PATANA NEWS
Friday 20th May 2022
Global Citizenship: A New Curriculum By Matt Seddon
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Also in this issue... Primary Music Concerts Our CIS Accreditation UKMT Junior Maths Challenge Instrumental Music Highlight DofE Silver Award Kayaking Grad ‘22 University Offers
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Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit IB World School accredited by CIS Bangkok Patana School News
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Global Citizenship: A New Curriculum Matt Seddon, Secondary Principal
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here is a tremendous amount of research which Whilst it doesn't quite go that far, the Bangkok Patana shows how well-being is enhanced through a pos- Vision is equally bold. “We develop global citizens who itive sense of purpose; a term which Martin Seligman shape their world through independence, empathy, cre(2011) described as “Belonging to and serving some- ativity and critical thinking.” thing you believe is bigger than the self”. TEACHING OUR VALUES I have recently spent a lot of time thinking about this Alongside our vision, Bangkok Patana has three beauin the context of our school, which is, after all, where tifully simple values; Well-Being, Learning and Global our students and staff spend most of their time during the Citizenship. Over recent years we have spent time idenweek. If well-being is important to us, how can we best tifying where and how we teach our values implicitly ensure that our community feel a part of something much through our existing subjects, for example, where in Gebigger? ography do we highlight examples of excellent Global Citizenship for each year? Where in PE do we teach A BOLD VISION about well-being. But can we do more? A colleague recently asked me, “What if there was a school whose sole reason for existing was to inspire Time is one of the most valuable commodities that a students to solve the United Nations Sustainable Devel- school has, and I have always believed that if we valopmental Goals?” It was a provocative question – and ue something, we should commit time to it. It is such a one which challenged my thinking. powerful demonstration of authenticity when a school’s values are explicitly taught in the curriculum, appearing Any staff, students, or parents joining a school with a in black and white on student timetables. vision like this would know exactly what they were buying into. They would feel a real sense of belonging and Inspired by this, the Secondary Leadership Team have part of a movement which transcended the schools' been looking at how we can introduce new subjects to boundaries to bring change to our world. our curriculum that explicitly teach our values, so that our
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community have further opportunities to live and breathe I would like to thank Andy Roff and the wonderful colthem, and I am delighted to announce that we will take leagues who have volunteered to help create this curricour first steps with this in August. ulum which they are so passionate about. I know that this new subject will be really valued by us all. GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP: A NEW SUBJECT Starting from next year, all Year 10 and 11 students NEXT STEPS: will now take our new Global Citizenship curriculum, These exciting first steps will likely inspire a wider rewhich will take the place of our elective programme. This flection of our Secondary School curriculum. We are non-examined subject explores the interplay between already committed to reviewing our Key Stage 3 curricpersonal values, critical thinking and inspiration to action ulum (Years 7-9) and I am looking forward to seeing the around the 17 United Nations Sustainable Developmen- influence that Global Citizenship will have in this area. tal Goals. This curriculum will focus on six areas: I think that it will also ask us to consider that if Global Citizenship is explicitly in our timetables, can the same be 1. What Makes You, You. done for Well-Being? Exciting times ahead! 2. Social Justice and Personal Development If any parents have area of expertise or profession 3. Passion Project 4. Thinking About Yourself 5. Thinking for Yourself
which links to any of the UN Sustainable Developmental Goals, and would like to get involved with inspiring our students through this programme, please get in touch with Andy Roff anro@patana.ac.th
6. Responsibility and Future Planning
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Bangkok Patana’s CIS Accreditation Helen Thew, Cross Campus Principal
I AM VERY HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE HAVE PASSED OUR CIS RE-ACCREDITATION WITH FLYING COLOURS! OUT OF THE 73 STANDARDS, WE EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS ON 18 OF THEM AND MET WITH EXPECTATIONS ON ALL THE REST. THE REPORT MAKES VERY POSITIVE OBSERVATIONS. CIS RE-ACCREDITATION AWARDED The CIS evaluation team concluded their report by saying: “It was clear in all our interactions with the community at Bangkok Patana School that the guiding statements are a living entity at the school. All the groups spoke to this and demonstrated how it shaped decision making and day to day interactions; whether this was a decision from the board around longterm investment, all the way down to individual support for a student. There is little doubt that Bangkok Patana School is delivering on its own promise.”
Here are samples of some of the commendations in the report (there were 41 in total): “The Bangkok Patana School community for their care for each other resulting in a positive learning environment and workplace.” “The student body for the open and caring way in which they support each other and embrace the ethos of the school which creates a trusting environment and aids in overall community well-being.” “The parent community and in particular the PTG executive committee for being strong advocates of the school and its’ guiding statements.” A big thank you to the parents, staff and students who met with the CIS visiting team and gave their time in helping achieve this Re-Accreditation. The full report is available for you to peruse in our Libraries.
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WHAT IS ACCREDITATION? Accreditation is a voluntary activity initiated by the school that requires a rigorous self-evaluation and an independent, objective appraisal of the overall educational quality by peers. Accreditation emphasises quality assurance and a commitment to continuous quality enhancement.
BANGKOK PATANA’S ACCREDITATION HISTORY Bangkok Patana was first awarded Council of International Schools (CIS) and New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Accreditation status in 2001 and was then Re-Accredited in May 2012. In March 2017, we had our Five-Year CIS/NEASC Team Visit and received the following feedback:
CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIS-ACCREDITED SCHOOL The final award of CIS accreditation shows that the school has achieved high standards of professional performance in international education and has a commitment to continuous improvement. In particular, the award of accreditation shows that the school:
“The school is demonstrating how an educational institution with a distinguished history, steeped in the best British traditions, can remain at the forefront of international education while remaining true to its fundamental mission.”
•is devoted to its mission and vision for students; •has thought deeply about the services it offers to students, family and community; •focuses on the quality of teaching, student learning, as well as student safeguarding and Well-Being; •is committed to the development of the students’ global citizenship; •has a suitable philosophy of education suitable for its students; •promises only what it can deliver; •is open to regular evaluation by its own school community and peer evaluators; •constantly seeks improvement in all areas of the school plans strategically for the future. As you can read from the top bullet point, CIS looks particularly at whether or not we, as a school, are driven by our guiding statements (mission, vision and values).
As we moved forward, we decided to concentrate on working with just one accrediting body (CIS) and we had a Preparatory Evaluation Visit from them in September 2020. Feedback from this visit helped us to get ready for our recent CIS Re-Accreditation Team Evaluation Visit which took place this year, 21st – 25th March 2022. Before the CIS Re-Accreditation Visit, we needed to complete a detailed report. CIS has divided a school into eight domains (areas of school life): Domain A – Purpose and Direction Domain B – Governance, Ownership, and Leadership Domain C – The Curriculum Domain D – Teaching and Assessment for Learning Domain E – Well-being Domain F – Staffing Domain G – Premises, facilities, technology systems, and auxiliary services Domain H – Community and Home Partnerships Within the eight domains the CIS evaluation criteria are expressed in 73 standards. The standards are written as statements against which a school measures its alignment. As we wrote our report, we used our professional judgement to rate ourselves against each standard on a 3-point scale: Not/Partially Met, Met or Exceeds. In the narrative we then provided the relevant evidence to support our alignment with the standard.
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School Alert Systems Reminder Khun Mukdawan Khlang-audom, Health and Safety Officer
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is renowned for the quality of its graduates and its commitment to new and creative approaches to education and research. Located in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, UNSW is a destination of choice for the best and brightest students from Australia and around the world. Established in 1949, UNSW has expanded rapidly with more than 35,000 students, and around 9,000 international students. A founding member of the Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive universities, and of the international network Universitas 21, the University has a strong regional and global focus with 200,000 alumni scattered throughout the world. UNSW is consistently recognized as a national leader in learning and teaching, demonstrating the link between research intensity and teaching excellence.
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Dance Academy Achievement!
Vallary Lokre, Head Dance Coach and Walanphat (Kk) Kiatphaibool, 9S
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e are thrilled to share that Bangkok Patana’s Varsity dancer, Walanphat Kiatphaibool (Kk), has successfully cleared the audition for Joffrey Ballet School’s summer intensive dance programme. This is a huge success! Kk’s achievement can be attributed to her consistency and ability to put in the work that is required to grow as a dancer. Signing up to audition for something as big as this (let alone clearing the audition) shows that Kk uses her imagination as a young dancer to dream bigger and believe in great possibilities for herself and for her dance journey. Well done Kk, we are so proud of you – your additional practices are definitely paying off!
to film, I was extremely nervous and it took a lot of practicing. However, my effort and hard work paid off when I found out I was selected.
I started dancing when I was quite young, so it has been a huge part of my life. Dancing used to only be a hobby that I really enjoyed and did from time to time, however, now that I’m a bit older, it has become more than just a hobby. Dancing has become something that intoxicates me with adrenaline and thrill while also calming me at the same time. It is something that makes me forget the problems I am facing and helps me to focus on the beat of the music and the dance move that I am going to do next. The main reason why I love dance so much is WALANPHAT (KK) KIATPHAIBOOL, VARSITY because I get to express myself and my feelings through DANCER am going to share what dance means to me and the form of dancing instead of using words. my experience with auditioning for the Joffrey Ballet School summer intensive programme, located in New York City. I first heard about Joffrey from a TV show called Dance Moms, but I figured that it was a school only for elite ballet dancers. I later found out from one of my friends a few years later, that there was a summer intensive program for many different types of dances other than ballet, for example, hip-hop, jazz, and contemporary. That pushed me to audition because I wanted to experience something new and out of my comfort zone. The idea of a new environment and a new challenge exhilarates me and auditioning for this school was a great opportunity. While preparing for the audition video I had
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Sustainable Beauty
Ana Bolokoso, Key Stage 3 Representative, Student Environmental Committee (SEC)
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s we continue our sustainability mission, this week we turn our focus to the humble bathroom… how can we ensure our hygiene and beauty routines are as green as possible? Here are some great ideas you can try…
5. Look for make-up and beauty brands who offer a recycling service for their packaging. Lush, Sephora and Body Shop all lead the way in this area. You can return your used pots and tubes and often are rewarded with a discount or 1. Whilst brushing your teeth, be sure to turn off the tap when membership points for doing so. 6. Learn to make your own face masks, hair masks and not in use. This will save up 30L of water! 2. Consider switching to shampoo bars. Shampoo and body scrubs using whole ingredients you probably have conditioner are traditionally sold in single-use plastic pack- already around your home. Avocado, honey, rolled oats, aging. Shampoo bars are long lasting and require minimal coconut oil and sugar/salt, can be combined into fantastic products which are all natural and chemical free. Research packaging. They are super handy when travelling. online to find a huge range of recipes. 3. Take shorter showers. This will not only reduce your water use, but also conserve energy spent heating that water. 7. Choose recycled and unbleached toilet paper (yes, we Shorter showers can save up to 350kg of carbon dioxide went there). Minimise your use of wet wipes which play havoc if flushed and take decades to break down. a year. 4. Avoid face and body wash that includes microplastics. 8. Opt for recycled cotton pads to apply/remove makeBe sure to read the label as many face and body washes up and invest in bamboo cotton buds. that claim to have an exfoliating effect, achieve this by in- 9. Steer clear of plastic mesh loofahs, instead choose the cluding tiny microbeads of plastic! These wash down your natural loofah or the humble washcloth. drains and can make their way into the ocean and our food 10. Buy products that are cruelty free and vegan. chain. Yuck! YOU CAN BE BOTH SUSTAINABLE AND FABULOUS!
UKMT Junior Maths Challenge Scott Tooley, Head of Faculty, Mathematics
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ecently, a large number of students from Year 8, Year 7 and Primary took part in the 2022 UKMT Junior Maths Challenge. This is a 60-minute multiple choice paper that encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. The top 50% of performers that take the Challenge are awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates in the ratio 3:2:1. Students that are 'Best in Year' or 'Best in School' will
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also receive a badge to denote this on their certificates. In addition, around 1,200 of the very highest performers from around the world are invited to take part in the Junior Olympiad. Yuanxia (Richard) Xu in Year 8 has earned his place amongst these talented mathematicians. Congratulations to all those that took part and I wish you a lot of success next year when you have another go at answering some more great questions.
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Khun Panthip Punjamawat, or Khun A-ngoon, has been singing for over 30 years and has taught voice at Bangkok Patana for 11 years. Her father was a major source of musical inspiration as he is also a musician. “Music has always been part of my life and family. When I was a child, my father would sing and music would bring happiness to our family,” she said, “even now, my father still sings!” Khun A-ngoon’s musical journey began at a young age when she started taking piano lessons. She then became interested in learning to sing and joined her high school choir. These experiences, combined with her strong intrinsic passion for music, led her to study singing at university. She graduated with a degree in Music Education, with a focus in voice, from the Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University. After studying music and developing a thriving private vocal lessons studio, she feels as though her life is content and enjoys a strong sense of fulfillment. “I’m happy when I sing and share my passion for music with my students” she said. Khun A-ngoon expressed her gratitude for having found such joy and passion through her career teaching music. “I want my students to learn and appreciate music in a deeper, more artistic way. I enjoy sharing the knowledge and appreciation for the art of music that my previous teachers shared with me,” she said. Khun A-ngoon further explained that singing helps students develop transferrable skills suck as concentration, focus under pressure, the ability to face challenges and public speaking, as well as pronunciation, listening and reading in various languages. Khun A-ngoon performs throughout Bangkok at various locations – one of her highlights was the opportunity to participate in the Asian Youth Choir in Japan three times. Watch some of her performances as linked below! AN EXCERPT FROM THAI DRAMA SERIES CALLED RAK 8009 CHARITY SHOW AT THE SUKOSOL HOTEL WITH KAMALA SUKOSOL A FAMOUS THAI MOVIE – PRAISE THE BUDDHA - PHA MUANG TUNNEL
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Duke of Edinburgh International Award Alison Chang, Pia Kapur, Tarini Chowla, Kaitlyn Cheng and Phisira (Paengrum) Chatchupong, Year 11
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or our Silver DofE assessed journey, we spent a weekend kayaking through Samut Prakan’s canals in the sweltering heat. We kicked off the first day by arriving and unloading our equipment at the departure point from which we would launch. The kayaks weren’t the lightest, and we had to keep an eye out for the oncoming cars as we worked together to lift them onto the slipway. The journey itself was strenuous - we had initial confusion with directions, and were without a watch to tell the time, however we pushed through, motivated by keen encounters with monitor lizards.
ourselves a delicious meal to mark the end of our expedition. Overall, this experience was humbling and diverting, yet painful for us all. As we gained knowledge about kayaking professionally, developed our teamwork skills and overcame bumps in the road or in this case - river! It was an unique and empowering endeavour for each of us to cherish as we strengthened friendships and created long lasting memories.
Already having thought Day 1 to be difficult, we had no idea of what we were about to face the next day. Day 2 was even more challenging, confronting us with a rollercoaster of difficulties. We had a great start to the day - even dropping our only map in the water, but luckily there was a spare map that we could use. Our pit stop for lunch was a unique one; we stuck our kayaks into a muddy bank and had to strain ourselves to get out each others’ lunches - all while balancing our own kayaks and trying to pull open vacuum-sealed compartments. The break was a well-needed one; we spent our time lifting each others’ spirits and refuelling our bodies for the long stretch of journey left ahead. As we neared the last few checkpoints, the low tides prevented us from continuing the planned route. Subsequently, we were forced to take an alternate route - which entailed kayaking for what felt like another 10 kilometres, against the current in the blistering heat with no end in sight, which was definitely both physically and mentally draining. We turned up to Day 3 with tan lines and aching muscles, yet determined to finish off the journey we started. Taking the hardships of Day 2 into consideration, Day 3 went significantly smoother but we still had to overcome multiple obstacles regardless. Getting stuck - a regular occurrence in shallow, muddy waters - and paddling upstream for the majority of the time only increased our frustration. Our team’s encouragement enabled us to persevere through these struggles as well as find solutions to get ourselves ‘unstuck’ including mastering the art of kayaking backwards in the meanders for our rewarding self-made lunch. Wielding pasta, vegetables, sauce and trangia kits, we cooked
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Silver Kayaking Trip Chien-Shiang Wang, Yiting (Freya) Yao, Erin Richards, Maetus Low, Elyse Hawson, Sirikorn (Jin) Dansiri and Jonas Christaen, Year 11
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he Silver Duke of Edinburgh International Award was a fun and unforgettable experience!
The 3-day adventurous journey involved kayaking 22km in the waters of Samut Prakan. Initially, we felt a bit disappointed at not being able to go to the islands as planned but this quickly changed when we saw our new location in person. We had the opportunity to meet many local people in villages along the way and get a better insight on their way of life and how they use the river as their main travel route. We also observed the surrounding mangrove ecosystem, which was very exciting as we’d previously learnt about it in school, and even come in contact with wildlife like the mudskipper fish. As a group, we have learnt a wide range of skills including navigating, cooking, and using kayaking related equipment. When we got lost, we took it as a learning experience. But most importantly, we learnt to work as a team to reach the end. A major challenge that was faced was getting lost halfway through our journey. It was a very difficult time for all of us and we felt discouraged. However, we chose to persevere and use teamwork to overcome this obstacle. From this, we learnt the importance of communication and collaboration which we look forward to applying in our daily lives as well. Although we faced numerous challenges during the trip, we still managed to support each other and completed the journey in good spirits. This trip has taught us how to work collaboratively with others by solving problems together and supporting each other. We all feel extremely lucky to have been able to take part in this kayaking trip and it was amazing to be able to put the skills we’d spent so long perfecting at the school swimming pool to use in a variety of real life situations. We thoroughly enjoyed this experience and many of us look forward to moving onto the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award next year.
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s n t i o a l u t a r Cong ! s r e f f o r u o y on
PA TANA PATHWAYS
2 2 ' d a Gr
Computer Science
University of Bath (UK)
University of Essex (UK)
Bishop’s University (Canada)
University of Hull (UK)
University of California, Los Angeles (USA)
HZ University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)
University of California, San Diego (USA)
Kingston University (UK)
Cardiff University (UK)
King’s College London (UK)
Cardiff Metropolitan University (UK)
University of Leeds (UK)
Concordia University, Montreal (Canada)
University of Liverpool (UK)
Cornell University (USA)
Arizona State University (USA)
Coventry University (UK)
Pennsylvania State University, University Park (USA)
DigiPen Institute of Technology (USA)
Saxion University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)
Edge Hill University (UK)
University of Southampton (UK)
Edinburgh Napier University (UK)
Stenden University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)
Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands)
University of Toronto (Canada)
Click here to read mo re! Tevfik Topdagi Mana Ganesh Kawamura Alex Schuepbach
Patrik Holm
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Amanda Yongvanich Matthew Elgon
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Adil Parvaiz
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s n t i o a l u t a r Cong ! s r e f f o r u o y on
PA TANA PATHWAYS
2 2 ' d a Gr Fine Arts
Birmingham City University (UK)
London Metropolitan University (UK)
Boston University (USA)
Loughborough University (UK)
Arts University Bournemouth (UK)
Manchester Metropolitan University (UK)
University of Chichester (UK)
McMaster University (Canada)
Columbia College Chicago (USA)
Nottingham Trent University (UK)
University for the Creative Arts (UK)
Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano (Italy)
Emerson College (USA)
Ontario College of Art and Design University (Canada)
Emily Carr University of Art and Design (Canada)
Parsons School of Design (USA)
Kingston University (UK)
University of Reading (UK)
University of Leeds (UK)
University of the West of England (UK)
University of the Arts London (UK)
York University (Canada)
C lick here eto! rea d mor Sophie Smith
Gemma Verde Maia Nguyen 20/05/2022
Enya Borjesson
Amy Smith Bangkok Patana School News
Mahzabin (Samiha) Mahboob
Kanitkanda (Didi) Mahathorn
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Desert Island Discs With Alex Lowe, Assistant Leader of Learning, Year 4
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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 Assistant Leader of Learning, Year 4, Alex Lowe, is stuck on a desert island. MR ALEX, IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? This Must be the Place - Talking Heads
Care For - Blossoms
Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap
I’m Goin’ Down - Vampire Weekend
505 - Arctic Monkeys
Bam Bam - Sister Nancy
The Night - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Heatwave - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Click to listen to Mr Alex Lowe’s playlist
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. A hammock with detachable penknife WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? The Night Manager by John le Carré 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 STML with your favourites.
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#218: New Study: Most Kids Are Fine Online
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his article is courtesy of Anne Collier’s post here.
“It’s time for a serious rethink about teen mental health and digital media, an important report urges – because “most adolescents using technology do so in ways that do not lead to increased risk of negative health consequences,” write the authors of “Adolescent Digital Technology & Media Use,” led by Megan Moreno, MD, at the University of Wisconsin. “Most” is a key word, there, because the nationally representative survey of nearly 4,000 US 13-to-18year-olds and their parents (almost 8,000 total respondents) turned up two distinct groups or “classes” of teen digital media users – “family-engaged adolescents,” representing almost two-thirds of the teens surveyed, and “at-risk adolescents,” representing about a third – and the latter needs more attention, the authors tell us. “Class 1 participants were more likely than Class 2 participants to report family-owned devices, have lower technology importance scores, have household technology rules often centred on content, have positive parent relationships and lower parent social media use, and report better health outcomes and well-being indicators,” according to the report. [To see the five main characteristics of each group, see the pink and blue graphic below or click here for a larger version.] Have a great weekend. Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration
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COMMUNITY
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COMMUNITY CY-2022-017
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