Week 7: Community, Celebrations and Creativity

4 days ago

6 min read

Welcome to Week 7

As we approach our mid-term break, it's been an excellent first half of the term at Halio. We've had some wonderful trips, projects and experiences, with last Friday's visit to Chang Hua Man being another particularly enjoyable day for the children.

Preparations are now well underway for our Halloween party on Wednesday, which should be a lovely way to bring the first half of the term to a close. There has been plenty of work happening behind the scenes, with students preparing food, decorations and activities for the evening.

We hope to see many of you there.

This Week

Rugby Club – Monday: Rugby continues as normal from 4:00–5:00 p.m.
Football Club – Wednesday: There will be no football club this Wednesday due to our Halloween party.
Halloween Party – Wednesday 21 October: Our annual Halloween celebration will take place on Wednesday afternoon and evening. Parents are welcome to arrive from 3:30 p.m. to help children get into their costumes and prepare for the festivities. The party officially begins at 4:45 p.m., with our shared dinner planned for 5:15 p.m. and the evening finishing at approximately 8:00 p.m. If you are planning to bring food, drinks or snacks to share, please let Mr Vincent know as soon as possible so we can organise everything.
Mid-Term Break – Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October: School will be closed for our mid-term break. We will return on Monday 26 October.

Looking Ahead

Parent-Teacher Meetings – Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 October: Our parent-teacher meetings will take place over these three days, providing an opportunity to discuss children's progress, development and next steps. Further information about appointments will follow.
Upper Primary and Middle School Trip: After the mid-term break, our older students will be visiting the So Sofitel Hotel for another all-day trip. More information about the visit and arrangements will be shared separately.

Highlights from Last Week

Friday's trip to the Chang Hua Man Royal Initiative Project was a wonderful day out. We began with a tour of the farm, travelling around the grounds in open-sided sightseeing vehicles and learning more about the project. The children also had the opportunity to taste some milk during the visit. After lunch, we travelled to a small museum housed in one of the late King Bhumibol's former residences, where we saw examples of his handwriting, personal belongings and artefacts connected to the King and Queen. The setting was beautiful, and afterwards we had time to explore the surrounding grounds. The children particularly enjoyed climbing on the rocks and exploring the landscape. It was a very successful all-day trip, combining history, agriculture and plenty of time outdoors.
On Tuesday, we welcomed monks to Halio for a small ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the passing of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It was a peaceful and meaningful morning, and we were grateful for the generous food offerings and the opportunity for our students to experience this part of Thai culture and tradition. A special thank you to Khun Kittipong for helping organise the visit and to all the parents who joined us.
It was also lovely to welcome back Meena, one of our former students, who attended Tuesday's ceremony with her family. Although she graduated last year, she asked if she could stay and spend the rest of the day at school with us. It was wonderful to have her back at Halio.
Wednesday's student café was run by our Road Safety Group, including Jude, Tar-Ping and Maxi, and Yuzu who sold freshly prepared watermelon juice and muffins. They did a fantastic job organising and running the café, and it was lovely to see their efforts rewarded.
We also enjoyed the Halio Band's first performance of the term at Wednesday's café. They performed two songs and sounded excellent. It was a great atmosphere, and we would really encourage parents to come along to future performances. The café is becoming a lovely opportunity to enjoy the children's music while supporting their student-run businesses.
The Agent Owls have been busy making their own tomato ketchup using organic tomatoes, with some batches containing no added sugar and others using only a very small amount. Their homemade sauce will be available to try at our Halloween party. The Polar Bears have also been preparing food for the celebration, so there will be several student-made contributions to Wednesday's dinner.
The Crispy Penguins have been helping prepare Halloween decorations as part of their Art lessons. In English, they have also begun exploring the origins of Halloween and different traditions surrounding death and remembrance around the world, including Ireland, Mexico, Tibet, Ghana, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
A special thank you to Khun Alana, who has been spending time at school filming and taking photographs, and sharing some lovely moments with parents through our LINE group. It's been wonderful to see the children and their experiences captured in this way.

Circle Time Highlights

Students from Stories in Motion shared their handmade sock puppets. They were particularly excited to show them to the school, walking around in character and trying out different voices for their creations.
The Sabertooths impressed everyone with some beautifully stitched, handmade bags from their Nine Yards work. There was some excellent craftsmanship on display, and the students were understandably proud of what they had made.
We also saw some lovely hand-printed fabrics from the Polar Bears, with students sharing their designs and the work that had gone into creating them.
Congratulations to Jude, who received his business licence. It's always good to see students taking the initiative to develop their own business ideas within school.
Congratulations also to Nadia, who recently won a swimming competition outside school. It was lovely to recognise her achievement and celebrate her success with everyone.
Harris organised a particularly entertaining activity about the different ways people pronounce words. He presented examples such as the different pronunciations of yoghurt, and students voted on which versions they used. It led to a lively and good-humoured debate, with plenty of opinions shared. It was also a useful reminder that language varies between people, places and cultures, and that different pronunciations can be equally correct. Everyone took the discussion in good spirit.
Students also voted for the clubs they would like to focus on for the remainder of the term. Having now experienced all six clubs, they were able to make an informed choice about which one they wanted to continue with. We were particularly impressed by the maturity shown by several children who volunteered to move to different groups to help balance the numbers. Liya, despite being one of our youngest students, was one of the first to offer, encouraging others to do the same. It was a lovely example of children thinking beyond their own preferences and considering the needs of the wider group.

Relationship Class Highlights

Agent Owls

The Agent Owls continued talking about responsibility, focusing on the many choices we have in how we respond to others. They worked through various situations they might encounter around school, practising our model of Stop, Think, Choose. Students spent time considering different responses, both positive and negative, before deciding how they would choose to act.

Hummingbirds

This week, the Hummingbirds learned about sensitivity and handling big feelings. After a quick recap of responsibility, they discussed how feeling things deeply can be a strength. Students played Feelings Weather Report, expressing their emotions through weather-inspired poses, before practising four-second belly breathing as a simple way to help manage big feelings.

Sabertooths

Using the book Patience by Rachel Williams and Leonie Lord, the Sabertooths explored the passage of time and the different stages of life. They looked at how long it takes for a baby to develop, compared the lifespans of different animals, and considered the stages of the human lifespan. This sparked some thoughtful questions about adolescence and death, which the class will continue exploring over the coming weeks.

Silver Sharks

The Silver Sharks took time to reflect on their own leadership qualities, identifying both their strengths and the areas they would like to develop. They then began recognising leadership qualities in one another, creating a list that they will compare with their own self-assessments and discuss together. It was an opportunity to consider how we see ourselves and how others see us.

Crispy Penguins

The Crispy Penguins continued exploring the different relationships in their lives, including friendships, family relationships and connections with others. Through reflective writing and guided discussions, they considered what they bring to their relationships, how they communicate and respond to others, and how their attitudes and actions affect the people around them.

For some students, being vulnerable, open-minded and honest with themselves was challenging, but it provided an opportunity to step outside their comfort zones. The discussions encouraged greater self-awareness and a deeper understanding of the role that empathy, respect and personal responsibility play in building healthy relationships.

Closing

As we reach the halfway point of the term, I'd like to thank our students, teachers and parents for everything that has made these first seven weeks so enjoyable.

There has been a great deal happening across the school, and it's been particularly encouraging to see students taking greater responsibility for their projects, businesses and activities.

We're looking forward to celebrating Halloween together on Wednesday before everyone enjoys a well-earned mid-term break.

Warm regards,

Mr Vincent and the Halio Team