1Bangkok Patana School News PATANA NEWS Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit IB World School accredited by CIS Friday 26th August 2022 Also in this issue... Summer of Global Connections Upcoming University Fairs Primary Choral Festival Readers’ Theatre Trophies! IB Sports Exercise Health Science Tiger Cubs Saturday Football Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 11 www.patana.ac.th Serendipity By Sarah MccorMack Page 2 Volume 25 Issue 2
According to the Cambridge dictionary, Serendipi ty means the fact of finding interesting or valuable things by chance. I am a big believer in serendipity, and I live my life trust ing that most things happen for a reason. If ever in doubt, I am known to ask the universe what I should do and often if troubled by something, I call on my inner voice to tell me what is really going on. This, as you can perhaps im agine, can cause much amusement in my family of boys. As a teacher and as a leader, I rely on my intuition and I listen to my gut. I am of the opinion that everything has a time and place, and it is our job as educators to hone our senses to make the best decisions. I love joining the dots, making connections, innovating, taking risks and I tend to run headfirst towards change. One of my go-to children’s books is ‘What To Do With an Idea’ by Kobi Yamada. Over the last year, as the incoming Primary Principal, I have been doing all of the above in pursuit of a deeper understanding of our community and a vision for the next chapter. Bangkok Patana is special, with deep rooted values and equally humble and ambitious goals to do the very best for its students, staff and parents. All of the answers about ‘what’s right’ and ‘what’s next’ are in the fabric of the school, the guiding statements and the hearts and minds of its people. So, what is next? After a year of active listening and looking, I am delighted to share our Primary vision and development plan goals, summarised on the following page. As we emerge from the pandemic, I believe it is a time for: kindness and curiosity; belonging and commu nity; hope; and a celebration of everything authentic and amazing about who weTheare.new academic year brings forth op portunity for exploration and growth and we are all eager to get started. In fact, as teachers, our best ideas often come from our summer experi ences and interactions. A perfect example be ing a chance visit to the Tate Modern (London) and Yayoi Kusama’s dotty installation The Obliteration Room (see video on below). Here, I thought – wow what a great school activity and perhaps a way to explore our new theme of ‘create creativity’! And then, at our first staff meeting, a conversa tion with Ms Tanya Peake-Hutchins about the upcoming International Dot Day and Mr Matt Mills’ reading of one of his favourite books titled ‘Ish’ by Peter H Reynolds, also author of ‘The Dot’. Serendipity – the wonderful fact of finding interesting or valuable things by chance. But perhaps nothing is by chance. If you ask me, it is all meant to be.
2 Bangkok Patana School News 26/08/2022 SERENDIPITY
Sarah McCormack, Primary Principal
The Primary School will be celebrating all things dotty, colourful and creative on 12th September – stay tuned!
From this... ...to this!
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After spending some time with family in Ohio, I travelled to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the Southwest region of the USA. There, I was able to attend the Inter national Association of College Admission Counseling Conference at the Universi ty of New Mexico. I attended sessions ranging from helping students to adjust to life at Scottish Universities to hearing more about standardised test-optional policies from university admission officers repre senting Cal Tech, Notre Dame and Wake Forest. It was a great place to re-connect with university colleagues from around the world and to reinforce Bangkok Patana’s reputation as a top international school in Southeast Asia with stellar applicants that any university would be lucky to have.
4 Bangkok Patana School News 26/08/2022 OUNCEMENTS: OUNCEMENTS:A SUMMER OF GLOBAL CONNECTIONS C A R E E R S A N D U N I V E R S I T I E S F A C U L T Y
On the long and winding road back to Ohio from New Mexico, I made time to visit family and friends scattered around the country, but couldn’t resist also visit ing seven universities across the Midwest. Creighton University, The University of Min nesota, Macalester College, The University of Chicago, Colombia College Chicago, The University of Missouri at Kansas City and Rockhurst University were all on my list. Ranging from highly selective to open enrollment, from large to small, from liberal arts to research, from urban to suburban, each of these universities had unique fea tures which allowed me to picture Bangkok Patana students thriving on each of their campuses. I navigated the tunnels that con nect almost every building to protect stu dents from a bitter winter at the University of Minnesota. I heard about the University of Chicago’s House System (sound famil iar?) and their excitement about the Barack Obama Presidential Center currently in construction on property adjacent to their campus. There is always so much to learn about each university, which gives us better context when advising our own Bangkok Patana students.
A large part of our work as university counsellors depends on creating and nour ishing a network of global connections on behalf of our students. In a few weeks, af ter attending a large conference of 6,000 participants, Mr Haughton will visit univer sities in Canada and Mr De Cock will visit universities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Our team will collectively visit more than five countries this year to learn more about the universities that most interest our students – and we can’t wait to bring that information back to share!
Kevin Keller, Head of Faculty, Careers and University Counselling
The summer holidays are a precious time to teachers and students alike; a chance to give your mind a rest, see new places and spend quality time with fam ily and friends. For a university counselor, however, summer holidays in cities around the world often lead to university visits where we can learn more about potential options for our students. For me, this summer was no exception.
5Bangkok Patana School News26/08/2022 Please note the current COVID-19 regulations and procedures for Bangkok Patana School at the link here. SCHOOL SANNOUNCEMENTS: CHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS: Beginning 5th September 2022, Thai Law requires all persons occupying vehicle seats to wear seatbelts. IIGCSE GCSE RESULTS! RESULTS! A* Grades (8,9) = 49% A* - A (7-9) Grades = 75% A* - B (6-9) Grades = 89% US Mini-Fair Tuesday, 13th September US Mini-Fair Thursday, 15th September Bangkok Patana University Fair 200 universities onsite! Wednesday, 21st September Canadian Mini-Fair Monday, 10th October Marist College, USA U P C O M I N G U N I V E R S I T Y F A I R S Students can contact the Careers and Universities department for more information Coast Mountain College, Canada
6 Bangkok Patana School News 26/08/2022 3rd -5thOctober 2022 FESTIVALCONCERTWEDNESDAY 5TH O�TOBER 2.30PMatBangkokPatana School ROSAMUNDSTUETZELTHEATREGUESTCONDU �TOR: LIN MARSH “ALONGCAMEMAN” BY LIN MARSH Bangkok Patana School King’s College International School Bangkok Prep Thai Chinese International School St. Andrews International School (Nord Anglia) Shrewsbury International School ICS Bangkok Bromsgrove International School Denla British School Charter International School Shrewsbury City Campus St Andrews 107
Thanks also must go to our Buildings and Grounds De partment. The final event is only possible because of their hard work preparing the theatre for us. The photos in this article were taken by Khun Job and a video was made by Khun Duang - thank you to those two, also. Finally, thank you to our judges, Ms Tanya PeakeHutchins, Miss Gemma Legg and Gigi from Year 6. Finally, this event would not be possible without the out standing efforts of the students who join together to cre ate such wonderful performances. Thank you to all of the students involved!
READERS’ THEATRE TroPhIES!
THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Damon Parker, Cross Campus Teacher Librarian
Teacher mentors volunteered to help the students im prove and together the teams refined and perfected their readings. Over 80 students in 28 teams auditioned for the final, producing short videos with their mentors. On 23rd June in the school theatre, the finalists performed to an audience including teachers, classmates and the final ists' own parents. All of the finalists performed amazingly, entertaining the crowd with moments of humour, sadness and delight.
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As the Readers’ Theatre is a competition, the judges de liberated long and hard before awarding two trophies, as follows.
from Year 3 and Year 4 worked hard on their performances, practising to read their chosen book for the annual Readers' Theatre competition.
26/08/2022Volunteers
THE WINNERS: From Year 3 (now in Year 4) the winners were Caleb, Chiel, Felix and Taemin reading “Aliens Love Underpants” by Chris Freedman. From Year 4 (now in Year 5) the winners were Sophia and Elena, reading “The Fabulous Friend Machine” by Nick Bland. In the audition stage, helping the group reach the final, Elizabeta also performed, but was unfor tunately not able to attend the final.
The Readers' Theatre is an event which challenges stu dents to bring a book to life using just their voices and actions. No props, backdrops or costumes are allowed - even the original book is only used for reference, not shown to the audience. Last year’s event began in early February when the Year 3 and Year 4 students were invit ed to enter the competition. After receiving a copy of their chosen book, teams then spent several weeks organising their performance, practising their words and rehearsing together during break times and lunch times.
Each year, the Readers' Theatre is only possible be cause of the commitment of teachers who give up their time to mentor the groups of readers. For this, we would like to thank Mr Michael Plews, Mr M. (Stephen Mur gatroyd) and Mr Damon Parker.
Cindy Adair, Cross Campus Assistant Principal, Continued Professional Learning
8 Bangkok Patana School News 26/08/2022 IB SpoRtS ExERcisE HEAlTH ScIEncE
This week we launched a new IB subject – Sports Exercise Health Science. This Group 4 subject dives deep into the science of human performance. We are delighted to have ten Higher Level (HL) students and three Standard Level (SL) students in our inaugu ral cohort. Students who study this course can go on to study Physiotherapy, Biomechanics, Physiology, Sports Coaching, Sports Medicine, Sports Psychology and various other subjects. Many of our current cohort are re cent graduates of the (I)GCSE PE course, which has giv en them a fantastic base to build their knowledge upon.
We are lucky to have a very athletic cohort, making it easy to draw connections between the science and their own performances on the Football pitch, in the Swimming pool, on the Volleyball court or even when throwing a Discus.
The course begins with Anatomy and this week saw the group review their knowledge of the human skeletal system, becoming familiar with the major bones, their functions and form. In the coming weeks the group will undertake a brain dissection, make edible skin and visit the Shark Tank to examine common sporting movements through a movement-analysis lens.
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10 Bangkok Patana School News 26/08/2022 Our first event was a viewing of UNICEF's 'The Untold Story' All proceeds from the event were donated to UNICEF Thailand If you would like to donate to UNICEF, please contact: alsw23@patana.ac.th or welu23@patana.ac.th
11Bangkok Patana School News26/08/2022 patana PARTiciPATEs! Achievements from Our Community Michiko Hidaka, Patana Parent Yutaka Hidaka (8M) recently participated in the Pan Kids Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament, the largest in the world for students under 15 years old. The competition was hosted in Florida and Yutaka placed 2nd in the 12-year-old category. Congratulations! B A N G K O K P A T A N A F O O T B A L L A C A D E M Y M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N A N D S I G N U P @BPS Sports Hall
12 Bangkok Patana School News 26/08/2022 DATE CHANGE! FUN RUN OUR FIRST COMMUNITY EVENT OF 2022/23! S T A Y T U N E D F O R M O R E D E T A I L S 1ST OCTOBER 2022 @ RAMA 9 PARK ANGELA ROYLE
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14 Bangkok Patana School News 26/08/2022 This 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 Alumni and Social Media Coordinator, Mark Lanzuela, is stuck on a desert island. MR MARK, IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? 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. An acoustic guitar WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? The Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis 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. With Mark Lanzuela, Alumni and Social Media Coordinator 93 Million Miles - Jason Mraz Better Together - Jack Johnson Landslide - Fleetwood Mac Psalm 91 - Jonathan Ogden Tubthumping - Chumbawamba Believer - Imagine Dragons I See Fire - Ed Sheeran Yesterday - The Beatles Click to listen to Mr Mark Lanzuela’s playlist Desert Island Discs FOR PURCHASES ABOVE 50$ COMMUNITY OFFERS BOOKMARK OUR COMMUNITY OFFERS PAGE TO FIND DISCOUNTS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR LOCAL BUSINESSESINCLUDING FOOD, ACCOMMODATION, AND HOLIDAY PACKAGES! CLICK HERE
15Bangkok Patana School News26/08/2022 #224: sNAPcHAT FAMilY cENTER
Snapchat has launched a parental control portal that allows parents to keep an eye on who their young teenagers have been chatting with. The new in-app feature called Family Center shows parents their kids’ friends list, as well as who they’ve messaged in the last seven days. Take note that parents can only see who their teens have been talking to, but they won’t be able to read their chat history. Snap says the center was designed to “reflect the way... parents engage with their teens in the real world” in that they know (for the most part) who their kids have been hanging out with but don’t listen in on their conversations. Read more about it here and watch the short video below.
view your children ’ s friends list
Have a great weekend.
Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration
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17Bangkok Patana School News26/08/2022 COMMUNITY FOLKSONGS & SERENADES CONCERT When: September 3 (Saturday) at 19:00 Where: Neilson Hays Library Ticket Prices: 650 Baht, 550 Baht for Library Members, 250 Baht for Students ONLINE BOOKING
18 Bangkok Patana School News 26/08/2022 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 For daily updates, snapshots and news on life at school you can find us here...
