Weekly Update #20, 18 March 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]

Presentation on Secondary Pathways (22 March 8.15am in the Secondary Hall)

All Year 7 - 11 parents are invited to attend this meeting led by Mr Lukats and Mr Drew. In the meeting, parents will hear about the academic programmes that we follow, their overall objectives and the support we put in place for parents and students to help make decisions as they progress through Secondary school. We will also cover the incredible learning experiences in the academic, sporting and aesthetic spheres available to Secondary Students at HeadStart.

UPrep Meeting (24 March at 8.15am in the Secondary Hall)

Thanks to all of those who were able to make it to last week’s UPrep Talk presented by Ms Bedi regarding ‘Your Child’s 5 Year Plan’. If you weren’t able to make it, the presentation is provided below as a download. The next UPrep Talk will be on the subject of ‘Choosing Subjects & Careers’ on 24 March at 8.15am in the Secondary Hall on the 4th floor.

Introduction to Sixth Form (29 March at 8.15am in the Secondary Hall)

All Year 11 parents and students are invited to attend this meeting led by Mr Lukats, Ms Bedi and Mr Drew. In the meeting, parents will hear about the academic programmes that we follow in Sixth Form, the overall objectives and the support we put in place for parents and students to help with making academic and college decisions in years 11 to 13. We will also cover the learning experiences in the academic, leadership, service, sporting and aesthetic spheres available to Secondary Students at HeadStart.

University Applications News

Congratulations to Sophie Callens on her offers to study at all of the universities that she has applied to.

“I have had the pleasure of being Sophie’s Homeroom teacher last year, French teacher for the last two years as well as being her Pastoral Coordinator and what I can say is that Sophie is one of the most hard-working, dedicated, and enthusiastic students I know. What also makes Sophie an accomplished member of our community is that she is actively involved in school life through her role as a Prefect. You can always count on Sophie to lead discussions in the most positive way. I trust that she will have a fantastic time whichever university she chooses, and I am confident that she will have a bright future.” **-Mr Ben Salmon, Key Stage 5 Coordinator

Congratulations to Natnicha Kalajuk on her offers to study Law at Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Liverpool.

“I still vividly recall my first meeting with Bouquet in Year 10…

A demure, timid character, perhaps a little unsure of her English but already burning with a passionate desire to succeed. I wish- in a way- that I could take some credit for her meteoric rise, but this would be an overreach worthy of Abergavenny’s line in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII (“I can see his pride/ peep through each part of him”). Bouquet is a perfect embodiment of what happens when intellect, desire to improve and industry are synthesised. Despite not studying literature at IGCSE, she has bloomed into one of the leading lights of literary study in Year 13: analytical, articulate and rigorous.

From my shamelessly selfish perspective, I regret that this fine young mind has chosen to read Law rather than Literature at university. But fiction’s loss is the legal world’s gain and, should I need the help of an advocate from Gray’s Inn Road in the future (hopefully I won’t!), I may well find myself dashing to her chambers to beseech Bouquet Kalajuk QC for help!” -Mr David Pollicutt, Head of English

Swimming Announcement

Swimming Lessons on March 19th are cancelled due to the coaches working the 12-hour relay from 18:00-06:00. We apologize for the inconvenience. Our last lesson for Term 2 will be on March 26th.

Songkran Fun Football Camp

The Songkran Fun Football Camp is a fantastic opportunity for students to play football and learn new skills in a positive environment at HeadStart International School. The camp starts at 09:00 am (drop off from 08:30 am) and Finishes at 14:00 pm with lunch provided. Expect high-quality coaching, lots of fun and medals to be won! Also, it’s Songkran month so be prepared to get a little wet! -Coach Stef Frost

Football

Having played a really entertaining match last week at UWC, it was our turn to host the UWC U15s. It did not fail to entertain as both teams played some really good football. The work rate and motivation of the players was top level! It was great to see the players taking training to the match, which was evident for the first goal which came from a pre-organised corner and fantastic delivery by the players. Another really good match up and we look forward to the next match!! -Coach Frost

Basketball

“Mighty Oak-afor’s” late-game magic not enough as Bad Boys Panthers ’ comeback comes up short.

Bad Boy Panthers came back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter, but the Kazighstan Snow Tigers came up on top after some late-game fireworks by both squads. Tune in next week for Game 4 action as the HBA (HeadStart Basketball Association) brings you live action again next Wednesday from 4.45pm.

The Bad Boys struggled to rebound against the Snow Tigers, especially when Kazighstan ran lineups that included all three of Judah, Pinyo and Calvin who combined for most of the games rebounds. Alexander “the great” was back, starting in game three of the series as he had to undergo Covid protocol, which left him out of the first two games. The Snow Tigers capitalised on many second and third chance opportunities which helped them lead from start to finish, their rebounding advantage made the difference in the end.

Before the tip, Vegas had the Bad Boy Panthers as favourites going into game 3 with a last minute return of rising youngster “Sir Petch Barkley” into the line-up had the odds in their favour. But The Snow Tigers defied the odds and escaped the onslaught of the Bad Boy Panther’s “mighty” captain (Oak), who in the 4th quarter led the comeback as a one-man wrecking crew. A big shout in the comeback on the defensive end to DY and Omsin! Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stop the “power of three, who were set free” (Judah, Alex, Pinyo) and too much to handle, taking the upper hand in the series and only one game away from the championship 2-1.

MVP- Judah

Player of the game - Nothing like a one-two punch. A play that reminded me of the late John Stockton assisting Karl “The Mailman” when Dom -inatrix was blown by his defender and through a no look dish for Mr super cool, calm and collective “Petch Barkley “ who finished the play with nothing but net! A thrilling game and I am proud of both teams’ efforts!

Swimming

Last Friday the Academy had a surprise relay meet in preparation for our 12-hour relay. Events ranged from a 400-meter medley relay to a 200 butterfly relay, in the end, we had an all-out splash war! The teams were evenly matched across the board and we finished the meet in a TIE. We look forward to our next matchup to see which team can edge out the other. -Coach Zak

Year 12 students came to the end of their Communication Course yesterday. We witnessed some fantastic dramatic presentations from students who have particularly excelled and grown over the course’s duration. Who would’ve thought 12 weeks ago that Linnea would make such a convincing Patrick Bateman (American Psycho); Alicia such a likeable Dewey Finn (School of Rock); Giacamo such a chilling Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutty (Gangs of New York); or Luna such a swaggering Henry Hill (Goodfellas)? I hope all those who completed the course take away some useful elements they’ve learned which they can apply in future. -Mr. Pollicutt, Head of English

Revision works best when it is active and collaborative. In order to help prepare effectively for Paper 1 of the IGCSE English Literature examination, students prepared flashcards for each of the poems of Carol-Ann Duffy which we have studied, each containing important information about poetic techniques, purposes and themes. -Mr. Pollicutt, Head of English

In Science Year 1 have been learning about the five senses. The children recognised what body part was used for each sense and were able to suggest how the senses are used in an activity such as eating. They then went around the classroom guessing what they could smell in each of the pots, closed their eyes and listened, ate some yummy food, felt a range of objects and looked around the room for anything interesting. A brilliant interactive lesson for our super learners! -Mr Sam Young

Year 2 Blue started two exciting new topics. In Maths, we explored 2D and 3D shapes with a range of fun child-led activities; as you can see from the pictures, children enjoyed exploring the shapes and had fun learning about the names and their properties! In English, children explored shape poems - the poems all had a chocolatey, sweet theme and the children seemed to be very impressed with this! -Ms Charlotte Myers

As part of our English topic ‘Where in the world would you like to live?’ Year 3 had the opportunity to learn about five different countries. Our amazing parents came into school to represent: Russia, Spain, Israel, Canada and Austria. The children experienced how to make Russian pancakes and Polina performed a Russian dance. They also tried Spanish churros, sweet dessert from Israel, Canadian maple syrup as a salad dressing and had a chance to yodel the Austrian way. -Ms Nicola Fallows

A huge thanks to our parents: 😀 Ms Cristina Fernandez- Spain. 😀 Ms Anna Kochetkova -Russia. 😀 Mr Daniel Fuchs -Austria. 😀 Mrs Yaara Fuchs & Mrs Liana Grimberg - Israel. 😀 Mr David Campbell - Canada

Year 11 students in the ‘Thai First Language’ IGCSE class have been learning about environmental problems. They have discussed ideas for ways to reduce waste and to save our planet. They showed interesting ideas and definitely are realising the importance of saving the earth. -Kru Kan

This week, across Secondary and Primary, our SEL lesson focused on grounding exercises to help the students calm down when they experience overwhelming emotions. One way to do this is to activate our prefrontal cortex (the thinking part of the brain) by listing 6 different types of things from a certain category, e.g: 6 different types of red fruit, or six different countries in Europe. Our older students explored how this exercise and other mindfulness techniques can also reduce stress and anxiety due to assessments and exams. Ask your children what 6 things they will try to list to help them calm down. -Lauren Rose (EAL & SEL)