Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
It was such a valuable experience this week to visit five different trips across Northern Thailand and to see our students truly engaging in enriching these communities. Whether it be cooking meals for the elderly in Udon Thani, constructing a house for a family living north of Chiangmai, Caring for the land at Panya Project while living sustainably, shovelling Elephant poo at Elephant Nature Park or completing service at a small school in Northern Thailand, I was fortunate enough to witness our students ‘hands on’, making a difference.
Behind these experiences and the many other great experiences that our High School engaged in this week, were hours of planning and preparation. I would like to thank all the teachers who put in their time as chaperones this week, many spending time away from their own families to look after our High School students. The care and concern I witnessed was just great. A special thanks to the many staff members working in the school who support GCW, in particular our nurses and safety team who ensure our trips run smoothly and safely. Special mention also needs to go to Khun Pat in the High School Office who does so much of the work behind the scenes, if you are near the HS office, please do drop by and thank her for the endless hours she puts into GCW.
I know some parents will be asking soon about GCW refunds, please note that the final balancing of budgets doesn’t take place until after March when all final payments are made. We expect courses that might receive a refund to have these refunds ready after Songkran. Parents will be contacted directly if there are any refunds and all courses receiving a refund will be announced in the Enews.
I hope that your child has been challenged in this past week through their experiences with hands on service or in their exposure to a new culture. I firmly believe these experiences help our students become more globally minded and grow into caring young adults.
Enjoy your long weekend together as ISB shuts down for its semester two activity-free weekend.
Andy Vaughan
High School Dean of Students