Patana
NEWS
A Flourishing Community
Pg. 2
Animal Farm / Figure Skaters Take on the Competition / Young Authors Bangkok Patana is an IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC
Another extremely busy and exciting academic year draws to a close. I can’t believe I have completed eight years as Head of School. When I look back over the years and see how the school has developed and matured — with our focus on learning impact being at the forefront of everything we do— I can confidently say that the school is flourishing. Walking around our stunning campus over the past couple of weeks, I have observed students diligently preparing for very important scholastic examinations, proudly performing in drama and music productions both in Secondary and Primary, dancing their hearts out at the annual Dance Extravaganza and receiving their welldeserved Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award certificates. All fine examples of our Bangkok Patana students going over and beyond as they move even closer to reaching their full potential. I was talking to some parents from another international school attending the wonderful FOBISIA Primary Games and they couldn’t stop raving about our amazing facilities at Bangkok Patana; but with even more importance, they commented favourably about the general feel in our school as they walked over to get noodles at our Noodle Bar. One mum said “Your students all seem genuinely happy and excited to be at school!” All I could say in reply to her was: “Welcome to Patana!” with a slightly gloating face. Suffice to say, I’m always honoured to receive such affirming feedback about our school and school culture.
I am thrilled that we have updated our school’s Guiding Statements this year, which drive everything that we do. Our new school vision statement is cutting edge while being attainable for every student. Our new vision states:
It was such a privilege to be up on stage in the Rosamund Stuetzel Theatre on Saturday 4th June, shaking
hands with all 124 Class of 2016 graduating students. So many of them are moving on to a tertiary institution of their first choice, another fine example of Bangkok Patana students flourishing! We are very pleased with our academic results over the years and have a high expectation that our exam results will be stronger than ever this academic year. Over the past 11 months I have observed: confident, polite students who are at ease in wanting to question to improve understanding; strong music and drama performances both solo and in groups; great displays of sportsmanship and high success rates in sporting competitions both at home and away, amazing visual art shows that are unique and thought provoking, a huge array of ECAs on offer that are geared for high student motivation; strong debating skills at the MUN conferences, increasing numbers of students attaining their Duke of Edinburgh's’ International Award encapsulating outdoor education; and numerous other examples of successful student-led service projects. All of these student successes are beautifully showcased in the 2016 Yearbook, which is being published as I write this account. Many thanks to our editors, Cheryl Rego and Rebecca Meadows, who have spent hours putting together this year’s compilation. Our resident photographers, Khun Rooth and Khun Pook, have done a splendid job taking thousands of photos of our students in action over the past year.
I would like to thank each and every teacher and staff member for their professional dedication in helping guide our students to reach their full potential. I have been extremely pleased with the quality of teacher instruction that I have observed during the academic year supporting our learners. As usual, being an international school, we have a number of students and families leaving us this year and we want to wish all of them the very best for their future wherever they are moving to around the globe. Please stay in contact with us as we are keen to stay in touch and welcome you to our worldwide Alumni group – please take a moment to register on www.patana.ac.th/alumni to receive the latest news and reunion invitations. We have a number of teachers leaving us this year as we do every year and we want to wish them all the very best as they move on to new positions around the world. On behalf of Clare Sharp, James Penstone, Mick Smith and myself, we would like to wish all of our Bangkok Patana community a wonderful, safe summer holiday and we look forward to welcoming you all back to school on Wednesday August 17th. Enjoy your last weekend before the summer holiday!
The Yearbook will be distributed on the last day of term. If your child will not be in school on Friday 24th June, please email publish@patana.ac.th and the Marketing Team will save you a copy.
M
any months ago in November, a challenging writing experience was undertaken by a number of children in Key Stage 2; NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The students set themselves realistic, yet challenging individual word-count goals and for 30 days imaginations took over and exciting novels were created. All who took part should be applauded for their incredible perseverance throughout the writing process, showing great determination as they wrote, edited and designed their novels. When asked about their experiences of becoming published novelists the responses were interesting and varied. Here are just a few:
Zheng, 3K “It was an amazing opportunity for me to express myself in my writing. It’s a dream come true; ever since I was young I wanted to be an author.” Trinity, 4P
Sammy, 6C
Zoe, 5W “This was my third NaNoWriMo novel and it was great to see the improvements I have made between each one.” Amanda, 5W Now there’s an exciting opportunity for parents, teachers and students as many of the young authors have kindly donated a copy of their book to the Library. Please take the opportunity to browse these exciting new stories in the Key Stage 2 Library which will undoubtedly take you on wonderful new reading adventures.
W
e would like to congratulate two of our younger students who competed in the Bangkok Figure Skating Classic 2016 competition at Rink Arena in May. Vanista (Venice) Charoonsmith and Tritania (Yaya) Jantarach from Year 1 are Pre-Alpha Level skaters and competed in two programmes including ‘Technical Ice Skating Program’ (individual) and ‘Creative Ice Skating Program’ (as a pair). Despite missing out on a podium finish this time, Venice and Yaya put in wonderful performances and we are sure it won’t be long before they are filling their trophy cabinets. From all of us at Bangkok Patana, well done girls, we look forward to hearing about your future competitions! Thank you to Janista Charoonsmith, Siriwan Tangcharoenchaichana and Ms Lorraine for the information.
It is guaranteed to be a morning of wonderful performances and entertainment. All proceeds will be donated to various children’s charities. Please come along and support our students by dropping a few coins or notes into their collection boxes. We look forward to sharing this amazing event with you from 10:10 - 11:10 next Tuesday 21st June on the Primary walkways and hardcourt!
I
n March, a number of Key Stage 2 students entered the very exciting FOBISIA Short Story Competition. It was a fantastic but challenging write on the theme of ‘flight’. Using only 600 words, the students interpreted the theme in a variety of creative ways: some students chose to write about literal flights, whilst some took the theme along a more metaphorical route. We could only select one entry from Primary to be sent through to the judges at The British International School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We held our own internal judging first, sending our stories to teachers in the Secondary English Faculty who were incredibly impressed with all the Primary writers and after much deliberating they selected a wonderful story about the flight of a war bird, an incredibly emotional journey with a gripping story line. Last month we received the results. There were over 60 entries into the competition and Bangkok Patana was one in only three schools to receive a Highly Commended position—a huge achievement for Phawat (Pat) Sirikrai in 6W, well done! Please take time to read all the winning and highly commended entries found on the FOBISIA website by clicking here.
This week saw the final drama production of the year take place as Year 10 and Year 12 students performed in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. A “fairy story” in the style of Aesop’s Fables, Orwell uses animals on a farm to tell the story of Soviet communism. The talented cast use a mixture of theatre styles to bring this well-loved story to life for an appreciative audience over two nights. Congratulations to everyone involved!
T
hroughout the history of mankind, we have been creating beautiful pieces of work that have changed people’s views and beliefs. However, to what extent can art change the world, and what impact does it have on various groups of people? Over the past several weeks, the Year 8’s have been creating large life-size pieces of art with one goal in mind; to clearly convey the message of child rights and the importance of a good education. In particular, the students have taken ideas and the specific style of Keith Haring, a famous graffiti artist from the 1980’s, who was remembered for sharing the problems that the modern world faced. With this in mind, they set out to create beautiful artwork with a direct and very important message. Child rights are very important to the Bangkok Patana community, especially as we are an international school. This means there are many different types of people from a variety of backgrounds and beliefs, and it is crucial that we equally respect all of them. To show our views and the rights of children, we have created large, life-sized cut-outs that depict important messages linking to child and humanitarian rights. On one side of our cut-out, there are pictures portraying scenes of homelessness and poverty, as well as misuse of drugs and alcohol. This side of the sculpture represents the countless amount of people in the world who have been trapped in homelessness and desperately need help. On the other side however, there are pictures of a good education and the ability to have fun and play sports. There is a hole in the middle of our sculpture, which shows people that it is still possible for people to get out of poverty and into a healthy life and a good education. All of these are meant to make the viewer think about the problems faced by the world and what they can do to stop this. They are also supposed to encourage other people to take action as well. The more people help, the faster this problem will be overcome. Since we want to get this message out to as many people as possible (mainly teachers and students, as they play a huge role in a child’s life), we have decided to hang these sculptures in the new Science Centre. This is a good place for our work to be displayed as people will look up and be inspired by what they can do to help. We hope people will view our art in a positive way and that they will not be offended.
W
e would like to say a huge thank you and a fond farewell to Jo Wellington who, as she leaves Bangkok Patana for The Netherlands at the end of this term, will be handing on the running of the monthly Mercy Centre visits to school. Jo has been on nearly every Mercy Centre visit since she started at Bangkok Patana nine years ago and took over running the events and CAT Club in her second year. We are very sad to see her go but wish her all the best in her new adventure. Her energy, enthusiasm and big heart will be greatly missed but she leaves the club in good hands with Thomas Brooks taking over. All Secondary students are welcome to join in the monthly fun so look out at the start of next term to see how you can get involved.
Due to changes in personal circumstances our Chairperson and Vice Chair have had to resign. Please email ptg@patana.ac.th if you would like to nominate yourself or anyone else.
You can get your school uniform for the 2016/17 academic year prior to the end of Term 3 or at the start of Term 1. Please note if you do purchase in advance you will not be able to return items in Term 1 due to the 7 day return/ refund policy.
The School Shop will be closed from 1st – 31st of July and will reopen on Monday 1st August.
The Post Office services within the school shop will close on Friday 24th June and resume from 1st September onwards. The Post Office is closed for July and August.
T
his week (13th—17th June) the Student Environmental Committee joined together with the School’s Food Services Department to create our first ever ‘Waste Less Week’. Our main aim has been to reduce the amount of waste used at our school as a shared step towards creating a more eco-friendly community/school. As part of Waste Less Week we have tested some ideas in both the Primary and Secondary Snack Bars and Canteens. Some of the changes we tried out have included: removing straws, changing some of the plastic packaging to paper packaging, replacing bleached napkins with non-bleached napkins and selling fruits using biodegradable plant-fiber-based trays. In addition to this, posters and electronic notices have been displayed around the school to help raise awareness. This follows assemblies led by the S.E.C. earlier this term to Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 and Year 10. So far the feedback has been very positive, and we hope to make a number of these changes permanent in the near future. Students were also encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottles (or cups) to school. A large number of students have committed to this small step successfully, both in the Primary and Secondary Schools. This matches feedback left in a recent survey directed to Years 7, 8, 9 and 10. In this survey, the vast majority of students said they are willing to bring reusable water bottles to school, as shown on the graph. Once we have established this more widely, we hope to make this a normal part of our school kit. When this happens, hopefully our community can agree to eliminate the use of disposable plastic bottles and paper cups. By Tavisha Khanna, 7W
Two of our valued and long serving members of Bangkok Patana School will soon be retiring. Khun Tosaporn Kiatbunlue our Sound and Lighting Supervisor started working at Bangkok Patana School on 3rd January 1990 and will retire on the 31st July 2016.
Khun Chaweewan (Jed) Kongmuang has worked in the Secondary Canteen since the 6th March 1995 and will retire on the 24th June 2016. Bangkok Patana School would like to thank Khun Tosaporn and Khun Jed for their service and contribution to our school and wish them a very enjoyable retirement.
#35: KeepVid and Virtual Reality Keepvid is a handy little website that allows you to paste in the url of a streaming video and it will then download a copy for you. Particularly useful if you want to add the video to a presentation and you don’t have a reliable internet connection to stream the video live. Another nice feature is that you can download the audio only video. Please remember to always seek permission and cite your sources in any presentation or article. The use of Virtual Reality Headsets has yet to penetrate into our everyday lives. Its potential is shown in this YouTube clip. Google Tilt Brush lets you paint in 3D space with virtual reality. Unleash your creativity with three-dimensional brush strokes, stars, light, and even fire. Your room is your canvas. Your palette is your imagination. The possibilities are endless. How will this impact education and the way we learn? The future is here…. Here’s to a wonderfully long and slow summer catching up with the important things in life. Brian Taylor, Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration
Dear Parents, Welcome to our new, termly ECA update here in Patana News. I’ll use this spot to let you know about any ECA information as well as dates for your diaries with regards to online registration etc. Our students have been very busy with ECAs over this past academic year. We have offered a wide variety of ECAs encompassing education and fun in an enjoyable programme. A big thank you for your kind support of the ECA programme, staff, students, external ECA providers and especially thank you to you, the parents. The four block system was a bit of a challenge but with your understanding, we managed to run through the whole process successfully together. One benefit of this is that your child has opportunities to enjoy more selection choices of ECAs throughout the year. For the academic year 2016/17, ECA Open House will be held on Wednesday 17 th August 2016 7:309:45am. Please join us for this event as you will have an opportunity to meet with all ECAs providers and staff. Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided.
Mon 15th– Thurs 18th August 2016 Wed 17th August 2016 Mon 22nd-26th August 2016 Mon 29th August
ECA Block 1 Sign up opens online ECA Open House Season 1 sport try outs ECA Block 1 and season sports start
If you have any questions with regard to the ECA registration or ECA activities, please do not hesitate to contact the Sports and Activities Office on Ext 2231 or email suss@patana.ac.th Again, thank you very much for your support. We look forward to welcoming you to the Open House day and please do not forget to sign up for ECAs online. Enjoy your summer break. Suleewan (Suly) Sinsanyanukul, ECA and Sports Coordinator
There will be a meeting for all parents interested in the Mandarin Home Language ECA programme in both Primary and Secondary (Key Stage 3) Schools on Tuesday 21st June at 12:15 in Library 207 (upstairs in the Secondary Library). These ECAs are run to enable children who speak Mandarin at home to maintain and develop proficiency in their native language. The meeting is for both new and existing families, and will look at the variety of courses available and discuss ways in which you can help your child develop their language at home. For further information email jepe@patana.ac.th I look forward to meeting you on Tuesday. Jen Peppard, Head of World Languages
If your child will not be in school for any day next week please remember to cancel their bus to and from school. If you would like your child to join the Transport Service or would like to make any changes to your child’s current transport arrangements for 2016/17, please contact th transport@patana.ac.th by Friday 24 June. Did you know that school transport fees have not increased for 2016/17? Did you know that whilst the school has no students here the Transport staff will be in school getting everything ready for the new school year. Some of the tasks they will be doing include; Ensuring all school buses are checked by an independent garage Arranging for all bus drivers and bus monitors to have a medical check Providing a training day for all bus drivers and bus monitors Preparing contracts with all bus owners Recruiting new bus drivers and bus monitors for 2016/17 Routing almost 200 buses to accommodate 1200 + students will be organised Bus drivers and bus monitors will have the opportunity to select their route for the new school year Preparing letters to all transport users and the new Transport Guideline booklet as well to be ready to be delivered to all families. Organising the trial run that is scheduled for 11th August where all drivers along with the bus monitor will drive their morning route to ensure they know where they are going on the first day of school. Processing all new enrolments and adjusting buses to suit the combination of students wanting transport. And many more tasks……… Did you know that the Transport Office will have a ‘new look’ for 2016/17? Staff will temporarily move office after school closes and will be back in their new office area for the start of the new school year. I am sure you will like the new office where you will be able to walk in to the office to chat with our wonderful Transport staff. For all transport queries and requests please email transport@patana.ac.th or call 02 785 2470
There has been no increase in the school set lunch programme fees, or for noodles, smoothies and canteen buffet lunch for 2016/17. The daily 2016/17 fees are as follows: Secondary Canteen Buffet Primary Canteen Buffet Noodles from Chopsticks Smoothie Snack Bars
90 THB 70 THB 50 THB 60 THB 10 + THB
Termly Set Lunch fees (THB): Set Lunch Programme
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
K2 – Year 2
4,800
3,500
2,500
Year 3 – Year 6
5,600
4,100
2,900
Year 7- Year 13
7,100
5,300
3,800
If you would like to sign up to the set lunch programme for 2016/17 please email rabr@patana.ac.th by Friday 24th June.
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