Week 5: Notice, Wonder, Discover

Oct 5

7 min read

Welcome to Week 5

We are now well into the rhythm of the term. Projects are developing, clubs are taking shape, our student-run café and shop are finding their feet, and ideas for some of the bigger events ahead are beginning to move from conversations into action.

This week brings another round of clubs and trips, as well as our Lower Primary Parent Morning on Wednesday and the beginning of preparations for some important October events.

This Week

Rugby Club: Monday, 4:00–5:00 p.m. at the field.
Football Club: Wednesday, 4:00–4:45 p.m. at school.
Fire Department Visit: The Fire Department will be visiting us on Friday to teach the children about fire safety and give them a chance to learn how fire extinguishers are used.

Lower Primary Parent Morning: Wednesday, 8:30–9:30 a.m. Lower Primary parents are invited to join Mr Vincent for a presentation and discussion about our Lower Primary programme and curriculum. We will look at what and how the children learn, how the different strands of our curriculum work together, and leave plenty of time for questions and discussion. Parents are welcome to simply turn up, although if you already know you are planning to attend, you are welcome to let Mr Vincent know beforehand.
Mad Hatter Day – Wednesday: To celebrate National Mad Hatter Day, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, our Events Group, Student Café and Shop will be putting on a small Mad Hatter-themed event. Nothing too big, just a little bit of fun. All are welcome to join us from 3:30 - 4:15.

Friday Trips

Lower Primary will have their penultimate swimming lesson this Friday. With just two sessions remaining, the children are now approaching the end of this term’s swimming programme.
Upper Primary and Middle School will head to Khao Tao for the trip originally planned for last week. Students will visit the weaving centre to learn more about the local craft, as well as exploring the reservoir and surrounding area.

Looking Ahead

Tuesday 13 October – King Bhumibol Remembrance: We will hold a small school gathering to commemorate the anniversary of the passing of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Local monks will join us at school, and families are welcome to attend and bring offerings if they would like to take part. We also invite participating students and parents to wear yellow for the occasion. We will share further details closer to the day.
Wednesday 21 October – Halloween Party: Our annual Halloween Party will take place on Wednesday evening. This will be a family event with games, activities and our shared dinner. We will send a separate message shortly with more information, including details for families who would like to contribute food to share.
Thursday 22 & Friday 23 October – Mid-Term Break: School will be closed for our two-day mid-term break.

Highlights from Last Week

Preparations for Halloween have officially begun. Students discussed and voted on ideas for this year’s Halloween Wall, with plenty of imaginative suggestions and some lively debate along the way. Sarah and Matthew will lead the project this year and made a start on Thursday, preparing the background. Some of our older students will also be involved in bringing the final design to life.

A big thank you to the many Lower Primary students who volunteered to help clean and prepare the Halloween Wall before painting begins. Children from the Hummingbirds, Agent Owls and Polar Bears all stepped forward to help, turning what could have been quite a job into a much quicker team effort.
As a whole school, we explored Curiosity as our Halio Student focus for the week. Together we discussed three simple ideas: Notice, Wonder, Discover. We talked about noticing the world around us, wondering and asking questions about what we see, and then taking the next step to discover and learn more. We encouraged students to think about how they can bring curiosity into their learning and everyday lives.
Upper Primary and Middle School enjoyed their trip to Pranburi Forest Park, exploring the mangroves and spending time walking and cycling amongst the pine trees. Many students also enjoyed exploring the beach, while a few were particularly drawn to the raised relief maps of the area, using them to look more closely at the surrounding landscape and geography.

Students also had the opportunity to use their Butterfly Money to buy fresh coconut water and other drinks, putting their school currency into practice outside the classroom. Alex took on the role of banker, helping students exchange their Butterfly Money before making their purchases.
Lower Primary continued their swimming programme with another successful session in the pool. With only two lessons remaining, it has been great to see the children continuing to build their confidence, independence and skills in the water.
Our student shop and café both opened again this week. The new Events Team are still finding their feet and learning what it takes to plan and run activities for other students. This week they explored aspects of Native American culture, including making dreamcatchers. Not everything went exactly to plan, but that was part of the learning. Ping An did a particularly good job of sharing some of what she had learnt about North American Indigenous cultures, helping to give the activity some context beyond simply making something.
Over at the café, Max and Linus did an excellent job running their stall and managed to make a small profit selling pumpkin spice pumpkin and lemon sour tea. Another good step in learning what goes into planning, making, pricing and selling something themselves.
After hearing that quite a few students had been losing or misplacing their Butterfly Money, Ms Sherab led a Friday Masterclass showing students how to make their own paper wallets. It was a simple idea with a practical purpose, giving students somewhere to keep their Butterfly Money while also learning a new making skill.
Since the beginning of term, Ms Celden has been running a Friday social and emotional drop-in for students across the school. The space gives children an opportunity to check in, talk through something that may be worrying them, work through friendship or social difficulties, or simply have a little extra support when they need it. It has quietly become another way we are supporting students’ wellbeing alongside their day-to-day relationships with teachers and staff.
The Silver Sharks have been taking on increasing responsibility around school this term. Alongside writing our weekly Kindergarten newsletter, Silver Shark Bites, they are now launching a new project through the Halio Shop, selling fruit and vegetables from Truly Organic Farm every Wednesday from 3:30–4:00 p.m. The students will be responsible for ordering, repackaging and reselling the produce, giving them hands-on experience of running a small, sustainable business. They have put together a short survey to find out what families would be interested in buying. https://forms.gle/pqivvJiGJfTHZ1dd9
We have made a small change to our morning routine, with Reading Circle now beginning as children arrive at school rather than waiting until 8:45. Children can settle in with a book, read independently or with others, be read to, respond to their reading through art or a reading diary, or spend some extra time reading with a teacher. It gives children a calm and purposeful way to begin the day while creating a little more time for books and reading each morning.

Circle Time Highlights

The Silver Sharks and Crispy Penguins performed dances to their respective songs. What stood out was the confidence and sincerity with which they performed, committing properly to their dances rather than playing them for laughs.
There was plenty of student work on display. The Polar Bears and Agent Owls shared paper and balloon squishies they had made, while the Sabertooths showed their sewn wallets. The wallets have a very practical purpose too, giving students somewhere safe to keep their Butterfly Money rather than discovering it crumpled in pockets – or lost altogether.
Matthew received awards for his recent exams after successfully completing another course. Congratulations to him on another achievement.
The Polar Bears shared some of their work from Breathing Beats, including an experiment involving cinnamon on their hands. They also made drinks and were happy to share them with the rest of the school.
Our Dance Club performed one of the dances they have been working on, while other clubs shared some of their creations, including handmade puppets and more homemade Play-Doh.
This week’s anonymous contest included a Minions book, won by Ticha and Bella. Congratulations to them both.

Relationship Class

The Agent Owls

The Agent Owls continued exploring maturity and responsibility, building on last week’s idea that “I am responsible for my own choices, so I need to think before I choose.” Students were introduced to Stop, Think, Choose, and began discussing how this simple framework can help them slow down, consider the consequences and make better choices.

The Hummingbirds

The Hummingbirds explored how AI can sometimes provide incorrect or outdated information, create convincing fake images and present wrong answers with confidence. They learnt a simple five-step fact-checking method: stop and think, check the source, find other evidence, check the details, and decide based on the evidence. They then put these skills into practice by investigating different claims and deciding whether they were true, false or needed further checking.

The Sabertooth Group

The Sabertooths looked at just how much information exists online and how little of it has necessarily been checked. They tested a few “facts” that everyone seems to know, looked at real examples of fake websites and videos, and learnt three questions to ask before believing something: Who made this? How do they know? How does it want me to feel? Next lesson, they will build on this by learning how to find reputable sources of information online.

The Silver Sharks

The Silver Sharks went into more detail about different leadership styles, discussing which approaches they liked, which they didn’t and why. They then looked more closely at the leadership styles each person tends to use and considered which areas they might need to develop as they continue building their own leadership skills.

The Crispy Penguins

The Crispy Penguins explored identity, individuality and belonging through a simple activity using figures and objects. Each student chose a figure that represented something about themselves and explained their choice to the group.

This led to some thoughtful discussion about personality, experiences and what makes each of us different. Students listened carefully to one another and showed genuine curiosity about the perspectives of their classmates.

They then considered what helps people feel that they belong, are accepted and respected within relationships, and how different people may need different things from those around them.

Closing

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. With October now underway, there is plenty happening across the school and several important events to look forward to over the coming weeks.

If you have any questions or need to discuss anything with us, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Warm regards,

Mr Vincent and the Halio Team