Patana News Volume 20 Issue 31

Our mission is to ensure that students of different nationalities grow to their full potential as independent learners in a caring British international community.

NEWS Patana

Friday 25th May 2018

www.patana.ac.th

Volume 20 Issue 31

All Work and No Play! Page 4 Also in this issue...

Bangkok Book Award Winners / CATs Corner / YouTube Advanced Search 25/05/2018

Bangkok Patana School News

Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit IB World School, accredited by CIS, NEASC and ONESQA

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ALL WORK AND NO PLAY! Jason Cooper, Primary School Principal

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s Battram, Primary School Assistant Principal for Leaning and Welfare, recently shared an article with me that makes links between declining opportunities for children to play and poor mental health in adults. In the Primary School we strongly believe in the benefits of play for children’s learning and development, particularly in the early years, as play helps children in developing the Characteristics of Effective Learning:

Playing and Exploring Actively Learning Creating and Thinking Critically

You just have to follow a Foundation Stage child for 30 minutes to understand how much they learn through engaging in play. What we as adults may underestimate is the benefits of play to children’s wellbeing, which is the foundation for positive mental health in adolescent years and adulthood.

As parents we all want the very best for our children and we want to provide them with a range of opportunities to unlock their potential. Often, the opportunities that we provide replace the time that could be used for free play – self-directed play with no adult input. Many of our children learn musical instruments, but how many of them regularly play their instrument, spending time with their instrument to simply explore different sounds and to create music? There is

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a vast difference between playing an instrument and simply learning an instrument, and those who continue with their instrument/s into adulthood are often those who spend regular time simply playing.

As a child I didn’t have the opportunity to learn an instrument, but I remember going to my Aunty’s house where there was a piano, an organ and a drum kit. She was very happy for us to play on the instruments, and even though the sounds must have been hard to listen to, she never told us to be quiet or to stop playing. These opportunities to play and enjoy the instruments inspired me to learn an instrument as an adult, and now I regularly play music individually, with my own children, as well as with my friends and colleagues.

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According to the article, play has the following benefits: It gives children a chance to find and develop a connection to their own self-identified and self-guided interests.

Children learn to handle their emotions, including anger and fear, during play.

It is through play that children first learn how to make decisions, solve problems, exert self-control, and follow rules.

Play helps children make friends and learn to get along with each other as equals.

Most importantly, play is a source of happiness.

How much of your child’s time is devoted to free independent play? Just as we build in time for home learning, Music lessons, Language lessons etc. it is equally as important to build in time for our children to play. It is through play that our children develop the skills they need to lead productive and healthy adult lives.

Full article: All Work and No Play: Why Your Kids Are More Anxious, Depressed – The Atlantic, October 12, 2011

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL OF THE PATANA CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHS FOR 2017/18

Read Bangkok Patana’s Guiding Statements here 25/05/2018

Bangkok Patana School News

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CATs Corner

Tania Leyland, Youth Club and Community Services Coordinator

COBIS GLOBAL SOCIAL LEADERS COMPETITION AN UPDATE

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his year, Patana Marine Conservation Group (PMCG) submitted an entry to the COBIS Global Social Leaders Competition, you can see their entry here. PMCG made it through to the final stage and were faced with some tough competition from some outstanding projects across the globe. The winning team was from Romania with their project focused on ‘reviving nature related traditions’. It is awesome to see so many young people from around the world working collaboratively to improve global sustainability in all of its forms and develop projects linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The competition for 2018/19 is now open and Bangkok Patana School will be submitting an entry in April 2019.

Having had a look through the CAT proposals, there are some amazing projects planned for next year that not only link to the SDGs but have the potential to make a real sustainable difference to the lives of others. In Term 1, we will be launching the ‘student community action blog’ where you will be able to follow team progress and engage with their activities on a more personal level.

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PTG PRESENTATION OF DONATIONS TO CATs

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n Tuesday, the Bangkok Patana PTG held their Annual General Meeting. All of our CATs were invited to attend and were presented with a donation of 10,000 Baht per club as a thank you for their involvement in Fun Day 2018. I would like to thank the PTG for their fantastic support, the CATs really appreciate the recognition and financial support to help them achieve their goals.

ROYAL WEDDING GARDEN PARTY

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inally, I have to mention the Royal Wedding, celebrated in school last Friday.

Our Garden Party in the Secondary Lounge was a roaring success with many students and teachers taking advantage of the photo opportunities in the royal carriage! A huge thank you to all of the CATs who provided wonderful cakes and cookies to get the students into the spirit of the event. Congratulations to Prince Harry and Meghan!

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Bangkok Patana School News

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Bangkok Book Awards:

WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

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here is a buzz of excitement about school this week as our students are hearing the news about who won the Bangkok Book Awards. It is particularly pleasing to see how many of our Secondary students were desperate to hear the winner in the Young Adult category.

The students’ involvement and interest in reading the shortlisted books this year has been phenomenal.

The results for the Bangkok Book Awards are: PICTURE BOOKS: This was the closest result by far!

With 2,265 votes cast, the gap between first and second was just 21 votes, with "The Bear and the Piano" coming out on top with 27.3% (619 votes).

JUNIOR BOOKS: 1,297 votes were cast in this category and the overwhelming winner, with 42.1% (546) of the votes, was "Ghosts".

YOUNG ADULT BOOKS: With over 14 times more votes cast in this category this year than last, this category has proved to be the fastest growing one. 635 votes were cast, with another winner far ahead of the rest of the pack in this case "Scythe" with 39.8% (253) of the votes.

I am personally thrilled that “The Bear and the Piano” won the Young Fiction Category as it was the book I advocated for when the Bangkok Librarians were discussing 6

what should be on the shortlist. I never knew I could be so competitive! The Bangkok Book Awards website, hosted

by Bangkok Patana, has been updated and more details about the Awards programme can be found here. A big thanks to Mr Murgatroyd for his work on this and for providing all the statistics about the winning titles.

The Secondary Library has multiple copies of Thunderhead (the sequel to Scythe), which are racing off the shelf.

We also have a wide range of Neil Shusterman’s other titles for our students to choose from. Perhaps one of his books might be part of their summer beach reads! If your child hasn’t yet read all of the shortlisted titles it is not too late as we have multiple copies of the books available. We are in the midst of finalising next year’s shortlist and will be able to share it with you after the 1st June – watch this space!

Whilst I am writing, can I ask parents to remind their children to return any overdue books before the end of the year. However, even more importantly, can I encourage parents to borrow books for their children to read over the holidays. Each parent is able to check out 15 books, which is extended to 20 when families have more than one child.

Hopefully that’s enough so that there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

Happy reading, Sally Flint, Head of Libraries

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#92 YouTube Advanced Search

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think at some point everyone has used YouTube to search for videos on how to do something. If you’re searching for ‘how to’ videos related to technology (e.g. your mobile phone) or a piece of software (e.g. Gmail) then often you really do need to find the latest video, not one from several years ago.

Just this week I discovered a really useful filter that appears after you’ve entered your search term. The dropdown filter on the top right hand side of the page allows you to narrow the search to the last hour, today, week, month, or year. I cannot believe this has been there all of this time! I’m passing on this tip so that you we can all save valuable time when trying to find content on YouTube.

Have a great, time-saving weekend.

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Cross Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

click here for the Canteen

Please note the menu is updated for the following week on Friday at 1pm

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Bangkok Patana School News

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NEWS FROM THE FOUNDATION BOARD

Sub-committee Induction Morning It was a pleasure to welcome the new Sub-Committee members into school this week for an induction morning hosted by the Foundation Board. They were introduced to the School and Foundation Board businesses and activities by Tony Blake, Secretary to the Foundation Board.

Visit to the Ministry of Education School representatives Dr Surapee Sorajjakool (Head of Thai Programme), Khun Kulvadee Siribhadra (Director of the Foundation Board Office) and Khun Pornpimol Charoen (School Manager) visited the Ministry of Education to thank M.L. Pariyada (Parry) Diskul, Secretary to the Minister of Education and Bangkok Patana School Foundation Board member, for her continuing support of the school and Foundation Board.

Dates

for your

Diary...

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Friday 25th May Sports Awards Dinner Tuesday 29th May Visakha Bucha Day (School closed) Friday 1st June Bangkok Patana School AGM Wednesday 6th June Patana United Saturday 9th June School Fees Due Wednesday 13th June Dance Extravaganza Friday 22nd June End of Year Assembly Bangkok Patana School News

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the m o r f st The late

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PTG

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Click here to join the PTG Facebook page

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Lockdown and Fire Drill Procedure Bangkok Patana School takes the safety of our school community very seriously. We have a management team that meet and discuss many different crisis scenarios and we have processes and procedures in place for these. We have strong links with the local police and the various embassies who alert us to any security concerns and also visit our school to review our existing procedures and provide advice on security measures.

One 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.

PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW CAREFULLY SO YOU ARE AWARE OF OUR PROCEDURES SHOULD YOU BE ON CAMPUS WHEN AN ALARM SOUNDS. WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE ON THE SCHOOL CAMPUS WHEN AN ALARM SOUNDS? Lockdown Alarm If you are on campus and hear the ‘lockdown’ alarm (similar to a siren), please follow instructions from nearby staff. If you are not in a building, please enter the nearest building and follow instructions from staff. In a lockdown, you should be out of sight until you hear three clear whistles from the security team or are instructed that it is all clear from a security guard or member of staff. You will not be allowed to enter or exit the campus during a lockdown.

Fire Alarm If you are on the school campus and hear a fire alarm please act immediately and follow the Evacuation Route sign to the nearest assembly point, (see example).

Please make sure that you report to the Zone Fire Point Person who will be wearing an emergency jacket and have radio communication. They will be located in the middle of the zone area and will take your name and tell you where you need to stand. There are seven zones – green, yellow, blue, white, red, purple and orange. Look for these signs when you are next in school to familiarise yourself with the evacuation routes.

If you are outside the school grounds during a Fire Evacuation please note that you will not be allowed entry into school until the all clear has been given. Please follow instructions from our Security team.

WHAT DOES THE FLASHING RED LIGHT MEAN? If you see a flashing red light on the wall or ceiling it means that an alarm has been activated somewhere in school.

When the light is just flashing you do not need to do anything or leave the building but be on alert to listen for an audible alarm which will let you know what to do next. The activated alarm will be checked by the guards and if necessary the fire alarm or lock down alarm will then sound for you to respond to as normal. So you only need to respond if you hear the actual siren or if a guard or senior member of staff gives you instructions to follow. If it is a false alarm the flashing red light will stop shortly without any alarms sounding.

WHEN WILL THE ALARMS SOUND? Luckily anytime you may have heard the alarm it has been a drill only. We hold announced and unannounced Fire and Lockdown Drills throughout the year and these procedures are for the safety and protection of all students, staff and visitors. If you are on the school campus during the alarm sounding please help to set a good example to all students by responding quickly, remaining quiet during this time and following instructions from Senior Staff.

Many thanks for your cooperation.

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Community

TH IS W EE KE ND !

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Community

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Bangkok Patana School News

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Community

ANAPANA MEDITATION COURSE FOR STUDENTS

Anapana (Mindfulness of breathing) teaches students 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 every day life.

The next Anapana Meditation course will be on

Sunday 27th May for students between 8-14 years.

The course is completely free!

To enrol or for more information, please contact Eva Sophonpanich at evasophon@hotmail.com You may also find this site useful: http://www.children.dhamma.org/en/children/about-meditation.shtmlÂ

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For daily updates, snapshots and news on life at school you can find us here...

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 16

Bangkok Patana School News

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