Patana News Volume 21 Issue 13

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 23rd November 2018

Volume 21 Issue 13

RESIDENTIALS, EXAMS AND TICKING THINGS OFF THE Page 2 TO DO LIST 23/11/2018

www.patana.ac.th

Also in this issue...

IN THANKS AND IN TRIBUTE TO MR RICHARD HOPKINS

Bangkok Patana School News

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

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RESIDENTIALS, EXAMS AND TICKING THINGS OFF THE TO DO LIST Mick Smith, Secondary Principal

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t’s been a week to catch our breath in the Secondary School after the excitement of the Residential Visits for Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12, the stress of Year 13 completion week and the torment of Year 11 Trial Exams the week before. As usual, I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days visiting the Residentials and this year I was able to drop in on Year 7 and on Year 10.

looking forward to a week at the seaside. By this time the ‘remainers’, to borrow a topical phrase, Year 11 and Year 13, had slipped somewhat sulkily into Seniors and the Science Lounge. By around 8:30am they had the whole Secondary School to themselves.

was a sea of suitcases, anxious parents and excited students as departure time loomed. The Year 12s tried to look cool and disinterested, but no-one was fooled –they were just as keen to jump on the bus and enjoy a week away from the pressure cooker of IB as the Year 7s, who were

good habits in terms of conduct, trying to do as well as possible with each paper, but crucially learning from mistakes that will inevitably be made. We remind the students that there is no way they will achieve the same grades that they will in May/June as they haven’t finished the courses,

Actually, both these Year groups had a fantastic, productive week. Year 11 were superb in their examinations.

Early on Monday morning last week, the front of school The ‘mock’ exams are all about establishing routines and

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haven’t had much revision time and have had all their exams in a single week rather than over six or seven weeks for the real thing. Learning where strengths and areas of weakness are is great preparation and really formative learning. Thank you to Dr Lindley, our Exams Officer, Head of Year Mr Jarrett, the team of invigilators and Mrs Lindley, Assistant Principal for Curriculum for sup“Each ‘Resi’ has its porting the students so own unique flavour expertly. and set of challenges

Mr Hume and his team on a short trek in the rain forest along the coast. The students huffed and puffed a little up the hillier sections but once again listened intently, asked and responded to questions and were able to bring their learning from Geography class to life in the coastal environment. There was great excitement when Mr Hume discovered a scorpion along the path! It was also wonderful to see the teachers and office staff really enjoying working with the students out of the classroom, led by the boundless energy of Ms Barton, Head of Year 7.

Meanwhile Year 13, under the protective wings of IB Coordinator Mr Roff, Head of Year Mrs Dale and their teams were able to tick some key items off their daunting to do lists by completing their Extended Essays, handing in a first draft of their Theory of Knowledge essay, and if they were really lucky, sending off their UCAS applications to the UK. Year 13 have had a really tough term so far as the intensity of IB has ratcheted up with numerous deadlines piling up on top of each other. It was great to see them smiling by the end of the week and enjoying the reward of a picnic and even a massage on Friday. Well done Year 13 and thank you teachers.

The following day I had a short visit to Year 10 in Khao Yai were I was able to visit the resort’s organic orchard that we helped to initiate a number of years ago. There was a real sense of connection with previous Year groups as our current Year 10 were able to see the compost produced by last year’s group being used in the orchard. Once again, Dr Heddle was on hand to guide the students in their compost making – a very dirty and smelly job tackled with vigour by our students – and to take them through the orchard identifying the different fruit trees and showing how the resort was working sustainably. There was time to see that Year 10 were also polishing their cookery skills, producing excellent pad thai and som tam.

Ms Thew, Cross Campus Principal and I, had a lovely day with Year 7 in Rayong. What a super Year group they are! We were extremely impressed by their Thai cooking – it was actually really tasty –and by their ability to listen carefully to kayaking instructions before heading fearlessly straight out to sea. In the afternoon we joined

marshalling their teams of teachers and keeping a very close eye on all the students. Well done everyone! If anyone doubts the impact of Residentials listen to our Graduating Class each year recounting them time after time as their school highlights.

for our students. The most common theme perhaps is that we ask them to think about the environment and our impact on it. It’s also a time to work on relationships and developing or building upon Year group culture.”

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Each year I write about the value of the Residential Visits as I genuinely see them as offering enormous enrichment to the learning of our students. Each ‘Resi’ has its own unique flavour and set of challenges for our students. The most common theme perhaps is that we ask them to think about the environment and our impact on it. It’s also a time to work on relationships and developing or building upon Year group culture. The Heads of Year do a superb job

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IN THANKS AND IN TRIBUTE TO

MR RICHARD HOPKINS

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would like to share a few thoughts about a towering figure in our community, who sadly passed away this week. I first met Richard Hopkins when I joined Bangkok Patana back in 2002. I thought him a bit ‘quirky’, engaging, larger than life, and perhaps a little absent-minded. He would disappear into the recesses of the old auditorium where the Secondary Library now stands (pre-Arts Centre) and hide himself away for hours on end, only emerging briefly to sneak off somewhere for a crafty cigarette. Then I saw Richard at the piano for the first time and my view of him changed, a lot! People who are infinitely more knowledgeable than I am about music, Mr Bien for example, rate Richard as a truly outstanding pianist and accompanist. I remember sitting completely taken aback at what I was seeing and hearing, blown away by Richard’s easy brilliance. Almost everyone will have seen Richard play at some time, maybe in a staff band, but more likely accompanying thousands of student performances, or hundreds of assemblies and productions. A quick search of only my personal newsletter articles from 2006-13 (when Richard officially retired) revealed 66 references to Richard.

him, it was his classroom. Then, when he sat down at the piano, he would simply transform. Richard treated the piano as his partner, he sized it up, placing himself instinctively in harmony with it, carefully positioning his score and then… exploding into life. Richard played with a dexterity, energy and passion that frankly I had no idea he possessed. I saw him perform so many times over the years that I knew he was brilliant, yet every time he sat down and nodded his readiness to the conductor or a student, I knew it would be an event, something to absorb and to relish. Richard would sway, contort his face, screw up his eyes and yet gently squeeze the keys to cajole them into mirroring his feelings.

At other times, I felt pushed back in my chair as Richard virtually burst from his stool to leap at the piano, pressing down mightily to wring every last ounce of emotion from the sounds they were producing together.

One of my very favourite memories summed up much of what I saw from Richard as a musician. In 2006, HRH Prince Andrew visited Bangkok Patana and of course Richard was asked to accompany student musicians to welcome him. The Secondary School squeezed into the audiHe would shuffle onto stage, always smiling, relaxed, torium and as things were running behind schedule Richard encouraging, focused completely on the needs of the stu- was ‘jamming’ for the crowd. As I opened the door everydent if he was accompanying. The stage for him was simply one assumed the Prince had arrived, there was silence where his instrument was to be found, it held no fears for and Richard looked up expectantly for his cue to play the

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ceremonial welcome. I apologetically explained there would be a further delay and Richard, without missing a beat, began jamming once more, to the delight of the students and teachers.

Richard was a wonderful teacher to literally thousands of students over thirty plus years at Patana. He developed and led our music programme with great distinction. He was also a dear friend to many colleagues. He was a polymath able to speak with authority and passion across almost any topic. He was a musician, a philosopher, a mathematician. We even used to talk about football.

Music was his first love of course though. After a particularly strong Patana Plugged concert in 2007, I described a very proud (of his students) Richard as “Impressive, imaginative, incandescent, slightly irreverent and absolutely irreplaceable.”

On behalf of all our students, staff and wider community, thank you Richard for your wonderful dedication and passion. May you rest in peace.

Mick Smith, Secondary Principal Thankyou to everyone who left messages of condolence on the Alumni Facebook page.

“Such a talented man who gave so much time to Patana and inspired so many musicians. TOK camps and musicals will be fondly remembered by staff and students.”

Charles Whiteley, Bangkok Patana Teacher 1999 - 2013

“It seems like yesterday when Mr Hopkins kindly agreed to accompany the music I had chosen at Patana Jazz and Blues, he has been a key reason to why I pursue music as a career and was always an inspiration amongst the students at Patana.

A treasured memory.”

Matt Hines, Class of 2009

“I’m extremely saddened by this news and my heart goes out to the Hopkins family. Mr Hopkins is the teacher that had the deepest influence of any teacher in my life, I will be forever grateful for his tutelage.”

Jeff Chiu, Class of 1998

“Oh how very sad. Mr Hopkins was a huge part of our Patana life, not just that he taught both our children...but that almost every event we went to at school he was there, making music. Lovely man.”

Jenny Beattie, Bangkok Patana Parent 2005 - 2014

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PRIMARY KEY STAGE 2 SPORTS DAYS 2018 Tuesday 4th December YEAR 4 7.40am-12.10pm

Thursday 6th December YEAR 3

7.40am-12.10pm

Friday 7th December YEARS 5 and 6 7.40am-12.10pm

In addition to your PE kit and your trainers, all students are reminded that they should bring their hats, sun cream and a named water bottle on Sports Day.

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#108: Follow up from the Video Gaming Workshop

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hanks to those that attended the workshop on Thursday morning. From the questions afterwards it is certainly a topic that many parents would like to know more about.

You can find a copy of the presentation (including handouts, videos, useful websites etc) linked here. As part of the presentation I shared my YouTube playlist called ‘Digital Wellbeing: Gaming’. In addition to Fortnite safety tips for parents, there are guides on how to set up parental controls on the devices your children use (iPad, Chromebook, Windows PC, MacOS). It’s best to discuss the reasons why you are using these controls with your children as part of a media plan. I recommend you subscribe to this playlist as an easy way to keep up-to-date with the latest research and advice on video gaming.

Have a great weekend.

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Cross Campus Curriculum Technology Integration Links in this article: https://goo.gl/YGMcEC https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWOi-Ohsd2Wx-3I_JkRzEUQ9BEVhHdfE3 https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ media/Pages/default.aspx

click here for the Canteen

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

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MATCH REPORT: UNDER 13 BOYS’ BASKETBALL

You Wei (Terry) Lu, Year 8

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he Under 13 Basketball team brought another trophy home at the beginnning of November! The first game of the BISAC tournament was against St. Andrews. Towards the end of the second quarter, the difference of the scores were no more than two or three points. But in the last two quarters, Bangkok Patana blocked down STA’s offenses and scored lots of baskets, winning the game with a final score of 45-32.

The second game of the day was against ISB. We struggled to block down ISBs fast breaks, but scored a few shots.

ISB took the lead by quite a lot, but in the second quarter, Nathan Lertipisitkul scored seven baskets in a row and Alan Chen tied the game 20-20 with a transitioning three pointer allowing the Tigers to take the lead and win the match.

Next we had the final. The other team was also a strong team: NIST. It was a defensive struggle between the two teams with the scores very close until the second quarter. The other team’s best player fouled out making the rest of the game easier. The final score was 39-33 to use, making the Tigers the BISAC Champions!

DATES

for your

Diary...

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Wednesday 5th December HM King Rama IX’s Birthday Monday 10th December Constitution Day Wednesday 12th December Christmas Concert Friday 14th December Whole School Christmas Assembly

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UNI COUNSELLORS’ CORNER Dear Parents/Guardians of students in Years 10, 11 and 12,

We are delighted to invite you to our annual University Information Afternoon on Wednesday 28th November in the Conference Centre.

The aim of the event is to provide a global overview of the university application process in different countries around the world and to show how Bangkok Patana School supports your child in this process. We will have breakout sessions which will focus on providing information about the application process itself in countries popular with our students. This event is open families of Year 10 students and above though the main focus of the afternoon is aimed at Year 12 students and families.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT...

If you are interested in attending the University Information Afternoon, please could you register here.

Babson College, USA

Students: if you are in rehearsals or have an ECA until 4:30pm, please join us from Break-Out Session 1 when you finish your ECA.

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t wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Babson College wrote the book on teaching entrepreneurship. The school invented its own methodology, called Entrepreneurial Thought and Action®, which balances a deep understanding of business fundamentals with action, experimentation, and creativity. Along with the academic divisions that you might expect from a business school, is a liberal arts focus that you may not: History, society and the humanities all have a place in a Babson education. The school hosts over 2,100 undergraduate students from more than 70 countries and work very hard to create a sense of community through its unique living learning house, Greek life and over 160 student clubs and organisations. All of these activities keep students engaged in life at Babson and complement the school’s holistic approach to business education.

If you are unable to attend the session, our presentations will be made available in the Careers Parent Corner on Firefly after the event.

The structure of the afternoon is as follows:

If you have any questions about this event please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Warm wishes, Bangkok Patana Careers and University Counselling Team

UPCOMING UNIVERSITY VISITS UNIVERSITY / COLLEGE COUNTRY Carleton College

US

REP

Former students Proud and Leo

LOCATION

DATE

Senior Studies, second floor 04.12.18

TIME 12:15

Challenge 10 Connect with teachers. Universities will most likely need a teacher recommendation letter. These letters are an important element to your application if you are interested in applying to a selective university programme. Show your teachers that you are passionate about your chosen subject!

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CATS CORNER

Tania Leyland, Youth Club and Community Services Coordinator

A TIME TO BE KIND, A TIME TO SHARE, A TIME TO THINK OF OTHERS, A TIME TO GIVE ……

We are entering that time of year when start to think of all the good things we have in our lives and how there are many people in the world who are less fortunate. We have a number of CATs and student teams who have been thinking just this and are trying to help make the world a better place. They need your help.

WORLD FOOD PROJECT ANNUAL FOOD DRIVE: Collection dates 26th - 30th November in Secondary tutor groups. Food parcels are delivered to disadvantaged people living in Klong Toey.

CHRISTMAS TOY DRIVE: Collection dates 26th November - 7th December. Gifts can be left at the front of school. All gifts will be donated to THE GIFT OF HAPPINESS FOUNDATION and help Clown Eckie bring a smile to the faces of children living in refugee camps and rubbish dumps.

How does it work? Gifts with labels in English showing what’s in the parcels, so we know who to give each gift to.

Here’s a few ideas of gifts for the children...

• Teddy bears/soft toys • Jigsaw puzzles, leggo, plasticine/modelling clay • Deflated footballs/basketballs with pumps for • Badminton/tennis stets and skipping ropes • A small pack of toiletries, soap/toothbrush/paste comb/brush etc To see the work of Gift of Happiness Foundation in action, watch this short clip on Clown Eckie in action or follow this link to their website.

Thank you very much for your support in our commitment to making the world a little bit better for children in poverty.

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The

BIG A N A T A P K BANGKO

S A M T S I R CH E V I R D Y TO Please donate a new, wrapped* toy, game or book for a child in need aged 3 - 16

SPREAD THE JOY OF THE HOLIDAYS Please bring your donation to the tables at the Front of School between

26TH NOV - 7TH DEC Give an extra gift this Christmas

TO THE DESERVING CHILDREN AT THE GIFT OF HAPPINESS FOUNDATION

!

*please label your gift with the age of child it is suitable for

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u o y k n Tha

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the m o r f t s The late

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PTG

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Join the PTG Facebook page here!

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STUDENTS SPEAK

The Deadliest Location on Earth: CHIXCULUB PUERTO, MEXICO

By Karnsiree (Ling Ling) Chen, Year 12

In the mid-1980s, a near perfect ring in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula was a major subject of interest group of American archaeologists, often closely examining satellite images of the structure they did not know what to make of. Cenotes, widely known by the public as the blue water sinkholes that frequent instagram posts, are scattered across the arid Yucatan flatlands. From space, they appear to more than seemingly random pools of water and instead cluster together to form an arc, articulating nearly half a circle.

After much study, a team of scientists first proposed the idea that the Cenotes were the result of an asteroid impact. In 1978, the geophysicist Glen Penfield, working alongside Antonio Camargo-Zanoguera for Mexico’s national oil company Pemex, had flown out to the Caribbean waters that lap the shore at Chicxulub Puerto. He scanned the waters looking for signs of oil, but instead found the underwater half of the crater. Though this was significant data, it was not made available to the general scientific community as the information belonged to Pemex.

After this, the first person to connect the Yucatan ring with the asteroid theory was a Texan journalist named Carlos Byars who later shared his theory with a grad student named Alan Hildebrand. They later determined that the crater wasn’t a volcano, but an asteroid impact.

The asteroid may have meant the extinction of the

dinosaurs, but was ultimately beneficial for the human species, who would later evolve into the ecological gap that was once occupied by dinosaurs. Without that impact, humanity might well have never existed.

Furthermore, the asteroid crater could also give us insight into life beyond Earth. Observations in the asteroid crater has supplemented research collected

by Nasa’s Curiosity rover, which has spent the last six years investigating the Martian environment and geology. Debris discovered from asteroid impacts on Mars compared with those from the Chicxulub Crater shows similarities that indicate that Mars’ atmosphere was once much thicker, similar to the atmosphere that supports life on Earth. It provides us with a good insight into what has happened in the geological evolution of Mars.

Now, the Chicxulub crater is frequented by tourists who visit the stunning cenotes, where you can swim among fish and dangling tree roots – but may not be aware that these geological features exist only because rock was forced to the surface from deep underground during the asteroid impact. Over thousands of years, dripping water has cut through the limestone at this faultline to carve out the sinkholes.

It is however increasingly important to educate the public on the importance and origin of the cenotes in order to properly attract attention as an important location in Earth’s history.

Image sources: http_www.bbc.com_travel_story_20181111-the-buried-secrets-of-the-deadliest-location-on-earth https_www.sciencesource.com_archive_Chicxulub-Crater--Map-SS2864540.html

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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 2nd December for students between 8-16 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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Community

DANISH CHRISTMAS BAZAR IN BANGKOK

Join us for an afternoon of Danish Christmas-hygge The charity event will be a place to buy and experience Danish design, Danish food specialities, Christmas decorations and craft activities for kids.

DATE: 25. November, 12 - 4 pm VENUE: Emporium Suites Hotel, EL floor, BTS: Phrom Phong Looking forward to seeing you!

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Community

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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 18

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