Adam Drew

Headmaster

Management

[email protected]

Since joining HeadStart International School in August 2014, I have been genuinely impressed by the hard work and commitment of all those involved in making HeadStart a place where students are inspired to have the ‘love of learning’ described in the school’s motto. The school community here is one of the best I have ever-worked with and the positive energy that this creates enables us to achieve so much together. Since our last inspection where the school was rated as a good with a number of outstanding features highlighted, I strongly believe that HeadStart International School is well on the way to becoming one of the best schools in Thailand, providing the highest standards in teaching and learning. As we prepare for the next phase where we hope to gain a solid ‘Outstanding’ rating, the next few years will be a truly exciting time for all those involved. Having had a successful Teaching career in the UK for a number of years and having worked in various different management positions, my wife Amy and I made the decision to move to Thailand in 2012 where I worked at an International School in Bangkok. The opportunity to make a real impact at HeadStart and to help shape the future successes of the school drew me to move to Phuket. On a personal level, I am a keen sportsman and have an interest in many sports both as a spectator or participant. A highlight for me was having a leadership position for Event Services at the London 2012 Olympic Games. I am also keen golfer and compete in many of the regular competitions held here in Phuket and further afield. My wife Amy is a teacher in the Foundation department having joined HeadStart shortly after I did. Since working at HeadStart we have become parents for the first time. Ted Drew was born in April 2018 and is excited to be joining pre-school in this academic year. I look forward to continuing to working with the inspired staff and students and the committed and supportive parents that make up the HeadStart. Together we will ensure that we continue to build on the existing successes of the school and make each academic year even more successful than the last. Please feel free to email me at any time to discuss your ideas on how we can do this together. I look forward to meeting you again as the year progresses!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Following my letter to you on Monday 15th June, I write to confirm the plans to bring students into school next week, commencing the 22nd of June for activities and events. Online learning will continue throughout the week and we will only be bringing in a small number of year groups at a time to ensure social distancing and that current government regulations can be adhered to. On the morning or afternoon that students are in school, there will be no online lessons for those year groups. There is one small change to the provisional plan mentioned on Monday, in that Secondary year groups will attend school in the morning, not in the afternoon. The sessions in school are not formal learning or classes, but instead are activities and events.

In addition, below is a list of control measures that the school will put in place and that students and parents must follow in order to stay safe on their return. Foundation students will return on the 1st of July, and at this point, the regulations will be different and further details will go out to these parents in due course. This will make the learning in Foundation in July a more normal experience for the students.

For the week of 22-26th of June, parents will not be able to enter the school site through the turnstiles unless an appointment has been made, or through an invitation to one of the awards ceremonies or graduation. The school car park will operate a drop off system only. If you wish to park your car and walk your child to the school entrance then you can park in the overflow car park.

I hope that many of the students will be able to take the opportunity to come back into school to see their friends and their teachers and reconnect before the summer vacation. It will also be good to see you, our parents, back in school if you are able to attend the Parent Teacher Conferences on the 29th and 30th of June.

Please do read through the calendar of events so that you are aware of when your child is able to be back in school and when key events are for the coming weeks.

Parent Teacher Conferences (PTCs)

These will be available for parents to come into see teachers along with their children on Monday and Tuesday 29th-30th of June for Years 1-8 and Year 10. The booking of appointments will be available through the parent portal by 3pm on Monday 22nd June. Appointment slots will be longer than in previous years with 5 minute gaps between available slots to avoid queues and large numbers of people waiting to see teachers.

Sam Khan

Head of Foundation and Primary

Management

[email protected]

I was born and grew up in London, England. If any of you are familiar with the sport of Rugby Union, I grew up very close to Twickenham Stadium! I graduated in History from the University of Teeside in 1992, and in 1999 completed my P.G.C.E. and have now been an educationalist for over 17 years. As well as my teaching experience, I have a total of 12 years of experience as a curriculum manager and school leader, having served as an Assistant Head, a Deputy Head and Head Teacher. In my most recent role, in the Middle East , I worked as a School Improvement Consultant. I am a passionate believer in the transformational nature of education and learning. I believe that children learn best when they enjoy their learning and feel secure when facing tasks that are stimulating and challenging. Pupils should feel valued in the classroom and feel confident that enthusiasm and good learning will be met with recognition and praise from the teacher and peers. As a school leader I am committed to the challenge of motivating the whole school community to help every individual pupil realise his or her talents, whilst at the same time ensuring that our pupils are empowered with the essential skills to be able to make a positive contribution in an increasingly globalised world of rapid change and innovation. I believe that schools where success is celebrated, and challenges faced head on in a professional culture of support, trust and honesty are schools that ensure the best possible outcomes for all its students. As a school leader I am committed to creating an empowering and enabling school culture with a powerful ethos of positivity and hard work.

Foundation

Foundation students will have more than three weeks of normal learning in their usual classes, on-site starting on 1st July. On the 27th of July this will change to day-care where the students will be able to come into school for fun activities for a further three weeks. Therefore, their online learning will continue up to and including the 30th of June and students are not invited into school on Monday.

Year 1 to 5

Our End of Year activities afternoons have been arranged so that our pupils can have a chance to see their friends and teachers; reconnect, and take part in some fun activities before the holidays. They will also have the opportunity to make their end of year goodbyes and collect their personal items. This is not an academic provision or normal lessons, and online lessons for Primary pupils will be suspended for the afternoons that pupils are in school. Online lessons will take place as normal in the morning, and throughout the rest of the week. Please refer to the calendar above for specific details on when your child is welcome to come to school.

Key information for you to be aware of:

• Please ensure that your child is dressed in their House Shirt, PE shorts and trainers as they will be active outside for some of the afternoon.
• Please ensure that your child is wearing a mask and has a spare mask as well.
• Please ensure that your child has a water bottle.
• You are welcome to send a healthy snack with your child that cannot be shared amongst pupils.
• Please ensure that your child has a bag so that they can collect any belongings they wish to take back home.

Richard Lukats

Head of Secondary

Management

[email protected]

Mr Richard Lukats is the Athletics Director at Headstart International School. Richard has over twenty years’ experience of working in schools both internationally and in the United Kingdom. He has been a senior school administrator (Athletics Director, Principal/Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher/Principal and Assistant Headteacher) for the past 18 years internationally and in the UK. He is a UK qualified teacher (Post Graduate of Education, PGCE) and holds the UK qualification to be a Headteacher (National Professional Qualification for Headship, NPQH). At Headstart International School, Richard is responsible for leading the overall strategic direction, operational effectiveness and administration of the school’s sports and activities programme, alongside managing the PE Department. He is passionate, about the role sport and physical activity plays in the development of young people and he is looking to further developing the already excellent programme that is on offer at Headstart. He is always looking at ways of working with all members of the Headstart Community to further enhance the opportunities for participation in physical activities for everyone.

I am very pleased to be able to confirm the plans to bring students into school next week, commencing on 22nd June for activities and events. Online learning will continue throughout the week, and we will only be bringing in a small number of year groups at a time to ensure social distancing and that current government regulations will be complied with. On the morning that students are in school, there will be no online lessons for those year groups. The sessions in school are not formal learning or classes, but instead are activities and events. Please refer to the calendar above for specific details on when your child will be coming to school.

The end of year activity mornings is provided for students to see their friends, reconnect, and take part in activities. They will also have the opportunity to make their end of year goodbyes. This is not an academic provision or standard lessons, and online lessons for those year groups will be suspended for the morning that the students are in school.

The timings of the mornings will be 8:00am to 11:15am, with drop off possible from 7:45am. The central car park will be for drop off only, and parents will not be able to use the parking spaces. Student’s temperature will be screened for when they approach the turnstiles by our staff.

Here is some key information for you to be aware of:

• Wear; face mask, House Shirt, PE shorts & sports shoes.
• Bring; Text Books and other loaned equipment/resources back to school, spare face mask, refillable water bottle, snack. hat, sun cream and a bag to take possessions home.
• Follow the social distancing requirements in school at all times.
• Once you are asked to leave the school site, you will not be able to return to the school site. If parents are late, you will need to wait in the designated seating area outside the front of the school.

Nicholas Carter

Director of Sport

Management

[email protected]

My name is Nick Carter and I am from Kent, in the UK. I came to Thailand in 2015, after 6 years of living and teaching P.E. in Stockholm, Sweden (where it snows for six months of the year!). So, it is fair to say that I was ready for a completely different climate change, as well as cultural change. My sporting background is very diverse. I grew up with a passion for playing football but, later, in my teens, I discovered baseball. I made my debut for the Great Britain national baseball squad at the age of 18 and played with the squad for the next 14 years. I also trained as a professional contemporary dancer and toured nationally and internationally for 7 years in numerous dance companies. Although I have many other sporting interests, I want to make it clear that P.E. teachers are not just whistle blowing, basketball bouncing individuals, as I released my first fictional novel (in June, 2015). However, participating in sport, physical activity, and leading a healthy lifestyle are very important to me, and I’ve enjoyed imparting my knowledge in teaching and coaching environments for over 20 years. I am delighted to be HeadStart’s Director of Sport and my fundamental aims are for our students to continue to experience a really diverse range of physical activities, all the while having loads of fun through being active. For example, HeadStart pupils will participate in the following sports activities in either curriculum time or in our fantastic After School Sports programme: Basketball, Netball, Football, Rugby, Athletics, Swimming, Badminton, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Softball, Rounders, Yoga, Dance, and Gymnastic activities (amongst others). If you have any questions, you can email me at – [email protected]

On Monday, 22nd June the PE department, in association with the Academy Coaches, will be hosting the annual HeadStart end of year sports awards. This year it will be an online event and we will celebrate all the team’s sporting achievements and endeavours during the academic year 2019-20. The awards that will be given are for, ‘most improved player; ‘most enthusiastic player’; and ‘player of the year’ and will be awarded to the coach-selected players in the Football and Swimming academies, as well as the Volleyball and Basketball teams, and also for the Tennis programme.

The invitations are for the players, parents, and coaches only, but the online presentation will be recorded and later uploaded to the HeadStart Facebook page, so you will all be able to see the winners. We look forward to welcoming all the invited athletes and their parents to join us on the day (invitations have been sent already). -Mr Nick Carter, Athletics Director

Hasin

Congratulations to Hasin, HeadStart 2019 graduate, who has been appointed student representative for Aviation Australia International Student Ambassador, 2020. Hasin is one of 40 international students chosen from 23 different countries. The cohort also represents 21 local educational/training institutions and accommodation providers. Hasin is one of five ambassadors selected from the VET sector. Describing himself as outgoing, Hasin is looking forward to engaging with the other Ambassadors in a variety of tourism and leisure activities organised by Brisbane Marketing that enhance the international student experience.

Congratulations to Hasin, HeadStart 2019 graduate, who has been appointed student representative for Aviation Australia International Student Ambassador, 2020. Hasin is one of 40 international students chosen from 23 different countries. The cohort also represents 21 local educational/training institutions and accommodation providers. Hasin is one of five ambassadors selected from the VET sector. Describing himself as outgoing, Hasin is looking forward to engaging with the other Ambassadors in a variety of tourism and leisure activities organised by Brisbane Marketing that enhance the international student experience.