Weekly Update #18, 16 January 2025

Save the Date – International Day 2026

We are delighted to extend a warm invitation to all our families to join us for our International Day celebrations. This event promises to be a vibrant and culturally enriching experience, showcasing the diversity that makes our school community so special.

📆 Date: Friday 6th March 2025

⏰ Time: 14:30-16:30

📍 Venue: Chaofah City Campus

Our International Day event will feature a colourful array of cultural performances, international cuisine, interactive exhibits, and a warm atmosphere of unity. It’s an excellent opportunity for us to come together, celebrate our global community, and foster a deeper understanding of the rich tapestry of cultures represented at HeadStart.

We would be honoured by your presence as we celebrate diversity, promote cultural exchange, and strengthen the bonds that make HeadStart International School a truly international learning environment.

Call for Parent Volunteers: Find Your Feet Careers Fair

We invite members of our parent community to take part in our Find Your Feet Careers Fair for Year 11 and 12 students, taking place on Monday 2nd March, from 8:00am to 10:30am, at our Chaofah City Campus. This event gives students the opportunity to explore career pathways and speak directly with professionals from a wide range of industries. Parents who are willing to share insights into their career or business are warmly encouraged to volunteer. No formal presentation is required – just informal conversations with students.

If you would like to take part, please register using the link here.

We would also appreciate it if you could share this opportunity with other parents or contacts on the island who may be interested. Thank you for supporting our students as they explore future pathways.

Join Us for the Year 1 and 2 Play & Picnic

We invite our Year 1 and 2 families to the Chaofah City Campus for a morning dedicated to community and play. This event offers a chance for parents and children to engage in organised games and enjoy a magic show together on our covered football pitch. It is an ideal opportunity to meet other families and enjoy a relaxed start to the weekend.

Families should bring their own picnic snacks and blankets to enjoy on the grass. As this is a family-focused event, we require parents to accompany and supervise their children throughout the morning. We look forward to seeing our younger learners and their families participating in this collaborative session.

📝 Action: Scan the QR code or register via the Play & Picnic Registration Form

☀️ Essentials: Please bring a sunhat, sunscreen, drinking water (or a re-usable bottle) and food to share.

Calling All Vendors – Lunar New Year Market

We are pleased to announce that our next market will take place on Friday 6th February from 2.40pm. The theme for this market will be ‘Lunar New Year’ – we are interested in home-cooked food and refreshments with a new year theme and handmade crafts that celebrate this important festival. If you are interested in becoming a vendor at this exciting community event, please contact Khun Boss at [email protected]

Term 2 Mandarin Language Day

We are excited to invite you to a vibrant Mandarin Language Day event on Saturday, 7th February, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at HeadStart Cherngtalay Campus!

Event Highlights:

• Spring Festival craft activities
• Spring Festival riddle guessing
• Spring Festival Temple Fair

We kindly invite you to fill out this form so we can arrange the relevant activities for you. Please complete the form by Monday, 26th January. Thank you for your cooperation and support!

Half-term Football Camp @ Headstart Chaofah City Campus

The Football Camp offers an incredible opportunity for players to tap into their football potential, enhance their skills, and enjoy a fun-filled experience at HeadStart International School, all within a vibrant and energetic environment!

The Camp starts at 09:00 (drop off only after 08:30) and finishes at 14:00 with lunch provided!

Suitable for girls and boys in Year 2 to Year 8. Players will be split into the appropriate groups, depending on their age and abilities. Expect high-quality coaching, lots of fun and medals to be won! To sign up please contact Coach Frost at [email protected]. Limited spaces available.

Join ‘The Takeoff Run’ – PPAO Mini-Marathon at Mai Khao

We invite our HeadStart families to join over 2,000 runners already registered for “The Takeoff Run” at Mai Khao Beach. This exciting community event takes place on Sunday, 22nd February, set against the unique backdrop of the airport take-off point.

There are three categories to choose from: a standard 11.35 km Mini-marathon, a 6.16 km Fun Run, and a “Plogging Run” for those keen to help keep our beaches clean while exercising. Entry is just 200 Baht per person, which includes a running shirt, medal, food, and insurance. The event starts at 05:00 am, with races flagging off at 06:00 am.

To register, scan the QR code in the poster to follow the official LINE group or visit this link.

Parent Meetings in January

We have a series of meetings designed to strengthen the partnership between home and school. From essential details regarding upcoming Key Stage 3 residential trips to practical workshops on Thai homework and emotional regulation strategies, these sessions provide valuable insights for parents. We look forward to welcoming you to the Primary Hall to discuss how we can best support your child’s development together.

UPrep Meetings

Our UPrep team continues to host vital sessions to help families navigate the higher education landscape. We encourage parents to attend the focused talk on applying to Asian universities to explore these diverse opportunities, or to visit our drop-in session for personalised advice. These meetings are a great opportunity to ensure you are fully equipped to support your child’s future pathway.

Delivering Hope and Happiness to Phuket Sunshine Village

On Saturday 10th January – or more aptly, ‘Children’s Day’ – our Primary Student Councils from both Chaofah and Cherngtalay visited Phuket Sunshine Village to celebrate the success of our Term 1 fundraising. Just as importantly, they were there to deliver a fun sports day for the children of PSV.

It was a morning filled with energy and laughter as our young student leaders organised 6 action-packed games and engaged warmly with the children at the village. It was also wonderful to see our recently donated playground equipment being put to good use, serving as a central meeting point for play and joy.

The visit concluded with the official handover of the incredible 650,038 baht raised by the HeadStart community. This event was a perfect example of HeadStart students understanding their ability to share good fortune and build strong ties with the local community. Well done to every student who participated and helped make the day so memorable.

PISAC 7s Success for the Panthers

A huge well done to our academy teams who competed at the PISAC 7s football tournament this weekend. It was a remarkable experience for the Panthers Academy as we proudly fielded eight teams—five from HeadStart Chaofah and three from our Cherngtalay Campus.

Congratulations to our trophy winners:

🥇 U13 Girls (Chaofah) – Champions with a dominant 6-1 final win!

🥈 U11 Girls (Chaofah) – 2nd Place after showing fantastic progress.

🥉 U11 Boys (Chaofah) – 3rd Place in a highly competitive section.

More importantly, this event demonstrated the true stregnth of the Panthers Academy with boys and girls from both campuses displaying their unity as spirited performances truly shone throughout the tournament. Whether facing triumph or challenge, our players showed incredible camaraderie and togtherness, representing our school with pride.

Lastly, a huge thank you to the parents and our footballing community who came to support our teams at the tournament! Well done HeadStart Panthers!

Go Panthers at the U9 Soccer 7s!

Good luck to our Chaofah Panthers U9 team at the U9 Soccer 7s. Remember that teamwork, friendship and enjoyment are the keys to creating great memories! We look forward to amazing support from our fans joining us at BISP for all the action this Friday and Saturday. Go Panthers!

Saturday Chess Academy

We are pleased to announce the launch of Saturday Chess Academy sessions this term, offering students an opportunity to deepen their skills beyond regular ECA lessons. Sessions will take place at our Chaofah City Campus. The Saturday Chess Academy is designed to build on and expand the material covered during weekday ECA lessons. For students who are keen to make steady progress, the ideal combination is participation in both ECA chess and the Saturday Academy.

There will be a total of 13 sessions on selected Saturdays from 24 January to 13th June. FUN-damentals (2 hours, 13 sessions, 10,900 THB) is for Beginners and Intermediate players who already know the rules and moves. Advanced Chess Lab (3 hours, 13 sessions, 12,850 THB) is for Advance players and is by invitation/approval only.

Registration

Parents can register for FUN-damentals (Saturday session) via this link.

Places in the Advanced Chess Lab are limited and recommended for students who have placed in the top 10 of school chess tournaments. Exceptions may be considered, but students must already be comfortable with core chess concepts and terminology, as sessions will focus on advanced ideas. Registration is available only via this link.

Sentence-Building Word Card Challenge in Year 5 Mandarin Foreign Language Class

Our Year 5 Mandarin Foreign Language students turned their classroom into an exciting language competition! During the Sentence-Building Word Card Challenge, students listened carefully as the teacher read out a full sentence in Chinese. Once the timer started, they had to quickly search for the correct word cards, work as a team, and arrange them in the right order before sticking them onto their sentence board.

What impressed everyone most was how focused and determined the students were—some teams confidently corrected their word order at the last second, while others double-checked grammar and punctuation like real language detectives. The classroom was full of energy, teamwork, and loud cheers as each group raced against the clock! “I thought it was hard at first, but when we worked together, we finished really fast!” said one student. Another shared, “Listening carefully helped me find the right cards—I feel more confident making sentences now.”

Throughout the challenge, students practiced active listening, accurate Mandarin sentence formation, teamwork, and quick decision-making in a fun and engaging learning environment. Ms Fang – Mandarin Foreign Language Teacher

Foundation Fire Department Visit – A Day to Remember!

We were incredibly lucky to welcome our local Fire Department for a very special visit, giving the children an unforgettable, hands-on experience. The firefighters kindly showed the children all of their important equipment and explained what they wear when going into a fire, including how they breathe safely using an oxygen tank. The children and adults were fascinated to learn that the firefighters’ jackets are made from a special fabric that can protect them from temperatures of up to 600 degrees!

The excitement continued as the children had the chance to become real firefighters for the morning. They climbed aboard the fire truck, sat in the seats, pressed the horn, and most importantly, sprayed water using the fire hose, a truly thrilling moment for everyone! This wonderful experience created lifelong memories and helped the children understand the vital role our local community plays in protecting us and keeping us safe. A huge thank you to the Fire Department for such an engaging, educational, and inspiring visit.

Where We Live Project: Exploring Our Island Home

The ‘Where We Live’ project showcased impressive academic thinking across the Primary school. Children applied geography skills to build detailed 3D maps and used mathematical reasoning to create working board games like Phuket Monopoly. The final products demonstrated that students could use design and technology to construct models that stand, move, and function effectively.

This success was driven by a shared learning journey involving our whole community. In living rooms across Phuket, parents and grandparents worked side-by-side with students to research, design, and refine ideas. This collaboration allowed families to see their children think and persevere in new ways, proving that high-quality learning extends far beyond the classroom walls.

Sun Detectives: Investigating UV Rays in Year 3

This week, Year 3 became “Sun Detectives: Investigating UV Rays!” The children tested UV beads in different conditions: with sunscreen, without sunscreen, in water, and covered with opaque and translucent materials. Working in groups, they placed the beads in the sun and investigated the effects of UV rays.

Some groups noticed that beads without sunscreen turned deep purple, while others turned pale, and some groups saw big differences between conditions. The children worked together to discuss why this was happening and later realised that some beads were affected by their own shadows. One group excitedly said, “Look, it’s now turning purple!” while another group observed that “Being in water has the same effect as having no sunscreen!”

Throughout the investigation, the children worked collaboratively, shared their ideas and opinions, and showed great resilience by not giving up, even when results were unexpected. Ms Penn – Year 3 Teacher

3D Topographical Modelling in Year 4!

The Year 4 children rose to the challenge this week and constructed their own topographical maps of India in their humanities lessons. Building on their classroom learning about this fascinating country, the children worked collaboratively to first plan and then build their mountain ranges. After constructing them out of paper mache, they then decorated them accordingly with different colours representing different heights.

The children were both creative and collaborative in this exercise as they all adopted different roles and responsibilities! The learning was taken to new heights and, by working together, nothing was too steep a challenge! The Year 4 Team

HeadStart Students Shine

We are delighted to congratulate our students on their significant achievements in recent academic, arts, and sports competitions, representing HeadStart on both local and international stages.

• Qiqi (5 Yellow) achieved remarkable success in the arts, securing a Silver Award in the Musical Theatre Group and a Silver in Children’s Group B at the Hong Kong Professional Singing Competition 2025. Additionally, she earned a Gold Award for her painting “Playful Kitten” in the Victoria International Youth Painting Competition.

• Melissa (10 White) demonstrated exceptional technical skill by winning a National Gold Award in the Bebras International Challenge on Informatics and Computational Thinking, organized by UK Bebras.

• U13 Girls Football Team showcased incredible teamwork and determination to be crowned Champions at the Phuket International Schools Athletic Conference (PISAC).

• U11 Girls Football Team performed brilliantly on the pitch, securing a hard-fought 2nd Place at the Phuket International Schools Athletic Conference (PISAC).

• U11 Boys Football Team displayed great spirit and skill to finish in 3rd Place at the Phuket International Schools Athletic Conference (PISAC).

Jojo’s Saxophone Performance Lights Up Phuket Town

Jojo (8 Blue) recently showcased his musical talent in an unforgettable way, performing live on saxophone at the Ma Ho Lan pop-up bar in Phuket Town and captivating a busy evening crowd with his confident and expressive playing.

Taking to the stage with poise well beyond his years, Jojo delivered a series of well-known crowd favourites, including I Will Survive, Love Me Like You Do and Ciao Bella. His performance drew in passers-by and created a lively atmosphere, with many stopping to listen and applaud as he brought each piece to life with flair and musical maturity.

This outstanding achievement highlights Jojo’s commitment to music beyond the classroom and reflects the dedication he puts into developing his talents. We are delighted to celebrate his success and look forward to seeing where his musical journey takes him next.