Katelyn Loomis
NIS celebrates its Thai culture
As part of a special Thai annual tradition often hosted at schools throughout Thailand, Nakornpayap International School takes a unique approach to a heartwarming ceremony and event beloved by all, and a collective of shared love all compiled under the same floral beauty that ties in the occasion as one that all can respect and partake in.
Beginning on the 18th of September at roughly 1:35 PM, Nakornpayap International School of Chiang Mai hosted the annual Wan Wai Khru Ceremony up in the Harmony Theatre, bringing together an unforgettable collage of performances and learning opportunities for all staff and grade ranges from as young as K1 up until the High School Seniors, one of the first times in the academic year where every year group is present alltogether. Wan Wai Khru, not to be confused with Teacher’s Day, is an annual tradition in Thailand, typically hosted around the beginning of an academic year, which has the goal of formalising the teacher-student relationship through the giving of auspicious gifts (often handcrafted with sentiments branching from Thai spiritually value and belief), as well as performative works conducted by students as well.
The ceremony was run and MC’d by High School Seniors Namo & Jaja, where an assortment of performances and quizzes were held, engaging younger students who may be new or learning more about the values and importance of the traditions that go into Wan Wai Khru. Throughout the ceremony, there was an uproar of sound, signifying the excitement that the entire school spread and shared all throughout the event. Present as well were the 6 main staff members part of the NIS administration team, which took the stage as one of the performances that took place. Beginning first with Mr. Benjamin Devere White, the Principal of NIS with an opening speech, followed with a mini quiz game ran by Seniors Matthew and Chinny engaging with the younger student demographic, tied all in with efforts from the Elementary dance team, the Middle School and High School Singing Club, two solo performances, as well as information behind traditional offerings and of course, the main ceremony itself. Each teacher throughout Elementary to High School was gifted a complimentary succulent plant as part of the ceremony and spent some welcomed time each consolidating and speaking with their assigned student, all the more added onto a special occasion such as this.
Though this year was special, with the introduction of a new interview booth for teachers to be questioned over their opinions of the ceremony as conducted by the High School Media Studies class under responsibility of capturing and recording this special event, as well as the new inclusion of having ROTC (Rordor, Thai youth military training) guide groups both on and off stage drawn from the crowd, and not to forget the exceptionally large amount of time that was dedicated into arrange the overall ceremony with imacculate kudos placed on both the Events Organizer team as well as Administration. Students also participated indirectly by following a simple dress code, with younger students dressed in the standard red school uniform and older students wearing white and/or black.