Patana News Volume 24 Issue 28

PATANA NEWS

Friday 29th April 2022

Our Long-Term Digital Strategy

By Brian Taylor

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Also in this issue...

Primary Musician of the Month!

Swim Training CPL The Ocean CleanUp Volunteering at the Tiger Shop PTG Vacancies What’s New in the Libraries Vaccine Information

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www.patana.ac.th

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

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Bangkok Patana’s Long-Term Digital Strategy: What Lessons Did We Learn from the Pandemic?

Brian Taylor, Cross Campus Assistant Principal, Curriculum Technology Integrator

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s an educational institution, we are in the business of learning. I would posit that we are in the business of learning from our mistakes. Perhaps a good Theory of Knowledge question would be “Would you learn if you never made a mistake?” Ask any of my Year 7 students “what does practice make?” and I am confident they will reply “permanence”. Practice does not make perfect; my golf swing is testament to that. Only with reflection and acting on feedback will you improve – I would argue there is no such thing as perfect. Schools are walled gardens where we can be curious, play, make mistakes and learn from them, before we are let out into the world, which is less likely to be so forgiving.

During campus closure we were forced to adapt to a new way of learning remotely. We, like the rest of the world, had no choice. Our day-to-day lives were turned upside down. Rooms in our homes became classrooms. Students, teachers, and parents learnt new routines, habits, and behaviours. Break-time battles over screen-time and balancing a digital diet with “what’s for lunch?” ensued. We adapted. We survived. As a community and institution, we evolved. The adaptations to our lives became the new norm and we adopted those practices.

Along with many colleagues passionate about technology to support thinking and learning, I thought that this period of global remote learning would be an epiphany for educational technology. That it would be the dawn of a new horizon on how we use technology in schools and businesses. The rapid growth and adaption would be a catalyst for transformation. I was wrong. When we came back to school, we, the students, parents, and teachers, just wanted things back to normal. We did not want to see another screen or listen to the ring tone of a MS Teams call or be asked again to “switch on your camera”. We wanted to connect with each other on a human level, to smile (albeit behind a mask), to grow our relationships away from the glow of a digital device.

What I realised, echoed by the Assistant Professor at the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, Justin Reich, in his brilliant book Failure to disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education, was that the pandemic was not fuel for a technological revolution. The pandemic made us realise the true value of our face-to-face interactions and analogue relationships. We realised the more ‘human’ our exchanges are, the happier we become. We are inherently social creatures.

After the initial euphoria of getting back to our normal routines in school, we reflected on the benefits of the adopt-

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ed new practices. Examples include the pros of virtual parent-student conferences: reduced travel time, increased availability of an overseas parent to join the call. The growth of a myriad of student communities in MS Teams. The ease of inviting visiting authors, speakers, creators, industry experts to share their experiences with our students – often at no cost other than the time taken for the video call itself. Joining whole school assemblies and meetings from the comfort of your classroom or office. Dial-in-tech support and hybrid learning for close-contact or asymptomatic students and teachers.

Looking through the pandemic lens to reflect on our journey, we have an updated Technology for Learning Vision that encapsulates the important role technology plays, and will continue to play, in our lives. What makes us uniquely human, what separates us from machine learning, artificial intelligence and omnipresent global automation, are human-only commodities that will, undoubtedly, become the most valuable resources in the future. The empathy, creativity, and critical thinking in our Vision.

Kindness, compassion, integrity, inquisitiveness, and resilience in the Values of our Guiding Statements. Those are qualities that will distinguish us from the inevitable automation of our future. Surely then, we must ensure that the technology we invest in at Bangkok Patana School, amplifies our human-centred traits.

Further Reading: Computer interfaces and their impact on learning by Sharon Oviatt Failure to disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education Remote to Hybrid Learning – A Position Paper on a Paradigm Shift for Education – Education Reimagined: The Future of Learning

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KHUN NIRAT

PRIMARY PRIMARY MUSICIAN MUSICIAN OF OF THE THE MONTH MONTH

Khun Nirat is the saxophone teacher for the Key Stage 3 Music programme and the ECA programme. You can learn all about him on the next page! On Musical Monday, he surprised the Primary Canteen with a delightful performance of ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ from the movie ‘Encanto’ and the theme tune from ‘Demon Slayer’: Kimetsu no Yaiba ( ), a well known anime series. The children cheered, clapped, sang along and thoroughly enjoyed the live music!

⻤滅の刃

If you would like to enrol your student for lessons with Khun Nirat, or any of our Instrumental Music Teachers, please click here and complete the online application.

For more information, please contact Khun Sak at pech@patana.ac.th

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Instrumental Music: Teacher Spotlight

Khun Nirat (Ball) Boonyasawet, Saxophone, Jazz Theory, Improvisation, Patana Big Band, and Patana Ensemble Teacher

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hun Nirat has been teaching in the Instrumental Someone once told me, “I envy you. If I had a choice, Music Programme at Bangkok Patana School for I would like to be like you.” “Why do you want to be 17 years. He is a saxophone player and started playing like me?” I said. “While you were working you do not when he was in Key Stage 3 – a total of nearly 27 years! work, I see that you are very happy with what you do.”

I do indeed love what I do!

BEGINNINGS OF A MUSIC CAREER Teachers take great pride in seeing students succeed Khun Nirat said that his father him how to play with his and reach their potential in music. This motivates me to tiny keyboard, “My father gave me a lot of things, but the best gift that I have kept all these years was his gift be the best teacher I can be. Whether studying at the of music. I was inspired to play music when I watched university, composing, recording or performing in music, music shows on television. It looked like so much fun that it brings unspeakable happiness and fulfillment.

I wanted to perform on stage as well.”

In the end, to be successful and develop a strong music career, it is important to learn many things besides per“Music connects people. Every time formance. Playing music alone isn’t usually enough. It is I listen to music or play a musical important to develop the skills to be able to write music, instrument, it makes me very happy. I notate it, conduct, learn various styles of music, recordcan connect with people in a different ing techniques, software, band management, marketing, way and time passes by so quickly. In etc. All these things are extremely important to thrive as my early stages of learning music, I a musician.” was inspired to play the saxophone by King Rama IX. I saw him play his own compositions many times. His music was so beautiful and I tried to learn how to play his songs too.”

TEACHING STYLE AND MOTIVATION What motivates Khun Nirat? “Teaching music allows me to demonstrate my passion for music, transmit positivity and share good feelings. It's not just about teaching students how to play an instrument, theory or composition; it is about instilling musical aesthetics, the beauty of this art, developing as an artist and realising their creative potential.”

“When I teach, I learn a great deal as well. Teaching music makes me realise how much I still need to learn and the importance of learning how to connect and teach students to the best of my ability. Teaching is not just about telling students what to do. Teachers learn and gain knowledge from students too. We learn new songs and styles of music – learning music goes both ways.”

“The best thing about teaching and being a musician is that we are always surrounded and consumed by music.

Music allows us to enjoy the time we spend together.”

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WHERE YOU CAN SEE KHUN NIRAT PERFORM Khun Nirat is a well-known saxophone player and Bangkok jazz and blues enthusiasts are always happy to find him on stage. He plays once or twice a week at Saxophone Pub, and regularly performs at weddings, concerts and other events around Thailand. He also is a regular member of two bands - The SwingKings and Brass Wave. Some of our parents and students might remember moving to the SwingKings when they performed at our last Fun Day.

WATCH SOME OF KHUN NIRAT’S PERFORMANCES AT THE LINKS BELOW! The Swing Kings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhPe1H1r7s0&list=PLq3-4ljTOlFIOKxyY5LaY67P4tPnL4mCc Special Guest with Bodyslam in Concert: https://www.youtube. com/embed/DvyUxxkijsE?start=150&end=180

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Swim Training to teach babies and toddlers Cindy Adair, Cross Campus Assistant Principal

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n a recent, sunny Saturday, over 30 staff from Bangkok Patana and NIST joined together to undertake the Swimming Australia Baby and Toddler Teacher qualification. The course equips teachers to provide water safety and swimming skills to children from 4 months old to 5 years old. Did you know that babies are born with a sophisticated system of reflexes which help them navigate the world “outside” until they can learn behaviours to keep themselves safe? A skilful swimming teacher can use these innate reflexes to help the child learn skills which will help them become a confident swimmer, such as gripping the side of the pool, holding their breath when submerged in water and kicking and paddling to create movement.

Children as young as four months old can take part in fun group swimming lessons with their parent or carer, participating in fun songs, games and activities, which gradually teach them breath control, submersion, turning and other building blocks of future swimming strokes. Research shows that children who take part in swimming lessons in childhood have better outcomes in the classroom. Swimming provides what is called bilateral cross patterning movements, meaning that the right and left side of the body are doing opposite movements. Think about swimming freestyle or backstroke. When one arm is in front of the head, the other arm is down by the side. These cross patterning movements help the brain develop nerve fibres between the hemispheres that “facilitate communication, feedback, and modulation,” according to Lana Whitehead, a lead swimming researcher, in her study Water Smart Babies: Scientific Benefits of Baby Swim Lessons. The more both sides of the brain “talk” with each other, the more efficient neurological development will be.

Check out this video from Griffith University in Australia to learn more the importance of Swimming in childhood: https://youtu.be/fmh1sOTo4Iw

We are very proud to have such a generous time allocation to Swimming within our overall Physical Development curriculum in the Foundation Stage at Bangkok Patana School.

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Bangkok Patana is now on

LINE...

Add our Line Official Account: @BangkokPatanaSchool GUIDELINES Please follow the school's social media guidelines when using Line Official.

Note that Line Official is primarily used as a social media account.

Staff will monitor messages to the Line Official account only during the school’s normal business hours.

All communication to the school should still be directed through the regular communication channels.

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Tennis Takeover Dan Ahl, Head Tennis Coach

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ast Saturday, the Under 12 tennis teams competed in their end of season BMAC tournament with the Boys’ team playing at Bangkok Patana and the Girls’ team across the city at ISB. The Boys’ event was split into two separate competitions and saw three Bangkok Patana teams taking part, whilst the Girls’ was an A draw with just one of our teams competing. All Bangkok Patana players battled hard throughout, making good tactical decisions at key moments. The final results were excellent! Both the Boys’ and Girls’ A teams won the championship, whilst the Boys B and C teams finished 1st and 2nd in the B teams event.

Overall, it has been a really good season for the Under 12 players, who have had five weekend tournaments and all been able to play singles and doubles in different events. Through these competitions, they have developed a whole variety of different skills, which, at this age, is vital.

Patana Participates!

Achievements from Our Community:

Have a story to share? Send your information & photos to stml@patana.ac.th

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Busatree Wanglee, Patana Parent

Michiko Hidaka, Patana Parent

Congratulations to Khoon Wanglee, 5D, who recently won the Under 10 Tennis Championship in the Southern Region!

Yutaka Hidaka, 7M, recently joined the 88th Thammasat Championship for Jiu Jitsu at Thammasat University. This was his first Martial Arts tournament in some time; Yutaka participated in three events, including Newaza, No Gi and Fighting System. After completing all events, Yutaka was awarded the Best Player prize. Congratulations!

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Patana Participates - The Ocean CleanUp Narida (Claire) Charanachitta, 8V IN MARCH, I WAS INVITED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER (EEC) TO GIVE A SPEECH ABOUT MY PASSION TOWARDS THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE OCEAN AT THE EMBASSY OF NETHERLANDS.

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he event was focused on The Ocean CleanUp, where they develop advance technology to manage plastic pollution in the river. There, I met the founder of the Ocean CleanUp, Mr. Boyan Slat and his team who shared their inspirational projects with us. The team are planning to bring the Interceptor, an ocean cleaning machine to Bangkok, where they hope to extract plastic waste and rubbish from the Chao Phraya River. In addition, they would like to reduce the amount of waste being washed into the ocean in which will save many marine lives.

I would like to thank my family and teachers who supported me to continue my passion towards the marine life. I also would like to thank EEC for giving me this amazing opportunity and The Ocean CleanUp team who continue to make positive changes to our world. After this event, I would like to look for more experiences in marine life study and I hope to inspire other students to continue to care for our planet.

The Ocean CleanUp project has inspired me to reflect on my encounter with Marium, the baby dugong, who has passed away because of plastic waste. The story of Marium has been a worldwide phenomenon that has raise awareness about the marine life. A few years ago, I wrote a fictional book, Marium the Lost Dugong. I also shared my story with over 2,000 local students in Krabi to inspire them about how they can play a part in saving the dugong’s natural habitat. Additionally, the proceed from the sales of my book was donated to a marine life foundation in Krabi.

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Volunteering at the Tiger Shop Maanya Bagda, 12E

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orking with the PTG has been a really great experience. I’ve learnt so many new skills and it has been so much fun. I joined the Tiger Shop because I saw it as an interesting opportunity to get to meet new people and learn how this key segment of the Bangkok Patana community works. As I’ve always been interested in Business and Marketing, I joined the social media marketing team and got the opportunity to apply those skills I already had by working with the PTG and learned new ones for future endeavours.

I think students should definitely give this opportunity a try, whether its design, fashion, marketing, DT and arts, budgeting and even stock and inventory display, it gives you an opportunity to enhance those skills in whatever way you like. Additionally, working with the Tiger Shop has given me the opportunity to work with different CAT clubs like Rescued Glass and World Food Project where we’ve done projects together. This experience can be used as CAS, I personally used it for my creativity strand, but overall it's a great way to get involved with the Bangkok Patana community.

“During my time volunteering as a member of the PTG tiger shop, I’ve taken on a role as a fashion designer. During the sessions we discuss what items of clothing/apparel we can design which will be the most appealing towards the students, as well as which are most requested. So far, with some help from my team, we have designed a variety of merchandise: hoodies, sweatpants, tennis skirts, and Christmas decorations.

Overall I feel that this experience has been very exciting and I have loved working alongside Safy.”

- Seth Golesworthy, Year 12 “I decided on choosing to work within the PTG Shop as a part of my CAS experience. My role as a fashion designer within the shop includes designing new apparel and clothing as well as enhancing old designs. My experience working within the PTG shop besides Safy has been a very rewarding and enjoyable experience.” - Kate White, Year 12 “Volunteering at the PTG Tiger Shop provided me with so many invaluable experiences. This opportunity provided me with great insight into how to manage a business and it gave me a chance to put my economics and business skills to the test.”

- Kazuma Uji, Year 12 “By joining the Tiger Shop, I have been able to become closer with my peers as well as gaining communication skills that will be useful in the future.” - Lalida (Lyda) Sirarojanakul, Year 13 Overall, this one was one of my best experiences with CAS and volunteering that I have taken on. I can say that everyone who signed up has enjoyed it and have all been active members of the Bangkok Patana Community! It taught me so many new skills and I hope to see many people signing up for this. Working alongside Safy and the rest of the students has been an incredible experience and I do hope to continue doing so in the following academic year.

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IRON LABELS (CLOTHES/BAGS/TRAINERS/ SWIMMING SUITS) 36 PIECES/ 350 THB WATERPROOF STICKER LABELS (CUPS/SNACK BOXES/SHOES/MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS/GOGGLES) 36 PIECES/ 350 THB PICK UP SEVEN BUSINESS DAYS AFTER PLACING THE ORDER

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Careers and University Counseling Office:

Major Subject Spotlight

Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers, for selling that product or service. From a societal point of view, marketing is the link between a society’s material requirements and its economic patterns of response. Marketing satisfies these needs and wants through exchange processes and building long term relationships. Marketing can be looked at as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, delivering, and communicating value to customers, and managing customer relationships in ways that also benefit the organization and its shareholders. Marketing is the science of choosing target markets through market analysis and market segmentation, as well as understanding consumer buying behaviour and providing superior customer value.

WHAT’S NEW IN THE LIBRARIES THE 2022 YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL SHORTLIST

Early Years’ Library

Fiction Non-Fiction Comic Books & Oversized Books

Primary Library Secondary Library

Fiction Non-Fiction

Fiction Non-Fiction Life Collection Senior Fiction Home Languages Graphic Novels PE Books

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING All Library and magazine subscriptions listed here

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Desert Island Discs With Gemma Legg, Secondary English Teacher

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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 Secondary English Teacher, Gemma Legg, is stuck on a desert island.

MS GEMMA, IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WHAT EIGHT PIECES OF MUSIC WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Sweet Child O’Mine - Guns N Roses

Hurt - Johnny Cash

Rebel Rebel - David Bowie

More Life in a Tramp’s Vest - Stereophonics

A Little Respect - Wheatus

Ho Hey - The Lumineers

Valerie - Amy Winehouse

Cold Heart - Elton John & Dua Lipa Click to listen to Ms Gemma Legg’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. Memory Foam Pillow WHICH ONE BOOK WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU? Bleak House by Charles Dickens 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 STML with your favourites.

Vaccine

Information

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#216: Ofcom’s Media Use and Attitudes Report 2022 Ofcom is the UK's communications regulator for TV, radio and video on demand sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate. Their annual ‘Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes’ report offers a detailed rundown of how young people used and experienced the internet during the previous year. Like its immediate predecessor, the 2022 edition will be particularly revealing because its findings again reflect the continuing impact of the pandemic on young people’s online activities.

In the guide, you'll find stats including the percentage of young people in the UK who own a mobile phone (and at which ages), the most-used platforms by children in 2021, and the main online safety concerns of parents and carers. I hope you find it useful and as a stimulus for conversations with your peers and children Have a great weekend.

Brian Taylor Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration

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COMMUNITY

Calling singers of all nationalities to record a special music video and perform a concert in celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. As part of the celebration, a special song has been composed for the occasion and we, along with choirs from around the world, have been invited to participate by recording our own versions of the song.

Our International Children’s Choir will represent the international community in Thailand. The choir will also perform the song live in a concert on 2nd June at Sala Sudasiri Sobha in Bangkok. Simultaneously, other choirs around the world will also be performing this song at the same time in their own time zones.

If your child would like to audition for a chance to join this special choir, please fill in the Google Form linked below.

Register By: MONDAY 2ND MAY 23.00 PM

JUBILEE CHOIR CRITERIA Any nationality Boys and girls ages 8-15 Must be able to sing well (good singing voice and in tune) Available for a few hours of rehearsals every Sunday throughout May (one of which will be a recording session) Must be able to practice the song at home in between rehearsals Available to perform in the concert on 2nd June

GOOGLE FORM LINK: HTTPS://FORMS.GLE/LK7YFTEUHJQCTFCF7 FOR INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT: JUBILEECHOIRTHAILAND@GMAIL.COM FROM LULU SUPATRAVANIT (BANGKOK PATANA ALUMNI AND VOCAL COACH)

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COMMUNITY CY-2022-014

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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 18

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