Si Ri Panya News Highlights (issue 31)
- Nicola Bunchuay
- Dec 5, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 7, 2025
Dec 5, 2025 - Festive Community Spirit
There is cheer in the air this week! The festive season is upon us and, whether you celebrate Christmas or another cultural tradition from closer to home, a warm and joyful feeling is beginning to permeate the campus.
We especially love this time of year because it brings our shared school values to life. Cooperation, kindness, giving to others, extending an olive branch where it’s needed, and wishing everyone well as we approach the end of the year – these are the qualities that make our community so special.
While the sun continues to shine here on Koh Phangan, my recent trip back to the UK reminded me that in many parts of the world the days are now cold and dark. Seeing Christmas lights, decorated trees, wrapped presents and busy shoppers searching for gifts was a gentle reminder of the wider world beyond our unique island home.
We may all be far from “home”, yet together we have created a home-from-home here on Koh Phangan, co-creating this community through the care we show for one another.
We look forward to welcoming you next week to our sweet end-of-term Christmas music performance, followed by a festive craft session that you can enjoy alongside your child.
Have a look at our What’s On and Upcoming Events below – and enjoy!
A traditional Christmas feast with all the trimmings, still enjoyed on 25th December by many people across the globe and we'll host a Si Ri Panya version of this on Wednesday 10th for our students to enjoy.
End of Term Christmas Lunch – Friday 12th December 🍽️
To celebrate the final day of term, Friday 12th December, we will be serving a special Christmas lunch for all children in place of our usual menu.
Our staff and teachers will be serving the children at beautifully decorated festive tables, complete with fruit juice and a warm, celebratory atmosphere. Menu for the day:
Roast chicken or vegetarian meat loaf
Sides: roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, stuffing balls, corn on the cob
Cranberry sauce and gravy
We hope this becomes a cherished annual tradition as we finish the term together in a festive and joyful way.
Christmas Learning Event – Ticket Reminder 🎟️
If you haven’t yet collected your family ticket for our End of Term Christmas Learning Event on Wednesday 10th December, please do so this week.
We’re very much looking forward to celebrating with you on Wednesday. 🎄✨
Secondary Superstars: Warinee on Saxophone
We are so proud of our many talented students, and it is wonderful seeing them developing their potential and aiming for the stars! Here, Warinee talks to us about her recent adventures as she works towards her dream of being a musician. Listen to that saxophone sing!
Turning Bottle Tops into New Creations
Our Precious Plastic project has now been running for just over a year. During this time, we’ve been testing the shredder, heat press and moulds, learning how to achieve the best results, and working through the usual teething issues that come with setting up new equipment. We are now reaching an exciting stage where the project is ready to expand, both within our school and across the island.
Last week, we held our first full workshop for our Thai staff team and our school licence holder. The aim was to introduce the process, build understanding, and give everyone the chance to create their own recycled coaster. Each coaster is made from roughly 25 plastic bottle tops, melted and pressed into a colourful, durable piece. The group also explored how these coasters can be turned into further products—such as clocks, hooks, pottery bases or incense holders—simply by drilling and adding small fittings.
Several secondary classes have already taken part in trial workshops, and our intention is for all classes to learn about the life cycle of plastic and how it can be remade into something new rather than ending up in a landfill site. As the project grows, we also plan to offer free workshops to Thai schools on Koh Phangan, helping to raise awareness of plastic waste and recycling across our wider community. Visiting groups will bring bottle tops, learn the full process, and take home a coaster they have made themselves.
Thank you to everyone who has already supported this initiative. If you would like to contribute, please bring clean bottle caps to the collection bin at the front of the Primary gate.
Eco-Enrichment: Hands-On Learning in Our Garden
Our Eco-Enrichment groups continued their work in the edible garden this week, taking part in activities that were practical, purposeful, and very hands-on. Students helped prepare one of the large grow bags by mixing elephant manure, straw and matured food compost — a tough job in the heat, but they approached it with real teamwork and determination.
Planting groups added Hibiscus Chaba and loofah seeds, which will grow into natural shower loofahs ready to harvest in about three months. Other students watered and tended to the existing edible plants, including basil, turmeric, ginger, mulberry, lemongrass, pandanus, rosemary, gotu kola and butterfly pea.
Once mature, all of these plants can be dried and turned into herbal teas as part of a student-led enterprise project.
To finish the session, students collected fresh coconuts from the trees beside the garden — some enjoyed drinking them straight away, while others took them home.
A lovely afternoon of outdoor learning, teamwork and sustainable gardening.
Listening to Our Students: Shaping the Menu for Term 2
At Si Ri Panya, we take great pride in offering meals that are healthy, balanced, and enjoyable for our students. With over 200 lunches served each day, our canteen team works hard to prepare nutritious food that supports learning and wellbeing.
This term, we carried out our regular review of the four-week rotating menu, drawing on three key sources:
• Student voice – talking directly with pupils during lunchtime
• Teacher and senior leadership observations
• Parent feedback and trends in which meals children enjoy most
During Term 1, several of the newer Week 4 dishes proved less popular than anticipated. To help us make informed improvements, students were invited to sample alternative options and share their preferences with staff. As always, opinions varied, but the clear majority voted for a change.
Based on their feedback, the following updates will be introduced from Term 2:
Chicken pineapple fried rice → Braised chicken drumstick noodle soup
Pineapple fried rice → Tofu miso noodle soup
Sweet and sour chicken → Crispy garlic chicken with jasmine rice & fried egg
Sweet and sour tofu → Crispy garlic tofu with jasmine rice & fried egg
We will publish the updated four-week menu on our school website shortly.
Alongside these changes, our new food-warming lamps help keep meals warm and fresh for pupils — a simple improvement shaped by our ongoing conversations with students and families.
Key Dates at a Glance
Looking Ahead: Key events and special days for the school year are published on our homepage.
Parent Discussion Circle - every Friday
See Newsletter Issue 21 for full details
Links to our end of term event songs to practice at home
See Newsletter Issue 21 for full details
Get Caught Reading competition
See Newsletter Issue 22 for full details
Year 1 September 2026 admissions
See Newsletter Issue 26 for full details
End of Term Christmas Learning Event
See Newsletter Issue 27 for full details
🌟 Weekly Reminders
🎂 Birthdays: Primary birthdays (Years 1–6) are now celebrated every Friday at 2:00 p.m. during Enrichment Time. Secondary birthdays are celebrated during tutor time.
📖 Library Books: Please check at home for any school library books and return them to either the Primary or Secondary library.
♻️ Bottle Cap Collection: We’re collecting bottle caps for our Precious Plastic Project. Collection point outside the primary gate. Find out more about this exciting long-term project here: Precious Plastic Phangan Facebook.
🐞 Head Lice Checks: Please check your child’s hair regularly and treat if needed. Children with long hair (boys and girls) should keep it tied up.
👕 Uniform Orders: Please ensure your child is wearing the correct uniform each day. Uniform orders can be placed online:🔗 Secondary Order Form 🔗 Primary Order Form
🍎 Healthy Snacks: Healthy snacks only at break times. No sweets, crisps/chips or cakes.
🚗 Drop-off & Pick-up:
• Drop-off: from 8:30 a.m. only
• Pick-up:
– Primary: 2:50 p.m. (or 4:00 p.m. for ASA)
– Secondary: 4:00 p.m.
Please be punctual, as some children have been waiting for extended periods.
🌬️ No Idling Zone: Please switch off engines while waiting outside school to support a healthier environment for all.
🤒 Absence & Illness: Please notify your child’s class teacher (Primary) or form tutor (Secondary) if they are unwell or absent.
Si Ri Panya News Highlights — Previous Issues
Explore earlier issues of Si Ri Panya News Highlights via our school blog archive.
