Weekly Update #15, 9 December 2022
Upcoming events can be found on the website under School Life → Calendar and are outlined here for easy reference. If you have questions or require further assistance please email [email protected]
| Date | Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 December | 8.15am | Parents meeting: Mock Exams IGCSE and Onward Plans | Secondary Hall |
| 8.30-10.00am | Preschool Christmas Stay & Play | Foundation building | |
| 9.00am | Parents Coffee Morning (organised by the PC) | ||
| Morning | House Winner Prize | Central/Sports Hall | |
| 14 December | 8.30-10.00am | Early Years Christmas Stay & Play | Foundation building |
| 15 December | 8.15am | UPrep Talk 7- Applying to UK and Europe | Secondary Hall |
| 8.30-10.00am | Reception Christmas Stay & Play | Foundation building | |
| 1.30-4.00pm | Primary Joins the Christmas Fair | Covered football pitch | |
| 2.30-4.00pm | Secondary Joins the Christmas Fair | Covered Football Pitch | |
| 16 December | 8.00am - 4.00 pm | Parent/Teacher Conferences | |
| 17 Dec to 8 Jan | School Holidays |
| HeadStart Expansion & Investment Update |
Jazon Edouard
Welcome to HeadStart International School, Phuket! A school where education really does come first. As the school’s founder and CEO I have always operated with the belief that the most important aspect and resource of our school is our teachers. Our team of dedicated, professional and caring teachers makes HeadStart the energetic, challenging, successful and nurturing environment that it is today. At HeadStart, your child will become part of the unique, multicultural learning environment and community which our school provides. Our goals and objectives are clear and steadfast: Dedicated, qualified, experienced and inspired teachers. The Cambridge curriculum and assessments. A central location with adequate teaching facilities and equipment. As a father of five boys I appreciate that finding the right school at the right price is also an important issue when choosing a school for your child. We are committed to providing a wholesome teaching and learning environment for our students and achieving high academic results combined with an affordable price.
Dear Parents and Investors,
I want to thank all of you for your enthusiastic support of our school’s development. We have now raised 140 million Baht of funding for our new school projects! The company capital will be increased in January and we plan to distribute the shares to all new shareholders before the end of January 2023. We still have some shares available for families who may be interested in investing in the school so if you plan to invest, please contact us as soon as possible. If you would like more information, please email [email protected]. We are on track to submit the building permits for the college by the end of January and we are working towards submitting the building permits for HeadStart North by the end of April 2023.
The new football pitch and parking building should be ready for the start of Term 2 which means our students will have access to more sports spaces and this should also help with access and parking. We have new families joining us for Term 2 which brings up our student enrolment to 919. We also have many families enroling and making enquiries for the coming school year in August 2023. With this in mind, we will be building 4 temporary secondary classrooms on the second floor of the new parking building. This will allow us to continue to expand our subject provision to accommodate our growing Year 10 - Year 13 classes until the college is built.
This is definitely a busy and exciting time in our school’s history and we want to thank you for your ongoing support.
| Announcements |
Term 1 House Winner’s Prize on 13.12.22
Congratulations to the GREEN HOUSE for earning the most House points this term! To celebrate, students and teachers in the Green House are invited to two events held on Tuesday 13th December.
- Years 5 - 13 enjoy a movie in the cinema and a pizza party at Central.
- Year 1 - 4 will have a pizza party and Christmas movie at school.
All members of the Green House should wear their House shirts on Tuesday. For those in Years 5 to Year 8, a permission slip is required and has already been sent to parents whose children are in Green house. Please fill this in before Monday 12th December end of the day. Lastly, a huge congratulations to all houses! This Term has been a wealth of points being earnt across the school in different ways and students carefully watching their houses’ totals go up every week. Any house points earned over the next few weeks will go toward next term’s totals. Best of luck! -Mr Michael Marx
Christmas Fair on 15.12.22
Welcoming all of the HeadStart community to the Christmas Fair on 15 December from 1.30-4.00pm on the covered football pitch. Everyone is invited to come to school dressed in festive colours such as red, green, gold and white. There will be plenty of space to sit and watch the children’s performances on stage, festive food and drinks available as well as games organised by students, parents and kids clubs from around the island. There will also be a photo booth with Santa visiting HeadStart for the day! We appreciate that finding a place to park will be a challenge on the day of the fair, so we have spread out the timing of the event and the arrival times of students.
Here is what you need to know in regards to student oversight and pick up times:
- The Foundation & Primary school day will finish at 1.30pm.
- The Secondary school day will finish at 2.30pm.
- All school buses will depart from school at 3.30pm.
- From 1.30pm, Primary year groups will take turns to perform on the big stage. Approximate times for the Primary Christmas performances are as follows:
| 1.30 pm | Y1 Performance - If I could fly like a snowflake |
| 1.35 pm | Y2 Performance - Rock ‘n Roll Snowman |
| 1.40 pm | Y3 Performance - Days to Christmas |
| 1.45 pm | Y4 Performance - Winter Magic |
| 1.50 pm | Y5 Performance - Jingle Bell Rock |
| 1.55 pm | Y6 Performance - Oh What a Night |
- Once your child has performed, please collect him/her from the stage area. Any uncollected pupils will be taken to our late pick-up provision in the Sports Hall.
- Foundation & Primary children are not allowed to attend the Christmas Fair unless they are with parents and/or an authorised adult/ secondary sibling.
Primary Parent Teacher Conferences (PTCs) on 16.12.22
From Friday 9th December you will be able to book a Parent Teacher Conference (PTC) with your child’s homeroom teacher. PTCs can be booked via the Parent Portal, and our 10-minute PTCs are available for booking from 8 am to 3.15 pm on PTC day. If your child studies a first language, you will also be able to book a PTC with your child’s first language teacher. Your child’s End of Term 1 Report will be printed off and given to your child to take home on Wednesday 14th December. It will also be available via the Parent Portal on Thursday 15th December. I hope you enjoy reading your child’s report and find meeting with your child’s teacher(s) informative. I would recommend that your child attend the PTC meeting with you as it is a great opportunity for children to hear about the progress they have made this term. -Mr Sam Khan, Head of Foundation & Primary
| End of Term Message from Head of Secondary |
Richard Lukats
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.
Dear Secondary Parents and Students,
What a term this has been in Secondary School. Here are some highlights;
- A return to a full Curriculum programme for the first time since COVID
- More activities and events than pre-COVID
- A large influx of students pre-COVID
- 14 Top in Thailand and 1 Top in the World Cambridge Awards achieved by our IGCSE and AS/A Level students
- A glowing accreditation visit from EDT, the school’s accreditor
- Swim and Football trips to Bangkok, our first HeadStart Invitational swim meet, an expanding Basketball programme
- The incredible CHICAGO show, our biggest show in terms of audience, cast and band.
It has been amazing to see our students show your resilience in bouncing back after the difficulties of the last two years in such an impressive way. You have taken advantage of every opportunity you have had to get involved in all aspects of school life, whether in the classroom, in sports or in the many creative activities that have been on offer to you. Please continue to be fully involved in all aspects of school life and strive for excellence in everything you do in 2023. As we head into the last week of term, here is some crucial information for you.
Presentation for Year 11 Parents on Mock Exams IGCSE & Onward Plans on 13.12.22
On Tuesday the 13th of December there will be a parent’s presentation on the upcoming Year 11 mock exams and what will occur post mocks. This presentation will take place in the Secondary Hall from 8.15am until 9.15am. To ensure all of your queries are answered during this presentation, I am also sending a link to a Google Form that allows you to ask any questions prior to this presentation. Click here for the link. The presentation will fully explain the process of the mocks, what occurs after the mocks, and it will also answer any questions that are asked via the Google Form. Once the presentation is complete, the information will be shared with all Year 11 parents via Engage. Please do not hesitate to respond, using the email address [email protected], if you have any further questions. -Timothy Davidson, Deputy Head of Secondary (Academics)
Activity Day & Christmas Fair on 15.12.22
Students will be involved in various activities during the day (Year 7 & 8 students will need to bring a swimming costume and towel into school) and Homeroom parties after lunch. The formal school day will finish at 2.30 pm, and students and parents are encouraged to stay on campus and enjoy the Christmas Fair based in the covered Astro until 4.00 pm. All school buses will leave at 3.30 pm.
Year 7, 10, 12, 13 Student Led Conferences on 16.12.22
Parents will receive a separate email detailing how to make a booking to see subject teachers. Students and parents should attend the meetings.
On behalf of all Secondary teachers and staff, we wish you a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!
| Meetings |
Mandarin Speaking Parents Meeting on On 6.12.22
Foundation, Primary and Secondary parents attended this meeting which lasted just over an hour. Parents listened to our Mandarin coordinator, Wei Wang, giving a presentation regarding the first language Mandarin program and its updates. The meeting continued with a segment on ‘Zones of regulations’ in Primary by Ms Rebecca Ross (Primary Deputy Head - Pastoral), and Stephanie Costa (school counsellor). The program is intended for pupils to have a better grasp at understanding and managing their feelings by using a simple colour-coded system that is available in every Primary class. To Finish off, Ms Ross (Primary Deputy Head - Pastoral) and Mr Lukats (Head of Secondary), answered questions that were sent by parents a couple days ago, on topics ranging from behaviour management to After School Programs. Thank you to all the parents that came to the meeting, and we are already looking forward to the next meeting which will be in Term 3. -Mr Ben Salmon, Head of Languages
| Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards |
Timothy Davidson
My name is Tim and I have been working at HeadStart International School since 2018. I was born and raised in the beautiful county of Cornwall; located in the southwestern tip of the UK. After sitting my A-levels at Cornwall College I was awarded a scholarship from Pilkington Optronics to study Physics at Reading University. Post University I entered research at the National Physical Laboratory researching the use of quantum dots to replace fluorescent tag molecules for medical diagnosis. However, the life of a researcher often left me in need of human interaction and I decided to opt for a career change; studying a PGCE at the Institute of Education, in London. After my PGCE I took up my first full time teaching post in West London. I remained at this school for seven and a half years during which time I took on a variety of roles including Head of Physics, running the school’s science specialism and Learning Leader; a role which saw me helping to develop the teaching practice of my peers. I then took up my first International post in Prague where I worked as both the Head of Physics and the Teaching and Learning Coordinator for four years. Post Prague I moved to Phuket where I took on the role of Head of Science at HeadStart. I then remained in this post until 2022 when I took on the role of Deputy Head of Secondary - Academics. My approach to teaching has been formed from educational research and personal experience. The key to creating lifelong learners to is to give the students ownership of their learning and ensure they are suitably challenged and engaged throughout their time in education. To do this I endeavor to create an environment that fosters deep learning and stimulates students’ curiosity. In the past this was an approach I used when teaching and which we developed in the Science faculty; a strategy that saw continued improvement in terms of student progress and attainment. In my new role I am now trying to promote this approach across the entire Secondary School. During my time at HeadStart we have seen the rise and fall of the COVID pandemic. Obviously this was a massive challenge to the learning of our students I have been impressed by the resilience and attitude they have shown; attributes that have led to continued increase in attainment across the school. I have no doubt that our current cohort is capable of continuing this improvement and I look forward to helping, and ensuring, that this prediction is proven to be true! I am excited about continuing my adventure at HeadStart International School and being given the opportunity to further aid the students in developing a love of learning.
Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards are a group of awards issued by Cambridge Assessment International Education. They recognise exceptional learner achievement in Cambridge examinations around the world. The primary purpose of these awards is to celebrate and recognise the success of high-performing Cambridge learners. On the 26 of November, Grace Holtby, Lucas Chaperon and Nicholas Gold were able to attend the award ceremony in Bangkok and certificates were collected by members of management on Sophie Callens and Denis Solodkov’s behalf.
The three main categories of awards are:
- Top in the World; for the student/s who obtained the highest standard mark in the world for a single subject.
- Top in Country; for the student/s who obtained the highest standard mark in a country/in Thailand for a single subject.
- High Achievement; this is also for the student/s who obtained the highest standard mark in a country.
The distinction between Top in Country and High Achievement is the number of students who sat that particular subject. If a subject is not so widely taken in that examination series Cambridge Assessment International Education awards High Achievement instead of Top in Country. Full photo album provided by ceremony organisers can be found here.
| Chicago Pictures |
𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗔 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗴𝗼. The students were phenomenal on stage, in the orchestra and back stage. Leading up to this, we have had a jam packed and fast paced three months filled with hard work and dedication from all of our students. This year we were inundated with such talent that we made the decision to have two casts in many of our leading roles. This proved an additional challenge that the students rose to, resulting in two fantastic performances. This year we also have the 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻, demonstrative of the hard work from the music department and the talent coming through the school.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗴𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆; the maintenance and housekeeping teams who have built and hung and washed and made; the administrative team who have photographed and edited and liaised and ordered and the senior management team who have supported and provided guidance. Thank you also to Grapho for their sponsorship of our programmes.
📸 Full album of high quality photos of cast 1 HERE! 📸 Full album of high quality photos of cast 2 HERE!
| If you love writing, check this out! The Short Story Starter |
Hello, one and all! Mr Stephenson from Year 4 Yellow here. One of my biggest passions outside of teaching is writing. As a way of trying to get others as enthusiastic as myself about writing, I have created my own YouTube channel - ‘The Short Story Starter’. Sometimes, I find myself at a loss over what to write. I just cannot get started. This is where ‘The Short Story Starter’ comes in! Each week, I will be posting a video with a short story prompt, writing topic or something similar to give you some inspiration. If you would like to get involved, listen and watch along and then get writing. Send your written work to me at [email protected] and it could get featured in my next video where I’ll share some of the submissions and give out the next story prompt! I have posted a handy introductory video that explains how the process works! Some of the children in Year 4, 5 and 6 have already been featured in the videos. This is all still very new and exciting to me so I hope that you’ll come along, like, subscribe and get involved! See you there!
| PE & Sports |
Thai International Youth Cup
The Panthers U13 and U11 Boys travelled to Rugby International School in Pattaya for the Thai International Youth Cup this past weekend. The event was great and saw the Panthers battling it out with some of the best academy teams coming from all over Asia. The Panthers U11 Boys team made it to the Plate finals, displaying some great football, mental and physical strength to make it that far. Well done U11 boys. The U13 Boys went unbeaten in their group to progress to the cup competition, which they were overcome in the quarter finals; a game that could have gone either way. Fantastic work! A BIG thank you to the football coaches, parents and players who made this trip possible. We are already planning trips and tournaments for next year and we can’t wait for more competitions. -Coach Paul Rothwell
| Student News |
A big thank you to Linda in Year 13 for doing a fantastic job with the ‘𝗥𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽’ that she has organised for the Primary children at their lunch break.
| Community Links |
HeadStart’s Contributions to Scholars of Sustenance
Headstart International school Phuket donated 476.10 KG of good quality surplus food to SOS Thailand. Your donations have allowed us to provide over 1,999.62 servings to those in need! Also, by reducing this amount of food waste, you have successfully saved 904.59 KG of GHG equivalent emissions (Co₂-e (kg)) or 80.77 days equivalent of electricity consumption of one household. -Jack, SOS manager
| Student Success Out of school |
Congratulations to Lexie McLean in Year 2 who participated in Thailand Challenge Cup Dance Competition 2022 in Bangkok during 2-4th December and won 2nd prize for the category ‘Solo Jazz Children’ Part A.
| Promotions from Around the Island |
50 Fly
Between 15-30 December, HeadStart students are being offered a 100 Baht discount on tickets to 50 Fly. In order to qualify for the discount, just show your school ID card. Additionally, a special price of 450 Baht will be offered to HeadStart students who come with a group of 4 or more friends! Get stronger and more fun with the 50FLY Trampoline Club! For more information write to <[email protected]. or call <096 776 5045>. We are located in the Big C Supercenter (2 floor). Please follow us on Facebook here and on Instagram here and our website here!
