Weekly Update #8, 25 October, 2019

Dates for Your Diary

Upcoming events can be found on the website under School Life → Calendar and are also outlined here for easy reference.

For daily updates and news follow the HeadStart Facebook Page and You Tube channel.

Date	Time	Event	Location
26-27 October	All day	DofE Bronze Training (Group 1)
30 October	3:00-6:15pm	PISAC Primary/Secondary Cross Country	BISP
31 October	8:15am	UPrep Talk
	All day	Halloween Activities- ASPs cancelled	See more details below
1 November	2:20-5:30pm	Friday Market	Atrium
	3:00pm	Volleyball Jamboree	UWCT
	7:00pm	Mum’s Night Out	Endless Summer
2 November	TBA	PISAC Football	Refer to email
2-3 November	All day	DofE Bronze Training (Group 2)	Ao Yon
	9:00-5:00pm	CAPA Academy weekend rehearsal	Music Department
4-6 November	All day	Science Faculty Week	In school
5 November	8:30am	Thai Parent Meeting: Assessment, Reports & Grades	Secondary Hall
6 November	3:20-5:30pm	Girls Under 15/Over 15 Basketball	BISP
7 November	8:15am	UPrep Drop In session	Coffee shop
	8:30am	Positive Parenting Talk 3 & 4	Primary Hall
8 November	8:00am	BTEC trip	Thanyapura
8-10 November	All day	SwimFest Meet (Swim Academy)	ISB in BKK
9-10 November	All day	DofE Bronze Practice (Group 1)
11 November	In class	Loy Grathong activities in Thai class
	10:45am	Remembrance Day Assembly	Sports Hall
11-12 November	All day	Assumption University UExperience visit
12 November	8:30am	Parent Meeting: Supporting your child in Reception	Secondary Hall
	TBA	PISCA Football tournament	TBA

Sponsor a Foster Child Appeal

If you have been to the school atrium recently, you may have noticed the caricatures of 50 foster children from the Phuket Sunshine Village and the Home Life Project Foundation that we, as a school, are rallying support for. Under each child’s picture is a little bio that gives you an idea of the children’s lives, their hopes and aspirations, all written by the children themselves. The two foundations mentioned, are independent of government funding and rely on the generous contributions of the community in order to continue their services. With all that we have been blessed with, we definitely are in a position to reach out and give to those less fortunate than us.

We are appealing to members of the HeadStart community to donate 3,000 Baht towards the annual costs of caring for a foster child. You can donate as a family, a company or all on your own!

Donating is simple! All you have to do is…

→ Inform the admin team which child you would like to sponsor and under what name.

→ Pay the allocated amount to accounts in the front office.

Once the transaction is made you can…

→ Move the child that you have chosen into the ‘Foster Home.’

→ Sign your name on the child’s bio.

Children will be presented the information in an age appropriate way by their teachers helping them to understand the concept of giving and how they can help make a difference.

We will be organising events to help raise awareness for those in need so close to home.

If you have any questions please contact the organiser, Ms Miki Edouard, in the front office or write to [email protected]

Help Keep the Air Clean!

We want our school to be a healthy environment where our children can play outside breathing fresh clean air, not polluted car fumes. Please avoid running your engine when you are waiting in the car park. Leaving your car engine on produces toxic fumes that cause respiratory problems, headaches and other health problems and is very unpleasant for people passing by.

Halloween Activities

Halloween is coming! Do you have your spooky outfit ready? It’s going to be a lot of fun! Please be reminded that on 31st of October there are no ASPs. They have been cancelled since the beginning of the year so that we can enjoy a fun day of celebrations. There will be one school bus departure time at 3:30pm so please remind your child to be at the bus ready for departure on time.

Foundation

On Thursday the 31st of October we would like to invite you to bring your children dressed in their favourite Halloween costume. We will have Halloween themed activities throughout the day followed by a party from 14:00-15:20. Pre-School children can stay at school until 15:20 on this day.

Children will have the opportunity to collect candy so please bring a small bag or basket for them to put it in. We will encourage children not to eat the candy at school and to take it home so that you can decide when and what they can have.

Swimming class will be cancelled on this day and replaced with P.E. As the children will be wearing the costumes for the day, please inform the homeroom teacher if you wish for your child to be showered. Otherwise we will not shower on this day.

If you wish to collect your child at the usual time of 14:20 please do vacate the area swiftly as there will be a lot of movement in the area. This is in the interest of all children’s safety. We are unable to invite parents to this event due to the amount of children we have in the Foundation department. Keep an eye out for our next parent stay and play sessions coming soon!

Primary

Primary students and teachers are invited to come to school in costume. There will be a themed lunch and snacks prepared by Chef and his team! During the lunch break there will be a Halloween fashion show where students can parade their outfits. Teachers and deputies will organise a period of fun activities that the children can engage in during school hours. Don’t miss getting a photo in front of the back drop in the atrium!

Secondary

Next Thursday 31st October is HALLOWEEN and Secondary Students are invited to a special Halloween Disco here at school in the Sports Hall. This means that there will be NO ASPs on that day for any students. The fun starts at 5 o’clock for Years 7-9 and will end at 6.30. For Year 10 upwards the fun starts at 6:30pm and finishes at a spooky 8.30pm at night! Parents need to pick their children up from the Atrium at the appropriate time!

Students are invited to dress up in a scary costume - they have the option of wearing this to school, or they can choose to change after the end of the school day ready for the party. There will be snacks sold by BTEC students on the evening with prices around 20-50 baht per item so we recommend children bring spending money. However, there is no formal evening meal so parents might want to think about other arrangements for an evening meal.

The cost of the event is FREE but we are asking children to sign up so we have an idea of numbers - they can do this next week with our Prefects until Wednesday morning. A notice in flag-raising will give more information to students but do contact us if you have any questions.

If you have any questions or require assistance please contact the front office by writing to [email protected]. To call please dial <076-612875>

To contact Secondary management please write to Ms Gemma Caines at [email protected] or Mr James Barker at [email protected]

Mum’s Night Out- Final Call for Bookings!

Have you gotten your ticket for the ‘Mum’s Night Out’ organised for the 1st of November at the fabulous Endless Summer in Phuket town? If not, make a move on it! Only a few days to go until the event! There will be a live DJ, Khun Not who is the resident DJ at Cafe Del Mar, a photographer, Ms Jessi Cotteril (who is fabulous at her job!) drinks and prizes, but most of all the chance to enjoy an evening together. Special offer for a free shuttle due to limited parking spaces. Bookings for both transportation and tickets can be made in the front office any day this week before Wednesday, 30th of October. Looking forward to seeing you all there! By Ms Miki Edouard, Events Coordinator

UPrep Talk Invitation

Next Thursday 31st October is our 4th UPrep parents’ talk of this academic year. Our topic will be “Comparing Different University Systems Worldwide.” Students and their families have more choice than ever when it comes to university choices, and HeadStart students are increasingly global in their destinations: last year’s graduating class are studying in the UK, South Korea, the Netherlands, Sweden, USA, Canada and Australia. Understanding the differences between the diverse systems on offer is vital for families as they decide what would be the best fit for their child. We will be looking at how universities in different countries compare in terms of curriculum, assessment, cost and reputation. This session will be useful for all parents but particularly interesting for those with children in Year 10-12 so we hope to see lots of people there! We will be in the Primary Hall from 8.15 onwards. By Ms Gemma Caines

University Application Success

University application season has arrived and we are very happy to be getting some nice early responses from universities for our Year 13 students. Congratulations to Vasco on his super-quick offer to study Computer Science at Durham University; and well done to Phet on his generous conditional offer to study Natural Sciences at Exeter University. Both students have been with us at HeadStart for a very long time so it’s been a pleasure to help them plan their escape route and fantastic to share their success - we would only give them up to such prestigious universities! Good luck to all the applicants about to send off their paperwork and fingers crossed for more good news for them in the future. By Ms Gemma Caines, Head of Sixth Form

Secondary Wai Kru Ceremony 2019

Wednesday was a beautiful day of showing appreciation for the HeadStart teachers by giving them flowers, singing and making heartfelt speeches. A big thank you to all of the generous parents who prepared extraordinary ‘Pan’ (flower plates) that were offered to management at the beginning of the ceremony. Head Boy Vasco and Head Girl Julianna did a great job MC’ing the event while Nutcha once again filled the sports hall with her beautiful voice as she sang a traditional Thai student blessing. Mr Richard Cramp, History teacher, spoke to the students about his experience as a student (many, many years ago) and that one special teacher who ignited in him a love of learning. Regina and Jing Jing gave heartfelt speeches about life as a student and how much they appreciate everything their teachers have done for them. The ceremony included a lovely performance by our Secondary CAPA students who rewrote the lyrics to ‘Seasons of Love’ especially for Wai Kru day.

Primary Wai Kru Ceremony 2019

What a meaningful time of showing our appreciation for the Primary teaching staff at our annual Primary Wai Kru ceremony. The Primary Deputy Boy and Girl, Igor and Jiejie made a great impression on the audience as they MC’d the entire event on their own. Sophia and Mason made adorable speeches that expressed their feeling of gratitude for their teachers and to the founders of the school. Mr Paul Williams, teacher at HeadStart for the last 4 years, made a moving speech declaring that, although he has had other occupations and has travelled the globe, nothing compares to the fulfilling job of being a teacher. Mona, Juliette, Abi, Tisha and Ashley impressed the audience with her angelic voices singing ‘Thanks to You!’

As Mr Sam Khan, Head of Foundation and Primary, aptly put it “Flowers and speeches are not enough to show our teachers how much we appreciate them but it’s a good start.”

Foundation Wai Kru Ceremony 2019

Friday saw the final Wai Kru Ceremony of 2019. For many of our Foundation children this was their first experience of Wai Kru. Our student representatives worked very hard rehearsing for this event with our Thai teaching team to present flower plates and to give very touching speeches to their teachers. Ms Candice, Reception Blue teacher gave a heartfelt speech to all of our students followed by a fun speech from Mr Khan to close the ceremony. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank our dedicated and passionate Foundation team for their consistent love and care every day. It was a pleasure to see the gratitude shown by students and parents, the room was filled with smiles, joy and a beautiful scent of flowers. Ms Hannah Brown, Deputy Head of Foundation

Student News

The Preschool children loved our Mermaid tea party as part of our ‘Under the Sea’ topic!’ By Ms Charlotte Myers

PE Department

Thanks to all those that attended the Footballs Fun. It was an absolute pleasure to have so many of you join us - see you next time! Coming up…

• The U13 boys are awaiting confirmation of their match on Saturday which will kick off at 9.00am if confirmed.
• Soccer Circus restarts this Saturday at 10.30am and is now available for children up to 12 years old.
• The Goalkeeping Academy resumes this Saturday from 10.30 - 12.00pm.
• Next Saturday we aim to continue our impressive start to the season in the PISAC tournament.

All support is very welcome, let’s go Panthers! Coach Asa

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Well done to the Under 15 boys Basketball squads. They won the Phuket ‘Eat Veggies’ tournament and the girls beat BISP in a friendly match 32-20!

House Update

PE Faculty week had a huge impact on the House Scores. Term 1.1 ended with the successful story of the Green Dragons climbing from 4th place to 1st place. However, they aren’t safely out in front as they are only 1 point ahead of the Red Phoenixes. Looking ahead to the start of term 1.2, we have a Spooky themed house activity for our Primary students at lunchtime on Halloween and our Secondary students are competing in Funky Football, Gladiator Ball, Countdown & a photo scavenger hunt. I wonder how the results will fair this term? Here are the current house totals points… By Ms Kirstie Melville

Around the Island

Farmers Club