Key Dates | Pastoral Update | BIS Debate Club | University Counselling | Performing Arts activities | Virtual Learning Showcase
Dear Parents,
Year 9 and 11 students experience an important rite of passage next week, as they turn their attention to future subject choices. Year 9 students will choose their IGCSE options, the first time they have made significant subject choices for themselves. The options for Year 11 students are about their university, and potentially career, pathways.
As a school we are well prepared to provide information, guidance, and support to students during this time. Students have had lessons at school to learn more about the process, led by pastoral leaders, teachers, and our university counsellor, Bernd Widemann. In addition, next Thursday 11th November all Year 9 and Year 11 students and parents are invited to attend the Options Informational Evening, facilitated online via Microsoft Teams. We encourage families to involve themselves in the process, learning about the subject and career pathways themselves, and coaching their children through the process.
As always, we welcome questions so please do reach out should you require any more information. This is an exciting time for our students, and I wish them all the best as they enjoy the journey.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Newman
Head of Secondary
It is already the 2nd week back from our students’ thoroughly deserved half-term break, and Year 8s have returned with replenished energy levels and have shown their eagerness to learn. There is a tingle of excitement in the air and in our online classes as the government announce that some schools in Hanoi are allowing students back on site, and I hope that by the time this is published, we have received similar permissions. Despite this lengthy period of online learning, the level of charisma, energy and talent on show in Year 8s has not dwindled at all as they continue to progress across all of their subject areas.
Our Wellbeing lessons have recently allowed students to explore strategies and techniques to cope with stress and how to develop habits that will help them avoid stressful situations. As well as this Year 8s have been encouraged to record comments and events that boost their self-confidence throughout the week. Through high self-esteem and achievement come hand in hand, and I am confident that our students will continue to impress their teachers throughout this term...hopefully in person, very soon.
Keep going Year 8s! You are doing amazingly!
Alex Hooley
Head of Year 8
The BIS Debate Club, founded by Gia Han (Year 12) and Heidy (Year 13) in September 2020, embraces the important aim of expanding access to debate knowledge, resources, and tournament opportunities for students who share the passion for public speaking and debating. During weekly ECA sessions, we discuss various contemporary issues, pertaining to politics, economics and social justice, as well as conduct mock debates and spars with other schools.
The first tournament we attended, representing our school, was a collegiate-level tournament named Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam Debate Open, where Daniel, Gia Han, and Heidy broke to the Octofinals among many other college-level teams. At the Hanoi Debate Tournament, the largest national debate tournament, BIS Debate, consisting of Daniel, Heidy, Ngoc Anh, Quynh Anh, and Thanh Mai broke through to the Quarterfinals and bowed out to the eventual champions. At the same tournament, Gia Han was also an Invited, Breaking, and Top 6 Adjudicator.
In the past year, the number of students participating in debate has increased greatly, with more interest among BIS Hanoi students in engaging with these contemporary issues. Looking into the future, we have ambitions to attend many more tournaments and hopefully achieve amazing successes. We have high hopes for BIS Debate so please keep an eye out for our future endeavours.
Virtual University visits by Nord Anglia schools in Vietnam
The University Counselling department at BIS Hanoi is organising and running university webinars throughout the academic year, in collaboration with our Nord Anglia sister schools in Vietnam.
Click here to check out the upcoming events and how to register. If you have missed some, there are links to recordings of past webinars, so you can watch them (Note: not all webinars can be recorded).
Excitement in the Performing Arts department reached new heights this week thanks to a range of fascinating activities - including a special dance workshop with Juilliard specialist Hilary Easton on Tuesday, and an invitation to this year’s Virtual Young Musician of the Year.
Read more details here.
English | Mathematics | Geography | Science | Art | Theory of Knowledge | Korean
Year 9s have been getting Gothic!
Inspired by the class text for this term, ‘The Strange Case of ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, here are some examples of the impressively atmospheric writing that these students have produced. The scene is Chapter 8: here is Mr Utterson’s diary on the fateful night when all will be revealed. (To avoid spoiler alert, only the beginning of these diary entries have been included. To know what happens next, please read the novel!):
Poole visited me today, his look was a bit strange and he said that Dr. Jekyll had encountered some "foul play" and then Poole took me to his master's house. When I entered the house, I saw that the servants were scared, gathered in the hall; Poole took me to the laboratory … but a strange voice sounded that didn’t sound like Jekyll’s and the people inside said that no guests had been accepted that day…
The night is dark and windy, and the streets are deserted, giving me a hint of disaster. But, in spite of my efforts in investigating the matter of Jekyll and Hyde, I have made no progress in solving the mystery. The servants, led by Poole, know that something terrible has happened to their master, and so they forsake their duties and gather together out of fright. They bring me to the door of Jekyll’s laboratory and call inside. A strange voice responds, sounding nothing like that of Jekyll...
Sunday, 31st October
London
Dear Diary,
Tonight has been a nightmare when many things came to me at the same time. This is the first time I have encountered this kind of trouble: Poole rushed into my house after dinner. He told me various strange pieces of information about Jekyll’s house. I took him a glass of wine for him to calm down, but he didn't taste it even once. I knew this was about Jekyll – my poor old friend…
Joe Shepley Clarke
Head of English
Key Stage 3 English
Learners have been hard at work preparing for their PCTs next week! In doing so learners were tasked with deeper research into aspects of their novels such as character personality traits and elements unique to specific genres. Yet again, MS Notebook allowed for some visually appealing displays as well as interesting ways to differentiate vital aspects of character.
This week we were looking at the science behind air pressure trying to solve a problem posed by Mr Pearson’s son. Whilst playing he stuck a plastic tub to a glass door just by filling it with water and pushing it onto the door! But how did this happen? The students looked at the theory, how gas particles collide with surfaces which creates pressure. We then investigated how we can make a paper plate or piece of card stick to a glass of water upside down! There was shock and awe on the students faces as they witnessed the task they had been set! Students were sent to try this out... and explain how it works using the knowledge they had gained in class....... let’s hope they didn’t get too wet!
The Year 12 students have already finished their first unit on Theory of Knowledge. This week we paused to examine one of our key themes, language. Student have been exploring the relationship between knowledge and our forms of communicating it, looking at ways in which language both helps and hinders us from understanding the world.
Year 8s have almost completed their Coastal Landscapes topic and have begun to investigate why the Vietnamese coast is particularly vulnerable to coastal erosion. In our lessons this week, they showed excelled enquiry skills to demonstrate their knowledge of coastal management by using Google Maps to investigate how the coastline is being managed in Đồi Dương, Phan Thiết, Southern Vietnam. It was great to see our students apply their knowledge and understanding to debate whether they thought the coastline was being managed effectively!
In literature, stories are told from different perspectives. If a narrator tells a story, we get different perspectives. It is important for students to recognize how we can view one’s story from different perspectives. As a tuning-in activity, we watched a video about running a business by changing a perspective in daily life. Students in both classes have discussed their SEE - THINK - WONDER and learned how we can notice our fixed mindset and change into a growth mindset.
Problem of the Week is back! 😊
In the Mathematics department, we love it when our students get involved outside of the classroom too. It’s a great opportunity for them to use their problem-solving and inquiring skills and earn bonus house points in the process!
Every Monday, a new problem will be posted on their Maths Teams channel. They have one week to submit their answers and showcase their excellent working out. There is a Key Stage 3 problem for Years 7, 8 and 9 students, and a Key Stage 4 problem for years 10 and 11 students.
An example of one of our Key Stage3 students having a go at a recent problem:
We very much look forward to as many students as possible getting involved in this, so please do encourage your son/daughter to have a go.
Kerry Fernandes
Head of Mathematics
What a fantastic week for our Year 7 artists! This week, Year 7s have submitted their artworks on lines. They have spent a couple of hours consolidating their learning on the topic and not only have they have been incredible in the class discussions, but they have also made incredible progress using lines and mark making in their work. Their task this week was to recreate a photograph of their choice using only lines and mark marking techniques and the Art department has been blown away by the work submitted as it is one of the highest standards we have seen yet. It is so amazing to see how committed to their learning the Year 7s are! Well done everyone!
British International School Hanoi
Hoa Lan Road, Vinhomes Riverside
Long Bien District
Hanoi
100000
Vietnam
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