Patana News Volume 18 Issue 26

Patana

NEWS

Key Stage 3 House Swimming Gala Round-up P. 4 Bangkok Patana is an IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC

D

ear Parents, It’s good to be back in school after a week away on a CIS Accreditation Visit. It’s always interesting to visit other schools, to see how things are done differently elsewhere, especially with regards to how students can be helped to learn most effectively. It’s also an opportunity to look at school systems and facilities including transport, food, campus security and student safeguarding. Pretty much every time I visit another school I feel very proud indeed when I return to Bangkok Patana.

Back in October I reported on a training visit made to Bangkok Patana School by Mr Tim Gerrish, an expert in Student Safeguarding. In the UK, the government defines student safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children as: protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/.../system/.../ Archived-Keeping_children_safe_in_education.pdf

Tim carried out an audit on all of our school procedures, from risk assessments made for educational visits to the identification passes that each of us carry every day. He felt that we had many excellent procedures but also clear areas where we could seek to strengthen our practice. Since then we have had time to analyse his very detailed report and to identify our priorities for the remainder of this year and into next.

I’ve taken on overall responsibility for overseeing and centralising Student Safeguarding at Bangkok Patana and will work closely with Carol Battram, Primary Assistant Principal, who will focus specifically on the Primary School. Each of us will work with teachers, tutors, Heads of Year and the school counsellors to ensure that we are supporting our students as well as we possibly can.

There are a number of key areas identified to focus on and Carol and I will update all academic staff on progress with them during our CPD Day in early May. These areas are listed here:



that demonstrates our clear commitment to protecting all children, gives definitions of abuse, refers to the international and national laws it is based upon and is binding for all members of the school community, including contractors, guests and visitors. 

for behaviour towards children, digital safety – safe use of images and information relating to children. 

Visits need to be reviewed to include specific reference to Student Safeguarding and expectations of partner organisations such as hotels, other schools, or outside agencies made clear.  how disclosures are handled.  of designated staff with specific child safeguarding responsibilities.  of our commitment to student safeguarding? 

including Thai and student friendly versions. 

including a Thai version and a shortened version for visitors. 

considering access and protocol for posting 

documentation interview questions and recruitment checks (already completed).  — requirements, the legal situation, agencies and professional networks.  and centralise record keeping.  – audit the whole campus regarding signage e.g. toilets and security of facilities.

Please be assured that we feel that we have a very healthy and happy student population here at Bangkok Patana. However, it is essential that we do all that we can to keep up to date with best practice overseas, that we put all safeguards in place, communicate effectively with our parent community and train staff in student safeguarding procedures. I will update you with further development in this area at the beginning of next academic year.

With student safeguarding in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents of our older students – from Key Stage 4 upwards – of concerns regarding students out in Bangkok at night. I will write in more detail in a letter home with more specific concerns but for now would like to ask parents to be doubly sure that you know where your children are at weekends. If they are having sleepovers, it’s still a good idea with older students to contact the family where they are going just to check that they are aware of arrangements. If you are happy that your child can go out into Bangkok at night please speak with them about sensible safety precautions such as staying in groups, never leaving drinks unattended, keeping in regular contact with you at home, letting you know where they intend to be and so on.

Areas such as Khao San Road are always popular with young people but may not always be ‘safe’ areas for them. Students as young as Year 10 will be served alcohol, and recently we have heard of the increased popularity of use of ‘laughing gas’ or nitrous oxide which can give a ‘legal high’.

This is widely considered to be harmless but has been linked with injury and even death among young people in the UK and elsewhere. One of the problems is that even if nitrous oxide in small doses is indeed harmless it can cause people to make other bad decisions as a result of taking it. There have also been cases where people have mistakenly inhaled other more dangerous substances thinking it was nitrous oxide and also of bad consequences when combined with alcohol.

I’m by no means an expert on this matter and a quick internet search reveals conflicting information about the possible dangers of nitrous oxide. Please see the links below for an introduction to the discussion. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/09/warningover-laughing-gas-misuse http://www.wdp.org.uk/article/medical-director-arundhandayudham-discusses-dangers-laughing-gas-capital-radio

All this, of course, happens outside school and some parents may feel that it’s not our responsibility to raise these concerns. My view is that if our students are exposed to potential danger and we hear about it, then it’s our duty to at least inform families and to seek to educate our students when at school regarding making healthy choices.

Have a great weekend.

Mick Smith, Principal, Secondary School

By Helen Thew, Assistant Principal (Student Welfare)

T

he third main House competition took place on Tuesday 22nd March namely the Key Stage 3 House Swimming Gala. Following the success of previous years the House Swimming Gala once more kept its’ new look with swimmers entering different division races; whilst our Division A swimmers were showing us their amazing stroke technique in the 100m Individual Medley, our Division C swimmers were having fun in their relay races and scoring valuable House points. All House members also had the opportunity to take part in the alternative event and over the course of 30-minutes, swim as many lengths for their House as they could.

To make the swimming gala the great success that it was, a lot of hard work went in, both before-hand and on the day from the PE department, the swim coaches and the House Leaders – many thanks to all involved for creating such an enjoyable morning of swimming action.

Particular congratulations go to the students listed below who now hold a new House record for their event – it was impressive that 21 House records were broken, fantastic swimming!

Event 100m IM 100m IM 25m backstroke 25m breaststroke 25m breaststroke 50m backstroke 50m backstroke 50m backstroke 50m backstroke 50m breaststroke 50m butterfly 50m butterfly 50m butterfly 50m freestyle 50m freestyle 100m freestyle 100m freestyle 100m freestyle relay

Year group Year 7 boys Year 9 boys Year 7 boys Year 8 boys Year 9 boys Year 7 boys Year 7 girls Year 8 girls Year 9 boys Year 7 boys Year 7 boys Year 7 girls Year 8 girls Year 7 girls Year 8 girls Year 7 boys Year 8 girls Year 8 boys

Time 1.01.88 56.11 14.64 16.97 15.56 28.91 30.08 26.83 25.95 31.21 28.19 27.41 26.88 25.74 25.43 51.98 52.87 53.12

200m freestyle relay

Year 7 boys

1.47.32

200m freestyle relay

Year 7 girls

1.54.17

200m freestyle relay

Year 8 girls

1.46.32

Name Daniel Fuchs Daniel Rinne Seth McLean Pomme Jirarungroj Kenji Miyauchi Mark Chan Anna Mellor Misol Cheung Klang Jatusripitak Earth Kornsri Daniel Fuchs Kaitlyn Dibbayawan Misol Cheung Kaitlyn Dibbayawan Shona Westoby Daniel Fuchs Niamh Flannery Divyansh Jain, Oliver Steel, Joshua Milne, Marcos Vollert Thanadol Tam, Nicolas Changbencharoen, Earth Kornsri, Daniel Fuchs Anna Mellor, Niti Depretis, Pattrawaran Uahwatanasakul, Kaitlyn Dibbayawan Misol Cheung, Katie Keith, Grace Boyce, Niamh Flannery

House LANTA SAMUI LANTA LANTA CHANG SAMUI PHUKET SAMUI LANTA LANTA LANTA PHUKET SAMUI PHUKET PHUKET LANTA SAMUI CHANG LANTA PHUKET SAMUI

When the last relay was completed and all of the swimming points had been awarded to the Houses, it was calculated that only 51 points separated all four Houses and with just 17 points separating the top three Houses, it clearly showed what a hard fought competition it had been. A big shout out to our winners, Phuket House.

Summary of the Key Stage 3 House Swimming Gala: st

nd

3

rd

4

th

1 2

Swimming Gala Points

House Points

Phuket

407

200

Chang

393

150

Lanta

390

100

Samui

356

50

Water Polo Matches Swimming was not the only event on offer, with the finals of the Junior and Senior Water Polo matches also being held. Both matches involved strong Lanta and Phuket teams and were subsequently played to very high standards under the careful watch of the referee, Coach Chris. Lanta and Phuket battled it out with both Houses wanting to hold onto the ball. Well done to all players for giving their full commitment to their match but especially to the Lanta students for their two great wins.

Summary of the Water Polo House Competition: Senior Water Polo match (Years 10-13) 1

st

2nd

Junior Water Polo match (Years 7-9)

Lanta

House Points 40

1st

Lanta

House Points 40

Phuket

30

2nd

Phuket

30

rd

Chang

20

Samui

10

rd

Chang

20

3

4th

Samui

10

4th

3

By Max Hopwood, ICT Teacher

O

ne of this years most over-subscribed ECAs has just got a whole lot better. Sixteen budding ‘Steves’ have been battling and building their way through Block 3's, Minecraft Feudal Worlds. They are building their flourishing communities with serious thought and excellent team work. Not only are they competing for essential materials and resources in a hostile world full of Walkers, Witches and Slimes, they are also scoring points as they achieve targets set out by the world's overlords (aka Mr Max and Mr Howe).

Minecraft has made a huge global impact; over 100 million copies have been sold across multiple gaming platforms and last year Microsoft bought Minecraft for 2.5 billion USD. In school we use Minecraft Edu, a version designed specifically for educational purposes, which gives educators more control over the world in which the students learn. Microsoft have announced they will release Minecraft Education, a revamped and updated version, this summer, so the juggernaut keeps evolving, much like the worlds and pop culture its fans and players create.

At Bangkok Patana in this term’s Block 3 ECA, we have five teams, self-named and organised with a mix of Year 3 to Year 6 crafters. They all joined the world together and set off as nomadic teams, out into the virtual wilderness. Task number one? Build a shelter and place your bed, so that when you re-join the world you will spawn (appear) in your newly built home. We have designed an online scoring system in Firefly and Google Sheets, so for completing this simple task each team is awarded 50 experience points (known as ‘xp’ to crafters), and the ‘game’ is a foot!

As the settlements develop, tasks vary in complexity and xp value and the competition for points and the associated rewards heats up. The teams work

together sometimes in cooperation with others but always with one eye on the score boards and what other teams are working on.

This experience may be easier to visualise for those familiar with gaming on PCs. By using the mouse to control gaze, select items and perform the two main functions of dig and place. Combine this with the keys A, W, D and S for movement in basic directions and the players can create some quite impressive creations by combining items and crafting new blocks to build their grand designs.

Although, without doubt, this is a game there are a lot of transferable skills that the children are learning. The four C’s of Creativity, Cooperation, Collaboration and Citizenship are all key to be successful in this virtual world, skills which are certainly equally as beneficial in the offline ‘Real’ world We will be doubling our capacity to 32 crafters in too, but don’t tell Block 4 and holding the this to the crafters ECA on Thursday 2:30 – or they might stop 3:45pm playing!

For more information, check out these links: ECA – Score sheets and Minecraft Pages https://community.patana.ac.th/ict/minecraft-eca Minecraft Edu https://minecraftedu.com/ Guide for Parents from HowToGeek http://www.howtogeek.com/210923/the-parents-guide-tominecraft/

By Sally Flint, Head of Libraries

A

fter much anticipation and excitement, we were delighted to welcome former Children’s Poet Laureate, Kenn Nesbitt, to Bangkok Patana this week, who spent time sharing poems with our Primary children. Kenn has been a hugely successful and popular visitor. His gentle wry humour, witty poems and warm character have gone down a storm. With children clambering to buy his autographed books and to talk about both their own and Kenn’s poetry, we felt at times like we had a pop star visiting our school.

It just goes to show the power of the spoken word!

Kenn explored writing poetry and gave performance readings to children from Years 1 to 6. The children gave Kenn a copy of their own great book of poetry (the result of this term’s Year 2 poetry writing competition) and were thrilled when, in return, he autographed the contributors’ copies. In addition, Year 2 children shared their filmed readings of Kenn’s poem, ‘Pete the Pirate Wannabe’. Practising reading with expression in this way, is great preparation for the Year 3 and 4 Readers’ Theatre competition, which the children will be able to participate in next year.

This year’s Readers’ Theatre Competition, which took place on Wednesday afternoon, was simply brilliant. We were lucky enough to have Kenn, along with Miss Keri Keelan and Elizabeth Holden, a Year 6 student, to judge the children’s ‘story reading’. Kenn thoroughly enjoyed the competition and commented

on how well our students read; he also said our children are wonderful ambassadors for the school. A big well done to everyone who entered the competition and many congratulations to the overall winners from Year 3, Siri and Emilia from 3M, reading ‘Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Bunny?’ and from Year 4, Erin, Scarlet, Ruby and Helena from 4P and 4M, reading ‘Little Rabbit Foo Foo’. Thank you to Mr M and Miss Clay for creating this wonderful opportunity.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Kenn Nesbitt’s visit has really extended our children’s learning about, and love of, poetry.

However, this isn’t the end of our poetry celebrations. Our Secondary children can’t wait to see World Slam Poetry Champion, Harry Baker, who will be performing and working with them on writing and performing SLAM poetry straight after the Songkran holiday. This nicely coincides with our celebrations of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, which is yet something else to look forward to and enjoy.

For all the pictures, visit our Facebook album here!

College/University

Representative Location

Date

American University

-

28.03.16 12:15

Loyola Marymount University Art and Design Seminar and Workshop

by UK Top Ranking Universities Grand Open Day Of University of London International Programmes Northeastern University

Dwayne Zamora Senior Studies Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square The Regent's International College (RIC) Senior Studies, 2nd Floor

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

Time

29.03.16 12:15 29.03.16 15:00 03.03.16 13:00 04.03.16 12:15

By Rachel Jones, Head of Admissions

A

gentle reminder to any families who may be leaving at the end of this academic year to please notify the Admissions Department as soon as possible.

As the School requires one full term's written notice of withdrawal, the deadline for submitting withdrawal forms for students who will not return in Term 1 2016/17 is Monday 25th April 2016. We understand that not all families will have made a final decision at this stage, however, if you believe there is a chance that you may be leaving it is recommended that you advise Admissions; we will put you on a list of potential leavers and advise a date by which we will need to confirm your situation. Please note that any withdrawals not on the potential leavers list that

are received after 25th April will be subject to the late withdrawal fee of THB50,000 per student.

Please be advised that it is not necessary to submit withdrawal forms for students graduating from Year 13. Kindly note that if your children will be remaining at Bangkok Patana School next academic year there is no need to contact Admissions.

We are grateful to the families who have already informed us of their intentions for next academic year. This has greatly assisted us in managing waiting lists and in planning for next academic year.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your situation please contact rajo@patana.ac.th or call +66 (0)2785 2205.

Join the PTG Facebook group to keep up to date with news and upcoming events at school.

Click here to access the Canteen Menu

By Genevieve Ahl, Services Manager

B

angkok 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 had ‘announced’ and ‘unannounced’ drills. This enables our community to practise reacting appropriately in the event of an alarm sounding on the school campus. You may have heard from your child/ren that we had an ‘unannounced’ lockdown drill this week.

Please read below 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 (like an old war time air raid 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 six zones – green, yellow, blue, white, red, and purple. 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.

By Genevieve Ahl, Services Manager

I

f, for any reason, your child arrives at school late, please ensure that you email Transport if you would like your child to use the afternoon bus on this day. If students are on the absent list in the morning, the staff are not expecting them to get the bus home and the bus may depart without waiting.

Please remind your child to go directly to the Bus Park after school to avoid unnecessary delays. As soon as all students arrive the bus can depart, so please be considerate to fellow bus users.

Please email to cancel the morning bus for your child in advance, before 4:00pm or earlier the day before.

If your child is unwell on the day and you need to cancel, please call the Transport office after 6:00am. Emails received after 4:00pm or overnight may not be actioned in time. Please plan ahead where possible and therefore only unplanned changes are required to be made in the morning. Thank you for your cooperation.

There are many parent events next week in school and as usual we welcome parents to travel on our school buses to and/or from school but please ensure you book your seat in advance with our Transport Department to avoid disappointment.

The Transport Office is staffed from 6.00am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday and can be contacted by calling 02 744 2470 or emailing transport@patana.ac.th

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

PREVENTION

WHO IS AT RISK

Reference from: www.medicarehomehealth.com

THE ROAR Produced by the Athletics Council

Athletes of the week: Satu Penttila

Rebecca Russo

SEASAC MVP Softball

Exceptional performance in SEASAC Gymnastics

(dominant in field and bat)

BIG UPCOMING EVENTS

BISAC Varsity Boys’ Softball @ ISB Varsity Girls’ Softball @ BPS Varsity Boys’ Badminton @ NIST Varsity Girls’ Badminton @ NIST JV Boys’ Softball @ RIS JV Girls’ Softball @ SHB

Year: 12

Year: 8

What was your favourite moment of SEASAC Softball?

Beating NIST in the bronze medal match 13-7

When and why did you start gymnastics?

I did my first lesson at 3, started competitively at 10. I joined because my sister did it but I enjoy it a lot as well.

What song pumps you up before a game?

Lush Life – Zara Larsson What is your favorite drink?

Smoothie What is your favorite sports team?

US Women’s National Team (USWNT)

GET SOCIAL… More ways to follow the action!

Tiger Sports

JV Boys’ Badminton @ BPS JV Girls’ Badminton @ BPS

Senior Swimming @ HIS Junior Swimming @ HIS U15 Boys’ Tennis @ BPS U15 Girls’ Tennis @ ISB

Hardest skill?

Back handspring on the beam.

If you have the chance, go and support your friends!

Who is your inspiration?

My sister or Simole Biles

Upcoming Fixtures…

What is the funniest thing about gymnastics?

Your body keeps falling apart and yet it keeps coming back.

Tuesday 29th March Softball U13 Boys’ Away Wednesday 30th March Volleyball U15 Girls’ HOME Thursday 1st April Softball Boys’ U13 HOME Softball Girls’ U15 HOME Volleyball Girls’ U13 HOME

@BPSSPORTS BPS Sports Patana Tennis

Volleyball Girls’ U15 HOME

If you have the chance, go and support your friends and fellow TIGERS!

Clay...Shaping Our Happiness Exhibition by Kimiko Oka May 3 - 29, 2016 Open Daily from 9:30 am - 5:30pm, Tuesday - Sunday Opening Reception - Saturday, May 7th from 5:00-9:00pm Four years ago, when Kimiko Oka's daughter Poko was twelve, she knew that Poko needed something new in her life that would help her grow. Something that she would enjoy and look forward to doing, something that could be shared with others, and something that would help her develop skills that she would use her entire life. They discovered that clay was the perfect medium for them to work on together. They were hooked, finding that the hands-on work was similar to therapy.

Working with clay is soothing in many ways. Touching it is relaxing, and choosing and putting on colour takes concentration and a creative process. Clay lets Kimiko and Poko work from the heart as well as the mind. All of their finished pieces are symbols of their happiness, and clay has become a very important part of their lives. In this exhibition, Kimiko Oka shares her and Poko's beautiful and unique pottery as a symbol of the happiness they share, showing how art-making can be a process of bonding and sharing as well as creating.

Clay... Shaping Our Happiness will be on view in the Neilson Hays Rotunda & Garden Café Galleries from May 3rd through May 29th, 2016, while an opening reception will be held on Saturday, May 7th from 5:00-9:00 pm.

For further information about Kimiko Oka’s work as an artist please email kimipoko@gmail.com.

Ordinary Miracle Solo Exhibition by Anita Bose March 29th - May 1st at Neilson Hays Rotunda & Garden Café Galleries Open Daily from 9:30 am - 5:30pm, Tuesday - Sunday Opening Reception - Saturday, April 2nd from 3:00-7:00 pm Born in Kolkata, India, Anita Bose is a successful, self-taught artist with over eighteen years experience working in art. Ordinary Miracle is her fourth solo exhibition, and the first in Thailand.

With her exhibition, Anita wants to spread the art and culture of India and Asia to her audience, as her art is closely linked with Indian craftsmanship and artistic tradition. The diverse cultures, art forms and religious beliefs are all part of Anita's artistic life, and as a traveller it is her form of expression. On her travels through India, she has learnt various traditional art forms and imbued them with a compassion for nature, passion for innovation and an unrelenting search for eternal truth.

Her culture has taught her how to overcome the embodiment of the materialistic world and enter the formless realm, devoid of any materialistic manifestations where simplicity is of the greatest essence. Her symbolic work represents aspects of nature, ancient history, folk art, and peace. Anita dedicates her exhibition to all art lovers; a humble tribute wrapped by her love and respect for humanity across the globe, and a figurative expression of peace.

Ordinary Miracle will be on view in the Neilson Hays Rotunda & Garden Café Galleries from March 29th through May 1st, 2016, while an opening reception will be held on Saturday, April 2nd from 3:00-7:00 pm.

A percentage of the earnings from the paintings will go to charities in India and Thailand that Anita Bose works with. She has eight years experience working with NGOs, and is currently connected to CTM (Central Thailand Mission).

The weekly canteen menu is available here.

Please check the calendar on the Parents’ Gateway, Student pages and Staff Centre for up-to-date information on school events.

Visit www.patana.ac.th and click on the relevant icon to log in