Patana News Volume 25 Issue 20

PATANA NEWS

Friday 3rd February 2023

Bangkok Patana’s “Waste Less Week”

By Helen THew

Also in this issue...

BMAC Weekend

IB Guest Speaker Khun Chart Korbjitti

Our Air Quality Procedures

Patana Page-Turners: Celebrations!

PTG Fun Day - Volunteers and Vendors

Students Speak: New Year Resolutions

What’s New in the Libraries

IB Five-Year Evaluation

www.patana.ac.th

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

Bangkok Patana’s “Waste Less Week”

Helen Thew, Cross Campus Principal

Wewill be holding our 8th Annual Waste Less Week (#WLW8) at Bangkok Patana during the week of 13th – 17th February and we are reaching out to the whole community to take part in it. Climate change is an ever-present part of our lives, through either direct experience of extreme weather events, like heat waves, droughts, forest fires and the recent flash floods and landslides that have hit Auckland, New Zealand. Or through indirect effects, such as exposure to anxiety-inducing headlines warning of yet another climate disaster. Awareness is crucial, but so are well-being and action; the three must go hand in hand. Supporting our students to talk about, make sense of, and remain resilient in the face of climate change is an important role we have both as educators and parents. By educating them about the causes and effects of climate change, we can empower them to act and make a positive impact on their environment.

able action plans that can be highlighted to the rest of the Bangkok Patana community. This year the Secondary SEC students have worked with the Primary students in setting up their One Green Goal Challenge. At the start of the year, we challenged Year groups, departments, families, and our wider community to set themselves a One Green Goal to pursue this year. We wanted you and your family to choose a goal that is relevant to you. Have you set yours yet?

You can watch some of the One Green Goals that have been set here: Bangkok Patana One Green GoalYouTube

One of the biggest ways that students can make a difference is by learning about the ways in which their daily actions can either contribute to or help to reduce climate change. For example, we teach about the importance of reducing energy consumption by turning off the aircon, lights and unplugging electronics when they’re not in use. Or they debate the pros the cons of a plant-based diet compared to a meat-based diet.

What are your small steps?

In Secondary, there is a group of dedicated environmentally friendly students who meet once a week at the Student Environmental Committee (SEC) where they share ideas about sustain-

As the Secondary SEC students started to discuss their plans for #WLW8 this term, they noticed that their themes fit into the 6Rs of sustainability, a framework which offers a way to help achieve a more sustainable lifestyle. The 6Rs of sustainability are: rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle. The 6Rs are ordered accordingly to their priority and, if possible we are encouraged to take actions that appear earlier in the list. During WLW#8 the SEC students will be focusing on one R each day and will be asking us all to “rethink” and be more mindful of our consumption habits to limit our impact on the environment after all “do I really need that?” Each day ideas as to actions we could all take will be shared with the students and staff. The SEC students have come up with the following ideas to share (overleaf).

MONDAY – REFUSE

•Single use plastic e.g. plastic straws, plastic utensils or a plastic bag.

•Plastic bottles for soap when you can use a soap bar instead.

•CFL bulbs where you can use LED bulbs instead.

•Travelling by car when you can walk instead.

TUESDAY – REDUCE

•Email traffic by unsubscribing to emails not wanted.

•Amount of printing.

•Energy consumption e.g. turn off lights / aircon / devices on standby etc.

•Water consumption e.g. turn off the tap when brushing your teeth.

•Meat consumption e.g. have a meat free day.

•Food waste.

•Car traffic e.g. take the school bus, BTS or car share to school rather than travelling in your own individual car.

FRIDAY – RETHINK

•What difference have I made this week and what difference will I continue to make?

The ideas listed above are just that - ideas! The SEC encourages everyone to be creative, to think outside of the box and work together during #WLW8 and beyond for a sustainable future. Remember every small step of change adds up and collectively they do make a difference.

I warmly invite you to follow SEC on their Instagram bangkokpatana_sec and to share any photos that show you following one of the Rs to me at heth@patana.ac.th and I will share them on the SEC Instagram account to help inspire others!

WEDNESDAY – REUSE / REPAIR

•Use both sides of a sheet of paper.

•Reuse your named reusable water bottle.

•Reuse your eco-friendly bags.

•Pass on your old school uniforms to the Tiger Shop.

•Rethink what can you repair rather than throw out.

THURSDAY - RECYCLE

•Sign up for the recycle pledge.

•Use the correct recycle bin e.g the House Recycling Bins / carpark recycling bins.

•Recycle plastic into Eco bricks.

•Recycle batteries.

FootBaLL aCaDeMY

Mark Potter, Cross Campus Head Football Coach

The Battle of Bangkok will take place on 7th February 2023, an unprecedented opportunity for our Varsity teams to compete at Muangthong United’s Thunderdome Stadium. This is a chance for our senior players to compete in a professional environment under floodlights. We will be competing against NIST, our main footballing rivals in Bangkok, playing 11v11 football, which was introduced for the first time this year. We will also be playing with an accumulative score from the Boys’ and Girls’ fixtures, giving a total score between the teams. I am incredibly pleased to continue our great relationship with Muangthong United who have been a great supporter of the Bangkok Patana Football Academy.

BMaC WeekenD

Richard Molloy, Cross Campus Head of Sports

Aswe near the end of Season 2, our JV, Under 14, Under 12 and Under 11 teams competed in their end of season tournaments last weekend.

Bangkok Patana hosted the ever popular and competitive Under 11 BMAC Basketball tournaments, with more than 200 students in attendance for their respective schools. Our teams fought hard across the morning, securing lots of excellent results in the festival. The Boys’ A Tournament culminated with a silver medal, and the Girls’ took Bronze.

The Friday evening JV events were held throughout Bangkok. The Tigers JV Boys’ Tennis team secured a silver on the home court, with the Girls’ winning silver too over at ISB. Both Rugby and Touch teams were victorious on a fabulous ‘under the lights’ finish at NIST. The Basketball Girls’ Team came away from ISB with a well deserved gold medal, with the Boys’ missing out in 5th after being drawn in a very tough group.

The action for the Under 12/14s was then in full swing on Saturday with big squads from Bangkok Patana in action for Volleyball. The Under 12 Boys’ were crowned champions, Under 14 Boys’ and Under 12 Girls’ took away silver medals and the Under 14 Girls’ finished their season with a 4th place finish.

The Softball teams all competed hard, finishing with the Under 14 and Under 12 Boys’ in second and Under 14 Girls’ in third. Well done to all the teams!

BMaC RUgBY

Robb Falls, Primary Support for Learning Teacher

JVBMAC rugby made a memorable comeback at the NIST sports complex where we were welcomed by music and sun blaring across the rugby field, creating a fantastic atmosphere often seen at rugby 10s tournaments around the world. The Bangkok Patana Tigers, captained by James Somanader, were relentless in the scorching sun, remaining undefeated to clinch the trophy on the back of a superior points difference. Bangkok Patana Bs, mostly new to rugby and captained by Alex Millard, fought hard and displayed much-improved performances. This year’s BMAC tournament has added to the buzz around schools’ rugby and has set the stage for more exciting and competitive matches in the future.

The Tigers campaign started with a dominant first half against NIST, taking the lead via Thomas Skillbeck’s tackle busting try. The second half, however, belonged to the opposition who, using their size advantage well, deservedly tied the game 5-5, minutes from the end.

Next, the Tigers were looking to put the record straight against ISB after suffering defeat at home earlier in the season. The boys started strong again and, after a powerful run by Leo Huai, Thomas trundled over for his second. Minutes later, Pira Sumner weaved through, converting his own try to put us 14-0 up at half time. Once again, we allowed the opposition back in the game but, thanks to the fresh legs of William Stewart and co off the bench, we held on to a 14-7 win.

With the tournament all square it could come down to points difference and, with NIST way ahead, we needed a special performance against ISB Bs. The heroic Tigers played spectacularly to finish with 42 points and an important clean sheet. Our top points scorer, Pira, finished strong with a hat trick and 8 successful conversions, joined on the scoresheet by Brook Kirtland, Sam Jones, Kai Richards, Monty Newman and Captain James.

In a fitting final game, we needed an ISB win over NIST to secure the trophy. However, after a nail-biting back and forth, NIST finally wore a resilient ISB down, winning in the last play of the game and putting the whole season down to points difference. Following what seemed like eternity, Scott McGregor, head coach at NIST, announced the 2023 JV BMAC champions were the Bangkok Patana Tigers, by a miniscule 8 points difference. Congratulations to James Somanader (C), Alex Smith (VC) and the BPS JV rugby Tigers!

IB thaI gUest sPeakeR

Khun Chart Korbjitti was named a National Artist in Literature in 2004 and he won the SEA Write Award in 1982 for his book Khamphiphaksa (The Judgement) which has been translated into six languages including English, Chinese, Japanese, Malay, German and French. Year 13 students used this book for their IB Thai exam. Therefore, it was an honour to welcome him as a guest speaker at Bangkok Patana to enrich the literature knowledge of our senior students. Some students reflections are included below.

“I enjoyed the way he presented different topics – talking about serious topics in a light-hearted and comedic way to make it more interesting. He would explain his method of talking about present issues under the guise of art to make it more presentable and acceptable yet still getting the message across.” Napat Yantasanakij, 13L

“I like how we got to learn the motivation behind why he wrote the book (he felt wrong that he judged another author too easily), as that is not something we can infer from simply reading it. I also enjoyed how he told us about the setting used in the story (his hometown and his own school) as it showed me how authors get their inspiration for writing. I also enjoyed how he talked about everything in a straightforward manner without sugar-coating his words.” Dol Manoleehakul, 13P

“I found the talk to be very insightful and interesting for both our studies relating to the literary text and in applying his advice to our personal values. I am most intrigued by books I am able to draw comparisons to societal context with as the characters and lessons are reflective of our lifestyle and people around us. Therefore, being able to learn more about the book itself but also the writer’s own intentions with the book was an immensely valuable experience.” Preeyanan

(Pam) Jirarungroj, 13D

Learn more about Bangkok Patana’s Air Quality Procedures here:

Rattana (Aoy) Chanruam, Thai Curriculum Leader

From the Office of the Foundation Board

We are currently seeking nominations for a number of positions on the Foundation Board Sub-Committees.

We extend this invitation to all parents who would like to be considered for positions on the following sub-committees:

●Buildings&Grounds Sub-Committee

● Finance Sub-Committee

● Human Resources Sub-Committee

Applicants should be current Bangkok Patana parents. Any specialisation, expertise or interest in the required fields will be an advantage.

Please submit your application and CV by email to Khun Kulvadee Siribhadra (Khun Dee) at board@patana.ac.th or in writing to the Nominations Committee, c/o the Office of the Foundation Board, Bangkok Patana School.

Patana Page-Turners

Welcome to your monthly round up of reading recommendations. This month’s theme…Celebration!

INTERVIEW WITH HUGO EVANS, 10T:

1. What is one of your fondest or most favourite reading memories?

Using books to keep me calm and soothe me when I am anxious. I find that reading is relaxing and makes it easier to forget about any troublesome thoughts or anything stressful!

2. Which fictional character would most like/least like to meet in real life and why?

I would love to meet Anthony J. Crowley from the book Good Omens because he is a relatable character and has a great sense of humour. I would like to ask him how he became a demon and what it is like being best friends with an angel. I would also like to meet him to tell him that his sunglasses are cool!

3. What does ‘Celebrations’ mean to you? Do you have any Key Stage 3 book suggestions for this theme?

The theme of celebration is very important to me because I want to celebrate how I now enjoy reading so much when before I felt my dyslexia would prevent me from ever reading purely for pleasure. I now know that this is not true! I absolutely love reading and it has even inspired me to try writing fiction of my own.

I recommend The Sad Ghost Club by Lize Meddings to Key Stage 3 students. It is a graphic novel which is particularly inspirational for more introverted or shy people. It celebrates the value of very close friendships and the importance of a small number of important, trustworthy friends rather than having to be ‘popular’ with lots of superficial friends. Otherwise, I celebrate all books that inspire and encourage people to read, especially people like me who found it very challenging at first.

FS AND KEY STAGE 1 BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

Juliette (Etty) Corker, 1J: Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love. A celebration of mermaids and ultimately, being free to be who you truly are. Julian wants to be a mermaid and makes himself a costume. However, he is not quite sure what his Grandma will think…

Join Julian and his Grandma in their celebration of acceptance and uniqueness, in this beautifully illustrated tale.

Pandarina by Matilda Rose. Part of the fantastic Magic Pet Shop series. Princess Skye is nervous about getting all the steps right, ahead of her dance performance at the Queen’s birthday party. Her new pet, Pandarina, helps her to see that it is trying your best and having fun that counts the most. This book is a magical celebration of the importance of enjoyment, effort and friendship.

Father Christmas Comes Up Trumps! by Nicholas Allan. Father Christmas has filled up on turkey and sprouts to ensure that he can get through the long night ahead. Join him as he delivers presents and find out if he manages to keep in the gurgling and groaning coming from his stomach… After all, he can’t wake any children up! A silly celebration of Christmas, perfect for snuggling up and reading before bed on Christmas Eve.

KEY STAGE 2 BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

Mr O’Neill, Year 3 Teacher:

Jaz Santos vs The World by Priscilla Mante. Jaz Santos loves football, but is not able to play for her school’s football team, because girls aren’t allowed to play! In protest, Jaz gathers a group of unlikely friends and sets out to start her own team. Subsequently, she has to face many familiar barriers that are experienced by girls participating in grassroots sports, all around the world. This book embraces true Girl Power. It celebrates females in sport and the pursuit of dreams, as well as highlighting the importance of perseverance and supportive friendships.

The Girl Who Stole an Elephant by Nizrana Farook. This book is an out-and-out adventure story that celebrates the stunning landscapes of Sri Lanka! A modern-day Robin Hood,

Chaya borrows from the rich, to help support the people of her village. But one theft goes a step too far and puts her and her friends in mortal danger… This story also celebrates friendship, risk and reward.

The Lost Whale by Hannah Gold. This book celebrates family bonds, friendship and looks more closely at the complicated, wonderful relationship between parents and their children. The Lost Whale is an incredible adventure story that teaches us of the many marvels of the oceans and helps us to learn so much more about these majestic creatures, that live within our seas. Dealing with family dynamics, marine conservation and mental health, this is a story anyone would learn from and enjoy.

KEY STAGE 3 BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

on the premise that the boys would return home less of a boy and more of a man. This tale celebrates the maturing of people and the cooperation between people with different views in a desperate situation.

KEY STAGE 4 AND 5 BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

Anoushka Mohanty, 12R

We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen Stewart. A thirteen-year-old boy is academically gifted, but socially “ungifted”, and fourteen-year-old Ashley is the exact opposite: socially comfortable but with a low performance academically. Their worlds collide when Stewart and his dad move in with Ashley and her mom. The story’s main message to its readers is that everyone is connected in some way or another, and one of the main themes that recur throughout the novel is acceptance. This novel celebrates the inherent differences of people and learning to live with and learn from people who’s characters differ to yours. The story celebrates that essentially, we are all made of the same thing: molecules.

My Turn: The Autobiography by Johan Cruyff. This autobiography explores the career of Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff. Largely regarded as one of the greatest players - and managers - the sport has ever seen, he is seen as one of football’s most influential figures, as he was a predominant influence on the modernisation and evolution of football. He is famous for his philosophy known as Total Football. This novel celebrates the legacy that Cruyff left behind after his death in 2016.

Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean. This novel, set in 1727, is based on a true story set in St Kilda. It is about a group of boys and men who were sent to go fowling on an island, and are left there, stranded. They visit the island

The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez. Set in Afghanistan in the early 1980s, this book revolves around five women navigating life through the unsafe streets of Kabul. Sunny, the protagonist, celebrates womanhood, hope, and courage. Unafraid to take the less popular path, she stays in Afghanistan after escaping a bad marriage and aims to empower the community and instil hope in others, even during difficult situations.

Simon vs The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. This is a warm and fuzzy coming-of-age rom-com, celebrating LGBTQ+, family and friendships. It follows the story of closeted high-schooler Simon as his private emails are leaked to the entire school, risking the privacy of a Blue, the pen name of the guy he is talking to.

The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama. I love this book because it is an ode to life, where she celebrates her achievements, her shortcomings and even difficulties. In this memoir-like book, she presents her life in short stories, her memories, embarrassing moments and what she learnt from them. Michelle Obama presents us with a ‘toolkit’ to navigate through life, challenges and celebrations.

Stay tuned in future Patana News issues for more Patana Page-Turners, as recommended by our staff and students.

Curious if we have any of these books available in our libraries?

Search online here, or contact our library staff here.

Happy reading!

Sebastian Schrader, 9L

TTALENT ALENT WANTED WANTED

FFUN UN DDAY AY

SATURDAY 11TH MARCH, 2023

SATURDAY 11TH MARCH, 2023

Do you have a hidden talent that you would like to unleash?

The Fun Day stage is waiting for you!

You can sing, dance, juggle or make music.

Please send aN audition video OF MAXIMUM 2-MINUTES of what you can offer on the Fun Day stage by 15th February 2023 to

ptgfundaystage@patana.ac.th

VOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEERS WANTED WANTED

FFUN UN DDAY AY

VVENDORS ENDORS WANTED WANTED

IF YOU HAVE A SPARE HOUR OR TWO ON THE 11TH OF MARCH AND CAN CONTRIBUTE YOUR TIME, PLEASE EMAIL PTGFUNDAYvolunteer@ PATANA.AC.TH

If you are interested in becoming a vendor for food stalls , please get in touch with Anchal at ptgevents@patana.ac.th for shopping street, Email Pao at ptgfundayvendors@patana.ac.th

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING FUN DAY BY MEANS OF CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP, PLEASE EMAIL CHERYL AT CHRE@PATANA.AC.TH FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES

SSPONSORS PONSORS WANTED WANTED

New Year Resolutions 101

by Mallika (Molly) Moo-Ming, 8C

Regardlessof whether you write a new year’s resolution or not, 2023 should be a year to create one. COVID restrictions are starting to loosen, and the old opportunities we had in pre-COVID times are now back. But even if you already wrote one this year or haven’t even started yet (you can go grab some lined paper and a pencil now), you should look at adding effective goals to strive for. But struggling with writing useful resolutions to follow is common, but refer back to the purpose of a new year’s resolution: to resolve the practices that you participate in. Keep this in mind while you look at ways to fill that paper titled “My 2023 new year’s resolution:”, and when you find different resolution ideas on this page here!

FIXING THE OLD

If you have already started on your resolution and find that you haven’t written enough about anything you want to improve from the past, this section can help you find inspiration for those things you’ve retained from last year to improve on next year.

Having time to fix old skills is just as important, if not more important, than learning new things, like the phrase our English teachers always remind us of, “quality not quantity”.

DO YOU ALREADY HAVE A HOBBY THAT YOU WANT TO CONTINUE WORKING ON FROM 2022?

You can set a resolution for yourself, to find a way to get better at your skill or find ways to continue challenging yourself with your hobby. However, this doesn’t mean you write on your sheet of paper: Get better at so-and-so skill or find something challenging to do with my so-and-so hobby. Set something specific that you want to do in particular, for instance to play a difficult piece of music, to create a watercolour sunset scene, or start writing another novel that you have been planning out the previous year.

Look for things that are still within range but just far enough to be able to work on it for the whole year, so don’t expect yourself to be able to play Turkish March if you just started learning piano, or make a masterpiece with paint if you only learned how to mix colours.

Follow the daily routines you have set up with your hobby, find a community or maybe a few friends with whom you can do these challenges, be flexible with your schedule but don’t let yourself be loose (for example make sure you practise your instrument once a day but it can be anytime). You can use either these tips or some others you know work for you to help with either picking up your hobby again, or to help you

reform your routine.

For any small habits or vicious cycles you are going through, a goal this year you might want could be a way to get rid of a bad habit you have, whether it be something small like cracking your knuckles or something like not connecting with friends. Habits are hard to get rid of, since is the purpose of a habit, so fighting these will be difficult.

Small habits always occur when you’re thinking, either scratching your head or tapping your nails on the table. Remind yourself instead to stop doing it, just find a different less annoying habit. Whether you have a thing for scratching your head, you would instead move to just tapping your finger on your head.

NEW SKILLS AND CHALLENGES

This section is for things that you’ve always wanted to do but you have procrastinated on, because you didn’t have a set goal or you gave up in the middle. Whether you’ve seen year-long challenges that have piqued your interest, or a hobby that you want to join in doing, this section will help you with those.

IS THERE ANY SKILL THAT HAS INTERESTED YOU?

Learning a language, drawing a portrait, doing a handstand, anything. Something you’ve always wanted to do? Put it on your list, but make sure to highlight it or underline it, since it is a big goal. Achieving big goals is always daunting, which leads to procrastination, but you can break that large into small goals for each month or any amount of time you need for achieving it.

For example, if drawing a portrait is your goal, you might put “learn to sketch” as a miny goal under “Draw a portrait” and set the deadline for a week or two, and put “learn to draw basic shapes” under that with a deadline, and so on. Breaking large complex goals into smaller, more manageable goals with smaller deadlines will make achieving this goal easier, since small goals that have tighter deadlines can encourage and motivate you more.

Note down where you started. Learning a skill can make you want to quit at times, because you don’t see your progress. Remember where you started and where you are at, so if you are a beginner with zero experience, put that on your resolution. It can help you by knowing how much you have already done. If you have a friend or family member who has mastered or is trying to learn the same skill, you can consult them to help each other work together.

Learning something with someone can be a good bonding experience, and can make it more fun knowing you have another person to work on it with you. Assign a daily part of your life with this goal, for example if you like to practise an instrument at a certain time of the day already, you can also practise the other skill you have chosen to go for after you practise your instrument. Things you can do along with learning the skill: create a playlist with your favourite songs that are reserved for that skill; have a notebook to write down your progress after each session of practice; change your youtube recommendations to videos of the skill you’re learning (for example, gymnastics challenges videos, calming art videos, bands performance videos). I recommend you also have a few tips of your own to help you achieve your goals.

HAVE YOU SEEN THOSE YEAR LONG CHALLENGES WHICH INVOLVE FILMING YOUR LIFE IN SHORT BURSTS AND THEN PUTTING IN A VIDEO?

Start them now, record a 1-second video of yourself everyday for the rest of the year, which will amount to a 6 minute video of the year. The video doesn’t have to be of your face necessarily, you can take a picture of your hand in front of different things you have been doing everyday like with your friend at the mall one day, and performing at a concert another day. This video you can watch and show to your friends (and show off to them if you want!) can be stored in your photos, to reminisce and leave a little piece of you as a physical memento.

To remind yourself to do these things, make sure to set an alarm at a certain time of day for the first few weeks to get into the habit of taking those photos/short videos. Once you don’t need the alarm anymore, you won’t have to set it since you will always think in your mind “I need to take my photo/ short video now”.

I also recommend that you try to make a pattern in your photos, a normal school day can be a picture of a laptop, holidays are photos of your scenery/hotel during that trip, while an interesting event happening that day could be the photo of that day, etc.

(This is for the people who haven’t had a chance to be creative often). Think of ways to be creative and express yourself, Getting into literature (to create a new story or read a book), art (acrylic painting or drawing etc.), music (whether making, playing or listening to), things like these are good ways of distracting yourself a bit by having a peaceful time to yourself doing something unique. Things like this might not come easily to you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Being creative is

always available, to create something new and unique, and it doesn’t even have to be considered good, just whatever you like to do that is one of a kind, then do it.

THE KIND OF THINGS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU IN BEING CREATIVE:

•Spend a day cleaning your room/study. Tip, you shouldn’t try and spread it over a week, pick a weekend to declutter. It’s better to have a whole day to be in the mood to be productive to guarantee a full and proper clean.

•Use a music streaming service to find songs that you vibe to. I suggest having a few that you already know you enjoy, and let recommendations roll in by themself. Asking friends for song recommendations is also a good idea, but they might have similar tastes to you or not, so listen to the song first before you would add it to your playlist.

•Learn to cook! It’s simple, yet also complicated. Have a skilled chef with you to make sure while you learn to make something, like cupcakes or pad thai, that you don’t do something completely wrong, like if you’re a beginner learning from a website that isn’t helpful.

EXTRA IDEAS

•Aim to exercise more often, dedicate some time in your week to exercise, however you want to. Whether you want at least two days per week, or an hour per day.

•No screens an hour before bed, instead of looking at your screen, you should read a book or draw before bed.

•Delete useless apps/files on your devices, you might have some files that were used for a single project, or have apps you never use that have been cluttering your storage and screen. Delete them, or hide them from your phone screen.

•Clean your computer and phone (any belongings you touch a lot), get a damp tissue and wipe down your screen, and dry it with a clean paper towel. While for computer keyboards, use a toothbrush or a keyboard cleaning brush to brush away the dirty bits in the nooks and crannies that you can’t reach.

Source: 70 Really Good New Year’s Resolutions [Updated for 2023] (collegelifemadeeasy.com)

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR RESOLUTIONS AND HAVE A GREAT 2023!

WHAT’S NEW IN THE LIBRARIES

Booktok seLeCtIon

eaRLY YeaRs’ liBrary

PRIMaRY liBrary

Valentine’s Day Selection

Fiction & Chapter Books

Non-Fiction

Comic Books & Chapter Books

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Fiction

seConDaRY liBrary

Senior Fiction

Romance Genre Collection

Graphic Novels

Parents’ Collection

Magazine subsCriPTions

STUDENTS STAFF PARENTS

Professional learning (CPl)

saFegUaRDIng aDvICe

Battram, Primary Assistant Principal, Learning and Welfare; Designated Safeguarding Lead

This may not be something you want to consider, but there is a good chance that your child will, at some point, come across pornographic content. If you want to protect your child from potentially harmful content, and still keep the door open for healthy communication, commonsensemedia.org is an excellent resource, with many helpful articles.

What to Do If Your Young Child Sees Pornography gives guidance on how to open up a conversation about pornography with younger children. If you are the parent of a pre-teen or older, this article for parents of teenagers is very helpful. You can also find helpful advice on setting up filters on the tech your children use to block explicit content

Even with the best parenting, and the best filters, your child may still stumble across or be shown content that we would rather they had not seen. Thinking ahead about how to have an age-appropriate conversation with your child about pornography is an important part of keeping them safe.

Carol

Talking with your child about pornography

IB five-Year evaluaTion

Andrew Roff, Senior Teacher - IB Coordinator

To ensure the very strongest implementation of the International Baccalaureate Organisation’s (IBO) mission, all schools are asked to undertake a self-study every 5 years, focused on its standards and practices. It has been my pleasure to lead the self-study process this year for our school, and to host two IB educators this week as they conducted a remote evaluation of our programme.

The IB Diploma and IB Courses are the qualifications at the core of our Senior Studies Programme at Bangkok Patana School. These rigorous and challenging pre-university qualifications are certified by the IBO. The mission of the IBO is to “develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through education that builds intercultural understanding and respect”. This important process provides external validation of the strength of our programme, and provides a critical friend to support future developments.

I am delighted to relay that our evaluation team found our programme to be in excellent health. They commended Bangkok Patana School on the strength of our community, on the fantastic learning and teaching they observed, the high levels of student engagement and agency, and our continued focus on student well-being. Our planned programme developments were endorsed by the visitors as we continue to look forward, building on the strength of our existing programme and facilities.

The visit culminated in a brief conclusion meeting which I was able to record and am proud to share with the community (although I apologise for the formatting as I am not used to working in Zoom!). Click the screenshot above to watch.

Desert Island Discs

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

Throughout Terms 2 and 3, we will be revisiting previous contributions to the Desert Island Discs column.

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

MS KERRY, 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

Save Tonight - Eagle-Eye Cherry

Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield

Superman - REM

Free Fallin’ - Tom Petty

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 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. What are you listening to? Have a list of your own?

Let us know! Contact STML with your favourites.

November Rain - Guns N’ Roses Check

Click to listen to Ms Kerry’s playlist

#238: TiPs for enCouraging oPen DisCussions abouT DigiTal lives

Most parents frequently chat with their child about how things are going at school or what’s happening in their friendship groups – but those discussions often don’t extend to youngsters’ online activities. In fact, National Online Safety conducted a recent survey which found that only slightly more than half (54%) of parents regularly talk to their children about staying safe online.

It can be an awkward topic to broach and, of course, it needs not to feel intrusive. However, just checking in with your child about their digital life can get them thinking about online safety and alert you to any issues they might be having.

In this guide you’ll find a number of useful tips such as being as honest as possible, discussing how misleading the online world can be and creating a ‘family agreement’.

Our next PTG Tech Talk event will focus on Video Gaming and will take place on Tuesday 7th February at 8.00am in the 3rd floor Conference Room 420. Sign up here, hope to see you there.

Have a relaxing weekend.

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration