A note from the principal
06-02-2026
At the heart of our Primary School is a commitment to fostering belonging, with relationships built on respect, care, trust, empathy and kindness. We hope this is something you experience when you are on campus and in your interactions with our community.
However, in a school as large and busy as ours, it can sometimes be hard to know who to speak to when, naturally, a question or reflection comes up. If you ever would like to talk through any aspect of your child’s learning or experience, your Class Teacher is a natural first point of contact. They know your child well and are always happy to listen and support. A warm welcome also extends for parents to pop into the Primary Office for a conversation with myself or any member of the Primary Leadership Team.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead.
Sarah McCormack
Upcoming events and diary dates
| Date | Event | Location | Who | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th February | ECA Block C Starts | |||
| 10th February | Primary Parent Workshop: Calm and Connected - Supporting Students at Home to Enhance Engagement at School | 8 - 9am Primary Hall | ||
| 13th February | Primary Lunar New Year Assembly | 10 - 11am Sports Hall | ||
| 16th - 20th February | Half Tern Break | School Closed | ||
| 23rd - 27th February | Primary Science Week | |||
| 24th February | Primary Parents Workshop: Rebuilding Coral Reefs in Thailand by Piers Baille | 8 - 9am Primary Hall | ||
| 25th February | Primary Parents Workshop: Safeguarding Training for Parent Volunteers | 8 - 9am Con405 |
Next week is ‘Performance week’ in music. Students will have signed themselves up to take part in this during their regular music lessons. If your child is taking part, please ensure they bring any instruments or sheet music needed for the event. Please contact the music team for any queries about this Mr Charlie chmc@patana.ac.th , Ms Rachel rast@patana.ac.th and Ms Lisa lima@patana.ac.th
Lunar New Year Assembly:
A reminder that during the half-term break, many families will celebrate the Lunar New Year. At school, we will celebrate this a few days early during our annual assembly in the Sports Hall at 10am on February 13th.
Children may attend school wearing red, or other traditional dress. Please send children in safe footwear appropriate for outdoor play. If they have PE they may either change at school (Y5) or bring their PE kit to change into after the assembly (Y6).
Parents are invited to attend and watch from the upper balcony.
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.
Competitions!
Recorders in Music
Recorders in Music
After half term in Music lessons, children will be learning more about playing the recorder. Many students will have an instrument at home, please can these be sent into school for music lessons. If you do not have one, they can be purchased from the school shop. In case a child doesn’t bring one to their lesson, we do also have spares in the department which they can borrow. Should you have any questions, please contact Mr Charlie chmc@patana.ac.th.
Illness procedures
Please find below our current guidance for flu/fever symptoms and school expectations for children returning to school.
What action to take:
- The Child: Symptomatic treatment is given to relief from fever. Children should be kept at home until the children are feeling better. Influenza is most infectious from about a day before symptoms start until about 3 days later. The DfEE/DH guidelines on infection control in schools and nurseries give no recommended time of exclusion for an infected child: a child should return once they are well enough. Concept changes anyone with fever and flu-like symptoms need to stay at home.
- The Parent: If the child has fever or flu like symptoms they should stay at home and seek medical advice if necessary. Annual Seasonal Influenza vaccine is recommended. Clearance and medical cert. is required to submit.
- The Class / School: Frequent hand washing may reduce the spread of infection. It is recommended that immunisation be offered to certain health care workers involved in the direct care of and/or support to patients. Social service employers have also been asked to consider offering immunisation to certain staff involved in the direct care of and/or support to clients. Encourage the student to cover mouth and nose with disposable tissue when cough and sneeze. Provide hand washing facility, routine disinfecting and cleaning. Refer to Good Hygiene Guidelines Section 2.1.
- The Local Health Authority: Requirement to report in the school then this should be reported to the BMA.
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.
Getting to class on time
Students in Years 1-6 enter their buildings at 7:30.
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.
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.
Where and when can parents take photos and videos when on campus?
Smart Watches and Phones
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.
Birthday Treats
Children may bring in a special treat to share with the class.
Please contact the class teacher to arrange a suitable time.
- Brownies, cupcakes, small donuts, and cake slices are easier for your child to give out.
· We do not give out drinks (e.g., bubble tea, sodas)
· Please reduce plastic packaging.
· We do not allow party bags or other gifts to be given out at school, either for birthdays, or other celebrations.
- Please agree a time with the teacher in advance.
- Parents can join in the celebrations.
Class birthday celebrations
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.
We are a NUT FREE school. When ordering birthday treats, please ensure that there are no nuts or nut products (such as Nutella or peanut butter) used.
Parent Workshops
Follow this link to find streams and presentations from all of our past Parent Workshops.
The Year 4 Curriculum
Please click the image below to find out more about this term's learning in Year 4
Digging in the Dirt!
RSE
Great books about puberty, sex and growing up
If you are not always sure what to share with your child, or how to start a conversation, the books below can be found in the Parents’ Section of the Secondary Library. Some are written specifically to support parents and caregivers as their child navigates growing up.
We have recently added two new books to this section which are inclusive and comprehensive.
- The Parents’ Guide to Explaining Sex
- Sex Positive talks to have with kids
Uniform
There have been some queries about footwear on PE days. Please see the uniform policy below:
Swim days – children to come to school in their school uniform and to wear their swimming costume under their school uniform ( Swimming kit: towel, swimming goggles and swimming hat (long hair) and underwear to change into after)
PE days – PE kits to be worn to school and children will then change into their school uniform after PE.
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.
Technology
Blogs
Click on the image to visit the Year 4 blogs.
This is where you will find an overview of your child's learning along with their home learning tasks and any important messages from your child's class teacher.
Please check your child's class blog weekly to stay informed about their learning.
Please encourage your child to complete their home learning.
Events In The World
You can keep up to date with current events around the world by watching Newsround, an age appropriate news show. Being aware of current events will help your child to make connections with a range of themes when reading in class, and it is an ideal opportunity for you to model discussing your opinions and using experiences to draw connections between events and people.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround
Birthdays!
The following Year 4 students will be celebrating their birthdays over the next week:
Freddie 4S, Jonas 4D, Kayne 4B, Quinn 4L
We wish you a fabulous birthday!
General Information
Temporary Guardianship Form - let us know if both parents are going away and leaving a student with a friend, nanny or a maid.
Important Contacts
| Department | Contact Number | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Office | 02 785 2258 | primary@patana.ac.th |
| Transport | 02 785 2470 | transport@patana.ac.th |
| Primary Nurse | 02 785 2478 02 785 5460 | nurse@patana.ac.th |
| ECAs | 02 785 2231 | eca@patana.ac.th |
| PTG | Year 4 PTG Rep - Joyce Pau Ka Yan ptg4@patana.ac.th Primary Representative - Bharati Lachmandas ptgprimary@patana.ac.th | |
| Year Group Leaders | Year Group Leader (Pastoral): Ms Sarah Harper saha@patana.ac.th Year Group Leader (Curriculum): Ms Dominique Chandler doch@patana.ac.th |