Issue No. 2 - 2011 - 2012 F R O M T H E C H A I R M A N Dear Colleagues and Friends in FOBISSEA schools, Following the floods in Bangkok last November and the cancellation of the Annual FOBISSEA Heads’ Conference, it was with great relief that the FOBISSEA Heads were able to get together for the March Heads’ Business Meeting. It was a pleasure to welcome Bangkok International Preparatory & Secondary School as the federation’s newest member and to see presentations from the British International School Shanghai, Puxi campus and Traill International School, Bangkok. We are delighted that these two schools will now join our federation. It was clear from the agenda and outcomes of this meeting that the cancelled Con- ference did not result in loss of opportunity for our students and staff. Reports back to the Business Meeting clearly showed that large numbers of our students have enjoyed getting together at an increasing range of competitive and educational events. CPD opportunity for our staff is also expanding, particularly with the job-a-like workshops (JAWS) that our teachers value so highly. We have now confirmed a new category of membership – the Affiliate membership. This allows reputable organisations who want to develop a positive relationship with our federation to connect on a meaningful basis, beyond exhibiting at our conference. We feel that building these professional partnerships will be a positive step forward. A number of our members have now been through the British government’s voluntary BSO (British Schools Overseas) inspections, with others in the pipeline. All so far have been successful. It is clear that FOBISSEA is an organisation committed to student and teacher opportunity. Whilst there are many com- plex issues that we and our member schools have to address, we never forget that the reason we are here is to give the best education we can to our students. Chairman FOBISSEA F O B I S S E A N E W S L E T T E R The 2011 Games, Group B2, were hosted for the first time by Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar, Ma- laysia from the 19th-22nd November 2011. The Fobissea Games are also known as the ‘Friendly Games’, and this was extremely apparent as supporters from all schools encouraged and applauded all of the students from different schools. The standard shown by all was im- peccable; especially considering the temperature was well into the 90’s. After 3 days of high level competition; we saw some excep- tional performances by many of the young athletes and sadly the games were over too fast. The students had performed in the correct man- ner throughout and had bought into the whole ‘friendly games’ ethos. Friendships had been made, trophies had been won but most importantly, everyone had enjoyed themselves and it was off to the hotel for the trophy presentations and the gala dinner. Congratulations to all the students and a huge thank you to teachers, parents and sponsors for supporting such a great event. Stuart Myall : Head of PE, Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar U13 FOBISSEA Games, 22nd to 24th March 2012 The Alice Smith School recently hosted eight international schools for the A division of the U13 FOBISSEA Games. Competitions were held over three days, in four sporting disciplines. Students participated in swim- ming, athletics, basketball and football. The events took place at the school’s Secondary Campus at Equine Park and also at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium for the athletics and swimming events. Fondly known as the ‘friendly games’, the Games is about far more than just collecting medals and score rankings. It’s an ideal opportunity for students to foster new friendships and adapt to each other’s cultures and way of living. This was very evident in the support that each school showed to each other. Standards in both team and individual events have also been rising each year and there were some outstanding individual and team performances. The athletics competition was won by Tanglin Trust School fol- lowed by Bangkok Patana School and Shrewsbury International School in third. Day 1 proved to be a great day for Tanglin Trust School as they also won the swimming event, Alice Smith School came second with the British Inter- national School of Jakarta coming in third. (continued…) T H E F O B I S S E A N F O B I S S E A N E W S L E T T E R U13 FOBISSEA Games, 22nd to 24th March 2012 - hosted by Alice Smith School, Kuala Lumpur Day 2, the students competed in the girls’ football and boys’ basketball competitions. In first place for the girls’ football was Bangkok Patana School with Shrewsbury International School in second place and Alice Smith School in third. In the boys’ basketball competition, Harrow In- ternational School were victorious piping Alice Smith in the final. Gar- den International School took third place. The girls’ basketball and the boys’ football competitions took place on the third day. Alice Smith were the champions in the girls’ basketball followed by Shrewsbury International School and Bang- kok Patana School. In the boys’ football, Tanglin Trust School were victorious beating Bangkok Patana School in the final. The Alice Smith School came third. Hosting an event of this magnitude is a massive undertaking. Secondary Faculty Leader for Physical Education, Mr Andy Charman attributed the successful hosting of the FOBISSEA Games, to a team of dedicated coaches, staff and students plus the support from the parent body. FOBMUN II, 19 JANUARY 2012—hosted by Bangkok Patana School The Opening Ceremony at 0900 on 19th January in the Rosamund Sturzel Theatre featured the Bangkok Patana orchestra, addresses by Head of School Matt Mills, Sec- ondary Principal Mick Smith, Conference Director John Wood, a Thai cultural per- formance by the Human Puppets and the keynote speaker Khun Mechai Viravaidya from the Population and Community Development Association. Khun Mechai’s ad- dress clearly captured the imagination of the MUN delegates who were still talking about it several days later. The conference was presided over by co-Secretary Generals Gerard Vistal and Demi Chen, both in Year 13 at Bangkok Patana School. For the first two days delegates created and de- bated resolutions in committees. On the third and final day all delegates gathered for the General Assembly which debated two committee resolutions and emergency resolution on a cri- sis on the Korean Peninsula. The final day also saw an address to the conference by Mr. Brad Coulter who talked of his experi- ence as a peace-keeper in Timor Este and the Solomon Islands, and a UN consultant on human trafficking in South East Asia. We at Bangkok Patana were privileged to host the FOBISSEA MUN Conference II. We have received many compliments from advisers who attended and delegates from all schools were excited by the event that developed many skills in research, negotiation, public speaking and “friend-making skills”. I would like to thank all schools who attended FOBISSEA MUN II and all of my colleagues who generously gave of their time to assist. John G. Wood, Conference Director, Bangkok Patana School T H E F O B I S S E A N F O B I S S E A N E W S L E T T E R FOBISSEA PRIMARY MATHS COMPETITION, Hosted by British School Manila, 1 – 4 March 2012 It was an honour and a pleasure to host the 2012 FOBISSEA Primary Maths Competition event at The British School Manila in early March. It was the third time this event had been held and we welcomed 20 visiting schools to the Phil- ippines for the competition. The event was a huge success, with a very friendly feel to it with students making many friends along the way as did the teachers. The school was a riot of orange as everyone received the coveted Team Manila t-shirt, depicting an orange and black jeepney, made up of mathe- matical symbols. There were both individual rounds, team rounds and mixed team rounds including a maths trail and a tough on line test for the competi- tors. Practical challenges provided further challenges as teams had to con- struct time machines controlling the pace of a marble run. All teams received a participation medal and the winning teams and individuals re- ceived jeepney trophies. In addition as the event came to its finale participants had their photos taken with a col- ourful jeepney and were treated to a ride around the local area! A highly enjoyable event and we look forward to visiting Vietnam next year for the 4th FOBISSEA Primary Maths Competition. FOBISSEA SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2012 Entry is now open for the 2nd Annual Short Story Competition for FOBISSEA schools. This year’s theme is ‘LOST’ and can be interpreted in any way the writer wishes to pursue, although they must keep to the general theme. It could be, for example, Lost Love, A Lost Object, Lost Memories, Be- ing Lost, Lost Somewhere, etc. This year, we are very honoured to have the shortlisted stories judged by Aus- tralian author John Marsden. John has been the recipient of numerous Aus- tralian and International literature awards and is the author of the widely ac- claimed Tomorrow Series, with Tomorrow, When the War Began made into a successful film. He has written or edited over 40 books and has sold over John Marsden 5 million books worldwide. There will be two categories: Secondary with a word limit of 1000 words, open to Years 7 to 13.