Patana News Volume 22 Issue 8

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

Patana

NEWS

Friday 11th October 2019

Volume 22 Issue 8

www.patana.ac.th

LIVING A MAGICAL LIFE

Primary Assistant Principal Mark Verde on enabling our children to reach their full potential

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Also in this issue...

BISAC Results/Year 7 Science Challenge Winner/Country Spotlight 11/10/2019

Bangkok Patana School News

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

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If you believe in magic, you will live a magical life Mark Verde, Primary Assistant Principal, Learning and Curriculum s the curtain rose on Friday night, at the production of The Lion King in Muangthai Rachadalai Theatre, my 15-year-old daughter suddenly asked;

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If I study Art at university, how can I use my skills in this subject to become a set designer for productions like the Lion King? This inspires me to consider it as a career, but then again – I also love Biology – so it’s a hard choice to make!

Is this not what we want to hear from our children? Sharing their dreams, that they want to make come true. Providing them with a great variety of choices, experiences and opportunities that inspire them to be happy and successful now, after and beyond their time at Bangkok Patana School, is surely every parent’s goal. As a school, our mission and vision are to enable our children to grow to their full potential, so that they shape their world through independence, empathy, creativity and critical thinking.

For my daughter and all children at Bangkok Patana School, to be able to question and reason through their dreams and aspirations they must have self-efficacy in their own learning and know what they are good at, what they want to achieve and more importantly, what they need to do to get there. Having the skills to think critically, be creative in mind, actions and approach, then communicate what they aspire to and how they will get there, are important attributes to enable them to follow their dreams. Our role as teachers is to know what our children dream about and how we can tap into those dreams and help them make them become a reality.

Will Ryan explains in his book; Dare to be Different, that if you believe in magic you will live a magical life. So how, as teachers and learners do we capture these dreams and turn them into a reality? According to John Hattie, it’s simple; we do this by knowing our children well.

Hattie’s research showed that the key to making a difference was making teaching and learning VISIBLE. This is when teachers see learning through the eyes of children and help them become their own teachers. He explains that it is teachers who have created positive, teacher student relationships that are more likely to have the highest, possible effects on student achievement. The accuracy of an individual teacher’s knowledge of the children in his or her class, will enable them to use that knowledge to determine the kind of classroom activities and materials, as well as the difficulty of the task needed, to provide the best

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learning opportunities for every child. A teacher’s estimates of achievement can also influence the questioning strategies and the student groupings used as well as the teaching strategies selected.

Our approach to learning across the Primary School at Bangkok Patana is based around these simple but valuable principles, which enable us to motivate, engage and create opportunities for the children to think critically about their learning. This empowers them to find out and explore new concepts and ideas, challenge themselves on things that they already know and give them the confidence to be willing to have a go, persevere and try new things.

David Dadau describes learning as a messy, complicated business. He asks us to imagine ourselves standing before a dark, ominous doorway. Through it you can glimpse something previously unimagined but entering and crossing through entails a risk – anything might happen. Not passing through, while safe, means you will never know what’s on the other side.

This is how we see learning for our children at Bangkok Patana School; liminal and not linear. We want to provide opportunities for the children to take risks, fail and learn from their mistakes. We won’t steal their struggle, but will be prepared to step back, watch, listen and know when to support where appropriate and when to stretch when right. This enables our children to have the time to work things out through collaboration, communication and belief in themselves.

These are the characteristics that make learning effective and form the curriculum in the Foundation Stage where child initiated play dominates the learning, resulting in high levels of independence , autonomy and critical thinking.

To be successful in achieving this we try and make every day at Bangkok Patana school the best day ever, for the children in our care. We want them to come to school excited and ready to learn and not want to leave. Our teaching has the potential to remain in a child’s life forever – words given by teachers have the potential to be remembered, either positively or negatively , for a lifetime – so we must get it right and think carefully about what we say and how we create a protected, safe and secure environment that motivates , engages and ensures our children are balanced and fulfilled.

So may I finish by suggesting , as Wilferd Peterson famously said, let’s begin with the end in mind and “walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground” and live a magical life that begins at Bangkok Patana School.

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Calling All Writers, Artists and Photographers!

Yizhen (Tina) Kong​, ​11T

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ORE magazine is a literary and art magazine for students by students. It is an open platform for students to showcase their talents in the form of prose, art and photography.

Last week, we successfully hosted a launch event to kickstart this year’s magazine. Its purpose was to reveal the theme of this year’s edition of CORE as well as raise the profile of CORE magazine to the younger year groups within secondary. A theme-related activity included pinning a world map of important places such as where you are from, the best place you have been to, and your dream destinations. In addition to this, there is an ongoing Collaborative Poetry project where students are encouraged to participate in writing one sentence related to this year’s theme. We will combine everyone’s input to create one poem which will be included in this year’s magazine. If you would like to contribute to this project, please fill in this form with your response.

This year, the theme is Wanderlust, and it is the desire to travel and explore the world. With this broad topic, we hope to gain submissions from all across secondary school. Parallel to this is half-term break, which is now within our sights, offering great opportunities to take a break from studying, and to explore different parts of the world. Therefore, on behalf of the CORE Team, I strongly urge all of you to share your travel journeys with us, and ultimately with the whole Patana family.

Submissions are now open. Please submit to: coremagazine@patana.ac.th Please submit your work with either your name or as anonymous in the format that you would like it to be published in the magazine. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the above email.

Year 7 Bake Sale FRIDAY 18TH OCTOBER 9.45 AM - 10.05 AM IN THE PRIMARY SNACK BAR 12.15 PM - 1 PM IN THE SECONDARY LOUNGE ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE TURTLE RESTORATION CENTRE IN RAYONG AS PART OF OUR RESIDENTIAL TRIP.

PLEASE COME BUY OUR DELICIOUS GOODIES!

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Year 7 Science Challenge Winner

Joel Lodge, Key Stage 3 Curriculum Leader, Science; Science and Biology Teacher t was my pleasure to present the prize for the Year 7 Challenge to Lucille Pedeboscq (7B), for her outstanding answer to the questions posed in the Particles Unit Challenge. I hope to share more of these challenge activities with Year 7 and Year 8 students throughout the year, challenging students to apply their knowledge to the important current climate issues we face now and in the future. Her answers are below, congratulations to Lucille and keep up the good work, I hope you enjoy exploring the questions and answers in the book “What if?”.

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1) What happens when you heat the flask and why?

During this activity, I saw the liquid rise in the tube when our teacher started heating it with a blow-dryer. This reminded me of how a thermometer works, the higher the temperature the higher the liquid will rise. This happens when a solid or liquid is heated, therefore they are given more energy giving them the ability to move around and bump into each other.

The substance expands and takes up more space and volume. There is a common mistake that people make because they believe that the atoms are growing whereas in reality they are given the energy to be able to move and push other particles around. When this substance cools, it does the opposite process. The energy leaves the atoms therefore, they can’t move as much. The substance contracts.

2) How does this link to climate change?

This links to climate change because as our global temperatures continue to rise (similarly to hairdryer heating the substance), our sea levels are rising due to thermal expansion of the oceans’ water. This means that as our oceans start heating up, their volume also begins to increase (as I explained in the first question). There is another root cause of sea level rise: the melting of the earth’s ice caps. However, this physical phenomenon is different from what we observed in the experiment. Did you know that by 2030, 40% of Bangkok will be submerged?

Bangkok International Choral Festival

Laura MacRitchie, Curriculum Leader Music n Friday 4th and Saturday 5th October, 76 Bangkok Patana Students traveled to ISB for the Bangkok International Choral Festival. Dinah Helgeson and John Baker were the guest conductors. As part of the preparations, Ms Helgeson worked with the Senior Choir on Tuesday and Mr Baker worked with the Key Stage 3 singers on Thursday at Bangkok Patana school. The festival culminated with a Gala concert on Saturday. There were over 400 students from 15 schools across Thailand and South-East Asia in attendance. The students had a wonderful time collaborating and making new friendships through song.

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Gymnastics Team Challenge and Sleepover Builds Friendships Will Preston, Cross Campus Head Gymnastics Coach

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he Gymnastics Hall was filled with the sounds of fun and laughter as the much-awaited Gymnastics Sleepover took place for the Boys’ Senior Team on Friday 27th September and for the Girls’ Senior Team on Friday 4th October.

At the start of each year, the Gymnastics Academy hosts an annual Team Challenge and Sleepover for both the Secondary boys and Secondary girls in the Gymnastics team. Students take part in a team challenge, followed by a buffet dinner and a movie with popcorn in the Theatre. To end the night, the gymnasts return to the Gymnastics Hall to sleep there the entire night finding any place to sleep, whether it is in the foam pit, under the beams or creating their own house out of mats and foam blocks.

At the start of a new season of sports, the students might only know a few of their team members so this is a great opportunity to get to know each other better. This also gives team members who would normally not work together an opportunity to collaborate to achieve a specific goal and have some fun together. Taking a team out of their regular training routine and environment and giving them the opportunity to communicate in different ways truly increases their connection.

The friendships built within a team can last a lifetime and we hope in many years to come the gymnasts can all fondly look back and cherish the fun memories and moments they had while sleeping over in the Gymnastics Hall with their teammates.

Winning teams are always those teams that work well together!

GO TIGERS!

Tiny Tigers Playgroup Openings Do you think your toddler, aged one year or older, might like to come along to our playgroup a couple of times a week? Our very popular Tiny Tigers playgroup may have some vacancies coming up soon.

If you would like to know more, please contact Mrs Geet Harris in the Admissions office at admissions@patana.ac.th or 02785 2206.

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Year 13 Students Study Freedom of Expression in French Céline Courenq, Head of Faculty World Languages

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ast week, Year 13 French B students studied the delicate subject of terrorism as part of their IB course. The question used during the lesson was “to what extend is freedom of expression a right?”

their thoughts and perceptions and then each group rotated to peer assess and fine tune each other’s work ending in high quality final drafts.”

They watched a video explaining what happened during the Charlie Hebdo attacks and had to summarise it.

They also worked in groups to decide on which vocabulary and structures were the most appropriate to use to express their own opinion of such events; their own “success criteria”. These were then shared and used by all.

They had the choice to describe one of the drawings published around the world after the attack or to write their own tweet.

Our Head of School, Matt Mills observed part of the lesson and said, “This was a challenging, thought-provoking Year 13 French lesson which was driven by a current affairs theme. Students had to work in groups to articulate Toutes les personnes ont droit à la liberté d’expression et c’est important qu’un pays ait une fraternité, notamment après une attaque. Je ne crois pas que le terrorisme soit acceptable. Si je pouvais,je voudrais arrêter ces attaques. Je pense que les gens ont besoin d’une meilleure éducation pour savoir ce qui est BIEN ou MAL ! La violence n’est pas une religion. #JeSuisCharlie

“A terrific, upbeat and meaningful lesson” Matt Mills

Cette image est une blague sur l’attaque de Charlie Hebdo. Dans la photo, il y a un homme qui est un terroriste et qui cherche Charlie dans le livre ‘Où est Charlie ?’. On sait qu’il est un terroriste parce qu’il porte des armes et un masque noir. C’est drôle parce que Charlie n’existe pas et c’est un groupe de dessinateurs. Le livre ‘Où est Charlie ?’ est l'équivalent français de ‘Where’s Waldo?’ Le texte signifie que les idées de Charlie Hebdo ne sont pas mortes, et les terroristes ne peuvent pas arrêter leurs idées. Par Patrick

Dans cette image, il y a quatre stylo à gauche et deux armes sur la droite. L’image montre une guerre asymétrique. L'image montre que même s'il y a quatre stylos et deux armes, c'est injuste à cause des dégâts et des dommages causés par les armes à feu sont plus importants que les stylos. Les noms des journalistes tués dans l'attaque de Charlie Hebdo à Paris en 2015 sont inscrits sur les stylos et le symbole islamique sur les armes parce que l'attaque été perpétrée par des musulmans. Par Humayraah

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Country Spotlight for International Day T

his year the PTG is introducing the Country Spotlight to broaden the learning opportunities of International Day. Students will be introduced to activities related to a specific country or culture. Participating countries will have a stall next to the Primary Snack Bar or in the Secondary Lounge for students to visit during their lunch period.

Come join and learn something new about another culture.

Remember, International Day is Friday 1st November!

15TH OCTOBER Germany - Primary Snack Bar - Celebrate the 30-year fall of the Berlin Wall.

India - Primary Snack Bar - Make your own diya to keep. A diya is an oil lamp, made of clay, used across India to mark festivals, religious rituals and special occasions. The light of the diya symbolises knowledge, goodness and purity in Indian culture.

Singapore – Secondary Lounge - Come play Singaporean traditional games Kuti Kuti, Fives Stones and Capteh and make a pop-up of the Singapore skyline.

16TH OCTOBER China – Primary Snack Bar - Kindness, Luck and Fun. Learn about these themes by making fan shaped bookmarks, good luck knot charms and by playing a Chinese shuttle kicking game.

Argentina – Secondary Lounge - Learn about Argentina’s traditions, places and history.

Germany – Secondary Lounge – Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Did you know that there are lots of reusable items for sale in the PTG Tiger Shop?

Stainless Steel Drinking Straws – individual and in packs Bamboo Drinking Straws Bamboo Cotton Buds Bamboo Toothbrushes Cotton Produce Bags (sets of 3) Stainless Steel Klean Kanteen Insulated Drinks Tumblers Stainless Steel Klean Kanteen Water Bottles

Get your environmentally friendly products now!

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Country Spotlight for International Day O

ver the last three weeks the PTG have set up tables in the Primary Snack Bar, Back Hard Court and the Secondary Lounge giving students a chance to learn more about different countries. Parents from South Africa, Mongolia, Thailand, Singapore, United States, Italy, Argentina, Taiwan and and India gave demonstrations, teaching students how to play traditional games, make beaded jewelry, write their names in traditional script and much more.

The activiites have served to inspire students for International Day on 1st November.

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Junior Varsity Boys’ Volleyball Qualifies for the Cup Nicolas Bocan, 11G he Junior Varsity Boys’ Volleyball team had the final league match against NIST, which decided if we were going to enter the Plate or the Cup. We had a good warm-up before the game and started it with some rallying over the net and we then moved on to practice some spikes. When NIST arrived and started to warm up, Mr. Blundell went over the starting teams for each set and what to focus on during the match.

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The match started well with Bangkok Patana getting the first receive and winning the point. Baxter did well with consistent serves, which gave us a big lead. We won the first set with a score of 25-13 to BPS. In the second set, we started with a good lead; Kieran and Tharit won most of the points with excellent serves. Sadly, we had lost the set 23-25, but the team still did very well with managing to keep three touches before getting the ball over the net. The highlight of the set was Kieran’s amazing save, keeping the ball in play by saving it from touching the ground when it got blocked.

In the third set, we had exceptional sets from Kai followed up with spikes from Adi and Baxter. The team did very well with not letting NIST get free balls which won us the set and the match. Something I would like the team to improve upon to help better our performance would be the

amount of blocking and giving the setter a smooth ball to set. Overall, the JV Boys’ Volleyball team did very well, and I am sure everyone is proud of each other's performances as we made the Cup this year which will be hosted at Bangkok Patana on Sunday 3rd November 2019.

Youth Ice Hockey Champions

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ongratulations to Bangkok Patana’s very own Angel Li Yun Lin and her brother Nicholas for their successes in the Thailand Ice Hockey Championships held at Sub Zero Ice Hockey Club.

Angel took home the Best Player Award for her role in leading her team, the CanStar Rangers to the Under 12 Championship against Chiang Mai 3 – 1. Nicholas played on the Under 9 winning team to beat the Ice Breakers 5 – 1 to win the Under 9 Championship

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Medal Winning Results at BISAC Tennis

Daniel Ahl, Cross Campus Head Tennis Coach ast Saturday saw 23 Bangkok Patana students compete in the BISAC U13 tennis singles events. The boys’ events took place at Bangkok Patana with the girls travelling across the city to Harrow International School.

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With 74 boys entered the event was split into three categories A, B and C based on rankings whilst the 47 girls into just an A and a B draw.

The boys’ events were all very competitive and saw impressive performances across the board with all Bangkok Patana students performing well and many winning multiple matches within their draw.

Medal winning performance came from Penn Charusorn who was the overall champion, Akkharat (Andrew) Watchananaran who was 3rd in a draw, Ratchapol (Tuna) Thebpatipat who was 3rd in the B draw and Lucas Collin 3rd in the C draw.

In the girls’ event the A draw, which was played in the morning, managed to finish. However, the B draw was sadly abandoned due to the rain and thunder with many of the players still in contention. The A draw did though see team captain Manintorn (Pin) Manavutiveth finish 3rd and win the bronze medal.

Varsity Girls’ Volleyball Brings Home the Silver B

angkok Patana Varsity Girls’ Volleyball team earned the silver medal at the BISAC tournament at Ruamrudee International School last weekend. Congratulations to the girls for all their hard work and effort!

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PTG Big Night Out Melissa Golden, PTG Chair he annual PTG Big Night Out is more than just a social occasion for Bangkok Patana parents and faculty to gather and have a fabulous time! It is an important opportunity to make connections with people away from school grounds and with people from different year groups and social circles. Not worrying about who has what IB predicted grade or which child was chosen or not for the football team. It is a chance to be momentarily distracted from what we usually talk about at school. This creates a relaxed and friendly environment which can strengthen the Patana family bond and build community spirit. This is one of the PTG main objectives.

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was invited to attend and, as with previous years, it was fantastic to see many new parents in the crowd as well as parents that have been good friends for a number of years. Everyone enjoyed the food, beverages and entertainment.

The Lucky Draw was an anticipated part of the evening with many wonderful prizes being given to the lucky winners. A massive thank you to our sponsors, most of whom are themselves very supportive Patana parents.

Thank you to Michela, our PTG Events Coordinator and our PTG Executive Committee members for organising Close to 350 Bangkok Patana parents and faculty and promoting such a memorable event. Well done. joined the PTG Committee on Friday evening at the House If you were not able to join this year we look forward to on Sathorn. The venue was picture perfect and luckily the welcoming you to the next PTG Big Night Out in October rain stayed away long enough for everyone to enjoy the 2020. I am sure it will be bigger and better than ever. outdoor courtyard. The entire Bangkok Patana community Check out more pics on Facebook here.

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Upcoming University Visits UNIVERSITY / COLLEGE New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) Claremont McKenna College Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Jagiellonian University Savannah College of Art and Design

COUNTRY

USA USA Ireland Poland USA

LOCATION

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor Senior Studies, 2nd Floor Senior Studies, 2nd Floor Senior Studies, 2nd Floor The St Regis, 189 Ratchadamri Road

DATE

TIME

16.10.19 17.10.19 1.11.19 4.11.19

9:15 12:15 12:15 9:15

10.11.19

14.00

TRANSPORT CORNER

Construction and Traffic Delays Impact Area: Phetchaburi Road, Soonvijai Road, RamkhaOver the next few weeks /months there are several areas on our school transport travel routes that are under construction. mhaeng Soi 24, 76 This will also affect those students who travel to school in pri- 4) Srinagarindra Road, Thepharak Road (Now - Unknown) vate transport. Listed below are some major areas that will Impact Area: MooBaan Laddawan, MooBaan Nantasee regular delays. wan - Srikarin 5) Ladprao Road (Now - Unknown) CONSTRUCTION AREAS 1) Chuea Phloeng Road (Now - 13th March 2021) TRAFFIC CONGESTION AREAS Impact Area: Rama 3, Rama 4, Wireless, Sukhumvit , 1) Saphan Taksin (Taksin Bridge), Ratchaphruek Road, KanlaPhetchaburi Road. paphruek Road 2) Tiwanon Road, Chaengwattana Road (Now - Unknown) 2) Motorway No.7, Srirat Expressway 3) Rama 9 Road, Ramkhamheang Road (Now - Unknown)

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UNI COUNSELORS’ CORNER

ALUMNI EXPERIENCES: Vikash Gandhi Grad 02

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ikash Gandhi attended Bangkok Patana for four years, graduating in 2002. He went on to attend Mahidol University where he earned a BBA in Finance, and MSc in E-Business from Aston University. He also obtained accreditation from the Gemological Institute of America. He joined the family business, Gandhi Enterprises Co., Ltd, established by his father and of which he is now the Managing Director. Gandhi Enterprises deals with gemstones and jewelry and opened offices in Hong Kong as well.

“My favourite memories of Bangkok Patana School are my friends, great teachers and the campus! After finishing my post-graduate courses I joined the family business in precious gemstones.

My time at Bangkok Patana developed me into a more confident and multi-culturally aware person. This I still use every day in my subconscious behaviour.

In ten year’s time I see myself continuing my family business. I will also travel and enjoy the world - which I do now also and I love it!” said Vikash

IN THE SPOTLIGHT...

McGill University, Canada

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cGill University is the oldest university in Canada and one of only three English language universities in Quebec. The school is ranked 42nd in the Times World University rankings and 43rd in the US News and World Report Best Global Universities. Established in 1813, it offered the first faculty of Medicine in the country. The main campus is in downtown Montreal and offers degrees and diplomas in over 300 fields of study.

McGill is the most internationally diverse medical-doctoral university in Canada, over 24 percent of the roughly 40,000 students come from over 150 countries. Notable events at the school include the invention of Plexiglass, the discovery that atoms can be divided and the first map of the brain’s motor cortex. Controversially, the school also claims to be the birthplace of American football and ice hockey.

Famous alumni include Captain Kirk (actor William Shatner), musicians Leonard Cohen, Burt Bacharach and Rufus Wainright, current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (and two previous Prime Ministers), Full Frontal TV show host Samantha Bee, nine Olympic gold medallists, three astronauts, 12 Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine, Chemistry and Economics and Physics, six Academy Award winners, and four Pulitzer Prize winners.

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Desert Island Discs With Celine Courenq

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his column follows in the style of the famed BBC podcast which features a celebrity every week – here we feature our own Bangkok Patana celebrities! What eight songs, one luxury item and one book would you take with you if you were stuck on a desert island?

Today Ms Celine Courenq, Head of World Languages Faculty, is stuck on a desert island.

MS COURENQ, IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Where is my mind - The Pixies I am a creep - Radiohead Teardrop - Massive Attack Come as you are - Nirvana Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven George Bizet - Carmen Baby Shark – my son’s favourite song!

Listen to Ms Courenq’s playlist here

Clandestino – Manu Chao PICK ONE LUXURY ITEM YOU WOULD WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU. THIS ITEM MUST BE INANIMATE AND OF NO USE IN ESCAPING THE ISLAND OR ALLOWING COMMUNICATION FROM OUTSIDE. Wolfram Cabinet WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? The Great Swindle (Au Revoir la Haut) by Pierre Lemaitre Find out more on BBC. Have a list of your own? Let us know! Contact SHKN with your favourites

Sunday 13th October King Rama IX Memorial Day

DATES

for your

Monday 14th October King Rama IX Memorial Day in Lieu Monday 21st October - Half-term Holidays Begin Friday 1st November - International Day

Friday 8th November - Patana Plugged Diary... Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st November - Primary Musical - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

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STUDENTS SPEAK

Why Does Food Taste Different on Airplanes?

Karnsiree (Ling Ling) Chen, 13I

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ou may have experienced this if you’ve ever brought a pastry from your favourite bakery or snacks from home which just doesn’t taste as great when you’re 10,000 feet high. No, this is not the result of a mistake in the recipe, or unpalatable airplane food, it turns out you really do taste food differently on an airplane. Taste buds and a sense of smell are one of the first things to be affected by high altitudes, and as flavour is a combination of both, you can see why this particular sense might suffer.

The key reasons found uniquely on airplanes is the combination of a lack of humiditiy, low air pressure and background noise. When you step on an airplane, your sense of smell is rapidly affected by the atmosphere inside the cabin. As the plane gets higher, the air pressure drops while humidity levels in the cabin plummet. At about 30,000 feet (the standard altitude for commercial flights), humidity is less than 12 percent – drier than most deserts. This has a profound impact on your tastebuds, reducing their sensitivity to sweet and salty foods by approximately 30%. Interestingly, studies have found that while our sensitivity to sweet and salty flavours suffer, sour, bitter and spicy flavours are almost unaffected.

However, taste buds are but a small fraction of how we percieve taste. In fact, 80% of what we think is taste is actually smell. Our sense of smell relies on evaporating nasal mucus, but the lack of humidity on an airplane renders this standard function almost immobile. Our odour receptors do not work properly, making food taste twice as bland. Airlines have tried to solve this problem by salting and spicing at levels which would be terrible to taste at a restaurant on the ground.

Apart from this, the job of airlines chefs is made even more difficult by the loud humming of the engines whilst the passengers eat their food. A little known fact is that flavour is not influenced by just your nose and mouth, but also your ears too. A study found that people eating to the sound of loud background noise rated food as being less salty and less sweet than those who ate in silence. Another twist: to those surrounded by noise, food surprisingly appeared to sound much crunchier. A plane’s loud background noise of around 85db tends to affect particular seasonings more than others, like cardamom, lemon grass and curry taste more intense in the sky than salt or sugar.

To solve this problem, chefs have decided to target umami, “the 5th taste”, which scientists have found to be enhanced by background noise. Through the implementation of savoury flavours from sardines, seaweed, mushrooms and tomatoes, chef Heston Blumenthal has created a menu for British Airlines which is said to taste remarkable even on the airplane. British Airlines has even gone so far to introduce soundtracks specially curated for the dishes served, in an attempt to make it more palatable by appealing to the passenger’s sense of sound as well.

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Lunar Cycle Farming Yunnan Dumnernchanvanich, 12C

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arming by the moon cycle is a form of farming which relies on the lunar cycle to determine the season, dates and times throughout the year to plant and harvest crops. This is a traditional method that has been used for centuries in various parts of the world, particularly in China. By following the lunar cycle, farmers can achieve maximum yield and less impact.

How does the lunar cycle work?

Lunar Cycle Farming relies on the gravitational forces from the Moon to the Earth. Throughout the cycle, this force changes depending on the movement of the Moon around the Earth, leading to various outcomes and plant behaviour, for instance: Plants absorb more water during full moons and new moons.

Plants absorb oxygen during a new moon.

During full moon and new moon, the gravitational pull from the moon is the greatest.

This causes water molecules to travel up to the surface of the soil, resulting in greater water content. Consequently, more plants can absorb water in this period, which leads to greater growth. This phenomenon is particularly useful for seed germination and growth, where water supply is vital. On the other hand, plants absorb more oxygen during new moon due to barometric pressure changes. In this case, with a greater supply of oxygen, plants’ metabolic rates increase; therefore, an increase in growth rate.

Ultimately, the benefit gained mainly revolves around the growth of plants. By following the Lunar Cycle, farmers can achieve optimal farming periods and the greatest yield possible.

Read more on Scientia

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#133: If You Want to Change Minds Brian Taylor, Cross Campus Assistant Principal

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ne of my gurus in life is the American Seth Godin. He has written many books addressing various aspects of marketing, advertising, entrepreneurship and leadership. He has a daily blog - I highly recommend you subscribe - he recently wrote about changing minds. This really resonated with me, particularly the first and fourth lines.

What do you think?

If you want to change minds…

If you want to change the mind of a scientist, do more science. Do better science. Get your hands on the data set and prove your assertions.

If you want to change the mind of a bureaucrat, bring more power.

If you want to change the minds of the nerds, build something that’s new.

If you want to change the mind of a teenager, amplify the other teenagers.

If you want to change the mind of the audience, put more emotion into your story.

If you want to change the mind of a believer, bring in the perceived authorities.

If you want to change the mind of a banker, eliminate risk.

If you want to change the mind of an engineer, build a prototype.

If you want to change the mind of a hustler, show the money.

If you want to change the mind of a sports fan, win the game.

Other people don’t believe what you believe, and they don’t see what you see.

Have a great long weekend changing your mind.

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

Image courtesy of Brian Bloom at this site.

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A Patana practice is available for T-Ball (FS2-Y1) and A Ball (Y2-Y3) every Thursday from 4:30-6:00pm, starting 14 November Contact Joe at ptgusa@patana.ac.th

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COMMUNITY

Neilson Hays Library Autumn Book Sale Saturday 2nd November Sunday 3rd November 9.30 - 4 pm Library Courtyard

There is a number of beautiful books already donated for the sale, including; recent issue thriller books, a large number of Thai language titles and a range of new and read children books. Additionally, there are a number of bound copies of the boxing magazine 'The Ring' from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Donate Your Books!

Books can be donated into the Library from Tuesday - Sunday from 9.30 am to 5 pm. Any book donations would be gratefully received. Please contact the library on 02 233 1731 or info@neilsonhayslibrary.org for more information.

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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 Tai, Bangna, Bangkok 10260 THAILAND Tel: +66 (0) 2785 2200 Fax: +66 (0) 2785 2399 www.patana.ac.th Email: reception@patana.ac.th 26

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