai

"WE GIVE, WE SHARE"

WARM CLOTHING DONATION
As the weather gets colder in Chiang Mai, we all tend to bundle up! However, not
everyone has warm clothing to bundle up in.

This term, We Give We Share was happy to partner up with Baan Dek Foundation to
help provide warm clothing for refugee children. Here at SISBCM, we made connections with
Baan Dek Foundation who informed us that there were many refugee children who were
needing warm clothing, so you all, our students and families, showed up to help!

We were able to collect a number of warm articles of clothing and some other nice used
donations to share with Baan Dek Foundation. We would like to thank you all for your kind
support and donations- we are sure that they will be greatly appreciated!
 NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE

Secondary School Students'

Community Engagement
Being a global citizen is central to Singapore International School’s
educational ethos. Our students learn about local and global issues, and take
action to improve the world around them. This past month, the students in our
secondary department have been busy engaging in community events with TEDx
Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai Design Week (CMDW)

At TEDx Chiang Mai, students from Grade 8 and Grade 9 learnt about the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and some of the issues impacting lives in
Northern Thailand. The speakers at the event inspired our students with their talks
on combating air pollution, improving recycling, fighting corruption and utilising
technology for the benefits of all.

At CMDW, a group of secondary students visited the‘Street Art Public Space’and

spoke with the university students who organised the exhibit to promote community
projects, street art and freedom of expression. Our students then engaged in creating
some street art and also spent time touring the other exhibits at this year’s CM
Design Week.

The students greatly enjoyed these opportunities to engage with the wider
community, and we all look forward to joining more educational events in 2022.
 NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK
"Words have a magical power. They can bring either the greatest happiness or deepest
despair” - Sigmund Freud

Just one kind word can brighten our day. A simple “hello” accompanied with a smile can put
a spring in our step. Hearing a piece of work described as “wonderful” can fill us with happiness.
Our words can be used to motivate and inspire so we should always take great care with the
words we use.

The ‘One Kind Word’ theme has been a strong focus for us at Singapore International School
Chiangmai during this year’s anti-bullying week which began on Monday 16th November with Odd-
Sock day. Odd Sock Day is all about celebrating what makes us unique. It encourages us to not
be afraid to stand out from the crowd and have the courage to be different. Throughout the week,
students in all levels took part in lessons and activities to learn about bullying in its different
forms and learnt why it should be taken seriously. These forms of bullying include physical,
verbal, mental and cyber bullying. In keeping with this year’s theme, we highlighted the power of
the words that we use and the effects they can have. The week concluded with a presentation
and a question and answer session chaired by our Student Council representatives from Grade 9.
Some great questions were asked and positive discussions on how to deal with bullying took
place.

We encourage our students to think carefully about what they say, write, message and post
in all situations and settings. With living in an increasingly interconnected online world with
different forms of communication and the rise of social media, it is more important than ever for
our young learners to have an awareness of the impact of their words and actions. Spoken and
written words can be used constructively, as words of encouragement, or destructively, as words
of despair.

We would like to encourage and thank parents for helping us to reinforce the important
lessons that our students have learnt throughout anti-bullying week. We take child welfare very
seriously and are proud of the role that our students play in making Singapore International
School a friendly, supportive and inclusive learning environment.
- Teacher David -
 NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE

Loy Krathong Festival is an annual traditional Siamese festival celebrated by Thai people
to pay respect to the Goddess of Water and the Buddha. It is not a public holiday but is
celebrated nationwide when people gather around lakes, rivers, and canals to release
Krathong. Loy Krathong Festival is celebrated on the evening of the 12th full moon of the Thai
lunar calendar. It usually falls in the month of November, according to the Western calendar.
Therefore, the Loy Kratong date is not fixed. It changes every year depending on the full
moon.

Loy Krathong Festival, which originated in the ancient Sukhothai Kingdom around 800
years ago, is one of the biggest festivals in Thailand. The word “loy (ลอย)” in Thai means 'to
float' and “Krathong (กระทง)” translates to 'basket or boat', so the meaning of Loy Krathong is
‘float a basket’.

A Krathong is a small lotus-shaped boat traditionally made from banana leaves and
decorated with flowers. In the center of the Krathong, there are traditionally 3 sticks of
incense and a candle. On the evening of the festival, Thai people gather around rivers, lakes,
and canals to release lotus-shaped baskets or Krathong as a way to give thanks to the goddess
of water (called Pra Mae Khongkha:พระแม่คงคา) and ask for forgiveness for using too much
water or contaminating it. Nowadays, it is also a way to get rid of negativity gathered during
the previous year and welcome good fortune in the coming year.
 NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE

In Chiang Mai, Loy Krathong is often celebrated together with Yi Peng. This is a Lanna
festival. It is often referred to as The Festival of Light which falls on the full moon of the 2nd
month of the traditional Lanna calendar. The purpose of this traditional Lanna festival is to
make merit. This is largely done through a show of light! This is why many call it The Festival
of Light.

During Yi Peng in Chiang Mai, you will see the night skies light up with Khom Loy
(โคมลอย), which translates quite literally to the floating lantern. Because of this, some people
refer to this event as The Lantern Festival. Especially in downtown Chiang Mai, you can
expect to see the sky filled with lanterns. The lanterns are made from thin rice paper that is
stretched and glued to a bamboo frame. In the middle, there will be a wireframe where you
attach the fuel to a wax disc that has been soaked in fuel.

In addition, during the evening of the festival, many locals will decorate their houses and
gardens with lit candles to make merit. Around town, you will also see those incredibly
beautiful and colorful hanging lanterns. All the temples will be a sight to see, as will the
Three Kings Monument. These paper lanterns are called Khom Fai (โคมไฟ) and are all hand
made.

On Friday 19th November, all the students at Singapore International School, Chiang Mai
campus learned about Loy Krathong Festival in online class. All the students participated in
different activities for the Loy Krathong Festival such as making Krathongs and lanterns, all
the students dressed in beautiful traditional Thai costumes, creating digital art and posters,
drawing competitions and dancing to traditional Loy Krathong music. All the students are
very happy and enjoying the activities on Loy Krathong Day.
“Happy Loy Krathong 2021”
SISB Chiangmai Thai Team
 NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE

Chinese YCT Assessments at

Singapore International School
Chinese is one of the core languages at Singapore International School. The objectives
for teaching are to ensure that students develop a comprehensive understanding of
written and spoken Chinese, the students are able to speak Chinese with fluency, able to
read Chinese characters, and able to write correct grammatical structures using Chinese
characters.

To ensure our students meet these objectives we use the internationally recognised
Youth Chinese Test (YCT) language proficiency tests. Youth Chinese Test (YCT) is an
international standardised Chinese language test, designed for non-native primary and
secondary school students to check their ability in using Chinese language in their studies
and daily lives.

On Saturday 20th November, students from the primary school took YCT assessments
at school. It was the first time we have administered these assessments at our school and
we are looking forward to having regular assessments to support our students' growth.

If you would like to learn more about YCT assessments and the Chinese language
curriculum at Singapore International School, you can contact us at any time.
 NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE

GALLERY

visit our Facebook page for more photos