Patana News Volume 24 Issue 2

www.patana.ac.th

PATANA NEWS

Friday 27th August 2021

An Interview with Mr Mills’ First Blog of the eYar the Primary Principal

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Also in thisMissue...

Virtual Dance Invitational Join the Japanese PTG Taylor’s Tech Tips Wildlife Spotting with Coke

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Bangkok Patana School News

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

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An Interview with the Primary Principal Sarah McCormack, Primary Principal

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oming in as a new Primary Principal in the middle of a pandemic is by no means an easy feat. Despite having spent a long time in lockdown and remote learning in Ireland, starting a new school and a new academic year brings unique challenges, most notably to building relationships and connections: Two things that I believe are a priority as a leader.

When I was asked to write one of the first articles for the Patana News, I immediately thought – how can I engage best with our community, how I can get the students involved, and how can I make this fun! Hence the idea of an ‘Interview with the Principal’ session was born and I am delighted to share some of the questions asked of me during an online lesson by Mr Walton’s talented Year 4W class:

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1. Do you like reading, if so what are you favourite books? (Vihaan)

4. What’s your favourite thing to eat? (Po) Pad Thai and Pizza! (Not at the same time)

My favourite grown up book to read is the Great Gats5. If you could only wear one colour, which colour by by F Scott Fitzgerald. My favourite children’s book, would it be? (Abby) and this comes from when I used to read to my two sons when they were a bit smaller, is the Whale and The Snail Blue!

by Julia Donaldson.

6. How many different countries have you visited?

2. What job did you have before you became a Prin- (Ella) cipal? (Teya) I think probably have visited not far off from 30 different I was a teacher before I became a Principal. I’ve been countries. very lucky to teach in England, Hong Kong, Italy and Chi7. What nationality are you and where are you from? na, always in Primary classrooms. Before I retrained to be a teacher, I used to work in PR and Marketing. I actually (Devine) retrained to be a teacher a little bit later on in life and it I am from England. I was born in a little town called was the best choice I have ever made.

Kettering, about an hour North of London.

3. If you could have any superpower, what would 8. What do you want to be, super clever or super funyou choose? (Torres) ny? (Amy) Super speed would come in really handy on this camI think if you were super funny you would lead a very pus because sometimes I think I need a bicycle to get happy life. You would find everything very funny, that’s a around. I could also go visit family in England and Ireland great way to be. However, I think if you were super clever and no one would know I was gone because I would be you could try to do some good in the world. I would have back really quickly! to go with super clever but I think it’s a tough job.

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Virtual Dance Invitational 2021

Vallary Lokre, Cross Campus Head of Dance

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he Dance Academy FOBISIA Virtual Dance Invitational is coming! Open to Year 1 – Year 13, there are categories for solo, duo and trio performances in hip hop, street dance, indigenous/ folk dance, ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre and contemporary. Deadline for submission of your dance routine is 31 October at 5pm. Contact valo@patana. ac.th for more information on how to enter.

Kerry Express Learning Pack Delivery Outside Bangkok T

he PTG, in partnership with Kerry Express, are pleased During this period of CSL, as learning packs become to offer parents now located outside of Bangkok available from school, the PTG and Kerry Express will but within Thailand delivery through Kerry Express. communicate sign up and delivery periods through Patana News and the PTG Facebook group.

A big thank you to Kerry Express for offering this service to Bangkok Patana families at no cost.

THANK YOU TO KERRY EXPRESS ‘LOCAL HEROES’ If you arrange a delivery through this service, we would DELIVERY TIMELINE like to suggest having your child(ren) prepare a thank you If you are a parent of a child in Year 4-6 and/or Sec- card, or a bottle of water or small snack for the couriondary School , please complete the form here to ar- er. This follows Kerry’s internal programme to honour their range a delivery through Kerry Express. The form will be couriers who are on the front line and working very hard closed on Tuesday 31st August at 12 noon. during this pandemic.

The items will be picked up from school and delivered We would love to see your pictures of these initiatives, to homes outside of Bangkok within the following week. please send them to ptgevents@patana.ac.th.

FUTURE DELIVERIES

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FuturistFest Hackathon F

uturistFest 2021 was inspired by the rapid influx of global tech advancements and wanted to provide an opportunity for people to become a part of such social innovation. This international event is open to those aged 13+, of all genders, and participants can enter in groups of 1-4. This hackathon is a little different, in that participants can submit their program any time within the designated hackathon running period. There will be prizes. Don’t miss this chance to work with amazing non-profits and learn

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more about the art of programming. They will be providing workshops, such as intro to Java, how to code a Discord bot, advice from CS students studying at top universities, guest speakers from NGOs and much more. So be sure to check those out (it’s also completely free).

Sign up here: Learn more on Women in Stem FuturistFest here

Bangkok Patana School News

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In the Spotlight... Nangyang Technological University, R

Singapore

anking fifth in Asia and in the top 50 globally in the Times Higher Education rankings, Nangyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore is well-known for its research output, innovation and beautiful campus. NTU is organised into several colleges and schools: Engineering, Business, Education, Communications and Information, Science, Humanities, Social Sciences, Medicine and Art, Design and Media. Nanyang Business School is the third largest in the Asia – Pacific.

NTU has 33,000 undergraduate and graduate students of which, 25 percent are international.

Join the Japanese PTG 【ジャパニーズグループに参加しませんか】

バンコクパタナスクールのジャパニーズグル ープは、日本人の父親あるいは母親を持つ生 徒の保護者により運営されているグループで す。現在、約70家族が加入しており、毎年行わ れるインターナショナルデーなどの学校活動 に協力しています。 また、情報交換の場として 親睦会を年に数回行っています。参加ご希望 の方は、小野 武英 もしくは、吉田 慶太 までご 連絡ください。 patanajapaneseg@gmail.com

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here are around 70 Japanese families who are members of this group, and we support International Day and other school activities. If you are a Japanese speaker or married to a Japanese speaker, then we would like to invite you to join our group.

Please contact to Mr.Takehide Ono or Mr.Keita Yoshida, Email: patanajapaneseg@gmail.com

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STUDENTS SPEAK What is Relativity?

Aayush Jalan, 9F

HOW DID EINSTEIN INFLUENCE AND WIDELY EMPLOY THE THOUGHT OF RELATIVITY IN LAWS OF GRAVITATION AND SPACE-TIME?

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uring the early 20th Century, many people used concepts such as dark matter, string theory, religion and others to understand and grasp the theory of how natural components in our universe affect the law of gravitation. It was easily the most difficult scientific quest, with some physicists even deeming it impossible. However it wasn’t until a theoretical physicist extraordinaire, who had fled from the disturbed, preyed soil of Germany and the fatal grasp of death, had fully revitalized science in astronomical and theoretical studies, changed our thought process of space, time, light, travel and gravity forever and captivated masses from his fascinating and thoughtful vagaries of observation. His countless bold and mindful theories he developed during his years as a nobel-winning, mouth dropping, eyebrow raising and highly accomplished theoretical physicist proves why he is known as the greatest scientist to ever live.

that previous experiments and theories would affect people’s thoughts. His nonconformist personality, his curiosity, his passion and his rebellious instincts all employed that Einstein wasn’t just a regular academia, and was actually a genius blessed with imagination and creativity. For example, Einstein’s first startling discovery occured whilst he was writing his fourth paper, in 1905. In that paper, he had completely removed Sir Isaac Newton’s concepts of absolute space and time, and then had applied it to an already derivative belief of electrodynamics of moving bodies. (Modified creation of absolute Space and time); doing this would introduce a new infamous and spectacular notion known as “The Theory of Special Relativity.”

Sir Isaac Newton’s concept of absolute space and time. (Einstein discarded this for the discovery of special relativity). This provided a theoretical foundation for all Newtonian mechanics. It is an idea, in science, about the However before properties of the universe. In physics, this idea of absolute the publishing of space and time may be perceived as an identifiably and his fourth scientif- unique, hypothetical frame of reference, in which the basic ic research paper, laws of physics might appear as different when compared Albert Einstein was to other hypothetical frames. widely discreditFor example, this particular frame was used in Newton’s ed. Throughout his life, Einstein’s work mechanics in laws of motion. It is an inertial frame; a frame always reflected of inertial reference, in classical physics and special reladisruption of social tivity, is a frame that does not undergo any acceleration certainties and mor- of motion. An inertial frame is either at rest or moves at a al absolutes in the constant speed, although both states always have a linear atmosphere of the motion. early 20th Century.

Read the rest of this article on Scientia Project here Although, it was clearly evident that Einstein was not just a basic, traditionalist scientist who would normally believe

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Bangkok Patana School News

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Desert Island Discs With Matt Seddon, Secondary 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 our new Secondary Principal Matt Seddon is stuck on a desert island.

MR SEDDON, IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Bat out of Hell - Meatloaf Lover of the Light – Mumford & Sons Acquiesce - Oasis

Breathing – The Candle Thieves

Could I be You - Matchbox Twenty

Dodged a Bullet – Alice Jemima

Drift Away – by Uncle Kracker

Everything Now – Arcade Fire Click to listen to Mr Seddon’s playlist

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. Guitar WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? The Silo Saga (Wool, Shift and Dust) by Hugh Howey 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.

HAVE YOU BOOKMARKED THE SCHOOL CALENDAR YET? 2021/22 CALENDAR

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#191: What Parents Need to Know about Hoop W

e have a license for all Patana parents to install the National Online Safety app that the information below came from. Read more about how to subscribe and install it here. Click on the image to enlarge.

Have a fantastic weekend.

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

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Bangkok Patana School News

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Wildlife Spotting with Coke Thailand; Rich in Biodiversity

Alexander Coke Smith IV, Environmental Systems and Science Curriculum Leader can’t believe how fast the summer break flew by! I hope that our Bangkok Patana School community was able to get out from time to time and enjoy some fresh air and nature during the break. Although Thailand was in “restricted travel” mode due to the ongoing COVD-19 pandemic, the roads and nature hotspots were, for the most part, still very accessible and we found absolutely no barriers to free travel throughout the country while staying socially distanced from others at all times. Locally, Khao Yai never closed and Kaeng Krachan was wide open until 1st August, when it entered its annual normal closure time.

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My family and I are not ones that can easily stay put and not spend time out in nature viewing and documenting the countless species that surround us, where ever we are in this beautiful country. And the bonus of spending time in these beautiful locations is that they are mostly covid-free and you are always socially distant!

Most people do not know that Thailand ranks in the top five for nations its astounding biodiversity. With 1,076 species of birds and 264 species of mammals, Thailand stands out for wildlife enthusiasts as one of the best places in the world to see wildlife in their natural habitat. So the Smith contingent spent nearly every single day this summer exploring many of the countless nature hotspots, from the far north to the deep-south, and many locations in between. At the end of it all, we racked up nearly 350 species of birds and over 50 species of mammals! Not bad!

While some of the places visited are pretty remote and would require a lot of planning and effort for those new to the wildlife viewing scene in Thailand, there are a few places that stand out that I would recommend to the greater Bangkok Patana School community to visit when things do open up in the near future.

THE NORTH Doi Ang Khang! One of the many projects Rama IX instituted for Hilltribes, the vast gardens and forests of this spectacular mountain paradise are a birder’s haven. While the summer months are not known for the greatest diversity of

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fauna, there are many species still viewable there. Species such as Black-throated Sunbirds, Spot-winged Grosbeaks, Crested Finchbills and so many more are commonly seen and easy to photograph. Doi Inthanon is another awesome and easily accessible location with loads of birds to entertain. Birds such as Spiderhunters and Orange-bellied Leafbirds are highlights that can be seen with luck and the right person to help!

CENTRAL I have been writing many articles about the wealth of wildlife in and around the greater Bangkok area, and there is much more to come this year, but one place that stands out as perhaps one of the best places in the Central Thailand area is Nong Ya Plong, in Petchaburi Province. Home to the rare and spectacular Rain Quails and Crimson Sunbirds, there are so many species easy to see in the summer months and all about two hours from Bangkok!

THE SOUTH There is no doubt, the South offers the greatest wealth of wildlife and biodiversity in Thailand. Much of Thailand’s South is true tropics and there are still many nature hotspots existing. One particular spot that my family and I frequent is Ao Pang Nga National Park in Phang Nga Province. While the park was closed due to the pandemic, there are plenty of spots outside the park where a motivated naturalist can see an amazing array of birds and mammals. Green Broadbills and Ruddy Kingfishers stand out as our favourite catches in the south this summer in this region. Neither of these species are common and are even harder to capture on film. But with the right technique and patience, they can be found!

There is so much to see and do in Thailand with respect to nature and wildlife. Please feel free to contact Coke Smith (cosm@patana.ac.th) for advice and tips for visiting these hotspots and getting the most out of your visit.

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est The lat e from th

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G Click here to join the PTG Facebook Group

Thursday 2nd September 8.00 am to 9.00 am Click here to RSVP before Wednesday, 25th August

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COMMUNITY

Register for this Zoom talk from the Siam Society here.

Stay updated on all BCT’s online events on their Facebook page here or on their website here 27/08/2021

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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 14

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