Mr Ian Battersby: Weekly Update 26/03/2021

Mr Ian Battersby: Weekly Update 26/03/2021 The results of the Parents’ Satisfaction Survey are helping us to identify ways to improve further and draw up a strategic plan for enhancing the educational provision at BIS.

At our recent Headteachers’ Coffee Morning, I shared some of the findings from the recent Parents’ Satisfaction Survey.  Whilst the overall message was very positive, one of the main reasons why we carry out the survey is to help us identify ways to improve.

Taking into account the findings of the survey, along with evidence and recommendations from other sources, we have been working to put together a plan for moving forward.  As Ms Dee explained at the coffee morning, we felt the best place to begin this process was to review the existing mission and vision of the British International School, Ho Chi Minh City.  This has been done in collaboration with students, staff and parents, and we are delighted to be able to share more details about our new mission and the three year strategic plan in the following post:

BIS, HCMC Mission Statement and Values in Action

Continuing Professional Learning - Our drive to make teaching and learning even better at BIS, HCMC

Continuing Professional Learning (CPL) is the term we use to describe the process by which our members of staff look to improve their professional capabilities.  There are many ways our staff can do this:

• Nord Anglia University (NAU) - NAU provides a mix of online and (where possible) face-to-face learning opportunities for members of staff to upgrade their skills and expertise.
• FOBISIA Professional Development Programme - being a member of the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA) allows staff to access forums, and Job Alike Workshops where they work with colleagues from other schools to share good practice and develop their own.
• Individualised learning targets are set each year and are met through personal research and study, participating in school led programmes, such as Teaching EAL Students in Mainstream Classrooms (TESMC), and even enrolling on a masters programme such as the one offered through NAU with King's College London.

In addition to these, time is set aside each week for staff to develop themselves and recently we have been collaborating with Ross Morrison McGill (know as @TeacherToolkit) and developing the use of ‘coaching triads’.  Mr Chris, explains more:

Continuing Professional Learning - Our drive to make teaching and learning even better at BIS, HCMC

Year 1 Drilling and Hammering in IPC!

The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) is a programme of study that incorporates a number of subjects including history, geography, art, design technology )(DT) and international mindedness.  There is flexibility within each unit, and at BIS we have adapted the topics to work with our own age related expectations for each curriculum area.  In Year 1, as part of their ‘Live and Let Live’ topic, the children have been doing some DT work, and Ms Gemma explains more in this post.

Year 1 Drilling and Hammering in IPC

FOBISIA Maths Competition

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (F1, F2 and F3), Maths is not one of the prime areas for learning. For young children, physical development, communication and language, and personal, social and emotional development are at the centre of what they learn, however mathematical knowledge and skills are a part of the children’s learning from the moment they start at BIS.  From Year 1 onwards, Maths, along with English and Science, become the core subjects.  The foundations laid from the start are built upon as the children continue through the primary years, and by the end of Year 6, BIS children are well above world averages in terms of their mathematical ability.  One example of this is the success we have seen in the FOBISIA Maths Competition that is held each year against 37 other schools in the region.

FOBISIA Maths 2021

Your Child’s Health and Wellbeing

As teachers, parents often ask us for advice on how they can best support their children. In the current climate, this is even more important in terms of their health and wellbeing. Ms Shaheena Pall has penned an excellent article with some top tips to help you as parents better support your children.  Please access the article here.

Your Child’s Health and Wellbeing

April Parent Teacher Student Conferences (PTSCs)

As we approach the end of Term 2, teachers will be reflecting on the progress made by the children that they teach.  In most cases the children are making good or excellent progress and we are confident that by the end of the Term 3, they will have attained the levels, in each subject, where we would like them to be. If we have any concerns, over the next few weeks, our class teachers and specialist teachers will be contacting you to invite you to a meeting to discuss these concerns and identify ways forward. 

Of course, if anyone wishes to discuss their child’s progress or would like to meet the teacher to talk about any issue of concern, you can contact the teacher directly via email or Seesaw, and make an appointment to see them.

 

02/04/21         Year 2 Piano Recital

06/04/21 -       Specialist Parent Teacher Student Conferences (PTSCs)

08/04/21         PTG Coffee Morning @ 8.15am

14/02/21         Year 2 Production

15/04/21         Science Day

16/04/21         Term 2 ends @ 11.50am

Health and Safety

Each month myself, Nurse Love and Ms Huong our campus facility manager conduct various Health and Safety audits. These are then discussed and monitored by our Senior Leadership team and also Nord Anglia Education Health and Safety team. This week we had a practice fire drill where we also had the scenario that there was a fire in the F3 kitchen area that resulted in stairs being closed. Children had to change routes, but I am pleased that we still evacuated the building in the allocated time. Later this term we will practice a lock down.

We hope that we never have to use these policy in a real incident, but are confident in our response. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to email me sarah.curran@bisvietnam.com

Absence

If for any reason your child is absent from school, we ask for you to inform the class teacher and email reception eyic.reception@bisvietnam.com. You can also inform the receptionists via telephone from 7:30am on the morning of absence.  If your child usually takes the school bus, we would also ask for you to also inform Ms Trang, our bus manager, via email at Trang.Pham@bisvietnam.com 

When calling reception please use the telephone number: 

•            Early Years and Infants (EY&I) – 028 3636 0055

PTG Coffee Morning

It has been a long time since our parent community could socialise at school, so the PTG are thrilled to invite you to a Parent Coffee morning at EYIC on Thurs 8^th April. It will be the perfect chance to welcome new families who joined earlier this year, and of course connect with familiar faces!  

During the coffee morning the PTG would like take a few minutes to update on some changes, share some ideas for next year and hopefully inspire new volunteers to support us in building an even stronger BIS community!

So whether you just want to socialise, or you’d like to learn a little more about the PTG, there will be plenty of refreshments and yummy treats to enjoy! 

Look out next week for the link to register for the coffee morning.

And Finally…

We are really looking forward to welcoming parents to the PTG Coffee Morning on April 8th, so please remember to sign up as places are limited.  Once again, we have seen how well the Vietnamese authorities have managed the COVID situation, and as a result, we are delighted to begin inviting parents to join us for events on site.  Next week, 1H have their class assembly and there is a Year 2 piano recital, so please look for invites from Ms Helena and Ms Anna.  I am so pleased that we can once more open the doors to our community.

Have a safe and relaxing weekend,

Ian Battersby

Head of the Early Years and Infant Campus