03 Sep 2018

Weekly5 years ago

Weekly Update #3, 7 September, 2018

Dates for Your Diary

Upcoming events can be found on the calendar on the website School Life → Calendar but we have outlined upcoming events here for easy reference. For daily updates and news follow the HeadStart Facebook Page

Date	Time	Event	Location
10 September	All day	Free ASPs begin	See ASP chart
11 September	8:15am	Thai Parents Meeting	Secondary Hall
18 September	8:15am	Thai Parents Meeting	Secondary Hall
24 September	9:00am	BIS University Fair for 6th Form	BIS
24-28 September	All week	Global Goals week	In class
25 September	8:15am	Thai Parents Meeting	Secondary Hall
26 September	All day	Languages Day	In school
29-30 September	All day	DoE Silver Sailing Training Group 2	Panwa Beach
2 October	8:15am	Thai Parents Meeting	Secondary Hall
5-6 October	All day	Thanyapura Super Sprint	Thanyapura
6-7 October	All day	DofE Silver Sailing Training Group 1	Panwa Beach

Announcements

Friday Market

The Friday Market provides a chance for HeadStart students and parents to support the local community. The Friday Market takes place on the first week of most months that the school is open. In an effort to encourage participation, We do not charge a fee for the space. We would like to invite anyone interested in participating in the Friday Market to contact the front office for information on how you can get involved. The market dates for the 2018-2019 academic year are as follows: 7 September, 5 October, 2 November, 13 December (Christmas Market: special edition), 8 March, 3 May.

ASP News

By now you will have received multiple reminders to sign up for the free ASPs published to the Parent Portal. As of Friday afternoon, you will have received notification via email and the Parent Portal regarding the ASPs that your child has been accepted into. If for some reason you have not been able to sign up or if the class you signed up for is not within the options approved for your child, please visit Anisa in the front office or write to her by email at [email protected]. 21st September will be the cut off date for all changes and final sign ups.

Adult English Classes

Welcome to English lessons with Mr Joel Adams!

If you are interested in learning English, you will need to take a placement test in the front office to determine your level. All English classes cost 350 THB per session. This fee is paid to accounting in the front office. I will use the excellent resource, ESL Library.

Beginner English Learn basic English through fun conversations and discussion on topics and through interactive work with other students. Homework assigned weekly. For those who would like more than one hour a week, private lessons are also available. On Tuesdays from 15:30 - 16:20pm. Location to be announced.

Intermediate English If you have a basic command of English but would like to become more proficient, this class is for you. Each week new topics and tasks are introduced and tackled in a fun but challenging way. Homework is assigned weekly, and for those of you who would like more than one hour a week, private lessons can be arranged. On Thursdays from 15:30 – 16:20pm. Location to be announced.

Parents Meeting Invitation

I would like to extend a warm invitation to all new parents, with children in Preschool, Early Years and Reception to an ‘An Introduction to Foundation’ meeting on Tuesday 11th September, starting at 8.30am in the secondary Hall on the 4th floor. I aim to share with you some of our policies and procedures and will be covering information on;

Parent / Teacher expectations
Punctuality and attendance
Hygiene and self care
Sickness and communication (Including HFMD)
Swimming
Birthday celebrations
EYFS Curriculum, assessment and reporting
Supporting at home

Visit from the Ministry of Education

Last week HeadStart had a visit from the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Education in Phuket and his team. The purpose of the visit was to inspect the expansion of the 4th floor. This visit aims to assure them that the school has provided sufficient facilities and resources for the increase number of students according to the Thai regulations.

Trash Hero Beach Clean Up Dates

Every weekend Trash Hero organises Beach Cleanups around the island. It is a great way for our Duke of Edinburgh students to get involved in the community and keeping our environment clean. If you also want to get involved or would like more information visit the Trash Hero Phuket Facebook page

Here are the dates for the upcoming cleans in September. Trash Hero Phuket creates events on Facebook a few days before the cleanup with much more information including exact location and timings.

09 September, 2018 (Sunday) Naithon - 9:00am

Attention DoE students

Drop off time at school: 7:55 am (Bus will leave 8:00am. Pick up time from school: 11:00 am. Wear your PE shirt. Bring a water bottle, hat, and sunscreen.

15 September, 2018 (Saturday) World Cleanup Day!! Karon Beach - 9:00am

23 September, 2018 (Sunday) Patong Beach

30 September, 2018 (Sunday) Koh Sirey Gypsy Beach

Sixth Form Study Room

Sixth Form improvements were made over the summer break which will greatly improve the study area and atmosphere for students. The Sixth Form study room is now a dedicated space for Year 12 and 13 only and not a mixed use venue. There is more seating and a desk has been provided per student to work at. Both the Head of Sixth Form and Director of Academics are based in the sixth-form study room in order to monitor student activity and to be able to offer assistance to students in need.

The new Head of Sixth Form, Gemma Caines, is very experienced in applications and both set up Sixth Forms in previous schools and developed them throughout her tenure, including preparing students for applications to universities in America, Europe and Asia. Ms Caines can be contacted via email by writing to [email protected] or by visiting her in her office on the third floor.

Sports Department News

By Mr Nick Carter, Athletics Director

PISAC - Football Development League

The PISAC (Phuket International School Athletics Conference) will soon be hosting their ‘Development League’. The ‘Development League’ will run for four consecutive Saturdays in the morning’s of: 15, 22, 29 September, and 6 October

Whilst the league is competitive in nature, PISAC members (HeadStart, BISP, UWCT, and Kajonkiet International) wish to stress the importance of the ‘development’ of players. The idea is to give those students with ‘lesser experience’ an opportunity to have fun in a more ‘relaxed, yet competitive environment’. Each player who has been selected to the squad will be notified (if they haven’t already) by the Football Coaches and/or P.E. Staff. If you wish to show your support you are most welcome to cheer on the Boys & Girls teams at the following venues. Please note that kickoff starts at 08.30am at all venues.

Basketball News

If you recall, last week, our Girls Basketball squad took a tough loss against Satree School. However, this week, against local rivals Darasamuth school, it was a very different story. Here’s a brief game report from the Captain, Natasha in Year 13:

‘The Girls Basketball team played Darasamuth School on Friday in a friendly match and results came out great! The girls won the match with 28-14. Well done to all the girls that played, they have all shown a better understanding of the sport and have worked very hard.’

Well done Girls!

Presenting this term’s Library Monitors! The Library Monitors are responsible for helping with general tasks such as: keeping the library space well presented, books in the correct locations and tidying the book shelves.

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Foundation Department News

Stars of the Week

A big well done to Wansuk, Arte, Alex and Gail in Reception this week for putting in a super effort in all their lessons.

Wansuk also received extra House points for the Green team this week for being a super helper at the end of every break time and lunchtime. Good job Wansuk, we are very proud of your efforts.

A parents guide to bedtime

It has been a super week in Foundation this week. The children are now settled and are joining in with the play, lessons and learning with increasing ease and enjoyment.

As children become used to the busy school days, they also become tired and sleepy. A good routine at home is essential, especially at bedtime.

I have spoken to a few parents this week who have asked about bedtimes, how much sleep should their child be getting and what families can do to make their children go to bed relaxed and stress free.

Firstly, every family is different and we each have different things going on after school each day. But for our little learners, a good nights sleep is essential for learning and performance; and not enough sleep can lead to poor behaviour and emotional outbursts!

Although each child is different, we recommend around 10 - 11 hours of a sleep a night for children up to the age of 5.

Establishing a night time routine and a set bed time does have many benefits; for you and your child! Your child will understand that it is the time to relax and get ready for bed. A regular bedtime system can also reduce sleep anxieties as these routines can help children to make the transition from a busy day to a calm and stress free bedtime. Try and make the hour before bed a screen free time. After having a bath or shower, dim the lights, talk about the day at school, play ‘My day, your day’; a game where children have to tell you five things about their day and vice versa. When they are settled, snuggle up and enjoy a bedtime story together.

Wishing you all a relaxing and stress free weekend.

This week, the Early Years students learned how to ‘wai’ and say ‘thank you’ when someone gives them something. They worked really well. By Kru Sue

Reception children are enjoying using our ‘Hospital’ role play area to develop their narrative play and get into character as the doctors, nurses and patients! By Ms Hannah Kuusik

Reception blue have begun learning how to blend sounds to read simple cvc words. Here they are jumping into the hoops and saying the sounds as they jumped and blended the sounds together at the end. They are having fun learning the beginning stages of reading. By Ms Candice Smithie

The children in Foundation have been learning about our different senses and enjoyed a fun interactive lesson exploring sight, smell, touch, sound and taste! The children practiced guessing and talking about the different things they experienced. Some children even discovered that they really love Marmite! By Ms Hannah Kuusik

Here are some pictures of Year 1 Blue learning all about ‘more and less’ in maths. By Ms Lucy Bevins

Year 2 White were having so much fun learning to balance in their P.E. lesson! By Ms Mency Regalado

Year 3 have been looking at number in all different kinds of ways. They have been representing number with as many concrete objects (items the children can touch and hold) as they could, gradually moving through to more abstract ways of thinking about number. We believe a solid understanding of number is the cornerstone to becoming a fluent and able mathematician. Here, the children in Year 3 White are representing the number 1,068 in as many ways as they could think of. By Mr Ian Jackson

In Year 4 White, we have been using recyclable materials to build a human skeleton while thinking about the different shaped bones and how they are joined together to allow us to move. We also looked in more detail at the roundhouses of the Celts and had a go at making our own. It was quite fiddly!! By Ms Jen Rapkins

Year 5 were having a lot of fun exploring how reflection works and how shadows are formed in science this week! By Ms Charlotte Myers

Over the past two weeks in Year 6 White we have been learning about circuits. We first learned it is essential to stay safe with electricity. So, we all had to pass the safety test! Luckily we all did. We have explored how to make a successful circuit and what materials act as conductors and insulators. In addition to this, we have looked at the correct way to draw a circuit diagram by learning the appropriate symbols. Here is a picture of our class experimenting how to make bulbs brighter and dimmer.

As well as Science, we have been learning about the ancient civilisation of Benin which, is now known as Nigeria. The ancient civilisation and the modern day country of Benin are not to be confused. For the first lesson we learned how the continent of Africa is so diverse and where the ancient civilisation of Benin is located on the world map. For this week’s lesson we learned about the Benin people’s beliefs and how they created bronze sculptures portraying large heads which, was their way to honor their Gods. We had a go and making some ourselves. By Mr Karl Long

This week Year 6 have continued exploring electricity and LOVED trying to blow a bulb by adding as many batteries as we could find! In English, Year 6 have been creating their own persuasive scenes from our story Eye of the Wolf. They had to use body language and emotive language to convince the other character to listen to them. By Ms Sophie Webb

In Thai class we made cubes. We drew and wrote our favorite things on the different sides. When we were finished, we took turns talking about our favorite things. By Kru Gen

Year 8 Set 1 have been working really hard to create their own Gothic Horror inspired characters. We have been focusing on using ambitious vocabulary and using creative sentence structures. Stay tuned for their finished masterpieces. By Mr Ashley Paice

Socratic Seminars

By Mr David Pollicutt, Head of English and Humanities

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” -Socrates

The Socratic method of teaching is based on Socrates’ theory that it is more important to enable students to think for themselves than to merely fill their heads with “right” answers. Therefore, he regularly engaged his pupils in dialogues by responding to their questions with questions, instead of answers. This process encourages divergent thinking rather than convergent.

Students are given opportunities to “examine” a common piece of text, whether it is in the form of a novel, poem, art print, or piece of music. After “reading” the common text “like a love letter”, open-ended questions are posed.

Open-ended questions allow students to think critically, analyse multiple meanings in text, and express ideas with clarity and confidence. After all, a certain degree of emotional safety is felt by participants when they understand that this format is based on dialogue and not discussion or debate.

Dialogue is exploratory and involves the suspension of biases and prejudices. Debate is a transfer of information designed to win an argument and bring closure. We tend to be great at debating but do not dialogue well. However, once teachers and students learn to dialogue, they find that the ability to ask meaningful questions that stimulate thoughtful interchanges of ideas is more important than “the answer.”

Participants in a Socratic Seminar respond to one another with respect by carefully listening instead of interrupting. Students are encouraged to “paraphrase” essential elements of another’s ideas before responding, either in support of or in disagreement. Members of the dialogue look each other in the “eyes” and use each other names. This simple act of socialization reinforces appropriate behaviours and promotes team building.

Students studying A-Level English Literature took part in the first of many Socratic Seminars they will have over the next few months, exploring Hardy’s use of language, his purposes and the themes present in ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’. They asked probing questions, and sure enough, engaged their critical faculties to arrive at profound truths.

Our Sixth Form students have started the year with some fantastic art pieces. Have a look! By Ms Samantha Gill

House News

This week, the students were challenging the house captains to a game of Jenga. Despite the Yellow Cheetahs best efforts, it was the Blue Tigers who were crowned the Jenga Champions! The weekly house activities are facilitated by Miss Brelstaff, however the house captains are responsible for organising the competitors, keeping score and motivating their fellow house teammates. We hope that these fantastic captains will help to inspire other students to take on leaderships roles within the school. The activities run in the sports hall during primary lunch on Tuesdays (Yr 1,2,3) and Wednesdays (Yr 4,5,6).

Student Success Out of School

Congratulations to Namo Luangnitikul in Year 5 white and Namon Luangnitikul in Year 1 white for winning first place in the following competitions:

Namo:

Hai Nan Junior Golf Tour 2018 & APJGA Thailand, Mae Jo Golf Resort & Spa Chiangmai Thailand July,13-15, 2018
TGA-SINGHA Junior Golf Ranking 2018-2019. Katathong Golf Resort And Spa : July 28-29 ,2018
TGA-SINGHA junior Golf Ranking 2018-2019. Loch Palm Golf Club,Phuket : August 25-26 ,2018

Namon:

TGA-SINGHA Junior Golf Ranking 2018-2019. Katathong Golf Resort And Spa : July 28-29 ,2018
TGA-SINGHA junior Golf Ranking 2018-2019. Loch Palm Golf Club,Phuket : August 25-26 ,2018