Year 2 Newsletter Week 15 - 04.12.25

A note from Mrs McCormack (Primary Principal):

4th December 2025

It’s been a super week in Primary with a visit from author Mark Grist plus the opportunity to speak with a real-life adventurer from Antarctica! Next week, we look forward to our Swim Galas.

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend!

Sarah McCormack

Learning

Safe, Curious and Kind

PTG Big Night Out New Date

The PTG Big Night Out has a new date and venue: 31st January at CoCo Chill EMsphere. We hope to see you there!

Year 2 Shoebox Appeal - Children of the Forest

Every year at this time, Year 2 parents and children put together a Christmas Shoebox containing a selection of small gifts for the children at our charity, Children of the Forest. I am pleased to say that we will be putting shoeboxes together again this Christmas.

Children of the Forest is a registered charity close to the Thai - Myanmar border, that supports stateless and homeless children with education and healthcare. Your kindness and support throughout the year make a big difference to the life chances of these children. The shoeboxes also bring great joy to those who would not normally receive a gift for Christmas.

I am hoping that you would be kind enough to put together a shoebox, with the following contents.

The charity has requested the following:

• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Soap and shampoo
• Face cloth
• Coloured pencils or crayons
• Colouring book(s) or sketch book(s)
• Candy packets or sweets
• Small snack (eg. small pack of crisps or similar – no chocolate and no nuts)
• Small packet of biscuits
• Small toy suitable for either a boy or girl.

Please ensure all items are new and clean.

Please wrap the box but do not seal it – the children will make a card to go inside.

Please involve your child and ask them to help you select the gifts.

Please send the shoebox into school anytime between Monday 1st December and Thursday 11th December, as the boxes will be transported to the charity on Friday 12th December.

Thank you for your kindness and generosity at this time of year.

Year 2 Team

Please - No Christmas Gifts for Classmates!

Our children are already very excited about Christmas and the holiday season.

There will be a number of exciting events over the next two weeks.

Please note, we do not allow party bags or other gifts to be given out at school, either for birthdays, or other celebrations.

This includes giving out Christmas gifts to the class, such as small toys and candy-canes.

Our students benefit from a calm start to the day, and giving out presents can be disruptive.

Many Primary Students bring in a gift box for other children in Thailand.

This is part of their year group charity work and has our full support.

Black 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.

No Smart Watches

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, taking photographs, 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.

Parent Workshops

Parent Workshops & Presentations - Bangkok Patana School

Class Blogs

Please visit our class blogs every Friday to find out about our learning in each of the classes!

Here is the link to the Year 2 page: Welcome to Year 2 - Bangkok Patana School

Curriculum

To find out about our Year 2 curriculum please visit our Curriculum page.

General Information

External Competitions that fall on a school day

At Patana, we have many students who excel in their external hobbies and interests.

When they practice hard, and demonstrate resilience and perseverance, they may be selected for competition.

If you have a child who is invited to compete, whether locally and internationally, we will support your child’s endeavours.

However, we do ask that parents give the class teacher/tutor sufficient notice of their absence from school.

Many of our lessons require group collaboration, and this will help teachers to plan accordingly.

Preventing the spread of colds, flu and general sickness

Please help us to prevent outbreaks of cold or flu as we head into the rainy season.

Children with cold or flu (influenza) symptoms should be kept at home until they are completely recovered. Even when the main symptoms have gone, your child may still need time to return to full strength.

Please do not send your child back to school too soon, even if they are no longer in the contagious phase. If your child is still coughing or sneezing, please keep them at home and limit their contact with other children.

A child who has a fever should be kept at home until ‘fever-free’ for a minimum of 24 hours.

Influenza is a serious and contagious infection that affects the nose, throat, and respiratory system. The virus is commonly spread through droplets in the air, allowing infection to spread quickly. When unsure, always seek medical advice, especially if a child has a chronic condition e.g., asthma.

If Influenza is confirmed, please send a copy of the medical certificate to Nurse@patana.ac.th

If a child vomits at school or at home, they must remain at home for at least 24 hours after the last episode. This helps keep all students and staff safe and healthy. Vomiting is often caused by contagious viruses, and children can still spread the infection even when they appear to feel better. The 24-hour period allows time for symptoms to fully pass, reduces the risk of further vomiting at school, and ensures your child has had enough rest and fluids to return safely to learning.

Thank you for your support in keeping our school community healthy.

Getting to class on time

Students in Years 1-6 enter their buildings at 7:30am.

This gives everyone time to organise their belongings and settle themselves in, ready to learn and in a calm state of mind.

The register is taken at 7:40, and children who arrive after 7:40 are marked as late.

If there is a pattern of lateness during the term, the class teacher will share this information with you so that changes to timings can be made.

Sometimes, a family will need to adjust their arrival time so that a child can be walked in (Years 1 and 2) or dropped off without feeling rushed or stressed.

The start of the day is a very important part of our daily classroom routine.

Teachers use this time to re-set expectations as students switch from home to school mode. This is a time when school staff can check in with individual students and make sure that everyone feels welcomed into class.

Allergies and Dietery Requirements

Please ensure your child/ren's medical information is fully up to date on our systems.

Should your child suffer from critical conditions related to their diet they are no longer able to eat any birthday treats brought into school from outside. 

We encourage parents now to provide a small box of dry snacks/treats that their child can eat, which the class teacher can keep, and use during any celebrations in class.

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 2:30pm.

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.

Birthday celebrations

The following students are/were celebrating this week...

Len (2M) 

Pippa (2F) 

We cannot give out party bags or gifts - please keep these for any sort of celebration that you do out of school.

If you would like to send in some birthday treats for your child to share with their class, please arrange a day with your child's class teacher. We will only be able to manage individual items like brownies, doughnuts, or cupcakes. 

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.

Please remember we are a nut-free Primary School and also check with the class teacher for any other dietary requirements of the class.