Patana News Volume 22 Issue 25

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

Friday 20th March 2020

Volume 22 Issue 25

www.patana.ac.th

THESE CHALLENGING TIMES Page 2

by Secondary Principal Mick Smith Also in this issue...

USmile School Photos/Breast Cancer Awareness/Coach Dan’s Tennis Tips

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Bangkok Patana School News

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

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Keeping our students ‘Protected, Safe and Secure’ but also ‘Motivated and Engaged’ in Challenging Times

Mick Smith, Secondary Principal aving been at Bangkok Patana since 2002 I’ve experienced a range of challenges to student learning and to our wider community, from SARS in 2002/2003 to the tragic tsunami of December 2004, the major floods of 2011, as well as periods of political instability. I believe that as a school we have always maintained our position as a powerful and positive source of stability, safety and learning. We respond to crises calmly, carefully and coherently, with the well-being of our students as our priority.

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Perhaps the biggest threat to confront us over these two decades is the one we face right now. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis is rapidly engulfing the whole world and impacting significantly on how all of us go about our daily lives.

How we respond as a school is critical to the well-being of our students and community. All of this, of course, takes place in a wider context where the Thai Government, in step with other governments around the world, has introduced measures that seek to limit the impact of the virus. For us, this means school closure and, as I write, I look out of my office at what should be the beginning of morning break with a thousand hungry students heading to the snack bars, but instead I see a largely deserted campus.

As you know from the recent communications from the Senior Leadership Team, we have done all that we can to remain open operating normally for as long as possible. We were very proud that our students overwhelmingly told us that they wanted to stay at school and that our absence rate was extremely low. This also gave teachers across the whole school time to prepare and ensure that students are familiar with the various platforms that will be used during any period of enforced school closure. Yesterday was the first full day of Continued Student Learning (CSL). Teachers from Early Years to Year 13 have prepared lessons that students can access remotely from home that will ensure that they stay engaged, challenged and learning while they are out of school. All teachers are available online throughout the school day and can connect with students to ensure that they continue to feel well-supported.

There have been one or two teething issues (mostly just slightly slower access due to the volume of people trying to

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connect at the same time) as we might expect but generally students have been able to access learning tasks on Firefly successfully. I’ve just seen some images posted by Year 13 students who as part of their preparation for ‘Life after Patana’ tutorial session, have been washing and ironing their own clothes. Year 7 and Year 10 have been cooking breakfast. Right now, our students are totally engaged and motivated. I’ve been watching Mrs Conroy’s Year 8 Geography class contacting her ‘live’ using Microsoft Teams as they are working on a Geography assessment task.

We know that you will also do all that you can to support your children’s ongoing learning in these difficult circumstances. There will be times when they will struggle to remain motivated, when working from home simply won’t feel the same as being at school. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns. Students can contact teachers, tutors and counsellors as usual.

On Wednesday, during our Transition to CSL Day we received this wonderful message from Dev in Year 8: Hello Dear Teachers, I am all set for CSL! As a student of Patana I will do my best to support all teachers and the BPS community in this testing moment. My first day of CSL was a new experience. To help myself stay focused and disciplined I got up early, got ready as a normal school day and wore my school uniform (PE just to stay comfy). I tried to follow the school timetable for learnings, break and lunch even though it was a transition day and there were no tasks to do. I must say doing all this has helped me feel at school even though am not and has surely helped me stay focused in my learning.

Thank you for all your support.

Dev Finally, from me this week, please spare a thought for our wonderful Year 13 students, the Graduating Class of 2020.

Sadly, they may have had their final ‘proper’ day in school on Wednesday before their final exams in May. Usually they have time to reflect and say farewell to school and have a couple of days of ‘dress up’ to celebrate their time at Patana.

Once we knew that closure was imminent, we allowed them to enjoy an informal celebration, while being sensitive to the current situation, on Wednesday. They embraced it and showed what a united and positive Year group they are.

They are busy now, as are Year 11, preparing for their external examinations, but at least they were able to mark this important rite of passage in their lives. As you know Patana really is ‘home’ for many of our students and some Year 13s have been here for fifteen years. Good luck and thank you Grad 2020!

Suzanne Lindley sent the following message out today to all students and their parents in Year 11 and 13” You may have heard the news this week that the UK government has made the decision to cancel the examinations for the May/June exam series for state schools in the UK. This is a government decision and not one made the Exam Boards themselves; therefore, this currently does not affect our students here at Patana, or others worldwide.

We will continue to monitor the responses of all the Exam Boards and that of the IB, and will keep you updated as soon as we have any new information. For now, continue with your preparation as planned and working closely with your teachers, as well as each other.

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UNI COUNSELORS’ CORNER

UNI OFFERS...

Patrick Schlaeppi, Year 13 Congratulations on offers to study Chemical Engineering from

• Cornell University • Drexel University • University of Edinburgh • University of Bath • University of Leeds • University of Manchester

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have been at Bangkok Patana for 10 years (including this year). At school I have been a part of the Plastic Swima-Thon, part of a CAS project last year.

I have received offers from Cornell, Drexel, University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, University of Bath and University of Leeds. I am going to accept my offer from Cornell University to study Chemical Engineering as I plan to go into the pharmaceutical industry in the future- particularly the manufacturing of drugs and medicines.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT...

Wilfred Laurier University, Canada

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ocated in Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, Wilfred Laurier University was named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada. The university has over 18,000 undergraduate students studying in eight different faculties. International applications make up more than 6 percent of the total and the school offers a dedicated office to assist international students in the transition to university life in Canada. The university has two other campuses, one in Kitchener in Toronto, the other in Chognqing, China. WLU, as it is familiarly known, has an internationally renowned music faculty as well as well known programmes in Business Administration, Law and Arts and even Game Design and Development.

Wilfred Laurier also has an active athletics department, the women’s team won the first Female National Championship in football and the men’s team has won two championships back to back. Other sports include ice hockey and lacrosse.

Notable alumni include Olympic beach volleyball player Sam Schachter, two-time Olympic gold medallist Cheryl Pounder and founder of the Investors Exchange Brad Katsuyama. In addition, the university has produced members of the Canadian Parliament, well-known composers, musicians, authors and actors.

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Year 12 Students Raise Awareness for Breast Cancer Odele Pang, 12K and Caroline Vandlik, 12G

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ast October, we, along with a few other Year 12 students, organised Pink Day with the PTG to help raise awareness for breast cancer. Along with a bake sale, activities were held in the Secondary Lounge, as well as a Pink Tennis Tournament for PTG members. More than THB400,000 was raised, all of which was donated to the Queen Sirikit’s Breast Cancer Foundation to help support their work in providing treatment for breast cancer patients, as well as their breast cancer prevention program.

Inspired by the success of the event, we decided to interview a couple of breast cancer survivors to learn about their stories and share their advice with other students. This project was an eye-opening experience, as it allowed us to better understand the struggles that breast cancer patients go through. It was also heart-warming to learn about the support that they received from their family and friends, as well as their advice to those with loved ones suffering from breast cancer: Be present and give them the support they need. The interview was uploaded on the Secondary Daily Notices last week so please check it out! We would also like to thank Debbie Morton, Raymonde Lemieux and Michela Pianesi for their help and support with this project!

USmile School Photo orders P

arents can directly order with USmile via email, LINE and their Facebook page. Customer service will assist with the processing of payments. Proofs were sent to children last week. Please ask your child if you have not received them. Please order by Friday, 27th March.

Products will be dready by 21st May. We will let you know later how they will be delivered. If you miss the deadline for ordering USmile will still accept your order but charge an additional delivery fee to deliver to your address. Delivery will take place within two weeks after 22nd May.

Email: info@usmile.co.th LINE: @usmilekids Facebook

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TECHNOLOGY TIPS

Webcam Tips for Home Glenn Malcolm, Primary ICT Teacher and Cross Campus Advisor for Technology MAKE YOURSELF BETTER LOOKING WITH THESE TIPS: BRIGHTEN YOUR EYES AND LOSE THE DOUBLE CHIN! ry and look into to the lens. It's very easy to look around the room because we are not looking at a face, however the kid's (parent's) eyes are looking directly at you on screen and by looking into the lens, you instantly make a connection.

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Lighting: Try to get natural light onto you and your face.

Strip lights will create fuzziness. Lights that are are brighter than the light around will confuse the camera and darken you - especially your eyes. If you have lamps, place them behind the camera to gently light you up. Have other lighting, say to light a darker wall in the background will make your video feel cozier.

Framing: You ideally want less 'head space' in the top third of the frame (below) and your eyes in that top horizontal split. His head is probably a little bit too close to the top of the frame here.

Camera: The position of your camera is super important. We want our kids to feel they are on 'a level' with us so our camera angle can emphasise this. Raise your camera to eye height and this automatically raises your chin. Not only will you be better looking, it prevents the viewer feeling the face speaking to them is dominating the screen and brightens your face.

Sound: We live in Bangkok, there is a lot of noise around us especially barking dogs. If you can get a microphone, brilliant, however, try to deaden the ambient noise as much as you can. Laptops use wide-field mics that pick up all sorts of stray sounds. For brief hellos in the morning, turning off a close-by air conditioner can make all the difference to your recorded voice.

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Coach Dan’s Tennis Tips The Dive Volley Daniel Ahl, Cross Campus Head Tennis Coach

Submit your solution here

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Bangkok Patana School News

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Desert Island Discs With Mark Verde Primary Assistant Principal

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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 Mark Verde, Primary Assistant Principal is stuck on a desert island.

MR VERDE, IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Will You - Hazel O’Connor Sweet Dreams (are made of this)– Eurythmics Candlelight - Jack Savoretti Ain’t no sunshine – Bill Withers Someone you Loved - Lewis Capaldi Just the Way you are - Billy Joel

Listen to Mr Verde’s playlist here

Master Blaster (Jammin’) Stevie Wonder Summer of 69 – Brian Adams 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. Photo of my family WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom Catch the real Desert Island Discs on BBC. Now that you are stuck at home, what are you listening to? Have a list of your own? Let us know! Contact SHKN with your favourites.

2020/21 CALENDAR ONLINE HERE

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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 Tai, Bangna, Bangkok 10260 THAILAND Tel: +66 (0) 2785 2200 Fax: +66 (0) 2785 2399 www.patana.ac.th Email: reception@patana.ac.th 12

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