Head of School’s Update 5th August 2021
Dear Parents, We know how much you value regular contact from the school, so we wanted to reach out with […]
Dear Parents,
We know how much you value regular contact from the school, so we wanted to reach out with some updates in the lead up to the start of the academic year.
Times are challenging and this may not be the start of term we had hoped for. Like you, we wish we could open our school gates to our wonderful students, but we will be starting Term 1 with our CSL provision. Whatever shape the next weeks take, we are committed to upholding the Patana spirit and values and that our priorities will remain the same as if in a ‘normal’ school year. That is, to make the learning as meaningful and enjoyable as possible for all the children. Our Foundation Board continue to work closely guiding us with the ongoing stewardship of the organisation. It is our goal to remain flexible and responsive to our community.
This week our new Primary and Secondary Principals started with us and we are really excited to have them on board. Sarah McCormack, the Primary Principal, is enthusiastic to trial some new initiatives within Primary, including learning packs for children and more frequent interaction with their teachers. Matt Seddon, the Secondary Principal, plans to draw on some learning, community and well-being initiatives that were successful in his previous school in Hong Kong to further develop and enrich our CSL programme. In our Senior Leadership Team, we now have joint experience of leading school communities in Thailand, Ireland and Hong Kong through the COVID crisis.
Recorded Lessons
For those of you still based overseas, we can now automatically record all lessons through Microsoft Teams. This will make them available for those students who may not be able to attend live lessons in the same time zone as Bangkok.
Cross Campus Initiatives
We know how much students are missing their extra-curricular activities. Therefore, we are working on creating a schedule of live online ECA options after school, which students can opt into. We will also offer one-to-one virtual instrumental music lessons.
In response to the enquiries about Library use, we are delighted to share with you that we are introducing an online click and collect service for students to regularly refresh their reading materials at home.
Learning Pods
As a major initiative, we are seeking approval to allow us to safely bring small groups (learning pods of four) into school to both enjoy and use the facilities as well as have face-to-face time with teachers and peers. We believe this is important at both a Primary and Secondary level for a number of reasons:
a.) Focused small groups for intense learning
b.) Well-being
c.) Socialisation
d.) Practical work and experiments – Science, Design+Technology, Visual and Performing Arts and others.
COVID Management
On a positive note, the Bangkok Patana community has a high vaccination rate. Over 90% of our staff are fully vaccinated and this past Sunday just under 500 people in our parent community, who had pre-registered in June, received vaccinations. We will be asking everyone to complete a travel and health declaration as we begin the academic year. Please do contact our Head Nurse, Khun Patama (pach@patana.ac.th) if you or anyone in your household tests positive for COVID.
The Principals along with the Heads of Libraries, ECAs and Sports will write to you before the start of term with further details. Our Admissions team will be reaching out to new families on Monday 9th August with an induction update and details of an IT orientation.
We will continue to prioritise outstanding learning and teaching, whilst really looking after each other, so that we can ensure the success of our students this year.
Best wishes,
Senior Leadership Team
