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Weekly Update #17, 25 February 2022
Upcoming events can be found on the website under School Life → Calendar and are outlined here for easy reference. Good news! Our term 3 dates have already been uploaded to the school calendar so that you can plan your summer. If you have questions or require further assistance please email [email protected]
| Date | Time | Event | Who for? | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26-27 February | 8.00am-4.30pm | DofE Year 10 Bronze Training (Group 1) | Year 10 | Ao Yon beach |
| 03 March | All day | Yearbook Photoshoot | All students & staff | Secondary Hall |
| 5-6 March | 8.00am-4.30pm | DofE Year 10 Bronze Training (Group 2) | Year 10 | Ao Yon beach |
| 7-10 March | All day | Yearbook Photoshoot | All students & staff | Secondary Hall |
| 12 March | 8.30am-12.30pm | Saturday Thai Culture Club | Children of Thai nationality | |
| 12-13 March | 8.00am-4.30pm | DofE Year 10 Bronze Practice (Group 1) | Year 10 | Ao Yon beach |
| 15-17 March | 8.00am-5.00pm | Year 7 Residential Trip | Year 7 students/teachers | to Angsana Laguna |
| 16 March | 3.30-5.00pm | Y12 & Y13 Parent-Teacher conferences | Y12 & 13 parents | Secondary hall |
| 18-19 March | 6.00pm-6.00am | 12 Hour Swimathon for Charity | Swim Academy | Swimming pool/Sports Hall |
| 19-20 March | 8.00am-4.00pm | DofE Year 10 Bronze Practice (Group 2) | Year 10 | Ao Yon |
| 21-23 March | 8.00am-5.00pm | Year 8 Residential Trip | Year 8 | Khao Sok River Side Cottages |
| 21-25 March | In class | Swim Galas | All school | Swimming pools |
| 24-25 March | 8.00am-4.00pm | DofE Year 10 Bronze Final Trip (Group 1) | Year 10 | Ao Yon |
| 25 March | 6.00pm-4.00pm | Footie-a-thon for charity | Football academy | Football pitches |
Click on the link below and enjoy our brand new promotional video for Secondary school at HeadStart! Thank you to all of the students and staff that have made this production possible.
HeadStart Secondary offers a vibrant and innovative learning journey, one underpinned by both academic rigour and wider developmental opportunities. HeadStart is a great place to prepare our young leaders of tomorrow for the next steps after their Secondary education. With the guidance of subject specialists and our University Prep team, our students matriculate at leading universities all around the world. 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜.
Yearbook Photoshoot
The Yearbook Photoshoot will be taking place on the 3rd, 7-10 of March and we would like to ask that all students wear their regular HeadStart uniform, clean white socks with school or sports shoes on the day of their photo. No PE kits, beach shoes, sandals, large watches, bracelets, lanyards, necklaces or other accessories. Hair should be cut & styled neatly and not cover the child’s face. Click HERE for the Yearbook timetable. Be warned that timings may change but we will keep to the allocated days.
We understand that some students may not be in school due to Covid or class closures. We will not be able to schedule additional days for missed yearbook photos but we are able to invite students who have missed their slot, to take a photo and send it to [email protected]. These photos will be added to the Yearbook. Description: high quality, clear, smiling, no shadows, white background only. The photo must be taken at eye level, the student must be looking directly forward. No filters or apps will be allowed.
Year 7- 9 Residential Trips
We are very pleased to announce upcoming residential trips for Years 7, 8 and 9 taking place in March. The aim of the trips is for our students to enjoy two nights and three days of team building activities in a setting outside of school. We are sure that this will be a fantastic trip and we encourage all students to sign up and join! It is important to note that any students not attending the trips will need to remain at home as with all teachers and staff focussed on the trips, we will not have adequate staff to care for them at school. Parents will have already received an email invitation to sign up for the trip. The deadline was Wednesday, 23 February. If you haven’t done so already, please inform the office by writing to [email protected]. In an upcoming presentation, Secondary management will share more details about the trip and parents will have the opportunity to ask questions.
New Fitness Coach
Welcome Coach A, our new Fitness Suite Manager to HeadStart! Coach A will oversee the general management and running of the fitness suite. He is also available throughout the school day to offer either personal training or small group training. You can contact Coach A directly to ask questions and book your sessions.
We would like to thank Dr Napon Janthamanee, a Child Pediatrician at Siriroj Hospital for taking the time to give our Thai parents valuable information regarding Covid vaccinations for children aged 5-11 last week. -Kru Nee, School Director
| Seagrass Planting Project |
Collette Edouard
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to HeadStart International School, Phuket. My husband, Jazon Edouard, and I set out to provide the best possible educational opportunity for our five sons. Despite the many challenges of living abroad and raising a young family, we have succeeded in developing a thriving learning environment not only for our own children, but for the over 800 children who attend HeadStart school today. We attribute our success to careful planning and to our strong team of dedicated educators who, on a daily basis, strive to Inspire a love of learning.
We are an eco-friendly school leading the way with innovation and inspiration. At HeadStart, we are passionate about educating our students to be more conscious of our carbon footprint and the best way to lead is by example! Did you know?
💥 HeadStart has the largest solar-powered installation of any school in Thailand.
💥 We have a growing garden that promotes teaching students how to grow their own food.
💥 No food goes to waste! All food scraps after lunch are collected by a farmer and fed to pigs while good food leftover from lunch is collected by SOS Foundation and redistributed to vulnerable communities around the island.
💥 We have committed to limiting single-use plastic throughout the school.
💥 We have invested in plastic grinders, a washer, a plastic sheet press, an extrusion machine and a vacuum mould. These machines enable the school to teach students the full scope of taking discarded plastics and turning them into useful products.
This week we went one step further as we welcomed 200 seagrass seedlings in our brand new seagrass nursery. Thanks to the Oceans For All team for giving us the chance to participate in this project and for doing the hard work of waking up at 5.00am to collect the seeds and promote this project island-wide.
We welcome everyone to come and have a look at the project in the atrium! #headstart #EcoSchools #creativity #passion #excellence
Upcoming Basketball Fixture
The HeadStart Basketball team will be hosting an inter-squad 5 game basketball series starting on Wednesday, 2nd March at 16.30 in the Sports Hall and continuing every Wednesday up until the Songkran break. Everyone is welcome to come and watch and support the teams. All games start at 16.30. We look forward to seeing you there! -Coach Mike
Relive the excitement of the Secondary Sports Day 2022!
Congratulations to Tangton in Year 13 on his offer to study at the Faculty of Economics in the International Programme at Chulalongkorn University, ranked No. 1 university in Thailand for 8 consecutive years. Tangton has also been offered a place to study at Thammasat University, yet another very prestigious educational institution in Thailand. We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Tangton on his fantastic run on TheVoiceThailand as well as The Star Model Thailand. A big thank you to all those who voted for him and helped encourage him along the way.
Year 2 ‘Charlie & the Chocolate Factory’
We did a fabulous lesson this week to introduce our new topic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It is safe to say the children are now absolutely thrilled about this topic and the exciting introduction certainly attracted their attention. Children are working on their description; learning new vocabulary and applying it to a recognizably delicious theme! Children will also explore characters and scenes, write questions and provide interesting answers, investigate new adjectives and adverbs, enjoy roleplay, and strengthen their reading comprehension through analysing our new story. We are certain that this yummy theme will help improve children’s English skills across the board and do so in a very engaging way! -Ms Charlotte Myers
| Coursework Assessment in English |
Assessing coursework is an attritional time of year for English teachers. This week I have had to mark over 60 pieces of writing, using four different assessment strands and that’s before we begin on the standardisation process and the administration of the portfolios. However, thus far my metaphysical pain has been easier to endure due the incredibly high standard of the students’ work. Indeed, so enjoyable have some pieces been to read, that I feel compelled to share with you two in particular: Ellie Wisnia and her descriptive piece ‘Grandma’s House’; and Grace Holtby’s sinister narrative ‘The Lunch Lady.’ -Mr. Pollicutt, Head of English
| 5 Tips for Parents with Children in Primary |
Stephanie Costa
My name is Stephanie Costa and I am originally from Lisbon in Portugal; this will be my 7th year in Thailand and my 2nd year at Headstart. I studied at Brighton University in the UK where I obtained a Masters in Social Work and at The College of New Jersey in the US where I was awarded a Masters in Counselling. I completed my Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Sunderland University in the UK. I lived in the UK for many years where I worked as a child protection social worker and I have always found motivation in supporting others in whatever ways I could. Before becoming a social worker, I worked with refugees applying for asylum, in development work in Africa, with prisoners supporting them before release, advocating for people with mental health issues, for the probation service with high risk offenders, and as a School Counsellor at a couple of International Schools in Bangkok. I also had a successful private counselling practice in Phuket for 3 years which I closed to work full time at Headstart. I love reading, cooking, swimming, diving and am looking forward to another year at Headstart connecting with students and parents. “People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be” When I look at a sunset, I don’t find myself saying, “Soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner. I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds”. From A Way of Being by Carl Rogers, 1980.
1. Read Aloud Every Day
One of the absolute best things you can do for your child and their success in school is to read out loud together every day (or almost every day).
2. Find Quiet Time Together
An added benefit of reading together, especially at bedtime, is that you have a built-in quiet time together during the day with your child.
3. Model Reading and Writing
If you read for pleasure in front of your child, they’ll get the message loud and clear that reading is a good thing. Likewise you can show them the importance of writing as you send emails, write lists or write in a travel journal.
4. Explain Behaviours
Your child has many pathways to learning. They can listen. They can write. They can read. They can touch. They can taste. They can experience. How many of those pathways are you using you’re trying to get your child to learn and do something?
5. Set Realistic Limits
Behaviour. Punishments. This is the stickiest wicket of parenting because every child needs discipline and every child craves limits. Children generally want to please adults, and the best way to do this is by behaving appropriately. This means your child needs limits and rules, preferably before they cross a line.
