The 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month ... is an occasion that students at the International School of Samui are all too familiar with. Also called Armistice Day (Armistice is the formal agreement which ended World War I), later known as "Remembrance Day" or "Poppy Day" in British and Commonwealth Nations.
British Ethos and traditions are at the heart of ISS and we feel it is imperative that our students should learn about and appreciate these traditional British values and historical events. At ISS, it has been celebrated since the school’s founding in 2007. Every year, the Remembrance Service gives our young leaders the opportunity to shine.
This year, was no exception! Primary Head Girl, Seraphina Lees read the famous war poem ‘For the Fallen’ written by Laurence Binyon and Head Boy, Julian Shin read the ‘Ode of Remembrance’ by the same poet. Both students showed great courage in reading in front of their peers.
Appointed senior school Head boys, Alex Wregg and Hut Khwanmuang, read their Remembrance Day poem in unison, ‘The Breaking of Nations’ written by Thomas Hardy. The school’s Headmaster, Mr Lees led the remembrance reminding everyone about the meaning behind this special event. Even more so special, given that this year it is 100 years since Armistice Day was signed by the Nations of the World. One minute silence was held at 11am exactly.
As usual, it was a genuinely sincere and solemn event and we are proud of our youngest students to be able to understand the purpose of the moments of silence we all observed.
Remembrance Day is a very poignant occasion for the British, European, Russian and Commonwealth Nations who were involved in this Great War. It marks the day of peace -- when all parties agreed to stop fighting. The Poppy represents this peace and is a symbol of all the poppies which grew on the Western Front battlefields.
Read more about Armistice here.
Note: Embedded photos in this article may not be displayed on the mobile version. To see all the photos, view in a desktop format or go to our Remembrance Day Flickr Album.
Special thanks must go to Year 1 class who, as a team, made a huge wreath; and Year 2 students who individually designed their own poppies for this event. Other year groups discussed the meaning of Remembrance and the Poppy and what these mean to their families.
As a school we were so very proud to raise funds for the annual poppy fundraising appeal which is an event coordinated by the British Foreign Legion where poppies are sold.
On the island, the appeal is organised by Joe Underwood from the Shakespeare Pub, a veteran of the British Army and representative of the Legion which as an organisation supports retired and serving servicemen and women throughout the World at times of hardship. ISS this year raised an incredible 7,100 THB towards this worthy cause. If you wish to run your own Poppy Appeal next year you can contact Joe directly.
