Weekly Update #6, 26 September 2025

Parent Use of the School Gym

This is a polite reminder to parents that if a PE class is taking place in the gym between 14:30 – 15:30 they are not to enter the gym until this is completed. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Mini Camps Are Coming to HeadStart Chaofah City Campus!

We’re excited to announce a series of action-packed Mini Camps running from 13–15 October, 09:00 – 14:00 daily. Students can choose from a range of exciting options – Coding, Chess, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Table Tennis, and Gymnastics – each designed to build skills, confidence, and have plenty of fun!

Spaces are limited, so don’t miss out. Click below to register your interest and secure your spot. Bookings are open for HeadStart & Outside Students so bring a friend! Our Camps Team will follow up via [email protected] with payment details.

Yearbook Photoshoot Starts Monday!

A friendly reminder that our annual school yearbook photoshoot begins this coming Monday. This is a wonderful opportunity to capture the smiles and laughter your child shares with their classmates, preserving the memories of their year at our Cherngtalay campus.

The photoshoot will run from Monday 29th SeptembertoWednesday 1st October. Your child’s Homeroom teacher will confirm the specific day for their class photo. We look forward to capturing these cherished moments!

Mandarin Language Day: Term 1

We are excited to invite you to a vibrant Mandarin Language Day event on Saturday, October 4th, from 09:00 to 12:00 at HeadStart Chaofah City Campus!

Event Highlights:

• Classical Chinese Dance Workshop

• Traditional Kite Making

• Bamboo Weaving Fan Craft for Mid-Autumn Festival

• Fragrant Sachet Making for Mid-Autumn Festival

Please click the link to fill out the registration form

Thank you for your cooperation and support! The Mandarin Team

我们将于2025年10月4日(星期六)上午9:00 – 12:00在HeadStart Chaofah City校区为您举办丰富多彩的中文语言日活动。

活动亮点：

• 中国古典舞体验

• 非遗纸鸢制作

• 中秋节竹编扇子制作

• 中秋节香囊制作

请点击链接填写报名表

感谢您的配合与支持！

诚挚问候 HeadStart 国际学校中文团队

Wai Kru Ceremony 2025

At the heart of the HeadStart community is a deep respect for the bond between students and teachers. We invite you to join us in celebrating this relationship at our annual Wai Kru (Teacher Appreciation) Ceremony.

This beautiful ceremony, observed in schools across Thailand, is a time-honoured tradition where our community comes together. It is an opportunity for our students to express their appreciation for their teachers’ guidance and dedication through the traditional offering of flowers.

Your presence makes this event all the more special. We would be delighted for parents to attend and share in this heartfelt expression of community and gratitude. Dates and times for each school level are detailed in the accompanying poster.

Foundation Wai Kru Ceremony

📅 Date: Wednesday 8 October

🕗 Time: 08:45 to 09:15

📍 Location: Primary ILC

Primary & Secondary Wai Kru Ceremony

📅 Date: Thursday 9 October

🕗 Time: 08:15 to 09:30

📍 Location: Sports Hall

Calling All Vendors for the October Friday Market!

Following the wonderful success of our first market of the year, we are excited to keep the vibrant community atmosphere going at our Cherngtalay Campus! We warmly invite new and returning vendors to join us for our next Friday Market, a fantastic afternoon for connecting with friends, enjoying healthy treats, and discovering unique, eco-friendly products. If you would like to book one of the few remaining stalls for this event, please contact Miss Newle in our admin office by emailing [email protected].

📅 Date: Friday 10th October

🕗 Time: 14:40 – 16:30

We look forward to seeing you there!

Secondary Curriculum and Pathway parent meeting on 25.09.25

Thank you to the Secondary parents who joined our latest meeting in which we talked you through our Secondary Curriculum, including our approach to the progression of students as they grow and develop with us in Secondary from Year 7 through to Year 13. We also took the opportunity to explain terminology we use to describe our programmes, and defined commonly used abbreviations. Information about what happens once your child completes Year 9 at our Cherngtalay campus and moves into Key Stage Four at the Chaofah campus was also presented. We will have further meetings later in the year to give guidance about the Options process for Year 9 parents and students choosing their Year 10 subjects. Please find a copy of the presentation below 👇

HSN Parent Meeting 05 Introduction to the Secondary Curriculum 2025 26

Parent Meeting: Positive Parenting with Dr. Helene 2025

Come join us! We welcome all parents to join us for our latest parent meeting when our resident child psychologist, Dr. Helen Laurent-Oliver, will talk parents through positive parenting strategies and offer hints and tips on how to ensure your child can learn positive behaviours for school and home. We look forward to seeing you there! Thursday 2nd October 2025 from 08:30-09:30 in the Secondary ILC.

The Architects of Imagination: HeadStart’s Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) team.

What sparks a student’s creative passion? At our Cherngtalay campus, the answer lies with our visionary CAPA team. As a collective of mentors, directors, and specialist teachers, they are more than educators – they are architects of creativity. They guide our students through a multi-faceted world of music, drama, visual arts, design technology, and public speaking, ensuring every child finds a way to express their unique voice.

In the music suites, they nurture a love for melody, from a student’s first chord to a full ensemble performance. In the art and design studios, they empower students to transform concepts into stunning creations, whether it’s a bold painting or a precisely engineered project. In the drama spaces, they build confidence and sophisticated communication skills for everything from London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) examinations to collaborative performances. By connecting these diverse disciplines, they foster an environment where students feel safe to explore, brave enough to express themselves, and proud of their unique talents. This year, you will see all these elements combine as the team guides our CAPA students through the captivating world of Alice in Wonderland, bringing magic to our stage.

Exploring Thai Heritage and Wellness

On Saturday, 20th September, students from both our school campuses enjoyed three fun and creative activities that connected culture, nature, and wellness at our Chaofah City campus:

🥥 Early Years and Reception explored the world of “Coconut: Nature’s All-Purpose Wonder.” Children discovered how every part of the coconut can be used in food, crafts, and daily life. To finish, they floated their very own boats made from coconut husks.

🎨 Year 1–3 students enjoyed “The Charm of Phuket’s Local Cuisine.” Students learned about the rich flavors and stories behind traditional Phuket dishes and painted Batik Art Fabric as a beautiful souvenir.

💆🏻‍♀ Year 4–6 students discovered “The Benefits of Herbs: Herbal Compress for Health.” Students made their own herbal compresses for relaxation and wellness, and also experienced professional massage therapy. Special thanks to Maymay (8 Yellow Chaofah City) and Maya’s (6 Blue Chaofah City) mum for providing the complimentary massage session.

These activities gave our students meaningful hands-on experiences while celebrating cultural heritage and the wisdom of nature. See you next term! The HeadStart Thai Team

📸 A full album of photos can be found here: Thai Culture Club Term 1

Panthers Football Academy Season Continues

We have been delighted to kick off the season for the HeadStart Panthers Cherngtalay with so many returning players and a host of new faces joining our community. As our school and Football Academy continue to grow, gaining a place on our teams has become increasingly competitive. A huge well done to everyone who has earned a spot in the Football Academy this year!

All of our teams have got the ball rolling quickly, already playing matches against other schools and academies, with plenty more fixtures in the pipeline. In addition to these friendlies, we are excited that our teams will be competing in a number of tournaments this year, including PISAC, the HeadStart Championships, BISP Soccer 7s, Harrow 7s, and Patana 7s, to name just a few.

With so many matches and tournaments to look forward to, we hope all of our players will continue to give their best in every training session, match, and competition. The coaching team is eager to see how our players develop not only in their skills on the pitch but also in their personal growth through football. We wish everyone the very best of luck for the rest of the season.

1 – 2 – 3 PANTHERS!

U13 Boys Impress their Coaches

Last week, the U13 Boys welcomed UWC for a friendly fixture. The Panthers really pushed themselves throughout the match and created some really impressive moments. The coaching team were impressed with how far the team has developed over the past few weeks and we are looking forward to seeing how they continue to develop in preparation for up and coming matches and tournaments.

Cherngtalay and Chaofah City Panthers Teams Face Off

Over the weekend, both the U11 and U9 Boys were in action with some inter-school rivalry: the U9 Boys travelled to our Choafah City campus to take on their counterparts there, while the U11 Boys welcomed the Choafah City U11 Boys to our home ground! Credit to our U9 Boys who, against strong opposition, never failed to give it their all and push themselves throughout the match. The U11 Boys match was end to end and competitive with our boys showing good organisation and creativity to open up their opposition on several occasions.

Well done to all of those involved in these matches, and thank you to our parent community for your ongoing support of our team. Coach Paul – Football Coach

Don’t Forget! Follow our Sports Academy News and Parent Alerts on our WhatsApp Channels

Please note that our Sports Academy teams will be moving away from using the LINE App for communicating with parents at the end of September. We have now moved over to WhatsApp Channels – a dedicated channel for each of our three academies. We will use these channels for immediate notifications and reminders as well as media from matches, meets and competitions. Scan the relevant QR code below or visit our display boards at school to join our Sports Academy community hub.

Role Playing Emotions in Year 2 French

Year 2 started this term by learning about emotions and weather with great enthusiasm. They were proud to present their little performance – a reflection of their hard work and love of learning French. Mdme. Billiau – French Teacher

A Fantastic Showcase of Our Play-Based Philosophy

A big thank you to all the parents who joined us for our ‘All About Me’ Stay and Play this week. The children loved showing you their classrooms and sharing activities that celebrate their families, interests, and special qualities. It was wonderful to see so much enthusiasm and pride as they talked about themselves and their work, and the event was also a fantastic showcase of our play-based learning philosophy in action.

Each activity, from sensory messy play to intricate craft stations, was carefully designed to support key Early Years development goals. While our students were joyfully creating, they were also honing fine motor skills, developing spatial awareness, and building crucial language skills. They were not just playing; they were constructing the confidence and self-awareness essential for their entire academic journey. Your support helps make these moments of discovery extra special.

📸 A full album of photos from the Stay & Play can be found here: Foundation All About Me Stay & Play 2025

Bringing Science to Life in Year 4

There are some lessons that you don’t just learn—you feel them, especially when you learn them together! This week, our Year 4 White classroom was filled with laughter and amazement as students moved beyond textbook diagrams to make science tangible. Working collaboratively, teams investigated the human digestive system by applying the scientific method. The children loved getting hands-on and seeing different stages of digestion in action, with plenty of fun along the way. It was a brilliant way to see science come to life! Miss Ramsay – Year 4 Teacher

New Student Leaders, Big Ideas!

Let’s celebrate our newly elected Secondary Student Council! They are passionately leading the charge to make a real difference in our school. This student-led initiative to create memorable activities, champion their peers’ ideas, and strengthen our community spirit is truly inspiring, and their dedication to making a positive impact is what makes our student community so vibrant.

Celebrating Our Stars

Let’s give a huge round of applause for our students who are shining bright in their pursuits outside of school. We’re celebrating some amazing recent achievements from our talented HeadStart Cherngtalay stars!

A huge congratulations to:

• Jasmine (Year 5 White)for achieving aDistinctionin herABRSM (Association Board of the Royal School of Music) Grade 1 Music Theory Exam. A fantastic result that reflects her hard work and deep understanding of music.

And congratulations to our tennis stars who showed fantastic skill and sportsmanship at the recent SIAM SPORTS PRO ACADEMY tournament:

• Kira (Year 3 White)for becoming theGirls Champion in the Under 10s category.

• Milo (Year 2 White)for earning aRunner-up medal in the competitive Under 8s category.

• Oscar (Year 2 White)for also securing aRunner-up medal in the Under 6s category.

Well done, everyone! We are so proud of your commitment and achievements!