Weekly Update #4, 13 September 2024

Announcements

Traffic Access to HeadStart Cherngtalay Campus

Dear parents. We would like to reassure you that we are aware of the difficulties experienced by parents in terms of accessing the school site from Srisoonthorn Road. We are working closely with Kajonkiet School to ensure the repairs required to both the road surface and traffic control measures (permanent bollards) are completed during the forthcoming half-term break (12-20 October) when both schools will be closed. In the meantime, we kindly request that drivers of all vehicles do their best to enter and exit the site in a cooperative manner.

Swimming Lessons are GO!

We are excited to announce the start of timetabled swimming lessons as well as swimming ECAs and the AquaPanthers Swim Academy from next Monday, 16th September 2024. Please ensure your child has the correct swim kit (swim cap if a child’s hair is past eye-level, trunks and goggles for boys, swimsuit and goggles for girls; no bikinis) including a towel for drying afterwards. All parents have been sent an email confirmation with a copy of the class schedule. You can also check your child’s timetable in the Parent Portal to confirm the day and time of their swimming lesson.

For any keen swimmers who missed out on our first round of tryouts for the AquaPanthers Swim Academy, don’t panic! We will hold further trials this Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th September from 4:30-5:30pm in our brand new pool. Tryouts are open to children 8 years and older who are able to swim 50m both freestyle and backstroke.

Upcoming Events

First Foundation Stay & Play of the Year

Stay & Play sessions at HeadStart hold significant importance within the Foundation department. These sessions promote parental involvement, allowing parents to actively engage with their child’s development, foster social skills, understand play based learning and build trust with the school community. Stay & Play also supports the gradual independence of children, helps develop important early learning skills, and boosts confidence, ensuring a positive start to their educational journey.

We invite our Foundation parents to join us for our first Stay & Play of the year. This session is for parents to spend time with their children in their classrooms all planned around the theme ‘all about me’. Each session will start at 8.30am and be held in your child’s classroom and the Indoor learning Centre. Ms Natalie Walker – Deputy Head of Foundation

Save the Date! Yearbook Photoshoot Coming Soon

Our annual photoshoot for the whole school yearbook is coming soon. This is your child’s chance to capture the smiles and laughter they share with their classmates and to preserve memories of friendships, achievements, and experiences at our ever-growing Cherngtalay campus. Our professional photoshoot will take place from Monday 30th September to Wednesday 2nd October. A timetable will be shared nearer the time.

Meetings & Presentations

HeadStart Curriculum for Thai-speaking Parents meeting on 12.09.24

On Thursday 120th September, our Thai parents were invited to attend the meeting with Dr. Parimon Phaisamran, our School Licensee, and Kru Dia, our Deputy School Director. Parents received insightful information about our school curriculum that we offer in Foundation, Primary and Secondary. This was also a good opportunity for Thai parents in Foundation and Primary to meet and get to know new Secondary parents in our community to share the experiences from their own children and to learn from each other.

We are sincerely grateful to our parents who shared their personal experiences and how they work closely with the school to best support their child.

Thank you very much for attending this meeting. Dr. Parimon Phaisamran – School Licensee

If you were unable to attend the meeting, please find a copy of the presentation below 👇

HeadStart Curriculum Thai speaking Parent Meeting 12 September 2024

Parent Meeting: Introduction to Primary Curriculum at HeadStart on Thursday 19th September

We invite all Primary parents to join us for our latest parent meeting when our Primary team will introduce you to our Primary Curriculum. It will also be a great opportunity to meet other parents and members of our community. Our Thai, Russian and Mandarin speaking admin teams will be on hand to provide translation services. We look forward to seeing you there! Thursday 19th September 2024 from 8:30-9:30am in the Secondary Indoor Learning Centre (SILC).

Meet the Team

Our dedicated sports academies offer an exceptional program designed to nurture young athletes’ talents and passions. Our academies provide a comprehensive program that blends rigorous training with skill development alongside encouraging a love of the sport. With state-of-the-art facilities and expert coaching, we support students in football, swimming and basketball. Our focus is on developing skills, teamwork, and sportsmanship, preparing students for competitive environments and fostering a lifelong love of physical activity. At HeadStart, we believe that a well-rounded education includes not just academic achievement but also the opportunity to thrive in athletic pursuits.

House News

The recent house competitions brought out the best in our students as they competed in two exciting events: the Whole School “Weigh Your Waste” contest and the Secondary tug-of-war. Each event highlighted the enthusiasm and teamwork of our school houses.

These house competitions were a great success, with each house demonstrating unique strengths in the two events. The Red Phoenixes emerged as the standout house with victories in both the “Weigh Your Waste” contest and the Secondary tug-of-war. While the Phoenixes excelled overall, each house showed remarkable effort and sportsmanship. These competitions not only fostered a spirit of camaraderie but also highlighted areas for improvement in sustainability and teamwork. Congratulations to all participants for their enthusiasm and hard work!

Weigh Your Waste – Food Waste Weighing Contest

In this contest, students were challenged to minimize food waste, and their efforts were measured by the amount of waste collected. Here’s how each house performed:

• Red Phoenixes – 1st Place Food Waste Collected: 5kg

• Blue Tigers – 2nd Place Food Waste Collected: 5.5kg

• Yellow Cheetahs – 3rd Place Food Waste Collected: 6kg

• Green Dragons – 4th Place Food Waste Collected: 7kg

Secondary Tug of War

The Secondary tug-of-war was a thrilling display of teamwork and strength, and the competition was intense. Here’s how the houses finished:

The Red Phoenixes emerged victorious in this fiercely contested event, showcasing their superior teamwork and coordination. Their win in the tug-of-war reflects their ability to come together and achieve collective goals. The Blue Tigers and Green Dragons finished tied, with both teams putting up a strong fight, ending in a tie for second place. Their performance was impressive, indicating well-coordinated and resilient teams. Despite their best efforts, the Yellow Cheetahs came in third. Their performance was commendable, though they faced tough competition from the other houses.

Thai Department

Smile, Wai, Sawasdee!

Welcome to the Thai Department’s Cultural Project to promote Thai greeting and hospitality. This week, our Thai team was joined by students from Year 2 to greet families as they arrived in the morning. Thanks to Mr. Lawler, our Head of Foundation & Primary, for also coming along to welcome parents and students.

Languages Department

Exploring Ancient Oracle Bone Scripts in Year 1 and 2 First Language Mandarin Class

In our Mandarin First Language class, Year 1 and Year 2 students explored the ancient oracle bone script, learning how each character resembles an original object. The lesson combined storytelling and art, with students drawing oracle bone characters and sharing their creations. Some students added imaginative touches, like one who drew a stone splashing into water and included the oracle bone script for “water” in the ripples. This creative activity brought history to life while fostering language skills. Ms Wen Xing – Mandarin Teacher

Foundation

Being Playful in Preschool

Being playful in Preschool is essential as it helps young children develop social skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities through interactive and enjoyable activities. Playful learning environments stimulate curiosity and engagement, making education both fun and effective during these formative years. The Preschool Team

A Delicious Dive into the World of Handa’s Surprise in Early Years

Our Early Years Yellow Class dived into the colourful world of Handa’s Surprise this week! The children enjoyed listening to the story, then brought it to life by re-enacting Handa’s journey and finished by creating observational drawings of the delicious fruits. What a fun-filled learning experience! Miss Una – Early Years Teacher

Primary

Year 2 Diving into the 5 Oceans of the World

To start the term, Year 2 have been diving into their geography lessons by exploring the five oceans of the world. Through engaging activities such as map work and catchy songs, the children have learned to identify and locate the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic Oceans. One of the highlights was their enthusiasm for singing the 5 Oceans Song, which helped reinforce their understanding in a fun way. Now you can enjoy the song at home too! Mr Patel and Ms Gibb – Year 2 Teachers

Fast ForWord – Accelerating our EAL students English skills!

Year 4 EAL students are diving into verb vocabulary and sentence writing with enthusiasm. With these, they’re having a blast acting out the verb phrases they learn. Moreover, their recent Fast ForWord sessions are boosting their English skills, making learning both fun and effective. We’re so excited to witness their language abilities flourish through engaging activities and interactive lessons! Miss Taypoc – EAL Associate Teacher

Developing a Love of Reading in Year 5 Yellow

Library time is crucial for students in upper primary as it fosters a love of reading and helps develop their literacy skills. It provides a space for them to explore diverse genres and topics, which enhances their critical thinking and creativity. Our Year 5 Yellow students have been making the most of their weekly visit to our school library to discover books that excite them and further develop their love of reading. Mrs Williams – Year 5 Yellow Teacher

Secondary

Getting to Grips with Coding in Year 9

Our Year 9 learners have been learning about and developing their HTML coding skills; creating a basic web page and inserting hyperlinks, text and images. This lesson all learners progressed further by incorporating CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), a style sheet language used for specifying presentation and styling, into their HTML code. The learners now move on even further with their skills by creating their own website! An effective website requires proper planning so, using the understanding they have developed as a group in discussions and lesson work about colour schemes, navigation, and layout, the design section of this unit of our curriculum now begins! Ms Manning – Deputy Head of Secondary

HeadStart Eco School

September is National Self-care Awareness Month

The way we view Sustainability is as a holistic approach to living in balance; with yourself, with others and with nature. We can encourage a positive relationship with nature and the planet but we must also cultivate a positive relationship with ourselves. This week we recognized RUOK day and will recognise Self-care Awareness across September. An example of this is at Primary lunch times where we encourage students to eat a balanced plate of food, reflecting their Curriculum studies; Year 3 are currently exploring what our bodies need.

Positive Action always starts with Awareness

Community Beach Clean

We look forward to seeing you at our next beach clean held at Rawai beach, on Sunday 6th October (meet 9:30 am @ We Cafe Rawai). Bring with you water, suncream, a hat and reusable gloves if you want to wear them. We will provide collection bags and of course House Points for every participant.
So come join us for a fun and rewarding community event where we give back to our local community.

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