Patana News Volume 20 Issue 4

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 8th September 2017

Volume 20 Issue 4

www.patana.ac.th

New Beginnings Mr Smith considers newness in the Secondary School

Page 2

2017/18

Also in this issue

University Fair / Primary Furniture Donation / Reading Fun in Key Stage 1 08/09/2017

Bangkok Patana School News

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

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New Beginnings Mick Smith, Secondary Principal

Dear Parents, It hardly seems like the start of the year any more but as this is the first opportunity I’ve really had… ‘Welcome to the new academic year 2017/18.’ I’ve been delighted to welcome all of our new students to the Secondary School, around 70 in total at the moment, plus the whole of Year 7 who have had to adapt from being the ‘seniors’ of Primary to the ‘juniors’ of Secondary.

This, of course is purely in terms of their mathematical age, as it took Year 7 about 10 minutes flat to establish themselves in Secondary this year! Even Year 8 students, still quite wet behind the ears themselves, have been impressed by the energy, good humour and indomitable spirit of our newest Secondary students. The Year 7s move around in groups like chattering, smiling minions, descending in smaller groups into classrooms throughout the day and en masse upon the Snack Bars each morning. By the time they head off to lessons after break (still slightly late) all that remains resembles descriptions of biblical times when ancient Egyptian farmers looked upon their devastated crops after the passage of a plague of locusts! Senior students stand dumbstruck searching for any remaining hot dogs, or more likely in our newly healthier Snack Bar, a hummus and tabbouleh salad. I love Year 7 and I love the start of the school year. The school comes alive after the quieter but more stressful Term 3, when many Secondary students are sitting examinations.

On that note, we are all so proud, as Mr Mills wrote earlier, of our Graduating Class of 2017 for their 100% 2

success rate with the IB Diploma, and of our new Year 12 students who collectively achieved not only beyond our expectations (and probably their own) but beyond anything we’ve seen before here at Bangkok Patana.

In the first Secondary Assembly of the year, staff and students celebrated the achievement of these students and others in so many areas across the school. The message that I was keen to share was that from a school perspective it really isn’t about the individual IB points score or number of A or A* grades that each student gets. Of course we love to see 45 point and 10 A* grade students but more important as a whole school is the number of students who achieve at least as well as we predicted, while still involving themselves in so many aspects of school life such as community service, the arts, sports and other activities.

I told our students that I believe we are all extremely fortunate to be part of Bangkok Patana School, that it isn’t just the best school in Bangkok, Thailand and Asia, but maybe the very best in the whole world! Why not?

How should we judge school performance? How can I claim such an accolade for Bangkok Patana? I’ve listed some of my ‘assessment criteria’ below. The key thing here is that we aren’t an exam factory. We aren’t as academically selective as many of our ‘competitor’ schools are, even here in Bangkok. We offer so much more for our students than purely academic challenge and rigour even though we are extremely proud of the academic success of our students and hold ourselves to extremely high standards. Shouldn’t we judge a great school on

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how well it scores in areas such as: 1. The amount of times a student genuinely thanks their teacher at the end of a lesson – Our students care about their teachers and about learning 2. The extraordinarily high quality of our teachers and support staff in terms of teaching expertise and their knowledge and care for each individual student, how well they know them; what makes them tick, when and how to offer a kind word or give a metaphorical “kick up the behind” 3. The range of ECA opportunities –where genuinely everyone can find a place and where the huge number of students taking part indicates how much they relish being at school each day 4. How our students show genuine kindness, compassion and support for each other 5. How much our students value and participate in service activities both inside and outside the community 6. How students seek feedback from teachers and strive to make improvements 7. How passionate, engaged and articulate our students are discussing a whole range of issues

school but a school that is prepared to invest heavily to improve the learning environment does 15. The quality of home/school communication and relationships My message was also that we mustn’t take all of this for granted. As a school, we must continue to do all that we can to innovate, to adopt best practice, to make small improvements where we can, to monitor, reflect and evaluate. As students, they need to seize opportunities, take some risks, consistently do their very best in all areas, do all that they can to help themselves and seek the help of their teachers. We will help our students to develop skills and attributes to enable them to learn and adapt quickly to new challenges. To be resilient, make good choices, communicate skilfully and confidently both virtually and face-to-face; to solve problems and make decisions independently and collaboratively; to be decisive, to reflect, to be kind, understanding and compassionate in an increasingly complex mid-21st Century world. If we can collectively achieve these things then exam results will take care of themselves.

8. The buzz of excitement in our public spaces such as the libraries, the lounges, the hard courts 9. How beautiful and well-cared for the school grounds are 10. How safe, protected and free to learn our students feel here 11. How our students are keen to support and lead new initiatives such as healthier food and recycling 12. How positively the students talk about their teachers and how proudly teachers talk about them.

13. How often ex-students come back to visit and eat noodles 14. Our facilities – buildings don’t make a great

Almost as fresh-faced as our Year 7 students, our new Secondary teachers have been bombarded by a sensory and information overload since arriving at Bangkok Patana at the beginning of August. Almost all are new to Thailand and many to international teaching. However, I am very confident that they are all going to have a significant, positive and lasting impact upon the learning of our students. We are lucky to have them, and as the smiles on their faces show no sign of abating, they are realising that they are also lucky to have landed positions in a very special school indeed.

It’s going to be a great year ahead.

08/09/2017

Mick Smith Principal, Secondary School

Bangkok Patana School News

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The Careers Team is delighted to invite you to our annual

University Fair and University Information Afternoon on Thursday, September 21st, 2017 in the Conference Centre.

There will be two parts to the afternoon: The first will be an informal question and answer college style fair with university and educational centre representatives. Over 80 universities have indicated they will attend. A full list can be found on our Careers and Universities Firefly page The second will be formal presentations by the Patana Careers Team and colleagues who work in university admissions. These will focus on providing information about the application process itself in countries popular with our students and some insight from an admissions perspective on the specifics of what makes an effective student application. Each presentation should last about 20 minutes with 5 minutes for Q&A. If you are interested in attending, I would be grateful if you could complete this Google Form. Alternatively, you can email Khun Job at moko@patana.ac.th If you are unable to attend the session, our presentations will be available through the Careers Firefly Page.

As always, a member of the Careers Faculty would be more than happy to meet with you. Please email Khun June mach@patana.ac.th or Khun Job moko@patana.ac.th to make an appointment.

The structure of the afternoon is as follows:

14:30 – 15:45 15:50 – 16:10 Break-Out Session 1 16:15 – 16:45 Break-Out Session 2 16:50 – 17:15 Break-Out Session 3 17:20 – 17:50 17:50 – 18:00

University Fair (over 80 universities have indicated they will attend) Conference Centre

Welcome : The Careers Team Supporting students with career exploration and university choices

Applying to the US

Applying to The Netherlands

Applying to the UK

Applying to Canada

Applying to Australia and New Zealand

Applying to Ireland

Question and Answer Session and Closing Comments

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, September 21st.

The Careers Team

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Primary Furniture Donation

Dear Mr Cooper and Bangkok Patana Primary School, I want to say thank you one more time for the donation of furniture to our nurseries in Klong Toey. One of the nurseries is now finished and decorated with the new furniture.

The classrooms have been totally changed and the children are thrilled about it. The other nursery will get their furniture as soon as the building of two new classrooms is finished at the end of the year (we are extending this nursery).

Later this year, teachers from Bangkok Patana will come and do a workshop with us about how we can use these new surroundings to give our children the best learning environment possible. We are very excited and very thankful. I attach some pictures from our newly decorated kindergarten, even though it is not finish 100 percent.

Best regards, Anne Storstein Haug

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#67 Anonymous Apps Question: How many of these apps / websites have you heard of?

1) Musical.ly

2) Calculator+

3) Ask.fm

4) Whisper

5) Sarahah

6) Yik Yak

7) KIK

8) After School

9) Omegle

10) Secret

Now ask a teenager or tween if they have heard of any of them.

I urge all parents to read this article on the growth of anonymous apps and websites. If your children are using any of them then follow these guidelines: • • • • • • • •

Make sure the account is set to private No full names should appear in the account information The profile photo should not be a real photo of your child – an avatar or icon is safer The account should be shared with you (parents) Install the app, bookmark the webpage and follow the account yourself Encourage dialogue about the app / website often – at least once a week Your child(ren) should only communicate with users they know in real-life Golden rule: talk to a trusted adult as soon as there is something that does not feel right

Have a safe weekend, Brian Taylor, Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

08/09/2017

Bangkok Patana School News

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Meet the Muffins!

Introducing two new delicious muffins developed especially for you by our in-house bakers! Using reduced sugar and low fat yoghurt, the new blueberry and raspberry muffins are much more nutritious with much lower fat and sugar content. Still as moist and juicy as the previous muffins, why not grab yourself one from the Snack Bar and see just how good these two new muffins are!

Jiraprapa (Prim) Boonpan, School Nutritionist

Blueberry muffin bursting with yummy blueberries!

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Bangkok Patana School News

Raspberry muffin

deliciously moist and full of raspberry goodness!

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Reading Fun Sally Flint, Head of Libraries

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ur children’s library sessions are pretty jam-packed these day and we are pretty busy helping equip our young leaners with the skills to access their whole school curriculum. If we are not exploring the parts of fiction books, we might well be exploring how to access non-fiction and use contents and glossaries effectively, or learning the skills of using our library catalogue. We do though always make time to encourage reading for stamina and our primary aim is always to help our children develop a love and passion reading. This week was no exception and we have had the most wonderful time celebrating books with our ‘Guest Parent Readers’.

Who would have thought that having mums and dads read with our children could create so much fun and excitement?

It was wonderful for our children to see ‘the grown ups’ loving books and enjoying stories and was an excellent opportunity for our youngsters to develop their social skills, as they communicated and interacted with our parent visitors. The children demonstrated super concentration and the range of books chosen by mums and dads gave plenty of opportunity for our children to develop empathy and learn more about our world around us.

From exploring how to be caring in Emma Chichester Clarke’s I Love You Blue Kangaroo; to learning that it is ok to change our mind in Emily Gravett’s Tidy; to being sensitive to everyone’s feelings and seeing things from different perspectives in Mo Willem’s A Big Guy Took My Ball, we have had so much fun!

So, a big thank you to all our Key Stage 1 parents who joined us this week. For those who didn’t, because the waiting list was so long, we will be in touch to complete this activity again very soon, thanks for volunteering. Thanks also to our librarians Khun Aom and Khun Beer who joined in all the activities. Having a library team who work so hard to promote a love of reading amongst our children is simply wonderful.

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Bangkok Patana School News

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3:30pm ECAs and Me Time Cinday Adair, Assistant Principal Extra-curricular Activities and Sports

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CAs have begun this week and as you will know there are several major changes. One of these is the increase in the number of 3:30pm ECAs which broadens the range of activities your child can sample. If your child is in Years 3- 6 and has registered for a 3:30pm ECA but not a 2:30pm ECA you will notice they have been automatically registered for a “Me Time” ECA. This ECA provides a safe, cool space with adult supervision in the down-time between the end of the school day and their 3:30pm ECA. Secondary students who have registered for a 3:30pm ECA who are not involved in a 2:30pm ECA are required to go to the Secondary Library and sign in. Students are not permitted to leave the campus or move around the campus.

New In The Library Early Years Library

Primary Library

Secondary Library

Fiction

Fiction

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Non-Fiction

Senior Fiction

Non-Fiction

Parents’ Collection

Teachers’ Collection

Did you know that we also subscribe to these magazines?

A member of the tigersharks? join the new facebook group for all the Team’s latest news and information

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CATs Corner Tania Leyland, Community Services Coordinator

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here is a secret space between the 50m pool and the Cross Campus Staff Room. Few people know of its existence; tucked away near the squash courts. That is until lunchtime when it transforms into ‘Youth Club’ and becomes a hub of excitement and activity. A new air hockey table was installed last year and we have two table tennis tables arriving in a couple of weeks. You can also find ‘fusball’ a film corner and a relaxing seating space with beanbags.

After listening to student voice we created safe sessions for specific Year groups as well as sessions especially for girls, boys have them too.

Monday: Girls only Tuesday: Year 7 only Wednesday: Year 8 only Thursday: All Key Stage 3 Friday: Boys only We are developing the sessions this year with a range of activities, workshops, competitions and problem solving challenges on offer. Senior Studies students have been designing a mural and we are planning a visit from world famous street artist Alex Face.

Alex will be delivering a workshop to a group of young people who want to improve lives through art.

The Youth Club is an amazing space, already used for CAS projects and other community activities. If you would like to book it for a workshop, lesson or activity, please contact Tania Leyland (Youth & Community Coordinator) tale@patana.ac.th Here you can see the Klong Toey children enjoying arts and crafts in Youth Club.

Click here for the Canteen Menu 08/09/2017

Bangkok Patana School News

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Ne w

he t m o r f st The late

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the PTG rf om

PTG

Click here to join the PTG Facebook page

T ‘n’ T drop ins - Tea and Talk!

Every Tuesday and Thursday 9am – 11am in the PTG Room Drop in for a coffee, a snack and a chat.

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Bangkok Patana School News

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Upcoming University Visits Careers and University Faculty University / College

State University of New York at Albany Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School EU Business School - Geneva Barnard College University Fair and University Information Afternoon Bangkok College and University Fair Studying Medicine at University College Cork (UCC)

Country

USA Australia Switzerland USA

Rep

Location

Date

Time

Cynthia Look

Senior Studies, 2nd floor 07.09.17 12:15

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor 08.09.17 12:15

Kenneth Qua

Senior Studies, 2nd floor 14.09.17 09:15 Senior Studies, 2nd floor 19.09.17 12:15 Conference Centre

21.09.17 14:30

Shangri-La Hotel, Ballrooms II & III

23.09.17 15:45

Shangri-La Hotel

23.09.17 18:00

Transport Corner Weekly news from the Transport Department Please be reminded that all students using the Transport Service must follow the Student Bus Rules: • We won’t be late for pickup • We will arrive at our bus on time after school • We will wear properly adjusted seat belts at all times • We will talk quietly and politely to one another • We will treat each other with respect • We will keep the bus clean • We will follow the food rules ontact s • We will only leave the bus at our designated stop Direct phone: 02 785 2470 • We won’t move about the bus or open the windows Email transport@patana.ac.th • We won’t shout, make loud noises or use bad language • We won’t tease or fight The office is staffed from 6:00am • We won’t be rude to the bus monitor or driver 6:00pm Monday to Friday.

• We won’t throw things, spit or leave litter on the bus • We won’t ask the driver to play our music • We won’t touch the air conditioning controls on the bus (please ask your Bus Monitor) • We will show respect and listen to the Transport Staff

C

U

Please be reminded you can now view your bus number by going to your Firefly dashboard and clicking on Transport Information. This will save time at the bus car park waiting to find out what bus you are on.

REMINDERS: 1. There will be no school for students on Friday 15th, 2017.

2. Please pick-up and drop off your child at the designated areas only.

3. Please help us by not picking up your child on the side of the road in front of the school, this leads to heavy

traffic on the road and is a safety risk to the community.

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L to ast re w g ee ist k er 08/09/2017

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Lockdown & Fire Drill Procedure B

angkok Patana School takes the safety of our school community very seriously. We have a management team that meet and discuss many different crisis scenarios and we have processes and procedures in place for these. We have strong links with the local police and the various embassies who alert us to any security concerns and also visit our school to review our existing procedures and provide advice on security measures.

One of the areas that we practise regularly throughout the year is the Fire Evacuation and Lockdown procedures.

In Term 1 and 2, we have ‘announced’ and ‘unannounced’ drills. This enables our community to practise reacting appropriately in the event of an alarm sounding on the school campus.

Please read the information below carefully so you are aware of our procedures should you be on campus when an alarm sounds.

What to do if you are on the school campus when an alarm sounds?

Lockdown Alarm

If you are on campus and hear the ‘lockdown’ alarm (similar to a siren), please follow instructions from nearby staff.

If you are not in a building, please enter the nearest building and follow instructions from staff. In a lockdown, you should be out of sight until you hear three clear whistles from the security team or are instructed that it is all clear from a security guard or member of staff. You will not be allowed to enter or exit the campus during a lockdown.

Fire Alarm

If you are on the school campus and hear a fire alarm please act immediately and follow the Evacuation Route sign to the nearest assembly point, (see example).

Please make sure that you report to the Zone Fire Point Person who will be wearing an emergency jacket and have radio communication. They will be located in the middle of the zone area and will take your name and tell you where you need to stand. There are seven zones – green, yellow, blue, white, red, purple and orange. Look for these signs when you are next in school to familiarise yourself with the evacuation routes.

If you are outside the school grounds during a Fire Evacuation please note that you will not be allowed entry into school until the all clear has been given. Please follow instructions from our Security team.

What does the flashing red light mean?

If you see a flashing red light on the wall or ceiling it means that an alarm has been activated somewhere in school.

When the light is just flashing you do not need to do anything or leave the building but be on alert to listen for an audible alarm which will let you know what to do next. The activated alarm will be checked by the guards and if necessary the fire alarm or lock down alarm will then sound for you to respond to as normal. So you only need to respond if you hear the actual siren or if a guard or senior member of staff gives you instructions to follow. If it is a false alarm the flashing red light will stop shortly without any alarms sounding.

When will the alarms sound?

Luckily anytime you may have heard the alarm it has been a drill only. We hold announced and unannounced Fire and Lockdown Drills throughout the year and these procedures are for the safety and protection of all students, staff and visitors. If you are on the school campus during the alarm sounding please help to set a good example to all students by responding quickly, remaining quiet during this time and following instructions from Senior Staff.

Many thanks for your cooperation.

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Community

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A silver milestone!

Community

On our 25th Anniversary, we continue an amazing bond between th

25 and artisan, helping to sustain Thailand’s craft heritage. customer Anniversary

A silver milestone!

On our 25th anniversary of ThaiCraft Fairs, we look back at an amazing relationship between some 200,000 happy customers and around 10,000 empowered artisans.

We look forward to helping you obtain many more beautiful, innovative handmade items which truly helps to preserve and A silver milestone! sustain Thailand’s diverse craft heritage.

On our 25th Anniversary, we continue an amazing bond between

customer and artisan, helping to sustain Thailand’s craft heritage.

Thank you for making it happen!

ThaiCraft Fair will be Aon Saturday 16th September 2017 silver milestone!

On our 25th anniversary of ThaiCraft Fairs, we look back at an 10 a.m.

- 3 p.m. amazing relationship between some 200,000 happy customers Jasmine City Building ‘L’ floor, Sukhumvit Soi 23 and around 10,000 empowered artisans.

We look forward to helping you obtain many more beautiful, innovative handmade items which truly helps to preserve and sustain Thailand’s diverse craft heritage.

Amateur Fun for adults, challenging for kids

親子でお楽しみください

Thank you for making it happen!

ThaiCraft Fair will be on Saturday 16th September 2017 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Jasmine City Building ‘L’ floor, Sukhumvit Soi 23

Amateur

Fun for adults, challenging for kids

FUNSHOP : Get wound up with trendy bead adornments!

Thread spirals of colourful beads into stylish earrings and pendants with our friends from the Siam Care Foundation, giving new hope and a better future to people in need. 親子でお楽しみください

Contact: ThaiCraft Fair Trade Co.,Ltd. 35 Bamrung Muang Rd., San Chao Por Sua, Phra Nakorn, Bangkok 10200 18

Tel: +66(0)2-221-1330 www.thaicraft.org Facebook : ThaiCraft Fair Trade Instagram : @ThaiCraftFairTrade

Bangkok Patana School News

FUNSHOP : Get wound up with trendy bead adornments!

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Community

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Community

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Community

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For daily updates, snapshots and news on life at school you can find us here...

643 Lasalle Road (Sukhumvit 105) Bangna, Bangkok 10260. THAILAND Tel: +66 (0) 2785 2200 Fax: +66 (0) 2785 2399 www.patana.ac.th Email: reception@patana.ac.th 22

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