Chess without Borders 2

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The students who represented 扣扣传媒 at the event did a great job and the majority of the students remained on stage until the knockout round. 扣扣传媒 had two students that placed in the event; Avik Kamath (Bang Na) placed second and Shuji Kawasaki (ON Grade 4B) placed third in the grade 3 and 4 category. All of our kids did a wonderful job representing 扣扣传媒 Primary!

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In conjunction with the Bangkok Kung Fu Association, 扣扣传媒 will be hosting its first-ever martial arts tournament in the fall of 2013 at its On Nut campus. Open to competitors of all levels, events will include open hand kata, weapons kata and kumite (sparring). It will also highlight the skills of some of Thailand’s premier masters, and awards will be granted for superior competitor performances. The school (dojo or kwoon) that sends the highest number of participants (above five) will also receive a special trophy.

For participants who register early, the entrance fee is 800 baht. Late registrants must pay 1,000 baht. Spectators of all ages will receive free entry.

扣扣传媒 strongly supports physical fitness in its curriculum, and kung fu and taekwondo are offered as extra-curriculars for students of all ages. For additional information about Wells or The Tiger Classics tournament, or to register, please contact Sifu Aaron Davis at harundada@yahoo.com Additionally, the tournament rules can be downloaded to prepare for the event:

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Bang Na 鈥� The Seahawk Volleyball Program took a giant leap forward in earning the respect of Bangkok鈥檚 premiere international school athletic programs, garnering a rare championship sweep at the 2012 Bangkok Patana U17 Volleyball Invitational this weekend. Both the boys and girls teams brought home the gold, despite representing the smallest school in a tournament field that included some of the top schools in Bangkok, including host school Bangkok Patana, 扣扣传媒, Ruamrudee International School, International Community School, NIST, and the American School of Bangkok.

In the boys tourney, Wells had an early start, facing NIST in their first match. Starting out strong, the Seahawks were able to withstand several Falcon surges to win in straight sets, 2-0 (25-22, 25-18). The Seahawks were able to carry their intensity through to the second match, soundly defeating the Phoenix from Ruamrudee, 2-0 (25-16, 25-16), and securing a berth in the play-offs.

In the semi-finals, the boys faced their toughest challenge to that point, facing the Panthers of ISB. After a series of lead changes in game 1, the game was tied at 23-23 before Wells was able to pull away to win by two, 25-23. With that close game serving as a wake-up call, the Seahawks roared back to life, taking game two 25-13, and earning a spot in the championship game against NIST who defeated ICS, 2-0, in the other semi-final match up.

Having already defeated NIST in pool play, Wells had the confidence needed to build an insurmountable lead early in game 1 of the championship match, leading to a lopsided 25-10 win for the Seahawks. However, the Falcons refused to give up, putting up a fight in game two to make it a bit closer. Nonetheless, the hunger for their first championship was much too strong as the Seahawks held on for a 25-21 win, earning gold for the school鈥檚 volleyball program for the first time in its short history.

Not to be upstaged by the boys, the Lady Seahawks were also able to make it to the play-offs with a big win over Bangkok Patana, 2-0 (25-12, 25-8), and a split-set win over NIST, 2-1 (25-18, 21-25, 17-15).

However, the girls had a much tougher road ahead of them. In the semi-finals, Wells found itself backed against the wall as the Lady Panthers of ISB took charge of the match at the onset, winning game 1 easily 25-18. However, the Lady Seahawks refused to submit, dominating the second game 25-11 and moving on the finals with a win in the tie-breaker, 15-12.

As in the semi-final match, Wells put themselves in a hole in the finals, dropping game 1 to NIST, 22-25, and falling behind early in game 2. However, with the sideline urging them on, the girls stormed back to steal game two, 25-22. With everything on the line, both teams traded points with the lead see-sawing back and forth for most of the game. However, a late run of strong serving allowed the Seahawks to prevail, giving Wells a sweep of the tourney championships.

A member of TISAC, Wells Seahawks has been competing regularly with the larger schools as no other team in the conference currently has a formal volleyball program. The school hopes to change this as it plans to host, on a trial basis, the first TISAC volleyball tournament later in the school year. More photos of the tournament can be viewed on our .

GO SEAHAWKS!

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Visit our for more photos of the 2012 Global Round of the World Scholar’s Cup.

With 扣扣传媒 entering its third year of participation in the World Scholar’s Cup, it had high hopes for the regional and global rounds, both held in Bangkok this year. The veteran Wells scholars did not disappoint, as one senior team was crowned the national champions at the regional round, held on April 28th at New International School of Thailand (NIST). Led by the new individual national champion, Akhil Shanishetti (Class of 2015) Daryl Ong and Gautham Giri successfully fended off stiff competition from other international schools–including NIST, Anglo Singapore and KIS–to lead all senior teams in total points. Not stopping there, they and the other Wells teams dominated the field, racking up an impressive number of team and individual awards:

• Overall National Champions (Senior Teams): Akhil Shanishetti, Daryl Ong, Gautham Giri
• Overall National Champion (Senior Individuals): Akhil Shanishetti
• Scholar’s Challenge (Senior Teams): 1st
• Scholar’s Challenge (Individuals): 1st
• Debate (Senior Teams): 2nd, 3rd
• Debate (Senior Individuals): 2nd, 3rd
• Writing (Senior Teams): 3rd
• Writing (Senior Individuals): 2nd
• Scholar’s Bowl (Senior Teams): 1st
• Scholar’s Bowl (Senior Individuals): Four 1st place, two 2nd place, one 3rd place

Yet the success of the Wells teams at the regional round came with the knowledge that much stiffer competition awaited at the global round, hosted at Bangkok Patana and the Bangkok Convention Center in CentralWorld. Dwarfing the previous two competitions in Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur–where the Wells competitors received numerous gold medals–the 2012 Global Round set a new record with over 1,000 participants from over a dozen countries, including the top-seeded team from the United States. In typical form, Wells made a mark not only in the awards received, but also the positive way in which it represented Thailand as the host country. Beginning with the flag march, in which defending national champion Akhil carried the Thai flag, the Wells students served as ambassadors for their nation, making new friends and even performing a traditional Thai dance for the closing ceremony.

When the competitive events began, however, the Wells teams came out in full force. Though the field was again dominated by the Singaporean teams, the struggle for the remaining prizes was fierce among the Thai participants, which included teams from Concordian, NIST, Bangkok Patana, Bromsgrove, KIS, Anglo Singapore and St. Andrews. Yet by the end of the final day, the students had again amassed several awards. Led the top scorers from the junior and senior teams, Ranuli Illankone and Akhil Shanishetti, Cathy Shang Kuan received a silver medal in literature in the Scholar’s Challenge, and Gautham Giri a bronze in science. Most impressive were the results from the veteran debaters. Out of over 150 senior teams, the team of Harjas Anandsongvit, Amira Lukens and Boan Shang Kuan netted fourth place overall, and Harjas became the 2012 debate champion, receiving the sole individual gold medal awarded in that event!

Over the past three years, the World Scholar’s Cup has grown exponentially, gaining a worldwide reputation as one of the premier academic competitions. Founder Daniel Berdichevsky–seeking to expand it further–collaborated with the U.S.-based this year to send the best students from both events to a Tournament of Champions, to be held at the prestigious Yale University in September, 2012. Based on their excellent performances at the global round, all three of the Wells senior teams–along with one from Anglo Singapore and one from KIS–have been selected to represent Thailand at Yale. [Ed. note: The WSC team contacted Wells on July 5th to inform us that a mistake had been made, and all three Wells teams had qualified. Wells will thus be fielding three of the five teams from Thailand!]聽 With a national championship and debate championship under their belts, the Wells scholars will undoubtedly do us proud once again. Good luck!

For full results of the 2012 Global Round of the World Scholar’s Cup and a list of participants for the Tournament of Champions, read the at the World Scholar’s Cup .

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Growth 鈥� as much as we had valued the small, tight-knit learning community we had been for the first five years in operation, this year we needed to face the inevitable. It is this growth spurt, just as a teenager emerging out of adolescence, that most defines the 2011-2012 school year. This year鈥檚 graduating class will be able to look back at their senior year with pride. From Washington State to Boston U, from NYU to University of Nebraska, this class more than doubled the number of universities around the world on the list of schools accepting Wells graduates. More than any class before them, these seniors helped Wells to truly make the transition from an up-and-coming 鈥渟mall school鈥� into an established and well-respected, mid-sized academic institution. With the memories of our first graduated class already tucked away in our school archives, this year proved to us that no matter how many classes walk through our halls, we will always strive to provide something as new, as memorable, and as special as the previous year, that will allow our current seniors to look back at and say, 鈥淵es! That was my senior year 鈥� the BEST year Wells has ever had!鈥�

The graduating class of 2011 will be able to look back at a year when their school truly began to assert itself as a force to contend with in virtually all aspects of academia. Though still a relatively small, tight-knit learning community, this year has been marked by several notable accomplishments that would typically be associated with the much larger institutions. Our students dominated over other international schools at the Asia Books Readers鈥� Theatre, TISAC “So You Think You Can Dance?” and TISAC “Battle of the Bands” competitions, capturing top prizes in both junior and senior divisions. In sports, our trophy case continues to fill with championships in basketball, badminton, and soccer, and even athletes from even the largest international schools in Bangkok have a growing respect for the Seahawk sports program. Most impressively, our students became the national champions at the most recent World Scholar’s Cup tournament in Thailand.

So, to our graduating seniors, I do hope that no matter where your future takes you, you will be able to look back fondly at your senior year in high school. You will most certainly be missed. On behalf of the entire Wells Leadership Team, our teachers, staff, and the underclassmen that look up to you, I wish you the best of luck for a life of success and happiness.

Aloha,

Mr. Ray

Congratulations to our departing seniors for their acceptances to the following universities (Wells students received scholarship offers to the italicized institutions):

• United States: Boston University, Columbia College, Dean College, Drexel University, Florida Institute of Technology, Goucher College, Idaho State University, Loyola Marymount University, Missouri State University, New York Institute of Technology, New York University, State University of New York, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, University of Pacific, Washington State University, Westminster College, Widener University
• Thailand: Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University, Thammasat University, Webster University
• Australia: Deakin University, Monash University
• China: Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Sun Yat Sen University
• United Kingdom: London College of Fashion

Visit our to see photos of the departing 2012 seniors and the graduation ceremony.

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CENTRAL WORLD 鈥� 扣扣传媒 students continued their winning ways at the 3^rd annual Asia Books Readers’ Theatre competition. This year, due to the floods, the final round was postponed two months. However, the chosen date was quite appropriate as it coincided with Thailand鈥檚 celebration of Children鈥檚 Day. And, despite only having a short week after Christmas Break to polish up their performances, our young Seahawks captured 1^st Place in Division 4 (International Schools, ages 14 & up) and 2^nd Place in Division 3 (International Schools, ages 13 & below). With more than 15 teams in each division, two Wells teams passed the preliminary round to make it to the final round held on Sunday, January 15.

In the older division, the Wells team comprised three returning members from last year鈥檚 championship team as well as two newcomers. Veterans Sonya Chawla (Gr. 10), Natalya Silva (Gr. 9), and Akhil Shanishetti (Gr. 9) were joined by Peter Choi (Gr. 8) and Andy Shin (Gr. 8) to form this year鈥檚 team, performing their rendition of The Talent Show by Jo Hodgkinson. Despite significant improvements in the competition, experience and strong theatrical training proved to be the game changer as Wells once again ended up at the top. An older, but less experienced team from RAIS came in 2^nd.

In the younger division, the team of Cindy Shin (Gr. 6), Pavi Tak (Gr. 6) , Darshan Giri Naganathan (Gr. 6), and Asen Liu (Gr. 7) presented their theatrical rendition of the children鈥檚 picture book What the Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson. As defending champions from last year鈥檚 competition, the young Wells team faced tough competition with familiar foes hailing from Bangkok Patana. When the dust settled, Bangkok Patana, which placed 3^rd last year, came up on top, with Wells placing 2^nd. A team from Satit Kaset Bilingual School ended up in 3^rd.

This is the third year that Wells has participated in the Asia Books competition, and the level of performances from all competitors continues to improve dramatically. Mr. Rhys Griffith, the head of Wells鈥� Fine Arts Department, and master of the theatrical arts, has taken charge of this event since Wells first entered the competition over two years ago.

Congratulations to all participants! More photos of the event can be seen on our official .

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 鈥� Just one year after their debut in Shanghai, Wells students stormed into this year鈥檚 World Scholar’s Cup competition, garnering a total of nine awards, including three individual gold medals.

Sophomore Tsai Chi 鈥淐athy鈥� Shang Kuan captured two gold medals 鈥� one in the 鈥淪cience: Biotechnology鈥� category and one in the 鈥淢odern Metropolis鈥� category. Her well-rounded performance was also enough to earn her a spot amongst the WSC Top 20 Scholars, placing 15^th overall in the Senior Division. This is Cathy鈥檚 second year at the international competition, having qualified for the 2010 Global Round held in Shanghai last year.

Capturing Wells鈥� other gold medal was fellow 10^th grader Jung Mo 鈥淛ack鈥� Lee. Coincidentally, Jack received his medal in the 鈥淢odern Metropolis鈥� category 鈥� in a 1^st place tie with Cathy. In the Scholar鈥檚 Challenge, which tests students’ combined knowledge across all WSC categories, Jack received his second medal, a bronze, with a 3^rd place finish. Jack also ranked in the WSC Top 20 Scholars list, placing 17^th overall in the Senior Division.

Ding Shun 鈥淒aryl鈥� Ong, another sophomore, rounded off Wells鈥� domination of the 鈥淢odern Metropolis鈥� category, placing 2^nd and bringing home a silver medal. Daryl also did well in the Scholar鈥檚 Challenge with a 7^th place finish.

Completing Wells’ awards cache was the senior team of Jack Lee, along with freshmen Amira Lukens and Praat 鈥淭an鈥� Sukriket. The threesome鈥檚 combined test scores were enough to capture 10^th place in the WSC Team Scholar鈥檚 Challenge.

Aside from the aforementioned students, representing Wells at the World Scholar’s Cup were:

• Junior Division 鈥� Lisa Brothers (Gr. 6), Muskaan Narula (Gr. 6), Anusha Shanishetti (Gr. 6), Asen Liu (Gr. 6), Peter Choi (Gr. 7), and Akhil Shanishetti (Gr. 8)
• Senior Division 鈥� Bo-An Shang Kuan (Gr. 9), Harjas Anandsongvit (Gr. 10), Gautham Giri Naganathan (Gr. 10), and Chan Lee (Gr. 11)

Two other international schools from Thailand also received awards. St. Andrews International School and Concordian International School won one award apiece.

Each year teams around the world compete in various events at national and regional rounds to qualify and prepare for the Global Round. Students write essays, debate on global issues, take an exhaustive exam on topics ranging from art to science, history and literature, all related to one central theme which varies from year to year. This year鈥檚 theme focused on the theme 鈥淎 World Transformed.鈥�

Founded in 2006, the World Scholar’s Cup is not about specialization in any single subject; it is about teamwork, thinking on your feet, and having a willingness to learn new things. Participants have the opportunity not just to win both individual and team awards, but also to explore new subjects and skills not normally covered in school. And, most importantly, students are given the opportunity to experience new cultures and forge new contacts with other future leaders from around the world.

Over 750 students representing 30 countries qualified for the WSC Global Round, converging onto Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the 4-day event. Thailand was well-represented with students from 扣扣传媒, Concordian International School, St. Andrews International School, Anglo-Singapore International School and International Community School (ICS).

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Wells Primary and Middle School Students among
World鈥檚 Best in Math and Spelling

After placing 30^th during the 2010 World Math Day, Wells Math Department resolved to improve on last year鈥檚 performance. At this year鈥檚 competition, a team of Wells鈥� best primary school math students, representing both On Nut and Thong Lor campuses, pushed their way all the way to the top, defeating teams from across the globe.

World Math Day is a two-day event that put individual students in head-to-head competitions in basic math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), across five levels of difficulty. Over 5.3 million students and over ten thousand teams per division, representing 218 countries, participated in this year鈥檚 math competition.

This year, the school held a special overnight 鈥渃amp鈥� for World Math Day, making the event even more exciting and fun than the previous years. Lingering among the top five teams throughout the event, our strongest primary school team found themselves trailing a team from the U.S.A. with just under an hour left in the competition. However, good planning and strategizing paid off as the determined group of twenty Wells 4^th and 5^th graders led by Samuel Ghandi (Gr. 5) surged ahead in the end to come out on top.

When the final buzzer sounded, three Wells teams were listed among the best in the WORLD!

• Ages 8-10 Division聽聽聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 ON/TL Primary School A Team 鈥� World Champions!!!
• Ages 11-14 Division聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Middle School A Team 鈥� 4^th Place
• Ages 11-14 Division聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Middle School B Team 鈥� 18^th Place

Individually, some of our students also earned international rankings:

• Ages 8-10 Division聽聽聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Samuel Ghandi (5th Gr) 鈥� 25^th Place
• Ages 11-14 Division聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Akhil Shanishetti (8th Gr) 鈥� 51^st Place

Immediately following the World Math Day competition, the inaugural World Spelling Day competition began with Wells students eagerly accepting the challenge. Like the math contest, the spelling competition placed students in a race against the clock, competing head-to-head against up to three other students from around the world. Each student faced the challenge of completing up to one hundred games 鈥� twenty games in each of five levels 鈥� beginning with basic words such as level, remember, and sour, then progressing to more difficult words such as paraphernalia, denouement, and reconnaissance.

And, once again, when the dust settled, Wells teams were ranked with the world鈥檚 very best:

• Ages 11-14 Division聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Middle School 鈥� 3^rd Place
• Ages 8-10 Division聽聽聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ms. Prerna鈥檚 Grade 5 Class 鈥� 16^th Place

As in the math competition, several individuals also were recognized with official international rankings:

• Ages 11-14 Division聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Lisa Brothers (6th Gr) 鈥� 15^th Place
• Ages 11-14 Division聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Akhil Shanishetti (8th Gr) 鈥� 18^th Place
• Ages 11-14 Division聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Nicole Ogden (6th Gr) 鈥� 66^th Place
• Ages 11-14 Division聽聽 –聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Arlindo Borges (7th Gr) 鈥� 70^th Place
• Teachers Division 聽–聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Mr. Ray 鈥� 5^th Place

Wells鈥� success in these competitions, though certainly a tremendous achievement, shouldn鈥檛 come to us a huge surprise 鈥� at least in math. Already, our SAT10 results in math clearly indicate that Wells students are significantly ahead of their American counterparts, while spelling results show they are approximately on par with American students.

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In the Primary Division, the 鈥淔ive Yellow Rocks鈥� team of Cindy, Pavi, Charvi, Darshan and Samuel went up against six other finalist teams from various international schools and bilingual programs, presenting their theatrical rendition of the children鈥檚 picture book That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell. The young Wells team took 1^st place over the 2^nd place team from Satit Kaset Bilingual School and the 3^rd place team from Bangkok Pattana.

In the Secondary Division, two teams from Wells were selected to compete in the final round. However, in the end it was the 鈥淩oller Coaster Readers鈥� team of Sonya, Natalya, Bhagyasre and Akhil that captured the top prize with their rendition of The Gruffalo鈥檚 Child, based on the classic children鈥檚 Gruffalo series by Julia Donaldson. Wells was also represented by the 鈥淩olling Tones鈥� team of high school students Harjas, Daryl, Swasti, and Gautham.

This is the second year that Wells has participated in the Asia Books competition, and the level of performances has experienced a very noticeable improvement. Mr. Rhys Griffith, the head of Wells鈥� Fine Arts Department, took charge of the preparations for this event.

Congratulations to all participants!

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