Weekly Update 13
Student Voice
Dream. Dare. Do. Everyone Has a Talent!
‘Everybody has talent, it’s just a matter of moving around until you’ve discovered what it is.’ ~ George Lucas
Talent is defined as a natural ability to excel at something. We have all heard about someone who people consider talented: someone in your class or your favorite pop singer who are praised for their own unique talent. We wonder, I know I do, whether we all have a talent and if we all have something within us that makes us different, amazing or special. I think that we all do. I believe that every one of us has a talent whether uncovered and developed everyday or hidden away waiting to be found. Don’t worry if you do not know what your talent is now.
This week we had our HeadStart’s Got Talent show and we watched as people from our school showcased what they have discovered within themselves. What you have the potential to discover too.
Where can you find your talent? You can find it in your hobbies, the things you love and the things that make you happy. It can be anything from writing to speaking to programming, designing, painting and singing. It’s something that makes you strong, empowered and significant. After our Friday’s performances it’s your Show Time! Use your talent. Once you identify your calling, don’t waste the gift that was given to you. Do not hold your talent waiting for the perfect time, perfect opportunity, and perfect place. That perfection is in every moment of your life and every second.
Announcements
Dates for Your Diary
Events can be found on the HeadStart calendar on the website School Life → Calendar but we have outlined the main ones here for easy reference:
| 26 Nov | Saturday Thai Culture Club between 9:00-12:00 am. |
| 29 Nov | Year 11 Parent and Student Meeting with Mr Drew |
| 1 Dec | Casual Clothes (Christmas theme) Fundraising Day for the Phuket Sunshine Village |
| 8 Dec | ‘Into the Woods’ production between 6:30-8:00 pm by the Performing Academy |
| 14 Dec | Christmas Market between 2:30-3:00 pm./Last day of term for Secondary |
| 15 Dec | Foundation Christmas Morning between 9:00-11:30 am. |
| 15 Dec | Parent Consultations For Year 7-8 |
| 15 Dec | Last day of Term 1 for Foundation and Primary students |
| 16 Dec | Parent and Teacher consultations for Foundation/Primary/Year 9, 10 and 12, 13 |
Year 11 Parent and Student Meeting Invitation
On Tuesday 29th November, all parents and students in Year 11 will be invited to attend a meeting with Mrs Mason and Mr Drew at 8:15 am, where they will share details of the Mock Exams which are to be held in the first 3 weeks of Term 2 in January. At this meeting, Mr Drew will also share details about options students will have at the end of their IGCSE studies and give parents a idea of our post-16 programme. We look forward to seeing as many Year 11 parents there as possible
Into the Woods Jr–Get Your Tickets!
Come and join us for an evening full of mystical magic when HeadStart’s sports hall will be transformed into scary, yet enticing forest as our CAPA Academy bring these twisted fairy tales to life. Be careful what you wish for as Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s cockeyed fairytale comes to life in this adaptation of their groundbreaking, Tony Award-winning musical. Into the Woods JR. features all of your favorite characters – Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (and his beanstalk) and the Witch in this lyrically rich retelling of classic Brothers Grimm fables.
The musical centers on a baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King’s festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. When the baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a witch’s curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse and wind up changed forever.
Get your tickets in from the front office at only 250 Baht per person. Seating is limited and places are filling up fast.
Casual Clothes Day–1st of December
Casual clothes will be on Thursday 1st December with a Christmas theme! Ideas: red, white or green. Bring 100 Baht for charity. This term we will be raising money for the Phuket Sunshine Village http://www.phuketsunshinevillage.org/ and will be hosting a number of small fun games for Primary and Foundation during the morning. The PSV have a number of projects and upgrades they wish to carry out next year but are asking for financial help from the HeadStart Community to help raise funds to install a lighting system in their Sports Hall and upgrade the sleeping areas in the buildings that home the children.
Additionallly we will be organising some fun games to play during break time which will require the children to spend a little bit of money. The money raised will also go to charity. The games will cost 10 baht each and will include:
Name the Cuddly Toy / How many balloons / Catch the Rat / Ping Pong Pot Luck / How Many Sweets?
SCORE Programme Presentation by Mr Alan Yip
During the Tuesday parent meeting Mr Alan Yip gave a powerful presentation regarding his SCORE programme that will commence in Term 2 for the Secondary students. More detailed information will be emailed to the parents next week. Here is what the parents who attended had to say about the presentation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEEyvApYVgo
Christmas Card Designs – Optional Fundraiser
This year we are offering children to take part in an additional fundraiser. Children who take part can design a Christmas card which can get made into a packet of 10 Christmas cards. Part of the proceeds will also go towards raising money for the projects in the Phuket Sunshine Village. So if you have not purchased your cards yet, this could be an ideal Christmas pleaser to send to family and friends across the globe!
We are working with a local printing company who have agreed to print the ordered cards, complete with envelopes, and have them ready for Monday 12th December for those who have ordered them. All children with Christmas designs that wish to be made into cards, must be returned to Mrs Scott by Tuesday 29th November. If you are interested in this optional fundraiser, templates are available for Reception and Primary children and can be obtained from Mrs. Scott.
A packet of 10 cards will cost 300 baht and a percentage of this will go to our chosen charity, PSVF. The deadline for cards is Tuesday 29th November.
Update from Jo Ann
Dear Parents, I just wanted to thank you again for your incredible kindness, for the financial aid you’ve generated and for all your prayers and support. I am happy to inform you that I am fully recovered and my surgery went well last July 4th, without any complications. None of this would have been possible without your help. My heart is in good condition now and it’s overwhelming to be surrounded by great people like you. May the good Lord bless you all for your kindness and generosity. I truly appreciate it all. Thank you.
Forever grateful, Jo Ann Capalihan
Foundation News
By Fiona Scott
Indoor Play Room Reminder
Just a reminder to all Foundation parents, that the Indoor Play Centre is in use from 2.40- 4.00pm each day for Late Pick Up. Only children who are registered for this late ASP club are permitted into the Play Centre. This means that our staff on duty know exactly which children to be supervising and can allow parents who are collecting their children to sign out securely. Our aim is to keep all Foundation students safe and we can do this by providing a secure environment for them to play at the end of the day. This security could be breached if we have unregistered children and parents in the Play Centre. However, if you have collected your child from the homeroom and wish to stay for a play, parents are welcome to supervise their child on the Primary playground at the end of the school day. Please remember to tidy away any playground toys that your child has been using. Thank you for your support in keeping our Foundation department safe and secure.
Reading in Reception Parents Meeting
Thank you to all the parents who came to school on Tuesday morning for the Reading in Reception Meeting. A number of strategies and tips were shared by Ms Danielle and Ms Amy on how to support your child at home with reading and phonics and Mr Whittaker gave a run through on how to use the online Reading program ‘Bug Club’. I have received some great feedback from parents regarding the information presented, so a big thank you to our Reception teachers too.
This week Reception students sang the Gruffalo rhyme and then created their own Gruffalos out of play dough with teacher Myriam. It was fun!
Reception children learnt about fruits in their Thai class
Primary News
By Mr Whittaker
Students of the Month
Congratulations to the students who worked hard in Music: Birembaux Lanlana, Angelina Vu Bondezan, John Hall, Jasmine Ashfield, Yichen Eason He, Axel Martin, Allen Johnson, Pheeraya Sutiravidvanich, Nathalie Larsson, Mila Choremi, Judah Herbold, Napahtson Chatho
Examination Preparation
On the 21st of November exam preparations begin for students in Primary classes. This will culminate in Exam Week which starts on the 28th of November.
The exams in Primary are our way of measuring the progress your child has made this term. The exam results and the progress your child is making will be reported back to parents in the End of Term 1 Reports, and the Parent Teacher Conferences, which for Primary will take place on Friday 16th December 2016.
The exams are one way of measuring a child’s progress. During the course of the term all teachers carefully assess the progress your child is making through the work they produce, the questions they ask and the explanations they give. In the teaching profession, exams and tests are referred to as summative assessments and the on-going assessment a teacher carries out over the course of daily teaching is referred to as formative assessment. Both forms of assessment are valuable tools in ensuring that we keep track of the progress your child is making and helps inform us of their future learning needs so that they continue to make progress.
It is expected that you will support your child and revise at home. Please go to the link on the website http://headstartphuket.com/primary/exam-revision-guides-43d4e14a-56dd-4c7b-9820-58c1b24c4516 to access the Examination Scopes. These have been written so that parents and pupils have a clear idea of which skills and topic areas will be tested in the forthcoming exams.
Year 1 students worked in pairs this week in art class and made beautiful wooden sculptures!
Year 1 familiarized themselves with Thai vowels by playing the Whispering Game.
Learning to Measure–By Mr Williams
In Year 2 Blue this week, the children have been learning about measures in maths. They have learnt about measuring capacities using water, finding the weight of different objects and the length of different objects in the classroom.
Teaching Sustainability–By Ms Ackermann
Mr Cramp, our very own Trash Hero, challenged the teachers to teach sustainability in the classrooms. In French, Year 4 students worked on endangered species and how we can help them. They produced posters and presented their work to the class.
Secondary News
By Ms Mason, Head of Secondary
Secondary Examination Information
Just to remind you that this past week was revision week and next week are the actual examinations for Years 7, 8, 9, 10. Year 11 will take their mocks after Christmas with a few practical examinations before Christmas. Please note the examination scopes for Term 1 are now on the website http://headstartphuket.com/secondary/exam-revision-guides. Year 12 & 13 will have mock examinations at the end of February 2017 to give them time to cover the necessary content.
To report back on your child’s progress the school will be holding Parent/Teacher Conferences (PTC) on Thursday the 15th of December for Year 7 and 8 and Friday 16th December 2016 for Years 9, 10, 12 & 13. These will take place in the Sports Hall. Session 1 will run from 8.30-11.30 am and the second session will be from 12.45-3.15 pm which allows teachers time for their lunch. Students will need to make appointments with staff on an appointment sheet before the conference. Parents will be asked to sign in on the day and will receive a printed copy of their child’s report.
Year 11 will have a Parents Evening after their mock examinations. The Parents Evening will take place on Wednesday the 8th of February 2017 and start at 3:30 pm. This will take place in the Sports Hall. No appointment is necessary for this event; we will operate it on a first come first served basis.
Year 10 have been making observational studies of fruit and vegetables using as part of IGCSE art with Ms Leow
P.E. Department News
By Mr Beanland
With many big sporting events coming up in the next two or three weeks it is still a very busy and exciting time for sport. Here are a couple of the main events coming up:
BISP Soccer 7s kicks off!
The 2016 BISP Soccer 7s tournament will have already begun by the time you read this! With over 140 teams from International schools all over SE Asia, this is one of the biggest Inter school football tournaments in the continent. Last year 3 of our teams managed to get through to the semi final stages before the absolutely persistent and torrential rains came down and the event had to called off for safety reasons. Such a shame as our teams had done so well. This year we take four teams to the event: U9, U11, U13 and Senior boys. We all wish the boys the very best of luck and hope the weather is kinder than last year too. Good luck boys.
If you would like to come and cheer our teams on the event is on From Friday 25th – Saturday 26th November at BISP. It would be great to see as many HeadStart supporters there as possible. Parents and students will also find Soccer 7s schedule, results and video at the below links: http://www.bisp7s.com and https://www.facebook.com/phuketsevens
Bangkok Patana Flying Fish Swim Meet
The Bangkok Patana Flying Fish swim meet is close on the horizon. We will be taking 46 of our academy swimmers to take part in this prestigious event in Bangkok on December 9-11th. In this event hundreds of swimmers from all over SEA take part. Last year we competed well and this year we have virtually doubled the size of our squad so are hoping to be even higher in the points tally too. So good luck to all the academy swimmers, keep training hard and get ready for this exciting event soon.
