Newsletter Week Ending 7 Sept 2012

Dear all

Welcome to our first Newsletter of the 2012-13 Academic Year at HeadStart International School. Due to a technical hitch we could not post the Newsletter last week. I hope this new update will put this hick-up behind us.

The new faces at the school were plentiful as the increase in student numbers jumped by over 10% on top of our last record breaking number. HeadStart is certainly a busy place these days.

New members of the HeadStart community include students, parents and teachers. Many of our classes are now full and we have waiting lists for several of our year levels. It is great to see the teamwork of parents, teachers, students and our wonderful non-teaching staff gelling and forming one of, if not the fastest growing International school in Thailand.

NEW STAFF =========

We welcome new staff from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, the USA and South Africa. Our new staff are all fully qualified professionals, bringing further expertise into the Primary Section, Business Studies, ICT, P.E. and Mathematics departments. We also now have a fluent Russian speaking member of the teaching staff. Welcome to all our new staff!

NEW FACILITIES & BUILDING =========================

The school is, as ever, evolving into a better equipped and staffed educational establishment that has our children’s learning at the forefront of our focus. Improvements are evident in every department of the school, not only in the academic area but also in the administration and catering sections of HeadStart International School.

Upgraded facilities have been added in the summer break including:

A new Secondary Library and A level study room; - A new large dedicated music room with extra facilities; - A new kitchen and food preparation area; - Improved food service areas; - A new multi-purpose sports area; - A new reception area for parents and staff; - Over 3km of upgraded telephone and ICT lines throughout the school; - A new covered drop off and pick up area for students; - New and refurbished office areas for teachers and administration staff; - The introduction of a new computerised School Management System and school server; - Many, many more school improvements and extensions (come and have a look!).

A new school year is always an exciting and busy period of time for parents, students and school staff. We value all the invaluable contributions with the same pride and commitment to excellence we have come to expect from our HeadStart community. At HeadStart we always aim high without losing the focus on reality. Achievable goals remain one of our balancing factors. We will continue to achieve those goals. Our continued momentum to international accreditation from CfBT (Center for British Teachers) will ensure our long term success.

IGCSE RESULTS YEAR 11 =====================

Our first batch of IGCSE results have now fully come through. Our results are well beyond the average GCSE results from the average UK School. Of those studying for the full IGCSE course, 80% gained 6 or more passes with students hitting the top grades of A* and A’s. Some students achieved 8 passes in the 2011-12 academic year. Well done to our Year 11 class of 2012! We are very proud of you. We are eager to see the new A Level courses start on August 27th and to track the next step in HeadStart’s educational ladder.

NEW HANDBOOKS =============

Primary and Secondary Parent Handbooks are now available for download on our school website. The contents of these documents are shown in this pack. Please feel free to ask for clarification of any point from Ells or Mark, our Primary and Secondary Head Teachers.

TIMETABLE CHANGES ON MONDAY ===========================

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the scheduling of a number of lessons will have to be changed from Monday morning. As you can imagine, this impacts on nearly every secondary teacher and student for timetabling and for duties. Please be patient and bear with us on this issue which we hope to have resolved shortly.

In the term dates sheet that some parents received, the dates for two Buddhist holidays were incorrect. We apologise for this error. The dates for Makha Bucha day will now fall on 25th Feb 2013 and Wisakha Bucha day will fall on 24th May 2013.

NEW PREFECTS ============

We are very pleased to announce some new additions to our team of prefects. Joining the 8 prefects in year 11 will be 5 mature and responsible students from year 10. They are;

Lin Chien Luen (Ferry) - Pongphisoot Sripasron (James) - Truong Duc Tin (Tin) - Nanditha Sethi (Nandi) - Natthanan Saengpho (Matelda)

PE and Swimming for Secondary Students ======================================

Each student has three 45 min periods of PE a week; one double and one single period. For half the term students will participate in swimming for the double period (7 weeks of term 1, 7 weeks of term 2 and 6 weeks of term 3) and for the other half of term the students will participate in a double period of PE. This will include fitness, athletics, tennis and a variety of other sports. This ensures a much more varied PE program that caters for all the student’s interests and ability levels. Swimming will be done all year round so students will have the opportunity to swim in each term. Kind Regards, Jenny PE dept.

AND FINALLY………………………. =====================

Thanks to all the parents for your help with the drop off and pick up procedures. Without your input it could never happen. Have a great weekend.