Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022 - Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022
WRITTEN BY
Ms Deirdre Grimshaw
Junior Campus Headteacher
25 October, 2022

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw - Weekly Update 14th October 2022

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022 - Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022

What a difference a year makes! This time last year, we were heading into Half Term albeit virtual.  Our community, like this year, were looking forward to the break from school but travel was still restricted and strict Covid protocols remained in place.

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022 - Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022

Fast forward to 2022 and things have improved considerably.  Yesterday, we held Enterprise Day, our first for a couple of years, a chance for every single student on the Junior Campus to take part in our Market Day.  Additionally we were also able to welcome parents on site. There was a brilliant turn out of parents, a reflection of all the events which have taken place so far this term.  And what a busy term it has been.

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022 - Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022

Since arriving back to school 9 weeks ago our students have participated in many activities and events.  We have already had 4 fantastic class assemblies with many more to come.  We have held exciting Entry and Exit points for our IPC  units and have been able to welcome parents to many of these.

Open Swim Week and our Specialist Morning gave parents the chance to see our school in action and once again, we were delighted with the parental participation and engagement.  Across the Arts, our students have participated in Tea Time Recitals, Live Lunches, Young Musician auditions, semi finals, showcases, and inter-school finals bringing music and joy to many.  The PE department have been extremely busy with football fixtures including home and away games for our U9 and U11 squads.  The Aquatics team has been training early morning and their hard work paid off with a great result from the SSIS Relay Gala a few weeks ago.

Newly elected Student Council and House Captains are already busy with ways to improve the school, demonstrating great student leadership, and they are not finished yet!   Over 150 CCAs take place weekly on campus with almost all students involved in at least 1 per week.

We began the year with PTSCS and Parent Information Evenings for all classes and have continued with Parent Partnership Workshops and Coffee Mornings for Maths, Phonics, EAL, Vietnamese, and BYO Devices with many more scheduled. Sleepovers and Expeditions are being planned currently as well as day trips for students to enrich their learning.

The list is endless.  All of this takes time, preparation, and willingness on the part of the teachers, parents, and students. My sincere thanks to all of the BIS staff and parents for a brilliant start to the 2022 - 2023 Academic Year.

Specialist Open Mornings

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022 - Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022

One of our most popular parent events, the Specialist Open Morning, took place on Tuesday this week here on the Junior Campus and was followed by an equally popular Open Morning on the Early Years and Infant Campus on Wednesday. Nearly 100 parents attended the morning, which started with our wonderful specialist leaders providing an overview of how their subject is structured and the type of learning you would typically see in one of the lessons they specialise in.

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022 - Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022

We heard from Ms Sarah Battersby (Learning Support) and Mr John Lee (EAL) who gave us a summary of the Additional Educational Needs (AEN) support here at BIS HCMC. Following that, we heard from specialist areas, led by: Mark Jones (PE), Anthony Wooley (ICT), Anna Hogan (Music) and Sophie Tighzer (MFL) as well as overviews from the library Mr G (Library) and Ms Bell (Art).

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022 - Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022

Then, led wonderfully by our House Captain student leaders, parents toured the campus to observe the specialist lessons in action. Highlights were plentiful, with Year 3 Music and ICT lessons, as well as Year 5 PE, swimming and MFL lessons taking centre stage. From comments overheard, I am certain many parents wished they were able to get involved in the lessons themselves.

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022 - Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022

Open Morning was a great opportunity to share in the learning that takes place on the Junior Campus, and we wish to thank all of those who took time out of busy days to join us and share in the amazing learning which takes place outside our traditional classrooms.

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022 - Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022

A huge thank you to our wonderful specialist teams, our students for engaging so well in the specialist lessons, and to you, the parents for joining us. We hope to see you back again at another of these fabulous opportunities in the future to share our learning with you.

Chris McKelvie, Deputy Headteacher

Enterprise Day

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022 - Ms Deirdre Grimshaw Weekly Update 14th October 2022

Yesterday morning, classes across the Junior Campus finally unveiled their chosen businesses, which had been hinted at in advertising videos and persuasive posters. As a result, the small field and basketball court were awash with creativity, persuasive and persistent sellers, and sponge soaked teachers! By the end of the morning, 34,117,000 VND had been raised for our two community partners, Thien Phuoc Foster Home and Free The Bears. We would like to thank you for your support in this event!

 

 

Andy James, Head of Primary Maths

 

ART Term 1.1

This term has been a busy, messy and exciting one for students from years 3 to 6. Our talented year 3 artists have been learning all about the Elements of Art, texture in particular. Students explored different ways to create their own textures before making 3D dinosaurs to build upon their learning in IPC about Dinosaurs.

Year 4 students have been exploring the world of graphic design and spending a lot of time learning about colour theory, fonts and improving their drawing skills of 3D shapes. Their final artwork was to create a new soft drink can label, which was quite challenging. You can see their gorgeous creations on display in the year 4 area and near the music rooms.

 

Year 5 have been investigating different ways that artists create space and perspective in their artworks. Our students can draw different one-point perspectives to show depth and have a deep understanding of how artists use positive and negative space. They created a range of artworks using different materials such as chalk pastels, oil crayons and felt tip pens.

 

Year 6 have been learning about how the human body is portrayed in different artworks and can now draw internal body organs accurately. They have also been connecting their IPC learning ‘Becoming a Historian’ by researching and finding out about why some artists become famous and how history is linked to the artwork that people make. Their final project involved copying a well-known artist's style and adding this inside an internal body organ like the lungs, liver, stomach or heart. Can you guess from looking at their artworks which famous artist they researched?

Bell Frolchenko, Primary Art Teacher

Parent workshop and
presentation

  • Tuesday 25th October 2022
  • Time: 09:00am - 10:00am
  • Venue: BIS Secondary Theatre - 6th Floor

We are delighted to invite you to join us for a presentation by Ms Kim Miller (BDCF Schools and Partnership Coordinator) who will be sharing more about the life-changing work that Blue Dragon Children's Foundation are involved in and how they are tackling issues such as human trafficking, child labour, modern slavery, the cycle of poverty, migration, homelessness, gender inequality, and environment justice impacting children across Vietnam.

BIS has a close partnership with Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, who, since being established in 2005, have rescued hundreds of young women from forced marriage and brothels as well as transformed the lives of thousands of street kids and children in crisis. They have built homes, reunited runaways with their families, sent children back to school and training as well as provided shelters to girls and boys all the while, advocating for significant legal reform in Vietnam.

We look forward to seeing you for what promises to be a meaningful and informative session!

Please register your attendance here.

Tracey Brownrigg, Co-Curricular Coordinator and Community Service Project Manager

EXAMINATION INVIGILATORS
- Part-time opportunity at
BIS HCMC


BIS HCMC are looking to recruit to our current team of exam invigilators. We are looking for reliable and confident people to assist throughout our busy examination periods of January and May/June each year.

The role will include invigilation of IGCSE and IBDP examination and will require close teamwork with our Examinations Officer, Mrs Abbie Astbury.

Responsibilities include:

•           Preparing the examination venue prior to examinations in accordance with regulations

•           Distribution of scripts and strict supervision of students during examinations

We are looking for

•           Team players and people who are flexible in their approach.

•           Parents/ Spouses of staff who have no children currently in examination years.You do not require experience as full training will be provided and the position is on a casual basis with days/hours being variable depending on examination demands. The pay is 300,000VND per hour.If you are interested and would like further information about how to become an invigilator, please contact Abbie Astbury (Examinations Officer) Abbie.Astbury@bisvietnam.com.

New BIS Parent Car Park

To ease traffic congestion at school drop off and pick up, a new Car Park facility has been made available to all BIS families and drivers since Monday 19th September.

The car park is conveniently located on Nguyen Van Huong between all 3 campuses. Secondary students can walk to the car park, avoiding the traffic congestion at the School gates. By using the car park we can all play our part in keeping our community safe.

 Health and Safety Updates –
Junior Campus

Covid Precautions August 2023

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

PTG Update

Dear BIS Parents!

Happy Friday!  We are very excited about the upcoming PTG events and hope lots of BIS parents will join us and we will be able to meet more parents in person.

Please save the date for our upcoming events and let’s enjoy together our BIS community!

Dates to remember

●       Bake sale:  27th October 2022

●        Family Fun Evening: 19th November

●        Teachers´ Day: 21st November 2022

BAKE SALE

 

Everyone loves a sweet treat, don’t they?  So let’s enjoy eating yummy things while we raise much needed funds for a community partner at the same time! Our goal is to raise funds to help Poussieres de Vie (PdV) and purchase much needed school equipment for an education initiative they run helping disadvantaged children. Click here for more information about PdV.

We would like to invite you to donate baked goods (cakes, cookies, brownies, doughnuts etc) for us to sell during pick up at both Early Years and Junior Campus, on Thursday 27th October.  You are welcome to bake, make or donate items to sell, and perhaps you could even decorate them in some way to celebrate the school’s 25th Anniversary?!  Donations can be dropped at either EYIC or Junior Campus between 8-11am on Thurs 27th Oct.

Then come back between 2-4pm (or send some money with your nanny or children!) and enjoy the delicious treats!  Do not forget to bring your container so that you can take extra goodies home to share with the whole family.

Chắc chắn rằng ai trong chúng ta cũng đều yêu thích những món ăn có hương vị ngọt ngào phải không Quý Phụ huynh? Vậy thì còn chần chờ gì nữa, hội phụ huynh trường BIS trân trọng kính mời toàn thể phụ huynh tham gia chương trình đóng góp các loại bánh để đồng hành cùng tổ chức Poussieres de Vie gây quỹ mua trang thiết bị cần thiết, phục vụ việc học cũng như giúp đỡ các em học sinh nghèo, gặp khó khăn trong cuộc sống.

Để tham gia chương trình gây quỹ, phụ huynh vui lòng mua hoặc tự làm các loại bánh như bánh bông lan, bánh quy, bánh hạnh nhân, bánh khoai mì, bánh da lợn…, và gửi đến trường BIS, Cơ sở EYIC hoặc Junior trong khung giờ từ 8 giờ đến 11 giờ, thứ năm ngày 27 tháng 10. Chương trình bán bánh sẽ diễn ra cùng ngày, trong giờ các em tan học. Phụ huynh có thể trang trí bánh theo chủ đề kỷ niệm 25 năm ngày thành lập trường BIS.

  • Chương trình bán bánh diễn ra từ 2 giờ đến 4 giờ, mời Quý Phụ huynh tích cực tham gia để công tác quyên góp của chúng ta được thành công hơn! Nếu phụ huynh không sắp xếp được thời gian để tham gia chương trình, phụ huynh có thể cho các con tiền để các con mua bánh sau giờ học; hoặc phụ huynh cũng có thể gửi tiền cho người giúp việc để các cô chú mua bánh về cho gia đình mình cùng thưởng thức
  • Phụ huynh lưu ý mang theo hộp khi đến mua bánh
  • Để góp phần bảo vệ môi trường, phụ huynh hạn chế sử dụng hộp nhựa khi đóng góp bánh cho chương trình. Phụ huynh dán tên mình lên hộp đựng bánh để nhà trường trả lại hộp cho phụ huynh sau khi chương trình kết thúc.
  • Phụ huynh vui lòng không đóng góp các loại bánh làm từ hạt.

 

FAMILY FUN EVENING

Family Fun Evening is coming on 19th November!!

FFE (Family Fun Evening) is one of the biggest events organised by PTG

●        What is FFE?

A great evening of fun, food, and games for all the family members! During the evening there will be various activities for smaller and older kids, great food to taste and lots of surprises!

●        When: 19th of November 2022 from 16:00 to 19:00

●        Location: BIS Junior Campus - outside area

●        Sponsors and vendors:

If you want to join as a sponsor or food vendor to the FFE please contact us - we would highly appreciate your contribution and help to make this event unforgettable! If you would like to join us, please sign up click here  or contact us by email: primaryptgbis@gmail.com

●        Volunteers:

To make this event happen we will need lots of volunteers - there are lots of different roles to fulfil in both planning and executing the event, depending on how much time you can spare and when you are available (ticket sales, vendor coordination, event layout, set up, helping during the event, etc.). If you would like to join us, please register here or contact us by email: Primaryptgbis@gmail.com

As always, for more information about the PTG, to connect with us and ask questions, or if you would like to support us as a volunteer, please email us directly on Primaryptgbis@gmail.com

We look forward to meeting you all soon

Pamela, Petra and Timea, on behalf of the Primary PTG Team & Upcycling Group

Dates for your diary...

 

And Finally…


It’s been a long and busy time, we hope all our families enjoy this half term holiday. Relax and rest and have a chat with your children. Ask them to reflect on all they have done and achieved already this year. We are very proud of all they have done!

Wishing everyone a restful weekend.

Deirdre Grimshaw, Headteacher of Junior Campus