Patana News Volume 23 Issue 26

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 26h March 2021

Volume 23 Issue 26

www.patana.ac.th

LIVING IN THE VIRTUAL CHASM Mr Mills Final Letter of Term 2

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Also in this issue...

Student Athelete Successes/Transport Information for Term 3/Turn if Off Thursday!

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Bangkok Patana School News

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

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Living in the Virtual Chasm Greetings Everyone,

I am so delighted that we have managed to get through another academic term relatively unscathed from the COVID-19 school closures. We remain optimistic that we will get through the rest of this academic year with out requiring our CSL programme but continue to review and refine our CSL offerings just in case another COVID-19 cloud shadows us.

I have been doing a great deal of personal reflection on running a large dynamic school through an extended world pandemic.

I think our school community has responded extremely well to all the challenges that have been thrown at us over the past year.

Students remain focused and optimistic; they valued the opportunity of being able to participate in their hugely popular Residential Visits. Their attitude to their academics is still very much full of focus and commitment as they strive to flourish and fill in the gaps.

The Bangkok Patana staff continue to be professional and supportive at all times even though a large number of them are expatriates and are longing to reconnect with their motherships around the globe. Our PTG are personable and vibrant and remain so positive and upbeat even though the majority of their community projects have had to be curtailed this year.

It was great to see Secondary parents attending their first face-to-face Parent Coffee Morning last Thursday and observing their delight in being able to communicate directly with teaching staff and other like-minded parents. The Primary parents greatly valued the opportunity to celebrate their children’s sport days out on the back field again.

Living in the Virtual Chasm One of my key reflections over the past year is the importance and reliance we have all had with technology and experiencing living in the virtual chasm. One of my favourite writers is Yuval Noah Harari who wrote the very popular “Sapiens”. He recently wrote an incredible article entitled ‘Lessons from a year of COVID - In a year of scientific breakthroughs — and political failures — what

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can we learn for the future?’ that you can read here.

One of my key takeaways of his COVID reflections, was the incredible reliance we have all had on technology and thank goodness, it did not fail us, as it would be unimaginable to think how the world would have survived this massive pandemic without it.

Who would have ever thought we would have had vaccines in rapid time, and technology once again played a huge part in their success?

Sticking to the school context, nearly all our professional learning opportunities have been successfully launched through webinars, Zoom and Microsoft Teams virtual environs.

Our recruitment programme this year has been conducted using the virtual Zoom connection. I have hired two key leadership positions this year and I have yet to meet face-to-face our new Secondary and Primary Principals.

Lots of our Arts performances have had to be drastically reduced this year but successful lunch time performances, which have been live streamed, have given parents and loved ones the opportunity to see their children performing albeit virtually.

The Virtual Space Moving Forward The virtual space we are all richly experiencing is not a blip in normalcy, but a proven way forward to which we are still adapting.

However, we are all very thankful to the part it has played through this global pandemic, which has kept the boat afloat and keeps guiding us into unchartered waters.

Have a wonderful and safe, dry Songkran this year and enjoy your time with family and loved ones.

Matt Mills Head of School

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Cindy Adair, Cross Campus Assistant Principal, Sports and ECAs

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t’s almost that time of year when we pause to reflect on the year of sport. The wins, the personal bests, the close losses and the lessons learned. Due to COVID -19, it’s been another challenging year for scheduling sports, but we remain extremely grateful for what has gone ahead, given the plight of many of our peers around the globe. Season 1 and Season 3 were thankfully able to go ahead but Season 2 was abandoned mid-season due to a second wave of cases and resulting school closures.

This means we need to adapt and be flexible in our approach. Our student-athletes have done us proud this year and we have much to celebrate.

Therefore we are taking the following approach to work within current COVID-19 management guidelines which restrict indoor gatherings to less than 300 people.

Students in Year 11 – 13, along with their coaches, will have a special Sports Awards Dinner on Friday 21st May where they will receive their seasonal and legacy awards in person. We will livestream this event for parents to watch online.

Students in Year 10 and below will receive their awards in front of their peers during Year-group assemblies throughout May and June. Last year, we had to resort to a video presentation only, so this is an encouraging step back in the right direction.

This year’s awards: TEAM AWARDS • MVP – This award goes to the most outstanding

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player on the team and the most influential in terms of performance.

• Most Improved – This award goes to a player who shows outstanding effort at training, fixtures and tournaments and has made the largest gains in his/ her skills, fitness and tactics.

• Tiger Spirit – This awards goes to a student who lives our values by showing outstanding effort at training, fixtures and tournaments, is a strong performer and also displays the traits of leadership and good sportsmanship at all times.

LEGACY AWARDS • GCSE Full Blues – An award presented to Year 11’s who were a member of six or more teams throughout Year 10 and Year 11 • IB Sport Blues – An award presented to Year 13’s who were a member of the same Varsity team for four or more years • IB Full Blues – An award presented to Year 13’s who were a member of six or more Varsity teams throughout Year 12 and Year 13 • Thai Flags for National Representation We look forward to celebrating with you all in the coming months. Save the date, Friday 21st May in the Black Box Theatre. 5.00 pm to 8.00 pm, Smart casual dress code

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ATOD Dance Competition Success Ponrapi (Pon) Kasemsri Na Ayudhaya, 9D

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ne of the highlights of the ballet competition calendar is the Australia Teachers of Dance (ATOD) International Dance competition, which was recently held from 16th March to 21st March. I decided to try competing again for two categories: Classical Ballet and Jazz Duo. Because I’ve taken part in this competition several times before, the last was one year ago, I wasn’t as nervous as in previous years, and I was, instead, more confident.. Even though I couldn’t do my best last year, I made sure to revise my notes, relax and avoid watching other competitors to make sure I wouldn’t go into a world of self-doubt and anxiety. On the 18th, I got up early in the morning to do makeup, practice and head to the theatre. In an instant I was in the wings of the stage, ready to go and dance. After the performance I felt satisfied, even though I couldn’t stick specific turns, I felt I did my best. When I found out I placed First, I was overwhelmed with shock and relief that all of my work paid off. Smiling, I accepted the golden trophy, on cloud nine and I didn’t want the moment to stop.

Two days later, I competed in the Jazz Duo category with a friend of mine from my ballet school. I got plenty of sleep and made sure I revised a lot with my friend before we went on stage. In the blink of an eye, I was back again in the wings of the stage and I performed again. After the performance, I was satisfied once again. However, my teammate told me that she made a mistake, so my hope skyrocketed down, and I thought “I’m not going to win any prize now… oh no…”. However, to my delight we placed 2nd out of six older pairs. We both looked at each other with utter shock and we were smiling so hard when we took the silver trophies home. Overall, this has been a very positive experience for me and even though I’ll be taking a break from competing I will still cherish all the moments I’ve had on stage.

Term 2 ends 2nd April and Term 3 starts 19th April. Be sure to check the calendar for other holidays coming up!

2020/21 CALENDAR

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Congrats to Year 11 Basketballer!

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ear 11 student Priscilla Jensen is now ranked 6th in the FIBA World Individual Basketball Rankings. At the age of 15 in the Women’s Under 18 category, she has ranked sixth out of 1,593 listed players and 463 ranked players.

Generation Zoom Takes 3rd at Dance Championships Emiko Kitabatake and Saori Tanaka, Patana parents aoki Kitabatake, 6S and Mizuki Tanaka, 5H joined the Generation Zoom team to take part in the national dance competition ‘To Be Number One Teen Dancercise Thailand National Championships 2021’.

Generation Zoom won third place in the pre-teen category, a remarkable accomplishment!

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been practicing five to six days a week to prepare for the competition. They overcame the challenges of keeping up with school studies and ECA activities – they both did great job managing the six month journey to this achievement.

The experience also gave them a fantastic opportunity to work together and learn how much they can achieve as a team.

Over 350 teams from around the nation took part in the preliminary rounds while the top three teams from each In 2002, Princess Ubolratana started the ‘To Be Number region competed in three categories at the championships: One’ national campaign to help youth find activities and Junior, Pre-Teen and Teen. Generation Zoom took first keep them away from harmful drugs. place in Bangkok in December. Naokie and Mizuki have

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Solo Festival Applications Now Open Rachel Stead, Leader of Learning and Music, Primary

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he Solo Festival provides opportunities for vocalists adjudicator. and instrumentalists of all ability levels to perform in Students will receive written feedback on their a non-competitive, supportive environment. All young muperformance as well as a certificate for their effort. sicians, from Year 1 upwards, are welcome to perform at the Festival by preparing one or more pieces of music to More details and application can be found here play for a small audience of fellow musicians, parents and

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Deforestation in the Rainforest Narida (Nia) Ekaraphanich uring Term 2b in Year 5, we have been studying rainforests. Our leading question is ‘Should deforestation be banned?’. We have dived deeper with our understanding and used the help of our five senses to come up with our very own poem about a rainforest Elevated in the emergent, Looming above the chorus of the wilderness, Like a piece of autumn hue, Broken from the season, There he is, The vibrant smudge of black and orange, Propelled by wings, Swoops effortlessly, And motionlessly, Like a multi-coloured leaf, Darting across the weather, And dropping from the sky, He must not be seen, Now weightless, Dawdling and meandering without end, In and out of the luscious carpet of green, Determined to make a change, Hoping to be a future courageous self, Like the gateway to the skies have split, Toucan dives through the surge of the downpour, Grey scrapes the horizon violently, Like a grey carpet of haze, Lingering in the air, Amongst the shadows, Between the netted, verdant canopy, There he perches, On the highest branch, gazing down, Across the future lifeless plains, With sorrow, Mighty within, But at the end of the day, He is, Only, An innocent bird, A Toucan, As he’d like to say.

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animal. Soon, we will come up with a class rainforest song and in our music lessons add a tune and several chords to it. This is my poem about deforestation and change from the point of view of a human and a toucan.

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Conversations with Your Child About Their Bodies, Keeping Safe, Relationships And Sex

Carol Battram, Primary Assistant Principal Learning and Welfare

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arents respond in many different ways when I send out invitations to attend an RSE presentation. RSE stands for Relationship and Sex Education, but it’s often the second half of that equation that gets all the attention.

their questions. Most of us have some idea of the values we hold dear, even if we have never clearly articulated them. What’s important to your family, your culture, your beliefs?

Talking with your child about relationships, their body, WHAT VALUES DO YOU WISH TO SHARE WITH and how to keep themselves safe and healthy, works best YOUR CHILD? as an ongoing conversation. We teach RSE units towards If you aren’t sure how much they know, ask them some the end of the school year, but your child may have questions back. If your child asks a question in the wrong questions at any time, so please – don’t wait for us! place, it’s fine to delay answering but agree that you'll talk about it at home. If you avoid answering questions, your child will learn that some issues are not discussed at home and look elsewhere for answers. Be realistic about the possibility that your child will view online content not designed for children. There’s a huge naïveté gap between parents, who may remain oblivious, and the high number of children accessing pornography or other graphic content online, even if it is just being shown a quick clip on a friend’s phone.

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES Behaviours change as children get older and you may recognise some of these behaviours.

Most children are curious about Relationships and Sex. It’s interesting stuff. They therefore need accurate information about how bodies change and how humans reproduce. Answers can be kept simple but must be truthful.

If you don’t know the answer, be honest about that as well.

You may already have read this recent article in the Guardian which is very timely - How to teach young people about sex and relationships.

As they get older, children need to learn not only about the changes that come with puberty, but also how to manage their feeling and navigate their relationships. These conversations need to introduce the concept of consent and personal responsibility at an age-appropriate level.

• Your child is now embarrassed about being seen naked in front of you.

• They only want to play with friends of the same gender.

• Games include relationship role-play.

• They are curious about body changes, sex and the arrival of babies.

Below is a very rough guide to the ages at which children show interest in their body, their sense of privacy, and changing relationships as they move through Primary.

If this doesn’t line up with your own experience, don’t worry as there is a lot of variance.

Infancy: Up to two years An on-going conversation will help your child prepare for young adulthood and it’s worth thinking ahead about Toddlers learn names for all parts of the body including what you want to share, as well as how you might answer genitalia.

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They may start to identify the more obvious differences ask for help. It’s hard to feel in control of a ’down there’. between genders.

CHANGES AT PUBERTY Two to five years old • A child who knows what to expect is less likely to become anxious.

Children can understand that a man and a woman can make a baby together, and that the baby grows inside the • Some start puberty as young as eight years old woman. although this is unusual.

They learn that their body belongs to them and that private parts are private.

• Everyone experiences change during puberty and it should not be a mystery.

They should be taught about different types of touching; some touches are safe and comforting, some are not safe and not welcome.

• Don’t shroud things in mystery. Inform girls about boys’ changes, and boys about girls’ changes.

They need to know what to do and who to tell if they feel unsafe or unsure.

• Boys need to know about involuntary erections and wet dreams, so that they know what to expect. Girls need to know about periods and to have access to a range of sanitary products.

Five to eight years old Children understand social conventions around privacy, nudity and respect for others.

• They may start to challenge the status quo in their relationships with adults.

They understand that we all change and grow in different ways.

• They might experience significant and complex upsets within their friendship group.

UNWILLING TO TALK? Not every child, or indeed parent, wants to talk about A number of children will experience puberty changes puberty, sex and relationships. before age 10.

There are many other information resources both online and in our libraries.

Nine to 12 years old They are interested to learn more about how babies are made, and the different ways in which babies are born.

TEACHING CHILDREN TO KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE. We teach our students to keep themselves safe and They are developing an understanding of what makes a regularly revisit our Student Safeguarding Code of relationship healthy and positive, including consent, safety Conduct. It helps when children hear similar messages and respect. both from home and from school.

They should be taught how to judge whether depictions Many of our students will be familiar with Pantasaurus, of sex and sexuality from various sources are true or false, but this is a message worth repeating, even if the song realistic or not, positive or negative. drives you to the brink.

All children should know about the likely changes at puberty.

NAMING BODY PARTS If you start talking with them now, they will learn that It helps to have the right words for all parts of the body, you are their Number One Trusted Adult when they need including male and female genitalia, and we teach these support and truthful information. If you’ve never talked words as part of our PSHE and RSE curriculum. As a family, Pants before, you may find these clips useful viewing: you may have other names for these body parts. By naming Pantasaurus song (What’s in your PANTS) all visible body parts, including vulva, testicles, nipples and penis, children develop the sense of ownership that comes Parents talking about PANTS with knowledge.

How to talk with your child about keeping themselves If parts of the body are left unnamed, it is hard for the safe child to talk about their body, to ask clear questions or to 26/02/2021

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D+T Students Use Their Design Skills at The Village International Simon Griffiths, Design + Technology teacher

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+T students had an inspirational visit to The Village International Education Centre where they explored a range of concept models they had created with real users. This gave them the opportunity to gather important feedback to support the IB projects as part of IB D+T. This enables students to further develop their understanding of conditions like cerebral palsy and autism and learn how they can better support othersto enable them to become active participants in society. Students also gain the opportunity to apply their design skills in a real life context.

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Working with children who live differently to us helps understand the challenges they face.

Empathy is key when iterating products for the Village children. The opportunity of one on one time allows unthinkable issues to arise and be further understood to a new extent.

Camille, 12A

The trip allowed me to have a more professional experience of product development since the client I was working with faces genuine challenges which have to be addressed with a systematic and methodical approach. Mark, 12E

The trip was a great chance to connect with those that are less fortunate than us and find a way to give back to them and the community.

Aric, 12A

This trip allowed us to connect with the children and help us understand their difficulties.

Roanne, 12E

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Turn It Off Thursday!

Alexander Coke Smith, Environmental Systems and Societies Leader s most of us know, Bangkok Patana School has • Lights turned off during breaks – 67 percent been holding “Waste Less Weeks”. The purpose improvement from a regular day! of this event is to bring awareness to the ways that our • Air conditioners turned off during breaks – 60 students, staff and their families can minimise their carpercent improvement over a regular day! bon footprint by changing basic behaviours such as food choices, transportation options and energy use.

• Projectors turned off during breaks – 100 percent were turned off in classes surveyed!

For two Thursdays in a row, everyone has been

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requested to “Turn it Off!” In a campaign titled, “Turn it Off Thursdays”, we’ve asked all staff and students to be very conscious about turning off electricity-consuming devices any time possible. We specifically asked staff and students to be sure to turn off lights, ACs, projectors and other unnecessary items during break times and if possible to limit their use during actual class times.

These are clearly dramatic improvements over our normal, non-“Turn it Off Thursday” days! Nice job Bangkok Patana!

What this taught our team is that if we were to make this simple behaviour of consciously turning all electrical devices every time we had a break in the room we could reduce our energy consumption by approximately 13 percent. Moreover, if we were to be more aware of our actual electricity needs while in the classrooms, we could surely decrease our energy consumption even further!

Setting our thermostats at 25C rather than 23C, turning off one set of lights in classrooms or simply only turning on projectors when they are actually being used, can all be effective ways to reduce our energy demand.

out green solutions. Being such a big school, it is easy for high energy consumption to go unnoticed - but I am sure that the results we collected from Turn it Off Thursday will show you the extent to which energy consumption could be reduced!” Yizhen (Tina) Kong, Year 12

There is still more work to do, however. After further analys is our actual energy usage, even with the changed behaviour during break times, increased this week compared to previous weeks. This could be due to the Our Student Environmental Committee subgroup – Roots hotter weather lately but we should always be aware of & Shoots, have collected data to see how effective our our energy use practices to try to minimise our carbon efforts have been. As you can see in the graph there was footprint. a significant dip in energy usage during the two major A few quotes from our student team: breaks we have during our school day. What is significant is that these dips have not regularly occurred during similar “Waste Less Week was once again a success! Being days when the Turn if Off Thursday campaign was not in part of the SEC, I am so grateful that we have this aneffect. Nice job!!!! nual event to engage the whole school body in testing

“It was quite surprising that we were able to drastically reduce our energy consumption on Turn It Off Thursday, despite being a very large school” Anonymous Year 12 Student from Roots & Shoots

"Turn it off Thursday was a huge success. Turn off the climate change. Turn off the lights and turn on your life!"

Here are our results by electrical device category for Kentaro Kawakita, Year 11 “Turn it Off Thursday”:

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Using the Library Website Effectively

Stephen Murgatroyd, Cross Campus Head of Libraries n the fourth and last of the library series articles, I am going to focus on how all of the information about the Library, and all of its services, can be accessed. Our whole collection, along with all of our subscription and recommended reading lists, can easily be accessed via the Primary, Secondary, Teacher or Parent websites. The Library websites are continually being updated and improved, with new links and information being added to make the experience a better one for everyone.

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To help us make sure that what you want to see on our shelves is actually there, we encourage the whole Bangkok Patana community to make suggested recommendations via the button at the top right-hand side of the Library website – this is the best way to make sure that the Libraries stock the books that are important to you. Make sure to use ‘Destiny’, to search our online catalogue of over 70,000 items that we have available to be borrowed in school. If you need help to use it, please do come in and see us, we will be only too happy to show you how to make the best use of it.

One of the biggest online additions we have made recently has been joining a consortium of schools in Thailand subscribing to OverDrive, an online eBook company, which has allowed us access to ‘Sora’, which is a wonderful programme where our children and students can access a wide selection of popular books via computers, laptops, phones and tablets. It has proven to be very popular and we have seen a big uptake of it over the past six months.

Another great online resource we have subscribed to is PressReader, which is a fabulous place to access thousands of newspapers and magazines for both academic and personal reading. Along with all of our other wonderful online resources, links to access these can be found on our websites – why not take a look, we don’t think you will be disappointed.

Happy reading.

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ARTS COUNCIL Building Confidence Through Theatre Tara Gibson, 11S have been mesmerised by the Arts for my whole life – or as far down my childhood as I can remember, as there was something captivating about standing up to perform in front of an audience. What draws me most to Bangkok Patana’s Arts department is their acceptance to support each student and our unique styles. This taught me to believe in myself, boost my creative ideas and fuel my willingness to learn.

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Throughout the years, theatre has helped me build my confidence, not only within the class but also to adapt those techniques to become comfortable while speaking in front of an audience. I was able to change my mindset because as a theatre student, I’ve learnt that “just getting it done and over with” is not enough. Planning, taking initiative, time management and adaptability are a few of the key techniques that are essential for, not only the class but also for life outside of class as well.

For one of my coursework assignments, I had to perform a monologue from a play called “Adult Child/ Dead Child” which tells the story of a young woman’s discipline and punishments from their parents. fight with mental illness. It was a challenge, as I had to Being involved in class demands commitment, complete all my work online and alone during CSL, but motivation, and allows me to use my creativity to solve with my teacher’s guidance I ended up with an extremely problems, such as assigned tasks that must be completed successful final piece. without full supervision. Overall, as an experience, I have My favourite part of the play was the theme. A question- enjoyed every moment dedicated to theatre, whether I “How do we cope without love?”. This piece allowed am memorising lines or learning the technical aspects of a me to bring to life, the comfort that my character seeks production, and I will always remember what I have learnt within an imaginary friend, due to the excessive amount of and adapt it to suit my future needs.

Red Cross Blood Drive Y

ear 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 on Wednesday 31st March from 9.00 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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Exploring Different Perspectives Tisha Hannaford, 10M

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ecently, our drama class has been performing scenes from the play ‘Hedda Gabler’ by Henrik Ibsen, as adapted by Brian Friel. We were instructed to consider and explore different perspectives from each character in the play: understand their role in society and perceive their psychological depth. Unfortunately, COVID-19 restrictions had us back into CSL. However, this fortunately enabled us time to study the script in more detail, consider different meanings behind the dialogue and stage directions, and identify where tension can be built up and released.

even completely juxtaposing themes. At first, it was difficult to grasp how the main protagonist, Hedda, was viewing her place in the world. I finally came to the conclusion that she felt trapped in a society built by men. Knowing she has no escape she constantly attempts to ruin other people’s lives so as to feel some sense of satisfaction.

Overall, I enjoyed studying this play. I found the characters very intriguing and interesting, whilst the varied themes allowed a range of theatrical interpretation. In the future, I would like to study plays like ‘Hedda Gabler’ in depth, as it allowed me to become absorbed in the What I enjoyed the most about ‘Hedda Gabler’, is that the story and the characters and consider the theatrical play successfully blends abstract and naturalistic themes. interpretations possible.

The set is usually minimalistic which allows us to roam the entire stage, changing the style to be more theoretical -

Interact Seeks Donations

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CAT/CAS CORNER

WFP MasterChef Winner!

Emiri Miyake 11E

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et the battle begin! Contestants from various different Year groups were able to showcase their passion for cooking, as well as exceptional cooking skills in the annual MasterChef challenge. This year’s theme was to use at least two ingredients from our food drive list. Under pressure and with only 30 minutes to cook, each team had to put their time management skills to the test; they had to complete their dish and finish with a clean workspace in order to receive bonus points.

The judges were clearly impressed with the dishes that ranged from steak to glass noodles to cupcakes.

Congratulations to the Amazing Amateurs team Athena and Amy (9S) for winning the 2021 MasterChef challenge with their delicious glass noodles with vegetables!

Hear from one of the contestants, Hubert, from Team ‘Q’ about his experience.

“During the MasterChef challenge, I learned that time management was a really important factor in cooking and also the ability to communicate with my partner while staying organised.

The best part was when Kirsten and I worked really well cooking together.

We managed to get both the steak and the sauce done within 15-20 minutes and had time to clean and decorate our plate.”

Lastly, a huge thank you to all the participants, judges and the staff involved. The event was a huge success!

WHAT IS WFP? WFP stands for World Food Project. We are a CAT club that aims to raise awareness about world hunger.

In addition to this, we help less privileged communities in the local area by collecting essential ingredients for the annual food drive.

Come and join us every Tuesday from 12:35 to 1:00 to support our cause.

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Transport Corner

Transport Information for Term 3 D

ue to COVID-19 restrictions, Transport will be pausing all transport options until campus re-opens. Please be aware that social distancing will be in place and that temperature checks will be taken before students are allowed on the bus.

Once the go-ahead has been given for the re-opening of school there will be a new announcement covering transport information for all students.

Food Hygene and Safety in Canteens

The school canteens were inspected by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority Environment Department on Tuesday 2nd March 2021. Our canteens passed all BMA standards for food hygiene and safety standards.

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Year 13 Thai Students Inspired by Speaker Y

ear 13 Thai students had a chance to hear from writer, teacher and environmentalist Zcongklod Bangyikhan who visited the school to share his experiences with the students.

I really enjoyed the presentation by Khun Zcongklod as not only what he was talking about was relevant in the short-term but how actions can influence one to change their perspective in the long-term as well.

He spoke with such passion for what he was doing that it was inspiring to see a different perspective.

Furthermore, this analytical view on what society deems as important or not is unique which is why there is an emphasis on quality and not quantity when it comes to articles written in his publication, The Cloud. Premika,13F

Khun Zcongklod has given us an unprecedented insight into his rich experience of Thai culture. His collection of unique anecdotes combined with his relaxed demeanor, demonstrated his unyielding commitment to better our society as I myself have felt it all throughout his presentation. Most importantly, I respect his passion for the art of journalism and criticism of our current media, whilst doing it in the most humble way that only he can.

Prae, 13G

In my opinion, this was one of the most rewarding and inspiring speakers we’ve had at Patana. Not only did Mr Bangyikhan discussed topics pertinent to our IB diploma - such as the importance of cultural context in the analysis of Thai texts - but he also shed light on the realities of news reporting and the spread of information; by engaging with us, he made his discussion feel more relevant. Seeing such a unique perspective on online media, and the success of his platform, The Cloud, left me profoundly impacted. Not only does it showcase current affairs, but it also celebrates the cultures and communities of our nation. By actively connecting with the viewer base, through events such as guided tours and trips, readers of The Cloud are valued. In this digital age, where information is fast and fluid,The Cloud is allowing Thai people to value their own society, and, most crucially, feel like they are valued too. Charlie, 13T

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UNI COUNSELORS’ CORNER

University Offers

Chawin (Sun) Nuntiruj

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Syracuse University, Pennsylvania State University

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Engineering

ongratulations to Sun on his offers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Syracuse University and the Pennsylvania State University. He will attend WPI with a Presidential Scholarship to study Engineering.

“I was admitted to my first-choice college – Worcester Polytechnic Institute – under Early Decision in February. I am so excited to be pursuing higher education in Massachusetts this fall. One reason I’ve applied here is because of the “Project-Based Education” that WPI offers. By being exposed to both theory and practice at the same time, I’m developing the mindset of solving real world problems in real-time. This can help me prepare myself better when implementing new systems in places that need progress. In a world that’s always changing, I feel that it is crucial to understand the world as it is to become successful later on in life.”

where an equation is existing for every degree of freedom in mechanical systems. My observant nature, coupled with my further reading, sparked my interest in engineering.

With this, I hope to strengthen my knowledge in this field “During my reading of ‘Essential Calculus with to one day be a part of big changes.”

Applications’ in preparation for starting calculus, differential I had a work placement at a tapioca starch and plastic calculus used in converting between displacement, container factory where I was taught to use designing velocity, and acceleration captured my attention. Being software systems, such as Siemens NX and the digital curious about IB Physics, I read an article “The Dynamics designing process of custom-designed parts for an of Machinery and Mechanisms” from the Great Soviet extracting machine.”

Encyclopedia, which exposed me to the level of detail

In the Spotlight...

The New School’s Parsons School of Design

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arsons School of Design offers a highly regarded Fine Arts programme at The New School in Greenwich Village in the heart of New York City.

As one of five colleges at The New School, Parsons has rigorous interdisciplinary programmes across the spectrum of art and design, from fashion and technology to urban design, fine art and management. The School has produced many notable alumni in the fashion industry including Bill Blass, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Anna Sui and Isaac Mizrahi. Parsons has also produced many famed artists including Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein and Ai Weiwei.

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#180: Chat Apps are Back – What Parents Need to Know C

hat apps never really went away, they, like many things in our children’s lives, come and go in popularity waves.

For example, although not a chat app, mentioning Fortnite at the Year 7 Assembly this week on ‘Making Positive Contributions to Our Digital Communities’ the audience gave a collective groan – it’s just not cool for the majority of them now – they’ve moved on.

There are three main chat apps parents should be aware of that students are using: Omegle, Discord and Clubhouse.

There are many others, but these are the ones I hear about a lot. Watch the videos below to get you up to speed, or to coin another phrase, “no adult left behind”.

Have a great weekend.

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

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m the o r f t s e t a l e Th

PTG

Click here to join the PTG Facebook Group

Meet our PTG Volunteers Mara Moreira, Volunteer Yoga Instructor

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`m Portuguese, married and have two daughters here at Bangkok Patana. Our family moved from Portugal in 2008 to the US, followed by Dubai and South Africa. In 2018 we moved to Thailand and Bangkok Patana School.

I started practicing yoga in 2016 in South Africa and fell in love with it. In 2017, I did a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training for my own personal growth and continue to practice daily. I am now a 500-hour Level Master Yoga Teacher. Yoga has had a huge impact in my life. Physically I feel much stronger, confident, and flexible but also mentally I`m a much calmer and balanced person than I was before. Yoga has also inspired me to make healthier choices in my diet.

The PTG really helped us settle in here at Bangkok Patana and made our transition a smooth one. During our first year here in Term 1 the PTG offered activities for parents at school, and as a Yoga Teacher, I happily volunteered.

I first started to teach once a week but later twice a week due to requests from eager students who were excited to begin their new yoga path. At Bangkok Patana, I only teach Hatha/Vinyasa styles of yoga but I`m certified to teach Yin, Restorative, Nidra and adaptive yoga. Quite often I hear “I`m not flexible” and “I can`t practice yoga.”

However, this couldn`t be further from the truth; yoga is for everybody. The practice can be modified and adjusted to suit everyone.

Their practice grew at the same time as I grew as a teacher.

I always say to my students that I`ve been learning so much with them. It is very rewarding to be volunteering at this school, it allows me to have the opportunity to meet amazing people and share experiences together.

“Although I only started with the yoga class two weeks ago, I really enjoy it. Everyone can join as Mara always explains different ways to do the exercises to fit everyone`s level. Even if you never did yoga before, you can join.

It`s the best way to start the morning in an energised and relaxed mood” – Leen “It`s no exaggeration to say that yoga with Mara is the highlight of my week.

I have never even owned a yoga mat before starting the PTG lessons at Bangkok Patana a few years ago so I had no idea what to expect, but now I never miss a lesson and feel much stronger and healthier as a result. Mara adjusts her teaching to suit all levels so I`d definitely recommend you come and give it a try even if you`re not sure yoga will be for you.” – Charlotte

My Bangkok Patana students are very special to me since I had my first experience as a teacher at the school.

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Wildlife Spotting with Coke Bueng Boraphet!

Alexander Coke Smith, Environmental Systems and Societies Leader

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’ve been getting great feedback from the Bangkok Patana School community on my articles on the local wildlife viewing options lately. I am so happy to know that many in our family have actually visited some of the places in these articles and are already coming back with wildlife and nature stories of their own! Love it!

For this week’s edition, I will travel about 3.5 hours north of Bangkok to Nakhon Sawan Province. Sadly, Nakhon Sawan is one of those provinces that most people simply pass through while on their way to more famous places like Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai. Nakhon Sawan, however, is an absolutely spectacular province rich in history and is close to many of Thailand’s most significant historical and religious sites.

and migratory birds. Here over 250 species of birds can be found at various times of the year.

The images you see in today’s article are a very small sample of what I and my son were able to spot and photograph in a three hour sojourn around the wetland.

We had a relatively good day for sure, but even on an off day one can easily get over 50 species and some pretty awesome views at that! During the peak migration, one can spot tens of thousands of waterfowl of many species explode in flight! The sight of thousands of Lesser Whistling Ducks take flight is one that you will not soon forget. Bueng Boraphet even now has Thailand’s only native freshwater crocodile species back in its waters. The Siamese Crocodile was once extinct but has now found its way back in to the wetlands and we spotted one sunning on a sand bar just a couple weeks ago!

For me, it’s all about wildlife! Nakhon Sawan is where one can travel to one of Thailand’s most important wetland ecosystems – Bueng Boraphet. Bueng Boraphet I highly recommend Bueng Boraphet for those interested is a rather large wetland stretching over 30 kms in length. in seeing one of Thailand’s wildlife spectacles. It’s an easy A once much larger wetland ecosystem, what remains drive due north and, although it is theoretically possible as today is a vital ecosystem for many species of resident a day trip from Bangkok, I would recommend an overnight

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trip with a night in Nakhon Sawan town – a lovely city with loads of good eats and lovely temples and historical sites. The town itself is worth a trip! Once there, you would be advised to rent a boat for a morning. There is no better guide than Khun Phantom (contact information on request) who is a true local and has been spotting wildlife on the wetland his entire life. He’s great! I hope to hear from you with stories about your trip to Bueng Boraphet. And of course feel free to contact me (cosm@patana.ac.th) for more information.

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Coke Smith is our Environmental Science Leader and is an avid wildlife and nature photographer. Coke has published is wildlife images in many books and magazines over the years and has even had his work showcased in such venues as BBC Planet Earth and Nat Geo Science.

Coke loves to share his passion for the nature world with his students at Bangkok Patana School.

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Desert Island Discs With Paul Yap, Careers and Universities Counsellor

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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 Paul Yap, Careers and Universities Counsellor is stuck on a desert island.

MR YAP IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Iris – Goo Goo dolls Push – Matchbox 20 Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison All I Want – Toad the Wet Sprocket Odds Are – Bare Naked Ladies Mr Jones – Counting Crows Mmm mmm mmm mmm – Crash Test Dummies

Listen to Mr Yap’s playlist here

Stay – Lisa Loeb 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 pillow WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Dune by Frank Herbert 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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COMMUNITY NOTICES

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COMMUNITY NOTICES

Banyan Tree Ballroom April 25 Cocktails from 6 pm, concert at 7:30 BOOK at LINE @operasiam or email tickets@bangkokopera.com All seats 900 baht: in-person attendance very limited. More information on Facebook here

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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 30

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