Patana News Volume 23 Issue 30

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 14th May 2021

Volume 23 Issue 30

www.patana.ac.th

WE ARE INQUISITIVE AND CREATIVE

By Primary Principal Jason Cooper

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Also in this issue...

Parenting in a Pandemic/Claim Your Lost Property/Year 5 Rainforest Story Winners 14/05/2021

Bangkok Patana School News

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

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We are Inquisitive and Creative Jason Cooper, Primary School Principal

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his week in the Primary School we have been focusing on Dreams and Goals, and the importance of setting goals and planning actions if we want our dreams to become reality. Not all dreams will become goals however, and it is important that we allow ourselves to dream big without being confined by constraints or pressure to turn all of our dreams into goals.

Dreaming requires us to think outside of what we know and to explore ideas and thoughts that don’t necessarily feature in our day-to-day lives. Many of us are probably dreaming about what our post-covid lives will look like, dreaming of the day when we can travel freely again and where we will go on that first trip. It’s fun to dream, and it’s a healthy part of our sub-conscious as it helps us to process and deal with our current realities.

Turning dreams into goals requires conscious thought and effort as we have to determine which dreams are important enough to us that we want to devote time and energy to making them become a reality. Once we have formulated a goal from our dream, we then have to develop a plan of action for achieving that goal.

Goal: To learn to play the guitar Actions: • Buy a guitar (got my first guitar when I was 21) • Learn some chords and how to play some songs – I first learnt three chords and I played them over and over until I could move between them with my eyes closed. With those three chords I was able to play about 20 songs!

• Play with friends who already know how to play the guitar and learn from them – this was great fun and I have made some life-long friends through a shared interest in the guitar and music • Practice, practice, practice – I still do this nearly 30 years later • Have fun and keep learning – the more I learn the more I realise I still have to learn

MS BATTRAM Dream: To explore the crater lakes of Mount Kelimutu, Flores, Indonesia. I saw a photo in a travel book and This can often be the hardest part because it often requires us to share our dream with others. If we don’t share that was the start of my fascination with Indonesia. I was our goal and our action plan then it is too easy for us to teaching in London at the time, and the nearest lake was opt out when things get tough – if nobody knows that I probably the ponds at Hampstead Heath. It’s fair to say am working towards a goal then nobody will know if I that I knew nothing about Indonesia and couldn’t have found Flores on a map. decide to quit.

I wonder what some of your dreams are. I wonder which dreams are important enough that you want to turn them into goals. I wonder what actions you will take to achieve your goals. I wonder who you will share your dreams and goals with so that they can help you stick to your action plan even when things get tough.

Here are some dreams and goals that senior leaders at Patana have achieved and the actions they put in place to achieve them: MR COOPER Dream: To play in a band

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Goal: Take a career break and travel to Indonesia.

Actions: • Decide a leaving date.

• Start saving – not easy in London.

• Burn some bridges – resign from my job; give up my flat; sell off my stuff.

• Find out where Indonesia was, and how to get there.

• Plan a route, book some tickets, buy a rucksack. (The rucksack, with some repairs along the way, is still in

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use. Good purchase!)

MR MILLS Dream: To be confident with heights

distance, she went through three pairs of trainers during the event! In the end we won the Mixed Team Category of the National Ultra Triathlon Championships at the Sri Chinmoy Multi-Sport Festival in the ACT. We were all soo relieved at the end we shed a few tears, then ate and slept A LOT!

Goal: Helped paint my uncle’s high-pitched roof, MS THEW made myself climb up Dream: I always wanted to run a half marathon to see if high trees I could complete it.

Actions: Goal: to run a half marathon (I had always completed

stown in my early 30’s

• Solo skydived at the 5Km Patana Fun Run but never gone much further) 3000ft at age 20 Actions: • Bungy jumped at • Getting involved with other runners who had the Skippers Canyon, Queensame goal helped with the motivation and meant that I did not want to let them down by not turning up for our early morning Rama IX Park runs.

MR TAYLDER Dream: I wanted to see the world Goal: To spend a year travelling Australia Actions: • Worked for 18 months to save enough money to pay for the trip • Contacted my aunt in Australia so that I had some where to stay when I arrived

• Having a training programme that helped to build me up from ‘zero’ to ‘half marathon runner’ was also very valuable as I put my faith into the programme that it would keep me healthy and build up my stamina gradually. Which it did!

• Finally choosing a great location for my first half marathon (Angkor Wat) was truly inspiring.

My dream was realised November 2011 as I crossed the finish line at the end of my first half marathon. It was • Researched what there was to do and see in Aus- a very emotional moment and one I got to share with my tralia to help me plan my trip fellow runners which made it all the more special that we had been on this adventure together.

• Talked to my friends to find a travelling partner MR VERDE MS ADAIR Since visiting the beaches of Northern Portugal with my Dream: To compete in an Ultra Triathlon as part of a parents when I was a child, my dream has been to dive team (15km Swim + 400km Cycle + 100km Run) under the ocean and swim amongst the corals and alongGoal: To complete the swim in under 5hrs, support my side the animal life that existed a few meters below the team across the 3-day event, stay hydrated surface.

Actions: We trained for this event for six months. Five days a week I would swim around 5km, and on Sundays I would do a long swim of around 10km, the event was to be held in a lake, so at least once a month that training would take place in open water (I would rope in my friends to kayak beside me and protect me from “Loch Ness Monsters”. Sometimes we would team up in the gym and all three of us would train on a spin bike/treadmill or Swim Ergo for three hours at a time. I was in awe of my teammate who did the 100km run – that is a huge

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As I have grown older, I have enjoyed many wonderful beach holidays with my family, swimming and snorkeling together and two years ago we all felt ready to take the plunge and complete our dive certifications in Bali where we swam with turtles on our first dive. Since then, we have been diving in the many beautiful waters around Thailand and seen and experienced some spectacular sites.

The next part of this dream is to return to Bali and swim with the manta rays that frequent the Indonesian waters and maybe see a Mola Mola, if we are lucky.

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Year 5 Rainforest Winners

Julie Kelly, Year 5 Leader of Learning and Curriculum ear 5 recently held a story writing competition based on their theme of learning ‘Rainforests’. These three poems and short stories took the top prizes:

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1st Place - Trevor and Tilly’s Tangled Trunks by Aaryan Nair, 5K 2nd Place - A Monkey’s Smile by Zoe Yongvanich, 5K 3rd Place - Rainforest Boy by Maya Hornby, 5B This issue we feature first place winner Aaryan Nair. The second and third place stories will be in the next issues of Patana News.

Trevor and Tilly’s Terribly Tangled Trunks

By Aaryan Nair, 5K In the depths of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, lived the largest animal kingdom. The animals, large and small, lived in harmony with a variety of tropical birds, whose stunning bright feathers radiated in the glistening sun, as they gracefully glided throughout the rainforest.

The other animals and birds spotted the humorous sight from afar and rushed closer to see what the commotion was. Before long, a crowd had gathered around Trevor and Tilly and they were shocked! The Goliath birdeater, a massive hairy spider, the strongest and heaviest in the world, leapt on the tangled trunks and tried with all its Two baby elephants, called Trevor and Tilly, lived in the might to tug the elephants’ trunks apart. It was impossible!

Rainforest. Unfortunately, Trevor and Tilly's homes were on Along came the Hyacinth McKaw, a beautiful parrot with opposite sides of the rainforest, but they took every op- iridescent blue feathers. She was determined to help and portunity to spend time with each other! As fun - loving tried to peck the trunks apart with its razor-sharp beak, but elephants, they enjoyed playing together, spraying cool it was firmly knotted. water from the river through their trunks and munching the sweet bananas in the lush rainforest. ”Boo hoo! Boo hoo!” sobbed Trevor and Tilly. They had been so eager to meet but now they were frustrated at not Then one day, Covid, the global pandemic struck! The being able to separate from each other!

Chief Elephant Leader made an important announcement to the elephant herd. He commanded boldly, “All the anAll of a sudden, the Poison Dart Frog came strolling along imals must stay in their camps because we are unsure if with some Cayenne Pepper in a small, open pouch. He this Covid virus can also affect us animals, therefore we wanted to sprinkle it on his delicious lunch of juicy slugs, have to follow safety measures. Everyone in the Rainfor- to spice it up! The smell of the pepper powder wafted est should remain in their camps for a month, to prevent around the Rainforest and entered all the elephants’ trunks. possibly catching the virus.” All the elephants bellowed in “Aaa...Choo!” sneezed Trevor and Tilly in unison, closely agreement, except for Trevor and Tilly, who both bowed their heads in disappointment. They knew that they would followed by several more sneezes from the other animals. definitely miss their precious friendship when they could The whole area vibrated with the force of the sneezes! In not meet! Still, rules were rules and they had to be fol- the blink of an eye, Trevor and Tilly’s trunks unknotted themselves, as if by magic! Everyone breathed a huge sigh lowed for everyone’s well-being. of relief! Loud cackling laughter echoed around the RainThe month seemed to go on forever. Trevor and Tilly forest as all the birds and animals enjoyed the wonderful were filled with sorrow and desperation to play with each sight of the freed elephants. They were delighted! other again. At last, the isolation time was over and the From that day on, Trevor and Tilly decided not to greet animals were free to mingle once again. Trevor stomped excitedly to Tilly’s camp, as fast as a raging bull, and gave each other with trunk hugs; instead, they would always Tilly the biggest trunk hug ever! Oh no! Their trunks had got shake their trunks, to make sure that they never got tangled up again. After all, that is a better way to prevent COVID, tangled together in the tightest knot! too! The End

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School Fees for Term 1 2021/22 T

erm 1 2021/22 School fees and Miscellaneous Fees invoices were sent on Wednesday 12th May 2021. If you have not received your invoice please contact Accounting Department or email accounts@patana.ac.th Please note that the due date for settlement is Friday 11th June 2021.

CLICK HERE FOR LOST PROPERTY ONLINE

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Earth Day 2021 Shane Owen, Head of Year 7; Claire Dale, Head of Year 8 and Sam Stuart, Head of Year 9

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tudents in Key Stage 3 were tasked to create shoebox dioramas in recognition of World Earth Day that was held on 22nd April, 2021. They were asked to create an ecosystem, some chose wetlands, oceans, deserts and more.

Students were told to consider how their ecosystem might be under threat, whether from rainforests being cut down or how coral reefs are suffering from bleaching.

As well as a vote for ‘best in the Tutor Group’, there will be overall Year group prizes given for the following categories: • Most detailed diorama • Most original/creative diorama • Best/most interesting use of resources and materials • Most fun diorama My diorama is a representation of how we expect our oceans to be however how they are turning out to be something else. It also shows how many people don’t know this reality. Shruti Zariye, 9G I chose to make a diorama of the wetlands because its wildlife is very beautiful and amazing. The industrial waste is affecting all different ecosystems, including the wetlands, these pollutants affect both the ecology and the wildlife of the wetlands. Tybalt Alexander (Ty) Yap, 9P

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CAT/CAS CORNER Human Trafficking in 2021: Are We Past it or Not? Pon Pingkarawat, 12H 2021, A BATTLE OF NEW OVER OLD he year 2021 builds on the massive changes put forward in 2020. Some changes include the rise of cryptocurrency as a banking alternative, the further successful privatisation of the space industry and the worldwide distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. However, not all that glitters is gold. This year also brings a fresh perspective on existing issues, such as systematic racism, restrictions on human rights by oppressive or negligent governments and the continuation and increase of human trafficking, which is the topic discussed in this article.

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There has not been a shortage of human trafficking in 2021 compared to the past few years. According to the Neal Davis Law Firm, as of 30th April 2021, 40.3 million people are trafficked or are in some form of slavery; a quarter of that number consists of people under the age of eighteen. [1] A map showing human trafficking arrests by state in 2019. Source: Neal Davis Law Firm [1].

Trafficking varies a lot between borders. Trafficked people could consist of a male being forced to work 16-hour shifts in a remote industrial site in Southeast Asia or a female deceived into prostitution in Central Africa. The Associated Press’s Sam Mednick sat down with a female from Nigeria who was lured to the landlocked country of Burkina Faso to work as a hairdresser, only to be blindfolded and forced into prostitution at a secluded gold mine [2].Next, we will discuss two examples from Burkina Faso and Cambodia. Stay tuned for next week’s article Human Trafficking in Africa: Burkina Faso [1] Neal Davis Law Firm (April 8 2021), [Online] Available on AP News here, Retrieved May 11, 2021 [2] Mednick, Sam (April 30 2021), [Online] Available on AP News here: Retrieved May 11, 2021

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Parenting in a Pandemic; Year 8 Virtual Coffee Morning Claire Dale, Head of Year 8

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ast Thursday morning parents of Year 8 joined together in a virtual coffee morning. Large group meetings through a screen is something we have all become more used to, but I think I speak on behalf of many when saying it would never be our choice. We are, however, so thankful that modern technology is allowing us to carry on, connect, and share our thoughts and feelings about parenting matters in 2021.

LANGUISHING We’re all locked down at home right now, caring for our families around the clock and supporting the education of our children. Trying to strike a balance between being involved with our fingers on the pulse, whilst giving our children some space to manage themselves independently, is never easy, so it is very helpful to know that we are not alone in facing such dilemmas.

to. This can feel uncomfortable and we may wonder why it is happening. It’s reassuring to know that it is a completely normal phase of puberty; but that doesn’t necessarily make it any easier for us parents to accept.

We explored some science of the teenage brain to help understand this better. The cortex part of our brain is where deep thinking can take place. But the truth is that our children are mostly stuck in their reptilian and limbic systems.

This means it’s simply not possible for them to be reasonable and logical when they are emotionally charged up.

It’s not always easy to detect in an emotionally driven teenager, hence you might think they are completely fine and then when you attempt to engage in a ‘normal’ conversation you get a surprise response which completely throws you.

Simultaneously, many of us are working full time and may be running businesses: these are such challenging times! The first part of our coffee morning was dedicated to acknowledging the huge pressure we are carrying on our shoulders right now. We are all trying our hardest to bring stability and calm to the lives of our children when the truth is, we ourselves may be languishing from the mental fatigue of COVID. PARENTING IN A PANDEMIC All relationships have been affected by the pandemic in some way, but some of those changes would have happened regardless. If you have a pre-teen/teenager in the house, you may experience them withdrawing from you, reacting in a more prickly way when having ‘normal’ conversations, and not wanting to share things like they used

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GETTING IN THE PIT seat).

It’s all so tempting sometimes to say things like ‘Ok, calm • Feel incompetent and unable to handle their own down’ and ‘Oh come on, you’re being a bit ridiculous’, mistakes. ‘let's talk about this rationally’. However when they are If there is a solution or outcome that can be reached, it’s stuck in their reptilian or limbic brain systems, hearing these comments will have absolutely zero positive impact. In far more powerful if they are able to get to this themselves, fact, it can create a disconnect between you and them. with a helping hand from us.

We are trying to be pragmatic but, in their eyes, you ‘just Sometimes a situation might just need to exist for a while. don’t get it’.

It can be frustrating not to get an outcome or a result, but Trying to connect to them in the moment can develop there is so much potential for building a deeper connection empathy. Not just in us as adults but we can model pos- in a relationship, simply by holding space for someone. itive and supportive communication and our children can learn to relate to each other and the world around them TAKEAWAYS It was great to listen to parents sharing stories and rebetter too. lating to one another. Whilst every family is different, we To get in the pit with them, sometimes, is as simple as could all find some commonality in our discussions. It’s thinking about the type of questions we ask: healthy to offload and sometimes when we hear another parent say ‘Oh that happens in our house too’ it's such a welcome reassurance that these challenges are normal and sharing our experiences in a non judgemental way can be incredibly helpful.

YEAR 8 PARENTS SAID: “Both topics were eye openers.”

“Languish - we can finally can put a word on it.”

“I considered how I can understand my child better - good suggestions on how to deal with situations - I realise I kinda helicopter parent my child on how to feel and what to do.”

IS THERE A SOLUTION OR DO YOU PERHAPS JUST NEED TO HOLD SPACE? It’s a tough pill to swallow but it’s healthy to ask ourselves “I think the two topic areas covered are what many in certain situations ‘Am I being a bit of a helicopter parent parents - not just in Year 8 - are feeling and wanting here?’ support with. Thanks for the presentation.”

It can be SO hard not to do it.

But the effect of overly involved parenting, where we are essentially micromanaging our child's choices/social interactions/ activities and rescuing them at the first sign of a struggle means in the long term that they are more likely to: • Have higher levels of anxiety.

• Be less likely to express opinions or emotions because, indirectly, they are receiving a message from us of ‘I don’t trust you to make good decisions without me’.

• Switch off from their academics (because it's us making their goals and deciding their future for them, rather than them feeling like they are in the driving

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“It was a huge relief when the coffee morning started off addressing parenting in a pandemic, covid fatigue and emotional health and well-being. The speaker sensitively brought in the issues faced by parents in handling relationships, how we should try getting into the ‘pit’ with them and why they may not always be rational thinkers. The scientific approach, and giving us the functions of a teenage brain etc was welcome. All the tools provided were very practical and useful, so much so that I find myself sharing the tools with family and friends who were not present. We are grateful to Bangkok Patana School for availing us a well-structured and professional approach to supporting parents in this unusual and stressful time. Huge thanks! I can’t wait for the next coffee morning!

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Instructions for uploading your videos here

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My First Book; A Father/Daughter Collaboration Tommaso Maggio, Artist in Residence, Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce

Bangkok Patana School is a proud member of the Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce and are excited to help support this initiative to promote Home Languages for students and to give back to the community.

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ne positive aspect of this pandemic is that everyone got the opportunity to spend more time with their children. Without any extra help due to school closure and family living in another country, I had to find a way to balance the time with my one and half year-old baby girl and work. After several failed experiments to entertain her, I noticed that the best thing to keep her engaged was to develop / create something not for but with her.

So, our home became a new territory to explore, like hunting for a treasure. I asked her to search for a familiar shape like a circle or square, she started to look around to find the requested shapes like her glass and her geometric toys and she got very excited with this game.

After searching, we started to trace these shapes on paper. Experiment after experiment, this whole process brought us to create from circular shapes animals like the lion, the panda, the penguin, also some fruit like an orange, a banana until we started creating more complex figures. It became very easy for her to draw these illustrations by herself. After this, I started to elaborate our collage/creation on the computer, and my daughter selected the best colours and shapes. A few weeks later, and many sleepless nights, the book was done.

We created a special edition book in three languages specifically designed for the Thailand market; the book will be available on the Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce website and promoted across educational institutions and well-being and recreational spaces. This is perfect as a read-aloud book for preschool, bedtime but also for kids who are starting to learn a second language.

This book was designed by an expat child and her father for bilingual - trilingual kids and parents. Language and visual development are key steps for any child. The book helps children to spot and recognise simple geometric shapes, developing speaking and imagination. It was created to facilitate the process of children to speak out loud. Surprisingly, also adults are buying this book to learn how to draw and learn some Italian words!

SCAN TO LEARN HOW TO ACCESS THE LIBRARY’S SELECTION OF E-BOOKS IN SORA

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STUDENTS SPEAK

The What, Why, How and When of Breast Cancer Yerin Kang, 10R irstly, what exactly is cancer?

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Cancer is a term for diseases in which abnormal cells have mutated, causing these cells to undergo uncontrolled growth in the body. Cells (the basic unit of life) replicate themselves by cell division, this serves various functions including replacing damaged cells with new ones.

However, some cells undergo mutations (change in DNA sequence) during the process of carcinogenesis, which may cause them to become cancer cells. Mutations occur all the time, however they are mostly harmless. But sometimes they can be harmful and cause diseases such as cancer, resulting from various factors such as:

growth, division and death [2]. When the cells grow old or become damaged, they die out and new cells divide to replace them. However, cancer cells do not follow this cycle. Instead of dying off, they keep dividing uncontrollably to form more abnormal cells. These cells then congregate to form a mass of tissue known as a tumor. Note that cancers of the blood, such as leukemias, generally do not form solid tumors [3].

MALIGNANT TUMOR? BENIGN TUMOR? There are two types of solid tumors.

Benign (non cancerous) Won’t invade surrounding tissues nor spread, therefore regarded as less life threatening - unless it grows to a large size near vital organs, presses on nerves, or restricts blood flow [4]. Usually responds well to removals.

• Environmental factors include: • Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation • Pollution

Malignant (cancerous)

• Alcohol

Do invade surrounding tissues and spread throughout the body, regarded as life threatening. Requires additional treatment after the tumor is removed, as any leftover cells can divide into new abnormal cells.

• Smoking • Exposure to chemicals • Hormonal factors [6] include:

WHAT IS BREAST CANCER? Breast cancer is a type of cancer which develops in the breast tissue. Breast cancer cells typically form a tumor • early cases of first menstruation or late menopause which can often be seen on a mammogram or felt as a lump. It is one of the most common cancers diagnosed to • women who have received hormonal treatment af- women, but - in some cases - men can get breast cancer ter menopause, etc. as well.

• women that have not given birth or gave birth at a later age

• Viruses

Most breast tumors are benign and not malignant (cancer). Early detection and accurate diagnosis of cancer is vital, and is carried out by medical professionals.

• Poor diet

A single mutation is not likely to cause cancer, as it often Learn more about breast cancer, how it is detected and occurs from multiple mutations over time [1]. That is why older people tend to be diagnosed with cancer, as there treated and what you can do to help with CanCure on Scientia here. are more opportunities for mutations to build up.

A normal, healthy cell goes through the life cycle of

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ARTS COUNCIL My First Composition Ken (Kenny) Patanotai, 10T

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am a music fanatic. I listen to almost everything from pop to funk to jazz. To me, music is like sensory literature. Much like how one studies great literature, I study music. As a self-taught guitarist, pianist and bassist, I have encountered countless challenges along my way.

However, learning to overcome each hurdle with the help of various informative sources, I believe, made me a better musician. Having the opportunity to be a part of the music IGCSE course has given me the privilege of being surrounded by such tremendously experienced musicians from whom I can learn from and perform alongside with which was not only rewarding and fun, but also it gave me a chance to express myself through a musical performance.

For the majority of my time with music, I have always been fascinated with the complex syncopated harmonies and distinctive features of jazz music. It always struck me as being strenuous and complicated to comprehend, which ultimately gave me the motivation to learn and understand it. Throughout my many years of listening to and performing jazz music, I have become obsessed with listening to numerous arrangers reharmonise and advance simple chord progressions using techniques that are idiosyncratic to jazz music. This could be something as simple as adding chord extensions (7’s, 9’s, 11’s, 13’s), and adding passing chords to something more harmonically complex like changing/substituting several chords in the progression.

It has always been a dream of mine to be able to compose and arrange songs like some of these musicians do,making it so the piece contains features from both jazz and popular music. However, one of the biggest challenges I faced has been the application of these features. I would frequently find myself stuck in a situation where I didn’t know how to proceed from there and so I would follow the same pattern for every composition I did and get stuck at the same places.

Nevertheless, with some delving on the internet, as well as assistance from my IGCSE music teachers, classmates, and my personal experiences, I have made my first step out of the bind into trying to accomplish my goal which will come in the form of my first IGCSE composition. For my first official composition, I decided to keep it fairly simple following a regular instrumental band format, including (guitar, drums, keyboard, bass) whilst also following a simple form ABA. Hopefully, with the guidance and feedback from my teachers and classmates, I will be able to further improve my musical knowledge and my future compositions.

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UNI COUNSELORS’ CORNER

In the Spotlight...

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, UK

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he Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was established in 1906, joined the University of London in 2005 and is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Considered one of the top drama schools in the world, the school is located in North London and offers undergraduate, postgraduate, research degrees and short courses.

In addition to being an acting school, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama offers training and education in a broad range of vocational and applied theatre specialties; acting, voice studies, producing, design for the stage, costume design, applied theatre and education, drama and movement therapy, lighting design and production, media and drama education, musical theatre, performance arts, prop making, puppetry, scenic art, scenic construction, costume construction, scenography, set design, theatre sound, stage management, technical and production management, directing and writing.

Notable alumni include Dame Judi Dench, Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Carrie Fisher, Kit Harington, Graham Norton, Sir Laurence Olivier and many more.

Email scientia@patana.ac.th

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University Offers Fasai (Prin) Pulkes

Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science, Yale University, Brown University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California with an International Dean’s Scholarship, Tufts University, Boston University with a Presidential Scholarship, University of California Irvine, University of California San Diego, University of California Santa Barbara and University of California Davis.

Computer Science

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I am planning to attend Harvard University because Harvard gives me the flexibility to explore a variety of interests and offers a liberal arts style education, which I value. Although I am planning on concentrating in Computer Science, I’d also like to explore and take classes in neuroscience, psychology, gender studies and literature. Moreover, I believe Harvard will challenge me both inside and outside the classroom and that I will grow as both a student and a person as a result. From Harvard’s truly diverse student body to its unrivalled alumni network and incredible professors, I am extremely thrilled to be able to attend Harvard and am genuinely grateful to everyone who has supported me.”

“My interest in computer science grew from my love of problem solving. I loved logic puzzles, sudokus and math riddles, and found the same type of challenge in coding. However, only after developing my app, Parkinson’s Pen Pal, have I begun to apprehend the true power of coding, helping me realise that coding and computer science are very powerful tools that can aid advancements in other fields or be applied to help solve a variety of issues.”

“Currently my proudest achievement to date, Parkinson’s Pen Pal is a rehabilitation app for patients with Parkinson’s Disease; it is based on research by Ramathibodi Hospital that found that repeated handwriting practice helped improve fine motor control in Parkinson’s Disease patients. Not only was I able to explore and combine my interests in computer science and neuroscience from developing this app, but I was also able to develop new skills in a variety of areas, including entrepreneurial and design skills from competing in the Conrad Challenge. I recruited and led a team of three to the semi-final round of the Conrad Challenge, which is an international entrepreneurship and innovation competition. For the competition, we had to learn how to write a business plan and produce and edit a video to pitch our product, Parkinson’s Pen Pal, and I developed a lot of new skills in the process.”

“I also participated in and led multiple extra-curricular activities in school including the president of Amnesty Patana club, a member of the Patana robotics team and the co-leader of Patana Development Bank and organising the Techathon, a coding competition. I also founded a face shield donation project, first by creating a website to show students how to make face shields and then organising a system to donate the face shields. In all, the project donated around 1500 face shields to 26 different hospitals around Thailand. Additionally, I really love literature so was involved in CORE magazine where I was the co-Head editor and really enjoy music so played the viola in the Bangkok Patana Orchestra.”

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##184: Video and Audio Speed Control

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hose who know me know that one of my gurus is Seth Godin. Find below his blog post from Tuesday containing a handy little tool. Watch the video above to find out more. I highly recommend you subscribe to his daily dose of thought-provoking insights.

Have a great weekend.

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

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Desert Island Discs With Kerry Meaden-Kendrick, Year 1 Leader of Learning and Welfare

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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 Kerry Meaden-Kendrick Year 1 Leader of Learning and Welfare is stuck on a desert island.

MS MEADEN-KENDRICK, IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Stand By Me - Ben E King Pride (In the Name of Love) - U2 Iris – The Goo Goo Dolls Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty Save Tonight – Eagle Eye Cherry Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield

Listen to Ms Meaden-Kendrick’s playlist here

Superman - REM November Rain – Guns and Roses 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. Rubik’s cube WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? The Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela 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.

Have you bookmarked next year’s calendar yet?

2021/22 CALENDAR

14/05/2021

Bangkok Patana School News

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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 18

Bangkok Patana School News

14/05/2021