Volume 23 Issue 17

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 January 2021

Volume 23 Issue 17

www.patana.ac.th

NEW YEAR... NEW YOU?

By Cindy Adair, Cross Campus Assistant Principal Sports and ECAs

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Also in this issue...

Year 6 Donates to Charity/ECA Block 3 Sign up Continues/Season 2 Cancellations 15/01/2021

Bangkok Patana School News

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

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New Year... New You? Cindy Adair, Cross Campus Assistant Principal, Extra Curricular Activities and Sports

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ove them or hate them, New Year brings with it the topic of New Year's resolutions. A fresh new calendar year, a chance at a clean slate and new start... or as one meme put it... "loose suggestions I am prone to make to myself each January".

As we head into another period of school closure the power of routine and good habits will come into focus clearly and what better time to set some new goals? Last lock-down I found huge solace in my morning wander (to call it a walk would suggest purposeful and fast paced locomotion, but some days it was much more chilled than that) with my lovable dog "Marmite" whilst listening to my favourite podcasts from Australia, followed by a quick float in our small pool. Exercise, nature, time with man's best friend and a touch of home all contributed to a feeling of well-being to start the day.

Stephen Covey the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People refers to this as "sharpening your saw". He suggests that it's important to design a lifestyle which is sustainable and affords you time to recuperate, recharge and be effective over the long-term.

In his book, Atomic Habits (2018) James Clear explores the idea that very small changes sustained over a long period of time can in fact re-shape your life. His key premise is that if you want to make positive change in your life it will require patience, but rather than focus on current results, you should focus on current trajectory - having confidence that your daily habits are moving you in the right direction. If you are out of shape and go jogging today for 20 minutes, you will still be out of shape. But... if you go jogging for 20 minutes five times a week for the next three months you will be fitter, leaner and more healthy.

His other advice is very intuitive and sensible. To establish a new habit: 1.

Make it as easy as possible to adopt

2.

Humans enjoy a reward, so make your new habit as attractive as possible

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Keep your habits on track with a monitoring system - a diary, an App, a sticker chart

So what might be some great new (family friendly and not too hectic) healthy habits to adopt during a pandemic?

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To exercise for 30 minutes every day

2.

To drink more water

3.

To increase your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables

4.

To improve your flexibility by stretching daily

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To spend 30 minutes outdoors each day

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To start a gratitude journal

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To read for 15 minutes before bed every night

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To practice meditation for 15 minutes a day

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To take up a new hobby and practice it for at least one hour a week

10. To connect with a friend or family member at least once a day either via phone/text/letter/email or video call Researchers vary on their opinions about how long it takes to form a habit, but one model suggests that the 21/90 rule is the way to go. • 21 days to establish a habit (three weeks of daily practice) • 90 days to convert that habit into a lifestyle (a further threemonths).

As Aristotle said: " Watch your words they become your thoughts; Watch your thoughts they become your actions; Watch your actions they become your habits; Watch your habits they become your character; Watch your character it becomes your destiny. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit."

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Bangkok Patana School News

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Science Challenge Winner!

Joel Lodge, Key Stage 3 Curriculum Leader, Science

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n Term, Year 8 students were challenged to link their knowledge from the Light and Sound unit to explain how losing the ice sheets in the arctic could actually exacerbate climate change and global warming. Aayush Jalan in Year 8 answered the question and won a prize for his answer: Losing ice sheets will increase global temperatures because when light from the sun is shone on the ice, the ice is able to reflect it back due to their high albedo (reflectivity). So if ice sheets start to melt there is nothing to reflect the light back; instead the light is then transmitted into the arctic water and then this light energy transforms into heat energy. This increases global temperatures as well as sea temperatures.

UNI COUNSELORS’ CORNER

In the Spotlight...

Tsinghua University

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stablished in 1911, Tsinghua University is ranked 20th in the Times Higher Education World Rankings for 2021 and first in the Times Higher Education rankings for Asia. Tsinghua ranks 7th in Education, 12th in Computer Science,14th in Life Sciences, 16th in Engineering and Technology and 17th in both Physical Sciences and Business and Economics. Tsinghua offers Bachelor’s degrees in 51 programmes across 20 schools, the majority of which are offered in both Chinese and English.

Thirteen percent of the over 37,000 students are international.

There are more than 4,000 international students coming from 130 countries at the campus that is located on the site of the former imperial gardens of the Qing Dynasty in northwest Beijing. Notable alumni include current President of China Xi Zingping, former President Hu Jintao and many other top Chinese government officials as well as Nobel laureate in Chemistry Yang Chen Ning and well-known historian John Fairbank.

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Year 6 Charity Boxes

Ana Bolakoso, Martha Fricsay Myers, 6D

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n Year 6, students have been creating presents to donate to A21. This charity supports children, who have suffered from child trafficking. In our Christmas shoe boxes supplies like body wash, hairbrushes, toys, toothpaste and face masks were provided.

In the Year 6 community, each class was given a choice of providing gifts for a wide variety of genders and ages.

The ages for the presents ranged from 0 - 3 years all the way to 10 - 12 years of age.

The Student Council worked very hard organising, checking, re-wrapping and packaging the Christmas boxes so that they could be sent to Cambodia in time for Christmas.

Finally, after all our hard work a van came to pick up the heavy boxes. We helped to load the boxes into the truck.

When the truck arrived in Cambodia the presents would be distributed to the children. From Bangkok Patana we wish them a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Although the Thai government has announced new holidays, the school calendar remains the same.

2020/21 CALENDAR 15/01/2021

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Senior Fundraiser for Charity Hsuan-Ling (Charlene) Chen, 12 C and Pim Wongswan, 12Z

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AS (creative, activity, and service) is an essential component of the IB diploma that students must complete alongside their academic studies. Within CAS, students have to participate in a ‘CAS project’, an element that allows them to engage and collaborate as a team to accomplish a set goal.

For our CAS project, we gathered ten team members and decided to continue the tradition of every graduating class hosting a fundraising event. This year, we donated to Duang Prateep foundation which is an organisation that supports disadvantaged children and elders living in the Klong Toei slums. We chose this organisation as the large wealth inequality in Thailand was drastically highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic when the world experienced a recession.

Within the months leading to the fundraiser, the team was divided into four divisions: marketing, logistics, ICT support and set up. The marketing team created posters which were stuck around school and posted on Daily Notices and multiple social media platforms. Moreover, the logistics team set up the sign-up sheet for participants and helped to take care of finances. ICT support included liaising with Buildings and Grounds staff for the projector, screen and speaker and the DJ for a playlist. Lastly, set up included contacting Coach Rich to book the equipment for the fundraiser itself.

The event involved a 12 hour bike/run/row-athlon from 5 am to 5 pm. Students and teachers from around Secondary School contributed in 20 minute slots in pairs. There was a live countdown clock, music and a bake sale selling baked goods and other snacks.

After a long 12 hours of continuous fun, music and exercise, we successfully raised THB 14,646 as a school community to donate to the Duang Prateep Foundation thanks to the engagement and enthusiasm from BPS staff members and students. We would like to say a special thank you to Ms Ferguson for helping to supervise the event, Coach Rich for helping to coordinate the equipment and Buildings and Grounds staff who helped organise the IT equipment.

Overall, it was a very successful fundraiser and we wish to organise a similar event in the future.

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Season 2 Sport Cancellations Rich Molloy, Cross Campus Head of Sports

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ith schools closed until 31st January, unfortunately many of our season 2 competitions have now been cancelled. Once there is a defined timeline for a return to school and competitive sport, we will endeavour to offer some form of replacement event for those who have missed out this season.

Below are the key tournament updates: • BISAC Season 2 tournaments have been cancelled.

• SEASAC Season 2 replacement events have been cancelled.

• FOBISIA events will be considered on a case-by-case basis with Tennis postponed.

• Season 3 Trials will run as planned at the start of February, with replacement options offered if timelines change.

• ECA Block 3 Sign-up has been open since Monday 11th January.

Contribute your article for publication in the magazine and in the Patana News! scientia@patana.ac.th

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Bangkok Patana School News

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From the Library Library Online Resources

Stephen Murgatroyd, Cross Campus Head of Libraries

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appy New Year from all of the Library Team at Bangkok Patana - although it is definitely not the start of the year that any of us were hoping for.

Although the campus is physically closed for the children, students and parents, the Library is still open online. We have a wide range of resources that you can access at home from reading books to research titles. Among many others, we have our Sora, PressReader, First News and The Day subscriptions for all of your story, magazine and newspaper (current affairs) needs. Then there are apps like Tumble Books and Storyline Online where you can listen to stories being read to you.

All you need to do to access this great material is to login to your Patana account and click on the green ‘Primary Library’ or ‘Our Libraries’ icon on your dashboard.

This will take you to your Library page, where you can click on either of the images under the heading “Online Reading and Databases @ Home”

Once open, you will see a wonderful collection of resources to choose from.

We hope that you enjoy browsing and using the resources we have available. If there are any comments, or you have any feedback, please do let Mr. M. know at stmu@patana.ac.th and he will do his very best to help you.

We look forward to seeing everyone back in school as soon as it is safe to do so.

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172: Celebrate Virtually

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o doubt you’ve become accustomed to celebrating the birthday of a loved one, or other significant dates, virtually over the past several months. To help make things just that little more personal there are some great websites collated on this Make Use Of page.

Stay safe!

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

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Bangkok Patana School News

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Well-being During CSL Secondary Social and Emotional Counsellors

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he Secondary Social and Emotional Counselling Department would like to wish you all a happy new year and welcome back to our second adventure in CSL. We hope these next weeks will go smoothly for you and the family.

Last year, we shared lots of resources with you to support well-being at home. Check out the Firefly page to see all the resources. Please do spend some time scrolling through to see if there is anything that you may find helpful whilst we are all working and studying at home.

We are happy to be contacted if you feel that your child is struggling with managing their emotions or if they are feeling sad or isolated.

These are unprecedented times and therefore we all need to be kind to ourselves and each other.

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL COUNSELLING TEAM • Matt Conroy - macr@patana.ac.th • Fiona Milligan - fimi@patana.ac.th • Charlotte Hamilton - chha@patana.ac.th • Sarah Puttock - sapu@patana.ac.th SAFEGUARDING CONTACT If, for any reason, you are worried about the safety of a student; you can contact our Safeguarding Lead, Mr Grant Robertson at grro@patana.ac.th.

Think about how you have coped with difficult situations in the past and reassure yourself that you will cope with this situation too.

Remember! Quarantine won’t last for long.

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STUDENTS SPEAK Disposable vs Reusable Masks Yerin Kang, 10R

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hroughout the current COVID-19 pandemic, many questions have arisen regarding the best methods of protection against the virus. One frequently addressed topic is that of masks. This article will attempt to address some of the most common questions by citing the most reliable research that is currently available. However, it is important to stay aware, as new research is constantly being conducted and bringing improved knowledge to the public.

droplets. They can also be reused through regular washing.

The CDC suggests two layers of tightly woven 100 percent cotton fabric — such as quilter’s material or bedsheets with a high thread count — folded in multiple layers. Thicker, high-grade cotton masks are usually better at filtering small particles. However, it is recommended to stay away from materials that are too thick, such as vacuum cleaner bags, as they will make breathing more difficult.

This graph highlights the inefficiency of bandanas, which are commonly misused as cloth masks. The data results on neck fleeces showed that, astonishingly, there was an increased SO WHICH MASK SHOULD WE WEAR? amount of droplets, DISPOSABLE OR REUSABLE? probably caused by Both the WHO and CDC recommend that people the dispersal of larger wear a cloth mask in public, as well as adhering to strict droplets into many social-distancing measures. This is, again, due to the short smaller droplets [1]. supply of surgical masks and N95 masks needed by Therefore, the type of cloth is also significant to the public health workers. protection that a mask can provide: cotton/poly or polyPro Furthermore, the tremendous amount of waste that results is highly effective, but bandanas and neck gaiters are from the disposal of non-reusable and non-recyclable notably unsuccessful at preventing the spread of droplets. surgical masks is putting our environment in danger. They are also only intended for single use, therefore are thrown DO WE HAVE TO? away regularly. Disposable masks contain harmful plastics It is your choice, of course. Cotton masks would be which pollute bodies of water and harm wildlife, who highly recommended as it is an eco-friendly alternative, may eat or become tangled in the masks (as shown on but if certain masks cause you extreme discomfort, you the right). Moreover, the uncontrollable disposal of these should choose the one best suited to you. However, it is masks can increase the chance of an infected mask to your responsibility to wear a mask that provides proper cause secondary transmission of diseases to others. protection when in public, whether a surgical mask or a cotton mask, in order to protect yourself and those around ARE CLOTH MASKS EVEN EFFECTIVE? you.

YES. These masks are strongly recommended as they Find the article on Scientia here have been proven to provide protection against virus WHICH MASK IS THE BEST? Evidently, the N95 mask has proven to be the best option for providing safety against the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. However, these highly effective masks are in limited supply, and are mainly reserved for health care providers including doctors, virus-testers, nurses.

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Bangkok Patana School News

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ASCII Art Maker in Python Xander Van Pelt, 8K

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recently found a website that converts images into ascii art. I thought it was really cool and wanted to try to make one myself in python. Here's the result!

Original Image:

Final result (a screen shot):

The image gets squashed because the new lines are taller than a character.

Find more on Cypher Magazine here 15/01/2021

Bangkok Patana School News

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she

Garam (Momo) Lee, 5W

She is the key to life; every living thing depends on her generosity, Winding around the globe like hungry veins, Waltzing across the sky as dancing balls of fluff, She reins over most of the Earth’s surface, And is even part of the people who live there.

When there is thirst, she can quench, Where there is filth, she will clean, If the sun’s glare is too bright, she can cool, And across great distances she will carry, like a mother holding a newborn.

In the busiest places, she often gets sick, Poisons in her breath and blood, she struggles to exhale, But over time, she will wash it all away.

Although she has a kind spirit, she can also be short tempered, Wailing from above when her heart is heavy, Raging below, her screams echo throughout the land.

As you meander through her dreams, the darkness slowly reveals itself, Unpredictable dangers await, But the deeper you go, the closer you get to her wonderous secrets.

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Desert Island Discs With Iain Murphy, Head of EAL Faculty

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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 Head of EAL Faculty Iain Murphy is stuck on a desert island.

MR MURPHY, IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Sunday – Moby Nothing Compares To You – Sinead O’Connor Life On Mars – David Bowie Four Seasons – Vivaldi India – The Psychedelic Furs Everybody Hurts – R.E.M. Under the Bridge – Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Listen to Mr Murphy’s playlist here

Ave Verum Corpus - Mozart 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. Swiss Army knife WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 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.

CHECK OUT CYPHER MAGAZINE - FOSTERING AN ENRICHING ENVIRONMENT TO SHARE ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

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