The benefits of music by Ms Erika Cramp

There once was a little boy who was sent away from school. The school told his parents that he was “too stupid to

learn” and that he should be trained in manual labour. His parents did not want to believe that, even though their

son failed most subjects. They decided to buy him a violin. The boy absolutely loved his lessons and couldn’t get

enough of playing his instrument. He later said that music was the key to his academic success and “life without

playing music is inconceivable for me”. The little boy went on to become one of the greatest minds of all time and

received a Nobel Prize. The little boy was Albert Einstein.

Music develops many parts of the brain and is the perfect tool to improve your child’s academic ability. For example, Music and Math is

closely related. Through learning beats, rhythms and scales it helps children with division, fractions and recognising patterns. Learning

songs helps to develop our short term memory and later also our long term memory. Basic physics is tested out and learnt through the

vibrations an instrument makes when played. Playing instruments like drums or piano is excellent for coordination, a bit like the tap-

your-head-and-rub-your-tummy trick. Music also helps with socials skills when children learn to play or sing together. It also helps boost

self esteem and creativity.

By exposing your child to music every day you can introduce them to a lifelong skill and passion. It is never too late to start!

House Shirts are now Available

Weekly Update # 9, 30/10/2015

On Friday the 6th of November there will be no ‘Casual Clothes Day.’ Instead we will wear House shirts as students participate in House

events and competitions during the lunch break. There is stock available for students in Early Years through to Secondary level. Students

will wear their House Colour shirt up top, and the usual school skirt or shorts below as shown in the picture. The shirts are available in the

school shop at only 250 Baht.

Playground is Open!

It was a glorious morning on Monday the 26th after mid-term break when our Primary students had their first play on the newly finished

playground! The safety of our students is of paramount importance therefore we encourage all parents to keep a close eye on your

children while enjoying playing with friends on the playground. The playground is overseen from 7:40 am until 2:55 pm only. Please take

responsibility for the safety and security of your child outside of these times.

Thank you SHADES

HeadStart wishes to thank SHADES for their

generosity in lending us 5 umbrellas creating shade

for parents in the sitting area in front of the soon to

be opened Café. We have made an order for larger

more sturdy umbrellas but until they arrive, we

hope everyone will enjoy the shade provided.

Seating Areas Around School

In an effort to improve your comfort while waiting for

your children we have organised additional seating

areas in the school atrium and playground. The plastic

chairs and tables in front of the Café are temporary as

we await our order for more sturdy permanent seating,

coming soon!

Parent Committee Meeting

On the 29th of October the Parent Committee had its first meeting for this academic school year. The Parent Council has a total of 15

members representing all ages of students across the school. In the meeting the PC discussed ways to improve communication between

parents, the Parent Committee and Management. They also discussed ways in which other parents can contact them for issues that they

face and may not feel comfortable going to Management for.

In order to improve the points mentioned we will implement the following over the next couple of months:

• Organise a display of the Parent Committee in the school atrium. This display will include the names and nationalities of each

member as well as contact information.

• Populate the ‘Parent Committee’ tab on the website so that all information can be found in one central place.

• Notes from the meetings will be published to the Weekly update shortly after the meeting. This way parents will be able to keep

abreast of the issues that are brought up as well as Management’s proposed plan of action.

Should you require assistance from the Parent Committee please e mail parentcommittee@headstartphuket.com

Café Opening News

There have been substantial delays to opening the school Café that have been beyond HeadStart’s control but we can now confidently

say that all materials have been ordered and we are looking forward to opening up the new school Cafe by the end of November.

The Café will be launched with an exciting new concept of ‘healthy, clean and green eating,’ eco-conscious which means no disposable

plastics or unnecessary waste. We are also planning on sourcing a selection of healthy products for our HeadStart community, keeping

affordability as well as quality and taste at the fore-front of our decisions.

Our chef will oversee the purchasing and running of the Café along with our cheerful and hardworking staff Da and Bee. Ms Van der Laan

will help to manage the concept and overall set up of the Café along with our ECO Warriors are compiling the information that we will use

via signage around the Café to educate HeadStart's students and community about as we all do our part to make the earth a greener

planet.

Security Access Cards

HeadStart will be implementing a security policy shortly which will greatly improve the security of your children. As with the

implementation of every new policy or procedure there is a time of adjustment and settling in and we therefore trust that you will have

patience and bear with the initial stages of getting organised. An e mail will be sent to all parents regarding the exact date of

implementation.

HeadStart School Access Cards

• Each parent and child will require an 'access card' in order to be able to enter and leave the school premises. We will provide you

with a yellow lanyard and plastic slip so that you can wear them conveniently around your neck. This will help our security team to

identify which personnel is authorised to be within the school.

• The access card must be swiped across the digital reader at the turnstiles by the parent when you arrive and when you leave.

Without this action you will not be able to access or leave the premises.

• You also have the option to record your finger print on the security system which you may find convenient in case you have

forgotten your card. You can contact Khun Choke in the Admin office for this procedure.

• Foundation and Primary student access cards should be kept with the parents and not left in the student's bags.

• Parents may choose to grant permission for their Secondary child to keep the card which will automatically give permission for the

student to be able to leave the premises after 2:55 pm. Without the card the parent will need to come to the turnstile and swipe the

student access card for the student in order to exit the premises. Please understand that if you agree to give your child their access card

you are then responsible for the student’s safety from 2:55 pm onwards.

Cost of Cards

• There is no charge for the initial student and parent access cards. Should you require additional cards or need to replace a lost

card there will be a 200 Baht charge payable at the accounting office.

Collecting 'Access cards'

• Access cards for both parent and child must be claimed in the main entrance of the school. The exact date will be announced in an

upcoming e mail and in the next Weekly Update.

• Please note that we will not allow your child to pick up the access cards. In order for the system to work each parent must come in

person to sign for your and your family's access cards.

• Should you require additional access cards for relatives, drivers or nannies please contact Khun Choke in the front office.

Additional cards are charged at 200 Baht per card.

Picking up additional students

• The newly implemented security system will not allow you to exit the premises with additional children other than your own.

Therefore we must insist that you contact the school office IN ADVANCE by e mail or phone if someone other than you as the parent will

be picking up your child. Please refer to the Parent Handbook on the HeadStart website for more information regarding this procedure.

We will not allow students to leave the school premises with anyone but the parent unless we have been previously notified. We

apologise for the inconvenience but trust that you understand the reasoning behind this.

Access Permission Information

• Key Stage 5 (Year 12 students) Parents can sign the release form and give the access directly to the student. This will allow students

to leave the premises and return throughout the school day.

• Key Stage 3-4 (Year 7-11 students) Parents may scan their child in at any time but cannot scan them out until 2:55 pm. Parents may

choose to sign the release form and give the card to their child, in which case the parent must understand that the child will be able to

scan out on their own after 2.55. In this case, the parent must take responsibility for the whereabouts of the child after this time.

• Key Stage 1-2 (Year 1-6 students) Parents may scan their child in at any time but cannot scan them out until 2:55 pm. Parents

should not allow students to have their own access cards.

• Foundation students: Parents may scan their child in at any time but cannot scan them out until 2:40 pm. Parents should not allow

students to have their own access cards.

We thank you for your co operation in this matter. We look forward to working together with you to continue making our school a safe

and secure environment for each of our students.

House News by Ms Erika Cramp, House Coordinator

The house points as they stand at the moment are:

Yellow House Green House Blue House Red House

340 329 325 289

Next Friday, the 6th

of November, we are wearing our beautiful new house shirts for the first time. These shirts are available at

the school shop for 250 Baht. If you haven't got your shirt yet please make sure you purchase it before Thursday the 5th of

November.

On Friday the 6th we will have our first ‘Weigh your Waste’ competition. Students are encouraged to waste as little food as

possible. At the end of lunch students will scrape their leftovers into their house bins and the bin with the least amount of waste

wins.

Our students have been designing scary eyeballs for this week's eyeball race. Four students out of every homeroom were asked

to design and paint a ping pong ball to look like an eyeball. We had a total of 80 eyeballs and I can now announce the winners.

KS1 KS2 KS3 KS4

1. Year 2B blue house

2. Year 2Y Yellow house

3. Year 2Y Blue house

4. Year 2B Blue house

1. Year 5B Blue house

2. Year 4Y yellow house

3. Year 5Y Red house

4. Year 6B Green house

1. 9B Blue house

2. Year 9B red house

3. Year 8Y Green house

4. Year 7B Green house

1. Year 12 Blue House

2. Year 10B Yellow House

3. Year 12 Green House

4. Year 12 Red House

Congratulations to all our winners and to everyone who entered this competition!

HeadStart: First ‘Eco Schools’ Programme Participants in Thailand!

This half term will be an exciting time for us here

at HeadStart as we are delighted to inform you

that HeadStart has joined the Eco – Schools Global

Program. This program encourages and helps

schools to make changes in the classroom and

local community, to become more sustainable and

ecofriendly. Projects will be carried out in and

outside of school in order to work towards

achieving the ultimate and prestigious Green Flag

Award. Over the next few weeks we will be

forming an Eco Club. The club will run for two

years. Within that time, we will work on various

themes to raise eco awareness, change attitudes

and take action to make positive changes in

school and around the island.

We recently sent our Swimming Academy to Nai

Yang Beach for an open water swim but first discussed the dangers of plastic within the ocean and the importance of keeping our

beaches clean. Our action team worked tirelessly cleaning up the beach and removing bags full of rubbish and fishing debris, before

cooling off for a very long and refreshing swim with our PE coaches. The importance of keeping our oceans and coasts clean will be one

of many topics explored and challenged in school over the coming weeks. Please keep reading our Facebook page and Weekly Updates to

find out more about our eco progress and up and coming events and competitions.

We need your help! Would you like to join our committee?

We are currently in the process of forming an Eco Committee. The committee needs to be made up of students, school staff and parents.

We already have a number of teachers and members of school staff on the team. Students who are interested in joining the committee

will need to prepare a short speech and be elected by their peers. This process will take place over the next couple of weeks.

As well as students and school staff, we also need parents on the committee. The role of the parent would be to attend a committee

meeting perhaps once a month to help support and review the progress and to offer suggestions as to how the students could inform

and raise awareness within the community.

If you have some spare time, or run a local business or have a general interest in eco affairs and would like to get involved, please contact

fscott@headstartphuket.com or sign up on the Eco display board (at the bottom of the ramp) we would love to welcome parents onto our

Action Team!

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare/Abridged…

Theatrix in partnership with HeadStart

International School presented the laugh-a-

minute play on the stage of the Green Man

Pub and Restaurant on Oct. 17 to a nearly

full audience of enthusiastic viewers. Great

fun was had by all, kids of 9 on up to adults

in their 80’s. The audience responded with

lots of laughs and a standing ovation at the

end. The play will be played again in

HeadStart’s own auditorium, so don’t miss

seeing this rollicking ride through the 37

plays in 97 minutes!

Congratulations to the following students who have won Student of the Month!

World Scholar’s Cup Mrs Marie Beanland - Head of Faculty for English and Humanities

On Wednesday morning this week,

we were extremely fortunate to

have Natalie Ehlers, from the

World Scholar's Cup organising

team, come to HeadStart. Natalie

met with our HeadStart Scholars

and shared a presentation with

them about the program and what

they can expect from the three

stages of the competition: the

Regional Round held in Bangkok,

the Global Round - destination to

be confirmed and finally, the

prestigious Tournament of

Champions, held at Yale

University, New Haven, which only

the most dedicated scholars in the

world qualify to attend.

The theme for this year's World

Scholar's Cup is An Imperfect World. The students will soon be able to access the full syllabus details for this year, as they will shortly be

revealed at the Tournament of Champions, in November. It would be amazing if this time, next year we are looking forward to sending

HeadStart students to Yale!

The coming months will see our HeadStart World Scholars working hard to cover the demanding subjects and topic areas based on An

Imperfect World, to ensure that they are fully prepared for the Regional Round in March. They are already developing their debating

skills; we will soon begin working on their ability to debate with the power of their pens - essay writing; they will also have to complete a

multiple choice exam, so knowing the syllabus content very well will be crucial, and finally, they will work as a team, to perform under the

pressure of time, in the interactive Scholars Bowl team quiz, where the students will have to use a clicker to select the right answer as

fifteen seconds on the clock tick down!

Student of the Month English Jesse Horwood, 11B

History Sakai Suriyo, 8B

Maths Nitsarah Saeng-Uthat, 11B

Business Pennapha Sawangphathanakul, 10B

I.C.T. Veena Taweemongkonchai, 9B

D.T. Jonathon, 10B

Biology Pornpitcha Khaosutham, 10B

Thai Reece Edouard, 7B

Chemistry Kim Keiser, 11B

French Victor Keiser, 10Y

Physics Michela Di Cecco, 11Y

Mandarin Sakai Suriyo, 8B

Geography Jenny Park, 10Y

Music Elliot Lovotti, 10Y

Art Chanattha Sinsawaiphol, 7Y

P.E. Bomnuri Kim, 10B

The fifteen students involved in the program are already showing great potential to do incredibly well in the competition. With hard work,

perseverance and a sense of fun - this year promises to be full of exciting learning experiences for all those involved - including me!

Secondary Outbound Field Trips

As part of the curriculum Secondary students in Year 7-9 will go on their annual ‘Outbound Field Trips’ between the 22nd

and 26th

of

February. Please note that this is within the school calendar teaching time as we would like to encourage all students to participate in this

educational and adventurous opportunity.

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9

Triadhos Barge travel down

the Chao Phraya river

St. Stephen’s International

School

Khao Yai Adventure

Triadhos Eco Adventure in

Krabi

Note that the Year 11-12 students do not participate in this activity as they are meant to focus on their IGCSE studies.