Weekly Update #8, 19 November 2021

Upcoming events can be found on the website under School Life → Calendar and are outlined here for easy reference. For daily updates and news follow the HeadStart Facebook Page and YouTube channel.

Toilets on the Ground Floor

We would like to make everyone aware that there has been a change to the access/use of the first floor atrium toilets. The toilets to the left of the ramp, as you are going up, are now for adults only. The toilets to the right of the ramp, as you go up, are now for students only. Please observe this change and if in doubt, follow the clear signage that has been put up in front of the toilets.

Reminder of School Protocol for Entering the Property

Your children’s safety and security are important to us. In order for us to ensure that we know who is entering the school property, we request that all parents please follow school protocol for entering the property. Only students should use the entrance on the far left in the morning. At all times, all parents and adults should enter through the turnstiles by scanning in using their fingerprints or card. Parents and adults who cannot scan in will be considered a ‘visitor’ and will be asked to give an ID to the security staff and will need to wear a “Visitor Pass”.

If you have not yet registered your fingerprint with our office, please feel free to do so. This is useful in case you forget your Parent Card. Scanning in is an important protocol to help us keep our students safe. Please follow this procedure and please be polite and courteous to our security staff when they enforce the policy. They are doing their job.

Invitation to Secondary Parents on ‘The Role of the Homeroom Teachers and Behaviour Management’ (23 November)

We would like to invite Secondary parents to a presentation on The Role of the Homeroom Teacher and Behaviour Management in Secondary on Tuesday, 23 November at 8.15am in the Secondary Hall on the 4th floor. This will be a wonderful opportunity to introduce the pastoral leadership team and the pastoral model in the secondary school. The presentation will cover the importance of the homeroom teacher, who is at the heart of the pastoral system. We will also go into detail on how the behaviour management framework interlinks with different elements of school support. We look forward to seeing you there.

Meeting Invitation for Russian speaking Parents (24th November)

We would like to invite all our Russian-speaking parents for a meeting on Wednesday 24th November in the Secondary Hall on the 4th floor from 8.15 - 9.15 am. There will be a presentation about the curriculum and questions about the Russian language program will be addressed. The meeting will be presented in Russian and members of Senior Management will be in attendance. If you have points or questions which you would like to have addressed at this meeting, please email your points to our Russian Language Admin Coordinator at [email protected]

Meeting Invitation for Mandarin Speaking Parents (1st December)

We would like to invite all of our Mandarin speaking parents for a meeting on Wednesday 1st December in the Secondary Hall on the 4th floor at 8.15 - 9.15am. There will be a presentation about the curriculum and questions about the Mandarin language program will be addressed. The meeting will be presented in Mandarin and members of Senior Management will be in attendance. If you have points or questions which you would like to have addressed at this meeting, please email your points to our Mandarin Language Coordinator at [email protected]

HeadStart is delighted to announce that on Monday, 29th November we will be resuming our parents fitness classes at HeadStart every Monday to Friday during term time from 08.00-09.00. Please refer to the timetable below for details of which classes are available the times and coaches running the programmes. Hopefully, there is something there for everyone.

We are also very happy to announce that you can now book personal training sessions with our resident fitness instructor, Coach Chai. Sessions can be booked at any time so long as it doesn’t conflict with PE lessons. You can book directly with Coach Chai at [email protected]. Vouchers can be purchased at the front office at 400 baht for an individual class and 200 baht per person for a group class of 2-5 people.

This week’s focus has been on anti-bullying through raising awareness and building community. We explored the theme of anti-bullying through various activities in Homeroom. To build community, Student Leaders ran multiple events at Primary Break and Secondary lunchtime for our students including Odd Socks Day, Rock Painting, Mindful Colouring and we ended the week with a bang with our Pop Up Booths across the school for all Secondary students to celebrate UN Children’s Day! In the midst of all this, we created our very own community tree in the Atrium which many students came and put their fingerprints on. -From our Pastoral Team

This week the whole school acknowledged Anti-Bullying Week. In Secondary School, students in years 7, 8 and 9 were lucky enough to watch numerous performances, all exploring the theme of ‘Anti Bullying’. An outstanding group of SLAM poets from KS3 provided 4 excellent and thought provoking original poems, performing them with great confidence and accuracy. They were supported in this endeavour by Ms Tuppen, English teacher and SLAM poetry facilitator. -Ms Alia Sillett

The year 10 Drama class showcased two performances of Forum Theatre. Forum Theatre is a performance style where the audience can participate in, and change the outcome of, the narrative. In this case, the audience were tasked with looking to solve a bullying situation with the hope of resulting in a more positive outcome. This is the first time the year 10 class have performed as a collective. They worked incredibly hard, in a short period of time to create 2 original performances that also required them to improvise a second scenario. This takes great confidence and self-belief. I am very proud of their hard work and dedication to ensure a polished and thoughtful performance. -Ms Alia Sillett

Today, Rafal Cierlica, my former student and more importantly a recent Master’s graduate and Tesla employee came to school to speak to senior students about his educational experiences and the wider world of work in the 21st Century. As well as sharing his insights, students also had mini-mock interviews with Rafal in which he encouraged them to think critically and methodically and gave encouraging feedback to their responses. -Mr. Pollicutt, Head of English

“The thing that he spoke about which I found most helpful was that you should always go for things when the opportunity arises, and not to be hung up on rejection. I have been struggling to find opportunities and seek out choices as of late, so I feel that his speech has given me an extra boost to keep searching.” -Eliyah Ko

“The visit we got from Rafael provided a great opportunity for us students to learn, ask and explore what our future might be like. It was a pleasure to get to talk, get “interviewed” and ask questions to someone who has the experience and a wide understanding of how to get through the stages in life whilst at an age where you would ‘go with the flow’. It was awesome to finally meet someone who can give helpful advice on what to do when unsure what people like me are going to be doing in the future or later years”. -Annabelle Prentice

“I found the talk interesting. I felt that he helped raise a lot of great points about life after school and how he succeed as a student. Before the talk, I was quite scared about the university application process, but he helped clear it up and make it seem achievable. It was refreshing to hear a different perspective as we often hear teachers talking about university even though they attended more than 20 years ago. He also talked a lot about perseverance and trying new things which is very encouraging to me as I also like trying new things! I hope talks like these happen more often”. -Charles Callens

On the 6th of November, the Red Bamboo Horse Riding Club held a competition day called the ‘Halloween X-game and Barrels’ for 2 levels: 7-14 years olds and 15-up. Congratulations to all of the HeadStart students who participated and well done Angela and Jolie for winning ribbons! Fun fact: if you visit Red Bamboo Horse Riding Club, you will no doubt meet horse-enthusiast, volunteer and former HeadStart student, Juliette. Be sure to say hi! (Click to expand photos)

Congratulations to Tiger in Year 2 for winning first place in the Junior Golf Ranking TGA-Singha 2021-2022 and to Tanawut in Year 1 for coming 6th place.

Get your tickets to ‘Treasure Island’! Last year Aladdin was fully “sold out”! This year we are bigger and better … A brand new THEATRE Junkyard Theatre. A larger and wonderfully talented Cast Theatrix Group. Amazing sets and delicious food from The GRIND Cafe Phuket. Don’t miss the FUN! -Phuket Christmas Panto team