Weekly Update 20
Student Voice–By Anastasia Emelyanova
What did I learn from Duke of Edinburgh Programme?
I stared at the small piece of paper that was handed to me. I was instructed to write my answer on the two lines provided. I stared at the pathetic space for a little while trying to compile my thoughts into those two lines. I learned so much during my time on Duke of Edinburgh. I learned that sometimes you have to do things as a team in order to do them right. I learned the importance of responsibility, kindness and patience. I learned how to scream over gushing wind. Actually, most importantly, I learned how to sail, uncovered what it’s like to work a system so precise that the smallest tug on the sail can tip over your whole boat (sorry Riny), learned how to pull the boat up after it tipped (again sorry Riny), how to ride the wind so that you can reach amazing speeds and learned how to work in unison with your team. I learned how to set up a tent, cook food in a group, delegate responsibilities, lead but allow your self to be lead and that doesn’t even begin to cover it. I’m over the two-line limit though, so I’ll just say I’ve learned a whole lot and I’m looking forward to learning so much more.
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:
| 06 February | Under 9 Football Match with BIS |
| 08 February | Phonics Workshop for parents / Year 11 Parents Evening |
| 10 February | Wear House shirts/Mom’s Night Out |
| 11 February | Saturday Thai Culture Club |
| 15 February | Year 9 Options Parents Meeting |
| 17 February | Wear House Shirts/Student Counsel Meeting |
| 18-26 February | Mid Term Break |
Phonics Workshop for Parents
Last term we organised a Phonics Workshop for parents and it was a great success. Good news for term 2! Foundation to Year 2 parents are again invited to a meeting on Wednesday the 8th of February at 08.15 – 09.15 in the Secondary Hall. The meeting will be presented in English and Thai by Ms Nicola Fallows and Kru Nee. We will give a presentation on how you can help your child with learning phonics at home for term 2.
Saturday Swimming Lessons for Foundation Students
The HeadStart swim coaches are offering a fun weekend class where your child can learn and practice skills such as: Confidence and water safety, face in the water, bowing bubbles, floating on the back and stomach, kicking practice, arm strokes and breathing to the side. The lesson will be 30 minutes long with a maximum of 4 students in the water at one time. A termly fee of 2,450 baht will be collected (350 baht X 6 weeks) and will be divided up into the following sessions:
Session 1 09:00 – 09:30 a.m.
Session 2 09:30 – 10:00 a.m.
Session 3 10:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Session 4 10:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Swimming lessons will be on the following dates
Term 1 11/02, 25/02, 04/03, 11/03, 18/03, 25/03, 08/04
Term 2 29/04, 13/05, 20/05, 03/06, 10/06, 17/06, 24/06
Remark: Parents must bring their child in the correct swim gear and arrive at the pool 5 minutes prior to the class. Parents must stay at the side of the pool for the duration of the lesson and take their child to wash and dress in the changing rooms when the lesson has finished. Only 16 places available! Sign up in the front office.
CAPA Auditions
Can you sing, dance or act? We are inviting students from Year 7 - 12 to come and audition for the CAPA Academy. The Academy rehearses every Friday afternoon from 4 - 5:30 and work on projects including dancing, singing, acting and musical theater. Auditions Tuesday the 7th of February at 11:45 in Music 2. Sign up with Mrs Cramp by Monday 3:00 pm.
Swimming Academy Announcement
Swim Academy Parents, if you have not signed up for the meets during term 2 and 3, please do so. If you have not received the signup sheet, please email Coach Brown at [email protected] and he will get the information to you. Our first meet of the term is February 18th at Thanyapura.
Invitation to Adult Swimmers
Adult swimmers, do you have the urge to swim? Well we have some good news for you! Open lap swim will run Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday Mornings from 6:00am- 7:45am. We will have minimum 2 lanes available for use. No need to sign up, just show up.
Eco Garden Update
With a design now in place for our Eco garden, we hope to have some shape, colour and interesting creations for us to share in the coming weeks. If you would like to help and support the development of the Eco Garden you can by donating one of the species of plants shown in last week’s update. Thanks for your support and assistance with this project. Please contact Ms Scott in Foundation for more details at [email protected].
House News
By Mr Carter, House Coordinator
I am delighted to announce that after the last weeks terrible ‘Weigh Your Waste’ competition (we wasted 40kg of food!) that this week saw a marked improvement in the results. This week we only wasted 19 kilos of food. So, well done to our winners, the Yellow Cheetahs, who only wasted 4 kilos. In sporting news, the Yellow Cheetahs were also the Year 9 Speed Burnball winners last Friday. This week we have Year 7 & 8 Funky Football during Friday lunch break. Good luck everyone!
Foundation News
Preschool enjoyed a rip to the Bird Park!
Reception Visits Rubber Plantation
Reception had a great trip to the rubber plantation. We watched rubber milk being turned into rubber shapes by adding chemicals to the rubber milk and then pouring it into a mould. Then we could paint our new rubber toys and we were very excited to take them home. We saw how the rubber milk came out of the trees, and while we were looking at the tree’s we also found a few exciting mini-beasts that liked living in the forest too! Miss Amy & Miss Danielle
Primary News
By Mr Andrew Whittaker, Head of Primary
The Importance of Keeping Hydrated
Now that the weather seems to have finally changed to becoming hotter it is essential that all our pupils bring their water bottles to school and drink from them regularly; especially taking them to their PE lessons. When I go to watch some of the P.E. lessons it is surprising how many children are failing to take their water bottles with them. It is so important that our pupils are drinking fluids before, during and after sports and exercise; this is especially important for pre-adolescent children because they have special fluid needs compared to adults, as well as teenagers.
One of the most important functions of water is to cool the body. As a child exercises, their muscles generate heat, raising their body temperature. When the body gets hot, it sweats. The evaporating sweat cools the body. If the child does not replace the water lost through sweating by drinking more fluids, the body’s water balance will be upset and the body may overheat.
Drinking water and brain function are integrally linked. Lack of water to the brain can cause numerous symptoms including problems with focus, memory, brain fatigue and brain fog, as well as headaches, sleep issues, anger, depression, and many more. Over 70 percent of our body is composed of water and every function in the body is dependent on water, including the activities of the brain and nervous system.
The brain is one of the most important organs in your body to keep fueled. It is approximately 85 percent water and brain function depends on having abundant access to water. The reason why it is important to drink plenty of water throughout the day for optimal brain function is because your brain does not have any way to store water. When your body loses more water than you are replacing, dehydration will kick in and brain function will be affected.
Water is also essential for delivering nutrients to the brain and for removing toxins. When the brain is fully hydrated, the exchange of nutrients and toxins will be more efficient—thus ensuring better concentration and mental alertness. Always keep a bottle of filtered water near you throughout the day, especially if you have a job that requires a lot of mental activity. Drinking water regularly will help to keep your brain fueled, oxygenated, and energized.
We keep reminding our pupils to be drinking water and to have their water bottles with them at school – please help us by reminding your child as well.
Congratulations to the students who won ‘Student of the Month for January’ for French and Mandarin!
After School Yoga fun!
Year 3 Science
We used stockings and a mix of oatmeal and water. We squeezed the oatmeal mix from one end of the stocking to the other to simulate how water and nutrients are absorbed out of the large intestine into our bodies. By Mr Egan
Year 4 Learn About WW2
Year 4 have been learning about World War 2. This week they made miniature models of bomb shelters, using recyclable materials. There are some very creative shelters! By Ms Thongsen
Year 5 Colour Transpiration
Year 5 have carried out a scientific investigation to look at the process of transpiration. They added food colouring to water so that could track its progress through the flower. They have learned about the importance of fair testing and recording results accurately. By Mr Brady
Year 8 Computing
Students are designing and making simple computer games, similar to the first games that appeared in the 80’s (think Pacman and Space Invaders!). They are learning how to use Greenfoot. This is an interactive Java development environment designed primarily for educational purposes at the high school and undergraduate level. It allows easy development of two-dimensional graphical applications, such as simulations and interactive games.
The interface is a full IDE (Interactive Development Environment) which includes: project management, auto-completion, syntax highlighting. These allow the students to quickly learn and create code that works! They can focus on being creative with their own algorithms as the interface is designed to be simple and easy to use, built with beginners in mind. Greenfoot is used by thousands of institutions around the world. For examples of what the students have been making check out the download.
By Mr Stephens
Secondary News
By Ms Mason, Head of Secondary
Happy Chinese New Year to all parents, students and stake holders. May the year of the rooster bring health and happiness to you all. This week we are busy in secondary preparing for the upcoming Math’s Faculty week and also analyzing the Year 11 mock exam results. We are also preparing for the year 9 options process. On that note I look forward to seeing Year 11 parents at 3:15 pm in the sports hall on the 8th of February. Thank you to parents who have already RSVP to the office.
Attendance
Please be reminded that your child’s attendance to school is of the utmost importance to their academic and social progress. Parents should check on the school website for our calendared holidays and only book, flights , trips and visits during our holiday periods.
Congratulations to the students who won ‘Student of the Month’ for January!
Thai Department News
Year 3 learning words with the ‘a’ sound
Year 6 students celebrated Makha Bucha Day to honor the Buddha and his teachings which he delivered on the full moon day of the third lunar month.
Sport Department News
Under 10 Football Match at BIS
Date Monday, 6th February at BIS
Venue BIS
Kick off 4:15 pm
Players Lukas Fisher, Nicholas Baltes, Krittat Phaisamran, Theo Hulot, Trin Tengamnuay, Sean Corley, Sanzio De Lucca, Viktor Tjernstrom, Chayapol Ngernanek, Raphael Cifuentes, Heras Gomez Lapassapon, Oskar Theander
Phuket Soccer School International Tournament
Date 25-26 February
Venue Thanyapura
Time 8:00 am
Staff Football Friendly
By Mr O’Nions
Last weekend the HeadStart Staff football team played their first ever 11 a-side match against BISP. Unfortunately the first half did not go to plan as the team had not played 11 a-side before, we went in to half time 3-0 down. A few oranges later and an inspiring team talk from Kru Chai and the game took a turn for the best. HSIS staff team put immense pressure on the BISP defense and it didn’t take long for it to crack, with Mr Eke scoring a Vinny Jones style penalty. Although HSIS maintained possession of the ball and had many glorious chances to score, they couldn’t quite convert enough to win the game and ended up losing a very respectful score of 3-1.
Mr O’Nions, Mr Eke, Mr Barker, Mr Salmon, Mr Alex, Mr Dixon, Mr Williams, Mr Chai, Mr Artit, And many other of the admin and site team.
