Patana News Volume 19 issue 4 by Bangkok Patana School

Patana

NEWS

Getting into the Swing of Things TechUp

Page 2

What’s New at the Library

New Look ‘The Roar’

Bangkok Patana is an IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC

Mick Smith, Secondary Principal

Dear Parents, I would like to wish you a belated Happy New (School) Year. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity in the Secondary School as returning students and teachers have reacquainted themselves with the pattern and pace of school life and new students and teachers have begun to settle in and get their first insights into life at Bangkok Patana. The ‘culture’ of a school is vital to the whole community and getting switched into what Matt Mills, Head of School, calls the ‘heartbeat’ is important to all new (and returning) members. Our aim is to see that our Mission and Guiding Statements are genuinely reflected in all that we do and how it feels to actually be part of the school community. We are highly motivated for everyone here from students to teachers to genuinely fulfil their potential and to take on opportunities and

challenges to enable them to do that. That can sometimes make it feel a little hectic, intense or a ‘hothouse’, especially for new students or those in vital examination years. That’s where the other side of our culture hopefully kicks in and where our teachers, especially in their pastoral roles, really support the students. Equal importance is placed on thinking about our individual and collective ‘wellbeing’, being ‘balanced’ between academic and other activities, being reflective, caring, mindful and considerate of others. Tutors and Heads of Year are already focusing on this; as academic study clicks into top gear as Term 1 progresses, they are gently keeping an eye on their students, supporting and encouraging, testing the temperature to make sure that no-one is coming unstuck. We strive to ensure that the culture is ‘high-paced but measured’, that everyone is keen to make good progress, but that they are in control and having fun along the way,

rather than rushing headlong at breakneck speed around corners and bumping into things. That’s how I try to drive my little sports car back in England each summer! I have been super impressed by how our new Year 7 students have settled in already. They are the ones facing the biggest challenges, the most changes to their everyday experiences, whether they are completely new to the school or have moved across campus from Year 6. More teachers, new subjects, many more classrooms to find, getting used to their laptops, buying their first ice creams! All this and suddenly finding themselves as no longer being the old hands, the looked up to ‘Seniors’ of Primary but the ‘munchkins’ of Secondary trying to find their way amongst a sea of giants. At least the ‘giants’, the students from Year 10 upwards, are friendly and some (our Senior delegates) wearing hi-vis jackets to show that they were happy to help the newcomers get from the snack bar to Geography. As always Year 7 have brought fun, energy and excitement to the beginning of the year. They are now fully-fledged Secondary students having spent several weeks in each of their classes, begun their first ECAs and completed their first Home Learning tasks.

If there is anyone more anxious in the first few weeks of term than Year 7 it is the parents of the Year 7s! Yesterday Owen McDevitt, Head of Year 7, hosted a coffee morning to round off a series of induction meetings for these parents. I was delighted to see well over a hundred families attend and reassured that they seemed happy and with relatively low levels of stress. A number of key members of staff including the two Senior Teachers for Key Stage 3, Tony Berghuis (Curriculum and Assessment) and Lena Perriam (Student Welfare) who spoke alongside Owen, explaining what they can expect to happen over the first half term or so. Parents also then had the opportunity to talk with class tutors working with Year 7 every day and hear first-hand how their children have settled in. Finally, from me at the start of term, congratulations to all of our students from Grad16 on achieving our best ever IB results. They were a wonderful, supportive and hard-working year group who really exemplified all that we strive to achieve, and who will hopefully take our values and ‘culture’ with them to universities far and wide. Congratulations also to our new Year 12 on brilliant success in their (I)GCSE examinations. These great results show them that are doing the right things, that they have already achieved a huge amount and will give them confidence for even more success in the years ahead. Have a great weekend! Mick Smith, Secondary Principal

Richard Thorp, Head Swim Coach

ver 150 TigerSharks took to the pool last Friday in the first 50m Sprint event of the new season. With swimmers from Year 3 up to Year 13 taking part the carnival atmosphere was matched by numerous personal best times. Well done to all that took part. Over the summer break Chloe Burkill (7R) swam in the Vietnam Nationals 10 year age group, winning a Silver medal in the 100m backstroke. She also had several top eight finishes in other events. In three swim meets she swam in she broke several school records. Well done Chloe!

Fire Drill

ne of the areas that we practise regularly throughout the year is the Fire Evacuation and Lockdown procedures. In Term 1 and 2, we have ‘announced’ and ‘unannounced’ drills. This enables our community to practise reacting appropriately in the event of an alarm sounding on the school campus. Your child may have mentioned that we had an ‘announced’ fire drill earlier this week. We would like to thank everyone for their quick, sensible response to the alarm and exemplary behaviour during the drill.

Akshaj (Achu) Balasubramanian, 13B

echUp is a CAS project that began in late 2014, initiated by a few members of the Class of 2016, with the intention to provide Klong Banragard School, a local Thai school, with technology that would aid their education. A few notable events and projects we ran in Bangkok Patana were the Minecraft tournament, where students could donate money to our cause to participate in the gaming event, and a donation box, where students, teachers or parents could place second hand technological appliances to be refurbished, donated or safely disposed. Our most recent accomplishment was obtaining a sponsorship from GoPomelo which granted TechUp 10 Chromebooks to implement at the Klong Banragard School. Over this summer holiday, the TechUp team ventured out to the Bang Bo area to donate these Chromebooks to the Klong Banragard School, as well as to teach them how to use the Chromebooks. The team split up into two classrooms and taught the fundamentals of Google applications, sharing documents and the Google app store. We also taught the students how to download educational tools, such as one that allowed the students to explore a virtual solar system, and another that taught typing technique to aid proper touch typing. In the future, TechUp plans to provide more educational technology and assistance to the Klong Banragard school, and plan to expand these same activities to any other school within the community that is in need of technological assistance. I would like to thank the Klong Banragard school and their staff for their cooperation and assistance in this project, and Mr Barros and Ms Ferguson for supporting and giving us this wonderful opportunity. Lastly, thank you to the TechUp team for being such a dedicated and diligent group that made this all happen. #MakeCATGreatAgain

Tania Leyland, Youth & Community Coordinator

he annual CAT / CAS Fair took place on Thursday 1st September with information stands from Community Action Teams, CAS projects and visiting NGO’s. Every student in Secondary School had the opportunity to visit and find out about all of the amazing work that takes place to benefit our wider community. Sign up was frantic and it was great to see so many students engaging and discussing ideas. Congratulations and well done to everyone involved in making this event a success. Patana’s Got Talent is Habitat for Humanity’s biggest event where we showcase some of the best and most interesting talents within the student community. Our purpose behind the event is to raise money to add to our ‘Build A House’ fund and to engage the Bangkok Patana community in our fun event whilst still advocating for our clubs’ causes. During the auditions last week we came across some very talented students! We were so impressed with Carey’s mesmerising guitar and singing performance and were shocked with Chris’s amazing speed stacking act. We are so excited for you to attend Habitat’s main Patana’s Got Talent event on September 13th, 14th and 15th at 12:25 in the Theatre! See you there!

Just 9 days to register RACE CATEGORIES Price

320 THB 440 THB

PRESENTS

THE BANGKOK PATANA

FUN RUN

e would like to introduce the Bangkok Patana School Japanese Group. There are 50 Japanese families who are members of this group, and we support International Day and many other school activities. If you are a Japanese speaker or married to a Japanese speaker, then we would like to invite you to join our group. Please send an e-mail of your details to add to the group list for future correspondence to Mrs Kyoko Nishida, email salut.kyoko@hotmail.co.jp 【ジャパニーズグループに参加しませんか】バンコクパタナスクールのジャパニーズグループは、日本人の父親あるいは母親を持つ生徒の保護者により運営されているグループです。現在５０家族が加入しており、毎年行われる学校行事、インターナショナルデイなど、様々な学校活動に協力しています。また、情報交換の場として親睦会を年に数回行っています。参加ご希望の方は、西田までご連絡ください。 salut.kyoko@hotmail.co.jp Image Reference: http://feelgrafix.com/data/japan/Japan-1.jpg

International Day will be held on

Wednesday 9th November 2016 This year the event, including the parade and Food Hall, will be held on one day. To find out how your country can participate in this event email ptgintlday@gmail.com

Jen Peppard, Head of Faculty, World Languages

t this time of year I get many inquiries about the possibility of entering for an IGCSE in a language which is studied outside of school. The answer to the question very often is yes! But there are some key things to think about. Language IGCSEs come in two or even three levels, so it is important to ascertain at which level your child needs to enter. They are not available in every language and at every level – I can confirm that for you. The levels are: IGCSE Modern Foreign Language: This is the exam which most of our students sit after three – five years of study of a foreign language in school. IGCSE Second Language: This exam is not available in many languages, but it is aimed at unbalanced bilinguals – often children who are ‘native’ speakers but who have not studied in the target language IGCSE First Language: This is for children who are native speakers and who have studied their language in some depth. It is the equivalent to the English IGCSE which our students take in year 11. For many students it is good to have their home language, or a language studied outside of school validated by giving them a qualification to add to their CV. I do not recommend students below Year 9 taking these exams – they are designed to be taken by typically 14 – 17 year old students. Parents are billed for these exams in the normal way. We can only undertake an IGCSE MFL exam in a language other than those taught at school if parents can provide a suitably qualified person (not a family member) to give the oral exam. We cannot provide tutoring at school for children who wish to take additional entry language exams, but can provide access to the relevant syllabus and past papers. Please do contact me at school (jepe@patana.ac.th) if you are interested in your child being entered for one of these exams. Exam entries need to be made during early December, for the summer 2017 exam, but it is worth finding out what might be possible ahead of the deadline. This will also give you time to ensure suitable tutoring, if required, is in place in good time. I look forward to hearing from you,

Jen Peppard Head of Faculty, World Languages

Monday 12th September Under 13 Girls’ Basketball HOME 1st XI Football AWAY – ISB Varsity Boys’ Football Sevens – HOME Under 15 Girls’ Touch HOME Varsity Boys’ Volleyball AWAY – ISB Varsity Girls’ Volleyball AWAY – ASB Wednesday 14 th September 1st XI Football – AWAY – ISB JV Boys’ Football Sevens – HOME JV Girls’ Football Sevens – HOME JV Girls’ Volleyball AWAY – NIST JV Boys’ Volleyball AWAY – NIST Thursday 15th September Under 15 Boys’ Basketball – HOME Under 15 Girls’ Basketball AWAY – NIST Under 13 Boys’ Basketball – HOME Under 15 Boys’ Rugby Sevens – HOME Under 13 Boys’ Tennis - HOME Under 13 Girls’ Tennis - HOME

The Sports and Activities team does so much for not only the sports department but also for the whole school, so if you see them around, go up to them and say thank you! Each member puts so much effort and time into making the activities and sports at Bangkok Patana the best it can be, so on behalf of the Athletics Council…

WHAT’S YOUR OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHT? There were so many awesome moments. Some of my favorites included…Michael Phelps’ phenomenal performance in the pool, Fiji winning its first Olympic medal ever in Rugby 7’s and Simone Biles’ gravity defying gymnastics. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE? I am the Assistant Principal for Extra-curricular Activities and Sports. I oversee all the after school action at Bangkok Patana as well as help to look after the sporting facilities. I also teach Senior Studies PE. WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? Swimming, Netball, Skiing, Tennis and Softball were my favorites but I loved all sports. DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS NOW? I still love to swim and try to get to the pool at least a few times a week to do some laps. WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DRAGON OR BE A DRAGON? A dragon. I could fly and breathe fire!

WHAT’S YOUR OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHT? The opening ceremony is always my biggest highlight, but also when the Thai team got to the final round for weight lifting, it was super intense. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE? ECAs, all about ECAs and emails! I send them to parents and students as I am the ECA Coordinator WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? I participated in Latin and Ballroom dance in the Youth National Sport Competitions. Some people don’t consider this a sport but IT IS ACTUALLY A SPORT. DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS NOW? Oops!! Not much now, but I try to go cycling when I’m free. WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DRAGON OR BE A DRAGON? I would rather have a real pet dragon! I can take it for walks so I can get more exercise!!

WHAT’S YOUR OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHT? My Olympic highlight was the Tae Kwan Do. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE? Financial administration for the Sports Office. WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? I played basketball. DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS NOW? Yes, I still play basketball. WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DRAGON OR BE A DRAGON? I would rather have a dragon.

WHAT’S YOUR OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHT? My favorite moment of Rio 2016 was when Jessica Ennis-Hill won her silver medal, as she is my true athletic idol. I actually woke up at 2:45 am to watch her 800m. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE? I schedule fixtures, organise set ups, and coordinate with other coaches form different schools. WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? Football. DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS NOW? Yes, I play table tennis. WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DRAGON OR BE A DRAGON? I would like a pet dragon.

WHAT’S YOUR OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHT? My Olympic highlight was when Thailand got two gold medals in the weight lifting WHAT’S YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE? Assistant support for the Sports Office. WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? I played a lot of volleyball. DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS NOW? I still play volleyball but not as much as I use to. WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DRAGON OR BE A DRAGON? I would rather have a dragon because I want to be in control and have power, but if I was a dragon someone else would have power over me.

@ bps_athletics_council

BPSSPORTS

BPSSports

Tiger Sports

Patana Tennis

Polar explorer, environmentalist, survivor and the first man ever to walk unsupported to both the North and South Poles is coming to Bangkok Patana School.

Thursday 20th October 2016, PM Come and be inspired by this world-class communicator and public speaker who is on a life-long mission to ensure that Antarctica remains protected from exploitation. This fascinating speaker will be in school as part of a two-day Global Learners Conference and we would like to invite students from Year 3 upwards and all parents to an audience with this inspirational man.

More Details to Follow

#39: Don’t be a bystander I’m going off on a slight tangent this week to share just one item that really made an impact on me. At school we use the phrase:

“We all need to be upstanders, not bystanders” This YouTube clip that Peter Howe (Leader of Primary ICT) shared with me is a powerful example. Please take the time to watch it with your children. It may spark conversations about how we can all combat bullying. Often it is not as explicit as this and can be more subtle, especially when online. I’ll write more on this in articles later in the year.

Have a great weekend….. Brian Taylor, Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

University / College

Representative

Location

Date

Time

Hong Kong Baptist University

Kelly Li

Senior Studies

13.09.16