Week 6: Smoke, Stories and Surprises

Oct 12

8 min read

Welcome to Week 6

Last week brought plenty of memorable experiences, from our visit from the Fire Department to traditional weaving, hiking, student performances and preparations for Halloween.

It was also lovely to welcome so many Lower Primary parents on Wednesday for our curriculum presentation. Thank you to everyone who came along, joined the discussion and shared such positive feedback afterwards. We really value these opportunities to talk about what we do at Halio, why we do it, and how we can work together to support the children.

With Halloween approaching and several important events coming up, there is plenty to look forward to over the next couple of weeks.

This Week

King Bhumibol Remembrance – Tuesday 13 October: We will hold a small gathering to commemorate the anniversary of the passing of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Parents are warmly invited to join us, with the gathering beginning at 9:00 a.m. Monks will arrive at approximately 9:30 a.m., and we expect to finish around 10:30 a.m. Children and parents are invited to wear yellow and bring a small offering of dry food for the monks if they wish.
Wednesday Café – Halio Band and Road Safety Group: Our Halio Band will be performing at the school café for the first time this term. The Road Safety Group will also be running the café, selling freshly made watermelon juice and muffins. Families are welcome to come along, enjoy the music and support our student-led activities.

For those who may not know, profits from our student-run café and shop are shared between the students involved, who earn a little pocket money for their efforts, and our Butterfly Money fund, which helps finance student-led projects around school. So every purchase supports not only the children running these activities but also the development of new ideas and projects across Halio.
Friday Trip – Chang Hua Man Royal Initiative Project: This Friday, all students will be heading out for an all-day trip to the Chang Hua Man Royal Initiative Project and a nearby museum. The trip will give students an opportunity to explore the project, learn more about its agricultural and environmental work, and discover more about the surrounding area. Further practical details will follow.

Looking Ahead

Wednesday 21 October – Halloween Party: Our annual Halloween celebration is approaching, and preparations are already well underway. We look forward to welcoming families for an evening of games, activities and a shared dinner. More information about the evening and food contributions will follow.
Thursday 22 & Friday 23 October – Mid-Term Break: School will be closed for our two-day mid-term break.
Monday 26 October – Visiting Teaching Students: We are looking forward to welcoming Annsofi and Celina, two teaching students from Denmark, who will be joining us at Halio to gain teaching experience and work alongside our staff and students.
Tuesday 27–Thursday 29 October – Parent-Teacher Meetings: Our parent-teacher meetings will take place immediately after the mid-term break. Please keep these dates in mind and make time to meet with your child's teachers. Further details about arranging appointments will follow.

Highlights from Last Week

On Wednesday, we welcomed Lower Primary parents for a presentation and discussion about our curriculum. We explored how our core subjects, Character & Culture, and Theme and Project-based learning work together, as well as the role of play, independence and self-directed learning in the children's development. It was a valuable opportunity to explain not just what we do at Halio, but why we do it, and to answer questions from parents. Thank you to everyone who attended and for the positive feedback we received afterwards. We hope to continue creating opportunities like this for parents to better understand and engage with their children's learning.
Fire Department Visit: Friday brought a memorable visit from the local Fire Department, who gave students a hands-on introduction to fire safety. We began with a presentation about how fires start, how smoke behaves and what to do in an emergency. The firefighters then filled our main hall with artificial smoke, allowing us to practise an evacuation drill in more realistic conditions. Students had to stay low, make their way through the smoky hall and safely evacuate the building.

Outside, the firefighters showed us their fire engine and demonstrated how to tackle a fire. Students then had the opportunity to use a fire extinguisher or the fire engine's hose to put out controlled fires themselves. They also climbed onto the fire engine to explore it more closely, and the visit ended with a little fun as some children enjoyed getting wet beneath the spray of the hose.

It was a fantastic experience, combining important lessons about fire safety with the opportunity to practise skills that could one day make a real difference. A huge thank you to the firefighters for giving us so much of their time and making the morning both educational and enjoyable.
Khao Tao Weaving and Reservoir Trip: Upper Primary and Middle School visited a traditional weaving centre in Khao Tao, where they had a fascinating opportunity to see the processes, techniques and skill involved in weaving. The visit proved so interesting that we ended up staying longer than originally planned.

Afterwards, students voted on how they wanted to spend the rest of their afternoon. One group chose to stay around the reservoir and take part in a running challenge of just over a mile and a half. It turned into a thoroughly enjoyable competition, and we discovered that we have some very capable runners at Halio.

The other group chose to hike over Khao Tao, taking their time along the trail and enjoying the views out towards the ocean. Two very different activities, both chosen by the students themselves, and a rewarding afternoon for everyone.
Our Lower Primary students completed their penultimate swimming lesson this week. It has been wonderful to see how much progress they have made throughout the programme, growing in confidence and ability while continuing to enjoy their time in the water.
Wednesday brought a little of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to Halio as our student Events Team, café and shop helped organise a celebration of Mad Hatter Day. There were hats, creative activities and plenty of opportunities for children and parents to get involved. Thank you to the families who joined us and helped make it such an enjoyable occasion.
Our Halloween Wall is now in full swing, with Matthew and Sarah stepping up and doing a fantastic job of leading the project. It has been great to see students taking ownership of the work and helping bring the ideas they voted for to life.

The Silver Sharks have also begun taking responsibility for this year's haunted house. A special mention to Eden, who has helped lead the preparations and independently organised time for the group to work by booking the North Room. It is encouraging to see students taking the initiative and managing the practical details of their own projects.
A group of girls from the Hummingbirds have been discussing an idea for a water wall during their self-directed time. Their enthusiasm has now moved into the early planning stages, and we hope to support them in turning their idea into something they can build and use around school.
Polar Bears at the Shop: On Monday, the Polar Bears made cinnamon bananas and sold them at the Halio Shop. It was another opportunity for students to turn something they had made themselves into a product to share and sell, gaining experience in preparing food, working together and running a small business.

Circle Time Highlights

The Hummingbirds shared some of the hand puppets they had created in class, while the Agent Owls and Polar Bears showed examples of their artwork. The Polar Bears also displayed bowls they had made using air-dry clay.
The Sabertooths shared their latest squishies and some of their tie-dye creations, giving everyone another look at the different things students have been making.
Congratulations to Techit, who recently took part in a drumming competition outside school and won. It was lovely to recognise his achievement and celebrate something he has been working on beyond Halio.
Linus has started selling his 3D-printed models again, complete with his business licence card. Another example of students putting their creativity and entrepreneurial ideas into practice.
We enjoyed several performances, including a dance from Dance Club groups and an individual performance by Maithai, Chafia and Mia.
Our Drama Club introduced the school to a new drama game, inviting others to join in and showing us something that we may well see appearing around school in the coming weeks.
Our anonymous contest brought another collection of prizes. Jon and Ben won a Pokémon card, Ben also won a small metal box, and Fah won a decorative box.

Relationship Class

Polar Bears

The Polar Bears practised different steps for resolving conflicts, learning how to identify what each person needs and brainstorm possible solutions. Through breathing exercises, listening activities and real classroom situations, they explored calmer, kinder ways to handle disagreements and work through problems together.

The Agent Owls

The Agent Owls explored responsibility around school from a Thai cultural perspective, with the session led by Kru Dteem. Students shared their ideas about what being responsible means, discussed different situations and expressed their understanding through drawings.

The Hummingbirds

The Hummingbirds had a thoughtful discussion about what responsibility really means: doing your part even when nobody is watching, and being willing to own your mistakes.

They explored three kinds of responsibility: responsibility for ourselves, for others and for our shared spaces. Students shared examples from their own experiences before working through everyday scenarios, deciding whether the choices being made were responsible and considering how things could be put right.

The Sabertooth Group

The Sabertooths continued developing their understanding of online information, this time exploring why people post things and how to decide what to trust.

They learnt about the idea of an agenda and sorted different posts according to their purpose: to inform, sell, persuade, entertain or attract attention. They then ranked nine different information sources, ranging from an encyclopaedia to a forwarded group chat message, on a trust ladder, discussing which sources might be more reliable and why.

The Silver Sharks

The Silver Sharks continued exploring what it means to be role models and effective leaders, with a particular focus on conflict resolution.

Students considered different strategies for handling disagreements and worked through scenarios in which they might apply them. They also reflected on the leadership qualities they would like to strengthen and added these to their personal leadership diagrams.

There were some particularly thoughtful conversations, with students showing an encouraging ability to consider different perspectives. One important idea emerged: healthy relationships do not mean always agreeing with one another, but learning to communicate, respect differences and work through difficulties together.

The Crispy Penguins

The Crispy Penguins explored what makes a healthy and positive relationship. Through discussion and real-life scenarios, students considered the importance of trust, honesty, respect and personal boundaries.

They also discussed how disagreements can be handled constructively, why it is important to respect other people's choices, and how being able to say no is an important part of maintaining healthy relationships.

Closing

Thank you to everyone who contributed to another memorable week at Halio, particularly our visiting firefighters, the parents who joined us for the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, and the students who continue to put so much energy into making things happen around school.

As we approach the mid-term break, we have some important events ahead, and we look forward to sharing more of what the children have been working on.

As always, please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

Warm regards,

Mr Vincent and the Halio Team