Weekly Update #10, 6 November 2020

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.

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Head Swim Coach Zak Brown and Ms Annie Cusworth from Primary, on the birth of their beautiful son! “Hi, I’m Phoenix and I am now 6 weeks old! I like napping, eating and making funny noises. I dislike getting woken up from naps, sudden loud noises, and the times when I am not eating. Mom and Dad are super pleased with me and think I am the best baby ever. I am looking forward to meeting you all. See you around HeadStart!”

Good News! Increased Free ASPs for Term 2 & 3

We are very pleased to let you know that as of term 2 we are increasing the number of free ASP options available for Terms 2 & 3 from around 80 to over 125 sessions per week. This means that all Primary and Secondary students will now be able to enrol in 2 free ASPs per week including clubs, sports, boosters and selected VAPs. The other good bit of news is that EAL enrolments will no longer count toward a student’s two free Asps. Stay tuned for a new list of Term 2 activities that will be posted on the website and on the bulletin board early December.

For your reference, here are the ASP dates for Term 2:

Important ASP Calendar Date Changes

Due to the official change to the King’s Birthday/ Father’s Day national holiday, ASPs (after 16:30) that were planned to run on Friday the 11th of December will now run on Monday the 7th of December.

Engines Turned off

The Parent Committee has asked the school management to remind everyone to please turn off your engines while parked. There are complaints from parents and even the children, that the smell of car fumes permeates the playground and is very unpleasant to walk through when leaving school. Please show consideration for those around you, as well as for the environment and turn off your engine when parked in school.

School Jacket Reminder

School management would like to remind students in Years 1-13 that if you are cold, you should wear a school jacket. This is a school rule that will be enforced so parents, please support us in making sure your child is equipped with the correct clothing. The school shop is fully stocked and all sizes are available for purchase.

Phones

Please be reminded that students up to Year 11 are not allowed to use mobile phones in school from 8.00 am to 3.20 pm (except for Friday as school ends at 3.00 pm) unless they have specific permission from a member of the teaching team. Sixth Form students are allowed to use their phones in school as they have been entrusted with greater responsibility and have privileges that students in years under do not have.

Reminder About Student Jewelry, Hair and Makeup

As is stipulated in the Student and Parent handbooks, hair must be neat, hygienic and presentable. Long hair must be tied back. Any hair colouring should look natural and be in accordance with the student’s natural hair colour. Highlights are not allowed in school. No extreme hairstyles are allowed in school. One plain stud per ear is permitted. Large stones, loops or hanging earrings are not allowed. One discreet, plain necklace is allowed. Only clear nail varnish may be used. Visible tattoos or visible body piercing (including tongue) are not permitted. Students in breach of the rules will be sent home to rectify the problem. The Head and Deputy Head of Secondary are the final arbiters.

University Application Success

Many HeadStart graduates apply to university after they have left school, and we try to give them all the support they need to be successful. With the start of the academic year in February, Australia is an increasingly popular destination for our students. For more information about university destinations and the support available at HeadStart please contact Ms Indu Bedi or K.Gem in Sixth Form.

Good News for the Fitness Gym

Welcome back to Chai who will be taking care of our HeadStart community in the fitness suite between the hours of 15.30-18.00 Monday to Friday. -Mr Carter, Athletics Director

We hope that last week’s UPrep talk on ‘Comparing Differences Between University Systems’ was helpful and informative. If you were not able to make it to the meeting, please find the presentation in English and Thai below and be sure to get in touch with our UPrep team if you have any questions or need support! Our next UPrep drop-in session is on the 12th of November at 8.15 am in the coffee shop on the first floor. You are all invited to ask questions and discuss anything you want to know about university programmes or application at this time. Grab a drink and join Kru Gem, our University Placement Officer, on the session!

Library News - Discover a new world in a book!

The library consistently wants to promote reading from a young age by running a Scholastic Book Club. The catalogue promotes a brand new book selection of quality children’s books that have been carefully chosen to get children reading for pleasure and to keep them reading right through their teenage years. So please check your child’s book bag for the latest leaflets.

If you would like to make an order please do not hesitate to contact the librarian directly in the library to get the leaflet order form. Completed order forms plus payment need to be returned to the library by Wednesday 18th November 2020. Your pre-ordered books will be delivered to the school within 14 working days after we confirm the whole school’s order. The catalogue will be given to the students from Year 1-6 starting Monday 9th November when they have a library class. Ms Mai, Librarian

Due to a very unusual set of circumstances, the traditional ‘Festival of Lights’ also known as Loy Krathong fell on the same day as the much loved Halloween celebration this year. Keeping in line with our commitment to imbue Thai culture into our community, Thai teachers organised for our students who study Thai as part of the curriculum to make Krathongs that they could float with their families at home. They also spent time studying the history of the festival. -Kru Dia

History Classroom News

In History last week our Year 12s (pictured in wigs!) gathered at a working men’s club in England to discuss the exploitations of the evil, industrial capitalists! Some represented Luddites, some Swing Rioters, some government representatives, but all were united against the massive economic and social impacts the industrial revolution had on the British people.

Our Year 9s were using a learning strategy called a Barrier Game - something us teachers learnt in a recent professional development workshop to provide for our language learners. Barrier games require learners to sit with a barrier between them and convey information to each other to reach a common goal. They are designed to improve communication and listening skills and require constant teamwork. In this lesson, students learnt about The Armistice and the end of World War One. -Mr Richard Cramp, Head of Humanities

Art Department News

Year 9 students have studied German Expressionism and printmaking this term. They designed and carved their self-portrait into lino and printed using ink and the printing press. -Ms Jody Leow

This term Active Learning Visual Art students have created some beautiful paintings and digital artwork. -Ms Jody Leow

Eco Club News

The Eco Club is now up and running every Thursday lunchtime 11.45 to 12.10. The aim of the club is to help make the way we live more sustainable. The students will be recycling plastic and making new products from them. At school, we can now recycle and make new products from three types of plastic instead of just throwing them away. Remember we only want plastic with the numbers 2, 4 and 5 in the centre of the recycled triangular symbol usually found on the bottom of the bottles and packaging. The plastic MUST be completely cleaned and MUST have the labels removed before you bring it to school. Please sort and place your plastic in the bins near the security office at the front of the school! In the pictures, you can see some of the members of the Eco Club shredding the old plastic and then making new sheets using the school’s Heat Press! -Mr Dean Wells, Design and Technology

English Department News

When it comes to technology in schools, you can either be like King Cnut and attempt to stop the tides of change (actually, a misrepresentation of the apocryphal account), or you can embrace it. In the English Faculty, when it ameliorates learning and engages students, we embrace the tide. Every week, we share good practice in our faculty meetings and last week, Ms. Milner introduced us to Wooclap, a site which allows students to use their phone or device to respond in a variety of ways (open questions, polls, word clouds etc) to questions of the teacher’s making. Today, Year 11 First Language English students used the site to bore down into the distilled essence of language by practising our connotative skills on individual words. These words often had very similar meanings but vastly divergent associative implications. -Mr. Pollicutt, Head of English

Modelling is key to making great student progress in English. There is also an old truism that good talk leads to good writing. So today, Year 9 Austen combined the two. Following my modelling of an annotative commentary of a stanza of Hardy’s poem ‘A Wife in London’, students then sought to emulate the depth of analysis and use of literary terminology they had witnessed. To fully get them into character, they were even given the dubious honour of ‘modelling’ my teacher’s jacket….(!) -Mr. Pollicutt, Head of English

In 7 White, we are lucky in many ways….

We are particularly lucky inasmuch as we have Namo in our Homeroom- one of the best golfers in Thailand for her age. Today, Namo brought in her putter and showed the other students some excellent putting form for them to emulate. Ever the perfectionist, she was concerned the tiled floors would be impossible to putt on. Of course, she still managed to make all her shots. Who knows, maybe 7W will produce another golf champion. Sofia? Khun? Maybe even Jake? -Mr Pollicutt, 7 White Homeroom teacher