June 1st, 2006

Members of the ISB Network Committee visited Rajaprachanugroh School 35 on May 29.

R35 started the new school year on May 15th with more than 200 new students. The enrollment has increased from approximately 650 students to 878. Needless to say, the teachers are busy getting the new children established and working in the classroom. According to the new enrollment figures, about 40% of the children are in the primary level, 40% are in the middle school and 20% are in high school. The high school does not extend beyond the Matayomsuksa 5, which is equivalent to 11th grade in the U.S. system (students graduate at the end of Matayomsuksa 6).

The ISB Network/Cendant Cares classroom building now has a roof and walls. It should be a welcome addition to R35 when it is ready for the students in August of this year. Right now the students attend class in the other classroom building and in the temporary open-air classrooms that have been in use for over a year. Classes range in size from 30 to 50 students.

The canteen and auditorium is in full operation and the fifth dormitory is almost ready. Between 400-450 children live in the dormitories. The youngest children return to their parents or relatives' home daily. The library is a halfway completed and 2 basketball courts should be finished within the next month. They will be an important addition to the school as there are few recreational facilities.

ISB Network is happy to announce that the ESL language program, sponsored through the Network, began this semester. Four volunteers from the United States are co-teaching English language courses with Thai teachers. They also teach supplemental courses such as Hotel English, and reading as well as offer English language clubs. These volunteers will be working with a Peace Corps volunteer who is also based at R35. We believe that the learning of English is an important skill for these children, who live in an area famous for its tourist attractions. We applaud the volunteers for taking on this challenging opportunity.

The next major challenges and possible projects to be reviewed by the ISB Network Committee will include the construction of the canteen storage and cafeteria washing facilities, creation of administration offices on the ground floor of the ISB Network classroom building (this will allow to free the nurse station for its real purpose), sponsoring of a full time nurse, creation of a uniform sponsoring program (currently the school provides only one uniform per student per year), continuation of the sponsoring program of 10 teachers (the 1 year program will finish in September).

We'll report on these developments in August/September.

We thank again all of the supporters of the ISB Network and wish everybody a safe summer break.

For more information, please contact Usa Somboon or Benjawon Wattangkura (Ben).
 

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