Patana News Volume 18 Issue 22

Patana

NEWS

Celebrating Community Action Clubs Bangkok Patana is an IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC

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Letter from the Secondary School Principal

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ear Parents, Last weekend, the Bangkok Patana School Community celebrated Fun Day, a genuine whole-school event led by the amazing PTG and supported by both business and academic staff. As well as the superb bands on stage, the Haunted House, the food, various games, and of course the chance to dunk a teacher (including me), another important feature has really developed over the last few years. Under the initial guidance of Ms Helen Vincent and now Ms Polly Sinnett -Jones, along with the encouragement of the PTG, the Secondary Community Action Clubs have added a new dimension to Fun Day by promoting each of their particular projects.

At Fun Day and increasingly around school, the focus of these groups is shifting away from fundraising (although this is still important) and into raising community awareness of the work that each group is doing for the wider Patana community. At Fun Day they offered entertaining games and activities from Jenga to traditional coconut shy and dart throwing, while at the same time they were able to share information about each group. The students are sensitive to their audience, taking care of the younger visitors while asking

older students and adults to engage with the issues being addressed in each club. It works extremely well and supplements the busy calendar of events in Secondary.

There is rarely a week goes by that a major event isn’t either taking place or being planned. This could be a visit from the Mercy Centre students, a trip to the artificial reef installed in Pattaya by the Marine Conservation Group, an Amnesty Campaign or a Rowathon in the Secondary Lounge. One of the really impressive developments over recent years is the increase in numbers of younger Secondary students actively taking part in these groups and in some cases even holding executive positions on their boards. Below is a list of each of the 12 current CAT Clubs, almost all of whom had stalls at Fun Day. For more information, click here. Please encourage your children to join them and I know that they’d love to have an input from you as parents too.

One particular group was highlighted this week when they held a well-attended TED Talk event in the Conference Centre. I’ve asked Let's Erase the Stigma (LETS) Club President Holly Dejsupa, who founded the group a year ago, to explain who they are and what they aimed to do this week: “The Let's Erase the Stigma (LETS) Club aims to erase

the social shame and inferior connotation surrounding mental health issues, such as schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. In addition, we touch upon the consequences that regularly result from mental illnesses, like self-harm, eating disorders (e.g. bulimia, anorexia) and suicide. Our goal is to help erase the fear of seeking help if you have a mental health issue, whether it be to a friend, a teacher, a counsellor or your parents.

We do this by educating peers on these various mental health issues as well as the stigmas that are attached to them; however, even just by attending the meetings, I wish for members to feel a sense of purpose by campaigning about issues to help others which, in the process, can help themselves. We want to provide a kinder and more inclusive atmosphere around the school, as well as within the Thai community, where those with mental health issues feel less ashamed and will openly ask for help.

Last year, we held a very successful LETS Event: TED Talk revolving around individuality - this year, we held LETS Event II: TED Talk, with the theme of inclusivity. We had baked goods supplied by the inspiring Hand2Heart organisation who help raise awareness surrounding HIV/AIDS in Thailand. The speaker list was: Holly Dejsupa, Cheyenne De La Fuente, Sarah Lim, Eugene Grimaud and Priyansh Lunia, Jenny Tarin and Liam Coutts; in addition, we had Lauren Morling perform a musical act inbetween. We owe the success to the wonderful Mr Og-

den, Ms Jones, the housekeeping staff, the technicians, and everybody supporting us.

We believe inclusivity is where we celebrate not having to conform to the social norm to participate in a community, but rather, allowing all needs of diversity to be accepted so everybody has an equal opportunity to learn and live life. In this way, not only does inclusivity pertain to bullying, stigmatisation of mental health issues, or discrimination in general, but towards spreading love. This is why we chose inclusivity - put simply, everybody wants to be a part of something, but we wish to voice diversity is more powerful than conformity. We hope the LETS Event will continue its tradition in years to come when we leave - the power of voice is an incredible one I wish to share.�

The quality of the speeches and absolute empathy and sincerity expressed in them was really something to behold. We are very lucky to have students such as these to exemplify the values that we cherish as a school.

Have a wonderful half-term break and good luck to our Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award students and teachers led by Ms Kirsten Bennett, who will complete their Gold adventurous journey in New Zealand over the holiday.

Mick Smith, Principal, Secondary School

By Sara Markkanen, 12J

O

n Friday 5th February, the Patana Marine Conservation Group (PMCG) held a stall for Fin Free Friday. The purpose of the day was to inform the Bangkok Patana School community about the danger of shark finning and the importance of sharks in the coral reef ecosystem.

The PMCG wanted to shed light on the cruelty of the shark finning industry.

Most fishermen cut off the fin and throw the shark back into the ocean, meaning that the shark sinks to the bottom of the ocean and dies. At the stall, we had a shark origami making station and a pledge signing station. Students were able to educate themselves about shark finning, and decide to sign a pledge to not eat shark fin soup, to refuse to dine at places that serve shark fin and to inform friends and family about the health risks and environmental concerns of shark fin. Please don’t support shark fin eating establishments!

By Priyansh Lunia, 13B “If you believe in something, you must not just think or talk or human junk food - this may write, but must act.” - Alec Peterson seem harmless, but a bear’s digestive system is not accusast weekend, I was a part of a group of 12 Year 12 and tomed to such food and over Year 13 students who travelled to Petchaburi to volunteer time it has a devastating impact. at the Wildlife Friends of ThaiSadly, a Malayan sun bear at the land Centre (WFFT). WFFT is a centre has to get part of her jaw non-profit organisation that resremoved every year as a result. cues and rehabilitates disabled Finally, working with ‘Other and previously abused animals, Wildlife’ involved working with with the ultimate goal of putting pigs, tortoises, the cassowary, them back in the wild. slow lorises and, well, other Work began promptly at wildlife! Food bowls were made, 6.30am (as experienced IB stuenclosures were cleaned and dents, we weren’t intimidated by enrichments were made for the this at all!). We were split into slow lorises. These were little four groups: Primates 1, Primates packets of papaya and banana 2, Bears 1 and Other Wildlife. wrapped in mango leaves, gracefully tied with a single strand of WFFT houses three main specorn husk. It was quite the culinary sight to behold! cies of primate: gibbons, macaques and langurs. Working with I have been on the trip before, but I was astounded yet again the primates involved preparing over 150 food bowls, twice a about how much of an issue animal abuse is. In Thailand, people day, consisting mainly of fruits and vegetables. Water buckets make more money from the illegal animal trade than drug were filled and enclosures were also cleaned. Witnessing the trafficking. Yet, no one has ever been arrested for the former. primates elegantly swinging Animals are seen as livestock and not as wildlife, and this view is about their enclosures made us only fuelled by uneducated tourists and the public. realize how much these animals We NEED to make a change. Animals are an integral part of belonged in the wild. It was society, a fact that all the students and staff on the trip recogsuch a shame that they were nised last previously kept as pets and lost weekend. their wild instincts and behavWorking at iour. the centre Those working with bears enwas an eyecountered two species: the Maopening exlayan sun bear and the Asiatic perience and black bear. In order to instil the I could not natural foraging behaviour that have imagbears have in the wild, we had ined spendto hide their food in very creaing it any tive and obscure locations. Some students also had the opporother way. tunity to scrub one of the bear pools. Bears at the WFFT Centre were previously ‘temple bears’ or even pets. Before being rescued, many were previously fed items such as fizzy drinks and

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By Matt Baker, Head of Faculty, Science

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n Friday 12th February our new Science Centre was the venue for a CLEAPSS workshop for Chemistry teachers from the region; “A Discussion on Chemicals Used in Schools and a Practical Workshop - Bangkok Chemistry Teachers meet Uncle Bob”. CLEAPSS is a UK organisation, to which Bangkok Patana School subscribes, that provides detailed guidance to member schools regarding the safe teaching of the science.

Bob Worley is the Chemistry Advisor at CLEAPSS and he has a wealth of knowledge regarding the safe use of chemicals in schools, which he presented to the workshop participants. Bob’s real passion though is for Microscale Chemistry and the nearly 40 teachers who attended were lucky enough to learn at the feet of a true expert in this field. Bob had also invited another world leader in the field of Microscale Chemistry, Professor Supawan Tantayanon, from the Department of Chemistry at Chulalongkorn University, to present at the workshop. Professor Supawan is a past president of the Chemical Society of Thailand, a past president of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies

College

and she is the inventor of the Small Lab Kit II, which has brought practical chemistry to many schools throughout Thailand that previously could not perform experimental work.

The event was a great opportunity for all of our Chemistry teachers to refresh their skills and also learn some new ones. In a field as dynamic as Chemistry there will always be new knowledge and new techniques to keep up with and that’s why it’s important that our teachers demonstrate the attributes of being life-long learners that we hope we instil in all of our students.

Representative

Location

Date Time

Hogeschool Rotterdam - Rotterdam University -

Nuffic Neso Thailand, Dutch Embassy 23.02.16 18:00

Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

01.03.16 12:15

University of Groningen

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

02.03.16 12:15

St. John’s College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Thammasart Univeristy

Ms. Charutat Chandrasurin Senior Studies, 1st floor

04.03.16 12:15

Beloit College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Centre College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Clark University

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Earlham College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

The Evergreen State College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Goucher College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Hendrix College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Indiana University at Bloomington

-

Senior Studies

04.03.16 12:15

Juniata College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

McDaniel College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Millsaps College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

University of Puget Sound

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Purdue University

Bryant Priester

Senior Studies

04.03.16 12:15

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

-

Senior Studies

04.03.16 12:15

Saint Mary's College of California

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Wabash College

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

Willamette University

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

The College of Wooster

-

Senior Studies, 2nd floor

04.03.16 12:15

By Helen Thew, Assistant Principal Student Welfare

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he second major House Event of the year took place on Thursday 18th February, namely the House Quiz. Students competed for their House in one of four quizzes.

The Conference Centre saw students gathered in teams of 14 students from across the Year groups to tackle (unlucky for some!) 13 General Knowledge rounds. They faced rounds ranging from “the human body” to “4 letters ending in O”. Whilst in another part of the multipurpose Conference Centre, Current and World Affairs questions were on the menu. Meanwhile in the Theatre our Scientists and Technology students gathered to battle it out leaving our Art and Culture students picking their brains in the Black Box. This year we made use of mini whiteboards so that all Houses had a go at answering all of the questions.

All students performed very well and the number of correct answers given was impressive. A special well done goes to Chang House Team 3, Samui House Team 2, Phuket House Team 2 and Lanta House Team 1 for scoring the most points for their respective Houses in the General Knowledge quiz. A sample of some of the questions that they were asked by the Year 12 and Year 13 student MCs is given below. I invite you to have a go and see how well you would have done!

1.

Which of the following has the greatest number of chromosomes?

a b c d

Cat Human Fruit Fly Mulberry bush

5.

What is the capital city of Canada?

a b c d

2.

Which athlete has won the London marathon six times?

a

Paula Radcliffe

6.

b c d

Mo Farah David Weir Brendon Foster

It is the anniversary of a famous playwright’s death this year – whose is it?

a b c d

William Shakespeare Arthur Miller George Bernard Shaw Samuel Beckett

What is Gangsta Granny’s grandson’s secret passion?

a b c

Ballroom dancing Plumbing Wrestling

7.

How many bones does an adult have?

d

Welding

a b c d

166 186 206 300

a b c d

A synthetic fibre A type of poem A dialect of French A type of French slang

8.

How many statues of Thai kings are there at Ra-ja-bhak-ti Park, Hua Hin?

a

5

b c d

6 9 11

3.

4.

What is Verlan?

Montreal Quebec Toronto Ottawa

Once all the questions were asked and answered and the points all added together, it was a splendid win for Lanta House.

Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

House Lanta Phuket Samui Chang

House Points 200 150 100 50

I would just like to say thank you to all the faculties that submitted questions and to all the House Leaders who sorted out the team lists.

Our next major House Event takes place on the 22nd March, the Key Stage 3 House Swimming Gala.

Keep watching this space to see how your House does.

ANSWERS: Q1D, Q2C, Q3B, Q4D, Q5D, Q6A, Q7C,Q8B

THE ROAR Produced by the Athletics Council

SEASAC SWIM @ GIS KL 13 DAYS TO GO GOOD LUCK TO ALL OUR TIGERSHARKS Fixtures after half term TigerShark bootcamp over the half term break

Win Year: 13

Alex Year: 11

What is Alex’s favourite colour?

Pink Alex’s answer: Red

What is Win’s favourite colour?

Blue Win’s answer: Green

What is Alex’s favourite food?

Fried chicken Alex’s answer: BLT sandwich

What is Win’s favourite food?

Pizza Win’s answer: Sushi

What is Alex’s favourite sport?

Chess Alex’s answer: Badminton

What is Win’s favourite sport?

Volleyball Win’s answer: Volleyball

What makes Alex a good teammate?

He is good at badminton.

What makes Win a good teammate?

He is always calm, no matter what situation he is in.

Tuesday 1st March Volleyball U15 Boys’ HOME v ICS Volleyball U15 Girls’ Away v CIS Wednesday 2nd March Badminton U17 Boys’ Away v RIS Badminton U17 Girls’ Away v RIS Softball U17 Boys’ Away v RIS Softball U17 Girls’ Away v RIS Thursday 3rd March Softball U15 Boys’ HOME v RIS Tennis U15 Boys’ HOME v RIS Tennis U15 Girls’ HOME v RIS Volleyball U15 Boys’ HOME v RIS Volleyball U15 Girls’ Away v RIS Volleyball U13 Boys’ HOME v RIS Volleyball U13 Girls’ Away v RIS Friday 4th March SEASAC Swim @ GIS KL BISAC Athletics U19 @ ISB Saturday 5th March SEASAC Swim @ GIS KL BISAC Athletics U11 U13 U15 @ ISB Tennis U15 Girls’ BPS invitational Sunday 6th March SEASAC Swim @ GIS KL Tennis U15 Boys’ BPS invitational

www.facebook.com/bpssports

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ear Bangkok Patana Families, Contributors, Sponsors, Guests, Staff, Teachers and Volunteers!

It is my pleasure to welcome you, on this fun-filled and exciting day. This event marks the celebration of the richness and diversity of the Bangkok Patana community. The aim of this event is to come together, meet other parents and see children having fun together.

The support from sponsors and contributors is overwhelming! We thank you so much for the generosity you have shown towards the Bangkok Patana Family!

The organisation and coordination of this event is a mutual endeavour between the Parent Teacher Group (PTG) and the school, and without this teamwork and support from so many it would have been an impossible task. And we had fun doing it!

We could not make this event successful and safe without the help of numerous volunteers, including staff, teachers and students. The Thai PTG have been our invaluable partners in planning, organising and executing this event. To all of our wonderful friends and supporters of the PTG, a big thank you!

I would like to make special mention of the Fun Day team, whose commitment, enthusiasm and hard work have made it a pleasure to be part of this special event!

Daphne Seiler – Fun Day Coordinator

We had some fabulous raffle prizes this year!

To see if you have won, check out the list of prize winners by clicking here. Prizes can be claimed from the Reception Desk at the Front of School. All prizes must be claimed by Friday 11th March 2016.

By Genevieve Ahl, Services Manager

W

e would like to introduce and welcome our new Transport Manager, Khun Kamonchanok Saiyasuith (Bob). Khun Bob started work on Monday 15th February and we welcome him to the Bangkok Patana School community.

Khun Bob can be contacted via email kasa@patana.ac.th or via the Transport Office.

We would like to wish all our Transport users a wonderful half term break and we look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 29th February.

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

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ongratulations to our Varsity teams who participated in the NIST Friendship Tournament last weekend.

Badminton Boys’ Badminton Girls’

Champions 3rd Place

Softball Boys’ Softball Girls’

2nd Place 2nd Place

It was a great start to the season. Well done.

Tickets available now at Neilson Hays Library.

Library non-members 250THB/ticket Library members 200THB/ticket

12th March 2016 13th March 2016 19th March 2016 20th March 2016

3:00pm to 5:00pm 3:00pm to 5:00pm 3:00pm to 5:00pm 3:00pm to 5:00pm

To book tickets: Call: 02-233 1731 Email: neilson.library@gmail.com

Anapana (Mindfulness of Breathing) teaches children improved concentration skills and enhances calmness of the mind.

This technique helps to relieve anxiety and is very useful at exam time to calm those nerves, but also for every day life.

The next Anapana Meditation course will be given on Sunday 6th March for children aged between 8 - 16 years.

The course is completely free!

To enrol or for further information, please contact Eva Sophonpanich at evasophon@hotmail.com Interested in reading a little more? Click on the link: http:// www.children.dhamma.org/en/children/about-meditation.shtml

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