Volume 23 Issue 24

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 12th March 2021

Volume 23 Issue 24

www.patana.ac.th

CLASSROOMS WITH NO WALLS

By Mark Verde, Primary Assistant Principal, Student Welfare

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Also in this issue...

CAS x Tiger Shop Team/Business Director Appointment/Red Cross Blood Drive 19/02/2021

Bangkok Patana School News

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

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Classrooms with No Walls Mark Verde, Primary Assistant Principal, Learning and Curriculum

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t is amazing to think that our youngest learners in Nursery will be graduating in 2036. With this in mind we have to remember that we are educating children to do jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that don’t yet exist to solve problems that don’t yet exist, which makes the problem of inspiring young lives a challenge. But what will these challenges look like and how will we inspire our students to become confident independent learners, who think critically about the world, so that they can solve problems creatively and retain the stamina and resilience to do this successfully?

For individuals to feel fulfilled in life they need to discover their own meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion. This is what Ken Robinson calls the “element”. To achieve it we must help students find aptitude and passion through instilling positive attitudes and creating opportunity.

I have the privilege of being able to visit many classrooms across Bangkok Patana and observe our teachers creating successful learners who are responsible, caring, confident individuals, ready for the new challenges that they will face from their ever developing and changing world.

How they do this is really quite magical. When entering a classroom the first thing I see is the teacher making the children think and think really hard again! But what is so good to see is the children doing this willingly, in the knowledge that their thoughts and contributions will be valued and respected – whether it be from exploring inside a tunnel, building molecules using sticky atoms or simply investigating water.

Our teachers spend time creating enterprising students who, through their play, will quickly turn an area of their learning environment into a restaurant or cooking programme, where resources are made, roles allocated, and business plans devised.

The power of the arts and literacy are valued by our teachers who know that these subjects have a wonderful capacity to engage the part of the brain that creates an emotional response and in the hands of our Bangkok

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Patana teachers it can lead to truly magical and life changing learning.

will?

The first element of this work is to create wonderful, Finally, we understand the importance of adding awe, rich and vivid life changing experiences by providing wonder, emotional and spiritual intelligence into the classrooms without walls where children are given the learning. Children get just one childhood and it should be opportunity to take risks and challenge themselves, in safe memorable and life forming. If we don’t create a sense and secure situations on day trips and school residentials. of awe and wonder and spirituality in children, then who

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Business Director Appointed

Tiziana Sucharitikul, Secretary and Chair of the Steering Committee of the Foundation Board

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fter a rigorous selection process involving multiple rounds of interviews, the selection committee, which comprised of members from the Foundation Board and Steering Committee together with Matt Mills and representatives from both the academic and business side, has appointed Craig White to be our Business Director.

Many of you will know Craig well as he has been serving in the role of Interim Business Director since last July, during which time he has worked tirelessly and contributed immensely to the Bangkok Patana community.

We are all very pleased to have Craig continue in this role on a permanent basis and very much look forward to many years of working with him to continue our journey of growing, developing and improving the wider Patana community. Please join me in congratulating Craig on this appointment.

Purnima Ghogar is Choosing to Challenge T

EDx speaker, author, visual artist and Secondary English teacher Purnima Ghogar's poetry was featured on the International Women’s Day website as was her video of her poetry which explores themes of love, loss, mental health, healing, identity, belonging and women’s empowerment.

"When performing, I breathe the power of words, which affirms its ability to empower, change and provoke.”

Purnima Ghogar

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Year 7 Student Follows her Passion

Amy Ono, 7G

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laying the violin means something very important to me, even if I do not get it in one shot. Practicing the violin can sometimes be stressful, but I can always imagine myself being on stage, which is what I really like to do!

I always feel that just playing the notes and getting the technique correct is not enough. I really like to create and feel the emotions in the piece, and this is what makes violin fun and engaging for me. I have a lot of gratitude to my teachers who have helped me along the way. I hope to keep this going and improve myself as well. I will still continue my dream of becoming a professional violinist!

Amy has been busy this term, performing at many events and earning many awards! She has taken many awards: • 23rd SET Youth Music Comptetition (First) • American Protégé International Concerto Competition 2021 (12 and Under) (First) • American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition 2021 (First) • 8th Hongkong Youth Performance And Arts Festival, 2021 ((First Age 13 and Under, Age 11 and Under) • International Music Competition “London” Grand Prize Virtuoso Ensemble (Trio) and Solo (First) • The 2021 "Golden Classical Music Awards" International Competition (Solo Junior) (First)

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Reflections on the ‘New Normal’ in SEASAC BOYS’ SWIM TEAM his year swimming in the SEASAC (South East Asian Student Activities Committee) swimming event was definitely different from any I have been too. This SEASAC, despite not being able to travel, was a great experience for me and the TigerSharks since it allowed those few weeks of grueling training in the first term to be shown off. I can say that of all the SEASACs I have been to over the past years, I haven't been in a team so close-knit with each other. The atmosphere during the races were just amazing with everyone cheering for one another. I need to also highlight the progress we have made as a team this year especially with the Boys' team, from finishing 4th last SEASAC to 2nd this year. Finally, I need to say that I am so proud of my teammates and how they did over the weekend and thank you to our coaches Tim, Joe, Rich, Aek and Paul for their help.

Thanadol (Zhen) Tam, 12Z

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GIRLS’ SWIM TEAM SEASAC swimming was unusual this year as it was virtual and that appears to be the ‘new normal’. With a very different atmosphere for the swim meet, the TigerSharks were able to bring the energy of the competition up both individually and as a team. Overall, the TigerSharks did a spectacular job with only four weeks of training. With our traditional competitors from Singapore not in the lanes beside us we shifted towards our internal competition to the clock and our personal bests as swimmers.

Happily, I can say everyone was able to make a personal best in one or more events. As Captain of the Girls’ Swim team, I was extremely proud of the TigerShark's ability to persevere through the lockdown in January, not have a midterm break and achieve competitive personal best times. Importantly, some of our younger swimmers, in SEASAC for the first time, were able to step up to the competition and achieve podiums in the Thailand hub.

Kaitlyn Dibbayawan, 12G

Golf Team Back Competing!

Yizhen (Tina) Kong, 12T ast weekend, the Varsity team competed in the St Andrews Golf Invitational at Subhapruek Golf Club. This was our first competition of 2021, and our team brought back many prizes. Individual gross score prizes included Year 7 Xiaowen (Lisa) Zheng (73), Year 7 Pana (JJ) Farnworth (79), who came 3rd, and female team captain Yizhen (Tina) Kong (83), who came 2nd. Yan Yan (Year 8) and Krish (Year 10) were also net score winners. Special mention goes to Year 8 student Nuttaparit (Paul) Sudjitporn who played in his first ever competition and shot a personal best that included a 41 on the challenging back 9.

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Congratulations to everyone and huge thanks to parents and team coach Mr Steve Liu for supporting us!

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Futsal and the Benefits on Your Child’s Development

Brandon Grady, Assistant Head Football Coach

WHAT IS FUTSAL? utsal is a fast paced, small-sided football game that originated in South America in the 1930s and is officially recognised by UEFA and FIFA. The game highly focuses on the individual’s technical ability and quick decision making under high pressure situations and is subsequently an excellent foundation for developing the basics of football.

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THE BENEFITS Futsal is played with five players on each team. This allows children within futsal drills and games to have more touches on the ball than they would in a regular game of football. Children have more opportunities to focus on skills such as passes, control, fakes, feints, and dribbling as research indicates that children will receive the ball six times more than they would in a regular football match.

Futsal is a game that naturally brings young players into one versus one (1v1) situations, which encourages quick decision making or technical skills to overcome these situations. The balls used in futsal are weighted, which supports young children’s development as the ball stays closer to the feet and this aids the players in technical development. The Football Association states that one of the core elements of futsal is ball retention due to instant pressure from opponents and the consistent threat of a counter-attack which naturally supports a child being confident whilst having the ball at their feet.

for Primary children who are wanting to improve technical, 1v1, ball retention and decision making skills whilst being involved in a fun and challenging environment. If you wish to sign up please do so through our ECA database.

“During my childhood in Portugal, all we played was Futsal. The small playing area helped me improve my close control, and whenever I played futsal I felt free. If it wasn’t for futsal, I wouldn’t be the player I am today.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, 106 games & 43 goals for Portugal.

“Futsal was important in helping to develop my ball control, quick thinking, passing…. also for dribbling, balance, concentration…. Futsal was very, very important, no doubt” Pele, World Cup Winner: 1958, 1962 & 1970

FUTSAL AT BANGKOK PATANA During Block 4 the Football Academy will be offering two football sessions inside the Sports Hall on Tuesday and Thursday at 3.30 - 4.30 pm. This will be specifically 19/02/2021

Bangkok Patana School News

Learn more here

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LOST PROPERTY ONLINE

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Karting Championships Begin

Maarten Vliegen, Patana Parent ur karting students did an awesome job on the racetrack this past weekend and received their awards for the Kart Championship of Thailand 2020.

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Year 9 student Nandhavud (Jem) Bhirombhakdi put his talent to work in his first race as a Senior. He qualified in first position and finished the final in second position.

This is remarkable since the Senior karts are much heavier and faster than the Juniors. Not to mention that he had to add balance of performance (BOP) of 27kgs (very heavy indeed) but Jem enjoyed the new challenge!

In the Junior’s Open, Year 8 student Charyanath (Charya) Seneviratne started in 16th position overall and Anuras who struggled with his engine all weekend long. finished in 12th postion. He was driving in the X30 Engine It is all being sorted out and he will be back on track in the next race. As the champion, Jem received the Junior category that won him a podium. championships for Thai National and Rok Cup Thailand, Taiyo Vliegen from Year 7 dominated the Mini class from while Taiyo received the 3rd position trophy. The next key qualifying to the final. A great way to start the season! date is Sunday 27th March when they join the Rok Cup Murphy’s Law was in full effect for our Rookie Sra (JJ) Thailand Round 1.

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Silver Cycling: Nakhon Nayok Dams and Reservoirs Matthew Broadbent , Max Turner , Yunha Park , Torrance Semple, Year 11

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uring our Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award cycling expedition, since Nakhon Nayok is an area with lots of dams and reservoirs, our group decided that we were going to photograph the dams in the area and possibly understand why they are where they are.

information about why it was built. The reservoir is next to a relgious site. We know this because just across the reservoir there are many Buddha statues. On the opposing side, there was a place of praying with traditional Thai costumes hung up on a rack.

RESERVOIR (NAME UNKNOWN) The third reservoir we visited was very overgrown and had a gravel path. It seemed that this reservoir had been in place for many years and was not maintained, which was why it was overgrown with trees and bushes. There was little information about this reservoir.

KHUN DAN PRAKARN CHON DAM The first of these dams and reservoirs is the “Khun Dan Prakarn Chon Dam.'' It’s the largest and only concrete dam we visited that was still in use today. The purpose of this dam was to relieve floods in the area of Nakhon Nayok, help with the acidic soil, help citizens have water for agricultural and consumption purposes and give WANG BON RESERVOIR The next reservoir is better known and there were many citizens a better quality of life. The dam is 93 meters tall and 2,594 meters long. The reservoir storage capacity is tourists here because it is a popular camping site. This is called the “Wang Bon Reservoir”. There are many people 224 million cubic meters which helps with the floods. who may play in the water or do various activities like KHLONG SISAT RESERVOIR hiking or cycling on the trails in this area.

The second one we visited was a reservoir, this reservoir is not well known as a dam so there is little known

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Enquire today for a Trial Dance - Vallary Lokre valo@patana.ac.th Gymnastics - William Preston wipr@patana.ac.th Football - Mark Potter mapo@patana.ac.th Swimming - Tim Trip -titi@patana.ac.th Tennis - Dan Ahl daah@patana.ac.th

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CAT/CAS CORNER CAS x Tiger Shop Teaches a Wide Range of Skillsets Clara Boucher, 13B fter producing an unimaginable number of posters, designing countless new products, coming up with finance models, sharing several Instagram posts, the CAS x Tiger Shop project has come to an end; a group of students who had never worked together before and we combind all of our skills to bring about a project that we are all so proud of. We challenged ourselves, took risks and learned from our mistakes. Not everything went right on the first try, but that was a part of the valuable learning experience that working at the Tiger Shop offered us.

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has taught me different methods and techniques used within this position and has personally ignited a greater interest in finance. One of my most memorable moments was working collaboratively with PTG Shop Manager Safy Rizk and the group to bring the new range of House-themed merchandise to the students, it was a huge success! Especially the bucket hats. I'd like to thank the group and Safy for providing me a comfortable and amazing experience at the PTG and I'd highly recommend to all students to take part!” – Kieran Smith, Year 13

An opportunity that I really valued was meeting with Maayan Chorev, the former PTG Communications Representative, who gave us a lot of insight on design and advertising. There were many things that we didn’t pay attention to that she made us realise are much more Finally, on behalf of the whole team, we would like to important than we think; whether it be our choice of colour, say a huge thank you to Safy for giving us this amazing font size or the perfect centering of an image – nothing opportunity. Not only did she allow us to be creative and can be overlooked. think outside the box, but she was also there to support us throughout the process and taught us so many valuable “Working at Tiger Shop was not only an skills. We really appreciate all that she has done to make educational and exciting experience, but this experience enjoyable and enriching for us. it also was extremely rewarding for us to see all of our ideas come to life. Being MEET THE TEAM in charge of social media taught me a Clara Boucher – Mass Communications and PR lot about the importance of connecting Audry Shelford - Social Media / Stock and Inventory with our audience and adapting our Aiko Saeki - Social Media advertising when targeting different age Emiko Araki - Social Media groups.” – Audry Shelford, Year 13 I don’t think any of us imagined we would get this far Nimrata Sachdev – Fashion Design with this project. It makes me so proud to have been a Sophie West – Fashion Design part of a team who brought the Tiger Shop back to life; Kieran Smith – Accounting and Budgeting although we won’t be there to see it grow even further, Anmol Gandhi – Accounting and Budgeting we hope that our work will have brought some Tiger spirit Chali Taylor – Stock and Inventory back into the community.

Thararak (Beem) Raktabutr – Promotional Marketing and Design “Being a part of the PTG has been a fun and memorable experience. Overseeing Nichapatr (Petch) Lomtakul – DT and Arts budgets and accounts of the shop 12

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ARTS COUNCIL Self-expression Through the Arts Angela Braun, 12E

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y name is Angela and I am currently doing IB Theatre and I am involved with the Arts Council.

To me the Arts as a whole and not just as a subject, is essential. I am passionate and love being involved within the arts as it is an amazing outlet for my self-expression.

I truly believe that the Arts not only allows you to explore the subject but also yourself. With art you can venture into so many different things within yourself and even others.

Every concept, detail and piece work can be perceived differently from each and every individual. I truly believe

that art is in the eye of the beholder and that it is absolutely everywhere we go. It follows within nature, infrastructure to people and living beings. It really is the foundation of life. It is not a constant nor rigid topic but fluid and mouldable like clay. To someone, a splash of paint on a canvas can be pointless and boring… something that a 3 year old would have made, but to me, it is art. The energy projected onto a canvas and into any piece of art is beautiful.

There is no right and wrong. Art is exciting and no one should be afraid to indulge in it.

Have you bookmarked next year’s calendar yet?

2021/22 CALENDAR

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Challenging Myself in Music

Tara-Lynn Heuer, 9M

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s a Primary student, I didn't really have the opportunity to learn an instrument or understand much about music. However, I am now a trumpet player of three years and I have learned about the structures of music as well as how music can affect people in positive ways.

Progressing since Year 7 has not always been easy because I had never played an instrument before. When I joined the Patana Big Band in Year 8 I didn't expect to be pushed to the limit of my ability. But with a lot of practice, I saw significant improvement. My effort was rewarded when it was time to showcase my work at Bangkok Patana events together with the other members of the Band.

This term, I was faced with the challenge of a new piece of music that seemed to be above my current capabilities: a jazz song, “Charade.” It is an upbeat piece that can easily lift your spirits. At first, the high notes and the pace of the song left me frustrated. Nevertheless, I was able to overcome my initial intimidation by isolating the sections of the song and practicing them over and over. I enjoyed having more of a challenge, I believe that constant practice expression. Patana offers many possibilities for purely has improved my skills and made me a more confident academic achievement. The Arts programmes, on the other player which was one of my goals. hand, can complement these programmes by opening up Besides music, the Arts programmes at Bangkok Patana new space for more self-expression. Students can build also provides a variety of other creative opportunities their communication skills by verbally and emotionally for students which aim to boost self-confidence and self- connecting with their peers and this can contribute to preparing students for their future.

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Transformational Changes in the Key Stage 2 Library

Stephen Murgatroyd, Cross Campus Head of Libraries eek 2 of our Library series looks at the other side of the Primary Library … while the changes in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 Library were quite major, the alterations in the Key Stage 2 (KS2) Library were much more subtle, but nonetheless transformational. While the extension was being built on the other side of the building, we had the large white shelving unit that housed our collection of new books and the Bangkok Book Award selection relocated to the other end of the space. This completely opened up the entrance to the KS2 Library and gave an impressive feeling of much more room, which was wonderful.

It also allowed us to put the long zig-zag table behind it to create another teaching space should the need arise.

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Now, everyone is drawn into the Library, especially as the new book selection, which used to be at the entrance of the library, is found towards the back. This relocation also allowed us the opportunity to rearrange the furniture to create a more user friendly and relaxing reading space in the middle which the children have loved.

Along with this we have also added an extra shelf under the windows at the front, by the walkway, and built in a new set of slimline shelves outside the Library Classroom (which was also rotated 180 degrees, putting the Smart Board at the other end of the classroom) to house our ‘Audio Visual’ collection. The extra shelf under the windows meant that we were able to relocate the entire Thai collection and place it with the rest of the Home Language books, which is where it belonged. We have now expanded our Home Language collection of books as we received a generous donation from the EAL department, which is now catalogued and available for borrowing by the entire school community. These new shelves also house our ‘Mindfulness’ collection of books, which are for both the younger and older children in Primary and are available for staff and parents to borrow whenever the need arises.

These changes have created more space for the children to use and enjoy and have allowed for events, such as the Home Language ‘Feature’ Week, to take place in the window boxes without impacting on the remainder of the library. This has been a wonderful side-effect and one that we will continue to enjoy benefitting from.

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Red Cross Blood Drive D

onating blood is a great way to help your community. A Red Cross Blood Drive will be held on Wednesday 31st March at the school. Year 13 students are welcome to donate with a consent form, as well as Business Staff and Teaching Assistants. Parents are also welcome to come to school to donate. Please access the application forms and consent forms here- these must be filled out and returned on the day. Blood can be donated from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm in CON420 in the Conference Centre.

It is important to note that people who have spent more than three months in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1980 to 1996, or five years in France or Ireland from 1980 to 2001, are not eligible to donate. Other restrictions can be found here.

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UNI COUNSELORS’ CORNER

Updates from the World of University Admissions Kevin Keller, Head of Careers and Universities

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s many of you know, the Careers and Universities Faculty holds monthly coffee mornings throughout the year for parents of students in Year 10-13 where we touch on interesting, new and helpful topics from the world of university admissions and college counselling. You can listen to or watch recordings of those sessions here. In the meantime, let me take a moment to share some updates from the world of university admissions.

begin preparing from at least Year 11. Due to competition in the UK, Bangkok Patana policy is that students apply to at least one other country to increase their chances of receiving an offer. Many notable programmes are located in Ireland, Australia and the Czech Republic.

STANDARDISED TESTING AND INCREASED COMPETITION IN THE USA Are the days of the SAT and other tests over? Thanks to COVID-19, the importance given to these tests is waning.

Due to the severe COVID outbreak in the United States, thousands of students were denied access to sitting the SAT, SAT subject tests and the ACT causing most universities to waive testing requirements for Grad’21 and Grad’22.

Some have already announced waiving the requirements for Grad’23 or are removing them altogether. Testing has fallen out of favour in many admission offices, including the most selective, in recent years due to the inherent inequalities of testing access and preparation and the lack of evidence that the SAT or ACT are indicators of university readiness. As of May 2021, SAT will no longer offer an essay option or Subject Tests (SAT II). A complete list of universities who do not require or review test scores is here.

MEDICINE Medicine courses in the United Kingdom have long been extremely competitive. The UK government strictly controls intake targets at universities and hopes the graduates will stay and work in the National Health Service (NHS) upon completion of their course. Beyond these and other limiting factors, applications to UK medical schools increased by more than 20 percent over last year. Like other competitive courses in the UK, simply meeting the requirements for admission does not guarantee an offer. Each application must stand out in a sea of others who are comparably qualified. To assist in their years-long preparation, Bangkok Patana students receive additional mentoring and guidance from teachers and university counsellors, mock interview sessions, mock entrance exams, access to extended subject reading and The question remains: How can students distinguish an extensive medicine course workshop series organised themselves from other qualified applicants among

by Mr Haughton Students interested in medicine should 18

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increased competition? Universities are turning to additional pieces of writing, closer looks at school supporting documents (transcript of grades, school references, etc), interviews and wider-community impact.

While most US universities have experienced stagnant or decreased application numbers, the universities most popular with international students have experienced application increases from 20 to 50 percent this year.

To address this competition, we encourage students to move beyond the consistently popular coastal universities and truly consider a university based on personal and academic fit. There are a number of “top” universities never considered by Bangkok Patana students because they simply exist “off the radar” in our community. In addition, students should be considering the questions “How do you stand out at Bangkok Patana?” “What will your presence at this university add to the experience of your peers or faculty members?”. Admission officers will expect these questions and others to be answered in each student’s application.

PASSPORT TO UNIVERSITY A new initiative from Careers and Universities, the new “Passport to University” is a customised outline of the tasks each student needs to complete, the reflections they need to consider and the important goal setting to help lead each of them down a path to their ultimate university goals. Counsellors can monitor each student’s progress and follow up with them to motivate, assess and give advice. This passport will not only give students yet another tool to navigate a challenging process but also ownership and accountability in their own journey. After all, this is not a passive process. Students should be active in their pursuit of their goals, resisting the temptation to feel assured in potential offers. We’re looking forward to how the “Passport to University” positively influences each student’s path to university.

University Visits UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE

COUNTRY

LOCATION

Iowa State University

USA

Senior Studies

17.3.2021

9.15 am

University College London

UK

Senior Studies

17.3.2021

2.30 pm

University of Akron, Manhattanville College Queen Mary University of London

USA

Senior Studies

18.3.2021

7.15 am

UK

Senior Studies

25.3.2021

2.30 pm

University of Westminster

UK

Senior Studies

31.3.2021

2.30 pm

University of Oxford

UK

Senior Studies

21.4.2021

3.00 pm

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TIME

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University Offers

Dusit Thani College

Henry Chandler

Business Administration

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ongratulations to Henry Chandler who has accepted an offer to attend Dusit Thani College where he will study for a degree in Business Administration, Hotel and Resort Management.

“I wanted to attend Dusit Thani College because I love how wide spread the entire travel industry is, the travelling aspect of tourism really attracts me. Also, I chose Dusit Thani College because I wanted to remain in Thailand. It has been my home for over eight years and I love the whole culture of the country - especially the food. At school I have been involved in Junior Varsity Rugby, Varsity Cross-County and Varsity Track and Field, in addition to going to the gym, because I really enjoy working on my mental and physical health and well-being.”

In the Spotlight...

Underwood International College, South Korea

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nderwood International College, affiliated with Yonsei University, is the first and only liberal arts college in South Korea. All classes are conducted in English with a selective acceptance rate. Founded 2006, Underwood offers 16 majors across three different fields of study including Nano Science and Engineering and Sustainable Development and Cooperation among others. UIC has exchange programmes and partnerships with the University of Hong Kong, Keio University, Amherst College, Barnard College, Waseda University , University of California Berkeley and University College Utrecht.

Contribute your article for publication in the magazine and in the Patana News! scientia@patana.ac.th

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the m o r f t s e The lat

PTG

Click here to join the PTG Facebook Group

Creativity is Contagious Safy Rizk, PTG Tiger Shop Manager

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ur Mission at the Tiger Shop is to bring the Patana ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES community spirit to life through branded products In coordination with our PTG Cross Campus Rep, and and accessories. in line with the school’s Global Citizenship goals, we Within the last six months we have delivered on our launched the Second-Hand Uniform Shop which serves promise to further foster school spirit through the following as a sustainable platform to collect/sort/upcycle and resell pre-loved uniforms. initiatives: • The introduction of House merchandise, Patana branded golf Sets and polos, various stationery and accessories that met the community’s demands.

• Brought the Tiger Shop store online live where we now accept two new payment methods (bank transfer and credit cards) • Upcycled used Primary uniforms into doll’s clothing for Foundation Stage students.

• Began offering iron-on labels for all garments and apparel and the sticker label to try to minimise items in Lost and Found.

We are also working closely with the Student Environmental Committee to supply the Secondary Lounge, Senior Studies and the Foundation Stage with upcycled products from uniforms such as cushions, cooking aprons and drawstring bags.

EVERY PURCHASE GOES TOWARDS HELPING THE COMMUNITY All funds generated by the Tiger Shop are recycled entirely back within the Bangkok Patana community. Your purchases help fund student initiatives, parent workshops, coffee mornings and a whole host of community programmes. Since the beginning of this academic year the Tiger Shop has generated THB 1.2 million.

CAS AND THE TIGER SHOP—A BUDDING NEW PARTNERSHIP The Tiger Shop wants to hear from you!

One of the programmes that we are most proud of is Here’s a list of Bangkok Patana products that were the Tiger Shop’s collaboration with CAS. As part of their suggested by the community: Year 13 CAS programmes, 12 students gained valuable hands-on experience in a wide variety of areas including • Visors - requested by Patana Sikh parents budgeting, marketing, social media, inventory and PR. • Patana Socks - requested by Secondary Students The CAS students launched a huge number of new • House Merch -requested by House Leaders and exciting initiatives. In addition to designing their own • Upcycled hair clips and head bands - requested by logo, the students had practical experience on launching Primary Parents a product from start to finish. Beginning with gauging • Masks (Upcycled, Patana and House) interests from Secondary Year groups on what new If you have a product that you would like to see in the products should be sold at the Tiger Shop, to designing shop, kindly contact us on ptgtigershop@patana.ac.th. and ordering completely new products, and finally to marketing and selling those products via various offline VOLUNTEER AT THE TIGER SHOP and online channels (e.g. the Tiger Shop, Tiger Cart, The Tiger Shop is one of the key ways for the Bangkok online, etc.)

Patana community to express themselves. We love We believe that students are the real investment in volunteers. If you have one morning free, please sign up any school, they are the future leaders, entrepreneurs for a shift at the Shop here. and influencers. Those 12 students were spontaneous In the end, it's not about how many shirts we sell, or how yet professional, committed yet resilient, punctual yet empathetic. It’s been amazing to see what they have many new products we introduce- it's about raising school spirit, promoting community relationships and building achieved in such a short period of time. social connections...that's what we are here for.

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#178: A Browser for Work, a Browser for Play F

or the past week, I’ve been using the Edge browser for everything I do at school. I have to admit, I am impressed with the developments that have occurred in the platform. So much so, that I have decided to make it my default browser. The switch from Chrome was seamless, all my stored passwords and bookmarks were synced across with a single click. Apart from it being simply faster than Chrome to load webpages and use less computing power in my opinion, find below some of the features that made me switch. I highly recommend you try it yourself.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 0:00 Vertical Tabs 1:10 Read Aloud and Immersive Reader 3:20 QR code generator 4:28 Collections 5:49 Web Capture (screenshot) 7:20 Profiles 8:40 Privacy Settings for Tracking 9:27 PDF Read Aloud and Ink/Draw on PDF 10:14 Sync Edge extensions and other info 11:14 Dark mode Have a great weekend, Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

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Desert Island Discs With Hannah McLaughlin, Year 3 Leader of Learning and Curriculum

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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 Hannah McLaughlin, Year 3 Leader of Learning and Curriculum is stuck on a desert island.

MS MCLAUGHLIN IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? There Will be a Time - Mumford and Sons and Baaba Maal 40 Day Dream - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Everything Now - Arcade Fire Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles Ship to Wreck - Florence and the Machine My Silver Lining - First Aid Kit My Number - Foals

Listen to Ms McLaughlin’s playlist here

Dakota - Stereophonics 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. My coffee machine with an endless supply of coffee WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Catch the real Desert Island Discs on BBC. Now that you are stuck at home, what are you listening to? Have a list of your own? Let us know! Contact SHKN with your favourites.

Community Offers FIND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR THE BANGKOK PATANA COMMUNITY HERE

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Wildlife Spotting with Coke Where the Wildlife Hides

Alexander (Coke) Smith, Environmental Systems and Societies Leader

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hen I first started exploring the nature of Thailand, I was immediately impressed with the sheer biodiversity of the Kingdom. As an ecologist, I was always aware that Southeast Asia was one of the most diverse areas of the world for species of flora and fauna; however, I just assumed, as many do, that most of this supposed biodiversity was out of reach – either already wiped out by humanity or so rare that seeing the species would be nearly impossible.

Little did I know then that Thailand has protected massive tracts of land with nearly or completely intact ecosystems with all the levels of the trophic pyramid, including the charismatic top carnivores. Much of this amazing biodiversity is under a very strict protected status and is completely off limits to the general public and can only be visited with nearly impossible-to-get permits. One can argue though that this is exactly why Thailand still has such wilderness!

The good news is that in about a three-hour drive from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, one can be in perhaps the most outstanding wildernesses in all of Southeast Asia – Kaeng Krachan National Park. Kaeng Krachan is a massive national park (approximately 3000 km2) with a stunning array of wildlife to potentially view. Reaching all the way to the Burma border, Kaeng Krachan is a mosaic of habitats ranging from deciduous dry forest to subtropical rainforest, some of which is primary in nature.

As with virtually all wildlife locations in Asia, the wildlife are timid and reluctant to show themselves to humans, for obvious reasons. With a bit of knowledge and preplanning AND a lot of luck, one can experience an astounding variety of wildlife species at Kaeng Krachan. There is a less-known secret to seeing Kaeng Krachan’s rare species – in fact, to see some of rarest of the rare, one does not even need to enter the national park!

On the eastern flank of Kaeng Krachan, there are a series of wildlife blinds or hides that allow people to see

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incredible amounts of wildlife at very close quarters. Taking outstanding images of these rarely photographed species is a piece of cake in these blinds, and the species list can change day to day. All you need to know is how to make arrangements to get inside these blinds and to find their secret locations! If you are interested in such an experience, get in touch with me at cosm@patana.ac.th and I will give you the contact details and specifics about how to plan a visit to one of the blinds at Kaeng Krachan.

I hope you enjoy a very small sample.

Coke Smith is our Bangkok Patana School Environmental Science Leader and is an avid wildlife photographer. He has published his work in countless books, magazines and newspapers around the world and has even had his work shown in BBC Planet Earth and Nat Geo Science. He loves to share his love of nature and wildlife with his students!

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COMMUNITY NOTICES

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COMMUNITY NOTICES

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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 28

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