Primary School Updates (15 October 2021)

Key Dates | International Festival | Primary Learning Highlights

Weekly update from Head of Primary

Dear Parents,

What a jam-packed first half-term it has been! I am sure everyone is ready to rest and recharge our non-screen batteries over the coming half-term break. As we approach the holidays, it is great to hear of positive news that life in Hanoi is returning to normal and hopefully it won’t be too long before we are welcoming our students back on campus.  

As I reflect on the last 9 weeks of learning, I feel incredibly of proud our outstanding teaching staff and would like to thank them as they continued to deliver an exciting and engaging curriculum and learning experiences for our students during our Virtual Learning Experience (VSE). Our students also impressed me with their resilience and hard work during VSE as they worked tirelessly online and made such great progress. Well done to everyone, you all did brilliantly. I also want to say a big thank you to you, the parents, for your continued to support at home during this period of VSE.  

Over the last three days, we have been celebrating our International Festival which has been a wonderful few days full of exciting activities, giving our students opportunities to make new connections with each other and new learning experiences. Ms. Kirk and Mrs. Brawn have been delivering Performing Arts activities across the phases, bringing everyone together with music and dance. We hope you have all enjoyed these final days of the half-term.   

I hope you enjoy our reflections on International Festival across all phases below.   

This week, our spotlight on learning takes us into Year 2 and their learning over the last few weeks. I know Mr. Addison, Mrs. Crofts and Miss Colclough are really proud of all of their achievements and hope you enjoy this celebration of their learning. 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. 

Rebecca Carroll 

Head of Primary

International Festival Highlights

Early Years | Phase 1 |Phase 2 | Phase 3

Early Years (F1 to F3)

It has been an incredible International Festival in the Early Years. The children have virtually travelled around the world as we explored different countries in class. The F1 children focussed on learning about the United Kingdom and enjoyed decorating their lovely royal crowns, building castles and having Afternoon Tea. In F2, some of our friends from India were able to share more about the Indian culture and talked about the country’s famous food and traditional clothing. The F2 students made mandala using different materials like crayons and small toys. They also used their creativity as they designed their mehndi handprint using papers and markers.

While in F3, the children were given an opportunity to experience playing traditional games from the Philippines. They used flip-flops and containers to play ‘Tumbang Preso’ and had a great time playing the Philippine version of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors,’ or also known as ‘Bato Bato Pik’ in Filipino.

It was indeed a lovely celebration of all the nationalities in the Early Years. All the children had a wonderful time discovering different cultures and learning about different nationalities. They also had a better understanding of being special in their own ways and at the same time celebrating friendships across the globe! 😊

Jessica Monsod

F2 Teacher

Phase 1 (Year 1 & Year 2)

Phase 1 International Festival

This week, Year 1 and 2 have enjoyed celebrating countries and nationalities from around the globe. We began on Wednesday with our whole school assembly and dress up day. The children were excited to share their traditional dress and talk about the countries that they were representing. We had a fun filled day of singing and dancing with Ms. Kirk and Ms. Bevan. 

In Phase 1, the children have been learning all about The Americas. Looking at North America, we have been studying Mexico with Ms. Colclough and Ms. Cat. The children have been recreating the Mexican flag, making their own sugar skull masks and discussing what this special festival represents. Finally we made traditional Mexican tortillas… delicious!

Moving on to Central America, we have been learning about Panama with Ms. Lucie and Ms. Shireen. The children have been learning all about the food, the animals and the people of Panama. We recreated traditional Mola artwork inspired by the indigenous people of the Kuna Yala. Finally, we learnt all about the famous Panama canal, and made our models to create a canal with water and locks.

Then in South America, we have been studying Brazil with Mr. Addison and Ms. Toni. The children have been learning all about the Amazon rainforest, the animals and making their own rainforest diorama. We also looked at the Brazilian festival ‘Carnival’ and made our own carnival masks. 

What a great way to end the half term and celebrate all of the children’s hard work. Well done to everyone for your engagement and participation in our International Festival! Rest and enjoy the holidays!

Lucie Crofts  

Phase 1 Leader

Phase 2 (Year 3 & Year 4)

Phase 2 International Festival 

What an exciting end to the term we have had in Phase 2! Our International Festival began on Wednesday with a whole school assembly, and we were very excited to attend the assembly in our national dress. We were very excited by the theme of connections as we were given the chance to get to know each other even more and learn about different cultures.  

At the beginning of the week, we learnt that our continent of study was Europe! We fastened our seatbelts and got on a virtual aeroplane from Hanoi to Europe in our ‘Introduction to Europe’ lesson, led by Miss Carmichael. On our journey, we stopped in Greece, Spain, France, Austria, Italy, the UK and Czech Republic! We found out that each class was assigned one of these countries for our International Festival and would take part in various activities over the course of the 3 days. What an exciting 3 days to look forward to!  

In Year 3, the children visited the UK, Italy and the Czech Republic. On their trip to the UK, the children learnt about the countries within the UK and their capital cities. The children got the chance to be creative and made their own English roses, origami Welsh dragons and explored some Irish dancing. Next stop...Italy! In Italy, the children created a painting of a Venetian scene using shapes and blocks and they learnt how to make a delicious Italian pasta recipe together. Next stop.... Czech Republic! In the Czech Republic, the children learnt how to make Czech pancakes called Palacinky and a traditional Czech head dress.  

In Year 4, the children visited Spain, Greece, France and Austria. On their trip to Spain, the children learnt how to make Pan Con Tomate and they also used different resources to make a flamenco dancer in their Art lesson. Next stop....Greece! The children took part in a live cooking class and made Greek salad. They also designed and created their own mythical creatures. Next stop...France! The children learnt how to say different greetings in French and how to count in French. The children also got creative and learnt how to draw the Eiffel Tower and decorate it using the technique of Pointillism. Next stop...Austria! The children learnt all about Mozart and created a poster to advertise one of Mozart's concerts. We then explored an Austrian folk dance and took part in some singing.  

Thursday was a very exciting day for Phase 2 as we had our Performing Arts Day led by Mrs Brawn and Miss Kirk. We took part in a costume challenge, enjoyed lots of singing and dancing activities connected to our continent of study, Europe. We were very lucky to also have a session led by Miss Burden, where we took part in a Kahoot quiz. We really impressed Miss Burden with our knowledge of Europe.  

Well done to everyone for all your hard work during our International Festival! Have a wonderful break and we look forward to seeing you all after half term. 

Holly Carmichael  

Phase 2 Leader

Phase 3 (Year 5 & Year 6)

Phase 3 International Festival
Phase 3 enjoyed an incredible final week to the term! For the 2021 BIS Hanoi International Festival, the students were encouraged to celebrate the theme of Connections as we explored the exciting variety of languages, cultures, and countries that we have across Years 5 and 6. 

We began the festival by coming together as a whole school in our Virtual School Assembly. All staff and students were invited to attend wearing their national dress or a costume that reflected their home country. The children learnt about the importance of the global and international community within our school.

Phase 3 were lucky enough to be assigned the continent of Asia, which meant we could explore the similarities and differences between the 48 countries that make up this fascinating and diverse continent. Throughout the week, our staff and students travelled from Vietnam, South Korea, and China to India, Japan, Nepal, and the Philippines. With such a wide variety of countries we were able to look closely at and celebrate the similarities and differences between each country. 

In Year 5, we learned about the history of the conical hat and Hoi An style lanterns before making our own. We prepared fresh spring rolls as well as heard presentations about the towns, traditions and things that make our students proud to be Vietnamese. We also explored the South Korean Chuseok festival and made origami Hanbok outfits and hand fans. Students also learnt to count to 10 with the help of our native speakers and explored the significance of the tiger in Korean Culture - making links to traditional folk tales. One of our students was kind enough to share some facts about Indian culture and explain the meaning of his country’s flag. Eva also told us the story of Diwali and why it is celebrated as well as sharing some traditional clothing and costumes. We have looked at the wildlife in India, made Rangoli patterns and lanterns that are used to celebrate Diwali. In addition, we looked at famous landmarks and focused on the Taj Mahal in our Art & Design lessons. In the afternoon we also did some exercise and mindfulness Yoga. 

When visiting the islands of Japan in Year 5, we examined the worlds of Manga and Origami. We also participated in a sushi masterclass led by one of our Year 5 students. We have also worked hard to learn how to say the numbers 1-20 and use this knowledge to solve Sudoku puzzles. Finally, in Year 5 our students explored the rich and diverse history of China. We watched and created our very own shadow puppet theatre as well as looking closely at the endangered yet magnificent Giant Panda. 

In Year 6, we climbed the virtual mountain peaks of Nepal as we looked in detail at Mount Everest as well as the importance of spirituality and kindness inherent to Buddhist beliefs. The students then researched and designed their very own Nepalese prayer flags, making sure to show our gratitude and thanks to our family and friends. Our students were also taken on a tour of the majestic tropical islands of the Philippines. We were helped on this adventure by Ms. Karissa and Ms. Jessica, who were both born in the Philippines but teach at BIS Hanoi. We learnt how to play classic Filipino games such as Tunbang Preso as well as gain some exercise when practising the traditional dance of Tinikling. Finally, some of our Year 6 students also visited Japan. We took part in a Manga and Anime Art masterclass led in part by the British Museum. We also learnt all about sumo wrestling, Japanese cuisine, Mount Fuji, as well as more modern themes such as electronics and robotics.

Friday was a very exciting day for Phase 3, as we had our Performing Arts Day led by Mrs. Brawn and Miss Kirk. We took part in a costume challenge and took part in lots of singing and dancing activities linked to International Week. We were fortunate to also have a session led by Miss Burden, where we competed in BIS Houses in a live Kahoot quiz. We really impressed Miss Burden with our geographical and historical knowledge.

A massive thank you to all our parents and families for their support during International Festival! Have a safe and restful half-term holiday and we look forward to seeing you all again afterwards.

The Phase 3 Team

Primary Learning Highlights

Year 2 has enjoyed a fantastic experience over the last few weeks.
Their topic for the first half term was 'Pirates' and they have been engaging in some exciting activities while dressing up as a pirate. Let's watch some of the exciting moments that Year 2 had during their learning.