Weekly Update # 30, 26 June 2021
| Dates for Your Diary |
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 YouTube channel.
| Date | Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 June | 1.30-2.30 pm | Secondary Awards ceremony (students & parents only) | Sports Hall |
| 29 June | 6.00-7.00 pm | Sports Awards Ceremony | Online |
| 12.00-1.00 pm | House Captain’s ‘Thank You’ Lunch | Conference Room | |
| 1 July | 8.00 am -12.00pm | Activity Morning | |
| 2 July | Summer Holidays |
| Announcements |
Arrangements for Last Day of School
| Foundation | Students will stay with their homeroom teachers in the morning and have their breaks and lunch as normal. Parents may collect their children from the homerooms at 1pm. If you wish to collect your child earlier, so they may sleep at home please arrange this with your child’s homeroom teacher. Any students not collected by 1.15pm will be taken to the playroom for collection. |
| Primary | In the morning all students will remain in their homeroom classes for end of term activities and the chance to say goodbye to their classmates and teachers for the summer vacation. Students will have lunch at 12noon and return to their homerooms at 12.45 to collect their things and ensure they have everything they need for the vacation. Parents may collect students from their homerooms at 1 pm. Any students not collected by 1.15 pm will be taken to the dining hall for collection. |
| Secondary | Students should attend their homeroom as normal at 8 am and there will be a series of activities scheduled throughout the morning. The morning will end with time with their homeroom teacher and lunch at the usual time. Students will be free to leave at 12:15 or to be collected by their parents. |
We hope this explains the timings and arrangements for the final day of term and I wish you all the best during the summer vacation where I hope you will have time to relax and enjoy spending quality time with your family.
Summer Camp
HeadStart Summer Camp 2021 is about to begin. We are looking forward to four fantastic weeks of action and fun for all. A limited number of places are still available in Week 1. If you are interested in applying, please do so before the 1st of July. You can do so by contacting the front office at [email protected] or calling 076-612875. If you are interested in booking the Summer Camp for your child for weeks 2, 3 and 4, please contact us and make a payment for the camp one week before your child’s Summer Camp start. For those who have already registered for week 1, invoices will be sent out on Saturday, 26 June and payments are due by 2 July.
- If you have already committed to sending your child/children to the camp, don’t forget to fill in the Parent Self-Declaration Form- Click HERE!.
- If you are interested in your child taking the school bus, use this link to sign up: School bus sign up link -Click HERE!
| Primary News |
Primary Awards Ceremony
Congratulations to all of this year’s Primary award winners for Outstanding Effort, Outstanding Student, Most Improved Student, Outstanding Sports Performer, Creative Arts Prizes, Thai Etiquette, Most Improved English, Sports awards and finally Primary Student of the Year. We have been extremely lucky to be able to celebrate the student’s achievements in person last week and we hope that all of our Primary students will strive to be next year’s award winners! A full album of photos can be found on the HeadStart Facebook Page
| Foundation Department |
Reception Transition Days
On Monday 21st June the Reception children visited the Year 1 classrooms and teachers as part of their transition to Primary School. The children participated in Year 1 activities, got to know some of the team and took their break on the Primary Playground! The children were extremely excited and inquisitive about Year 1 and came back from the event feeling confident and optimistic about the next step in their academic journey. -Ms Hannah Brown, Deputy Head of Foundation
Year 3 Yellow “hot-seating” George Stephenson, the inventor of the locomotive, as part of their debate as to whether a railroad should be built in their town. -Ms Nicola Fallows
| History News |
Over the last 2 months or so our Year 8s have embarked upon a 20th century History project. They could choose whatever topic they liked just as long as it was in the 20th century and also they had a History “Learning Menu” to give them some ownership on what format they would choose to present their work. Please, when you can, pop into the History room and look at some of the best work, which includes books for children, diaries, mini graphic novels, detailed posters and podcasts which you can access using a QR code! -Mr Richard Cramp
| English Department |
In the culmination of their study of Denis Kelly’s DNA, students in Year 9 Austen performed in their collaboratively written plays to the rest of the year group. These pieces explored similar dark themes and used some of the conventions of the genre to bring them to life. The sophistication of the students’ scriptwriting and their thematic explorations were particularly noteworthy. Well done to all! Mr Pollicutt, Head of English
As we move toward the year’s end, Year 7 White took the opportunity in PSHE to engage with a mindfulness exercise. This was designed to calm and focus the students, especially in the relentlessly fast pace of 2021. A break, if you will, from the madness of crowds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEl6_pRK4-w. -Mr. Pollicutt, Year 7 White Homeroom Teacher
Here is a sample of student reflections: * ‘My brain is clear’ Egor * ‘Very calm and relaxing- I would do it again.’ Khun * ‘Soothing…like a part of me was conscious and another wasn’t. It felt like I was walking down a very long corridor’ Ton-Kla * Relaxing and calm’ Prim * ‘I was conscious of the aircon, my breathing and the movements of others..a lot of the tension I didn’t know I had just disappeared. It was my own space; I felt at peace.’ Dom
| Maths |
With the current trend of misuse of statistics to selectively prove or disprove a hypothesis, the Year 7 students were given a challenge. This challenge was to come up with an investigation they were interested in doing, come up with what they think the answer is - their hypothesis - and then objectively and in an unbiased fashion, investigate. They collected the data, analysed using statistical techniques such as finding the averages and correlation and use that data to come up with a conclusion. They then compared this to their hypothesis to see if what they actually thought were true. The results were intriguing…-Dr Portelli, Head of Maths
| Humanities |
Last week, Miss Elodie, a member of the animal welfare organization, World Animal Protection, gave us an impressive lecture about animal rights and the food production system. We also received an informative talk about Human Rights from Mr Ishmael, during which we learned about and discussed current events in which people’s rights are violated. From both workshops, we have gathered useful information about ethics, morals and rights and wrongs concerning humans and animals. The talks were informative and moved us all inspiring us to take action and encourage others to do the same. Perhaps we will explore ways to incorporate service and learning into clubs we run at school next year which we can, as student leaders, run to further support our understanding of these issues and how we can play a part in making a difference for the betterment of society. -Written by Linda, Alicia in Year 11
| PE and Sports |
Zak Brown
My name is Zak Brown, and I have a deep passion for swimming. I hail from Bakersfield, California, where I discovered my love for the sport at the age of 10. Throughout my high school years, I had the privilege of leading our team to four consecutive league championships, a testament to our hard work and dedication. After graduating, I pursued my swimming journey at Bakersfield College while representing the esteemed Bakersfield Swim Club. As a part of this club, I had the opportunity to compete in various competitions across California and even ventured to different states for national level meets. These experiences shaped me both as an athlete and as an individual. Seeking new challenges, I made the decision to move to Niagara Falls, New York. There, I continued my swimming career at Niagara University as a Division One Swimmer. During my time at Niagara, I achieved remarkable accomplishments, setting three school relay records and graduating with a degree in marketing and logistics. Swimming has not only shaped me as an athlete, but it has also shaped me as a person. For over 19 years, I have been teaching and coaching swimming, working with athletes of all levels, from beginners to aspiring Olympians. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience, enabling me to meet inspiring individuals from all corners of the globe. Swimming is more than just a sport to me - it has become a lifestyle. The invaluable lessons I have learned through swimming have stayed with me throughout my life. In 2016, I joined the HeadStart team, and it has been an amazing journey thus far. I am thrilled to continue working with the students, supporting and nurturing their swimming abilities. Together, as a cohesive team, we will strive for excellence in the pool this year, pushing ourselves to new heights.
This is the final post from the Swim Academy for this year! We had a fantastic final week of training filled with a lot of work and fun! Last Friday (June 18th), we held our second intrasquad meet! The competition was tight between Team Nut and Team Puy. We had several outstanding swims and in the end, there was only a 4 point difference between the two teams! The winning team was Coach Puy with a score of 143 points, edging out Coach Nut who earned 139 points. It was a fantastic meet and everyone had great races!
For our final week, Nae Nae finally got to reveal her special practice! She led off by an intense game of kickboard wars, followed by paper, rock, scissors relay. At the conclusion of this, we played a very competitive game of jeopardy! The categories included HeadStart, Maths, and Swimming! Finally, Nae Nae brought a swimming pool birthday cake for everyone to enjoy for her birthday and Esther brought farewell waffles since she graduated on Friday, congratulations again Esther!
For our last day, the swimmers played a very intense game of water polo! Each team had the opportunity to score 3 different goals, all worth different point values. In the end, the “White Caps” won! Overall it was a fantastic week and I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s smiling faces next year!
| Library News |
Well done to Teerat Thongtong (Tito) in Year 5 White for his achievement of being a great library monitor over 5 years. In the meantime, I would like to say thank you to Liu Ying Ge (Linda) and Nasapon Hanpipat (Poy) for their volunteer work in the library. -Mai, Librarian
