Patana News Volume 19 Issue 28

Patana

NEWS

Students Take the Lead Sharing their Learning Page 2

STOP Fashion Show / D+T STEM Workshop / Responding to Emergencies Bangkok Patana is an IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC

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ast week the Primary School was a hive of activity and there was a real buzz of excitement as the students had the opportunity to share and celebrate their learning with their parents and teachers during the 3-Way Conferences.

The 3-Way Conferences at Bangkok Patana are designed to:     

Give students an opportunity to show evidence of their learning and progress Encourage metacognitive skills such as reflection and self-evaluation Develop self-confidence and oral communication skills Encourage student ownership of their learning Strengthen the student-parent-school partnerships

During the 3-Way Conferences, I had the opportunity to regularly visit the Year groups and what stood out to me the most was the interaction that was occurring between students and parents. It was wonderful to see so many of our students taking the opportunity before and after their conference to continue sharing their learning. I was also able to speak with many of our teachers and hear their reflections on the conferences. Some of the comments I heard from teachers included “I love the 3-Way Conferences.” and “I feel so proud listening to how confident my students are when talking about their learning.”

The conferences last week were the first time that our Year 1 students had the opportunity to share their learning in this format. While this can be quite challenging for some children, it is an important part of their growth and development as independent learners. Observing some of our Year 1 students, I was reminded that everything is easy when you know how to do it. Watching them struggle with this process confirmed to me that growth and development is happening during the 3-Way Conferences. I always like to go the Year 6 conferences after Year 1 to see just how articulate and confident our students become after going through the 3-Way Conference process a few times.

“Not only is the student the best person to tell their parents what they have learnt, but if we believe that students build their knowledge by communicating what they know, then providing an opportunity for the students to tell their family what they know can significantly assist with that learning.”

Michael Absolum, Clarity in the Classroom (2006)

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n 28th March, STOP Patana, the CAT club raising awareness about human trafficking, hosted an evening fashion show. This was constructed by the collaborative work of the whole STOP team. As months of preparation flew by, our determination for the show to be a success made it one of the most incredible and memorable moments. This was made all the more possible thanks to our incredible sponsors for their financial support, and our guest speaker from A21 for giving us her time to come and celebrate this wonderful occasion with us.

The night was loud and energetic, giving our audience a sense of what is really like to engage in a fashion show. Lights and glamour amplified the occasion as the models walked out one-by-one with an air of the utmost professionalism. We had four clothing lines and each had a story and concept behind their work that really engaged with the audience. Not only that, but for those wondering about the link, design themes related to certain aspects of human trafficking/modern day slavery.

To conclude, our CAT Club was founded to raise the awareness of why human trafficking is such a controversial issue in this day and age, we also try and encourage our students to conceptualise how

this issue is threatening the lives of millions. So we encourage you to spread the words out of how human trafficking is affecting us as an entity, and how we can come together and stop it. Please STOP and think about where you buy your own clothes and personal goods. Often bargains come at a high price, whether that’s in the sourcing of the cotton or at the expense of those on the production lines. A bit of research and sharing what you know sees us all doing our bit...

Here’s one way you can get a rough estimate on your slavery footprint: http:// slaveryfootprint.org/ Special thanks to our supervisors, staff members, the fashion models and the designers for the fashion lines.

The Tiger Shop has some great new products in, perfect for you, your children or even gifts for the family!

New Black Adult Polo Shirt Available in Ladies and Men's Cut Ladies size 34, 36, 38, 40, 42 Mens size S, M, L, XL, XXL 350 baht Did you know that our umbrellas feature a heat-reflective silver lining and are now available in two different sizes?

Large Golf Umbrella Orange and black with Patana Paw 600 baht

Small Handbag sized Umbrella Black with Patana Paw, ideal for keeping in your bag for those unexpected Bangkok showers!

350 baht

A5 Lined Note Book Available in Orange and Black 150 baht

Patana Pen 30 baht Have you picked up your LIMITED EDITION Patana 60th Anniversary Pint Mug yet?

Made from Stainless Steel which won't rust or shatter and are BPA and Toxin free.

60th Anniversary Mug 400 baht Going to an event soon? Grab a bleacher cushion for extra comfort! Not pictured so why not pop in and try one out!

Bleacher Cushion 300 baht

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n Wednesday, students from six other schools came to Bangkok Patana to participate in a Design + Technology STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) workshop to enhance collaboration and design manufacturing. The workshop gave us the opportunity to work with new people and experience areas of D+T that were new to us. We all learnt a lot of different skills from the other schools as the students each had an area of the subject that they excelled in. We just had to make sure we all had a growth mindset. This was one of the most important aspects of this workshop - teaching and sharing our skills to the other participating students who don’t have D+T as a subject or haven’t learnt a certain skill that we needed during the workshop.

D+T, but we also developed skills such as leadership and collaboration.

We encountered a number of problems during the project; the main one being the power outage that occurred. It was difficult to create our prototypes and designs without the help of CAD 2D design or SpaceClaim; all CAD programs require computers and electricity! Additionally, the machines in the workshop were all electric so we had to cut and abrade everything by hand. Making things by hand really allowed us to demonstrate our fine motor skills; not breaking the sunglasses were one of the hardest parts! However, as a team, we managed to persevere through the issue becoming stronger as we helped one another to finish the jobs. Due to time limitation, we had to elimi-

Some schools were better at different areas of D+T. For example some schools hadn’t done Computer Aided Design but were better at sketching/drawing and creating ideas. This created a good balance of skills between us. It was great that we got to share this experience with people from other schools with the same talent. As we worked together to design and make sunglasses, we developed strong bonds within our teams, which was crucial to our success. We collaborated well together and combined our different ideas into a final design.

A skill many of us didn’t realise we needed was to do with costing the product. We learnt about the costs of manufacturing to help us calculate the final cost. In addition, we also had to use our mathematical skills to calculate surface areas and the number of products we could create on a sheet of acrylic. This was a good experience not only because we learned more about

nate any useless or redundant techniques. Unlike months of brainstorming, designing and time to manufacture, we only a couple of hours. This meant that we had to efficiently organise ourselves and distribute jobs equally amongst our group in order to finish on time. Despite the obstacles faced during the day, we were still able to achieve a product that we were all proud of.

It was an amazing experience and a truly rare opportunity to design a product in such little time with new people who had a very different skill set from our own. By participating in this workshop, we learnt about how important our client’s needs were and how different people have varying needs when it comes to design. We were able to combine the best aspects of different designs to create the best possible product, something that is completely different to what is out there already.

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ommunity action is an important aspect of our learning at Bangkok Patana School and we encourage students to become actively involved in identifying and developing projects that have a direct impact on our local and wider community. The purpose of this event is to provide students with a range of skills and experiences that they will be able to bring back and apply to the successful and sustainable development of their own projects. They will also share their newly developed knowledge through the design and delivery of peer education workshops and keynote speeches during our mini ServICE Conference in 2018.

We will fly with Bangkok Airways to Chiang Rai where we will be met by resort representatives and then travel by minibus to the resort. We shall be staying at the Maekok River Village Resort and Outdoor Education Centre, which is approximately 85 km north west of Chiang Rai Airport. The workshops and collaboration activities will take place at Maekok. They will also organise two community engagement visits where the students will be able to see community programmes in the early stages of development in order to gain a better understanding of the feasibility process as well as the importance of community collaboration and engagement to the success of a project.

This fantastic training opportunity is open to all students in Year 8 - Year 10 and should really appeal to young people who want to develop their understanding of how to develop sustainable community projects.

For more information, contact me on tale@patana.ac.th and I will send you all the information.

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group of young people have had a very steep learning curve recently as the Year reps on the student led Emergency Response Committee (ERC). They are a group of students who meet at the request of a member of the student body to discuss how they can respond to a local or global emergency situation. This is their story: On Thursday 30th March, Mark, Loes, Ms Clare and I visited the slum in Klong Toey to deliver 43 gas stoves and other cooking equipment including woks and pans to the members of the community who live there, many of whom lost their homes to a fire that burned down and damaged 43 homes. The

money used to purchase these goods came from the school emergency fund and the Emergency Response Committee team (ERC), coordinated with the School Purchasing and Transport Departments to obtain and deliver the necessary goods.

Loes, Martina and Cream in Year 11 brought the issue to the attention of the ERC as they had connections with members of the community and wanted to help in some way. Our mission of delivering the cooking equipment was completed relatively quickly but our experiences, what we saw and learned will likely stay with us for a long time.

The experience was eye-opening for all of us as we got to see the extent of the damage caused by something as small as inadequate electrical wiring. The devastation it brought upon the people living in these already extremely poor conditions was catastrophic. The Klong Toey community was already on the poverty line, living hand to mouth on a daily basis. The fire accentuated many problems that had already been present in the community including drug use and children often not attending school. During our visit, we were upset to learn that looting took place by both firefighters and other members of the community who took what they could from the damaged homes, indicative of the level of poverty present in the community.

Being strong, resourceful and resilient, the community itself had already embarked on restoration efforts which were already well underway, with new and improved houses being developed and some even close to completion. Our contact was a man named John Fletcher, who was part of UNOH, a Christian organisation who endeavour to integrate with local, underprivileged societies in order to help them develop. He lives with his family in his small wooden house just above a swamp overflowing with waste. He answered all our queries about the slum and how life was for the people living there.

It was a truly humbling experience.

Come along to the annual Tiger Sports Awards Dinner!

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very year, despite our best efforts, we are left we a large number of unwanted and unclaimed Yearbooks.

This year as usual each child will automatically receive a book each but in an effort to waste less we are asking you to let us know if you would prefer just one book per family.

Please email publish@patana.ac.th and tell us if you only want one Yearbook for your family. Many thanks for your support.

The PTG are looking for parent volunteers to help with Staff Appreciation Day on Wednesday 24th May. If you could volunteer an hour between 9:30am and 1:30pm please email ptgvolunteer@gmail.com

#58 Digital Citizenship –13 Reasons Why

With the long weekend coming up and no end in sight soon for the hot weather, no doubt some of us will be turning on the air conditioning and settling in to catch-up with some of our favourite TV shows and movies. A really popular series with teens and tweens at the moment is a Netflix show called ‘13 Reasons Why’. I’ve not seen it or read any of the books, but there is a sizable amount of media interest in it and no doubt some of our children will be watching it.

Dr Michael Rich, MD, MPH, Pediatrician and media enthusiast writes about the show in his latest post and I urge all parents to read it and consider his advice….

Link: http://cmch.tv/13-reasons-why/ Have a relaxing long weekend, Brian Taylor, Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

REMINDER THAT THERE IS NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY 5TH MAY OR WENDESDAY 10TH MAY

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s part of the celebration of our 60th Anniversary on Monday 15th May, each student at Bangkok Patana School will receive a small chocolate gift. This gift is completely nut-free and we would be honoured if you would enjoy this small token of our appreciation to our wonderful community.

If you would prefer your child not to receive this gift please email publish@patana.ac.th by 9th May.

You can also have a look at the current lost property via our website: https://community.patana.ac.th/community-events/lost-property Or scan the QR code Please note that all remaining unclaimed lost property will be donated to charity.

Contact Reception@patana.ac.th

University / College

Representative

Location

Date

Mahidol University

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Senior Studies, Second Floor 08.05.17

Time 12:15

【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 54家族が加入しており、毎年行われるインターナショナルデーなどの学 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.kyoko1102@gmail.com There are 54 Japanese families who are members of the group, and we support International Day and 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 email with your details to add to the group list for future correspondence to Mrs Kyoko Nishida at salut.kyoko1102@gmail.com

26th May

30th May

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Please check your child’s ECAs are correct. It will be the first week for Monday and Friday ECAs next week.

Did you know that your child can check with their ECA teacher what number bus they are on before heading to the Bus Park? Please encourage them to check their bus number in advance by looking at their new bus card, asking their ECA teacher or parents can also check the bus numbers on the Parents Gateway.

If you make any changes to the ECA programme of your child please ensure Transport is informed.

Remember that there is no school for students on Friday 5th May or Wednesday 10 th May. So please do not expect the school bus, enjoy the sleep in!

For your information the following letters relate to the time of the bus. If you notice your child’s bus number is incorrect, please email transport@patana.ac.th B – 11:50am MK/MT – 13:50pm HK/HT – 14:30pm A – 15:45pm D – 16:30pm Advance warning that Thai schools will return from Monday 15th May. Traffic from this day onwards will be increased and it is important students are not delaying the bus in the mornings.

Please remind your child/ren about the importance of keeping their seatbelt on for the duration of the journey. Students not abiding by this strict safety rule will be reported to their class teacher/tutor.

Please ask your child/ren to ensure they check the bus before getting off to make sure they have taken all of their items off the bus. There is an increasing number of items being left on the school buses. All left items will be taken to Lost Property the following day.

Contact Us The Transport Department’s direct phone number is 02 785 2470. The office is staffed from 6:00am - 6:00pm Monday to Friday. You can also contact us via email at transport@patana.ac.th

ANAPANA MEDITATION COURSE FOR CHILDREN Anapana (Mindfulness of Breathing) teaches children improved concentration skills and enhances calmness of the mind. This technique helps to relieve anxiety and is very useful at exam time to calm those nerves, but also for everyday life.

The next Anapana Meditation course will be given on Sunday 14th May for students aged between 8-16 years.

The course is completely free!

To enroll or for further information, please contact Eva Sophonpanich at evasophon@hotmail.com This site www.children.dhamma.org/en/children/about-meditation.shtml will give further information about the course.

BOOK DONATIONS NEEDED Please drop off at Nielsen Hays Library

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643 Lasalle Road (Sukhumvit 105) Bangna, Bangkok 10260. THAILAND Tel: +66 (0) 2785 2200 Fax: +66 (0) 2785 2399 www.patana.ac.th Email: reception@patana.ac.th