Patana News Volume 22 Issue 12

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

Patana

NEWS

Friday15th November 2019

Volume 22 Issue 12

www.patana.ac.th

DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP AND NETIQUETTE REIMAGINED Curriculum and the digital age by Brian Taylor, Cross Campus Assistant Principal

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Also in this issue...

Girls’ Volleyball Makes History/The Road to University/Year 4 Studies Chocolate 15/11/2019

Bangkok Patana School News

Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit IB World School accredited by CIS

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Digital Citizenship or Citizenship?

Netiquette or Etiquette?

Brian Taylor, Cross Campus Assistant Principal; Curriculum Technology Integrator

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significant part of my role as Assistant Principal for Cross Campus Technology Integration involves keeping abreast of digital and social technologies, in particular, how they can be utilised to amplify and augment learning opportunities. At the recent EduTech conference in Singapore I was invited to discuss what learning in the classroom of the future would look like:With ever-increasing access to technology come ethical dilemmas and challenging issues, such as cyberbullying, hate speech, privacy violations, digital distraction, fake news, screen-time and many more. The increasing prevalence of ‘off-the-shelf’ digital citizenship curricula, often with the backing of increasingly dominant commercial technology companies (Google, Symantec), has led to a growing body of sceptics around the underlying pedagogical principles and research behind these ‘free’ curricula. For instance, there is concern around the ideological approach of how highlighting individual users’ kindness and ethics, as enablers for a positive digital culture, could potentially conceal the responsibilities of the technology industries themselves (Manjoo, 2017). Or possibly, undermining the value of conflict and dissent for the progress of human civilisation. As Ionna Noula, Research Fellow for Childhood and Youth in the School of Education, University of Leeds, argues: “Digital citizenship is a useful concept that can steer public and academic debate, drawing attention to the transformations of citizenship in light of the digital disruption. However, the exclusive focus on behaviours and tech skills leaves citizen participation and empowerment out of its scope and significantly limits the potential of education to bring about change” (Noula, 2018).

In her 2016 doctoral dissertation, educator Kristen Mattson wrote: “The term digital citizenship, first coined in 2004, has now become synonymous with internet safety lessons and curricula that exist in schools”; she went on to say: “Because of the newness of such curricula, little research exists on the effects of these lessons on student behaviour and decision making” (Mattson, 2018, p. 81). Scholars at the University of New Hampshire, who conducted a study of the most widely used internet safety curricula (Common Sense Education), found that, up to that point, Internet safety education is “a highly speculative and experimental undertaking whose success cannot be assumed” (Jones, et al., 2013).

In support of good curriculum design Stephen Tierney, Chair of SSAT Redesigning Schools Vision 2040 Group, states: “Too many people are currently rushing headlong into rewriting curriculum policies or schemes of learning without stepping back and having the deep discussion that should be a precursor to curriculum development. The alignment of a philosophy of education, curriculum design and enactment (pedagogy) should be the goal; not meeting an artificial one- or two-year timescale. Discussion of the curriculum must become inexorable” (Tierney, 2019).

PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION A considerable volume of literature has been published on educational philosophy. Hyman (2019) summarises four main philosophies that frame the current debate on the purpose of education. They align themselves with the broad categories (in parenthesis) put forward by Wiliam (2013):

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1. To develop the potential of the child (personal empowerment) 2. To pass on “the best that has been thought and said” in the past (cultural transmission) 3. To prepare young people for life and work (preparation for work) 4. To build communities and overcome social disadvantage (preparation for citizenship) Both Hyman and Wiliam draw our attention to fact that there is no hierarchy of importance, all of them are worthy and, in the high entropy, organic world of education, often in tension with one another. For example, if the purpose is to prepare young people for work, then a curriculum moulded on relevance of a future career path would be a priority potentially causing tension with cultural transmission. A cocktail of these philosophies may work in one school or country, but might be unsuccessful in another as culture and context influence the relationships between them. With particular reference to technology advancing rapidly and cultural norms in constant flux, young people will increasingly adopt and adapt their roles as they prepare to be global (digital) citizens.

With typical lucidity Dylan Wiliam states “the rather terrifying thing about being involved in education at the present time is that we are the first generation of educators who know we have no idea what we are doing.” This is not due to the speed of change in education, but rather the markedly higher rate of change in the real world, or, as Wiliam reveals, the ‘real’ curriculum – the daily experience of young people. When taking a microscope to a particular curriculum one can often get lost in the minutiae. Having these fundamental philosophies and principles as general reference guidelines can support the process of evaluation. The literature suggests that digital citizenship should not be taught in isolation, there should be a shift from a fear-based anti-technology foundation, towards one rooted in amplifying humanistic traits – those that will become the most valuable in our ever-increasing technology infused future. Digital citizenship, as an overarching goal of the educational system, should focus on the ethical, social, and reflective practices of individuals in networked cultures. Students capable of creative and critical thinking, collaboration, problem finding/solving, self-organisation, empathy, innovation and agency, will be able to quickly develop the technical expertise required of specific tasks; it is this skill set that prepares students for the unknown. One of the predictions futurist Alvin Toffler got right was “the illiterate of the twenty first century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” (Subramanian, 2006). Wiliam (2013) sums up rather well: “The curriculum should be child-centred and subject-centred (and society-centred too). It should regard emotional development and intellectual development not as alternatives but as strands in a rope, which mutually strengthen each other. The curriculum has to take into account the needs of individuals and society while at the same time being sensitive to local constraints and affordances” (p. 14).

In essence, it’s not digital citizenship, simply citizenship; not netiquette, just etiquette in a digital realm.

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Gymnasts Learn the Importance of Falling Forwards William Preston – Gymnastics Programme Coordinator

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angkok Patana’s Gymnastics Academy hosted the In-House event, marking the start of the competitive season. It was the first opportunity for the gymnasts to perform all their routines scored by official judges from the Gymnastics Association of Thailand For this event we created teams of mixed levels, allowing senior gymnasts to work with our youngest gymnasts. The In-House event is really about teamwork, friendship supporting one another and for the gymnasts to try their routines for the first time in a safe and friendly environment. There was also special limited-edition prize for the most supportive team.

The Gymnastics Academy is not just about learning gymnastics; it is about developing meaningful relationships, friendships, teamwork, overcoming personal challenges which we all face in one way or another throughout life, and setting goals to strive for.

Gymnasts learned about the idea of falling forwards; if you are going to fall, and you will in life - some more than others, then instead of limiting yourself and falling back on a safety option, it is better to strive for the best and fall forwards.

They learned to give it their all, and if you fail, if you fall, to just fall forwards.

In any sport and in life it is always nice win and be the best, but we also must learn to lose gracefully; to develop grit, to learn to be resilient in the face of setbacks and celebrate others’ successes. This was a fun and enjoyable event for the gymnasts to perform their routines for the first time but more importantly gave them an opportunity to fall forwards.

Thank you to all of our gymnasts, coaches, parents and support staff who made this event such a success. Go Tigers!

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Girls’ Volleyball Team Make History Cindy Adair, Cross Campus Assistant Principal Extra-curricular Activities and Sports

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or the first time in recent years, the Girls’ Varsity Volleyball team have been crowned SEASAC Champions.

The culmination of three to four years of development has seen the right group of girls come together in Singapore to win the Cup!

rallied and somehow pulled out a 25-2 win! Dover were reeling. The fifth set was a battle royale… we would forge ahead then lose our serve and they would catch up… at 14-13, everyone was on the edge of their seats and then Dover made a timely error with an unforced net touch and then game was ours! We retired to our hotel exhausted, Day 1 was pool play, we had drawn NIST up first. As happy and a little bit relieved. our closest local rivals, they often get in our head and unfortunately, they did it again. We went down fighting but Day 3 and we were ready for our final and yes, we recorded a loss. Luckily it was a four team round robin were going to meet our local rivals the NISTies once so we still had much to play for. Game 2 saw us meet again, who had beaten us in pool play. The team were CDNIS. They made us work for every point but in the end, nervous but excited to have the opportunity and momenwe won 2-0. Taking strength from this win our final pool tum had been building after a good run in the quarter match was against UWCE who had some power hitters finals and fi nals. The fin al was fantastic, we pla yed our but again, we managed to win the match 2-0. After Day game of Volleyball, putting togethers lots of dig, set and 1 we were placed 2nd in the pool, which would mean we hit sequences that NIST could not counter. Our blocking would face SSIS in our Quarter Final. was strong and our bruised and battered libero team of Stephanie Davis and Mimi Karnasuta threw themselves SSIS were an unknown entity having recently been around the court delivering amazing saves and quality first promoted from Division II. They were determined to put balls. The final serve of the final game was delivered by their best foot forward and fought for every point. It was our rookie Lily-Anne Boucher. She managed to hold her a scrappy game, but we built the pressure and secured a nerve and send in a safe ball which then saw NIST make win and earned a semi-final berth. an unforced error giving the Championship to Bangkok Our semi-final was an epic encounter against the home Patana. NIST were great opponents and we know we will team UWC Dover. They had a huge crowd supporting meet them again soon at BISAC or SEASAC and it will be them and we saw a protracted five set battle. We won the a fierce encounter as always. first set but then panicked a little early on in the second and Congratulations to our tournament MVP’s – Moniqa lost the set. Our heads went down and the third set was Nielsen (Captain), Lucy Thompson (Vice Captain), a disaster – the Dover girls were playing out of their skin Blanche Boucher (Vice Captain) and Aiko Saeki. Shout and it looked as though all momentum had been lost. They out also to our two other graduating Seniors – Laure seemed to get every serve in and their hitters were finding Hermes, Jade Martin and Stephanie Davis, all of every gap on court. Down 2-1, the team-talk before the whom have been amazing servants to the sport and 4th set was a chance to turn it around – our Captains and really lifted the level of Girls’ Volleyball at Bangkok Patana graduating Seniors asked the team to put it all on the line in recent years. and throw themselves at every ball to give us a chance.

Our Boys’ team were assembled en-masse to support Thank you to all the wonderful Bangkok Patana Volleywith posters and plenty of voluminous cheering! The team ball parents who came to support us in Singapore and rode the ups and downs of our tournament with us.

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School Records Tumble in Shark Attack at ISB Richard Molloy, Head Swim Coach

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ver the weekend, the TigerSharks opened their conference racing season at the ISB Swim Fest. One of the biggest meets in Bangkok annually, SwimFest brings the top international schools from Thailand; this year saw more than 1000 swimmers take part.

The TigerSharks were in top form throughout the weekend and consistently showed off the work they have been putting in during the early season. The results were highlighted by some outstanding school records.

The Senior Boys’ (15 and Over) took down both all-time relay records, previously held by swim alumni and future Olympian Luke Gebbie and his teammates back in 2014. In the freestyle relay, Andrew Bertoli (25.11), Zhen Tam (25.13) and Patrick Walsh (24.27) of Year 11 and Jack Kinsella (25.09) of Year 12 combined to slice a second off the previous record in a time of 1:39.60.

There were equally impressive team performances from the 13/14 Girls’, Year 9’s Erin Richards, Hanami Roughley, Prim Pingkarawat and Year 10 Praewa Mollison, as they combined for a new record of 1:53.62 (taking more than four seconds off the previous age group record).

During the individual events, there were plenty of fast times which had an impact on school records. Prim Pingkarawat continued her fantastic form taking four records in her four individuals. Her 100m Backstroke (1:04.58) took over both 13/14 and all-time school records, she repeated that in the 100m Breaststroke (1:12.05 also splitting a huge school record of 33.55 at 50m), 50m Freestyle (26.62) and 100m Freestyle (58.94).

Another student tearing up the records was Andrew Bertoli who took an axe to the 200m Individual Medley record (2:10.90- a British Short Course National Qualifying time too) which ranks him in the top 15 in his age group in the UK this season. He went on to take further time off his own 100m Butterfly record (58.60). Max Stockdale was also flying as he took down the 100m Backstroke (59.55- 4th in the UK), 100m Freestyle (54.29- 4th in the UK) and 200m IM (2:14.78- also top 10 in the UK).

Other fantastic, school record, swims came from: Leo Alfaro (Year 8)- 200m IM (2:34.63) and 100m Butterfly (1:08.78) 6

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Prin Chantarangkul (Year 10)- 50m Freestyle (24.88) James Gannicott (Year 8)- 100m Freestyle (59.05) Shlok Somani (Year 6)- 100m Freestyle (1:09.60) Amelia Golden (Year 12)- 50m Backstroke (30.95) and 100 Backstroke (1:06.44) Zhen Tam (Year 11)- 50m Backstroke (28.44)

In the final session the team finished on a real high, using the Medley relays to extend the team lead and lay siege to the existing school records. Kicking off the run were the 9/10 Boys’ (Shlok Somani, Jaidee Baumann, Joshua Burkill, Myk Tatiyameneekul) who produced a fantastic 2:26.27 beating the previous best by almost two seconds. The 11/12 Boys’ were equally dominant as they fired off a 2:08.69 from James Gannicott, Jate Vanasin, Leo Alfaro and Max Thompson, this record belonged to the winning Junior SEASAC boys from only six months ago! The 13/14 Boys’ continued the record chase with a new best time of 1:53.16, led by Max Stockdale (school record lead off), Thomas Gao, Shubhankar Patki and Prin Chantarangkul.

It was then over to the girls to match them as Hanami Roughley, Shelly Kaplan, Erin Richards and Prim Pingkarawat swam the fastest medley relay in school history, 2:05.91. This was not only an age group record but beat the 10 year old school record! Finally, the 15 and Over Boys’ took aim at another longstanding record. Zhen Tam (school record lead off), Oak Kornsri, Andrew Bertoli and Patrick Walsh combined to smash the Open 4x50 Medley record by an astonishing three seconds.

The weekend was certainly one of the most successful in the recent history of the programme as performances continue to not only rank highly in school swimming, but also across the world in junior international waters. Next up for the team will be at the Feeding Frenzy in December as the best of Asian schools descend on Bangkok Patana School for a weekend of fast swimming!

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A Silver to Remember; SEASAC Football

Janelle de la Cruz, 11T ur excited team and coaches left for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7th November for the SEASAC football competition hosted by Kuala Lumpur Alice Smith School (KLASS) from 8th -10th November, 2019.

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frustrated their strikers as we continued playing the Patana Way which resulted in a draw (0-0) in regular time. Our game eventually headed into golden goal. The first five minutes of extra time were competitive and fast, however the score still remained 0-0. Fortunately for us, we got our The tournament kicked off on Friday with three fixtures goal in the second half of extra time. An intercepted pass in our group stage. We lost the first game (2-4) against resulted into a long shot by Amelia from almost the half Stamford American International School. Our second way line resulted in us winning the match. match was against Tanglin (TTS), the defending champions, which we unfortunately lost as well. We did not allow We played UWC East in the finals on Sunday morning. these losses to get into our heads, instead we focused on Early on, we scored the first goal, giving us an advanmoving forward – which was effective for the team. Our tage. Once again great football was on display. UWCE last match of the day turned into a victory as we won 5-1 scored an equalizer but a quick goal to the play prior against Canadian International School HK (CDNIS). We maintained our lead 2-1. The first half ended at 2-2. In finished 3rd in our group and were set to play UWC Do- the second half, tights defending was again demonstrated ver as our first match the next day. The hard work started amidst the aggressive attacks of the opposition. Unfortuthen. nately, despite our best efforts, the ball found the back of our net twice more, and the game ended 4-2.

In the quarterfinal match against UWCD, we displayed great attacks and solid defense which led us to a comWe are all proud and happy for coming in second this manding 2-0 lead at half time. Another goal was scored year – it shows an impressive improvement from coming in the early part of the second half for a comfortable 3-0 5th to 2nd in the span of nine months, especially for such a lead. The opposition only scored in the last few minutes of young team. Bangkok Patana was the only team to have play. The final whistle blew and a win (3-2) cleared our both girls and boys on the podium. We know this is just the path for the semifinals. beginning of a long journey, and the team will continue on The road to the finals was once again against TTS, un- striving to be the best we possibly can. beaten and number one in our group A. We approached Thank you to all coaches and parent supporters – this the game with resilience and patience. Our strong de- wouldn’t have been possible without you! fense broke down the opponent’s offensive plays and

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Robots in Foundation Stage

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tudents in Foundation Stage learned all about robots recently; they learned how to move and dance like a robot.

Students then made robot outfits in the junk modelling. The creativity continued with writing a rhyming poem about robots and then finally they even learned how to programme a real robot. Students enjoyed creating their own robots and learning all about how they work. Maybe some day robots will look like us, but for now, FSR learned, they look a little different.

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Wouldn’t it be amazing if chocolate grew on trees?

Dominique Chandler, Leader of Learning and Curriculum – Year 4

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hroughout the exciting, mouth-watering learning this half term, Year 4 students will use the theme of chocolate to study a variety of subjects, including the history of chocolate making and the culture of the Mayans and the Aztecs, making their own varieties of chocolate in Science and DT, and designing their own chocolate bar labels in Art. Students started with a chocolate-themed assembly. Our chocolate resident expert Rose Hudson, owner of Victoria Amores Chocolates, shared her passion, knowledge and expertise with a very informative presentation, which was impressively created by her daughter Victoria. Many children admitted that they had never considered where the chocolate bar that they buy and eat has come from. It was a revelation to find out that it actually comes from trees!

Taking a play-based and exploratory approach, the Year 4 students were then immersed further into their Chocolate theme as they rotated around four different chocolate learning activities.

As scientists they led a hot chocolate investigation by designing a fair test. They predicted and then found out the best way to make hot chocolate with melted marshmallows. It was a yummy treat! The next activity looked at combining different materials to create chocolate themed playdough, which was then used to create innovative chocolate sculptures. Through mindfulness, the students tasted and analysed chocolates, blind folded, with varying amounts of cocoa and flavours. Alongside the mindful tasting, they also went back in time and learnt how to make Aztec hot chocolate. It was certainly an acquired taste! The final activity involved becoming geologists as they had to carefully map out and excavate chocolate chips from their cookies!

By weaving together a variety of subjects in an integrated and logical way, our learners will develop the skills to be enquirers, communicators and collaborators with their learning – developing a greater sense of themselves and others in the process. A huge thank you to the Year 4 parent volunteers that supported this explosive start to the Year 4 learning theme.

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Tiny Tigers Playgroup Openings Do you think your toddler, aged one year or older, might like to come along to our playgroup a couple of times a week? Our very popular Tiny Tigers playgroup may have some vacancies coming up soon.

If you would like to know more, please contact Mrs Geet Harris in the Admissions office at admissions@patana.ac.th or 02785 2206.

Check your lost item here

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Travelling with a little extra baggage?

Erica Wong and Elise Mawson hildren bring a spontaneous and carefree joy to our lives, but travelling with kids can often seem anything but.

Patana’s parent Erica Wong and Singapore-based Child Passenger Safety Specialist, Elise Mawson of Taxi Baby Co., answer our biggest questions to help bring back the fun in your travels – while keeping the littlies safe.

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DO I NEED A CAR SEAT IF I DON’T OWN A CAR? YES! Thailand is the fourth most dangerous country to drive, where road accidents kill more than 17,000 children and teenagers every year. Babies held in their mothers’ arms or worn in fabric carriers cannot be protected in a car accident, and while there is no law on car seat use in Thailand, we are still subject to the laws of physics. The safest way for children to travel is in a rear facing car seat, followed by a forward facing car seat, a wearable harness (such as the RideSafer vest), then a booster seat as they outgrow their current restraint.

WHICH CAR SEATS WORK BEST FOR TAXIS/GRAB? There are literally thousands of options when it comes to which car seat to buy. If you rely on taxis/Grab in Thailand, you’ll want to choose an option that is lightweight, quick and easy to install, and either fits onto your stroller or in your handbag.

For babies, check out the Mountain Buggy Protect which is very narrow, ultra-lightweight and easily transfers from car to buggy. For toddlers, the Cosco Scenera NEXT (rear facing) and Urban Kanga (forward facing) are only 3kg, and keep kids buckled up until they reach 18kg. The Cosco fits strollers which offer universal car seat adapters such as the Mountain Buggy nano. The Urban Kanga folds into a convenient carry bag. For older children, the RideSafer travel vest, mifold and hifold are all excellent taxi-friendly belt positioning booster seats for children aged 3+ and 4+ respectively).

For free, personalised, and independent advice on choosing the right car seat for your family, head to taxibaby.com/ checklist.

HOW DO I KNOW I’M USING MY CAR SEAT PROPERLY? When installed properly, your car seat should move less than an inch side to side when you tug on it. And if your seat is US-approved or Australian-approved, you’ll likely need a seat belt locking clip to safely use it in a local vehicle.

When buckling your kids into their car seat, the harness straps should be as snug as a hug; if you can pinch the harness webbing, then it’s still too loose.

For tips on installing your particular child restraint, contact Taxi Baby Co. at taxibaby.com/th WE’RE GOING ON A SHORT GETAWAY – SHOULD WE TAKE OUR CAR SEAT? YES! We want to protect our kids on the road, no matter where we are. Especially when in an unfamiliar location, we want to do everything we can to avoid our kids getting injured. Being less familiar with emergency services, hospital systems and insurance can be a nightmare.

Car seats can be critically damaged when checked into the luggage hold of an airplane (even if we can’t see the damage). We recommend either using an airline-approved car seat you can take onboard with you, or packing your car seat into a box before checking it in.

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UNI COUNSELORS’ CORNER

The Road to University Andrew Haughton, Careers and Universities Counsellor As a Careers and Universities Guidance Counsellor, I am fortunate to encounter funny, energetic and incredibly clever young people on a daily basis. But for all their intelligence and zest for life, the majority enter my office really worried. They worry about getting into college, they worry about predicted high school grades, they worry that they’re not doing enough of the right extra-curricular activities, they worry that they’ve only carried out two work experience placements; they worry that they don’t know what they want to be when they’re older. I also meet a lot of parents and they’re often more worried than their children and they’ve already been to university and have a job.

To make things even more stressful is that the top universities, the ones we always hear and read about, proudly broadcast their statistics of how many students applied and weren’t admitted! They always start with, “This has been another record-breaking year for undergraduate admissions with 50,000 applications but only 5.1percent of applicants were admitted. We also had the highest yield which means we are unlikely to go to our waitlist.” (Depressing indeed but remember that admissions rates at highly selective institutions around the world are exceptions to the norm; there are many good universities that offer places to a sizeable percentage of those students who apply.)

But students and parents remain worried and have always been worried. The difference between now and thirty years ago is that it is much harder for young people boasting fantastic academic results and amazing experiences to get admitted to the colleges they would most like to attend. The competition is no longer your classmates or from a rival school down the road but from students across the globe. I have worked in schools in London, Buenos Aires and Bangkok and know that students under my wing have been vying for the same courses at the same universities.

So what to do? My catchphrase to my students is ‘DON’T PANIC’ and more recently I’ve started to quote Oscar Wilde who famously said, “Be yourself; everybody else is taken.” It’s true, every student has a passion, a talent, and those who walk to the beat of their own drum, and if

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they plan ahead and meet all the necessary deadlines, will certainly find satisfaction in the end.

WHAT DO COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SEEK IN SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS? The hardest courses (Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Biology only); perfect attainment grades; perfect GPA scores; 1600 in the SAT test, top English proficiency marks; essays that make you cry with laughter or sadness; top of the class, that you’re captain of the football team ...?

ACADEMIC POTENTIAL Indeed, admissions officers will look at the scores students achieve as it provides a basis for academic potential. These can come in the form of Year 10 - 13 transcripts; IGCSE, IB or A level results, TOEFL, or aptitude admissions tests to name a few. Many young people fret over SATs and will only apply to test optional US universities. Bangkok Patana is British and so we have very little connection with the US style system of SAT preparation. This is our context and is clearly stated in our school profile and universities recognise this. A student I worked with was admitted into five Ivy League schools with an SAT score well below the average.

Students shouldn’t try and over-commit by attempting to maximise both programme rigour and extracurricular engagement - they will end up exhausted and unhappy.

They should be encouraged to take a healthy course load that also allows them time for the activities they love which may be sport, music, carrying out voluntary work

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or simply reading a book under a tree. The appropriate balance between academics and non-academics will vary greatly from student to student - and that’s totally fine.

Admissions officers often look for students who have found contentment in a curriculum that challenges them and who have also found the time for extracurricular exploration.

So this means you don’t have to only take higher level Chemistry, Maths and Physics - phewww.

PASSION When I meet with students, I look for a genuine interest in and passion for their chosen subject. I do this by asking them questions. To the Psychology student I may ask “Tell me about a recent article that you found interesting’; to the aeronautical engineer “In layman’s terms can you explain how a plane flies?”; to the medical hopeful “You are a doctor and a 30 year old Jehovah’s Witness refuses a blood transfusion, what do you do?”; to an Art and Design student “Can you show and talk me through your portfolio”; and as a general question “There are 10 other students with equally good credentials competing for the same place at university as you, can you tell me why we should pick you?” A student may never be called to interview but answers to such questions could be included in the personal statement.

RESEARCH The bedrock of a successful application and student experience is research. It is important that the student is honest with themselves. Why do they want to engage in higher education? What do they want from university?

What will suit them? Look in the mirror and ask these questions - don’t worry, nobody’s listening.

It is important to research the course in detail. Be aware that courses with the same title will vary from one institution to another in terms of options, specialisms, methods of teaching and assessment. Institutions will also vary enormously in terms of entry requirements, size, cost, student body, student satisfaction, accommodation, transport, environment, courses offered, opportunities for internships or a year abroad, clubs and societies, number of Nobel Prize winners, number of armed guards on campus, climate and location.

REFERENCES AND LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION References are an important part of a university application. They are usually written by a teacher or college counsellor who knows the student well and they should be as positive as possible. It is in the interest of the student to work hard in all their subjects to give A talented student who turned down Oxford to go subject teachers and tutors evidence to write the strongest to Yale distinguishes between the two forms of writing reference possible. included in the application. The UK style personal statement is “what you would say to a professor the first CONCLUSION time you met him/her” and the US style essay is “what So yes indeed, the lead up to, and the application you would say to a cute girl/guy the first time you met process itself, is daunting for both students and parents. him/her’” Both are an opportunity to tell your story. “A But with careful time management, plenty of research and well written Personal Statement will automatically be a a good look in the mirror, finding the best course at the bad Personal Essay while a well written Personal Essay best university can in fact be an enjoyable one. Aim high, will automatically be a bad Personal Statement… simply but also have a window and a back-up plan. Students because they ask completely opposite questions”. It’s the also spare a thought for your parents. They will probably one part of the application that the student is completely cry with joy when you receive your confirmed place at in charge of so should not be rushed at all. university and they will shed a tear as you leave their home - it will be quiet without you.

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ALUMNI EXPERIENCES: Mikka Chantal Deleuran

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y favourite memories from my three years at Bangkok Patana are all the cultural and festive days, such as International Day, Red Nose Day and Tiger Spirit Day. I don’t remember why, but we had many days dedicated to fairytales, or different countries like Egypt and India. I’ve always loved to travel and on these days we got to dress up, dance and learn the history and culture of different countries.

oneself; especially for me as I was really passionate about performing and dancing.

Besides college, I perform in different theatres and also work I learnt a lot about dedication at Bangkok Patana. In with short films Year 3 we had a short triathlon, which when I look back and commercials. seems a little excessive and yet brilliant at such a young Other than that I age! I’ve lived in five different countries and not one work as a bartender, and make the best drinks as I took a school in any other place pushed me quite like Bangkok one month bartending course in London in 2016.

Patana did. I think this is incredible. It taught me that I’ll never be good at anything without fighting for it. It taught The other schools I attended after leaving Bangkok me to believe that I can achieve anything I want to, as Patana at Year 4 didn’t have the same level of activities, long as I work for it. I now run very often and am planning cultural creativity or sport and I believe that may be a to one day run a marathon. factor why I never dedicated myself to a specific sport.

After graduating, I had an amazing gap year where I I am currently on my third and final year in a theatre travelled two months in Mexico, one to London and two school in Copenhagen, Denmark. I always loved learning months in Thailand where I spent a week working at the drama in school and still laugh with my family when we Soi Dog Rescue in Phuket. I decided then that if I were ever think about the wild costumes they had to make for all of going to give it a shot at living my dream as an actress, our shows at Bangkok Patana. I absolutely loved it. Our now was the time, so I auditioned and was accepted into shows were never subtle. The sets and costumes were huge the Copenhagen Film and Theatre School. and expressive, and it was such an opportunity to express

IN THE SPOTLIGHT...

Carleton University - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

C

arleton University is located in the capital city of Ottawa and was founded as a private college in 1942 although now it is a public university. Carleton lies just south of the city centre and sits within 100 acres of land, Interestingly, the school has a five kilometre network of underground tunnels that connect all of the university’s buildings. Carleton has around 28,000 students from over 100 countries.

architecture and technology. The university has more than 159,000 alumni worldwide and has produced six Rhodes Scholars, 29 Royal Society Fellows, also Nobel laureates Peter Grünberg (Physics) and former Prime Minister of Canada Lester Pearson (Peace), Peabody Award winner and news anchor Peter Jennings, VICE magazine founders The school offers 65 degree programmes in more than Shane Smith and Gavin McInnes, comedian Dan Ackroyd 50 academic disciplines, and is particularly renowned for as well as numerous Canadian members of Parliament, its courses in journalism, public affairs, international affairs, journalists and academics.

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Desert Island Discs With Toon Hamilton

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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 Khun Sunantinee (Toon) Hamilton, Head of Services is stuck on a desert island.

K. TOON, IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Clown – Emeli Sande Top of the World - The Carpenters How am I Different - Aimee Mann I follow Rivers - Lykke Li Coldplay - The Scientist Upside Down - Jack Johnson When We were Young - Adele

Listen to K Toon’s playlist on Spotify

Lucky - Jason Mraz 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. Fishing pole and lighter WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Soduku Book so I can play all day!

Find out more on BBC. Have a list of your own? Let us know! Contact SHKN with your favourites.

Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st November -

DATES

for your

Diary...

Primary Musical - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Wednesday 27th, Thursday 28th and Friday 29th, November - Senior Musical - Caberet Saturday 30th November - Ploenchit Fair Thursday 5th December - H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great’s Birthday/Father’s Day

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STUDENTS SPEAK

Are we smarter than our ancestors?

Karnsiree (Ling Ling) Chen, 13I

S

o, are humans getting smarter? Studies have shown evidence for both perspectives.

In every nation where intelligence-test results are on record, IQ test scores have significantly risen from one generation to the next, with an average of about 3 IQ points every 10 years. This trend is known as the “Flynn effect� and bizarrely puts the IQs of our grandfathers at around 70, which today would be considered a sign of mental retardation.

This rise in IQ scores has been attributed to improving modern environments. Better nutrition and more stimulation could explain this effect, as providing a child with opportunities to learn will help stimulate their brains, leading to a higher IQ later in life. Today, people are taught to think more abstractly than the standard education style in the 90’s where there was an emphasis on copying and memorising. Also, when compared to a century ago, there has been a tremendous rise in the number of people who are doing technical, managerial or professional jobs. Leisure activities have also diversified to become uniquely cognitively stimulating, like playing video games which have been determined to improve coordination.

However, while IQ scores are rising at a remarkable rate, our potential for developing intelligent behaviour could be on the decline, a new study suggests.

Gerald Crabtree, a Stanford University School of Medicine researcher, published two papers suggesting that humanity's intelligence peaked between 2,000 and 6,000 years ago. He argued that this could be due to how intelligence isn't as evolutionarily important to humans today as it was when the species was hunter-gatherers. Thousands of years ago, failing to understand the dangers of your environment and readily adapt meant that you were very unlikely to survive, and therefore could not pass genes on to your offspring. Intelligence was efficiently selected for in this way. In modern times, humans do not often face situations where quick thinking could be a matter of life or death.

To properly evaluate intelligence across time, researchers decide to test reaction times in addition to IQ tests. The amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus is correlated with IQ, Woodley said, and a more neutral test which is not nearly as sensitive to cultural influences as IQ tests. The basic concept is that reaction times can indicate an individual's ability to engage in basic cognitive processing. There was a clear correlation between slower speeds of reaction in modern generations when compared to older generations. This could be indicative of the theory that humans are becoming less intelligent; that the more stable, the more culturally neutral, the more genetically influenced components of intelligence have been declining rather than increasing.

What that suggests is that even as IQ scores rise with education and health, humanity's capacity to get smarter is shrinking.

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the m o r f t s e The lat

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PTG

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#137: Parental Guidance on Our Devices Brian Taylor, Cross Campus Assistant Principal

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t the PTG Tech Talk this week we looked at ways in which we, as parents, can support our children in making informed decisions as to what, how and when we engage with technology in our lives. I try to avoid the use of ‘Parental Control’ in these conversations. No doubt we ourselves struggle to control our relationship with technology on occasion and controlling (with a teenage brain in mind) is often a trigger to drive behaviours ‘underground’. In particular, we looked at settings on mobile devices our children own and how to structure conversations around their use.

Here is a playlist for parents that may help support you and your children:

Our next PTG Tech Talk is on Wednesday 4th December at 8:00 am in the PTG Room. We will be exploring useful Chrome extensions we recommend to students and how to become super-efficient with your email!

I hope to see you there. Have a great weekend.

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

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COMMUNITY

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Position Available FOBISIA, the Federation of British International Schools in Asia, is an organisation that supports British International Schools in the region.

FOBISIA HQ MANAGER and EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE CEO The FOBISIA HQ Manager and Executive Assistant to the CEO, will support and provide a full and confidential administration service. To act as an ambassador for the FEDERATION, to lead, support and manage the team at FOBISIA HQ and report to the CEO on all matters. To lead specific areas of administration relating to wider Board activities, and to support the CEO with the overall management and efficient running of the Federation from HQ. To be responsible for the enabling features of FOBISIA business activities. This will involve leading specific areas connected to the delivery of the strategic FOBISIA development plan and ensuring that business processes are efficient and effective. In addition, the post holder will have a good understanding of day to day operations and will, as directed, deputise for the CEO. The successful applicant will be based in Bangkok.

Applicants must have: • a Bachelor’s Degree; • highly proficient in written and spoken English; • strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work independently; • strong organisational and ICT skills; • proven administrative skills including budget management; • previous experience of working as a PA, Executive Assistant, registrar or administrator, would be an advantage; • to hold a professional qualification relating to business administration would be a distinct advantage.

Please send CV and any queries to Mr John Gwyn Jones - ceo@fobisia.org Closing date: Friday 15th November, 2019 Federation of British International Schools in Asia http://www.fobisia.org/

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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 Tai, Bangna, Bangkok 10260 THAILAND Tel: +66 (0) 2785 2200 Fax: +66 (0) 2785 2399 www.patana.ac.th Email: reception@patana.ac.th 28

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