Patana News Volume 19 Issue 15

Patana

NEWS Head of School’s Blog Page 2

New in at the Library / Global Learner Conference / International Day Bangkok Patana is an IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC

We are very sad to bid farewell to our Primary Principal Mrs Clare Sharp. Clare has been with us for six and a half years firstly as Assistant Principal and then taking over from David Knott as our Primary Principal. She is an outstanding instructional leader who has really pushed the Primary School to being a centre of excellence.

Clare was instrumental in developing positive learning strategies including intervention programmes to improve student writing across the Primary School. During her time at Bangkok Patana, Clare has directed primary choirs and supported major building changes including the Year 1 and 2 refurbishments. All of us here at Bangkok Patana School are going to really miss Mrs Sharp and we wish all the very best as she moves back to Yorkshire in the UK. Mr Jason Cooper starts in his new role as Primary Principal at the start of Term 2.

We have received very affirming feedback on the school’s decision to lengthen the school day for our Nursery, Foundation and Key Stage 1 students starting in August 2017. The main driver for this extension of the learning day is to be more aligned with best practice schools in the UK but also to allocate more time in the day so our young learners can investigate, read, question, play and socialise with their peers as they embark on their learning journeys. We are also planning to totally refurbish the existing Foundation Stage learning environ over the summer to make it a modern, bright and stimulating learning environment for our young learners.

I’m a big fan of musicals and ‘Joseph’ has to be right up there in my favourites department. What I particularly value is that this is one of those very rare musicals where there is no verbal character dialogue whatsoever so it is truly a start to finish musical. My family and I went to the opening night which surprisingly wasn’t a packed audience but those who attended were in for a huge treat. The orchestra pit was jam packed with talented staff and student musicians which included French horn, oboe and timpani. The music was very strong and Josh Martin did himself proud with a very strong Joseph performance as did the three narrators who kept the musical journey on a lucid pathway through fascinating scenes from Egypt to the Calypso. The set was simple

but very effective and the audience were also treated to some colourful and well executed choreography. Pharaoh gave a wonderful Elvis song and dance impersonation near the end of the musical. I do hope the actors get a packed house for the rest of the performances, as it is a Bangkok Patana production not to be missed.

One of my favorite events in the school calendar is International Day. I’m so pleased we were able to reschedule this year’s event which is planned for next Tuesday 13th December. We will have 61 nationalities represented on this very special day as we celebrate diversity and global citizenship. A huge thank you to this year’s International Day Coordinator Katherine Johns and her amazing team of helpers. Katherine and her team have made some positive changes to this year’s event which I’m excited about. I’m also looking forward to sampling all of the delicious cuisine in the International Food Tasting Hall with over 20 countries represented. Many thanks to the PTG and all of our parent helpers who put a great deal of time and effort to plan this very special day at Bangkok Patana School.

Over 4,000 people attended the 2016 Ploenchit Fair on Saturday November 26th. It was another very hot day but thankfully the rain stayed away, which made a nice change. This is a major Bangkok fund-raising event which the school is very proud to host. The whole event went very smoothly and I observed lots of very happy families enjoying a fun community day with all funds going to well-deserving charity groups in Thailand.

The Christmas assembly is an event not to be missed! It takes place on the final Friday of term in the Sports Hall starting at 8:00am. This is a fun and exciting assembly where annually we pose the question; “How is Santa going to arrive?” Last year Santa burst onto the stage in a very large, bright red Zorb ball that nobody anticipated. This is one assembly that all the parents like to attend so get in early for a seat upstairs on the mezzanine floor.

A festive treat is the Christmas Concert on Wednesday 14th December from 6:00pm in the theatre where our fantastic choirs, orchestra and bands will get you into the Christmas spirit! Come along from 5:00pm for some food and refreshments on the Back Hard Court where the ever popular outdoor Christmas Jazz Concert part of the evening will begin around 7:00pm.

Wishing all of our Bangkok Patana community a safe and enjoyable festive season and a happy and successful 2017. I look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Monday 9th January as we start another exciting Term 2 together.

Best wishes, Matt Mills, Head of School

To celebrate the festive season the PTG will be serving food and beverages during and after the concert. Look for us on the Back Hard Court closest to the Primary Field, where the outdoor Jazz part of the evening will be held from 7pm.

Soft drinks will be served free of charge and there will also be Christmas cookies and mince pies available.

If you really feel like getting into the Christmas spirit, other festive beverages will be served as well.

Early Years

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Fiction

Fiction

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Non-Fiction

Non-Fiction

Chapter Books

Senior Fiction

Comic Books

Graphic Novels

Oversize Books

Home Languages

Non-Fiction

Parents’ Collection Audio CD, DVD

Did you know that we also subscribe to these Magazines ?

Image: http://ldsmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ChristmasBook.jpg

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n 29th November Spectrum hosted their very first fundraising event as a CAT Club. Spectrum held the ‘Great Patana Bake Off’ to raise money for the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM) which is an organisation that encourages early AIDS testing, especially in the LGBTQ+ community, as well as donating to AIDS research. There was an overwhelming amount of support and plenty of baked goods that were all competing for the Golden Whisk.

Ms Cornish had a queue of curious voters around her brownies as they tried to guess the secret ingredient (don't worry Ms Cornish, your secret is safe with us). Eager students poured into the Conference Centre, some tasted over seven different items! By the end of lunchtime the votes were in. Congratulations to Daywe, Gnuk, and Andrew who won in the Brownies, Cupcakes, and Cookies categories.

Spectrum are delighted to announce that they raised over 3,500 THB! They would like to thank all the bakers who participated, the teachers and students who volunteered to help set everything up, as well as everyone who came to support the cause.

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he Global Learner Conference was held here at school in October with each CAT Club collaborating on the presentation of workshops to teachers and other academic staff, a daunting task. The students were outstanding and really showed us what they are made of. In their reflections they said that it was a scary but valuable learning experience. Here are some of the CAT Club’s thoughts: “For the GLC workshop, members from PMCG and PAWS presented on the importance of direct action and how groups of students and teachers can practically plan a direct action trip. Teachers in the workshop also got actively involved by planning a hypothetical trip that the students then evaluated.” PAWS / PMCG “The collaborative workshop given by Spectrum, LETS and Hand 2 Heart went extremely well. The workshop highlighted the taboo topics that each CAT Club approaches and how our aim was to normalise them and get people talking about them. The teachers' comments discussion were interesting and informative and we hope to use them to forward our cause.” Spectrum / LETS / Hand 2 Heart “The CAT club competition workshop that we ran immersed teachers in planning and running a CAT club. The teachers discovered the challenges that students faced, and the hard work and determination it takes to be successful.” Playing 4 Change / RISE

"We split teachers into groups based on their subjects and asked them to think of how they can incorporate the issue of the refugee crisis into their subjects and asked them to present their ideas at the end." WFP / STOP "Overall, the workshop went very smoothly and the teachers were very engaging and came up with new innovative ideas and feedback, that will help us as a CAT group to plan and execute projects that will result in a bigger and better impact on our community." STOP

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on't forget it’s International Day on Tuesday 13th December 2016! There are 61 countries listed for the Parade of Nations, five performances in the Cultural Show and 25 booths at the International Food Tasting. We encourage parents to join the parade or see the students march from 7:45am on the Back Field and then watch the Cultural Show at 9:00am from the balcony in the Sports Hall.

International Day is going green this year In conjunction with the Student Environmental Committee (SEC)! iodegradable plates will used at the International Food Tasting, students are being asked to reduce their food waste, recycling stations will be set up for separation of waste and water stations will be provided so students need to bring their named water bottle to the event. The SEC will also award the ‘Greenest Booth’ at the International Food Tasting!

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Please email Katherine Johns at ptgintlday@gmail.com if you have any queries.

Read the kit list on the blog at www.bangkokpatana2041.com ...which item were you not expecting?

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The School Shop will close at the end of Term 1 on Friday 16th December and reopen on Wednesday 4th January 2017.

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The Post Office service within the school shop will be closed for the school holidays and will reopen on Monday 9th January 2017.

Please note school is open as normal on Monday 12th December.

Follow the journey @BPS2041

The Tennis Court floodlights will be operational from January 4th.

To operate, purchase a token from the cashier for 250 THB.

It was an honour for the Bangkok Patana Gymnastics team to meet with the President of the Gymnastics Association and the Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand on Tuesday December 6th. They discussed the school’s gymnastic program and that Bangkok Patana has a very skilled gymnastics team.

Meet Tyrone the Tiger!

Calling all Season 2 athletes!

Come along at Monday Lunchtime (December 12th) to the front hard court to participate in a Santa Relay! If you are not in a team, come and witness the greatest ever relay to take place at BPS!

@ bps_athletics_council

BPSSPORTS

BPSSports

Tiger Sports Patana Tennis

College / University Savannah College of Art and Design

Representative Sonal - Bangkok Patana Alum

Location

Date

Time

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor 14.12.16 12:15

advance to avoid disappointment.

No ECA activities will run this week. Only selective ECAs will continue. If you are unsure, please check with your ECA teacher. Students will be put on their default bus home at 1:50/2:30pm. Please note that 4:30pm buses will run for selective ECAs only.

Does your child know their 2.30pm default bus number? If not, please go on the Parents’ Gateway to find this out and help Transport staff by letting your child know which bus they should go to when they arrive at the bus park next week (for those not attending a selective or other ECA).

If your child will not be in school on any day, please don’t forget to inform Transport.

If your child/ren will be staying back in school to attend the Christmas Concert on Wednesday, please remember to cancel their bus home in advance. The Christmas Concert will be held in the Theatre from 6:00pm and on the Back Hard Court.

If you would like to join the Christmas Assembly on Friday to see how Santa will arrive this year, please remember that you are welcome to join your child/ ren on the school bus. Don’t forget to book a seat in

Contact Us

If you will be moving house over the Christmas period, please contact Transport as soon as possible so the routing can be amended accordingly. A minimum of five days notice is required and please note confirmation is subject to route and seat availability.

We would like to say a fond farewell to Khun Kanchana (Karn) who has worked at Bangkok Patana School for 24 years. Khun Karn has been working in the Transport Department as the Head Supervisor for Cost Control and Routing. She has worked on the routing for all of our buses to ensure approximately 1,200 students get to and from school every day. We would like to wish Khun Karn all the very best as she enters her retirement. A big THANK YOU from the Transport Team and the many families and students you have helped during your employment at school. Khun Karn’s last day at work will be Friday 16th December.

The Transport Department would like to say thank you for your cooperation and wish all our transport users and their families a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to welcoming you back in the New Year for Term 2 on Monday 9th January 2017.

The Transport Department’s direct phone number is 02 785 2470. The office is staffed from 6:00am - 6:00pm Monday to Friday. You can also contact us via email at transport@patana.ac.th

6 pm on Sunday December 18th

Neilson Hays Library welcomes back Russian pianist Ivan Sharapov for a concert at 6pm on Sunday, December 18th. Ivan, who studied at the Moscow Conservatory, will perform pieces by Rachmaninoff, Brahms and Chopin, as well as one in honour of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The price of tickets is 500 baht for members and 600 baht for non-members. Seating is limited, so please reserve a place in advance at 02 2331731 or neilson.library@gmail.com.

"Sansoen Phra Barami" arranged by Ivan Sharapov (traditional version) S. Rachmaninoff, Moment musicaux in B minor A. Borodin, Polovtsian Dances from the opera "Prince Igor" J. Brahms, Valse S. Rachmaninoff, Etude-tableaux in C minor INTERMISSION F. Chopin. Polonaise in C-sharp minor Silent night F. Chopin, Scherzo in B-flat minor L. Armstrong, What a wonderful world Medley "Around the world" "Sansoen Phra Barami" arranged by Ivan Sharapov (lyric version) For more information, please contact: Neilson Hays Library 195 Surawong Rd, Bangkok T: 02 2331731 E: neilson.library@gmail.com

Anapana (Mindfulness of breathing) teaches children improved concentration skills and enhances calmness of the mind. This technique helps to relieve anxiety and is very useful at exam time to calm those nerves, but also for everyday life.

The next Anapana Meditation course will be given on Saturday 10th December for students 13-17 years and on Sunday 11th December for students 8-12 years.

The course is completely free!

To enroll or for further information, please contact Eva Sophonpanich at evasophon@hotmail.com You may find this site useful: http://www.children.dhamma.org/en/children/aboutmeditation.shtml Image Reference http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1508449/images/o-CHILD-MEDITATING-facebook.jpg

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