New Campus Opening Ceremony, January 11, 2010

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Nearly 300 guests, staff, and students attended the informal opening ceremonies Monday, January 11, of Rose Marie Academy's (RMA) new campus in Nichada Thani, a northeast suburb of Bangkok. This is the school's eleventh year in the community and its fifteenth year as an internationally-oriented private educational facility.

Founder and Executive Director Rose Marie Wanchupela shared ribbon and cake-cutting ceremonies with Guest of Honor Air Chief Marshal Amarit Jaryaphun, under whose guidance the new school took shape. He is Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Nichada Thani Group of Companies.

Air Chief Marshal Amarit expressed Nichada Thani's pride in "...this small but excellent educational institution serving both Thai and expatriate families." Noting that this marks the eleventh year of Rose Marie Academy, he said "We at Nichada Thani have been very impressed by the school's high standard of educational services which have been made available to our community for more than ten years."

He deemed it "...a privilege to be part of such an important mission in providing better educational opportunities for Thai and international students from the ages of 18 months to 18 years. We are pleased to continue our support of Rose Marie Academy by providing more convenient facilities necessary for the school's operations."

Student representatives from the Child Center, Primary, Junior High, and Senior High Schools along with a spokesman for the teachers and a member of the school parents' group, voiced their appreciation for the new facilities and recalled happy memories of the former school buildings also located in Nichada Thani.

Among the guests were representatives from the Ministry of Education of Thailand and area businesses which have supported the school's efforts along with past and present teachers and students.

Ellen Snilsberg of Norway, who has two sons attending Rose Marie Academy this year, is especially grateful for small classes where the students get more attention and gain confidence as they achieve.

"They can go at their own pace, and the confidence they gain as they learn is amazing," she said. Individualized instruction has enabled her children to read English much more fluently and to even be self-assured enough to speak before an audience of nearly 300 at the soft opening ceremony. "They're doing things they were once afraid of," she marvels, and credits the school and its teachers with providing a very nourishing, tolerant atmosphere among the diverse international student body.

Mrs. Wanchupela has devoted a life-time to providing educational opportunities to Thai and international students since her arrival in the Kingdom with the first contingent of Peace Corps volunteers from the United States in 1964. She is a strong believer in offering educational opportunities to as many children as possible, regardless of their academic or national backgrounds, and to that end has assembled a staff of caring, competent, and enthusiastic international teachers.

Devin Brougham, a long-time associate of Mrs. Wanchupela who acknowledges he has been familiar with the school for years, noted that RMA is now entering a new era. Impressed with the opening ceremony, he found the cross-culture ambience interesting and appreciate's Rose Marie's efforts over the years in the educational area.

The school specializes in small classes and customized lessons to accommodate many learning styles for its Thai and international Pre-K through twelfth grade student body. Daily lessons are custom-tailored to the student who wishes to move ahead more quickly with high school studies, for instance, as well as the student who needs more time and individual assistance to complete the required work, The end result is well worth it for the students, however, for they earn an authentic American high school diploma upon completion of their twelfth grade studies.

The school has continued to develop and grow, offering studies in a relaxed, fun atmosphere. The secondary school includes junior and senior high school curricula.

The main building includes an expanded library with adjacent computer lab, school and home economics kitchens, a canteen, music and art rooms and administrative offices. A new pool adjacent to the school provides swimming classes for the physical education (PE) curriculum and there are indoor and outdoor PE facilities on the school grounds.

(Click on the photos for more shots of the Soft Opening of the new Rose Marie Academy Campus.)