HeadStart Weekly Update #25, 29 March, 2019
Dates for Your Diary
Upcoming events can be found on the calendar on the website School Life → Calendar but we have outlined upcoming events here for easy reference. For daily updates and news follow the HeadStart Facebook Page
| Date | Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 April | In class | Primary Swim Galas | Swimming pool |
| 02 April | 8:15am | Thai Parents Meeting | TBA |
| 03 April | 3:30-5:00pm | Year 12-13 Parent Teacher Conferences (PTC) | Secondary Hall |
| 2-4 April | 3:30-5:00pm | Foundation/Primary Parent Teacher Conferences (PTC) | Classrooms |
| 04 April | Last day for paid ASPs | ||
| 05 April | During day | Songkran Festivities | TBA |
| 8-19 April | 2 weeks | Songkran Holiday |
Introducing our Team
‘I started my career as a music teacher 9 years ago where I worked in both Primary and Secondary schools. I have continually developed my practice and I now specialise in managing the educational provision for young people with Learning Difficulties and Emotional, Behavioural and Social Difficulties (EBSD). I love working at HeadStart because the sense of community you get around school, and around Phuket is fantastic. The staff and students are incredibly passionate about the work they do and this is clearly evident when I spend time in classrooms across the whole school.’ By Mr Michael Atkins
After School Announcement
Please be reminded that the 29th of March, was the final day for free ASPs in Foundation and Primary this term. Paid ASPs will continue as usual this week. All free ASPs will recommence in the first week of term 3.
Foundation/Primary Parent Teacher Conferences
Please be reminded that Foundation and Primary Parent Teacher Conferences take place this week. You should have received an email through the Parent Portal inviting you to ‘book’ a meeting with your child’s teacher(s). Parent Teacher Conferences will take place this coming Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and booking slots are available from 3.30pm to 5.20pm. Please contact your child’s Homeroom teacher if you wish to arrange an alternative time to discuss your child’s progress.
Songkran Festival 2019
This year we have so many exciting events planned four our Songkran Festival. Please read the details below so that you can support your child.
Food Offering for Monks: 4 April, between 07:30-08:00am in the atrium/in front of dining room.
We have invited nine Buddhist monks to school from 7:30 -8:00am. Parents and students are invited to offer dry food to the monks if they wish. There will also be a Buddhist statue placed in front of the Admin Office for the “Song Nam Pra” ritual which means ‘Bathing Buddha’. This is the practice of bathing a statue of Buddha with fragrant water. According to Buddhist beliefs this ritual represents purification and the washing away of bad luck.
Primary and Secondary Assembly: 5 April, between 08:00–08:40am on the Football Pitch
Students are invited to wear a flowery shirt or Thai traditional clothing.
- Flag-raising, Thai long drum procession, Thai dances, Water Pouring ceremony.
Foundation Water Play between 09:15–09:45am in the Foundation Playground
- The school will provide water play equipment for the event. We are asking students not to bring water guns to school.
- Parents should provide a change of clothes for students.
Primary and Secondary Water Play between 2:30–3:00pm on the Football Pitches
- Primary on the covered pitch and Secondary on the top pitch.
- Students are allowed to bring a small bucket for the water play activity. We are asking students to not bring water guns to school.
Primary Songkran arrangements - Friday 5th April 2019
If you would like your child to participate in the water activities, then please provide a change of clothes and a towel in order for them to change after the event. Any children that do not want to get wet will be able to watch the event from the side of the football pitch.
Parents are asked to collect their child from the football pitch at 3.00pm after which they are free to leave.
Any children not collected by 3:15 pm from the covered football pitches will be escorted to the Dining Hall for ‘late pick up’ and follow the regular late pick up procedure. The school bus service will run as usual, departing from school at 3.30 pm.
Note that all ASPs and Academy classes will be cancelled on this day.
U-Prep Meeting Info
Meeting notes from last week’s presentation can be found by downloading the links below. If you would like to catch up on any of the U-Prep Talks since the beginning of the term CLICK HERE and it will take you to the
The next and final U-Prep Talk for term 2 will take place on 4th of April at 8:15am. Mrs Gemma Caines will speak to interested parents on the topic of ‘Testing’. She will give parents information about different tests university applications require, including standardised tests like SAT, language tests such as IELTS and TOEFL as well as subject specialist tests like BMAT and LNAT.
A Night at the Movies
‘A Night at the Movies’ production that our CAPA team produced in November is now available for viewing on the HeadStart You Tube channel. Click and share!
Healthy Juices
Try our new healthy juices made with love and care by the HeadStart food service team for only 60 Baht per bottle! Let us know if you have any feedback so that we can improve our recipes. Bottles stay in the Coffee Shop please.
- Energy Boost: pineapple, beetroot, mint leaves
- Immune Boost: carrot, red apple, celery, ginger, turmeric
- Vitamin Boost: green apple, cucumber, kale, coriander, lime
P.E. Department News
Football News
HeadStart U13 boys traveled to UWCT on Tuesday. Final score was (HS) 6 -1 (UWCT)
HeadStart Over 15 boys traveled to UWCT on Thursday. Final score was (HS) 2- 1 (UWCT)
HeadStart U15 girls traveled to KIS on Thursday. Final score was (HS) 0 - 1 (KIS)
Super Sports 5 and 10 Mile Run
It was another great day for the HeadStart runners as they joined the Super Sports 5 mile and 10 mile event at Thanyapura on Sunday.
10 Miles
- Nadine Brelstaff - 1st Female under 30 years old category
- Ashley Paice - 11th Male under 30 years old category
- James Hornby - 22nd Male over 40 years old category
5 miles
- Gemma Brain - 4th Female under 35 years old category
- Phumes Hulot - 15th Male under 40 years old category
- Krittat Phaisamran - 16th Male under 40 years old category
An excellent result especially as the students had to run in such a large age group category.
Volleyball
The HeadStart Volleyball squads sent competitive teams and one social team to BISP’s annual ‘Smack Down’ Tournament on Saturday, 23rd March. Coach Gary said that the social team had a great time and ended in 3rd place. The competitive team, who were competing against really tough opposition (University and Club Teams) did exceptionally well, also finishing in 3rd place!
Swimathon for Charity
The night and morning of March 22nd and 23rd, 55 of the Aqua Panthers took part in our second annual “12 Hour Relay”. During this event different groups took turns in swimming continuously in relay fashion in 30 minute intervals. We took on this challenge in order to raise funds for the Good Shepherd- Phuket. On top of swimming laps, the team watched movies in the sports hall, played lazer tag on the football pitch, and played in the water; everyone in attendance had a lot of fun. Though it was a lot of fun and games, the team achieved amazing results and earned 130,775 baht and swam over 54 kilometers! I am so proud of the effort our swimmers and their families put into this event. Thank you for helping make this fantastic event even better!
Bangkok Hospital Sports & Rehabilitation Centre ‘Bike Studio’
This week the Year 10 IGCSE P.E. students traveled to the Bangkok Phuket Hospital Bike Studio to participate in a short lecture and Cardiovascular Fitness Testing. This was the perfect compliment to their IGCSE studies. They had lots of fun at the same time. Thank you so much to Dr. Sayam Hanpipat for offering our students this wonderful experience! By Mr Nick Carter
What’s Coming Up This week?
Swimming Galas
This week we will have the chance for all students (Preschool to Year 9) to participate in the HeadStart Swimming Galas. The events will be a House competition and the students will experience traditional competitive races and/or fun/wacky races and everyone will be guaranteed to have lots of fun in the water. Students should come to school on the day with their swimming costumes, towels, water bottles, and they should wear water resistant sunblock. Parents are very welcome to come and watch the events and the dates and timings can be found below. If you need further information please contact me in the P.E. office or write to [email protected]
| Preschool | Wednesday, 3rd April - 08.30-09.30 |
| Early Years Yellow/ Blue | Thursday, 4th April - 09.45-11.15 |
| Reception Yellow/ Blue | Wednesday, 3rd April - 12.20-13.50 |
| Year 1 | Tuesday, 2nd April - 08.30-09.30 |
| Year 2 | Tuesday, 2nd April - 12.55-13.55 |
| Year 3 | Monday, 1st April - 10.55-11.55 |
| Year 4 | Friday, 5th April - 08.30-09.30 |
| Year 5 | Monday, 1st April - 09.55-10.55 |
| Year 6 | Tuesday, 2nd April - 09.55-10.55 |
| Year 7 | Monday, 1st April - 08.10-09.10 |
| Year 9 | Monday, 1st April - 14.20-15.20 |
Pailin Issalam
My name is Pailin Issalam and my nickname is Dia. I attended Assumption University, where I achieved my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business. Graduating in 2009, I majored in English and gained additional credits in Hospitality and Tourism Management. As to achieve my professional development, I enrolled in Graduate Diploma Program in Teaching Profession at Phuket Rajabhat University, after which I have officially earned the teaching license from the Teachers’ Council of Thailand. In 2010, I applied for a position at HeadStart International School as an Assistant Teacher. I have since worked here for thirteen years. I not only worked as an Assistant Teacher, but I also gained the trust of the Thai Department and have been afforded the opportunity to teach Thai to non-native students. This has been a great experience that has allowed me to develop my knowledge and skills to become a better teacher. Furthermore, I have gained the trust of parents enabling me to become a private tutor of English and Thai to Foundation, Primary and Year 10 students. In 2014, I was honoured with a promotion to the role of Thai Teacher, overseeing the Thai First Language, Thai Second Language, and Thai Foreigner Language programmes. I am deeply appreciative of this opportunity and approach it with the conviction that it will be a profoundly fulfilling endeavour. My personal commitment revolves around striving for excellence in teaching, guiding my students to proficiently converse, read, and write in Thai, while instilling within them an enduring passion for Thai studies, thereby enabling practical application across diverse spheres of their lives. In the year 2018, I had the privilege of ascending to the role of Head of the Thai Department, a distinction that I regard with great pride. This appointment solidified my affiliation with the esteemed professional management team of HeadStart. The year 2023 marked yet another milestone in my professional journey, as I was honoured with a promotion to the esteemed position of Deputy School Director, I am excited to continue driving excellence in education, empowering students to achieve their full potential, and fostering a dynamic and inclusive educational community. I remain committed to continuous growth and development, both personally and professionally, as I contribute to the continued success of HeadStart International School.
Saturday Thai Culture Club News
The Early Years to Year 1 students learnt about many aspects of the Northeastern part of Thailand also known as Esan. They even had a chance to make and taste their own Som-tum (papaya salad) which is a very traditional Esan dish that everybody knows and loves to eat. We then went on to experience playing the Phin, a traditional instrument from the North East part of Thailand.
As part of their cultural education, the Year 2 - 6 students went on a visit to Luang Pu Supa Temple (Silsuparam Temple). They had the opportunity to make merit, offer food to the monks, visit a museum and they also helped to pick up leaves and trash around the temple.
This week we have been learning more fun facts about Dinosaurs! Did you know that the dinosaur with the longest name was Micropachycephalosaurus meaning “tiny thick headed lizard”? The children loved making their own volcanoes and were excited to see the ‘lava’ bubbling up in the eruption experiment. We have also created our own new dinosaurs. Some super designs include the Mermaidosaurus, Spider-Rex and Doggosaurus. In Maths we have been exploring 3D shapes, forming numerals and creating repeating patterns. Another busy week in Reception! ** By the Reception teachers**
In Year 1 this week we have been learning about instructions in English. We had great fun making jam sandwiches and then writing the instructions of how to make one! We learnt how to use time words and bossy verbs. **By Mr Williams, Ms Lucie Bevins and Ms Charlotte Myers ** (Full album of all classes can be found on the HeadStart Facebook page)
The Year 1 Russian students had fun writing stories in Russian while the Year 4 Russian students performed short plays based on the fairy tales we read at class. By Ms Alina Platkova
Year 2 Yellow went on a trip to the Phuket Rubber Plantation this week. They got a chance to watch a farmer harvesting the latex from a rubber tree and watched how it is then mixed and put into moulds to make rubber! They then really enjoyed painting their very own rubber animals to take home! By Ms Kirsty Hark
Year 3 have been investigating capacity and volume during our Maths lessons. They learned about measurements and types of containers best suited to answer Mathematical questions. By Ms Nicola Fallows
Year 3 Yellow were investigating electrical circuits and finding the best conductive materials. By Ms Nicola Fallows
Year 6 have studied Medieval gargoyles this term. The students designed and created their own grotesque sculptures. By Ms Jody Leow
For our year 7 assembly we decided to put together our own version of ‘Britain’s Got Talent.’ Originally the year 7 children were adamant that they had ‘No’ talent, but gradually came to admit that they had ‘Some’ talent. In actual fact, I think they demonstrated that they actually have a lot of talent! We had a beautiful Chinese dance from Skylar in Year 7 White and we were all very surprised to see how much Jake from 7B could do with his diablo! We had a great piece of group dance from the year 7 active learners, who choreographed the whole performance themselves. The singing, taekwondo and football skills were the icing on the cake. The whole year group worked really hard, rehearsing their parts as judges, hosts and audience members and preparing banners to hold up during the performances. They conducted themselves professionally on the day and gave a great performance. Mr Paice, Mr Webb and I are very proud of their achievements.
Throughout recent weeks, my Year 7 English students have been developing their public speaking skills and delivering presentations to their peers. Without using technology, the students were challenged with engaging their audience by using gesture, facial expressions and tone of voice, as well as providing interesting, well researched information.
This week, the students delivered presentations about African countries. Did you know Namibia has the largest population of cheetahs in the world? Did you know that Egyptian football star Mohamed Salah is the fifth most valuable player in the world? Did you know Seychelles consists of some 115 islands? By Mr Thomas Webb
As part of their African short stories unit, Year 8 Set 1 selected different countries in Africa and conducted extensive research centered around their chosen place. They worked in groups and looked at things such as culture, religion and places of interest. They even presented their work to the class. Well done Year 8! By Mr Ashley Paice
All KS3 English classes were recently given a project of creating a ‘Book in a Jar’. They had to choose their favourite book and then decorate a jar with things related to their chosen book. Here are some from Year 8 Set 1; they have really set the bar high! All jars will be displayed during English and Humanities Faculty week. By Mr Ashley Paice
Last weekend, our World Scholar’s Cup students traveled to Bangkok with Ms Milner and Mr Pollicut to compete against 400 students from a range of international schools all around Thailand. We are now pleased to announce our results! Not only did both teams qualify for the Global Rounds - Team 521 placed 4th overall in the junior division - a tremendous effort for these young scholars! Across both teams we scored a number of gold and silver medals across all areas. Congratulations to all involve and we look forward to hearing more about your journey as you prepare for the next round. By Ms Hayley Milner
The Yellow Cheetahs have had an incredible week scoring highly in the Weigh Your Waste, House Quiz and Badminton lunch time competitions. This means that they have managed to knock off the Green Dragons from 1st place and take the lead with just 1 point separating the two Houses!
Around the Island
La Blance is welcoming members of the community to join the this performance. Several opera singers from places in Thailand will come to Phuket, together with 8 Secondary students and will perform and sing famous songs from ‘Carnen’, ‘The greatest Showman’ and a original musical mystery - La Blanche. It will take place in the BISP Auditorium on April 28th starting at 4:00pm. Price of tickets 500 Baht per adult and 50 Baht per child. For more information regarding tickets please call Khun Ying at 081-487-8087.
