Si Ri Panya News Highlights
- Nicola Bunchuay
- 14 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Welcome to our Friday October 17th 2025 Newsletter (issue 25)
As we prepare to pause for half term, it’s a lovely time to reflect on the many celebrations and traditions that take place around the world during the month of October.
From Diwali, the Festival of Lights, to Samhain, the traditional Celtic festival originating in Ireland, this season reminds us of the rich diversity of cultures — and the many ways communities everywhere come together to celebrate light, change, and connection.
During our own celebrations after half term, students will have the chance to experience some of these age-old traditions from around the world — from Irish turnip carving to the northern English game Duck Apple, as well as our annual fancy dress competition, which has evolved from the days of dressing up solely as witches or wizards (although they remain, secretly, some of our favourites!).
If you’d like to get into the spirit of this spooky time of year, try the classic apple-catching game with your friends and family!
You’ll need: A washing-up bowl filled with water and as many apples as you can fit in!
What to do: Probably the most famous of all Halloween games, the aim is to get your jaws around an apple and lift it out of the bowl of water.
Be warned — you’ll get very wet! For an extra challenge (and a few more laughs), try it blindfolded.
🎃🌙 Halloween Dress-Up Day – Friday, 31st October
When we return from half-term, students are invited to take part in a Halloween-themed dress-up day and enjoy some fun activities throughout the day.
Costumes don’t have to be scary — children can come as anything they like: a favourite book or movie character, a superhero, an animal, a wizard, a fairy, a pumpkin, or even a pirate! 🧙♀️🦸♂️🐾🎩
Please remember our costume guidelines:
No excessive blood or gory effects (we have little ones around!)
No fake weapons of any kind
No “killer” or horror-themed costumes
No inflatable costumes (our stairs make these tricky!)
We’ll have a light-hearted assembly and small prizes for the most creative costumes in each class — it’s all about imagination!
We can’t wait to see everyone’s wonderful outfits and enjoy a fun, creative day together.
Skills For Life: First Aid training
This half term, our Year 7 students have been looking at how we keep ourselves and others safe, which this week included a review of basic first aid and some training in how to deal with an emergency situation.
With support from a trained first aid instructor, students practised Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on our training doll, and looked at the importance of not putting ourselves into danger and calling for help in any emergency situation.
We always hope that our students will never need these skills, but if they do come across an emergency in the future, this discussion and practice will hopefully help them to make choices that could make a real difference.
Year 8 and the Art of Persuasion
Year 8 are reading the novel 'Kick' by Mitch Johnson and are learning about persuasive techniques. They designed either a football shirt or football boots and then created an advert to persuade others to buy it.
They had to include at least 5 persuasive techniques from the PERSUADE acrostic:
Personal pronouns
Emotive language
Rhetorical questions
Statistics and facts
(Use) repetition
Alliteration
(Develop) a triplet
Exaggeration
When our young people are seeing hundreds of adverts every day, understanding how adverts work to persuade people to spend money is another important life skill - and it looks like these students have learned the lesson well!
Alumni Spotlight: Maya’s Journey from Koh Phangan to Milan 🎓✨
From our small classrooms on Koh Phangan to the world stage — we’re so proud of Maya, one of Si Ri Panya’s very first students.
Maya began her learning journey with us in the early days of our school and quickly stood out for her curiosity, determination, and strong academic drive. But beyond her grades, what truly made Maya special was how she embodied our school values — growing into a thoughtful, balanced learner with both character and achievement.
Today, she is studying at Bocconi University in Milan, one of Europe’s leading universities for economics, finance, and management. She has already completed an internship in investment banking and will be stepping into a full-time role in the field after she graduates next year.
Stories like Maya’s remind us of the power of a strong foundation — and the remarkable paths that begin right here at Si Ri Panya.
Hacking for the Good Side
Today’s Primary assembly took a fascinating turn into the world of ethical hacking, thanks to guest speaker Nir Chako, parent of Ethan in Year 2.
Nir, a cybersecurity professional, shared how coding and hacking can be powerful tools for solving problems, protecting people, and making the digital world safer. Students were full of curiosity and questions as they learned how technology can be used for good.
We’re very grateful to Nir for his enthusiasm, creativity, and the time he spent preparing such an engaging presentation — and for inspiring our students to see how their own curiosity could one day make a positive difference in the world.
Parents & School: A Recipe for Success
Thank you to our Parents & Friends Food Committee for another round of thoughtful feedback about our school meals and lunchtime routines.
This term, their suggestions have led to small but meaningful improvements — from guiding our youngest pupils to make healthy choices, to adding a room-temperature water station in the canteen.
You can read the full summary of feedback and responses here:👉 Catering Updates & School Responses – Term 1 2025–26
Key Dates at a Glance
Looking Ahead: Key events and special days for the school year are published on our homepage.
Parent Discussion Circle - every Friday
See Newsletter Issue 21 for full details
Links to our end of term event songs to practice at home
See Newsletter Issue 21 for full details
Get Caught Reading competition
See Newsletter Issue 22 for full details
Learning on Display – Years 3 & 4
Across Years 3 and 4, classrooms have been buzzing with creativity and colour as students showcase their learning through vibrant display walls. From Stone Age timelines and D&T model-making to literacy boards filled with powerful verbs, adjectives and imaginative writing, each corner of the corridor tells a story of discovery and growth.
A special mention goes to Year 4’s new Literacy wall, which brings English to life through clear visual organisation and thoughtful student contributions. Together, these displays show how learning at Si Ri Panya isn’t just written in books — it’s proudly celebrated on the walls.
Our Next Parent Discussion Circle Topic
Friday 31st October: What role do sleep, nutrition, and physical activity play in family life—and how do we manage overstimulation?
📅 When: Every Friday, 9:00am – 10:00am
📍 Where: Boardroom, upstairs at the main office
👩🏫 Hosted by: Pastoral Lead - Faye Reading
✨ Come as you are—whether to share your thoughts, ask questions, or simply listen in. Every parent is welcome.
Ongoing Weekly Reminders
Library Reminder: Please check at home for any lost books and return them to the Primary or Secondary library so everyone can enjoy them!
Bottle Cap Collection: We're collecting bottle caps for our Precious Plastic Project! Please bring your bottle caps to the collection point located inside the Primary school gate on the left. Secondary students can bring theirs to the Design and Technology Lab. Find out more about this exciting long-term project here: Precious Plastic Phangan Facebook.
Drop Off and Pick Up: Drop-off is at 8:30 am (not earlier). Pick-up times are 2:50 pm for Primary (or 4:00 pm if attending an ASA) and 4:00 pm for Secondary. Please be punctual, as some Primary children have been waiting up to 30 minutes after 2:50 pm, which can be distressing for them.
No Idling Zone: Help make the area outside our school a NO IDLING ZONE which means switching car engines off while you wait for your child. We appreciate your action for the environment and health of all.
Absence and Illness: Notify your child's class teacher (Primary) or form teacher (Secondary) directly to inform them of absence and sickness.
Head Lice Check: Continue to check your child's hair for head lice regularly and treat accordingly. Boys and girls with long hair need to tie it up.
Uniform Orders: Ensure your child wears the correct uniform each day. Uniform orders can be placed online: 🔗 Secondary Order Form 🔗 Primary Order Form
Healthy snacks: Healthy snacks only. No sweets, crisps/chips or cakes at break times. Birthdays are the exception and dealt with per class policy.
