Young entrepreneurs make products to sell

Dear Parents,

Today, our young entrepreneurs in Year 3 really made us proud. For a number of weeks, they have been involved in a real project with a serious motive: to raise money for Tam Dao Bear Sanctuary. In presentations delivered this morning to parents, the children explained the process they had gone through.

Firstly, they found out more about why bears need our help. More than 10,000 bears are kept on bile farms in China, and official figures put the number suffering the same fate in Vietnam at about 1,200. The bears have their bile extracted on a regular basis, which is not only used in traditional medicine but also in many ordinary household products.

Bile is extracted using various techniques, all of which cause massive infection in the bears. This cruel practice continues despite the availability of a large number of effective and affordable herbal and synthetic alternatives. In Tam Dao Bear Sanctuary, bears are cared for and rehabilitated. Awareness campaigns are also run by the staff in schools and social centres as well as through extensive billboard advertising campaigns.

Secondly, Year 3 students lead us through the process of how they had planned to raise money. Through a questionnaire, they found out what their potential customers would want to buy. They then set about making products to sell, ranging from chocolate, lemonade and cakes to hairbands, sock puppets and bookmarks! They decided on a price for each item, so that they would be competitive and affordable whilst still covering costs. Finally they wrote persuasive letters to parents asking for them to attend the fair.

All their hard work and preparation paid off and the fair raised an incredible amount of money, 20.802.000 vnd! I would like to thank the huge number of parents who attended the fair and gave generously to the cause. Congratulations Year 3 – your project was very successful. The Year 3 children will be visiting the Bear Sanctuary on Tuesday next week to deliver the money and find out more about the bears.

Year 6 children are due back from their trip to Hoi An this afternoon. Mr. Holmes has been updating us regularly on the how much fun the activities have been. Some lovely comments about our children’s behaviour and good manners have also been received from other guests in the hotel, in addition to people who have met the children out and about. Our Year 6 adventurers have certainly been great ambassadors for the British International School Hanoi!
                                                                                                                             
Ms Sue Hill, Head of Primary

FINE DINING
Congratulations to our fine diners this week:
-    Gia Duc 2B
-    Viet Nam 2B
-    Mickey 3B
-    Phu Lam 3B
-    Lucy 4I
-    Chloe 4I