Weekly Update #11, 11 November 2022

Upcoming events can be found on the website under School Life → Calendar and are outlined here for easy reference. If you have questions or require further assistance please email [email protected]

Thai Parent meeting on Exams, Revision, Student Reports & Grades on 15.11.22

This meeting will be presented in Thai and is directed at all of the new Thai parents who just joined HeadStart this academic year. If you are interested, please make your way to the Sports Hall on the 4th floor for an 8.30am start. -Kru Nee, School Director

UPrep Talk #5 - Comparing Different University Systems on 17.11.22

Find out the basic differences between university, college study around the world and how studying in the UK, USA, Europe, Canada or Asia differ from each other. Parents who feel they are unfamiliar with international university systems or are unsure about destinations should join this talk. This is particularly relevant for parents with students in Years 10-13. -Ms Indu Bedi, Head of Sixth Form

Learner and Teacher Profile Workshop on 22.11.22

Over the course of this term we have been running a series of workshops with our students, teachers and with the Parent Committee to develop something called a ‘HeadStart Learner Profile’. This is something that many schools have, and the most famous learner profile, is the IB Learner Profile. We are looking to create a ‘Learner Profile’ for launch in August 2023 which demonstrates what it is to be a HeadStart student and the skills and personal attributes that a member of our community should have including what an ‘Ideal HeadStart Graduate’ may look like.

The size of this workshop is limited to 64 parents so if you would like to take part in this workshop, you will need to be ready to actively participate in discussions with other parents both in the same and different phases of the school and of the same or different nationalities. This is an active session which will involve movement, discussion and whole group contribution. If you would like to join please fill in this quick Google Form to let us know. I look Forward to seeing you there! -Mr Adam Drew, Headmaster

Book Fair

The Book Fair will return to the atrium on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. This is a great opportunity to pick up new reads and immerse your children in the world of Literacy. If you have questions or require assistance, please contact the front office by writing to [email protected].

Odd Socks Day

Odd Socks Day marks the start of Anti-Bullying Week which takes place on Monday 14th November. You are welcome to come to school wearing odd socks on Monday to help raise awareness and support others to reach out. The student leadership team has organised a competition that the pupils will learn about next week during homeroom time. There will also be dedicated sessions based on anti-bullying and how to reach out and support others if needed. Click here for more information about Odd Socks Day! -Ms Rebecca Ross, Deputy Head of Primary (Pastoral)

The Friday Market is Back!

Inviting everyone to come visit our parent community stalls in at the atrium next Friday starting at 2.30 and ending at 4.00pm. Support the local community!

Chicago performed by Senior CAPA Students

Set in the legendary city during the roaring 20s, Chicago tells the story of two rival vaudevillian murderesses locked up in Cook County Jail. Nightclub star Velma’s serving time for killing her husband and sister and driven chorus girl Roxie’s in jail for bumping off her lover. Not one to rest on her laurels, Velma enlists the help of prison matron Mama Morton and slickster lawyer Billy Flynn, who turn Velma’s incarceration into a murder-of-the-week media frenzy, thus preparing the world for a splashy showbiz comeback. But Roxie’s got some of her own tricks up her sleeve…

• Two performances at 6.00pm on 30 November and 1 December
• Running time: 120 minutes with a break in the middle
• Tickets at 150, 200 and 300 baht go on sale next week. Link will be sent out via email.
• Age recommendation: children who can sit for over an hour, can listen and comprehend stories of a more mature nature.

A big thank you to all of the children and parents who came to school dressed in Thai traditional costume and showed overwhelming support for the fun activities, making and floating of krathongs as well as the dancing and singing together. More pictures can be found on the HeadStart Facebook page.

Students in Primary joined with their teachers and parents in making and floating krathongs during their Thai classes. This was a lovely opportunity to learn more about Thai culture. “Loy Krathong is a Thai festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand and in nearby countries on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. Many Thais use the krathong to thank the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha or to worship Buddha.” More pictures can be found on the HeadStart Facebook page.

⚽️ 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐕 𝐊𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 The Panthers Academy U11 Boys team travelled to KIS last week for a friendly fixture in preparation for their upcoming tournaments. Credit to all the boys who worked incredibly hard throughout the match. Great work Boys!

⚽️ 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐕 𝐊𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 Well done to the Panthers Academy O15 Girls who travelled to KIS for a friendly fixture this week. The game was end to end and exciting for all!

⚽️ 𝐔𝟏𝟑,𝐔𝟏𝟓 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝟏𝟔 𝐕 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 A fantastic morning of football was experienced by our players from the Panthers Academy U13, U15 and U16 Boys teams as they travelled to Republic Academy. All of the fixtures were hard fought, fast and flowing. There was some fantastic performance, but especially in the U13s game which saw some amazing saves by both goalkeepers Justin and Sam and some really well taken goals by the likes of Nathee, Oscar in the U15s. Well done to all who took part.

⚽️ 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐩 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 Last Saturday saw another Panthers Cup Futsal Tournament for our academy players. Futsal has been great for the development of our players; fast paced and end to end makes it exciting for the players.

⚽️ 𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 The Futsal Leagues for Year 7 and 8 on Mondays and Year 9,10 and 11 on Tuesdays have started again after half term. The teams include some of our academy players as well as players who are new to playing futsal. We would like to praise the efforts of all of the teams and particularly to those teams who have had their own Futsal Shirts designed for them.

HeadStart U16 Boys Championships

A big thank you to all of those involved with the 2022 Headstart U16 Boys Championships. It was an extremely successful event and we look forward to hosting more tournaments in the future. Thank you to the other schools and academies that took part - BISP, KIS, Oak Meadow International School, Together Academy and Grand Arena Academy. Well done to Grand Arena Academy who went unbeaten throughout the tournament and took the trophy home. Throughout the tournament the level of football played was fantastic. The matches were hard fought and exciting. It was great to see so many parents and spectators enjoying the competitive games. -Coach Paul Rothwell

Congratulations to all of the Primary students of the month for Physical Exercise! Well done and keep up the good work.

Primary English Faculty Week

We have been busy in primary celebrating English week. There have been scavenger hunts, poetry recitals, book readings and lots of reading competitions! The whole of primary were introduced to the author David Walliams this week and have enjoyed exploring the novel ‘Mr Stink’. The children have all written some fabulous descriptions of this stinky but kind hearted character. Take a look in the atrium next week to see some super examples! -Ms Donna Wintersgill

Year 7 PSHE (Personal, social, health and economic education)

The purpose of our PSHE programme is to empower students and maintain a positive culture when building upon their critical thinking skills, facilitating the development of sound judgement, and enhancing their sense of agency throughout the year. -Mr Jamie Sadler

Masculinity

This week Year 7 boys gathered for a PSHE workshop to explore the term masculinity and reflect upon the idea of gender in society and how some people expect boys to think and behave in a certain way, when expressing their emotions and feelings. The students explored ‘toxic’ behaviours and how this can be damaging to both boys and girls in school. By the end of the workshop our young men understood how to take action against this type of unwanted behaviour in school and feel more empowered to talk this through with their peers and teachers. This session is part of our thematic approach to relationships, and how our school strives to be an inclusive and safe environment for all of our students. - Mr Sadler, Mr Marx and Mr Kasim

Female empowerment

This week the girls in Year 7 gathered for a female empowerment session, where they discussed what female empowerment meant to themselves and to each other. During the session we learnt about each other’s insecurities, and that we can all relate in some way, whether it be about body image or how others perceive us. We decided through different activities that, as a collective, female empowerment begins with self care and valuing ourselves. This then moves to supporting other women around us. We finally learned that the bonds girls have with each other are vital. -Ms Nacey & Mrs Davidson

A previous student of HeadStart Minseo Kim who graduated in 2020 gave a very insightful talk about his university experiences to our current BTEC students on Wednesday. Minseo studied BTEC Travel and Tourism combined with A Level subjects and is now studying Hospitality Management at Les Roches Global Hospitality Education in Marbella, Spain, a satellite campus of the Swiss university Les Roches International School of Hotel Management. Minseo spoke about moving to another country, the structure of his degree, university life both academically and socially, and gave some top tips to help them start preparing for this big life change in the near future. Minseo was very honest about the highs and lows, however expressed overall he was really happy with his university choice.

Minseo ended the session with a Q&A talking about his most recent internship placement at a luxury hotel. He advised students to develop crucial employability skills needed to be successful no matter which career path you take. It was a super inspiring talk and great to hear this advice from someone other than their BTEC teacher (me- Miss Jones!) who is always stressing how the skills they develop when studying their BTEC subjects will be transferable and so useful in the future. Thank you Minseo for such a motivational and honest talk. -Ms Yardenna Jones

The secondary young farmers club is growing in numbers of students who are excited about getting their hands dirty. Thank you to Kevin, Jacob, Non and Anisa in Year 7 Yellow who have been coming every week! This week we have been adding a second row of flowers to attract pollinating insects. We have also started planting rosemary at the top of the spiral bed. The students were learning about root health and the conditions that the rosemary likes to grow in. Students are welcome to come and join in and learn where our food comes from every Thursday Lunchtime with Mr Benham and the Prefects. We look forward to more students joining.

Congratulations to Frants Faizulin and Kuuah Shim for winning this week’s Robot Challenge. The challenge was to use Python coding to navigate their robot around a track on the floor. After the challenge the student played Robot Sumo Football…again!

Here is a list of some of the events on the island in Nov / Dec. If you and/or your child would like to sign up for one of the events, please scan the QR codes at the bottom to link to the various websites. Happy racing! -Coach Erik

How to Raise Motivated, Resilient Kids in an Anxious World - Nov 10 - 14

Join over 100 thousand parents, professionals, researchers and authors sharing the heart and science of parenting. Get practical tools to make everyday family life easier. The conference will look at the science of parenting - what is attachment, emotional intelligence and how learning about this can support us to raise our children. How to deal with children who are strong willed, determined, bright where the ‘usual’ traditional advice about parenting does not seem to be so relevant. How to raise resilient children, empower them and prepare them for life ahead. Learn to address challenging behaviour with effective alternatives to threats or bribes - build connection and communication.

Link to the conference info: Family Conference

5 Day / 4 Night Sailing Camp at Koh Lon from 19 to 23 December, for ages 12-18

This introduction to sailing includes the skills and knowledge needed for rigging, launching and recovery methods, all under supervision. After successfully completing the course a participant will be able to sail a boat competently, in all directions, in light winds. To sign up or learn more about it, contact Khun Ning at 064-1955140