Weekly Update #2, 30 August 2024

School Communication

We’d like to remind you that important school news will now be sent directly to your inbox via email from our Heads of Department and Teachers. Every Friday afternoon, you will receive a link to our Weekly Update on the website, which includes vital announcements about meetings, upcoming events, and key dates for your diary. The Weekly Update also highlights student achievements, both in and out of school, along with exciting activities and projects happening around campus.

For quick updates and reminders in English, Thai, Russian, and Mandarin, please scan the QR codes below or in the atrium to receive regular important news. Don’t forget to follow our social media outlets for lots of pictures and videos showcasing the school in action here: HeadStart Cherngtalay Facebook Page.

Thank you for staying connected with us!

Pick Up your Parent Card

New Student ID Cards are being introduced across both campuses. Students have the option to keep using the cards they already have or upgrade their card with the new design for 200 Baht, paid at the school cashiers in the front office.

Clarification of Morning Drop-off Procedures

We sincerely appreciate the efforts made by our entire school community to help us improve parking and traffic flow on the school site. We trust you will agree that the daily drop-off routine is getting better with each school day.

Please be reminded that our school buildings open at 7:45 am.

We understand that some families will arrive before 7:45 am and we ask that parents follow these guidelines to ensure children are safe and in the right place at the right time.

Families with Foundation and Year 1 and 2 Children

• Park in the underground car park and enter via the turnstiles

• Students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and should wait in the Atrium. The parent or guardian is responsible for the supervision of the child until they bring the child to their classroom. The Foundation and Primary building is accessible from 7.45 am. The parent or guardian must walk the child to their class once the Foundation and Primary building is open.

Families with Year 3 - 6 Children

• Drop off at the main entrance - “Kiss & Go”. Students should remain in the Atrium and should walk to their class when the class opens. Please note that there is no designated supervision in the atrium or playground at this time and students will be expected to walk to their classrooms on their own once our school buildings op at 7:45 am.

• Parents are also welcome to park in the underground car park and enter via the turnstiles with their child. In this case, the parent should remain with their child in the atrium and walk them to their class once the classroom is open. Please note that children in Year 3 - 6 should not use the Foundation playground.

• Please note that due to the location of the Primary Playground, it is not open before the start of school.

Families with Secondary Children

• Drop-off at the Secondary Entrance - “Kiss & Go”; your Secondary age child/children should wait in the entrance area at the front of the Secondary building or they may play on the football pitch. These areas are not supervised before the start of the school day and students are expected to walk to class once the National Anthem is played at 8 am.

• Parents are welcome to park and walk their child into school.

• Parents should not drop-off a Secondary child along with their Primary and/or Foundation siblings at the Secondary Drop-Off. All Foundation and Primary children should be dropped off at the main entrance.

Parent Fitness Update

I’m delighted that our parent fitness classes at both campuses continue to be very popular. Everyone is welcome to join the sessions which run every day between 08.00-09.00.

Please be informed that sign up is on a first-come-first served basis and we can not accept more than 25 people at City Campus and 30 people at Cherngtalay campus (the 30 maximum rule at Cherngtalay will be reduced to 25 maximum people when the weight machines arrive very soon). We also cannot allow anyone to enter the class after the 08.00 start time.

Please see the posters below for more information about what sessions we have to offer and we look forward to seeing you there. Coach Jordi - Community Fitness Manager

Parent Meeting: Introduction to Foundation and the EYFS Curriculum on Thursday 5th September

We invite all Foundation parents to join us for our latest parent meeting when our Foundation team will introduce to our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum. It will also be a great opportunity to meet other parents and members of our community. Our Thai, Russian and Mandarin speaking admin teams will be on hand to provide translation services. We look forward to seeing you there! Thursday 5th September 2024 from 8:30-9:30am in the Secondary Indoor Learning Centre (SILC).

Getting Active in Maths in Year 5

Year 5 really make the most of ‘Active Maths Friday’! This week, the children used their knowledge of place value studied this week to play place value games. Lots of fun and learning was had this morning! Mr Carroll - Year 5 Teacher

Term 1 Focus - 5xR (Replace, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle): SDG12 - Responsible Consumption.

HeadStart is well known for the work it does to minimise its impact on the environment and foster more sustainable practices. As a school community we are committed to ensuring we can work towards even greater sustainable practices, within the school and within the community. Working with the school leadership team we have created the HeadStart Eco School as a way of organising and enhancing our practices. Over the coming years we will work to raise Awareness, identify Actions we can take, Assimilate sustainable practices into the classroom and curriculum and Advocate for change throughout the community.

Welcome to the first of our regular updates and if you want to find out more about Eco schools check out this short video:

Eco Committee Campaigns

Over the next few weeks we will seek to recruit a new cohort of Eco Ambassadors from Year 1 through to Year 9. Once in place we will begin designing our initiatives and campaigns around the following ½ termly themes:

• 5XR = Replace, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle

• Climate

• Water

• Sustainable Communities

We plan to introduce a number of successful campaigns including our Eco Brick Challenge campaign, our Clean Air Campaign, our system of paper collection and recycling and our ChangeMaker Program. We are keen to build lasting relations with organisations, schools and business here on Phuket who share our desire to enculture Sustainable Learning for a Sustainable World. We want to enhance our practices and do more to help the wider community. To achieve this, we need you, our island community, to help build the wider capacity of our learners, our parents and all those that call Phuket home. Together we can be ChangeMakers and help bring about the change we want to see in the world. If you are interested in working with us in some capacity, be it as a partner, provider or educator, please contact the HeadStart Eco School Coordinator, Mr. Rob Gratton [email protected].

Community Beach Clean

New year and new HeadStart Community Beach Clean schedule. We currently run Community Beach Cleans in the South of the island and in the coming year will be looking to expand this into the Cherngtalay area. Our next beach clean will be held at Rawai beach, on Sunday the 6th of October (9:30 am @ We Cafe). Once dates and locations for the North are confirmed we will share these with you. At all beach cleans we will provide collection bags and of course House Points for every participant. Last year Green Dragons were the most represented House.

Ongoing Collaboration between HeadStart and the University of Stirling in marine science and conservation

As part of a large international environmental research project focusing on plastic pollution in Southeast Asia and the impact of sunscreen on the ocean’s ecosystems, Professor Sabine Matallana-Surget and Freya Johnson from the University of Stirling are conducting fieldwork in the Phuket Region.

We invite you to complete an anonymous online survey using the JISC survey builder endorsed by the University of Stirling. Minimal personal data—specifically age and nationality—to help identify trends while ensuring respondent privacy will be collected. Participants have the option to skip any questions they are uncomfortable with, maintaining ethical standards. Thank you for completing the survey which can be accessed via the link here: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/stirling/sunscreen-protection-and-single-use-plastic-consumption-in-th-1

Did You Know: HeadStart promotes Responsible Consumption through minimising food waste. At lunch time students separate their food waste into different bins. This is then collected, every day, by local farmers to be turned into food for pigs and ducks on the island. Food that is served but not eaten is also given to farmers whereas food that is cooked and not served is shared with local families in need through our food partners, Scholars of Sustenance.

Something To Think About: Have clothes you need to get rid of? Not in a condition to donate to charity? Then head on down to Central Mall and Uniqlo who have started collecting unwanted clothes and fabrics. These collection bins can be found by the checkout.

Interesting Links: Making recycling easy here on Phuket https://sustainablemaikhaofoundation.org/recycling/