Patana News Volume 19 issue 4

Patana

NEWS

Getting into the Swing of Things TechUp

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Page 2

What’s New at the Library

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New Look ‘The Roar’

Bangkok Patana is an IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC

Mick Smith, Secondary Principal

Dear Parents, I would like to wish you a belated Happy New (School) Year. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity in the Secondary School as returning students and teachers have reacquainted themselves with the pattern and pace of school life and new students and teachers have begun to settle in and get their first insights into life at Bangkok Patana.

The ‘culture’ of a school is vital to the whole community and getting switched into what Matt Mills, Head of School, calls the ‘heartbeat’ is important to all new (and returning) members. Our aim is to see that our Mission and Guiding Statements are genuinely reflected in all that we do and how it feels to actually be part of the school community. We are highly motivated for everyone here from students to teachers to genuinely fulfil their potential and to take on opportunities and

challenges to enable them to do that. That can sometimes make it feel a little hectic, intense or a ‘hothouse’, especially for new students or those in vital examination years. That’s where the other side of our culture hopefully kicks in and where our teachers, especially in their pastoral roles, really support the students. Equal importance is placed on thinking about our individual and collective ‘wellbeing’, being ‘balanced’ between academic and other activities, being reflective, caring, mindful and considerate of others. Tutors and Heads of Year are already focusing on this; as academic study clicks into top gear as Term 1 progresses, they are gently keeping an eye on their students, supporting and encouraging, testing the temperature to make sure that no-one is coming unstuck. We strive to ensure that the culture is ‘high-paced but measured’, that everyone is keen to make good progress, but that they are in control and having fun along the way,

rather than rushing headlong at breakneck speed around corners and bumping into things. That’s how I try to drive my little sports car back in England each summer!

I have been super impressed by how our new Year 7 students have settled in already. They are the ones facing the biggest challenges, the most changes to their everyday experiences, whether they are completely new to the school or have moved across campus from Year 6. More teachers, new subjects, many more classrooms to find, getting used to their laptops, buying their first ice creams! All this and suddenly finding themselves as no longer being the old hands, the looked up to ‘Seniors’ of Primary but the ‘munchkins’ of Secondary trying to find their way amongst a sea of giants. At least the ‘giants’, the students from Year 10 upwards, are friendly and some (our Senior delegates) wearing hi-vis jackets to show that they were happy to help the newcomers get from the snack bar to Geography. As always Year 7 have brought fun, energy and excitement to the beginning of the year. They are now fully-fledged Secondary students having spent several weeks in each of their classes, begun their first ECAs and completed their first Home Learning tasks.

If there is anyone more anxious in the first few weeks of term than Year 7 it is the parents of the Year 7s! Yesterday Owen McDevitt, Head of Year 7, hosted a coffee morning to round off a series of induction meetings for these parents. I was delighted to see well over a hundred families attend and reassured that they seemed happy and with relatively low levels of stress. A number of key members of staff including the two Senior Teachers for Key Stage 3, Tony Berghuis (Curriculum and Assessment) and Lena Perriam (Student Welfare) who spoke alongside Owen, explaining what they can expect to happen over the first half term or so.

Parents also then had the opportunity to talk with class tutors working with Year 7 every day and hear first-hand how their children have settled in.

Finally, from me at the start of term, congratulations to all of our students from Grad16 on achieving our best ever IB results. They were a wonderful, supportive and hard-working year group who really exemplified all that we strive to achieve, and who will hopefully take our values and ‘culture’ with them to universities far and wide.

Congratulations also to our new Year 12 on brilliant success in their (I)GCSE examinations. These great results show them that are doing the right things, that they have already achieved a huge amount and will give them confidence for even more success in the years ahead.

Have a great weekend!

Mick Smith, Secondary Principal

Richard Thorp, Head Swim Coach

O

ver 150 TigerSharks took to the pool last Friday in the first 50m Sprint event of the new season. With swimmers from Year 3 up to Year 13 taking part the carnival atmosphere was matched by numerous personal best times. Well done to all that took part.

Over the summer break Chloe Burkill (7R) swam in the Vietnam Nationals 10 year age group, winning a Silver medal in the 100m backstroke. She also had several top eight finishes in other events. In three swim meets she swam in she broke several school records. Well done Chloe!

Fire Drill

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ne of the areas that we practise regularly throughout the year is the Fire Evacuation and Lockdown procedures. In Term 1 and 2, we have ‘announced’ and ‘unannounced’ drills. This enables our community to practise reacting appropriately in the event of an alarm sounding on the school campus.

Your child may have mentioned that we had an ‘announced’ fire drill earlier this week. We would like to thank everyone for their quick, sensible response to the alarm and exemplary behaviour during the drill.

Akshaj (Achu) Balasubramanian, 13B

T

echUp is a CAS project that began in late 2014, initiated by a few members of the Class of 2016, with the intention to provide Klong Banragard School, a local Thai school, with technology that would aid their education. A few notable events and projects we ran in Bangkok Patana were the Minecraft tournament, where students could donate money to our cause to participate in the gaming event, and a donation box, where students, teachers or parents could place second hand technological appliances to be refurbished, donated or safely disposed. Our most recent accomplishment was obtaining a sponsorship from GoPomelo which granted TechUp 10 Chromebooks to implement at the Klong Banragard School.

Over this summer holiday, the TechUp team ventured out to the Bang Bo area to donate these Chromebooks to the Klong Banragard School, as well as to teach them how to use the Chromebooks. The team split up into two classrooms and taught the fundamentals of Google applications, sharing documents and the Google app store. We also taught the students how to download educational tools, such as one that allowed the students to explore a virtual solar system, and another that taught typing technique to aid proper touch typing.

In the future, TechUp plans to provide more educational technology and assistance to the Klong Banragard school, and plan to expand these same activities to any other school within the community that is in need of technological assistance. I would like to thank the Klong Banragard school and their staff for their cooperation and assistance in this project, and Mr Barros and Ms Ferguson for supporting and giving us this wonderful opportunity. Lastly, thank you to the TechUp team for being such a dedicated and diligent group that made this all happen. #MakeCATGreatAgain

Tania Leyland, Youth & Community Coordinator

T

he annual CAT / CAS Fair took place on Thursday 1st September with information stands from Community Action Teams, CAS projects and visiting NGO’s. Every student in Secondary School had the opportunity to visit and find out about all of the amazing work that takes place to benefit our wider community. Sign up was frantic and it was great to see so many students engaging and discussing ideas.

Congratulations and well done to everyone involved in making this event a success.

Patana’s Got Talent is Habitat for Humanity’s biggest event where we showcase some of the best and most interesting talents within the student community. Our purpose behind the event is to raise money to add to our ‘Build A House’ fund and to engage the Bangkok Patana community in our fun event whilst still advocating for our clubs’ causes. During the auditions last week we came across some very talented students! We were so impressed with Carey’s mesmerising guitar and singing performance and were shocked with Chris’s amazing speed stacking act. We are so excited for you to attend Habitat’s main Patana’s Got Talent event on September 13th, 14th and 15th at 12:25 in the Theatre! See you there!

Just 9 days to register RACE CATEGORIES Price

320 THB 440 THB

PRESENTS

THE BANGKOK PATANA

FUN RUN

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e would like to introduce the Bangkok Patana School Japanese Group. There are 50 Japanese families who are members of this group, and we support International Day and many other school activities. If you are a Japanese speaker or married to a Japanese speaker, then we would like to invite you to join our group. Please send an e-mail of your details to add to the group list for future correspondence to Mrs Kyoko Nishida, email salut.kyoko@hotmail.co.jp 【ジャパニーズグループに参加しませんか】 バンコクパタナスクールのジャパニーズグループは、日本人の父親あるいは母親を持 つ生徒の保護者により運営されているグループです。現在５０家族が加入しており、 毎年行われる学校行事、インターナショナルデイなど、様々な学校活動に協力してい ます。また、情報交換の場として親睦会を年に数回行っています。 参加ご希望の方は、西田までご連絡ください。 salut.kyoko@hotmail.co.jp Image Reference: http://feelgrafix.com/data/japan/Japan-1.jpg

International Day will be held on

Wednesday 9th November 2016 This year the event, including the parade and Food Hall, will be held on one day.

To find out how your country can participate in this event email ptgintlday@gmail.com

Jen Peppard, Head of Faculty, World Languages

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t this time of year I get many inquiries about the possibility of entering for an IGCSE in a language which is studied outside of school. The answer to the question very often is yes! But there are some key things to think about. Language IGCSEs come in two or even three levels, so it is important to ascertain at which level your child needs to enter. They are not available in every language and at every level – I can confirm that for you.

The levels are: IGCSE Modern Foreign Language: This is the exam which most of our students sit after three – five years of study of a foreign language in school.

IGCSE Second Language: This exam is not available in many languages, but it is aimed at unbalanced bilinguals – often children who are ‘native’ speakers but who have not studied in the target language IGCSE First Language: This is for children who are native speakers and who have studied their language in some depth. It is the equivalent to the English IGCSE which our students take in year 11.

For many students it is good to have their home language, or a language studied outside of school validated by giving them a qualification to add to their CV. I do not recommend students below Year 9 taking these exams – they are designed to be taken by typically 14 – 17 year old students. Parents are billed for these exams in the normal way.

We can only undertake an IGCSE MFL exam in a language other than those taught at school if parents can provide a suitably qualified person (not a family member) to give the oral exam.

We cannot provide tutoring at school for children who wish to take additional entry language exams, but can provide access to the relevant syllabus and past papers. Please do contact me at school (jepe@patana.ac.th) if you are interested in your child being entered for one of these exams. Exam entries need to be made during early December, for the summer 2017 exam, but it is worth finding out what might be possible ahead of the deadline. This will also give you time to ensure suitable tutoring, if required, is in place in good time.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Jen Peppard Head of Faculty, World Languages

Monday 12th September Under 13 Girls’ Basketball HOME 1st XI Football AWAY – ISB Varsity Boys’ Football Sevens – HOME Under 15 Girls’ Touch HOME Varsity Boys’ Volleyball AWAY – ISB Varsity Girls’ Volleyball AWAY – ASB Wednesday 14 th September 1st XI Football – AWAY – ISB JV Boys’ Football Sevens – HOME JV Girls’ Football Sevens – HOME JV Girls’ Volleyball AWAY – NIST JV Boys’ Volleyball AWAY – NIST Thursday 15th September Under 15 Boys’ Basketball – HOME Under 15 Girls’ Basketball AWAY – NIST Under 13 Boys’ Basketball – HOME Under 15 Boys’ Rugby Sevens – HOME Under 13 Boys’ Tennis - HOME Under 13 Girls’ Tennis - HOME

The Sports and Activities team does so much for not only the sports department but also for the whole school, so if you see them around, go up to them and say thank you! Each member puts so much effort and time into making the activities and sports at Bangkok Patana the best it can be, so on behalf of the Athletics Council…

WHAT’S YOUR OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHT? There were so many awesome moments. Some of my favorites included…Michael Phelps’ phenomenal performance in the pool, Fiji winning its first Olympic medal ever in Rugby 7’s and Simone Biles’ gravity defying gymnastics.

WHAT’S YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE? I am the Assistant Principal for Extra-curricular Activities and Sports. I oversee all the after school action at Bangkok Patana as well as help to look after the sporting facilities. I also teach Senior Studies PE. WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? Swimming, Netball, Skiing, Tennis and Softball were my favorites but I loved all sports.

DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS NOW? I still love to swim and try to get to the pool at least a few times a week to do some laps.

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DRAGON OR BE A DRAGON? A dragon. I could fly and breathe fire!

WHAT’S YOUR OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHT? The opening ceremony is always my biggest highlight, but also when the Thai team got to the final round for weight lifting, it was super intense.

WHAT’S YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE? ECAs, all about ECAs and emails! I send them to parents and students as I am the ECA Coordinator WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? I participated in Latin and Ballroom dance in the Youth National Sport Competitions. Some people don’t consider this a sport but IT IS ACTUALLY A SPORT. DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS NOW? Oops!! Not much now, but I try to go cycling when I’m free.

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DRAGON OR BE A DRAGON? I would rather have a real pet dragon! I can take it for walks so I can get more exercise!!

WHAT’S YOUR OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHT? My Olympic highlight was the Tae Kwan Do. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE? Financial administration for the Sports Office.

WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? I played basketball.

DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS NOW? Yes, I still play basketball.

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DRAGON OR BE A DRAGON? I would rather have a dragon.

WHAT’S YOUR OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHT? My favorite moment of Rio 2016 was when Jessica Ennis-Hill won her silver medal, as she is my true athletic idol. I actually woke up at 2:45 am to watch her 800m.

WHAT’S YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE? I schedule fixtures, organise set ups, and coordinate with other coaches form different schools.

WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? Football.

DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS NOW? Yes, I play table tennis.

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DRAGON OR BE A DRAGON? I would like a pet dragon.

WHAT’S YOUR OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHT? My Olympic highlight was when Thailand got two gold medals in the weight lifting WHAT’S YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE? Assistant support for the Sports Office.

WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? I played a lot of volleyball.

DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS NOW? I still play volleyball but not as much as I use to.

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DRAGON OR BE A DRAGON? I would rather have a dragon because I want to be in control and have power, but if I was a dragon someone else would have power over me.

@ bps_athletics_council

BPSSPORTS

BPSSports

Tiger Sports

Patana Tennis

Polar explorer, environmentalist, survivor and the first man ever to walk unsupported to both the North and South Poles is coming to Bangkok Patana School.

Thursday 20th October 2016, PM Come and be inspired by this world-class communicator and public speaker who is on a life-long mission to ensure that Antarctica remains protected from exploitation.

This fascinating speaker will be in school as part of a two-day Global Learners Conference and we would like to invite students from Year 3 upwards and all parents to an audience with this inspirational man.

More Details to Follow

#39: Don’t be a bystander I’m going off on a slight tangent this week to share just one item that really made an impact on me. At school we use the phrase:

“We all need to be upstanders, not bystanders” This YouTube clip that Peter Howe (Leader of Primary ICT) shared with me is a powerful example. Please take the time to watch it with your children. It may spark conversations about how we can all combat bullying. Often it is not as explicit as this and can be more subtle, especially when online. I’ll write more on this in articles later in the year.

Have a great weekend…..

Brian Taylor, Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

University / College

Representative

Location

Date

Time

Hong Kong Baptist University

Kelly Li

Senior Studies

13.09.16

12:15

IE University

Elisa Meléndez Martin

Senior Studies

13.09.16

12:15

King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Thonburi

Sara Gautam

Senior Studies

13.09.16

12:15

Lafayette College

Brittany Carlson

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor

13.09.16

12:15

Miami University, Oxford

-

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor

13.09.16

12:15

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

-

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor

13.09.16

12:15

University of Oregon

Robert Hardin

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor

13.09.16

12:15

Skidmore College

Dean Mendes

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor

13.09.16

12:15

Smith College

Karen Kristof

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor

13.09.16

12:15

Trinity College

Jim Sargent

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor

13.09.16

12:15

University of Vermont

-

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor

13.09.16

12:15

Washington and Jefferson College

Kristin Crosby

Senior Studies, 2nd Floor

15.09.16

12:15

Ball State University

John Mann

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

University of California, San Diego

Lindsey Fogleman

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

Emerson College

Camille Alexis Bouknight

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

Florida International University

Laura Pacchioni

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

Goucher College

Mark Bladel

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

University of Houston

Kailey Posterick

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

Kansas State University

Anna Mccullough

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

University of Michigan, Flint

Kristin Lukowski

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

New York Film Academy

Kitty Koo

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

The University of Oklahoma

Dakota Horn

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

Pace University, New York City

Mitchell Chavez

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

Stonehill College

Samuel Smith

Senior Studies

20.09.16

12:15

The University of Tampa University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point

Jaini Chhaya Zanna Hittner

Senior Studies Senior Studies

20.09.16 20.09.16

12:15 12:15

There’s more new arrivals this month across the school libraries, from books to DVDs and even magazines. Click on the links to see the full listings.

Image Reference: http://www.frontlineclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/shutterstock_173878589.jpg

Patana PTG Annual Social Evening Wednesday 5th October 7:30pm At Quince Eatery & Bar Sukhumvit Soi 45 +66 2662 4478

Everyone Welcome!

Food courtesy of PTG, you just pay for your drinks!

Please R.S.V.P by 30th September to ptg@patana.ac.th Join our Facebook group here

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any children feel unwell at this time in the year. The table below helps parents to evaluate if their child has a mild case of the snuffles, or something more serious that needs attention. If your child is unwell, please keep them at home and give them time to recover before coming back to school. If you think they have Flu (influenza) please seek medical advice.

Symptoms

Cold

Flu

Fever

Rare

Characteristic, high temperature (102-104°F or 38-41°C ); lasts three to four days

Headache

Rare

Prominent

General Aches and Pains

Very mild

Usual; often severe

Fatigue, Weakness

Mild

Severe.

Can last up to two to three weeks

Extreme Exhaustion

Never

Early and severe

Stuffy Nose

Common

Sometimes

Sneezing

Common

Sometimes

Sore Throat

Common

Sometimes

Chest Discomfort, Cough

Mild to moderate; hacking cough

Common; can become severe

Prevention

Healthy diet, good hygiene, good rest and sleeping, regular exercise.

Healthy diet, good hygiene, regular exercise, plus regular temperature checks.

Annual vaccination

Treatment

Temporary relief of symptoms

Antiviral drugs

Information Reference: www.webmd.com www.cdc.gov/flu

Image Reference: www.lysol.com/media

Weekly news from the Transport Department 

Transport has had over 150 new enrolments since the start of the school year. We welcome all our new Transport users and ask our existing users to be aware that many routes will need to be changed as new enrolments are accommodated. We also have a small percentage of students who have moved address, which will also require changes to existing routes. We continue to monitor the changes and arrival time of the buses to school and will make amendments as deemed necessary. We thank you for your patience and understanding if these changes impact your child’s bus arrangements.



We currently transport 1,146 students to and from school each day. We aim to ensure that every route is efficient, arrives on time and every student has a safe and pleasant journey to and from school. If you have any concerns about your child’s bus please email transport@patana.ac.th



Please note that the afternoon bus for your child may be different each day due to the different mix of students departing at the various times relating to their ECAs. Any changes to your child’s ECA schedule must be communicated to the Transport Department to ensure the necessary adjustments are made.



Please remind your child that seatbelts MUST be worn at all times and MUST NOT be undone during the journey. Your help in reminding your child about the importance of safety on the school transport service is very much appreciated.

Contact Us 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

Drop Off / Pick Up Zone Please remember that no cars should be left unattended in the pick up / drop off zone at the front of school. Parents and/or drivers must remain with their vehicle at all times and not walk into school. Blocking the area for other parents/ drivers causes inconvenience and upset. Please help to ensure that no cars are left unattended to keep this area running smoothly. If parents/drivers need to leave the car to enter school please park across the road in the Sports Complex Car Park. Thank you for your understanding.

Taxi area Please help to ensure the safe pick up and drop off of our community and avoid picking up students/parents in the area in front of True Coffee. Cars waiting in this area not only cause congestion on soi Lasalle but they also block the area for people using a taxi often requiring them to step out into the road to get in a taxi. We want to help to ensure the safety of our community at all times so please assist by dropping off/picking up in the Drop off zone or at the Sports Complex car park.

Soi LaSalle 39 Some students are being dropped off at the U-turn area / entrance to Soi 39. Please avoid dropping off in this area. It causes congestion and is not considered a safe drop off area. Please drive into the car park to drop off, use the drop off zone or the Sports Complex Car Park. Thank you for helping to ensure the safe arrival of your child to school.

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 Sunday 18th September for children aged between 8-16 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/ about-meditation.shtml Image Reference http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1508449/images/o-CHILD-MEDITATING-facebook.jpg

October Exhibition at the Neilson Hays Library "Between My Lines" Paintings by Sonea Rattanaruangsup 6th—30th October 2016 Opening Reception 6-8pm on October 6th 2016.

The October art exhibition at Neilson Hays Library will feature work by Sonea Rattanaruangsup. "Between My Lines" is a collection that captures the impulsive nature of emotions - emotions that when triggered, can change how we perceive ourselves. All of us, at one point or another in our lives, long to tread outside our comfort zones and be somebody else.

"Between My Lines" exposes how emotions can drive us to put on certain disguises for the world while leaving our inner selves untouched.

Sonea Rattanaruangsup at sonea.rsup@gmail.com or +66.92.269.5201

November Exhibition at the Neilson Hays Library Pieced Impressions Quilts by Karen Sengal 1st—27th November 2016 Opening Reception at 5pm on Saturday 5th November 2016 Pieced Impressions is a solo exhibition of quilts by Karen Sengel.

Karen has been sewing since she was very young. She started quilting about 15 years ago. She began with traditional bed quilts, then moved onto to art quilts, doing this exclusively for the past 10 years. Karen tries to capture the images that have impressed her throughout her 25 years living and traveling in Asia. Many are iconic, some personal. Her quilts are traditionally pieced, then machine quilted in a free motion style which adds texture and interest. Karen grew up in New York state but has spent most of her adult life overseas as an international school teacher, primarily in Asia. She now lives in Chiang Mai with her husband and their Thai cat named Gung.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Nalin Vanasin, Curator at the Rotunda and Garden Café Galleries nhl.curator@gmail.com Rotunda & Garden Café Galleries Neilson Hays Library 195 Surawong Rd, Bangkok Tel: 02 233 1731

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643 Lasalle Road (Sukhumvit 105) Bangna, Bangkok 10260. THAILAND Tel: +66 (0) 2785 2200 Fax: +66 (0) 2785 2399 www.patana.ac.th Email: reception@patana.ac.th