Spotlight on Secondary Newsletter March 26, 2014 | Page 2

St.  Andrews  International  School,  Green  Valley  

March  27,  2014  

Exceptional Learners Performing Exceptionally
Tournament of Minds (TOM) is a problem solving programme for teams of students from both
primary and secondary years. The teams solve challenges from a choice of disciplines: Applied
Technology, Language & Literature, Maths & Engineering & Social Sciences. TOM aims to enhance
the potential of students by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the
discipline to work collaboratively within a competitive environment. The Bangkok TOM involved
teams from ISB, NIST, Shrewsbury, Bromsgrove, ASB, Regents, St Andrews 71 and St Andrews Sathorn.

Last year the SAIS Primary team (led by Ms Bradshaw) won the Language & Literature Division, and
this year the SAIS Secondary team (led by Mr Stothard) finished as runner up in the Maths &
Engineering Division. Team 'OBDBEJJ News team' beat rivals from ISB, NIST, Regents and St Andrews
71 to claim 2nd place in this most prestigious of academic contests.

The TOM is part of the 'SAIS Exceptional Learners Program' which aims to identify and nurture our
most highly gifted students, giving them a chance to compete and succeed against students who
have been through a similar selection process. We had a total of 21 students competing at the
TOM and the prizewinning team involved the following students: Year 7 : David Hyslop &
Benz Chotitamnavee. Year 8: Jade Harcourt-Harrison , Eliza Negus & Jiwon Hwang. Year 9: Troeng
Bovornrattanakosol (Oat) & Arantit Sureephan (Peak).
We are incredibly proud of our students and will strive for continued prestige at next years
tournament! When I asked David Hyslop (yr7) what he gained during TOM he replied "Learning
teamwork, being creative and using our brains a lot".

Mr Bryne Stothard (SAIS Exceptional Learners Coordinator)

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