Patana News Volume 20 Issue 23 by Bangkok Patana School

Our mission is to ensure that students of different nationalities grow to their full potential as independent learners in a caring British international community.

NEWS Patana

Friday 9th March 2018

Volume 20 Issue 23

www.patana.ac.th

Making Healthy Choices Page 2

2017/18

Also in this issue

Mathematics Competitions / CATs Corner: Student Leaders / Cours de Cuisine 09/03/2018

Bangkok Patana School News

Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit IB World School, accredited by CIS, NEASC and ONESQA

Making Healthy Choices Jason Cooper, Primary Principal

n the Primary School, we are currently celebrating ‘people who make healthy choices’. This is being discussed explicitly through the Personal, Social, and Health Education (PSHE) programme, as well as in Key Stage and Year Group Assemblies. We are also making explicit links to our Guiding Statement Values: • We are protected safe and secure • We are balanced and fulfilled • We are responsible There are many benefits to making healthy choices and maintaining a balanced lifestyle, many of which can positively impact our children, both at school and at home. When we think of healthy choices, we often limit this to the foods we eat and the amount of exercise we do. While these are important factors in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, they are not the only choices we can make. Social connections are very important for our mental health and wellbeing. Regularly spending time with family and friends helps to keep the mind active and balance out our serotonin levels – serotonin is the chemical produced by the nerve cells that helps to regulate our moods. There are many different ways that we can encourage social connections in our children: • Volunteering • Joining community-based activities • Eating meals together • Chatting with friends and family – both face-to-face and online Maintaining a healthy lifestyle also helps to avoid preventable diseases like heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. These may not be things that our children currently have to worry about, but the habits they form now may help to prevent these in the future. One of the most underrated healthy choices we can make is sleeping. Our bodies (and minds) heal and rejuvenate when we sleep, which is why it is so important to ensure that we are getting enough sleep every night. Children who come to school well rested and energised will be more focused and attentive throughout the day, will be more resilient when faced with adversity, and will have the drive and grit required to persevere through the toughest of challenges. Throughout Term 2b please make some time to talk with your children about the choices you are making to ensure that they are maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle. The choices we make for our children today will become their habits when they are adults. 2

Bangkok Patana School News

09/03/2018

In Memory of

Mr Robert Thornhill I t is with great sadness that we must inform the Bangkok Patana community of the passing of Mr Robert Thornhill on 27th February after a struggle with cancer. Robert worked at Bangkok Patana from 1990 until 2006 as a teacher, then Registrar and finally as Acting Head of School. Robert was most recently at school last March for our 60th anniversary celebrations, when he spoke with our current Head of School, Matt Mills, about his time at Bangkok Patana and his fond memories of the school.

Robert, a consummate educator, began his teaching career in East Riding, Yorkshire. While teaching in Norwich his administrative skills were noticed and he was promoted to Deputy Head and then Head of School, before moving to join us at Bangkok Patana. Robert spent 16 years here before moving to Harrow International School on the oth“Robert Thornhill was a gentleman. Kind, generous and genuine, he had time for both adults and children alike. Robert was softly spoken, but when he spoke people listened. His honesty and integrity shone through and his heart was forever entwined with education and bettering the lives of the children and students at Patana. We were so lucky to have known him.” Stephen and Sarah Murgatroyd, Bangkok Patana Teachers, 2000 - Present “Deeply sad at the passing of a kind and generous colleague and friend...a gentleman of the ‘old school’...” John Wood, Bangkok Patana Teacher, 1993-2013 “Robert interviewed me for my position, along with Gilbard Honey-Jones and Jean Kingham, back in 1993 and I was instantly taken by his warm character and ‘old-school’ charm. During my first year at Patana, I was chatting to Robert about interviews and he mentioned, quite sincerely, that he would never employ a candidate if he or she asked how much the position paid. I immediately realised that I had forgotten to ask about the salary during my interview as it had slipped my mind! I decided not to mention this to Robert…” Rob Brown, Bangkok Patana Teacher, 1993-Present “Robert was a caring and thoughtful colleague who always had time for everyone. My memories of him will always be associated with his gentle nature and kindness. May he rest in peace.” Khun Bee, Secondary Office, 1987 - Present

09/03/2018

er side of the city. His students will remember his gracious manner and kindly disposition and his deep and abiding concern for their welfare. For him, the highlight of his day was the time he spent in the classroom, where his heart always was. “He was a perfect gentleman ...and always had a warm smile and friendly comment for all. Our three girls were there a grand total of 11 years...1996 to 2007.... deepest sympathies to his family.” Felicity Dent, Ex-Bangkok Patana Parent “When I started at Bangkok Patana 28 years ago, Mr Robert Thornhill was one of the first senior managers I met. As a young teacher fresh out of Australia, he gave an impression of a true English gentleman; well spoken, kind, caring and disciplined. It was with his vision that started me on my international experiences, and I will always hold his memory and his thirst for knowledge close to me. I wish his family and loved ones my heartfelt loss and hold fast to the incredible memories he has left with us. RIP Robert.” Ian MacDonald, Bangkok Patana Teacher, 1992-Present Robert, Your smile was full of warmth, Your voice was full of gentleness, Your words were full of kindness, Your heart was full of strength, Your presence was always welcomed, Wherever you may have been, You will be sadly missed Robert, But never, ever forgotten. Haere ra e Robert. Moe mai ra e hoa. Keri Keelan, Bangkok Patana Teacher, 1991 - Present

Bangkok Patana School News

Half-Term Mathematics Competitions Sam Mooring, Secondary Mathematics Teacher and Arnav Baliga, Year 8

SEA Maths Competition

uring the second part of half-term, some of the brightest mathletes from Bangkok Patana were competing at SEAMC – South East Asia’s top competition for student mathematics. This year’s competition took place in Singapore, hosted by UWCSEA East and ACS. There was an individual round, as well as team rounds like the Lightning, Shuttle, Pursuit, Duel and a Codebreaker challenge. The ‘inspiration round’ piqued the interest of many competitors, since it took place in the Universal Studios theme park and required students to create a video investigating mathematics around the park. Fortunately, our IB physicists had already been to Dream World to study, so this really played to our strengths!

BISJMC

he Bangkok International Schools Junior Math Challenge (BISJMC) was started by Bangkok Patana, three years ago. BISJMC is unique, as Senior studies students organise this event for Year 7s and 8s. It consists of both individual and team events.

This year, BISJMC 2018 was hosted by Shrewsbury School over the half term break. Students from five schools across Bangkok participated in the event. The individual competition was very tough for the competitors as seven students competed in a tiebreaker, after achieving 100% in the first round. Out of these seven, four were from Patana! Bangkok Patana’s Si Chao (Billy) Xiong came first, and Arnav Baliga took third in the individual event. In the team All of the scores from the weekend were fed into an in- events, the Bangkok Patana Year 7 and 8 teams both took tricate and mysterious spreadsheet, which announced part in the tiebreaker with the Year 8 team coming second medal winners in the categories of Challenge, Collabora- out of all participating teams. tion, Communication, Knowledge, Strategy and Creativity. Mathematically speaking, 50% of all awards were Bangkok Patana students picked up an incredible array of bagged by Bangkok Patana! medals – our most decorated students were Yuqing, PrabYear 7 Team: hav, Philippe, Sho and David, who all received an invite to Justin Changbencharoen, Naphat (TK) Buristrakul, Si the World Mathematics Championships finals in June. Chao (Billy) Xiong, Stewart Anderson Mr Mooring, Mr McDonagh and Mrs McDonagh Year 8 Team: would like to congratulate the following students for their Arnav Baliga, Ishani Saran, Max Stockdale, Sophie outstanding achievement and exemplary conduct throughStevens out this competition: Mr Mooring would like to thank Yuqing Wu, Prabhav KuTeam Craft: Sho Ishizaki (Year 10), David Kang (Year mar, Henry Phan and Rithwik Raghuram from Year 12 for 10) and Jiwon Yoo (Year 9) giving up the lunchtimes to run weekly training sessions for Team Work: Prin Pulkes (Year 10), Odele Pang (Year 10) the teams. and Gere Worarittichai (Year 9) The Model Solutions: Yuqing Wu (Year 12), Prabhav Kumar (Year 12) and Shifeng Xu (Year 12) The Robots: Poon Vichivanives (Year 13), Philippe Ledoit (Year 13) and David Baines (Year 13)

Bangkok Patana School News

09/03/2018

CATs Corner Tania Leyland, Youth Club and Community Services Coordinator

tudent leaders who can make decisions, take action and inspire others are paramount to the success of the Community Action Teams (CATs). We have had a real push this year on the development of leadership skills within our Key Stage 3 and 4 students to ensure that they are ready and able to take on the challenges and lead student action in Key Stage 4 and Senior Studies.

A delegation of students recently travelled to Kuala Lumpur to participate in the FOBISIA Key Stage 3 and 4 Student Leadership weekend which took place at Alice Smith School. The students, Jaxon Carrick (Year 7), Aidan French (Year 8), Bethany Donahoe (Year 9), Angela Braun (Year 9), Annika Narula (Year 9), Rouan Chen (Year 9), Tea Lonnback (Year 9), Omeesha Kandlapeli (Year 11), Siddhi Jain (Year 11), Simran Ahuja (Year 11) and Pat Christjaroon (Year 11) all delivered workshops on an aspect of leadership that they are involved in at Bangkok Patana School.

These went down extremely well and it was fantastic to see them confidently communicating with young people of their own age and engaging them in meaningful discussions. The team also participated in a range of workshops and whole group sessions focused on developing leadership skills in young people. The event organised by young people for young people was an amazing experience, our students came back full of ideas of how they can incorporate some of the things they learnt into their ongoing activities at Bangkok Patana. A number of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;how toâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; workshops are planned in the coming weeks and the team are also working on putting together a 2-day leadership event which will take place during CAS for All week at the end of Term 3. In addition, Bangkok Patana School will be hosting the FOBISIA Key Stage 3 and 4 Student Leadership Workshops in 2019, with the event being organised and delivered by the students who attended this year. What better way for them to put their skills into action!

Click here for the Canteen Menu 09/03/2018

Bangkok Patana School News

Are you ready for Waste Less Weeks? Marina Kusumoto (Year 13) on behalf of the SEC

for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. Milk will be available in large dispensers taken from larger milk bottles. SECONDARY SEC Energy For WLW3 we will be promoting Climate Force Youth 2041 (part of Robert Swan’s 2041 initiative) as well as running a campaign called ‘Turn it off Thursdays’! We will be asking all classrooms to reduce power consumption on the two Thursdays.

he Student Environmental Committee (SEC) is a force to be reckoned with, made up of members passionate students and dedicated staff. Our awareness from the Less Meat Mondays beginning has been to highlight the issues our environment We believe that reducing the amount of meat in the canteen is facing and to use our ‘small steps’ at school to hopefully is an effective way to raise awareness about the negative envibring about big change both here at Bangkok Patana and ronmental impact of the meat industry. Currently, our group is the world around us. collaborating with the canteen staff, and if all goes well then we As we approach this year’s Waste Less Week 3 (WLW3), from 12th to the 23rd March, we aim to raise awareness to all Bangkok Patana students, staff and parents to lead more sustainable lifestyles through ‘small steps’ they can take in their daily lives. To allow our advocation to resonate, we will try ecocentric ‘small steps’ at our campus and evaluate whether these changes can be implemented long-term. These are some of the changes and activities we are implementing during Waste Less Weeks: PRIMARY SEC Primary Recycling A wooden frame has been added near the Primary Snack Bar recycling bins informing users about what happens to the objects you recycle and what you have to do to the item before you put it in the bin. The designs have been framed and created in collaboration with the Secondary DT faculty. Art Competition During Waste Less Weeks, an Art contest has been organised, challenging students to create a design to promote recycling and ways to reduce our plastic waste. Anyone in Key Stage 2 can take part and the winning designs will be and hung around the Primary Snack Bar. Food Waste Our main aim is to show people how much food is wasted in Primary every day. There will be posters to raise awareness and a graph to show how much food is wasted over the two Waste Less Weeks. We are hoping to see the graph reduce! The black bins will be removed from the canteen during WLW3 so we have to use the correct recycling bins. Primary Re-Plastic During WLW3, we are removing individual small milk bottles

will be looking at one less meat dish being served during WLW, with more vegetarian dishes. Secondary Re-plastic For WLW3 we have focused on one of the school’s biggest contributors to plastic waste, the Secondary Smoothie Bar which uses both plastic cups and straws. This year we will:

• Replace the plastic smoothie cups with cups made from biodegradable cassava starch • Replace the plastic straws at the Smoothie Bar • Promote reusable metal straws Secondary Recycling Group Our major aim at the moment is to raise awareness of recycling bins around school to ensure the that recyclable materials go into the correct categories. We are making sure that the labels for each material are recognisable to avoid any confusion and encourage students and teachers to make the most use of these bins. We are excited to help contribute to this change. SEC Instagram - What are your ‘Small Steps’? We will also be encouraging members of the community to submit photos and a brief description of themselves and their own ‘small steps’ - lasting habit changes towards more environmentally sustainable lifestyles. These will be shared on the school website and social media as appropriate: Post an photo of your ‘small steps’ on your Instagram with the hashtag #wastelessweeks3 and tag our Instagram @sec_ bangkokpatana or send an email to sec@patana.ac.th We invite you to be a part of this movement to both raise awareness and bring environmental change to our community, whether it be small or large. Thank you so much in advance for your support!

Bangkok Patana School News

09/03/2018

Bangkok Patana School News

Cours de Cuisine Madame Turner, World Languages Teacher and Louise Velayo, Year 12

A mon avis, les aubergines farcies etaient la plus difficile ear 12 Ab Initio students worked in pairs to prepare a dish each in order to create a real French style lunch parce qu’ il y a beaucoup d’ ingredients et le recette etait with a starter, main course and dinner. Madame Turner tres longue. C’etait tres difficile de preparer les ingredients had to taste, for quality control purposes, and was abso- mais c’etait assez amusant alors c’etait pas mal. lutely amazed by the quality of the dishes prepared. Apres la cuisson, nous avons tout mange! C’etait deliThe Year 12 Ab Initio students have only been learning cieux. Mon plat preferee etait le gateau au chocolat parce French since August 2017, so this lesson was a great way que j’adore les plats sucres mais le plat je n’ai pas aime to challenge students as they had to read and translate etait les oeufs mimosa parce que c’etait assez salissant. the French recipe to bring the ingredients required for their meal. Bravo à tout le monde! La prochaine fois, nous devrions avoir plus de temps pour Over to Year 12 Ab Initio student Louise Velayo to tells us cuisiner afin que nous ne nous pressions pas. Aussi, je pense que je devrais pratiquer la cuisine parce que je ne about his experience of French cooking:

COURS DE CUISINE

suis pas bon.

Dans le cours de cuisine, ma classe a fait trois plats. Mon Je pense que le cours de cuisine est tres important parce ami qui s’appelle Kent a fait l’entrée. Il a fait d’oeufs mimo- qu’ il aide a comprendre ce qu’est la cuisine francaise. Je sa. Moi et mon ami Sarah avons fait le plat principal. Nous trouve que les francais aiment beaucoup de plats mais ils avons cuisine les aubergines farcies. Enfin, mes amis Sanna n’aiment pas les plats epices. et Maya ont fait le dessert. Elles ont cuisine le gateau au chocolat. 8

Bangkok Patana School News

09/03/2018

New In at the Library Early Years Library

Primary Library

Secondary Library

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Senior Fiction

Chapter Books and Oversized Books

Graphic Novels

Non-Fiction

Parents’ Collection

DID YOU KNOW THAT WE ALSO SUBSCRIBE TO THESE MAGAZINES? If you would like to recommend a book for the library to buy, click here.

Upcoming University Visits UNIVERSITY / COLLEGE

COUNTRY

REP

LOCATION

DATE

TIME

US University Fair

Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel

11.03.18