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 6th October 2017
Volume 20 Issue 8
www.patana.ac.th
FCD Return To Bangkok Patana
Page 2
2017/18
Also in this issue
A Chair for Alice / ISB String Festival / ATM Skimmers and Identity Theft 06/10/2017
Bangkok Patana School News
Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC
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FCD Return to Bangkok Patana Mick Smith, Secondary Principal
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his week we warmly welcomed back to Bangkok Patana our colleagues from the Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD) organisation in the United States. FCD have returned on an annual basis for many years to work with our students and inform them of the dangers of substance misuse. This goes hand in hand with the ongoing work done each year in our tutorial programme by tutors and Heads of Year. Although working with a number of Year groups, the two representatives of FCD, Sarah Burrill (who also visited last year) and Jennifer Brass, spent most of their
have been taken through discussions and activities around the following topics: Addiction Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana Facts About Other Drugs Solutions and Alternatives At the end of the week we debrief with FCD who share their insights into the ‘health’ of our student body. At the time of writing we haven’t yet had that conversation, but every year so far they have reassured us that our own view of Bangkok Patana students is reflected in
time taking our Year 9 students through a four-day programme. Worldwide work with young people has shown FCD that it is around the age of 13-14 that students are most likely to either experiment with substances such as alcohol or tobacco for the first time, or at least become exposed to the opportunity to do so. The FCD representatives all act from bitter, personal experience and speak openly to students of their own struggles with addiction to alcohol or drugs. Their principal aim when working with young adults is to educate them to defer trying addictive substances until adulthood. Their research clearly demonstrates that substance misuse is more likely to become addictive behaviour amongst younger people than those who don’t experiment until adulthood. The team talk very openly with our students, asking and answering questions, clearing up misconceptions regarding specific drugs and giving a clear and consistent message to encourage them to make the healthy, informed choices that we also promote as a school. Importantly they also alert students to the effects that addiction can have on the lives of young people and their families. Year 9 students
what they have seen and the conversations they have had. The vast majority of our students (not only in Year 9, but throughout Secondary) are making healthy choices. By far the biggest threat to their health is from alcohol, which as we all know is easily available for young people in Bangkok. However, their work in our school and others in the region suggests that most students, even in Senior Studies do not consume alcohol on a regular basis. The ‘recreational’ drug that our students are most likely to come across is marijuana, but again actual numbers trying it is very limited. On Thursday, almost 50 parents attended an information sharing afternoon with our FCD team, led by Sarah Burrill. The focus was to explain how and when addiction might develop among young people. Interestingly key factors included family history (genetics), environment and education. The audience of parents listened attentively to the findings of research from the almost seventy countries that FCD work in. The same message was delivered to parents, that young people are more likely to become addicted to alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs while in their teens than they would be
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if they deferred any experimentation until adult life. Sarah shared some of her own history as a high-achieving young student who, over a period of just a few years progressed from a ‘few drinks on a weekend’ to heavy alcohol use, marijuana, hallucinogens and cocaine addiction. Her emphasis was that her young body simply reacted to her first taste of alcohol by craving more and more of it until, before she realised it, she was addicted. Although not all young people become addicted as she did, all are more at risk than their elders. She told the parents that she wouldn’t want them to see their children go through what she did and what her parents had to observe as she battled with addiction for six years. As you might imagine there were a number of questions from anxious parents keen for advice and guid-
However, her response was that ‘no needs to be part of your vocabulary!’ If you aren’t in a position where you can/will say no then you need to make it very clear to your children what your expectations are and what consequences there will be if these aren’t met. Be prepared to be the bad guy, the excuse for your child to say no to alcohol or drugs for fear of your reprisals. Your job is to get them through Year 13 as healthy young adults. By that time their brains are more fully developed and they are able to make better decisions independently when they fly the nest and head to university. It was a very strong message, well-received by the parents who attended. Once again I would like to emphasise that our own experience of Bangkok Patana students has been reaffirmed by FCD. We have overwhelmingly
ance. Had they already left it too late with their own children, did they set a bad example by drinking alcohol at home? Sarah didn’t hold her punches. She stated that parents need to consider that they are the greatest role models for their own children. If kids see parents drinking heavily then they are likely to assume that is acceptable behaviour. However, if parents role model good choices and especially if they form ‘safe, healthy networks’ with each other, their children are likely to follow suit. Parents and children should also consider the friendship groups of the child. She spoke about ‘overlaps’ among teenagers where groups that drink alcohol together may be exposed to others who smoke marijuana, and then with those who use other ‘harder’ drugs. Parents knowing their child’s friends and families, encouraging them to visit each other’s homes rather than go out to Khao San Road or other bar areas, are giving a clear message to their children that they care about them and are willing to support them in making good decisions. Sarah accepted that it was difficult to effectively tell your ‘good’ boy/girl that you don’t trust them to do the right thing when they are out with friends.
“Consumption of illegal substances at Bangkok Patana is not acceptable or tolerated.”
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healthy students making consistently good choices. We mustn’t be complacent though as each year we learn of isolated cases of students making bad decisions. When that happens we act quickly as a school to give students and their families a very clear message that consumption of illegal substances at Bangkok Patana is not acceptable or tolerated. We always work to support these families and our emphasis is very much on education and prevention. Students will make mistakes and learn from them, and we try to give them the opportunity to do that. However, in cases where students repeatedly show that they aren’t prepared to accept the values of our school community then it may well be that Bangkok Patana isn’t the place for them. Have a healthy weekend, Mick Smith
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A Chair for Alice Richard Smith, Head of Design and Technology
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hrough our carefully tailored curriculum we aim to set high standards and stretch our students giving them every opportunity to exceed beyond their attainment targets at Key Stage 3 and excel at IGCSE and IB. To challenge our most able Design and Technology (D+T) students, we seek to offer curriculum enrichment opportunities throughout the year. The FOBISIA Design and Technology Competition is just one of many that we provide and needless to say our students always produce exceptional work and make us very proud. We would like to congratulate the girls who were involved in last year’s FOBISIA Design and Technology Competition then in Year 8 and 9. The theme was ‘A Chair for Alice in Wonderland for the Mad Hatters Tea Party’. The students met at lunch times and worked in two groups. Their work involved conducting research into the Alice in Wonderland film set, looking at styles and aesthetics, generating ideas through sketching and model making and ultimately turning their ideas into reality using CAD/CAM and CNC machinery. The students documented the en1st Place – “The Mad Creators” Nichapatr (Petch) Lomtakul Natabhorn (Plume Plume) Kashemsri Na Ayudhaya Wei Qing Liew Camila Cognac
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Bangkok Patana School News
3rd Place – “The Illusionists” Angwara (Book) Nilanont Renee Kwok Khushi Mehrotra
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tire process on video, which they skilfully edited with accompanying music and then submitted to the competition. We would like to thank The International School of Kathmandu, Nepal for organising the challenge. Well done to you all. Have a watch of the winning entires, click on the videos below!
A few words from “The Mad Creators” “Overall I found this activity to be really fun as I got to work with my friends and do something I had never done before. My favourite part of the process was at the beginning, when we were brainstorming and planning ideas for the chair as we had to make sure it fitted with the Alice in Wonderland theme but also be very imaginative to make it look different from a regular chair. We ended up with lots of cool looking ideas. From then on, it was more practical as we had to make a small model of the chair to make sure the final design we chose would work. After finalising the design and measurements, we started working in CAD 2D design to cut out the parts, as well as painting it and joining everything together. All the while, we recorded the process through videos and pictures, culminating in a final video to be submitted. It was great, watching the video as we could see the whole process of something being made that we had put a lot of effort into. We are really proud of the chair.” Nichapatr (Petch) Lomtakul “It was a great experience taking part in this project. One of my favourite parts was putting the video together as it shows all the effort involved in designing the chair. At the start of the project, we brainstormed ideas, incorporating the theme ‘Alice in Wonderland’ into as many elements as possible and drew them individually on paper. Then, we combined some of the ideas to create a final design which we created in CAD 2D design before cutting it out on the laser cutter and the CNC router machine. After that, we assembled all the parts together and decorated it to fit in with the theme. Although there were some challenges that came along with it, I was very pleased with the final chair. This competition helped us develop more skills in general for D+T: designing and thinking about how everything would fit together, developing our skills on 2D design and making the final touches. The theme was quite suitable to the competition as the topic was quite broad; therefore, each team had a variety of choices and ideas they could potentially include in their chair design.” Natabhorn (Plume Plume) Kashemsri Na Ayudhaya Our students have just started the FOBISIA Design and Technology Competition 2017/18 consisting of three challenges throughout the year. Challenge 1; to design a promotional gift for the school, to be presented to a scary ‘Dragons Den’ panel of senior teachers. Good Luck with the Dragons!
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ISB String festival Alec Bien, Head of Arts
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ast weekend, 12 Bangkok Patana string players joined the annual International School Bangkok String Festival. In addition to ourselves and ISB, students from NIST, ICS and TCIS also joined the ensemble. The conductor, Jeffrey Grogan, did amazing work with the group of 91 musicians. Maestro Grogan is a well-known and respected conductor of youth symphonies and international festival orchestras, and he has just been appointed Orchestra Director at Oklahoma State University. Mr Grogan chose excellent repertoire, ranging from Vivaldi to Mosier and Balmages. Mosier and Balmages are both educators, conductors and composers who write exciting, accessible music that speaks to this generation of young players. Jeffrey Grogan and Kirt Mosier are good friends, so they connected on FaceTime on Saturday morning in front of the whole festival orchestra; technology cooperated and our students played for and received 20 minutes of direct feedback from the composer himself - What an amazing use of technology! (Mr Grogan tried to do the same with Vivaldi and Mozart, but it didn’t work quite as well.) The beauty, however, was in the tradition: the luscious sounds that only a string orchestra can make. Our players played their hearts out and it was a pleasure to be part of it all.
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CATs Corner Sarah Lim (Habitat for Humanity) and Marina Kussumoto (Operation Smile)
Patana’s Got Talent
musical talents. They sang ‘Faded’ by Last week, Habitat for Humanity and Alan Walker beautifully, leading them Operation Smile teamed up to host to be the overall winners of Patana’s Patana’s Got Talent 2017! The com- Got Talent 2017. The event raised over 25,480 baht, petition took place over three days and featured eight contestants rang- all of which goes towards the charitaing from Year 7 all the way to Year 13, ble causes of both clubs: Habitat who showcasing a variety of talents includ- build houses for the less fortunate, ing impressive diabolo circus tricks, and Smile who fund cleft-palate sur-
What’s coming up in October? 7th Mercy Centre Visit Activities provided by Interact and Mercy Centre 10th World Mental Health Day 10th/11th LETS Campaign Days 11th/12th 24 Hour Triathlon Challenge 16th World Food Day - WFP awareness of food waste
amazing singers, dancers and musicians. The first day was dedicated to the Senior performers: Josh, Saranya, Paddy and Joe. They all beautifully expressed their creativity through singing and dancing, and won both the judges and the audience over. The second day was the performances by the Key Stage 3 students. An act that received particular recognition for its unique performance was Patrick and his diabolo. Throughout his performance, he displayed impressive tricks that got the audience cheering! However, at the finale of the Patana’s Got Talent, it was Emily and Lizzie who really impressed everyone with their 06/10/2017
geries. The money will be equally split between the two clubs and will go towards each of the club’s goals. Operation Smile are hoping to raise enough money for four surgeries (100,000 baht) and Habitat for Humanity have a target of 230,000 baht for their upcoming build in Korat. A huge thank you to the judges, Ms Sloane, Mr Meadows and Year 13 student, Will Barty, the volunteers, the audience, all the participants and finally Ms Leyland and Ms Houghton for helping us make this event become a true success. Finally, a special congratulation to this year’s winners, Emily and Lizzie from Year 7!
Bangkok Patana School News
17th Make Poverty History Day - WFP and Habitat 18th Interact Bake Sale 31st Interact Campaign Day Half Term Break Habitat build in Korat
Look out next week for details of a special campaign from STOP 7
he t m o r f st The late
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 8
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Congratulations to our Season 1 Tiger Sports teams! The Varsity Cross Country team has done an excellent job in their BISAC competition at the Unico Grande Golf Course: Varsity Girls placed 3rd, Varsity Boys placed 2nd and the Under 15 Girls came first. Individually, Sri Hollema and Vincent Boulom won in their age groups, Anne Boucher and Sri Hollema won overall for females in their age groups Girls Varsity Football defeated Ruamrudee 4-0 and are going to be competing in BISAC for the Cup. Junior Girls’ Volleyball won against Shrewsbury 3-1. Varsity Boys’ Volleyball are undefeated scoring 3-1 against NIST. An amazing start to the first season of sport, well done to everyone who participated and to the coaches!
Interview with Conor Kelly (Year 12) about his recent National Golf Tournament The competition was a Faldo Series Qualifier and was located in Phuket. The two day tournament was at Laguna Golf Club. How did you play overall? I came third overall and shot 70, 70 for both (total was 140) which was two under par. (Par is the predicted number of strokes per hole) How do you think you did when playing? The winner was five under par and the second player was four under so I believe I did a good job even though it was tough competition.
Come support our Tiger teams in BISAC this Sunday, 8th October Varsity Boys’ Football at Ruamrudee Varsity Girls’ Football at Shrewsbury Varsity Boys’ Volleyball at NIST Varsity Girls’ Volleyball at Shrewsbury Good luck to all our sports teams competing!
Keep up
with the action...
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@bps_athletics _council
@BPSSPORTS
@BPSSPORTS
Tiger Sports Teams
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Under 15 Girls’ Touch vs ISB Maddie Dewse , Year 10
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his week’s match was our third match of the season and was away against ISB. We had to leave early to get there and when we arrived we were confident and ready. Our attacking improved massively with us moving across the field at angles, passing well and communicating as a team. We did lose to ISB but we are very proud of the fact that we ended up scoring later on, twice in the friendly. Mimi’s amazing skills came close to scoring us a try but unfortunately we over passed the try line and didn’t end up getting the try, in our minds though we scored! The referee was quite biased and implemented a few extra rules but we actually learnt and improved from this. The few mistakes we were making were fixed and corrected by the end of the game. I am very proud of my team and can’t wait to win our next match!
Patana Ice Hockey Players Help Thailand Take Gold at SEAYC 2017
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e would like to say a huge congratulations to two of our Secondary Ice Hockey players on their recent success representing Thailand. Mel, Year 10 and Mac, Year 8 helped Thailand to take the top spot at the Southeast Asian Youth Cup 2017 (SEAYC 2017) in Malaysia. The young Thailand Ice Hockey Team, captained by Mel, compete against four other South East Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore), winning every match and taking the final championship game against Malaysia 11-5 to take the gold medal! To read more, click here.
Click here for the Canteen Menu 06/10/2017
Bangkok Patana School News
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#71 ATM Skimmers and Identity Theft
If you know anyone that’s been the victim of digital identity theft (it happened to my father a few years ago) then you’ll know how difficult it is to deal with. This new Skimmer Scanner app available for Android users (iOS version coming soon) will scan the environment nearby an ATM to make sure that a Bluetooth card skimmer is not in the vicinity. Watch the video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_mnCElDg-0. As a precaution against identity theft, I highly recommend you shred all bills and/or paperwork that contains personal information, including old boarding passes for flights. This information can be used to gain access to your personal accounts online, ultimately leading to some form of identity theft or extortion. How many of these top 20 items you should shred do you simply throw away? Have a safe weekend. Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration
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YEAR 3 AND 4 YEAR 3 7.40AM TO 9.45AM YEAR 4 10:05AM TO 12:10PM
YEAR 5 AND 6 MONDAY 9TH OCTOBER 2017 @ the 50m Pool YEAR 5 7.40AM TO 9.45AM YEAR 6 10.05am to 12.10pm
It’s time to dive into another Patana Primary Sports event with this year’s KS2 Swimming Galas! It’s Cool in the Pool!!
KS2 SWIMMING GALAS
TUESDAY 10TH OCTOBER 2017 @ The 25m Pool
Remember to bring your swimming kit, goggles and towel to your gala and to apply plenty of sun cream! 06/10/2017
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New in at the Library Early Years Library
Primary Library
Secondary Library
Fiction
Fiction
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Non-Fiction
Senior Fiction
Graphic Novels
Senior Graphic Novels
Non-Fiction
The Man Booker 2017 Shortlisted Books
Parents’ Collection
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Upcoming University Visits University / College
Canadian Education Fair
Canada
Paris College of Art Kwansei Gakuin University The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Northeastern University Southern Methodist University
France Japan
US US US
US Education Fair
US
Dates for your Diary...
Location
Date
Time
Renaissance Hotel 08.10.17 11:00 Bangkok (BTS Chidlom) Kaamna Patel Senior Studies, 2nd floor 09.10.17 12:15 Ayano Matsushita Senior Studies, 2nd floor 12.10.17 12:15
Hong Kong Jacky Tsang
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Thai University Fair at NIST
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Country Rep
Lauren Melaugh Alex Munoz Evangeline Hodgson
Thailand
Senior Studies, 2nd floor 18.10.17 12:15 Senior Studies, 2nd floor 18.10.17 12:15 Senior Studies, 2nd floor 18.10.17 12:15 Senior Studies, 2nd floor 18.10.17 12:15 Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel (BTS Rajadamri) NIST
18.10.17 17:30 19.10.17 14:30
Friday 10th November Patana Plugged Saturday 25th November Ploenchit Fair Wednesday 29th November International Day Wednesday 13th December Christmas Concert Friday 15th December Christmas Assembly Bangkok Patana School News
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Music Book Sale at the School Shop We have a number of Music books that are now discounted in the School Shop. Bass Clarinet Book 1 Hal Leonard Sale price 200 THB Theory Activity Book 1 The FJH Music company Inc. Sale price 162 THB (original cost 190 THB) Exploring Chords Book 1 The FJH Music company Inc. Sale price 149 THB (original cost 175 THB) Theory Activity Book 2 The FJH Music company Inc. Sale price 120 THB (original cost 190 THB) Exploring Chords Book 2 The FJH Music company Inc. Sale price 120 THB (original cost 190 THB)
Transport Corner Weekly news from the Transport Department Reminder that school is closed for the public holiday on Friday 13th October, 2017. Does your child know the name of their bus monitor and driver? If not, please encourage them to ask so they can greet them each morning and afternoon.
Contact Us
Direct phone: 02 785 2470 Email transport@patana.ac.th The office is staffed from 6:00am - 6:00pm Monday to Friday. 06/10/2017
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Creating Flourishing Individuals & Organisations ‘Well-being in a VUCA World – How We Can Survive and Thrive in Times of Change’ Bangkok Patana School Parents
Thursday 2nd November 2017 (08:00-09:00) Venue: The Theatre Positive Psychology, the science of ‘what makes life worth living’ can help both adults and young people to manage better in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world
Fresh from attending and presenting at the 5th World Congress on Positive Psychology in Montreal we are delighted to welcome back international organisational coach Clive Leach to talk to our parent community. Clive will share some of his key takeaways and learning from the congress and show how they can relate to both parent and student well-being. Clive will also draw on his extensive experience applying evidence -based programs and tools through the design and delivery of Positive Education programs with leading international schools across SE Asia, China, Europe & the UK. This includes his ongoing work here with us at Patana.
An Evidence-based approach to increasing levels of optimal functioning in the education, government & corporate sectors. Services include: Executive / Leadership Coaching Career Development Coaching Strengths Coaching Well-being Coaching Discover Your Strengths Mental Toughness Coaching Conversations Leadership Development
This valuable and unique session will be interactive and fun. It has the potential to have a meaningful and positive impact on how we see and embrace the future. Clive Leach is a Global Representative for the International Positive Education Network (IPEN). He is a certified Realise2 Strengths Assessor & MTQ48 Mental Toughness practitioner. He is a global representative for the International Positive Education Network (IPEN) and a visiting lecturer at the University of East London reaching n the worlds first MSc Applied Positive Psychology & Coaching Psychology (MAPPCP) . He is a former Head of Community Education Services in the UK where he is now based. For further information please visit: www.cliveleach.com RESERVE YOUR PLACE HERE
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Creating Flourishing Individuals & Organisations
Mental Toughness! What is it? Do we need it? Have we got it? How do we build it? Y8 Parents at Bangkok Patana School st
Tuesday 31 October (08:00-09:00)
Venue: Conference Centre (CON 304 & CON 305) Whist not all situations require Mental Toughness, it has been shown to predict higher levels of: Resilience & Hardiness Positive Behaviours Academic & Work Performance Career Aspirations & Employability Well-being & Flourishing We are delighted to welcome back Organisational Coach Clive Leach for this exciting workshop presentation targeting our Y8 community that will help you as parents to understand what mental toughness is, how it can measured and most importantly how it can be built in young people & adults alike.
An Evidence-based approach to increasing levels of well-being in the education, government & corporate sectors. Coaching Services include: Executive / Leadership Coaching Career Development Coaching Strengths Coaching Well-being Coaching
Workshop Services include: Building Well-being, Resilience & Mental Toughness Discover Your Strengths Flourishing Young People Coaching Conversations
Clive will share the latest research and education-based approaches to enhancing mental toughness. He will share some great practical ideas, interventions and tools that he has helped apply through the design and delivery of Positive Education programs in schools in Australia, SE Asia, China & Europe. The presentation will be both interactive and informative and aims to help you and your families to perform at your best. Clive Leach is an organisational coach & facilitator and a graduate of the Master of Organisational Coaching Program at the University of Sydney. He is a certified Mental Toughness MTQ48 Practitioner. He is a global representative for the International Positive Education Network (IPEN) and a former Head of Community Education Services in the UK. www.cliveleach.com RESERVE YOUR PLACE HERE
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Community
Bangkok Community Theatre presents
CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION A play by Annie Baker
November 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th and 11th At the Blue Box Studio, M Theatre 7:30pm Tickets 500 THB Click here to buy Visit Bangkokcommuntiytheatre.com for more information
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Community
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Community
If you are interested in sending your children overseas during the winter or summer break for some additional educational experience, we would like to introduce you to our camp partner Les Elfes International Winter and Summer Camps with whom we have been organising our past ski trips to Switzerland. This year, Bangkok Patana School will not be organising a ski trip due to structural changes, however, we will be skiing again in future years with Les Elfes. In the meantime, there is the opportunity to sign up to Les Elfes winter camp directly. Since 1987 Les Elfes has organised international winter and summer camps in Verbier Switzerland, for students aged 7-18 years old. Every year, they welcome over 5,000 children and teenagers to their camp, from over 60 different nationalities. The students have the chance to take language lessons and learn skiing or snowboarding in winter and can also participate in a range of over 40 sports and activities in summer. Please do not hesitate to contact Les Elfes or visit their website would you require any further information: www.leselfes.com info@leselfes.com 20
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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 24
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