Weekly Update #37, 13 June 2025

Dance ECA and Academy Make-up Classes Happening Next Week

Please find here information about Dance ECA and Academy make-up sessions taking place next week:

Update Regarding Foundation & Primary Student Access Cards

Dear parents, Starting August 2025, the school will no longer issue access cards for Foundation and Primary students at both campuses. Parents can still use their own access card to enter and exit the school site as usual. New parents will receive their parent access card to enter and exit the school site as usual.

All current Foundation and Primary student access cards will be deactivated from the turnstile system by the end of June 2025, and will no longer function at either campus. The school will provide new student access cards only for new Secondary students (Years 7 – 13), which will be activated at the turnstile of both campuses. Current Secondary student access cards will function as normal.

Please note: If a parent wishes to obtain a student card for purchasing discount purposes, they may request one at the School Reception (Admin Office). The first card is free of charge.

HeadStart Summer Camp 2025 @ Cherngtalay Campus

There is still time to sign up your child for our HeadStart Summer Camp. Taking place over three weeks of summer – starting Monday 7th July through to Friday 25th July – you can choose to sign up for individual weeks or all three.

A 25% discount is applicable for HeadStart students while you can receive discount coupons for 2nd and 3rd applicants if non-HeadStart pupils.

📍 HeadStart Cherngtalay Campus

🗓️ Week 1: Monday 7th – Friday 11th July; Week 2: Monday 14th – Friday 18th July; Week 3: Monday 21st – Friday 25th July

🕒 08:00-15:40 daily

To find out more about our Summer Camp or register, visit our website: https://headstartphuket.com/summer-camp

Summer Football Camps @ Headstart Chaofah City Campus

Our Summer Football Camp offers an incredible opportunity for players to tap into their football potential, enhance their skills, and enjoy a fun-filled experience at HeadStart International School, all within a vibrant and energetic environment! The Camp starts at 09:00 (drop off after 08:30) and finishes at 14:00 with lunch provided!

Players will be split into the appropriate groups, depending on their age and abilities. Expect high-quality coaching, lots of fun and medals to be won!

Week 1

📅 August 4th – 8th (5 Days)

⚽︎🏃🏻‍♂️ School Years 2 – 6 Only

Week 2

📅 August 11th – 13th (3 Days)

⚽︎🏃🏻‍♂️ School Years 3 – 7 Only

To sign up, please contact [email protected]

Year 6 Graduation Ceremony 2025

We cordially invite our Year 6 Students and their families to our Year 6 Graduation Ceremony. This is a wonderful chance to celebrate our Year 6 students as they transition from Primary to Secondary school.

📅 Date: Wednesday 18 June 2025

🕒 Time: 13:30 – 14:30

📍 Location: Sports Hall

Join us in celebrating the hard work and accomplishments of our students. We look forward to sharing this memorable occasion with all of you.

Primary End of Year Awards Ceremony 2025

We are delighted to invite students from Year 2 to Year 6 and parents of our award winners (email confirmation sent) to our Primary End of Year Awards Ceremony. This special event is to honor the achievements of our Primary students.

📅 Date: Thursday 19 June 2025

🕒 Time: 13:30 – 14:30

📍 Location: Sports Hall

Join us in celebrating the hard work and accomplishments of our students. We look forward to sharing this memorable occasion with all of you.

Reception Graduation Ceremony 2025

We are thrilled to invite all of our Reception students and parents to a special celebration honoring all that our wonderful children have learned in Foundation! Join us as we celebrate their achievements and their exciting journey ahead in Primary school.

📅 Date: Friday 20 June 2025

🕒 Time: 08:45 – 09:45

📍 Location: Sports Hall

Let’s come together to applaud our little ones and their amazing progress. We look forward to sharing this joyful moment with you!

Ruojing Bai – Enrolled at HeadStart Since Year 6

Having joined HeadStart in Year 6, Ruojing Bai (known to all as Tina) has grown into a confident and committed student leader. She has served as a Prefect, Student Council member, and House Captain, consistently bringing energy and organisation to all she does. Known for her thoughtful approach and collaborative spirit, Tina has made a lasting impression on both peers and teachers alike. She will be pursuing a BSc in Management at the University of Manchester, and has also received offers from: King’s College London, Durham University, University of Bristol, University, and Royal Holloway, University of London. We’re excited to see Tina continue her journey in the world of business and leadership, and we wish her every success ahead.

Xinying Cui – Enrolled at HeadStart Since Year 10

Joining HeadStart in Year 10, Xinying Cui (Ruby) has embraced school life with energy and initiative. She has contributed to the community through roles in the Student Council, helped manage the school vending machine, and participated in Sunny Side Up, a student-led initiative improving English education for underprivileged Thai children. Ruby also took part in the AIHM Business Competition and was a regular organiser at the Friday Market, showcasing her business and creative flair. Ruby has received offers from:
University of Kent, University of Surrey, Swansea University, University of Lincoln, and Kingston University. And currently has applications in progress at Yonsei University, Seoul. With interests spanning Business Management, International Studies, Culture and Design Management, and Integrated Design, we look forward to seeing where her diverse passions take her next.

Emma Winder – Enrolled at HeadStart Since Year 9

A HeadStart student since Year 9, is well-known for her dedication both in and out of the pool. A member of the Swimming Academy and participant in the impressive 24-hour swim challenge, Emma has also made a strong impact through her volunteer work with Sunny Side Up, helping teach English to local Thai children using a student-led, conversation-based approach. Emma is currently deciding between offers and is considering Stamford International University, Bangkok, with other applications in progress at Edith Cowan University, Perth. She is interested in pursuing media-related studies and is excited about where this next chapter will take her. We’re proud of Emma’s enthusiasm, perseverance, and community spirit – and can’t wait to see what she creates next!

Catherine Keiser – Enrolled at HeadStart Since Year 12

Catherine, who joined HeadStart in Year 12, has received offers to study a BSc in Biomedical Sciences at both the University of Groningen and Maastricht University – two of the Netherland’s most respected research institutions. With a strong interest in human biology and medical research, Catherine is looking forward to pursuing her passion in an international setting. We wish her every success as she takes this exciting next step in her academic journey.

Andy (3 White Chaofah City campus) – Enrolled at HeadStart since Year 3

Andy loves designing his own games using his programming skills. As a student who is new to English, he is also grateful for the kindness and understanding shown by both his teachers and peers and he continues to make progress. Why does Andy love HeadStart?

Secondary Battle of the Bands

This year’s Battle of the bands, which took place on Friday 30th May, was an overwhelmingly brilliant experience for everyone in the room. The amount of talent, energy and engagement from absolutely everyone performing wowed us all. From younger students surprising us with fantastic performances of American Idiot and Shut Up and Dance, to our most experienced band, The Clique, flawlessly executing one of the hardest songs to perform – Bohemian Rhapsody. A big shout out to Jess (Year 12) who performed with three different bands!

The afternoon was a clear display not just of the immense creativity and capability of our musical students, but all the support they have for each other and from our CAPA department and dedicated backstage team, especially Mr Graham and Mrs Howells, not to mention inspiring musicians like Mr Hanby and Mr Arthur who frequently give up their time for our student collaborations. Congratulations to Fluorescent for their incredibly engaging performance winning them best overall band. Nanki (Year 12)

Sports Awards Ceremony 2025

On Tuesday, 10th June, our Football, Basketball, and Swim Academies from across both campuses all came together at our Chaofah City campus to celebrate their achievements this year at the annual Sports Awards Ceremony. Firstly, a huge congratulations to all our academy athletes and their respective communities for working together to raise an astonishing 373,732 Thai baht for our chosen charities at this year’s 24 Hours to Make a Difference event: Youth Football Home and North Andaman Network Foundation. It was heartwarming to receive messages from both in thanks for the funds raised.

Well done to all award winners! To those athletes who didn’t receive an award – do not get downhearted. As our Honourable Guest Speaker, former New Zealand All Blacks Rugby Captain, Anton Oliver, explained, sport is not about the winning, but about perseverance and giving it your all at all times.

On which note, a massive THANK YOU to Anton, who not only had an inspiring rugby career playing one of the toughest sports at the very highest level but, having hung up his boots, has gone on to share his own success with those much less fortunate through his support of a range of charitable organisations in particular working with children. Sincere thanks, Anton!

📸 Please find a full album of photos here: Sports Awards Ceremony 2025

A Message from North Andaman Network Foundation to the HeadStart Community

Hear from Bodhi Garrett, founder of North Andaman Network Foundation (NANF), one of our two chosen foundations for the 24 Hours to Make a Difference event.

A BIG finish to the season for the Aqua Panthers!

It’s been a BUSY (and awesome) couple of weeks for our team! First up — we sent 4 of our elite swimmers — Bada, Natalie, Alon, and Viktor — to the 🇸🇬 Singapore National Championships! All 4 swimmers hit personal bests and we came away with some new school records, too:

💥 Bada smashed the 50 Backstroke AND 100 Freestyle school records

💥 Natalie smashed the 200, 400, and 1500 Freestyle school records

Such a great experience for these swimmers competing internationally — huge growth moments!

Then this past weekend, we took 30 swimmers to the Patana Summer Swimmers Meet. Our Aqua Panthers achieved tons of personal best times and several more school records were broken — love seeing all the hard work pay off for these kids in the pool! It’s been a FUN and FAST finish to the season. Couldn’t be prouder of how our swimmers performed and supported each other these past two weeks! We’re already looking forward to bringing an even bigger crew to more meets next year. Let’s go Aqua Panthers! Coach Brown – Head Swim Coach

Year 5 Swim Gala

Our Year 5 swimmers showed up and made huge waves on June 11th! The atmosphere was electric, the races were thrilling, and we saw new school records fall!

💥 Record Breakers:

🏆 Rita shattered the 25m Backstroke (18.02) and 25m Breaststroke (18.25)!

🏆 Ratmir tied the 25m Backstroke record with a blazing 18.66!

👏 A huge congratulations to our new record holders!

The pool was packed with cheering parents—your energy helped fuel some incredible swims! Thank you for being there to support the kids.

Final Team Standings:

1️⃣ Yellow Cheetahs

2️⃣ Red Phoenixes

3️⃣ Green Dragons

4️⃣ Blue Tigers

It was a fantastic day of racing, spirit, and sportsmanship. Well done, Year 5—you truly made it a day to remember!

HeadStart U13 Boys v Stingray U13 Boys

This week our U13 boys football academy team had a fantastic match against Stingray Academy! The boys showcased their skills with some fantastic football and impressive goals. Proud of the teamwork and efforts on the pitch. Well done boys! Coach Frost – Head Football Coach

End of Year Pawndemonium Chess Tournament!

Twice a year we organize an inter-school chess tournament. This time it’s summer edition, 2nd Pawndemonium! Our 10th and final tournament of the 2024/2025 Season will be held on Saturday, 14th June. Attendance checking at 11:30 am and the first round just after. The event will finish at approximately 18:00.

Early bird fee: 250 THB

Registration fee on the day of the tournament will be 500 THB.

Medals for top 3 players. Trophies for best U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18 and Best Female categories.

• 1st place: 2000 THB + handmade chess board

• 2nd place: 1500 THB

• 3rd place: 1000 THB

• Best Female: 1000 THB + 2 nights in a luxurious villa (worth 20K THB!)

Attractive awards for all participants! And… pizza! Students of all levels and ages are welcome! To register, contact coach Dawid on WhatsApp: +66810486441

New Parent and Child Stay & Play

Thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us for our New parent and child Stay and Play session of the year. It was truly lovely to see familiar faces and meet new ones. The children settled in beautifully, showing confidence as they explored their new environment with your support. Your presence helped create a warm, welcoming atmosphere where the children felt safe, secure, and ready to begin this exciting new chapter. We cannot wait to welcome you all again in August as we continue this journey together! The Foundation Team

Focus on Feedback in Year 10 English

While working smart is important, working hard is pretty useful too.

John Hattie’s work in “Visible Learning” highlights the powerful impact of feedback on student achievement. He found that feedback is one of the most significant influences on learning, even more impactful than many traditional teaching strategies. Effective feedback is not just about praising or correcting; it’s about providing information that helps students understand their progress, identify areas for improvement, and understand where they need to go next.

In English, for Year 10s following the recent End of Year Examinations, this means a raft of different modes of feedback. We offer detailed formative comments on areas of strength and what and how to improve, to marginal, dialogic notes. We also offer model responses from previous outstanding students and whole class feedback in the form of model content and inferences. Of course, we need to know that this has an effect. To measure the efficacy of this feedback, the lucky students have an opportunity to do a ‘feed-forward’ essay before the end of term. Mr. Pollicutt – Head of English & EAL

Year 11 Gaining Experience and an Insight into Career Paths

This week, our Year 11 students stepped out of the classroom and into the real world for their work experience placements. From the buzz of law firms and hotels to the unique environments of aquariums and hospitals, students had the opportunity to gain a firsthand insight into a wide range of careers. Some students explored the fast-paced world of real estate and hospitality, while others got a taste of life in healthcare settings. A few enjoyed more hands-on experiences – assisting with water sports, working on boats, and learning the ropes in active, outdoor industries.

The week offered not only a chance to explore career interests, but also helped students develop vital skills such as communication, time management, and adaptability. We’re incredibly proud of how they represented the school and grateful to all the organisations that hosted our students and made this experience so valuable. Mrs Graham – Deputy Head of Upper Secondary

Grove Island Adventure – A Free Family event on Saturday 14th June

On behalf of Grove Phuket and the Blu Monkey team, we would like to cordially invite HeadStart families to our free family event: Grove Island Adventure. This free-entry community event is inspired by the animated film Moana and aims to provide a creative, enjoyable environment for children and families.

Event Details:

📅 Date: Saturday, 14 June 2025

🕒 Time: 16:00 onwards

📍 Location: Grove Phuket (https://maps.app.goo.gl/FcxxZEUhYwXVdYsKA)

₿ Admission: Free of charge

Activities Include:

• Live music in a relaxed, beachside setting

• Hands-on creative workshops such as rock painting, canoe model decoration, and bead necklace making

• Outdoor movie screening of Moana

• Family zones designed for kids and pet-friendly participation