It has been very sad to hear the overnight news that Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland has passed away at the age of 96.
Over the next week or so we will look at ways in which BIS HCMC can pay our respects to, and celebrate the life of, someone who has been a wonderful servant to the United Kingdom. The Queen has ruled for longer than any other Monarch in British history whilst becoming a much loved and respected figure across the globe. Our condolences go to her family who were, thankfully, gathered around her at the Balmoral Estate in Scotland.
On her 21st birthday, in a speech broadcast on the radio from Cape Town in South Africa, the Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) dedicated her life to the service of the Commonwealth when she stated, “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service” and she certainly did that with an immense amount of dignity and great energy.
Rest in Peace Your Majesty.
What a wonderful Moon Festival Celebration today beginning with our Dragon Dance on the big field and followed up by 2 magnificent assemblies for all the students and parents at the Junior Campus. With breathtaking acrobatics and hilarious antics, students from F3 to Year 6 along with teachers and parents were in awe of the amazing show.
Our Vietnamese teachers have been extremely busy working with students at the Junior Campus to produce a fabulous assembly for our students today. At school, the children have been learning about several legends connected to the Moon Festival. Initially, it was a harvest celebration celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month on the lunar calendar, during which the moon appears larger than at any time of the year. The moon represents the fullness and prosperity of life. Today’s assembly told the story of one of these legends.
In addition to welcoming parents on site for Moon Festival yesterday, it was extremely good to have parents back on site for face-to-face Parent Teacher Student Conferences. We were delighted to have such a good turnout of parents on both evenings. If you were unable to attend, please make an appointment to see your child’s class teacher as soon as possible. These meetings are a valuable way of ensuring that both parents and teachers are working together to support children’s learning.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with your child’s class teacher at any point throughout the school year should you have a question or concern that you would like to raise.
The ‘Let’s Think in English (LTE)’ programme enriches the English curriculum by encouraging critical analysis of stimulus material such as a poem, short text, or video. Collaboration with classmates is key in the LTE programme.
Mr Michael Walsh from the Let’s Think in English Programme, in collaboration with King’s College, London, provides an enriching professional learning opportunity for our Junior Campus class teachers
Following some challenging few years in terms of staff development, we were very fortunate this week to welcome to Ho Chi Minh City, Mr Michael Walsh of the ‘Let’s Think in English’ trust out of London, UK. In collaboration with King’s College, London, the Let’s Think in English (LTE) programme was developed to deepen the critical thinking and analysis elements of studying a given text or stimulus. The goal of LTE is to encourage students to dig deeper below a superficial understanding of the given stimulus and use this to collaborate with their peers in lively discussion around questions posed by the teacher. What makes LTE unique is the lack of writing required; instead, there is a focus on encouraging students to question each other’s understanding and challenging their beliefs through purely spoken responses. To see an LTE lesson in action is incredible, and the depth of discussion is truly impressive. Even those students who rarely provide oral feedback during a regular lesson can be observed arguing their beliefs passionately with a classmate. Whilst we do not encourage argument in a normal sense, in LTE, arguing one’s beliefs allows students to fully explore the understanding of a given stimulus, and that people may view things in different ways. We use the term metacognition often in LTE, which in simple terms asks students to ‘think about their thinking' as well as the phrase cognitive acceleration in which the skills developed in the LTE programme have raised attainment significantly during international trials.
Michael Walsh provided our staff with opportunities to observe him presenting a number of lessons to some of our classes. Each teacher was able to observe Michael in action teaching to the LTE Curriculum at least twice in the given year groups. Our new staff were able to observe one extra session to better acquaint themselves with the programme. During each lesson I observed, our students did us proud, and Michael Walsh quite honestly said they were among the best he has ever taught, a testament to all our students on the Junior Campus. Michael has now completed his fourth visit to BIS HCMC, Primary, and on each visit, he has been more impressed with our school. We look forward to having him return on many more occasions.
Chris McKelvie, Deputy Headteacher
We are very lucky that we have a special member of our team this year. Percy is a trained therapy dog, he has been visiting schools in England for the last four years. The school children have really enjoyed meeting Percy and the adults especially love him! This year he has come to live in Vietnam with Ms Clare. Percy will sometimes visit BIS HCMC with Ms Clare and will be working alongside the Learning Support team.
There are a few things Percy would like the children to know:
If you have any questions, or want to let us know that your child has an allergy to dogs, please contact the Learning Support Team: Sarah.Battersby@bisvietnam.com
We are delighted to invite everyone to take part in the much-awaited World Clean Up Day which will be taking place at the BIS Early Years and Infant Campus on Saturday 17th September 2022.
The clean-up will be managed in small teams with a staged leaving time:
Please sign up sign up here to join in the fun and to help make our community a cleaner environment. Everyone who participates will also earn house points!
We look forward to seeing you all there!
There was a fantastic turn out of parents for our BYOD workshop this week.
During the session we covered:
There was also a demonstration of the power of Apple Family sharing. You can find out more about the BYO-iPad programme and Apple Family sharing on our Bring Your Own iPad site.
Please get in contact with Mr Neil if you have any questions or if you need support with any aspect of setting up your child's iPad ready for school.
Please see the details on the poster for our upcoming Maths Workshops. They promise to be very informative sessions for parents to support their understanding of how Maths is taught here at BIS and how you can support your child at home.
If you would like to attend the session at either campus, please sign up here.
We are delighted to be able to resume rehearsals with our fantastic community choir next week. The community choir is open to all adult members of the BIS community who enjoy singing.
Rehearsals will take place on Thursday mornings 7.00am - 7.40am in the Secondary Theatre OR Friday afternoons in the Junior Campus multi-purpose room 13.15-14.15.
All are welcome, whatever your singing level.
Parents should register attendance in advance on this link.
Ian Alexander, Director of Music
Do you know about our Fundinotots programme? Open to all parents and their children aged 0 to 36 months, it’s the ideal way to connect with the BIS community, enjoy time in a stimulating environment with your little one and make friendships and connections with parents of children of a similar age. To find out more about the programme or to organise a visit, contact Sarah Bonner at Sarah.Bonner@bisvietnam.com
If you have not completed the ‘updated medical information’ Google Form that was shared by BIS HCMC on the 1st of August, you will have received an email yesterday (Thursday) urging you to do so as soon as possible. This information is vital, especially in the event of an emergency. Your swift completion of this task is much appreciated and thank you to those families who have done so already.
Kind regards, Mr. Chris
Whilst as a school and a country we are in a much better place than this time last year, Covid-19 continues to be a disruption. Right around the world, we have seen 3rd and 4th Covid waves appear, and Vietnam is no different. To keep our entire community safe, we urge that you watch for any symptoms with your children, and conduct a Rapid Antigen Test if you have any concerns for their health. If a positive result is confirmed, please inform Mr Chris (Christopher.McKelvie@bisvietnam.com ) as soon as possible. Even if negative, we ask that if children have any any Cold/Flu/Covid Symptoms, that they remain off school until symptom free.
If a positive case is recorded, your child will remain at home until such a time a negative result from a medical facility is returned to Mr Chris (email above), and to Nurse Shena (Shena.Nojor@bisvietnam.com). Symptoms are generally mild, and your child should be able to return to school within a week. Household/close contacts are able to return to school immediately if negative, but we urge
If at any time you have a concern at home with the health of your child, you are more than welcome to reach out to the Health and Safety Leads of either campus (EYIC Ms Sarah Curran Sarah.Curran@bisvietnam.com and JC Mr Chris McKelvie Christopher.McKelvie@bisvietnam.com.
Sarah Curran and Chris McKelvie, Deputy Headteachers
Earlier in the week, we hosted our first primary parents PTG coffee morning of the year. There was a wonderful turn out of primary parents who met to enjoy a coffee, the infamous curry puffs, and learn more about the PTG. Specifically how parents can connect with others in the BIS community and what events we have planned for Term 1. For those who were unable to attend in person, you can view the information shared here.
We have had a wonderful response to our request for Class parent rep volunteers, with 39 out of 64 classes now having rep volunteers. Nearly all of those volunteers were able to attend yesterday’s information session to learn more about the role.
Class reps are such an important part of our school community, helping the core PTG team connect with a greater number of parents, on a more personal level and there are still 15 classes without a class rep, listed below.
|
1I |
Bethan Trenerry |
|
1V |
Nicola Milburn |
|
1N |
Hannah Doughty |
|
2I |
Aisling Yataki |
|
3S |
Elaine Gillan |
|
4V |
Jules Bye |
|
4H |
Peter Dulborough |
|
4C |
Tom Birbeck |
|
4M |
Hollie Roach |
|
5I |
Andy James |
|
5N |
Gillian Wishart |
|
5C |
Michael Sullivan |
|
6B |
Mike Martin |
|
6S |
Ellie Chick |
If you would like a reminder about what the Class parent rep does, watch the short video here.
If you are inspired to volunteer, please sign up here.
Would you like the opportunity to share some of the things you love about your home country with our BIS community during our infamous international week? Are you passionate about a place you have lived? Would you be willing to offer support to other families arriving from your home country? If yes, then volunteering as Country Rep is another wonderful way to support the PTG and parents in our BIS community.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Providing support to new families joining from your country.
2. Lead your Country group during the International Week (Start of Term 2)
PLEASE NOTE: To take on this role, you do not need to have a passport of the country that you would like to represent. As long as you or your child/children have some connection to that country.
Please review the available slots below and click on the button next to your country to sign up.
As always, for more information about the PTG, to connect with us and ask questions, or if you would like to support as a volunteer, please email us directly on PrimaryPTGBIS@gmail.com
We look forward to meeting you all soon
Pamela, on behalf of the Primary PTG Team
19th September - Term 1 Clubs Begin
Above you will find a selection of our upcoming Parent Partnership events up to Half Term this year. This list will be updated and more dates added after half term. Please do highlight any that may be applicable to you.
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend.
Deirdre Grimshaw, Headteacher of Junior Campus
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