www.patana.ac.th
PATANA NEWS
Friday 15th October 2021
The Mindset for Potential Mr Mills’ First Blog of the eYar By Secondary Assistant Principal Page 2 Luke Jones
Also in this issue... M Students’ tennis successes in Thai Nationals Page 4 Year 7 artist publishes LINE stickers Back on track in Karting Six coaching lessons from Ted Lasso Dragonfly Teen initiative
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Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit IB World School accredited by CIS
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The Mindset for Potential Luke Jones, Secondary Assistant Principal Learning and Curriculum “Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice.” Jim Collins
plete one entire turn, pushing with great effort, you get the flywheel to complete one entire turn. You don’t stop. You keep pushing. The flywheel moves a bit faster, Two turns...then four...the eight...the flywheel moves a bit faster...a thousand...ten thousand...a hundred thousand. Then urrently, there are so many brilliant books and ide- at some point - breakthrough! The flywheel flies forward as that look at mindset for potential; from Malcolm with unstoppable momentum.” (Collins, 2001). Gladwell’s idea that ‘10,000’ hours of practice are needed to master a particular set of skills and then become GREAT TEAMWORK a professional, to Angela Duckworth’s research on Grit, Collins’ idea regularly leads me to think about individwhich highlights the need to stick with things over the very ual excellence and great teamwork which involves the long term until you master them. These are two, of many relentless pursuit of an overall aim, or a set of goals. His ideas centred around the key factors in realising potential. concept really challenges teams and leaders to consider One of the slightly lesser-known concepts comes from a what the flywheel might look like for their organisation or book written twenty years ago called Good to Great by project, given the desire to create an organisation or team author Jim Collins. Like, Mr Matt Mills, this is one of my that performs at the highest levels. The key questions which favourite leadership books. result in learning about the flywheel are often: ‘What is it that makes up the parts of your flywheel? ‘How does THE FLYWHEEL EFFECT your flywheel turn?’ It has been clear to me, from the first In the book, he discusses many concepts including one day I walked onto campus at Bangkok Patana school that called ‘The Flywheel Effect’. The idea focuses on uncov- this concept has been so well recognised and considered ering simple, yet essential and specific aims, which pro- as a central component in driving the mission, values and pel organisations to improve and reach the highest levels culture here. of performance, moving companies from being a good I am sure so many of our students and student leadorganisation to a great organisation. Collins said that “In creating a good-to-great transformation, there is no sin- ers can begin to think about how this concept relates to gle defining action, no grand programme, no single killer the team projects, team sports and project initiatives that innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment. they have been involved in the school and outside. The flyRather it feels like turning a giant, heavy flywheel to com- wheel metaphor guides you to think about all those differ-
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ent ways in which a team pulls in unison to push to achieve a specific goal as a unit and move projects to a higher level of performance. Allowing the group to perform at their best. It seems many of the essential components to get the flywheel moving involves great communication, collaboration, and passion. These are characteristics that I can see in abundance at Bangkok Patana. It also leads you to consider, what might make up the parts of your own personal flywheel? and, how this is currently turning? ...and, how the parts might need to change to order increase the potential of this goal being realised! I believe this is a concept that so many of our students would benefit from, and I highly recommend sitting down and sketching out your own flywheel. It’s an incredibly em-
powering activity. Below you find an excellent example of what a flywheel might look like for someone starting out with the ambition to be a professional skateboarder! Over the coming months and years I’m really looking forward to witnessing the turning of so many flywheels here at Bangkok Patana. Just observing the students and teachers continuing to push the CSL flywheel in the face of all the challenges has been amazing to witness and be part of. To continue to do this in the face of adversity is extremely commendable and admirable in so many ways. Even when some of our students are feeling fatigued and needing a supporting hand, we gather together as a team to aid, nurture and help others through, while the momentum of so many flywheels continues to roll.
Learn more about Good to Great in this video:
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Bangkok Patana Students’ Tennis Success in Thai Nationals YEAR 9 STUDENT WINS UNDER 14 THAI NATIONAL DOUBLES Ella Cordery, Year 9E Tutor, Drama Teacher
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ear 9 student Penn (Penne) Charusorn has just competed in the Under 14 Thai National Tennis doubles last week, winning all five of the matches with his partner and ultimately taking home the title. Penne will be competing in the Under 18 Nationals next week so let’s all cheer him on to victory!
YEAR 5 STUDENT TAKES HOME SINGLES AND DOUBLES TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP Dan Morrison, Year 5 Teacher
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ear 5 student Phasin (Lookkid) Sinchalong swept to victory in Thailand’s Junior National Tennis Championships 2021, taking both the Singles and Doubles titles in the Under 10 Boys’ category. Lookkid was a force to be reckoned with as he won all six of his Singles matches and four of the Doubles. Congratulations to Lookkid on his amazing effort!
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Year 7 Artist Publishes LINE Stickers Christopher Ferne, Head of Arts Faculty
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ear 7 students in Art have been creating their own stickers for the popular app LINE. One student went so far as to get his stickers accepted by LINE for public use. They are now available in the LINE app store as ‘Wally the Brickwall’. Be sure and download them for your phone! “Something that inspired me to do this Sticker project was the fact it was actually really fun to do and I really wanted to feel the satisfaction of finishing it. It was also because,during a lesson after I made around five stickers, I showed this to Mr Ferne and he said it was a great start. This led to motivation to finish and show it to him. How I published them on the LINE app is by using an app called LINE sticker maker, where you can design your own stickers and sell them. You can use ready made templates which is an easy way to start with, or you can design your own stickers. The project was really fun and I was so happy when I found out people were using it! I hope you can also try and design your own stickers.” - Naoki Kitabatake, 7U
Join Run of the Earth by Eden Project Andrew Tatam, Primary PE Leader of Learning
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alling all lovers and residents of the one and only Planet Earth! If you feel up to a walk or a run on Saturday 13th November to show that you really do care about what is happening to our home then join “Run of the Earth” being organised by the wonderful Eden Project in Cornwall. Join hands with people from across the globe through this simple act of unity! This is a completely independent activity but it would be wonderful to note Bangkok Patana School somewhere in your registration to stand proud as a community that truly drives Global Citizenship. Learn more about this initiative and how to sign up at the Eden Project here.
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Back on Track in Karting Maarten Vliegen, Patana parent
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fter a very long break due to the COVID pandem- SeneviratneCharya from Year 9 was unfortunately pushed ic, four Bangkok Patana students participated in the off the track and had to retire from the race. second round of the Kart Championship of Thailand – also For Year 8 student Taiyo Vliegen, it is his last season in known as the “King’s Cup”. Mini. He finished the final in a deserving P1. The organisation deployed a strict COVID safety plan Sra (JJ) Anuras, also from Year 8, kept improving all with ATK tests and a limited number of visitors. weekend long. With a 4th position, he scored his first poYear 10 student Nandhavud (Jem) Bhirombhakdi pushed dium in the Rookie class. hard against experienced Senior class racers and had to Well done!! settle for second place in the Senior class. The next and final race of Kart Championship of ThaiIn the last lap of the Juniors final, Charyanath (Charya) land will be on Saturday 20 November.
Scan here for Lost Property 6
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Sign Up for Block 2 ECAs!
ECA SIGN-UP IS OPEN NOW e are planning ahead in the hope school will re-open in time for Block 2 which commences in mid November.
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There are loads of new options available! Dot Painting, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Latin Dance, Google Guru, Bee Hotel, Bollywood Dance, Flippa Ball, E Sports and more! Login to the Parents Gateway and make your choices. Please note if school does not re-open you will NOT be charged so there is no risk involved in signing up.
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Six Coaching Lessons from Ted Lasso Cindy Adair, Cross Campus Assistant Principal ECAs and Sports
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f you’ve not done so already do your self a favour and check out the tv series ‘Ted Lasso’ on Apple+. Without giving too much away, the show is based on the story of a American Division II College Football Coach taking a job across the Atlantic in the UK as a manager of a Premiere League football club. It’s funny, clever and heart-warming, with loads of fun cultural comparisons which you’ll enjoy.
this. Treating everyone with respect regardless of their role in the organisation is essential. Saying thank you and smiling at our maids, drivers, delivery people, cleaners and wait staff is simple to do and speaks volumes about your character.
PEER PRESSURE TRUMPS COACH NAGGING EVERY TIME I watched this show thanks to the recommendation of When things go astray in a team, a coach must step in, Mr Osborne from Secondary PE who is also a Varsity call the behaviour out and set out expectations. But when Coach in various sports and both of us enjoyed it im- it comes to enforcing those expectations, nothing is more mensely, mostly because we watched it through the lens powerful than a senior leadership group of the athletes of being both sports enthusiasts and coaches. Here are themselves. The nagging white noise of a coach pales into some lessons I learned: insignificance when you empower your student leaders to set the standards themselves. COACHING IS A TRANSFERABLE SKILL Yes there is sport specific technical knowledge to ac- DEVELOP PEOPLE NOT JUST ATHLETES quire, but that can be learned and studied, or supplementAthletes are often in your club or team for a short peed with other experts. Coaching at its core is about build- riod and each coach or teacher contributes a little to ing relationships and motivating athletes and that skill can their development. One of the biggest compliments a stube applied across a broad range of activities. dent-athlete can pay you is to reach out and share their future success and acknowledge your small role in their A STAR TEAM WILL ALWAYS BEAT A TEAM OF development and success. Equally a coach that takes the STARS time to follow your career beyond your time in their team, Superstar athletes are skilful and fun to watch, but they school or club sees you are a person first and an athlete can also be high maintenance and undermine team cul- second. In the series our hero Ted challenges his athletes ture if not managed properly. If a team builds its entire to read books, speak to school children and develop strategy around one person, they are only one injury or happy and healthy family relationships outside of football. illness away from disaster. Adopting a team approach therefore is essential. HAVE BISCUITS WITH THE BOSS The Ted character met every day with the team owner over homemade biscuits. Some days the meetings were short and informal, other days more deep and meaningful. Making time to engage in 360 degree leadership, keeping senior leaders informed of your goals, aspirations and daily struggles make the organisation stronger. THE WAY YOU TREAT THOSE THAT SERVE YOU, SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER At the start of the series we meet a character called Nathan who is the football club trainer/handyman. He tends to the pitch, washes the kits, packs the suitcases into the team bus and more. A culture had developed which saw him bullied and harassed daily. The butt of many a joke among the players. The new gaffer – set about changing 8
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Uniting Pedagogy and Coaching through Rosenshine’s Teachings Rich Molloy, Cross Campus Head of Sport
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ere at Bangkok Patana School, we are lucky enough to have a huge staff body which includes teachers and coaches. Within coaching, opportunities to access high level pedagogical speakers would be rare when working in club programmes around the world. Taking the plunge into pedagogy and the associations which can be found between the two disciplines (coaching and pedagogy) can be eye opening and challenge our own beliefs - a willingness to be uncomfortable and learn from other disciplines is key to us all moving forwards. WHERE DOES COACHING STAND ON COMMUNICATION? Coaching as a profession has come a long way in the last 20 years but remains behind pedagogy in seeking to verify beliefs through evidence-based research. Coaching has long been depicted - and righty so - as formed beliefs created by doing and listening to senior coach’s experience, and maybe even a coaching qualification or two added in for good measure.
has been too focussed on a generalisation of the term ‘verbal instruction’ which has led to inconsistency in how it is portrayed in both coaching courses and popularised training methods. ROSENSHINE’S IMPACT ON COACHING This is where Rosenshine and his principles come into the conversation. The argument in coaching needs to move away from ‘which approach is better’, towards understanding that there is strong evidence showing that direct instruction is appropriate in supporting learning – when it has been fully understood- two worlds will need to collide.
Rosenshine’s (2012) 10 principles of instruction have been a key feature of the Continuous Professional Learning offerings in the last 18 months at Bangkok Patana with the support of Tom Sherrington, with its instructional approach focussing on more than single coaching behaviours. Rosenshine’s approach rewards task proficiency with a decrease in teacher support, all the way down to independent practice. The use of concepts like scaffolding Coaching literature has widely focussed on two key and questioning can be key contributors to an ideal learnlines of instruction; ‘discovery-based’ approaches have ing environment in coaching, just like teaching. become synonymous with athlete centred coaching. This The adoption and integration of Rosenshine’s principles approach provides a link to how learning occurs and fago far beyond the classroom and onto our sports fields, cilitation of the learning process. Unfortunately, it has also become a ‘one size fits all’ model which lacks the depth swimming pools, gymnasium and studios. Our coaches necessary to recognise the changeable nature of learn- have been given the tools to keep learning at the centre of ing, and the capability of learners to deal with problems the conversation, giving students the skills to excel on the sports field as well as in the classroom. without a teacher/coach’s guidance. The other line of instruction is ‘direct’, which is the poor relation to the popular freedom associated with all thing’s discovery based. Arguments against direct instruction include athlete disempowerment, lack of decision-making opportunities and minimal development of athlete engagement. Here lies the issue, from a Pedagogical perspective, neither of these feedback models sit at the end of the instructional spectrum and neither should be considered the only method. In reality, coaches must engage a range of communication styles based upon the scenario they are faced with. The ability of a coach to be reflexive and consider their role in providing this clarity. Research in coaching circles 01/10/2021
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CAT/CAS CORNER Year 6 Work with A21
Olivia Clutterbuck, Year 6 Teacher
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n Year 6, we work closely with the charity A21 whose mission is to end slavery through focused work in educating about human trafficking that can involve children, women and men. A21 work on the model of ‘Reach, Rescue, Restore’ to ensure that the cycle of human trafficking can be broken through education movements, contact with authorities and with a foundation of support in place to help survivors. Fundraising from Year 6 takes place in different ways, including contributions made during events such as Tiger Spirit Day, sponsorship through sporting challenges, the Christmas shoebox scheme along with additional items donated from the Bangkok Patana community at the end of each year. The money raised through Bangkok Patana has a wide reaching impact on the communities that A21 assist in both Thailand and Cambodia, you can read about our efforts in the Patana News here. The Christmas Box Scheme sees Year 6 students filling a shoe box with items that would be enjoyed by a child of a selected age. These are then donated to children in rural areas where they are always really excited to see what has arrived! The tuktuk in the image was also previously purchased thanks to Bangkok Patana donations, so the contributions we make as a community can be seen to be really wide ranging. Thank you to everyone who has helped to support A21 in the past and who will contribute in the current academic year, you can learn more about A21 or make donations on their website.
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Amnesty Presents: Light your Candle Showcase Stuti Rawat, 12A and Rie Aiyama,12L, Amnesty Patana
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s creative expression something that alleviates the stress of staying at home? Or are you passionate about social justice and want to raise your voice? If so, why not join Amnesty’s first event of the year: the ‘Light your Candle Showcase’? If you weren’t aware, Amnesty Patana is a CAT club that branches from Amnesty International, an NGO that campaigns against human rights violations around the world. As an integral part of the CAT body at Bangkok Patana, we aim to protect the human rights of all people, raising awareness about current social issues to our school community. In today’s world, it is more important than ever to stand up for what we believe in and advocate for our rights - especially in times of several global crises.
community. By submitting, you’ll have the chance to be featured on our social media and/or be a part of our display at lunchtime campaigns, once in-school activities commence. The deadline for submissions is 30th November!
CSL has been stressful for many of us, but for those of you with creative hobbies this could be a perfect opportunity to de-stress and be productive. Alternatively, if our mission interests you you may want to consider joining This year we chose to focus on the topics Racial Justice/ our club. Become an active human rights advocate in our LGBTQ+ Rights/Ethnic & Cultural Celebration, as well as school community and help make a difference in people’s lives! Weekly sessions are on Mondays 2.30 – 3.30; you Refugee Rights & Asylum Seekers. can officially join us in ECA signups. SUBMIT YOUR CREATIVE WORKS Feel free to contact Rie by email / teams for any addiTo kick off our activities for this year, we’re opening up tional queries. this showcase as an opportunity for you to submit origiHave fun and express yourself! nal creative works that relate to our topics of focus. We’re looking for artwork, posters, videos, photos, poetry, prose - anything that you believe will be an expression of your identity or constitutes sharing your voice with the greater
BE SURE AND BOOKMARK THE CALENDAR
2021/22 CALENDAR
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CAT/CAS CORNER
Dragonfly Teen: Breaking Barriers and Redefining Advocacy Through Art Rada (Sammy) Anuras and Alexis Loke, 12E
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ver the past two years, we have established an organisation called the ‘Dragonfly Teen Initiative’, which strives to use artistic mediums of expression as a way to socially advocate issues around women and gender inequality. We are a subsidiary of the Dragonfly360 organisation, an Asia-wide platform designed to mobilise society towards gender equality through provocative storytelling, panel discussions and art installations.
women, especially shining light on how decisions about women’s bodies are usually made without their consent. Our education at Bangkok Patana School has given us the innate desire to spread the power of learning, especially to our sisters whose voices are lost in the broken system we call society. Not anymore, we say.
In July of this year, #EDUCATIONISMYVOICE earned prestigious recognition as the ‘Visual Artist of the Year’ This year, the ‘Dragonfly Teen Initiative’ decided to cre- from UN Women, after competing in the ‘Youth Voices for ate a campaign entitled #EDUCATIONISMYVOICE, a Generation Equality’ competition, in which we became a conceptual photo exhibition, where each of the six photos finalist. we have created takes you through the story of a teenage #EDUCATIONISMYVOICE is not just art. It is a holistic pregnancy and the dire consequences this has. Inspired experience where we provide audiences with thought-proby Thailand’s teen pregnancy epidemic, the objectification of women and gravitation towards victim blaming, this voking imagery and symbolism that shifts perspectives and contemporary representation of a life story is one that we creates various interpretations of art in its rawest and most have amalgamated from months of research into real life meaningful form. It is a powerful, evocative presentation of stories, statistics and trends. We were fortunate enough to an issue so prevalent in our society, a society that we behave the opportunity to meet with activist Sunitha Krishnan, lieve can be proof that every woman can, and has started founder of Prajwala, an Indian rescue and rehabilitation achieving, great things. organisation helping women and child victims of sex trafWe are part of a world full of passionate, driven changeficking. After a heavy afternoon listening to Sunitha’s per- makers - at its core lies the entitlement of every person to sonal experiences of sexual assault, and how these ex- the equitable pursuit of their dreams and aspirations. The periences shape the way she fights on the front line of the girl in our story is walking the path that 1.5 million Thai girls human trafficking epidemic, we were given the fuel to fight have walked before her over the past decade. even harder for those who have been silenced. We pledge to let her be the voice and image who will Each photo in our campaign comes with a short caption not be silenced any longer. that acts like a guided narrative through this story. Liberating from conventional means of artistic expression, our six photos delineate the unspoken stages and publicly unknown consequences of a girl’s pregnancy how her freedom, rights and opportunities have been replaced with responsibilities, burdens and tribulations. Constructing each image with careful consideration of colour, composition and light, we strive to raise awareness and socially advocate bodily autonomy and reproductive health rights for
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#EDUCATIONISMYVOICE
#EDUCATIONISMYVOICE
#EDUCATIONISMYVOICE
#EDUCATIONISMYVOICE
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CAT/CAS CORNER The October Effect
Prithvi (Pritu) Acharya, 12S, Patana Economics and Business Society
The Patana Economic and Business Society (PEBS) is a Year 12 CAS project that functions primarily in an editorial capacity but is also planning to offer tutoring for (I)GCSE Business Studies and Economics students and to host an Economics competition at the end of the year.
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he October Effect: a moniker tagged to the seemingly inauspicious month of October. October is generally considered to be a volatile month for stocks, especially for market indexes in the US, where a great deal of uncertainty arises, inevitably leading to a bearish market . Several significant crashes have occurred or peaked in October including the Bank Panic (1907), the Great Depression (1929), Black Monday (1987) and most recently the Financial Crisis (2008). Now, is there consistent reasoning behind these occurrences, or is this all just an inopportune coincidence? To answer this question, first we have to ascertain October’s stock market performance relative to other months. Figure 1 measures the average S&P 500 returns over the past 10 years for each month. As you can see, October seems to be quite an unremarkable month in terms of returns, however, the range of this data set suggests that October is the second most volatile month behind March. Similarly, research carried out by LPL Financial calculated volatility by finding the average standard deviation for closing prices of each month, divulging that October is one percent more volatile than the other months, which isn’t a substantially large difference.
We can also look at the causality of the aforementioned crises to better understand the pattern behind the market
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crashes in October. Interestingly, two were caused by multifaceted, exogenous occurrences that typically stemmed from particular subsets of the economy several months, or even years before peaking in October; the 2008 Financial Crisis was a result of egregious subprime mortgage lending and housing inflationary pressures, and the Great Depression was primarily a result of growing inflation and monetary expansion in the 1920s. Contrastingly, Black Monday and the Bank Panic of 1907 occurred in a bout of financial mismanagement. It is believed that Black Monday was caused by algorithmic trading in which systems implemented stop-loss ordering (buying and selling at a specified price) which led to wide-scale selling after a few days of negative returns. The Bank Panic was caused by a six week stretch of false speculation beginning in October and ending in November. These causal inconsistencies may actually abjure the belief that October is a poor month in terms of performance. Granted, some of the worst crashes have taken place in October, but discerning October’s chronological placement in the calendar, it shouldn’t come as a shock that this period consists of the occasional hiccup. October marks the end of a historically substandard period beginning in May and ending in October, often dubbed as “Sell in May and Go Away” and it is also the month where tax-loss harvesting most frequently occurs (selling securities at a loss to prevent short term capital gains tax liabilities). Despite this, October remains a solid month for returns, placing sixth best with an average return of 0.62 percent since 1950, which takes into account the -16 percent and -21 percent returns of The Financial Crisis and Black Monday, respectively. Overall, I believe ‘The October Effect’ is an unjust tag given to a month whose faults transpire from conducive circumstances arising in prior months. It is in human nature to tag something abstruse with the hopes of boiling its complexity down to something conceivable, and in this case, at the expense of October.
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ARTS COUNCIL
A Sense of Community in Choir Dashiell Larmer-Beech 9K
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am a Year 9 student who is studying music and choir it has really taught me a lot about how I sing and how to through the Arts programme here at Bangkok Patana. find and make improvements. With the help from teachers, I have been able to adjust to comments using their suggesThroughout my two years studying music and choir, I tions. This piece was quite hard for me, as it required quite have gained a far greater understanding of rhythms, dy- a bit of breath control - which wasn't one of my strengths. I namics and pitches than I could've ever imagined. Singing modified my strategies to help adapt me to this new style. has, through the years, made me a more adaptable and I also learnt to sing with a more frontal sound - which has collaborative member of our community. I have been able helped me be clearer when singing. to work with a diverse variety of people from the singing community to work on and showcase a wide range of Using the practicing application SmartMusic, we are songs and pieces from all over the world. able to set goals for ourselves and listen back on our recordings to review and look back for improvements. One The arts truly reveal the inner creative self through many important skill I have gained from this is perseverance and forms of expression available at Bangkok Patana. Since reliability. Both skills reinforce and build understanding of joining the school at the beginning of Key Stage 3, I dynamics, pitch, accuracy and more. have gained a strong sense of belonging through singing - which has led to me being a more team-oriented perI am really thrilled and thankful to have had the opportuson. Furthermore, singing and presenting in front of large nity to be a part of a community which thrives on creativity audiences has built up my self-confidence. The arts have and collaboration. I look forward to continuing learning always been a safe space for me to let my creativity shine and singing at our school's galas, performances, and conwithout any judgement. certs in the future, post COVID. My class has recently finished a piece called Chindia,
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ARTS COUNCIL
Landscapes Reveal City Life
Tosca Pauze, 13G
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n both (I)GCSE and IB Art, my favourite subject matter to paint and work with has and will always be landscapes. Even after the occasional dabble in portraiture or still life. I especially love cityscapes, mainly vibrant cities such as Bangkok, Tokyo and Taipei. Landscapes offer so much to the viewer. If done well, you can feel completely immersed in the culture and experience the ambience of the place depicted. My focus on landscapes has taught me to find and appreciate beauty in everything I see in the cities where I am.
tography and paintings, so my audience will pay close attention to these people, who make Bangkok what it is.
My favourite medium for this will have to be black and white film photography. In my opinion, film is a lot more delicate than digital photography. You are limited to the number of pictures you can take on your film roll, immediately there is a large focus on your subject matter, and what the possible outcomes of your images will be once they get developed. Using black and white film means that the audience must pay close attention to the settings, Most of my works show street scenes and regular peo- as the image relies on highlights and shadows. ple working as vendors in stalls on the side of the road. I'm happy to have chosen IB art and I am looking forSince Bangkok is such a hectic and lively city, “everyday” ward to taking more pictures. things such as street vendors are often overlooked. This is why I have chosen to use it as a focal point in my pho-
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STUDENTS SPEAK
Global Student STEM Conferences Ena Hashimoto, 13M
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he Scientia Project Team had a valuable opportuni- around the world to take a step towards a better future ty to be one of the panellists at the Global Student with more discoveries and innovations that could make STEM Conferences which took place last Thursday and our world a much better place.” - Ena Hashimoto, 13M Friday. The conferences were joined by 180 registrants “The STEM conference was a big stepping stone, in from over 27 countries and every continent in the world! the right direction for Scientia. I believe that it really Scientia is a student-led online platform, aiming to en- helped to push Scientia to the next level which is not courage the community to understand the significance of only a club within school but a recognizable club within science beyond the classroom and to share their scientific the international community. I would also like to thank curiosities, promoting logical thinking as well as creativity. the Scientia team for all working so hard to prepare for The Global Student STEM Conferences allowed students this and performing amazingly. We are very excited all over the world to listen to top researchers and profes- for the upcoming events that we are planning for and sors speaking about their research and subjects. This year, we hope that everyone can get involved with Scientia. the conferences featured worldwide speakers including We also hope that you can share our passion for the CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research) sciences and that you follow us on our journey.” - Patrick and Oxford Engineering. There were also student speak- Walsh, 13M ers such as a student who started his own AI lab at the age “As the event manager of Scientia, I have played a of 15 and is now interning at the University of Cambridge, a student who is the Chapter President for the Internation- role in organising this event to take place through writal Youth Neuroscience Association and Director of writ- ing a script of what will be covered in our conference, ing at the Oman Coding Society, and us, Scientia from creating a powerpoint to be shared, and communicatPatana! The conferences were tailored towards students ing with other board members and founding members in Years 10 to 13, however, the younger Years were also of the club. I feel very delighted to have had the opportunity to manage the club’s very first event and also to welcomed at attending the conferences. connect with many other global audiences who are also During the conference, members of the Scientia team passionate and motivated individuals towards the STEM presented informative speeches regarding our stories on field. I hope that our proactive actions represented in how the Scientia Project was initiated, how it grew and the conference inspired younger students to delve more what is our future plan. We were very fortunate to have into the beauty of science.” - Jiwon Yoo, 13D this opportunity of talking amongst the very inspiring proTo learn more about Scientia and to stay updated on fessors and students and we hope we were able to make our latest events, visit our website and follow us on Instamore young individuals have confidence and passion in gram, @scientia.bkk. Any studentsnterested in writing and pursuing their scientific interests. submitting articles, feel free to contact scientia@patana. Here are comments from the members of Scientia that ac.th. organised this conference “As the president of Scientia, I was involved in the process of planning and organising this event, including making contacts with the conference leader. I was really happy to have the opportunity in being able to share our scientific curiosities and passions with the global audience. Personally, it was a great experience that allowed me to clarify what our goals as Scientia are, making what needs to be done now clear to move forward. I hope that we were able to stimulate students and clubs 18
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Climate Change - Code Red! Ena Hashimoto, 13M and Jiwon Yoo, 13D “[This report] is a code red for humanity. The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk.” António Guterres, UN Secretary General
• Plants remove CO2 during photosynthesis which is a process called carbon fixation, however, this effect is reduced again because of one of the causes of global warming, deforestation. • Water vapour (H2O)
• Methane (CH4) n 9 August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is the “world’s leading au• Produced from livestock animals thority on climate science” (Harvey, 2021), released its • Nitrous oxide (N2O) sixth report since 1988. The report states that human activity was to blame for the effects of the climate change we • Produced from livestock animals and industries have been experiencing for the past years: melting po• Ozone (O3) lar ice caps, rising sea levels, extreme weather like heat waves, floods and droughts. If we continue this route, the • The ozone layer (region of the atmosphere) is imEarth’s temperature is likely to increase by more than 1.5 portant for us as it absorbs high-energy UV photons degrees due to human activities in the next 20 years. The from the Sun which are harmful to us. However, it number ‘1.5’ may not sound like a large number, however, also traps the heat from infra-red radiation. even with a rise in 1degree, the Earth’s ecosystem collapses; so far, since 1850~1900, there has been an increase • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) of 1.1 degrees which has caused a devastating impact on • Released due to industrial activities our world. In order to prevent this, the IPCC sternly warns that there is a need for every country to come up with a The seriousness of global warming is evident with the new plan on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. extreme events occurring around the world. Heatwaves The greenhouse effect occurs when UV or visible light and wildfires in Australia, flooding in Bangladesh, drought radiation from the Sun warms up the surface of the Earth. in South Africa and storms hitting Southeast Asia including The Earth radiates and emits infra-red radiation which is Thailand. Already, there are some long-term impacts of absorbed by the greenhouse gas molecules in the atmos- global warming that we cannot take back. To minimise the phere. They trap the energies in the atmosphere, and those effect of climate change, we all have to work together to energies are re-radiated in all directions which heats up lower the carbon footprint. Watch this video here
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the Earth. However, this greenhouse effect is a natural process and without it, the temperature of the Earth would be much lower which also becomes a problem. What causes global warming is the enhanced greenhouse effect - increase in the greenhouse effect. This occurs when there is an excessive amount of greenhouse gasses due to human activities. Some major greenhouse gases are: • Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Are there any measures to prevent further climate change? Yes, an example is the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted in 2015. It aims to keep the increase in temperature rise to well below 2, preferably at around 1.5 degrees celsius, compared to the pre-industrial levels. It was the first agreement which brought nations together with the common goal of reducing global warming. Continue this article on Scientia here.
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Desert Island Discs With Robine Johnson, Year 1 Teacher
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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 our Year 1 teacher and Primary CAT Coordinator Robine Johnson is stuck on a desert island. MS JOHNSON, IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? It’s a Fire - Portishead
Back to Life - Soul 2 Soul
Central Reservation - Beth Orton
You make it easy - Air
Protection - Massive Attack
The Man Who Stole the World - Nirvana
Something - Beatles
What New York Couples Fight About - Morcheeba Click to listen to Ms Johnsons’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. Comfortable bed with never-ending clean sheets WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 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 SHKN with your favourites.
Looking for something to do for half-term break? Check out the Community Offers on Firefly
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#197: Apple Clips in the Classroom Glenn Malcolm, ICT Cross Campus Advisor Computing
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reeting Parents, Guardians and the wider Bangkok Patana Community,
This week, I am a guest for Mr. Taylor's Tech Tips as we've had a fantastic Parent Workshop this week explaining how we instill creativity into the technology curriculum in the Primary School. Last year we were fortunate enough to bring in two leaders from the Apple Education training quarter. Ben Thompson and Ben Sheridon at 407Learning gave a two day bootcamp directed at the use of the Apple Pencil alongside the iPad to boost the already successful application within the primary classrooms. The days were to demonstrate the freedom students have while publishing and sharing what they have learned to their respective audiences. The key to Apple's success in this area is the hassle-free nature the free apps with the iPad can offer students to not infringe on the learning intention the students are leading towards. The event this week for parents and student's family members was to allow them to peek into a basic example of story telling and how this can translate from school to home very easily. The app we focused was Apple Clips a fun and easily learned video editor for all age ranges. The clips we used are below. Beware, they are child-led ideas so the humour and horror is very much set at the year 3-4 age range! In the coming weeks, we will be sharing support on how to use the parent control applications from Apple, Google and Microsoft that can help with the ever-burgeoning amount of screen time we are all facing right now so please look out for them.
HOW WE USE APPLE CLIPS IN THE CLASSROOM
STUDENT-LED HORROR AND STORY
WITH A TWIST
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COMMUNITY
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COMMUNITY
Register here for this online Zoom talk. 01/10/2021
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