News - 24 April 2015 08:44

NIST News - 24 April 2015

Due to a change in our email system, last Friday's NIST News was not sent out as intended. Apologies for the delay!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Do You Want to Be the Head of NIST for a Day?

With only three days left to place bids on AuctioNIST Online (http://nist.ac.th/auctionist), three exciting items are now available: the opportunity for your child to be Head of School, Head of Elementary or Head of Secondary for a day! As with all other items, the final online bids will be carried over as the starting bids at the live event, which will also feature 14 exclusive items not available in the online auction.

Thanks to all parents, staff and members of the Bangkok community who have purchased tickets to the live event set for 9 May, an evening of splendid art pieces, wine, canapés and the opportunity to win fabulous door prizes. The remaining tickets will be for sale from Khun Wanpen at reception, and a table will be set up near the main entrance on Tuesday, 28 April from 7:00 - 9:00 AM and 2:30 - 4:00 PM. Please note that tickets will be available to general public after this Friday, so reserve yours early!

We encourage all NIST parents, teachers and friends to register on the online site and purchase tickets for the live event! Proceeds will directly benefit NIST students, as well as the greater community, by supporting the purchase of resources for our new libraries and World Languages Centre, and providing funding for the NIST Development Bank.

NIPTA Needs You!

As we look forward to the 2015-2016 school year, many of the NIPTA committees will need new members and support. To find out more, please contact nipta.nist@gmail.com.

NIST Summer School Filling Up Fast

Our summer school programme is filling up quickly, and families from outside the NIST community are now able to register. In order to ensure that your children are able to enroll in the programme of your choice, we encourage all NIST families to sign up as soon as possible. Visit http://summerschool.nist.ac.th for additional details. The programmes will run from 15 June to 10 July, and will be THB 35,000 or THB 29,000 for early bird registration.

WHOLE SCHOOL

Tech Drive for Schools in Need

At Learning 2.014 NIST Digital Learning Coach Jason Tiefel and his team had the privilege of working with the International School of Bangkok's high school tech club. This group of students have developed a program whereby old computers are donated, refurbished by their team, and given to schools in need around Thailand. In January, they successfully refurbished and donated enough computers to fill two new computer labs for two rural schools in the Kanchanaburi province and they are currently looking to help even more schools which have contacted them.

NIST will be helping in this effort by accepting donations of computer equipment.

When: Monday, April 27 through Friday, May 8th
Where: Bring items to the donation box at the NIST IT Zone (Secondary Building, in the library)
What: Please limit donations to the following items - Computers (desktops or laptops), Mac or PC (running Windows XP or later); monitors (LCD only - no CRT/bulky/heavy monitors, please); keyboards, mice, VGA cables, or any accessories that are still in working order

For more information about the ISB Tech Drive, please visit their website at www.isbhstech.com/community-service or contact them at hstech@students.isb.ac.th.

Can You Provide a Home for a NIST Student?

We have a lovely, high-achieving, mature student who is looking for a host family for the 2015-2016 academic year. Her family is being transferred, and she would like to complete her IB diploma. She is fantastic! If there are any families who would enjoy having a NIST student in their home next year (even if a semester and then find two families), please contact us. We couldn’t recommend her enough – she isn’t a student who goes out late, etc. Her family would make sure she has all living expenses covered.

If interested, please email High School Counsellor Robert Kostrzeski at rkostrzeski@nist.ac.th.

ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY

Student-Led Conferences

Please be reminded that registration for all families is now open for student-led conferences, set to take place on 1 May for students in elementary and Years 7-9. For additional information about the elementary conferences, including how to sign up through Veracross, read this post on The NIST Link. Information about the secondary conferences is available in this post.

ECAs & SPORTS

2015 Falcon Young Fencer Invitational

The second annual Falcon Young Fencer Invitational is set to take place next weekend, 2-3 May, here at the NIST Sports Complex from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Following last year's highly successful inaugural event, the tournament is once again expected to draw many of the finest young fencers in Thailand.

Despite being less than two years old, the Falcon Fencing Club has already earned a reputation for excellence in the fencing community, and the NIST athletes have made a mark in several national tournaments.

Most recently, team member Soravit (Ping Ping) Kitsiriboon earned a silver medal at the 2015 IPE Fencing Competition, while teammates Arjun Srikureja and Kritanut Lerthirunvibul also turned in strong efforts.

We encourage all members of the NIST community to join us as we cheer on the Falcon fencers next week!

Join Us for the 2015 Instrumental Music Recitals

NIST's Instrumental Music Department is once again proud to extend an invitation to the community for the 2015 recitals, showcasing the talents of our school's young musicians.

Due to the large number of performers, we will host the Classical Recitals in the CAB Performance Studio over two days (Monday, 18 May and Tuesday, 19 May):

Monday: EY - Year 1: 2:15 - 2:45 PM
Monday: Year 2 - Year 4: 3:00 - 4:30 PM
Tuesday: Year 5 - Year 6: 3:00 - 4:10 PM
Tuesday: Secondary: 4:20 - 4:45 PM

Party in the Park, focused on contemporary pop and rock music, will also take place over two days (Monday, 25 May and Tuesday, 26 May):

Monday: EY - Year 5: 3:00 - 5:00 PM
Tuesday: Year 6 - Secondary: 3:00 - 5:00 PM

Do You Want to Be a Rock Star?

Trinity College London is sponsoring Southeast Asia's largest music competition: the Rock & Pop Soul Contest. Students in bands of three to eight members are able to enter the contest and possibly make their way to the regional finals at Saigon Opera House in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The winners of the grand prize will not only earn USD $7,500, but also a chance to sign a professional recording deal. The deadline for entry is 31 May 2015.

To learn more about the contest, contact Instrumental Music Coordinator Mr. Tony at TAbbey@nist.ac.t.

UPCOMING EVENTS

1 May: Student-Led Conferences - No Regular Classes
7 May: NIPTA Gourmet Cooking Club - Japanese Cuisine (See details in NIPTA)
8 May: Early Years Coffee Morning
9 May: AuctioNIST (See details in Whole School)
14 May: Elementary Sports Banquet
18 May: Party in the Park - Instrumental Music Concert
21 May: NIPTA Annual General Meeting
22 May: Secondary Sports Banquet
25 May: Winter Recitals - Instrumental Music Concert
29 May: Teacher Appreciation Day

Coming Up in Falcon Sports

2-3 May (Saturday & Sunday): 2015 Falcon Young Fencer Invitational (9:00 AM at NIST)