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Weekly Update #27, 26 April, 2019
Dates for Your Diary
Upcoming events can be found on the calendar on the website School Life → Calendar but we have outlined upcoming events here for easy reference. For daily updates and news follow the HeadStart Facebook Page
| Date | Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26-28 April | All day | Flying Fish Swim Meet | BIS |
| 29 April-5 May | All day | Secondary Outbound Field Trips | As announced |
| 30 April | 8:15am | Thai Parents Meeting | Secondary Hall |
| 03 May | 2:30-5:00pm | Friday Market | Atrium |
| 06 May | All day | School closed for Coronation Day | - |
| 07 May | 8:15am | Thai Parents Meeting | Secondary Hall |
| 08 May | 2:15pm | Year 6 parent meeting @ residential trip | Primary Hall |
| 13-17 May | All week | Creative & Performing Arts Faculty Week | - |
| 13-17 May | All week | Primary Exam prep week | In class |
| 14 May | 8:15am | Thai Parents Meeting | Secondary Hall |
| 18 May | 8:30-12:00pm | Saturday Thai Culture Club | - |
| 20-24 May | All week | Primary, Year 7, 8, 9 Tests and Assessments | - |
| 27-28 May | All day | Mid-term break | - |
Primary Exam Information
Week 4 Primary Exam prep week - Monday, 13th May to Friday, 17th May, 2019
Week 5 Primary Exam Week - Monday, 20th May to Friday, 24th May, 2019
Introducing the Our Team
Ms Sophie Webb in Year 6 has been teaching for almost 11 years now and she still absolutely loves it.
‘I love learning about how people learn best. I am always looking for new things to inspire and engage my students. I am particularly passionate about teaching children who struggle with concepts in mathematics. You need patience, resilience, empathy and creativity.’
Thai Parent Meetings
Below is a timetable which includes topics for the Term 3 Thai Parent Meetings. Parent meetings typically take place every Tuesday morning starting at 8:15am. The location of the meetings will be mentioned in the Dates for Your Diary section of each update.
University Application Success
Many country’s university decisions come quite late in the academic year. We had good news in Sixth Form this week for students applying to Europe and Canada: congratulations to Jiraya Prieur who has been offered a place at the prestigious Les Roches hospitality school in Marbella. Paola Stoffel and Natalie Kotova have both been top ranked in the rigorous entry test at Amsterdam University and have thus been offered places to study Psychology.
Finally, well done to Maeva Lubrani who got accepted at all 3 of her Canadian universities (York, UBC Okanagan and Toronto) to study Literature. Although, like most universities, these offers are conditional on their final exam results, we are very proud of all their achievements in being selected from very competitive applicant fields and wish them the best of luck deciding which of their lovely offers to accept! By Ms Gemma Caines
Invitation to Take U-Prep Survey
Many thanks to all parents who came to the U-Prep talks on Thursday mornings in Term 2. So that we can get more information about how we can improve the U-Prep programme, here is a short survey for parents to complete. There is a version in English and Thai. The survey is very simple and will take about 5 minutes to complete. It is very helpful to us to get feedback and suggestions so that we can make sure we are offering the most helpful information to families. Parents don’t need to have attended the sessions to complete the survey, we would like to know what you would like to find out in the future. It will be available for 1 week and then we will review the information so that we can start to plan our future U-Prep programme - please help us make this service the best it can be by giving us your comments!
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.
Upcoming Important Dates for Year 11, 12 and 13
Term Three is upon us and we are now into the Cambridge International Exams season (IGCSE AS & A level Exams)! Therefore we thought it would be useful to write and share with you the significant events and dates that will be happening during Term Three.
All students will be following their normal timetabled lessons until Wednesday, 1st May. If students have an ICT practical exam or speaking exam between now and the 1st May, they will come out of their normal timetabled lessons to attend the exam. From Wednesday, 1st May onwards, students will still come to school as normal but will be either writing exams or will be in ‘Supervised Study’ for the entire examination period.
Click on THIS LINK for some useful tips about exam preparation and the overall Exam Timetable which has already been given to students. Below are some important dates and events that will be happening during Term Three for you to familiarise yourself with.
| 01 May | Supervised Study Begins |
| 27-28 May | Year 11-13 students take exams |
| 14 June | Last day of Cambridge exams/Prom |
| 17 June | Post Exams Programme begins for Year 11-13 |
| 17-18 June | Year 11-13 residential trip |
| 19 June | Motivational activities led by life coach |
| 20 June | Sixth Form Preparation and Team Building Activities |
| 21 June | Sixth Form Preparation and Life Skill Activities |
| 24 June | Year 13 Graduation Ceremony and Secondary end of year Awards |
| 25 June | Sixth Form Preparation and Administrative Tasks |
| 26 June | Last day of term |
We wish all students the best of luck in their exams and look forwarded to sharing their successes with you on results day, the 13th August, in the Sixth Form Centre.
Catch Me Reading Competition
We have started receiving some entries for our Catch Me Reading Competition. The idea behind the competition is to inspire a love of books and families are encouraged to take part in some extreme reading! To enter the photo competition you need to get a photo of your child being caught reading somewhere unusual, funny or surprising! Please take a look at some of entries that have come in already to get an idea. There are book vouchers on offer as prizes for each class so you do have to be in it, to win it! All entries can be emailed to your child’s Homeroom Teacher and myself and all photos must be in by next week - Thursday 2nd May. Where will you get caught reading this weekend?
Screen Time Recommendations from The World Health Organisation (WHO)
This week the World Health Organisation issued guidelines on screen time for young children. Worryingly, studies are showing that some children under the age of 5, are spending more than 2 hours per day in front of a screen. According to the WHO guidelines, children under the age of one should not be exposed to any electronic screens. For children aged 2 - 4, children should have less than one hour per day.
One of the directors leading the research placed a real emphasis on parents behaviour. As young children learn by observing adults, parents really need to be aware that what they are doing, could affect their children. Certainly food for thought as now there is growing evidence that suggests that excessive screen time can lead to emotional, social and behaviour problems. So with that in mind, it’s time to swap your screens for story books and join in our Catch Me Reading Competition. I look forward to seeing all your entries next week.
Year 6 Residential Trip to Borsaen Villas in Panga
In order to celebrate the hard work and effort of the Year 6 pupils, not only during the Checkpoints this year but also during their time in Primary, we have organised an overnight residential camping trip for them to Borsaen Villa and Spa, Phang Nga. The trip will allow the students to participate in team building activities, have fun and enjoy each other’s company at the end of their time in Primary.
Below is a letter outlining the trip which will take place 30-31st May, 2019. We do hope that all of the students will be able to join in and attend. Each child has also been given a paper copy of this letter, please complete the reply slip at the end of the letter and return to your child’s Homeroom Teacher, by Friday 3rd May to indicate if your child will join the trip or not. Alternatively, email either myself at [email protected] or your child’s Homeroom Teacher to confirm participation.
HeadStart Community Choir Invitation
We are starting rehearsals for the HeadStart Community Choir on Tuesday the 7th of May at 4:30-5:15pm in Music 2 and you are invited to join! Don’t worry if you are not a very confident singer. You will be joining the students and some other stronger singers who can help you to get your parts. We will be rehearsing some songs for the graduation ceremonies in June. Please email Erika at [email protected] if you wish to join. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Support the Community! Bring a reusable shopping bag and see what’s on offer at the Friday Market on the 3rd of May between 2:30-5:00pm.
Sports Department News
HeadStart students and teachers were busy during the Songkran break and took part in the Mai Khao Beach Sunset 5km Run. Well done to all for these excellent results!
- Gemma Brain-2nd place U19 Female Category.
- Kiki Ngernanek- 3rd place U19 Female Category.
- Mimi Ngernanek- 5th place U19 Female Category.
- Mac Mac Ngernanek also finished strong in a very tough U19 Male Category.
- Mr Paice did us all proud again finishing 2nd in the U29 Male category.
Upcoming Football Fixtures
The HeadStart Under 13 and 15 girls football teams will compete against KIS next Thursday, 2nd May from 3:15-4:15pm. Come along and support our football Panthers!
Swimming News
HeadStart Aquapanthers compete in the BISP Flying Fish Invitational from 2:00pm on Friday 26th until 3:00pm on Sunday, 28th April. Full report coming next week. Go Aquapanthers!
Swimathon for Charity Top Earners
Our Swim academy students collectively swam 2,168 lengths of the pool, a total of 54,000 kilometers, in support of the Good Shepherd charity in Phuket town. I am happy to say that we raised a whopping 140,685 Baht. I am so proud of our team and glad to see people putting in such great effort for a worthy cause. By Coach Brown
The top three earners were:
- Nae Nae Poudyel- raised 10,170 Baht
- Fleur Sauter - raised 25,000 Baht
- Shane Walters - raised 30,000 Baht
A huge well done to Year 6 who have completed their Cambridge Primary Checkpoint tests this week! By Ms Sophie Webb
Around the Island
Are you interested in being on the water this Summer for a Camp? (CLICK HERE or download the file below)[https://www.galileomaritimeacademy.com/] to find our more about what Galileo Maritime Academy has to offer you!
