Weekly Update # 28, 11 June 2021

Upcoming events can be found on the website under School Life → Calendar and are outlined here for easy reference. For daily updates and news follow the HeadStart Facebook Page and You Tube channel.

Note on Upcoming events

While we are very much hoping that the events shown above are able to go ahead as planned, there is the concern that things can change without much prior notice. We will do our best to give as much advance notice as possible in the event of cancellation.

HeadStart would like to thank the Governor and Vice Governor, police officers from Immigration, the Private School Association, MoPH, Central Floresta and everyone involved in organising the mass rollout of Covid vaccinations for expats working in Phuket and in support of the ‘Phuket SandBox’ campaign. A great team spirit has carried us through this journey and we are committed to doing our part to protect our community.

After School Programmes (ASPs)

This is just a reminder that the last day of ASPs was on Friday, 11 June. There is a selection of ASPs that are taught by external teachers that are able to continue until 25 June and these are:

• The Dance Programme (including aerial, hip hop, gymnastics, ballet, jazz, contemporary, cheerleading)
• LAMDA
• Instrumental lessons
• Jiu-Jitsu
• Tennis
• Project Recycle

Additional Information: The School Bus service will continue as usual. The Library will remain open for Secondary students to study or wait quietly until 17:30. Primary students can wait in the Dining Hall until they are collected. If you have any questions or require further assistance, please call us at 076-612875 or email [email protected]

Dance Recital

Everyone in the Dance Academy is busily preparing for the end of year Dance Recital. Historically, HeadStart produces some of the best shows on the island and it is with great anticipation that we look forward to the extraordinary artistic work that our students and teachers create every year. The ‘Circle of Life’ will be filmed by a professional film company on the 19th of June in the Sports Hall. We kindly ask that parents observe Covid regulations and do not enter the school/Sports Hall for this event. The tentative plan is for parents to come into school on Sunday, 20 June, for a live showing but we are awaiting confirmation from the Ministry of Education to know whether or not this will be permitted. More information on a live viewing of the performance will be sent out as soon as we have an updated notice from the government. -Ms Fabienne Mester, Dance School Manager

Year 7 - 9 Swimming Notice

The Year 7, 8, and 9 swimming classes for term 3 have already commenced. The swim classes (in the download table below) will continue until the end of the academic year. If, for any reason, your son/daughter is unable to swim you must provide us with a hand-written, signed note and/or an email stating why, and you should also tell us when we would expect them to be able to swim again.

Students must wear tight-fitting swim costumes (no bikinis) to ensure a streamlined position in the water. They must wear a swim cap if their hair is below eye level. It is recommended to wear waterproof sunblock and goggles. Students may also wear rash-vests to protect their modesty and to help protect them from the sun. Please view the table below so that you know the day and time your son/daughter will swim. Mr Nick Carter, Athletics Director

Library Notice

The end of this academic year is fast approaching. Please bring back library books that you have borrowed between the 14-18 of June. There will be no student, staff & parents loans in the last two weeks of term in order for us to account for the books and prepare orders for the next academic year. The last day to return all library books will be Monday 21st June 2021. Books still under students’ or parents’ accounts after this date will be considered lost/missing and invoices will be sent out. -Ms Mai, Librarian

We have our very first cohort of LAMDA students doing their exams on the 16-18 of June. Students from Year 1 through to Year 13 are taking part in exams ranging from communication through to acting and musical theatre. Good luck to everyone taking part. You will be brilliant! -Ms Erika Cramp

This week saw the inaugural Science Fair occur at HeadStart. On Thursday the 10th of June the students in Year 7 presented their wonderful projects and the following day Year 8 had their time in the spotlight. The range of scientific inquiry shown by the students was amazing and during the fair, the students were articulate when explaining their projects and showed genuine curiosity in the achievements of their peers.

I know many people in the wider school community were excited about attending this event but unfortunately, COVID restrictions meant we had to run it internally. To make up for this disappointment we have included some images of the event for you to peruse.

Lastly, I should note that based on the success of this year’s event it has been decided to run this annually. Hopefully next year we will all be able to come together and give the Science Fair the larger audience it deserves. -Mr Timothy Davidson, Head of Science

This week Year 3 Yellow made a marble run to demonstrate potential and kinetic energy during Science. -Ms Nicola Fallows

Having inherited this class from Ms Bedi, I wanted to start the Year 13 syllabus with a fang, sorry, I mean a ‘bang’! So I have implored the students to steel themselves, as Jonathan Harker must, as they set out together on the Borgo Pass to journey to the castle of the Count himself. Yes, that’s right, we are embarking on the study of that high point of later Victorian Gothic Horror novels: Dracula!

On this (learning) journey, students will also draw on ideas from secondary texts to further their study of Stoker’s masterpiece: be they psycho-analytical (Freud and Jung); philosophical, in the shape of Kant and a consideration of the bourgeois aesthetic and a deepening understanding of Aristotlian catharsis; or political (in the consideration we will give to Marxist interpretations of various textual features). That is to say nothing of the biblical and scientific influences which also cast a shadow over proceedings. All in all, the study of this sprawling, fascinating text awaits the students- indeed, it’s surely as welcoming as the Count himself… -Mr David Pollicutt, Head of English

Producing good pieces of writing is one thing but to produce them in timed, examination conditions is another- I think, far more challenging- skill. This selection of Year 9 Austen students are looking very well placed for their future exams then, given that they produced these creative, narrative pieces in not more than 40 minutes. Their sense of craft and careful diction choices was particularly impressive to me, as I sure it is to you too. -Mr. Pollicutt, Head of English

Year 3 students in the Thai First language programme have been learning about Thai consonant clusters (ร, ล, and ว) through fun flashcard activities. They are practising reading and identifying words. -By Kru Cherry

Steps with Theera Phuket would like to invite students (age 12+) to attend our Summer Programme from July to early August 2021. The summer programme is open to all students. Steps with Theera Phuket is a UK accredited training centre based at Blue Tree Shopping complex in Cherngtalay. The centre is led and managed by Stacey Patterson, who has a passion in facilitating young people to develop their independence in everyday life activities, find their purpose and empower them for the future. The Summer programme will run over 5 weeks and families only need to sign up for a minimum of a full week at a time.

We at Steps, encourage students to learn by doing, using practical activities. We use a plan, do and review framework with all tasks to allow for the development of critical thinking and self-evaluation skills. The programme is aimed to stimulate an interest and develop students/trainees life skills and vocational skills to promote self-confidence, independence and responsibility. Activities and skills that may be included but not limited to:

• Daily life skills
• Business enterprise skills
• Manufacturing
• Entrepreneurship
• Public relations
• Hospitality and catering

The cost of the summer course is 8500THB/week excluding lunchtime meals and travel costs (if we go on an excursion).

Over the Summer we will be looking into how to make different products from different recycled materials and try to have 1-2 projects per week. The trainees will work through the full process of learning how to make the product, planning how they will make the product, making the product and then evaluating the end product. Trainees will also learn different life skills such as money handling, weighing/measuring, cooking/baking and navigating the community.

Please also look at our website and Facebook pages: and