Year 1 Newsletter | Term 2 - Week 1 | 16/1/26

We are inquisitive!

A note from the Principal

16-01-26

Happy New Year and welcome to 2026. It has been a pleasure to see our students return this week after the three-week break, settling back into school life with energy and positivity.

As we move into the cooler season, we are also mindful that this can coincide with periods of poorer air quality. The safety and well-being of our students remain our priority. I encourage all parents to familiarise themselves with our AQI guidance, which is available on FireFly. This guidance outlines the actions we take in school to ensure students remain safe and well during periods of reduced air quality.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support as we begin the new year together.

Sarah McCormack

We Follow Instructions!

Positive Behaviours – Positive Attitudes

This term in Year 1, we are focusing on following instructions. This is an important skill for children at this age because it helps them to:

• feel confident and successful in the classroom
• understand what is expected of them
• take part safely in lessons and routines
• develop listening, attention, and self-control

Being able to follow instructions supports learning, friendships, and independence, and helps the classroom run calmly and smoothly for everyone.

How can you help at home?

This behaviour can be focused on at home too! You can help by:

• Giving clear, simple instructions, one or two steps at a time
  e.g. "Get your bag and stand by the car".
  
  
• Asking your child to repeat an instruction back to you
  e.g. "Can you tell me what you need to do?”
  
  
• Building instructions into daily routines, such as getting ready in the morning, tidying toys, or setting the table for a meal.
  e.g. "Please set the table for everyone for dinner."
  
  
• Staying calm and consistent if an instruction needs to be repeated
  e.g. "Remember, first the shoes, then we can go."
  
  
• Praising effort!
  e.g. "Thank you for listening and doing what I asked!"

These small moments at home make a big difference and help children build confidence in following instructions both in and out of school.

School Photos

Please ensure that your child comes to school in their full uniform on the day. A reminder that black shoes are part of the Primary school uniform. Please see the image below for guidance on the style of shoes required:

If your child is absent on the day a catch up opportunity will be communicated at a later date.

We're looking forward to what is always a special day!

 Upcoming events

Young Mathematical Story Authors!

Fun Day 2026

Home Language Books

Parent Workshops

Please click on the link below to view School Workshops and Presentations for this academic year:

Parent Workshops & Presentations

Class Blogs

Year 1 Curriculum

Temporary Guardianship Form 

Temporary Guardianship Form - let us know if both parents are going away and leaving a student with a friend, nanny or a maid.

Notification of Temporary Guardianship August 2020.docx

Allergies

Playground use before and after school

Students are not permitted to use any of the climbing or play equipment before 7:30 a.m.

There is no staff supervision in any play area after 2:30.

The accompanying adult is therefore responsible for the safe supervision of the child.

We encourage parents and family employees to take children straight home at the end of the school day.

Class birthday celebrations

We enjoy mini birthday celebrations in class but ask that you pre-arrange a time with the teacher.

Please note, this is a small celebration within the class. It is not a ‘birthday party’ and siblings and friends from other classes are not allowed to attend.

Birthday treats should be small, with minimal plastic wrapping. Please only send enough for your child’s class.

Individual portions such as small brownies, small cupcakes, and half-donuts are easy to give out.

All food sent into school must be nut free.

As school policy, we do not give out party bags, drinks or gifts sent in by families.

Please do not give out any of these items at school as this can cause unintended problems.

School Shoes

As part of their Patana school uniform, students wear plain black school shoes or sturdy trainers.

Shoes should be durable and support the whole foot.

All shoes require at least a strap to keep the shoe firmly in place.

Children can wear lace-up shoes if they can tie up their laces independently.

Plain black shoes can be sourced in many shops and department stores in Bangkok.

If your child has to wear other shoes for a specific reason, please let us know.

Shoes may need replacing mid-year.

Taking photos and videos of students on Campus

At Bangkok Patana School we welcome parents on to our campus.

As part of this agreement, all parents must agree to our Parents’ Safeguarding Code of Conduct.

This includes:

Never taking images in toilets, changing rooms or areas where privacy is expected.

Using judgement before taking and before sharing images of students.

During a regular school day, parents may only take images of their own child – unless they have sought and received permission from another family to include their child in a group photo.

Family employees with access to the campus must also abide by this rule.

Whilst we encourage our students to learn how to tell the time, smart watches offer additional online functions like that of a mobile phone.

Features such as gaming, internet browsing, and the ability to make and receive calls are potentially distracting in class and can pose a risk for safety and privacy.

Within the Primary School, students are required to keep their smart watch safely stored in their bag during the school day.

Smart watches can be taken out of bags once a child exits the school gates at 2:30pm or once their ECA has ended at 3:30pm or 4:30pm.

Students are not allowed to take or send images while using the school bus.

Smart watches are expensive items. Please be aware that the school takes no responsibility for loss or damage of smart watches.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in maintaining a safe and positive learning environment for all our students.

Useful contacts

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to: 

Seojin (1S)

Have a great weekend!