Patana
NEWS
Who Owns the Learning? P. 4 Bangkok Patana is an IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC
Letter from the Primary Assistant Principal, Learning and Curriculum For many of us, as we think back to our schooling we easily recall many instances of teachers telling us what to do. School was a place where we went to watch teachers work; a place where the adults controlled everything and determined what we would learn and how we would learn it. Education was something that was done to us, rather than with us. The schooling experience for our children is not the same as the experiences we remember. While the school day and year may look very similar, what happens within those days and years is very different. Students now play a bigger role in their learning and take more ownership over what they are learning and how they are going to learn it. Why? Simply because this is what helps to take student learning beyond the surface level and into deep, longer lasting, and more meaningful learning. One of the ways we honour the student ownership of the learning
in the Primary School is through the 3-Way Conferences. This format for sharing the learning puts the student in the driver’s seat and enables them to share and discuss their learning at a level that goes beyond simply explaining what they have done. This opportunity to reflect on the learning and verbalise these reflections is in itself a form of learning. Michael Absolum in his book, ‘Clarity in the Classroom’ (2006), puts it this way: “If the focus is to be kept on learning, and the ownership of the learning with the child, then the best person to talk about the learning is the learner… Not only is the student the best person to tell their parents what they have learnt, but if we believe that students build their knowledge by communicating what they know, then providing an opportunity for the students to tell their family what they know can significantly assist with that learning.”
On 4th and 5th November students in Years 2 to 6 will have the opportunity to talk about their learning with their parents and their teacher at the 3-Way Conferences. These conferences are a wonderful way for parents to see beyond test scores and report grades, and to gain an appreciation of their child as a learner. To see our students using evidence of their learning to explain where they currently are, what their next steps are, and what they plan to do to achieve these next steps, really does put the ownership of the learning in the hand of the students. As Stiggus and Chappuis (2012) point out, it is all ‘their’ (the student’s) learning: “When students self-assess regularly, track and share their progress, their confidence as learners grows. Their motivation to do well increases as does their achievement.” We are really looking forward to your children sharing and celebrating their learning in November.
By Helen Thew Assistant Principal Student Welfare As you may know, we have had counsellors from FCD visiting our school. We have held assemblies with FCD and students in Years 8, 11, 12 and 13 to give the students the opportunity to listen to the latest advice on abuse prevention and how to stay safe and healthy. Students have had the opportunity to ask questions that they might not ask their teachers nor their parents. The best feedback you can receive on the success of FCD is from the students themselves. Students from different Year groups write below about what their learnt from out FCD visitors: Year 8 Feedback: “Overall, I found the FCD assembly quite interesting. Before the assembly I didn’t know that drinking large quantities of alcohol could have such a big effect on a person’s life. I definitely know now that I will not drink any alcohol till I’m 25! I also found the fact that the man giving us the presentation had gone through some bad experiences himself affected me most in my attitude to drinking. In conclusion, I think that it was a very educational assembly, which will definitely help me, and hopefully others, to make the right choice when it comes to alcohol. Thank you.” Clara Brown (8F) “On Tuesday a member of the FCD group came to talk and answer questions about the use of drugs and alcohol. He talked about the effects of the use of alcohol such as being drunk. He talked about experiences and how it at times ruined his day and even his life, even the chance to have a family and stay with the one he loves. He also answered many questions and brought up interesting topics about how some parents allow their child to take alcohol but in small amounts for educational purposes. He also mentioned that getting
caught doing this without parents’ permission can have severe consequences, and how you should never lie about doing drugs or consuming alcohol as it will only get worse. He stated that starting to drink at a young age is not a good thing as alcohol has chemicals that taken at a young age can cause damage to the brain, so he mentioned as an overall basis to never ever take illegal drugs or alcohol at all; however he mentioned if you are going to start consuming alcohol to hold it off as long as possible.” James Broadhurst (8F) Year 9 Feedback: “As Year 9's, we gained a huge amount of perspective on different relevant subjects such as Addiction and Rehabilitation. Meeting repeatedly with the two representatives from FCD allowed us all to ask any questions that we had, and also to think about what healthy choices we can make in the future. We all found the FCD talks to be really insightful and valuable!” Vibhuti Vijay (9L) The FCD visit has opened my eyes to the outcomes and problems that addiction can cause. For the past week, we have learned about: addiction; the stereotypical look of drug addicts and alcoholics; we have learned about drugs and differences between e-cigarettes and normal cigarettes. We have learned the story behind people who were addicted and what they learned from it, and what they lost, from using drugs and/ or alcohol. By learning and gaining this information, it has opened my eyes to the destruction that drugs and alcohol cause. It has informed me about the state it leaves people in and affects those near them. This experience is one that will help me in future with choices and crossroads that I might or might not come
across.“ Rebecca Leiler (9G) Year 12 Feedback: “During Thursday morning’s tutorial, we were given a presentation by the visiting Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD) programme, which detailed firstly the speaker’s recollections and own experiences with substance abuse and how it affected him and shaped his life into what it is now, going into great depth his struggles with substances like marijuana and alcohol. Towards the end of the presentation, he took questions from us as the audience, and spoke openly and honestly with the sole aim to educate us. In educating us, he hoped that, rather than deter the use of any substance, we could be better equipped to deal with facing the challenges of substance abuse that we may encounter in social and personal life. One of his key points with this was the idea that it is much more important to wait until your brain has properly matured and developed to expose it to these chemicals that alter our mind’s chemistry, so that we are better equipped to make those decisions with reason and logic.” Kieran Harris, 12B Continued on page 4
The calendar for this academic year is available on the front of the school website or click here to view it.
By Helen Thew Assistant Principal Student Welfare Continued from previous page. Year 13 Feedback: “After years of visits from the Freedom from Chemical Dependency representatives, we were delighted and inspired by the conclusion Dave and Marley gave us this past Wednesday. Our perceptions of social life in university were completely reformed, their descriptions of collegiate experience seeming far more studious than we had previously anticipated. It is clear that Hollywood films and
television have imprinted an unrealistic expectation, one of a necessity to be involved with drugs and alcohol in order to be accepted by our peers. What gave many students comfort was the fact that universities are not, in fact, all about partying. We heard descriptions of the differences between acute, periodic and functional alcoholism, we were told about the various situations our presenters have been through, and we received details concerning how and
why chemical dependency is typically caused in people our age. Now, our awareness of the threats that drugs pose is far greater than ever before. We thank Dave and Marley for their honesty and humour, but only wish that we could have had more time to talk to them.� Sebastian John Walter Young, 13D and Ove Schoeppner, 13I
Upcoming University Visit University/College
Representative
Location
University of Southampton
Mr. Mohamed Torbati, 2nd Floor, Senior Studies Engineering Professor
Date / Time 15th Oct, 12.00pm
By Nick Goligher, Head of Learning and Welfare, Year 6 and 6G Class Teacher 6G took inspiration from the UK’s National Poetry Day on 8th October, to write some poems connected to their Science learning theme of 'Light'. They used a physical writing game to help develop their ideas, with everyone writing on a piece of paper an object or thing linked to light or flight. They then turned these pieces of paper into aeroplanes and threw them across the room! Classmates then had to write adjectives, verbs and other word types on the paper describing the object or thing. Once the planes had been thrown 10 times, the children then took back their original piece of paper and looked through what was written on them. These 'gifts' from friends them helped the children to develop their poems. Here are some
examples of the poems produced; they can all be viewed on the 6G Class blog. Clouds by Nicole A cloud is an artist, Dream big, Imagine, As it drifts into the midnight sky. A cloud is candy floss, Melting away, Imagine, As it drops from heaven. A cloud is an explorer, Sail by, Imagine, As it glides through the morning sky.
A Helicopter’s Life by Hugo A helicopter Loud as thunder it’s bound to be huge, Swiftly moving through daylight, Bright red like blood yet so smooth, Built like a sphere which shall not give Hear its roar when it’s about to soar Feel the rapid razor chopper in the air Feel it reaching towards the seas the ruins of our world A helicopter shall fight at broad daytime, One with power that fights the cloud but also the air Not only with strength but also with weakness Shall help if needed So bright but not just powerful
Sometimes I look up, Sail free, Imagine, As free as an artist, candy floss, an explorer, the cloud.
Congratulations to our BISAC Champions! Congratulations to our Varsity Girls' Football team on their victory in the BISAC tournament last weekend. They beat RIS in a thrilling penalty shootout. Well done to all the girls! Other BISAC results from last weekend are listed below: Varsity Boys' Volleyball - 4th Varsity Girls' Volleyball - 3rd
Varsity Boys' Football (bronze medal match vs Harrow to be played next week) Congratulations to all the players and a special thanks to the coaches, Mr Reid, Mr Osborne, Mr Thombs, Ms Bebbington, Ms Perriam, Ms Marshall, Coach To and Coach Jang. Also, thank you to all the supporters who came out to cheer on the teams.
Please note that the Primary and Secondary Libraries will be closed between 9.30am and 3.15pm on Thursday 15th October.
By CJ Wang, Taiwan Country Rep We will take part in the parade this year, if you are interested in having your kids join us, please contact CJ Wang at wang@taiyofastener.com. Your help is appreciated. Thank you very much.
Dear fellow Belgians, We would like to represent Belgium on International Day in the parade and Food Hall. For this purpose, we would like to ask you for a contribution of 350 THB / child. The money will be spent on typical Belgian food items and decorations. If you are able to contribute, then please send in an envelope with your contribution to the Cashier’s Office (in an envelope marked Team Belgium/ Petra Brouckmans). If you want to help out on the day or with making waffles, please contact Petra Brouckmans petrandrew@yahoo.co.uk.
… Please send an email to teamusa.bps@gmail.com to confirm your family’s participation. Donations are very much appreciated and can be left at the Cashiers at the front of school. Please include your children’s full names and class codes, together with the donation (suggestion: 300 baht per child), in a closed envelope marked Patana Cashier, TEAM USA. Please send any questions to teamusa.bps@gmail.com.
By Njah Khan, PTG To Parents, Staff and Students Below is a list of countries participating in the International Day Parade on Tuesday 10th November. If your country is not listed but would like to be in the parade, please contact njah.khan1@gmail.com immediately so we can organise a flag for your country.
Australia Austria Bangladesh Belgium Brazil Canada China Czech Republic
Denmark Finland France Germany Hong Kong India Indonesia Ireland
Italy Japan Korea Malaysia Mozambique Myanmar Netherlands New Zealand
Norway Philippines Poland Russia Singapore South Africa Spain Sri Lanka
Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand USA UK Vietnam
By Genevieve Ahl, Services Manager
The Primary and Secondary School Canteens serve approximately 1,800 people per day providing a buffet style menu option for our community. The buffet offers soup, a salad bar, Western, Asian and meat free options. The Primary canteen also serves noodles and sandwiches as options. The Chefs in both the Primary and Secondary canteens are always monitoring the popularity of the dishes provided and working with our Nutritionist to add new menu items. Since the start of term there have been a number of new dishes introduced in both Canteens. We hope that you have tried the new dishes and enjoyed them.
The new menu items that have been introduced so far this term have included Roasted Chicken Wings with Chilli Sauce Baked Pork Sriracha Piri Piri Chicken Upside Down Pizza Stewed Chicken Wings with Ginger Sauce Spicy Tuna Salad Asian Tofu Salad Brown Rice Salad Steamed Fish with Mixed Vegetables Sautéed Textured Vegetable Protein Sushi Pasta Salad Chicken with Salted Soya Bean Garlic Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
Chicken Oyakodon Spicy Potatoes After half term look out for the following dishes that will also be added to the menu: Green Curry Chicken Wings Chicken with Honey BBQ Mustard Sauce Greek Style Beef Pasta Spinach in Potato Crust Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccatta Tamarind Teriyaki Chicken Wing Taiwanese Chicken.
Click here for next week’s Canteen Menu
By Genevieve Ahl, Services Manager
Thank you to Secondary Students and Parents. We had another day this week where everyone turned up for their scheduled bus and all changes/cancellations were notified to Transport in advance. This meant that no buses were delayed in departing school for the journey home. We would like to have a full week of this, please help us to achieve this goal by remembering to always let Transport know of any changes to your afterschool plans that are different to your normal schedule.
Transport home for Year 11 stu- Don’t forget there is no school dents who are staying back for the for students on Friday 16th October Year 11 Parent Conference Evening and therefore no buses! Enjoy the on Wednesday 14th October lie in..! should be cancelled in advance if applicable.
THE ROAR Produced by the Athletics Council
Athlete of the week Sri Hollema Sri displayed true commitment and top performances last weekend st 1 at ISB Cross Country Played Varsity Volleyball @ ISB 1st place at BPS Fun Run Year: 11 Team: Varsity Cross country Varsity Volleyball Position: Cross country Captain Who is your sporting icon? Jessica Ennis What is your favourite sporting quote? “Don't dream of winning. Train for it!” Mo Farah Food that you'll never eat: Tomato ketchup Favourite after sports snack: Apples How long have you played your sport: A long time, but I have been training and racing more regularly in the last couple of years.
Upcoming Fixtures Monday 12thth October Football – Boys’ Varsity HOME Football – Varsity 2nd Team HOME Football – Boys’ JV HOME Football – Girls’ JV HOME Volleyball – Boys’ Varsity HOME Volleyball– Girls’ JV HOME Tuesday 13th October Tennis – Boys’ U13A HOME Tennis – Girls’ U13A HOME Wednesday 14th October Basketball – Boys’ U15B HOME Basketball – Girls’ U15B HOME Football – Boys’ JV HOME Volleyball – Girls’ Varsity HOME Volleyball – Boys’ JV Away Thursday 15st October Touch – Girls’ U15A Away Basketball – Boys’ U15A HOME Basketball – Girls’ U15A HOME Basketball – Boys’ U13A Away Basketball – Girls’ U13A Away Rugby Sevens – Boys’ U15A HOME Tennis – Boys’ U13A Away Tennis – Girls’ U13A Away Saturday 17th October
Alumni Sports Day @ BPS Results from last week!! Varsity Football Girls’ BISAC CHAMPIONS Varsity Volleyball Girls’ – BISAC 3rd Varsity Volleyball Boys’ – BISAC 4th Volleyball JV Boys vs. ISB – Won Basketball U15A Girls vs. SHB – Lost
www.facebook.com/bpssports
Varsity Boys’ Football are currently preparing for their 3rd – 4th playoff v HIS on Monday
Saturday 10th October 2015 Gymnastics
FOBISIA
Home | SPH
Tennis
Boys' U13A
vs BISAC Singles @ BPS
Home | Tennis Centre
Tennis
Girls' U13A
vs BISAC Singles @HIS
Away | Harrow International School (HIS)
Volleyball
Girls' Varsity
vs ICS Invitational
Away
Sunday 11th October 2015 Gymnastics
FOBISIA
Home | SPH
Cross Country
Varsity XC
vs BISAC @ ISB
Away
Golf
Varsity Golf
vs The American School of Bangkok
Neutral | Green Valley Country club Thailand
By Stuart Welham, Coach (Bangkok Soccer Schools) In a match dominated by both defenses, the Boys' Varsity 2nd Team were beaten 2-1 by Ekamai International School in what was a closely fought game. After going 2-0 down, the boys worked extremely hard to get back into the game, with Henry Zoeller, Sodai Lotharukpong and Gabriel Phillips really going that extra mile for the team.
Shivraj Pawa, a contender for Man of the Match, found the back of the net for BPS with a well taken finish and Mitsuyoshi Araki was again solid throughout. I know the boys are currently loving the matches and really looking forward to the next fixture at home against ISB.
Jumble Sale Helpers Needed! (see poster on facing page)
The weekly canteen menu is available here. Please check the calendar on the Parents’ Gateway, Student pages and Staff Centre for up-to-date information on school events. Visit www.patana.ac.th and click on the relevant icon to log in