Weekly Update #17, 13 January 2023

Upcoming events can be found on the website under School Life → Calendar and are outlined here for easy reference. If you have questions or require further assistance please email [email protected]

HeadStart from Above!

Enjoy this bird’s eye view of HeadStart International School Phuket! Started in 2005 as a small homeschool center with a handful of young children enroled. Fast forward to 2023 where over 920 students are enroled and over 250 teachers and support staff are working to Inspire a Love of Learning day in and day out. We are blessed with a thriving community of like-minded, caring parents who are supportive of the children’s progress and the school’s future development.

As a side note, check out the 1,800 solar panels installed on the roofs! Did you know? HeadStart is 80% powered by the sun. We are constantly looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to the sustainability of this beautiful island that we all call home!

Year 9 Options Evening on 11.01.23

As well as sharing the presentation made to Year 9 students on Wednesday of this week I am sharing some more files that may be useful for you. The Year 9 IGCSE Options Booklet gives a very brief overview of each subject and how they are assessed. There are also some videos and other files that further explain some of the subjects on offer at HeadStart. If you were able to attend the presentation, I hope you found the presentation and the fair useful and please do not hesitate to reach out to the relevant staff member if you wish to know more. To find the correct member of staff to contact, and their email address, click here!. If you have any other questions please email me at [email protected]. - Timothy Davidson, Deputy Head of Secondary (Academics)

Year 9 Residential Parent Presentation on 20.01.23

Inviting all Year 9 parents for an information session about the upcoming residential trip to Chiang Mai for four days and three nights. The session will take place on Friday, 20th January at 8.20AM in the Primary Hall. The session will be brief; however, I will be going over some of the exciting things your son/daughter will be participating in as well as travel arrangements, where they will be staying and what they need to bring to name a few things. It will also allow you to ask any questions should you have any.

We are very excited to finally be in a position where we are able to take the students off the island to experience Chiang Mai and all of its breathtaking beauty! Here at HeadStart, we passionately believe in the value and importance of learning outside the classroom environment; I am positive that students will not only learn a great deal from the trip but will also enjoy themselves immeasurably. - Mr Ashley Paice, Year 9 Coordinator

Our Early Years children are enjoying their swimming classes so much! Their radiant faces says it all!

💦 Swimming provides health benefits which can help to keep your children healthy, happy and safe! 💦 Swimming keeps your child’s heart and lungs healthy, improves strength and flexibility, increases stamina and improves balance and posture. 💦 Swimming provides challenges and rewards accomplishments, which helps children to become self-confident and believe in their abilities.

So, don’t forget to pack your child’s swimsuit on their swimming days and encourage them to participate!

Year 5 Science Lesson

To kick off 2023 and the new term in style, this week the children of Year 5 spent the first science lesson of their new unit in the Primary Playground! Working their way around the different apparatus, they had the opportunity to answer a range of questions to demonstrate their existing understanding of the physics of forces. From “What is the name of the force that causes you to fall from the monkey bars?” to “How could you go faster on a slide?”, they showed that they already have a wealth of ideas and experience to contribute to our learning journey this term. Well done Year 5! -Mr Alex Bell & the Year 5 Team

Secondary Session with Mr Alan Yipp

The following article was written by Dima Durosov, a student in Year 13

Mr. Alan Yipp did something very impressive yesterday: he kept a room of 60 16 year olds entertained while teaching them how to succeed at school for four hours straight. The energy he projected was kept constant throughout the talk which is what kept us all engaged. He taught us how to actually study using researched techniques which have been proven to yield results for example using the Pomodoro method of studying in 25 minute intervals with 5 minute breaks in between or going from the hardest subject to your most favourite subject. He taught us how to combat procrastination using a smart schedule, google calendar and colour coding. He taught us smart revision strategies like how to warm up your brain using breathing exercises.

I think something quite underrated that he told us to do is to speed up videos and lectures to 1.5x speed so you could get through information faster. We also learnt that using VAK methods (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), using VAK boosts your learning efficiency by 80 percent. The most important thing he taught us was about mindset, being confident and believing in yourself goes a long way in life and it is especially important to have a good mindset when it comes to your personal goal, believe in your goal and yourself and you will succeed.

Mr. Yipp seemed to be an expert in time management, he taught us the importance of FRILLS (Frequent, Regular, Intensive, Limited, Sessions) study in short time periods frequently with as much intensity as possible to yield the best result. I found Mr. Yipp was incredibly funny and charismatic, as did the rest of the Sixth Form and we could not take our eyes and ears off him. I hope we get to see him again next year in the lead up to our final A-Levels!

CAPA Student of the Month

Congratulations to Tim in year 9 for being our first HeadStar of term 2. Tim was nominated by his Design Technology teacher; Mr Wells. Tim was nominated for his excellent creativity in all his making projects. Well done Tim, keep up the hard work.

Young Farmers Club

The Secondary young farmers club returned this week after the Christmas break. This week the students have been spreading mulch onto the beds to protect the soil from the tropical sunshine. We have also started a new project growing chilli seeds. We have started germinating them in paper ready for the students to pot and look after even the prefects couldn’t resist getting involved. Everyone is welcome to join young farmers club in the garden on a Thursday lunchtime with Mr. Benham and the prefects. - Mr Dale Benham

OFA Photography Competition

To all the students residing in Thailand. Register for free, grab your camera or smart phone and WIN Prizes & cash (valued over 20,000 THB in total!!) Join the Oceans For All photography contest, under the theme: “Ocean Plastic, Impact and hope” sponsored by Blue Tree Phuket.

The photo can be anything related to plastic and the ocean. Semi-finalists will have their photographs exhibited at Blue Tree Phuket. To submit photos for the contest and for competition rules, click on the link: https://www.oceansforallfoundation.org/en/students-photography-contest/?fbclid=IwAR2-LjqQs7ellwucTdYXJKavje6gWlSkWOI8LqRCTN5qgpkdv7lgLNJMYy0