Week 3: Student-Led Projects and Learning in Action

Welcome to Week 3

It has been another busy and positive week at Halio, with students continuing to build momentum in their projects, relationships, and responsibilities across the school. It has been particularly pleasing to see students taking initiative, whether through organising events, supporting younger learners, or contributing to our growing school community. We are looking forward to another exciting week ahead, with a number of engaging activities both in and out of school.

This Week

• Coffee Morning - Coffee Morning with me will now take place on Thursday mornings from 8:15 – 9:00 a.m.

  
  

• Café & International Bee Day (Wednesday 13th) - This Wednesday, the café will be a hive of activity. Eden, Yuzu, Maxi, Jude, and Tar Ping will be running the café, selling crushed ice honey lemon and lime drinks, as well as honey lemon soda.

  
  

  In addition, Ping An and Amanda have organised a special event to mark International Bee Day. Toa and Tar Ping will be delivering a masterclass on stingless bees. Students, parents, and teachers who come dressed in black and yellow will receive a free item from the café.

Friday Trips

• Lower Primary – Swimming (Hampton Swimming & Fitness) Lower Primary students will continue their swimming sessions at Hampton. Please ensure your child brings swimwear, a towel, a change of clothes, sun protection, and a water bottle.

• Upper Primary & Middle School Students will visit Mrigadayavan Palace and the nearby Mangrove Forest Park. Mrigadayavan Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a beautiful historic site offering insight into Thai history and architecture, set along the coastline. Following this, students will explore the mangrove forest, where they will learn about coastal ecosystems and the importance of environmental conservation.

Highlights from Last Week

• The trip to the floating market was a highlight, with students thoroughly enjoying the experience. Swimming sessions for Upper Primary also got off to a strong start.

  
  

• We were particularly impressed with the leadership shown by Alhena and Ping An, who supported our kindergarten students after school on Friday while some members of staff took part in a professional development session. Alhena has also been volunteering her time to support the Polar Bears, even planning and delivering her own lesson.

  
  

• The café chess tournament was a great success. Well done to our student events team for organising such an engaging event. The school shop also opened for the first time this term, led by Seren, Xi En, Cheewa, and Vicky.

  
  

• Our road safety team, Yuzu and Tar Ping, did an excellent job supporting students at the gate using their homemade signage.

  
  

• Students also selected their Sports Day teams, including their team names, colours, and voted on their team captains.

  
  

• Congratulations to Linus, who became the first student this term to receive a business licence and will begin selling 3D printed items.

  
  

• Finally, the Polar Bears embraced their inner palaeontologists, digging for dinosaur fossils across the school, though one fossil remains missing, prompting a whole-school search.

Circle Time Highlights

• Tar Ping won a 50p coin in the weekly contest, while Rowin Skye won a Scottish flag.

  
  

• Harris and Alex presented a film created by Maxi and Max from film club.

  
  

• Cross Stitch Club shared their beautiful and detailed designs during circle time.

  
  

• Taste the Rainbow club made some delicious pancakes, with beetroot being agreed as the best flavour.

  
  

• Banjo won the Polar Bear Mini World Cup representing Portugal.

  
  

• Sabertooth group impressed everyone with their handmade chess set.

Relationship Education

Polar Bears 

The Polar Bears explored the importance of hydration and how water supports the body. They also discussed healthy bathroom habits and appropriate lunchtime behaviour, including portion awareness and making sensible choices.

Agent Owls 

This week, the Agent Owls built on their understanding of emotional awareness, focusing on how to support others experiencing difficult emotions. Through role-play and discussion, they practised showing empathy and checking in on others.

Hummingbirds 

We explored why we naturally stick to the same friend groups and what we might be missing. Students were paired with someone they don't usually spend time with and used conversation prompts to get to learn more about each other. There was some great whole-group discussion and students arrived at the idea themselves that keeping an open mind and spending time with different people is worthwhile. For their take-home activity, they were assigned a different partner to complete a joint activity together. Next lesson they'll be sharing what they discovered with the class.

Silver Sharks and Penguins 

Building on last week’s anonymous questions, students explored a wide range of topics including family structures, friendships, and puberty. Discussions focused on understanding that all families are different, as well as the physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty, helping to build awareness and respect.

Crispy Crabs (formerly the Crystal Tigers) Based on their questions from the previous lesson, students revisited key topics including pregnancy, menstruation, and human reproduction. The focus was on developing a clear, age-appropriate understanding of how these processes occur. Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Warm regards,

Mr. Vincent and The Halio Team