Patana News Volume 26 Issue 5

Mark Verde

Creating a Fantastic curriculum

Mark Verde, Primary Assistant Principal, Learning and Curriculum

Adevelopment

goal in the Primary school this year is to review the curriculum so that we have the most meaningful and engaging opportunities for all our internationally minded children. Our first action is to look carefully at the opportunities that we are already providing and decide what we want to:

• Keep and develop

• Change or take away

• Introduce and grow

To start this process, I have asked our subject leaders to provide a snippet of what makes their subject so fantastic and to give you a flavour of what great opportunities we already have in place, as these are the roots of our curriculum from which learning can grow and flourish.

Science is SPECTACULAR at Bangkok Patana! By teaching a mixture of scientific enquiry, skills and knowledge, we provide students with the opportunity to question and explore their understanding of the world around them. From planning fair test investigations to observing the effects, students will gain a wider knowledge of how and why things occur.

The Characteristics of Effective Learning are COOL because they can be seen in many different subject areas. They motivate students to concentrate and to keep on trying whilst being engaged learning. These Characteristics also allow students to find out and explore, whilst choosing their own way to do things.

Learning English at Bangkok Patana is EXCELLENT because it forms the foundation of all future learning. It equips students with essential communication skills so they can express ideas coherently and understand others effectively. Learning to read allows children to explore amazing stories, learn new things and understand the world. Learning to write unlocks creativity and freedom of expression.

The Arts are AMAZING because they provide a wide array of opportunities for self-expression and creativity while developing confidence, collaboration and curiosity. The learning of specific skills helps students increase their capacity for artistic communication and develop the ability to practise, rehearse and refine their work.

Phonics at Bangkok Patana is PHENOMENAL because it unlocks one of the most valuable skills of all –reading. We learn what letters look like and the sounds they make, both as individual letters and as combinations of letters. We use this “grapheme / phoneme correspondence” to help us blend to read words, as well as segmenting to write! During Phonics lessons, our students apply these skills to help them become confident and lifelong readers.

Primary students Alexis, Alishba and Derek said that ICT is INTRIGUING because “we have fun and learn at the same time and we collaborate in teams with friends who we want to learn alongside whilst being creative.”

Physical Education at Bangkok Patana is POWERFUL because it gives students an opportunity to build character and help embed the values of respect and fairness. Through physical literacy, movement fundamentals and athletic development, Physical Education has the capacity to bring about a lifelong healthy lifestyle.

PSHE is PERSONAL as it allows students to explore their individuality and relationships with others, developing their values and supporting their well-being. It is a journey of self-discovery, developing well-rounded global citizens who can approach life’s challenges with confidence and resilience and thrive.

Maths at Bangkok Patana is in fantastic SHAPE! Students are focusing on the endless connections to be found between their maths learning and the wider world. By using concrete resources, pictorial representations and abstract methods, our students learn to solve problems, to reason and to investigate. Equally, the rich learning experiences provided enable students to develop a secure fluency of key facts and to identify patterns and links in their learning. Add to all this the wealth of mathematical games played to enthuse students and the product is a curriculum that is enjoyable and purposeful.

Foundation is FANTASTIC because we learn through play and this exploration leads to exciting discoveries!

Our subject leaders have provided here a taster of what our curriculum already offers. We will be working closely together this year to look at how we can build on what we already are providing and how we can make it even more fantastic!

Children oF the Forest Charity Foundation

Children of the Forest charity was established in 2005 and is a registered non-profit foundation based in Sangkhlaburi, an area close to the Thai – Myanmar border. They are nestled amongst a community of approximately 150,000 stateless refugees who have escaped from years of oppression in Myanmar. Significant numbers in the community were born in Thailand but being denied Thai citizenship means their access to education, legal support and healthcare is denied. This makes the community highly vulnerable to all forms of exploitation, and children are an especially vulnerable group.

Children of the Forest supports families (particularly children and mothers) in breaking the repeating cycle of poverty. Their ‘Free School’ offers kindergarten and elementary programmes for up to 250 children – resourcing them with educational supplies and a daily breakfast and lunch. Their preparatory education programmes enable children to eventually transition into the Thai education system. Additionally, Children of the Forest provides a child protection centre for abandoned, abused or orphaned children. It also provides a mother’s refuge and healthcare clinic providing free healthcare treatment for families.

Empowering children with an education gives them the vital opportunity to progress to local Thai government high schools and in some cases university, which in turn gives them the right to Thai citizenship. Hence, Children of the Forest is a vital foundation in breaking the repeating cycle of poverty that families find themselves born into.

Children of the Forest has provided education, healthcare, and residence to over 5,000 children in the last ten years alone. Without these vital safety-nets in place, a significant

number of these children would risk human trafficking, forced labour, and exploitation.

Bangkok Patana School has proudly supported Children of the Forest for over 10 years and continue to do so this academic year. We aim to provide not only financial support during our regular fundraising events, but support through appeals such as our Shoe Box Appeal at Christmas time, which has been a particular success and will be repeated this year.

Please make contact with Children of the Forest and support them if you can.

Website: https://childrenoftheforest.org/

FaceBook:https://www.facebook.com/childrenoftheforest/ posts/3683010281721821

Email: info@childrenoftheforest.org

Phone: +66 081 017 0014

Christopher Perkins, Year 2 Teacher and CAT Lead

Primary isa 2023 results

Peter Taylder, Primary Senior Teacher, Leading Student Progress

TheInternational Schools Assessment (ISA) is a standardised test in Mathematical Literacy and Reading which Years 4, 5, and 6 sat in February 2023. We are delighted that the results show our students outperformed in both the regional and all schools categories.

We use the ISA standardised tests in Primary School because they enable us to compare our students’ performance with other international students around the world. We are particularly interested in comparing our school with similar schools in the Asia-Pacific region (regional schools category), such as China and Singapore, which often score at the top of the OECD International Student rankings.

Solo Festival October 2023

Saturday 28th October 2023

9:00am-1pm (time 10am, 10-11am, 11am 12pm 1pm)

CLOSING DATE:

More details and application form

Solo Festival October 2023

Saturday 28th October 2023 (time 11am, 11am

Monday 9th October 2023

TENNIS ACADEMY

Dan Ahl, Head Tennis Coach

Last Saturday, 35 of our Tennis players competed in the Under 14 Invitational events jointly hosted by Bangkok Patana for Girls’ teams, Harrow for the A and B Draw Boys’ and ISB for the C Draw Boys’. As all schools are using Universal Tennis Ratings (UTR), all students were able to play in a draw that suited their skill level. This also provided a perfect opportunity for some of our younger students to gain valuable tactical experience.

All of our competitors deserve congratulations! The following students also won medals in their categories:

Mila: Girls’ A Draw Runner Up

Tatsha and Pippa: Winner and Runner Up Girls’ B Draw

Hanson: Winner Boys’ B Draw

Jonah: Winner Section D Boys’ C Draw

We are looking forward to the Invitational Doubles event at ISB on 23rd September!

Glion Institute of Higher Education

Monday 18th September

Ontario Tech University

Monday 18th September

McGill University

Tuesday 19th September

Hult International Business School

Monday 25th September

University of British Columbia

Monday 25th September

Pepperdine University

Tuesday 26th September

Patana PartiCiPates!

Stay updated with the Secondary Music Department by following their Instagram account: @bpssecondarymusic

Meet Your PTG Representatives:

Meet Your PTG Representatives:

PrimarY HaBitat art cOmPEtitiOn

(Foundation Stage - Year 6)

Submit your entry to the Primary Art Room by Monday 18th September.

Please include your name and class on the front of your artwork. All entries will be displayed and one from each Year Group will be selected to win a prize!

#255: What Parents need to KnoW about Live streaming

Like a lot of digital services, live streaming really found its niche during the pandemic – think of Joe Wicks’ at-home fitness classes, Billie Eilish’s virtual gigs and Miley Cyrus’ chat show, for example. Real-time broadcasting of video content over the internet isn’t solely the province of celebrities, however: anyone with a device and something to say (or show) can take part.

With platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Twitch all offering routes to a vast online audience, young people have enthusiastically taken up the baton – streaming on subjects from gaming to sports to live shopping (yes, really!). Potentially having strangers among one’s viewers, though, is just one of many concerns. This guide has the key information on Live Streaming.

Have a great weekend.

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Technology for Learning

CHA-TIME WITH SEACHA#25

“THE ROLE OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES CONSERVANCY IN CLIMATE ACTION”

SATURDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2023 AT 10:00 (GMT+7) ZOOM WEBINAR

The world is undergoing a language extinction crisis. Yet, not all languages are treated equally – some are more vulnerable than others. This talk will explore the relationship between climate action and endangered language conservation. Firstly, Celia will talk about the concentration of language diversity in biodiverse areas of the world, such as Southeast Asia. These biodiverse areas are also the ones facing the most threat from climate change and entire communities speaking endangered languages risk being wiped out by climate disasters. Next, she will talk about the case for language preservation and restoration and how it can empower people, protect traditional systems of knowledge, and ultimately strengthen climate resilience.