Primary Weekly Update 01/04/2022

As Term 2 draws to a close, we can look back with a great deal of pride in what our school community has achieved.

We have transitioned back into face-to-face learning and overcome the challenges the Covid-19 continues to present.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone; teachers, teaching assistants, support staff, parents and of course the children, for all their hard work.

Perhaps, more excitingly is that we can now look forward and we have already begun planning many Term 3 events for all students to ensure they have the best possible end to this school year. Our PE department is hoping to run Sports Days for all.  We look forward to some mini productions at the Junior Campus and concerts for Year groups and clubs at both campuses.   Year groups are planning the new entry points for their International Primary Curriculum (IPC) units of study which will be exciting for all involved.  We are looking at Transition Days for F3, Year 2 and Year 6 as they begin their next phase of education very soon.  So much to look forward to!

We anticipate that all students will be back for face to face learning in Term 3 and that is what we are planning for.  We understand that some students will have to have some time off if they test positive for Covid or are a household contact if unvaccinated. Children with covid should be resting and recovering in those initial days.

As such we will not be offering virtual learning to any students unless they are sick with Covid or by prior arrangement due to unforeseen circumstances.  Families choosing to take holidays in term time will no longer have access to virtual learning, the expectation being that children should be in school, if able.  We will reduce check ins by staff also as the teachers need to be working with the many students in school that need their help.  Thank you for your understanding and support with these new arrangements.

F3 Superhero Mission Day

BREAKING NEWS!!!

There has been an influx of Superheroes spotted across F3! The children had to think of their Superhero name, which powers they would have and finally design and make a costume worthy of being called a Superhero. We saw Super Electricity Dragon, Super Unicorn, Super Laser Beam and many many more. Before we could fully take on being a Superhero we had to complete a series of missions across our day that would test some of our super skills such as agility, coordination and aim. The children took these challenges very seriously and were determined to do their very best, whether they had to keep on trying and persevere, they were going to complete all the missions. As some of the children said, “Why can’t we be Superheroes every day!” Well….. I guess why can’t we?

Superhero Mission Day Complete!

Ms Jo Powell, F3 Year Leader

Year 1 - Plants

The Y1 classrooms have been buzzing with excitement over the past few weeks. Our current Science topic is ‘Plants’’ and we have been learning all about plants. The children truly are now plant experts; we’ve been on a plant hunt, have learnt the different parts of a plant and even planted our own seeds, which we eagerly watched grow. The children thoroughly enjoyed having a bunch of lilies in the classroom for a week and studied the parts very carefully and even made their own plants out of junk modelling materials.

Most recently we have looked at pollination. Plants and bugs rely on each other. We learned how flowers can only make seeds if pollinated, which means we need bugs to visit them. For one of their Busy Learning Challenges, the children had to create their own flower which would attract bugs. The children had great fun selecting the materials to use to create their own flowers, ensuring they were colourful and stood out in order to attract visitors! If you were a bug, would you want to visit our flowers?

Ms Gemma Gotting, Year 1 Leader

Results for House Teeball and badminton/Volleyball

To complete their PE activity blocks the Year 3-6 children competed in the inter-house volleyball/badminton and Teeball competitions. There were some very closely fought matches with all children showing a great understanding of rules and techniques.

 Well done to Saigon for winning the volleyball/badminton and Hue for winning the Teeball!

International Week Preparations

On Wednesday morning we welcomed members of the BIS Parent Teacher Group (PTG) and our ‘International Parent Reps’ to the Early Years and Infant Campus to continue to plan for International Week, which will be held during the week beginning 13th June.  Having parents together for a meeting is another sign that we are coming out of the pandemic and it was wonderful to see the enthusiasm for what is one of the highlights of the school year.

If you were not able to attend, please click on the link below to see the presentation that was shared on Wednesday:

International Week Presentation

For those who are new to the BIS community, or if you would like to re-live the experience, Mr Chris has put together a short video with photos of last year’s International Week.

Get Involved

Jana, the country rep coordinator, along with Mr. Chris took to the stage to talk in detail about International Week. A week-long celebration including 2 days when the Junior campus gym is transformed into the Global Cafe. The country reps go above and beyond to put up the best show for the students, teachers, and parents. So far, we have 22 reps signed up and if you would like to join us then please do sign up here.

A huge thank you to the volunteers who have signed up for the Global Café’s core team. The spots were filled within two days and it shows the excitement the parents have for this event. To all the country reps, please remember the key dates and please submit the forms, dancers list, music, and food ingredients soon.

Thank you,

Gayatri Shankar and Jana Capek, Primary PTG

BIS Young Musician of the Year 2022

We have been blown away the quality and quantity of student musicians who took part in Round 1 Auditions for this year’s competition. More than 100 children auditioned across the last two weeks, on a wide range of instruments from violin and cello to voice, flute and guitar. Everyone who auditioned should be very proud of their work.

The following students have been selected for the Semi-Finals, which will be held early next term. All semi-finalists will receive a letter with more information to help them prepare.

Year 3 and 4 Semi-Finalists

Amelie 3H Piano, Hanna 3B Violin, Takuma 3B Piano, Jun 3V Piano, Nuala 3N Voice, Erin 3N Violin, Mae 4B Ukulele / Voice, Natalie 4I Piano, Teddy 4I Drums, Yui 4H Piano, Elly 4C Cello, Bento 4N Guitar, Nami 4M Piano / Voice, Christina 4C Violin

Year 5 and 6 Semi-Finalists

Robbie 5B Ukulele, SeoHyun 5I Violin, Lucy 5I Piano, Zaara 5S Piano, Theresa 5N Piano, Yu-An 5S Piano, JinWoo 5B Drums, Lucy 6I Violin, Emily 6H Piano, Alvin 6H Violin, Juwon 6S Violin, Dakyeom 6I Violin, Arin 6N Violin, Hana 6C Piano, YeoReum 6N Flute, Sera 6M Piano

Enormous congratulations to all of our semi-finalists. We look forward to hearing your next performances!

Symptomatic (Any Cold/Flu/Covid Symptoms) - stay off school until symptom free. 

• Take a precautionary Rapid Antigen Test at home prior to return and keep the school informed.

Any concern you have at home with the health of your child, and include the Health and Safety Leads of each campus (EYIC Ms Sarah Curran sarah.curran@bisvietnam.com  and JC Mr Chris McKelvie Christopher.mckelvie@bisvietnam.com.

It is vital, also, that you inform the office of any positive case within your family – these are called ‘household close contacts’ and children of a household close contact will be required to remain off school until such a time as a negative PCR is provided to the campus nurse. Whilst we do not expect this, it is highly recommended that you have a supply of Rapid Antigen Tests at hand and that you use them regularly within your family.

Ms Sarah Curran and Mr Chris McKelvie, Deputy Headteachers

18/04/22                                    Term 3 Begins

19/04/22                                 Vietnamese Lessons begin

25/04/22                                 CCAs Begin

02/05/22 - 03/05/22               Labour Day and Reunification Day Holidays (School closed)

And Finally…

We strongly encourage all our families to remain vigilant during the holidays as Covid is still in our community. Please test regularly and if children are unable to return to school due to testing positive in the days before school starts, please contact their class teacher directly via email or Seesaw.

Wishing you all a safe and relaxing holiday. 

Kindest regards,

Ian Battersby and Dee Grimshaw, Headteachers