Weekly Update #3, 9 September 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]

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has passed away overnight. The queen was much loved throughout the world, having devoted her life to the service of her people during her 70 year reign. Her death brings much sadness to the British people and across the commonwealth. We are thankful of Her Majesty’s long and successful reign and hope that she now rests in peace with her lifelong companion Prince Phillip. In due course we will share with our community how we intend to commemorate her life and mark her passing. -Mr Adam Drew, Headmaster

After School Programmes (ASPs)

The After School Programmes are off to a flying start with the largest percentage of students enroled in our history and busy in a vast choice of activities every day. Did you know that there are over 300 enrolments to the HeadStart Dance Programme alone? Only a few places remain for students still looking to join.

Parents are most welcome to request additional ASPs until the 16th of September. Now that activities have begun, cancellations will be allowed, however, please note that invoices will not be cancelled or refunded unless the school has discontinued the programme and unenroled your child. We hope your child will enjoy their ASPs for Term 1. -Ms Anisa Van Der Laan, ASP manager

To contact Ms Van Der Laan with questions or for assistance, email [email protected]

Primary Parents Meeting -Online Programmes - 06.09.22

A big thank you to everyone that attended our Primary parents meeting on Tuesday, 6.09.22. The high number of parents at the meeting was a fantastic indication of your commitment to working with us to ensure that your child makes the best possible progress, and continues to enjoy and achieve at HeadStart. Over the course of this year, my team and I hope to host a number of parent meetings so that we can help you all to better understand your child’s schooling at HeadStart International. Below you will find a download of the presentation which contains a link to a very helpful video created by Ms. Wintersgill which will help you with setting up Spelling Shed at home.

If you have any issues accessing your child’s online homework, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s homeroom teacher. -Mr Sam Khan, Head of Foundation & Primary

Foundation Parent Meeting Invitation - 13.09.22

Foundation parents are invited to a presentation on Tuesday 13th September at 08:30-09:30, in the Secondary Hall. Ms Walker, Deputy Head of Foundation, will present an Introduction to Foundation and the EYFS Curriculum. During the presentation we will cover the EYFS framework, parent and teacher expectations, communication, information about how we wish to work with you as parents and offer an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have. We will have a member of the Thai team available to support Thai parents.

Secondary ‘English Additional Language’ (EAL) Meeting - 14.09.22

The Secondary department will conduct a parents meeting for English as a Second Language students (EAL) on Wednesday, 14 September 2022 at 8:15-9:15 AM in the Primary Hall.

University Prep (UPrep) Meeting Invitation - 15.09.22

Welcoming everyone to a presentation by our Head of Sixth Form, Ms Bedi, on Thursday the 15th of September at 8.15am in the Primary Hall. The presentation will launch our UPrep talks and programme and address what we at HeadStart do to prepare our students for university enrolment and life. We strongly encourage all Secondary parents to join this presentation ask it sets the tone for getting organised well in advance and is extremely helpful for planning out the future.

Saturday Thai Culture Club

Thai Culture Club coming up next Saturday, 17 September from 9.00a to 12.00. An excellent way to bring school, family and Thai culture together! Open to Thai nationals. Sign up with your child’s Thai teacher to take part.

There are a number of University Fairs coming up that we would like to share with parents. If anyone is interested in receiving further information regarding these fairs, please drop an email to the Sixth Form secretary, Ms Waree at [email protected]

Touch Rugby

Social Touch Rugby is back! Everyone is welcome to come along every Tuesday at 6 pm - if you’ve never played before, no problem! All abilities and fitness levels are welcome, so come along to learn some new skills, get fit and have fun. Also, good luck to all teachers and students who are playing in the touch rugby tournament at ACG this weekend - let’s see your hard work pay off! -Ms Alicia Niemand

Homeroom activities started with a reminder that life’s ups and downs happen to all of us and genuine support can make a difference. Pupils discussed how to start and continue conversations with others that can provide support and have meaningful impact. There were opportunities for the children to write positive messages; take part in mindfulness colouring and share how they felt using emojis. A lovely positive atmosphere was created where pupils shared their great ideas on how to support their friends and family during difficult times. -Ms Rebeca Ross

A huge thank you to all parents for buying mooncakes to support our Mid-Autumn celebration. All of the students had a great time eating mooncakes and learning about this important festival. Moon Festival/ Mid- Autumn Festival is literally this Saturday! Don’t forget to go out and appreciate the FULL MOON 🌕 with your kids. Maybe you can find the moon lady Chang’e and the jade rabbit! 在中文第一语言的课堂，学生们进行了中秋词语大搜索及各种中秋趣味练习，共制桂花树和祈福牌并分享了各自带来的月饼。Wishing everyone a blessed Mid-Autumn Festival! May peace, joy and harmony be with your family in this special occasion! 祝大家中秋节快乐，美满团圆！-Mandarin Department

In Early Years we are fortunate to have a parent who is also a Mandarin teacher. She was invited into our class to talk about the Mid Autumn Moon Festival and share a story with the children. Another parent kindly sent in some delicious Mooncakes for the children to try! As part of our EYFS curriculum the children learn about different countries and cultures to understand the world they live in. We often talk about the different countries we are from, the languages we speak and festivals we celebrate. -Ms Suzi Chaemchaeng

In English, Year 7 Yellow are investigating the idea of dystopias. We discussed whether it was possible for our world to become a dystopia. With a clip from Wall-E as their stimulus, they worked collaboratively to produce some persuasive speeches, outlining all the ways we can actively avoid creating a dystopia here on Earth! Producing less waste, using renewable energy, and planting more trees were all ideas proposed by students in the class. -Ms Tuppen

I’d like to offer a huge welcome to all of our new students in Year 8, who have started the year strong. I’m seeing them all settle in well, make new friends and begin to really enjoy school. We had an excellent morning full of “getting to know you” activities which allowed everyone to connect and feel welcome. I’m looking forward to a very positive year ahead! -Ms Alicia Niemand

CAPA Star of the Week

This week our Star of the Week was Mark Efanov in year 4. Ms Costello nominated him for his perseverance and commitment to making progress in art. He has already grown in confidence over the past 3 weeks, we are excited to see what the year brings! Well done Mark!

Dance

This term we have over 300 students enrolled in our dance program, this equates to over 30% of the school! Within this we offer some ‘audition only’ programs of study and I am pleased to announce the results:

Congratulations to Justin Luo Year 4 who won the silver medal from Kangaroo Math Thailand 2022.