Weekly Highlights 26/08/2022

Mr. Simon Higham, Principal

First Full Week Back

Thank you for taking time to engage and connect with this week’s Highlights – the first edition of a new school year, following a full week back. I am pleased to welcome the contributions of Ms Mary McAloon (Primary Headteacher) and Mr Toby Bate (Secondary Headteacher) who will be giving you regular updates about the learning and successes that have taken place across EYFS, Primary and Secondary.  

Early this week it was extremely pleasing to see the first students using our new swimming facilities for the very first time. Following a ribbon cutting ceremony, our Year 8 students were the first to jump right into their lifesaving lessons.   
 
This week we also received our final IGCSE and A level results. Please ensure that you read Mr Bate’s Highlights below that showcase the ongoing success of our students during what has been a particularly challenging past couple of years in their learning. 

I would like to congratulate all of our teachers and students for their hard work and efforts in achieving the school’s best ever results with our graduates entering the universities of their choice, across the world.   

Welcome to BVIS

As part of our introduction to new members of our teaching staff, we are pleased to welcome Mr Darragh Shanahan, our new Primary Deputy Head. Mr Darragh has recently joined us from BIS in Hanoi.   

Please take time to get to know him better by clicking on this link.   

Parent Essentials 

In order to continue to be connected with our school and your child’s education, please take time to look through the ‘parent essentials’ section on the Homepage of the BVIS website. 

Simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the ‘parent essentials’ link. 

Here are just 3 of the many important documents that you can access: 

1. Handbooks for EYFS, Primary and Secondary

These give you essential information about the different phases across the school. From uniform to unique learning, Housepoints to How to help support your child at home, these key publications are a must read for all parents. 

2. Academic Calendar

This whole year overview allows you to check term dates and public holidays. Again, an essential for every BVIS household.

3. Monthly Lunchtime Menus

Each month updated menu options are placed online so that you see what your child’s lunchtime choices are and help them plan what to choose. 

Four separate menus are published for different ages of children: 

• August Menu - EYFS
• August Menu - Year 1 to Year 3 
• August Menu - Year 4 to Year 6
• August Menu - Year 7 to Year 13 

Additionally, there is a useful Q and A section which we hope will answer some of the most frequently asked questions from parents. During the forthcoming Principal’s Afternoon Tea on 7th September, you will be invited to submit more questions for us which can be used to add to this already comprehensive list. 

Reminder  

Please check your email Inbox for our invitation for you to join us on Wednesday 7th September for our first ever Principal’s Afternoon Tea from 2.00pm - 3.00pm. 

Simply complete the link contained in the email so that we can organise an effective set up and refreshments. This event will give you the opportunity to meet the school’s Senior Leaders, learn a little more about them and for you to see our newly updated facilities in a tour before pick up. We look forward to seeing you there.

On behalf of everyone at BVIS, we wish you a safe and productive weekend ahead.  

Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary

New Beginnings

Opening the gates to students last week for a new year of school was filled with excitement, smiles beamed from students, parents and teachers all morning.  New and familiar faces welcomed the students into the playground and up to the classrooms.   

Getting to know the new routines to follow was the first challenge for all our students, whether new to BVIS or returning from last year, a new year group brings changes to the school day.  After eight days of learning and practising these new routines, it is pleasing to observe everyone now following them with ease.   

Thank you to our entire community for both understanding and adhering to the procedures in place for the drop off and collection of students at school. 

 

Young Musician of the Year 

One of the first performance events of the year for Year 3 to Year 6 students is underway. Young Musician of the Year is back! We are thrilled to invite students to enter the competition to share and show their musical talents to Ms Heather, our Primary Music Teacher.  Look out on ClassDojo for details of the first round of try-outs for the competition coming soon.  The semi-final competition will be held during the school day on the 23rd September.   

Entries can include all instrumentalists and vocalists, so get practicing! 

Primary Meet the Teachers

On Thursday evening families and teachers gathered at school for the annual primary Meet the Teachers evening.  Thank you to our community members who attended the evening to learn about what to expect from the year ahead for their children. Teachers shared the unique features of each year group and the experiences planned for the year.  
   

Primary Parents’ Evening Meetings

The next opportunity for parents to meet their class teachers is the one-to-one parent consultations in the second and third week of September.  Emails will be sent to parents explaining how to book an individual time to meet with the class teachers – please look out for this.   
 
We must aim for 100% attendance at these meetings as they allow the “team around the child” (parents and teachers) to support learning and progress and ensure every child achieves beyond their expectations. 

Parent Coffee Mornings

There are several upcoming coffee mornings and parent workshops that we invite primary parents to join.  These events are planned to equip parents with the knowledge, skills and understanding of their child’s development in a variety of areas such as, parenting, reading, technology and maths.  I recommend adding the dates below to your diary and make the time to attend.  The time you spend learning from the educators of your child will impact positively on their progress, development and choices for their future.

1. 31/08/22 @ 08:30am: Positive Parenting Workshop 1 – Wearing your teaching hat (open to Years 1 to 3 parents) 
    
2. 07/09/22 @ 08:30am: Primary Parent Coffee Morning – Technology in the primary years (open to Years 3 to 6 parents) 
   
   
3. 07/09/22 @ 14:00: Principal’s Afternoon Tea (open to all parents) 
   
   
4. 08/09/22 @ 08:30am: EYFS Parent Coffee Morning – Technology in EYFS (open to F1 to F3 parents) 
   
   
5. 13/09/22 @ 08:30am: Positive Parenting Workshop 1 – Wearing your teaching hat (open to Years 4 to 6 parents) 
   
   
6. 15/09/22 @ 08:30am: Phonics coffee morning Workshop 1 (open to EYFS, Year 1 and 2 parents and new Y3 parents) 
   
   
7. 22/09/22 @ 08:30am: Phonics coffee morning Workshop 2 (open to Year 1 to 2 parents and new Y3 parents) 
   
   
8. 29/09/22 @ 08:30am: Phonics and Reading coffee morning Workshop 3 (open to Year 1 to 3 parents)

Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary

Welcome 

The school opened for students last week marking the start of the academic year 22-23. This will be an important year for the school and a very important year for me personally, as it will be my first as Head of Secondary at BVIS.  

It was very inspiring to see the students all arriving on those first few days, with big smiles on their faces (behind masks of course). Now that we have completed our first full week of classes I am happy to report that the students are still smiling and are already showing me what a special place BVIS is. 

Examination Results 2022

It gives me great pleasure in my first weekly highlights to be able to discuss the excellent examination results that the school achieved in 2022.  

Our students are truly exceptional, as the results below show, and they should be congratulated on their excellent performances. When you consider that these results were achieved on work completed during the lockdown and the restrictions , they are even more impressive.  

A summary of the results can be seen below:  

A levels 

• 17 students achieved A* or A’s in all their exams  
  
  
• 58% of all grades were either A* or A  
  
  
• 72% of all grades were between A* and B  
  
  
• 83% of all grades were between A* and C  
  
  
• 98% of all grades were between A* and E  

AS levels

• 17 students achieved A’s in all their exams  
  
  
• 56% of all grades were either A or B  
  
  
• 92% of all grades were between A* and E  

IGCSEs 

• 10 students achieved A* or A’s in all their IGCSEs.  
  
  
• 56% of all grades were either A* or A  
  
  
• 70% of all grades were A* to B  
  
  
• 88% of all grades were A* to C  
  
  

However, these raw numbers don’t show us the full picture, with many students achieving over their target grades and rightfully being ecstatic with their results.  

The hard work completed by our outstanding teachers enabled the creation of meaningful learning experiences that in turn, allowed the students to excel in these assessments. Well done to all our students who took examinations in 2022.  

Blood Brothers – School Production

Following up from the amazing ‘School of Rock’, auditions for our next school production, “Blood Brothers”, will take place in room 333 from 23rd-26th August.  

The show will take place on 7th-9th December.  

  
“Blood Brothers” is one of the most successful musicals of all time and tells the exciting tale of two brothers who were separated at birth. A drama/ comedy, this show has roles for all ages and is open to everyone in Y7-Y13. This is an excellent opportunity to develop confidence in spoken English, performance skills and work as a team with other year groups. To sign up for an audition and for more details about the show your child should join the Team using code – pndew4d. Please take time to talk to your child about this unique opportunity and if you (or they) have any questions please contact Ms Amos or Ms Lopez. 

BVIS Champion of the Week

Given that we have only had three days for the Champion of the Week this week, I was so impressed by the numbers of housepoints that students in Secondary have been collecting. One student in particular has stood out this week with a huge congratulations to Phuc Thien from 8S who is the very first BVIS Secondary Champion of the Week for 2022-23. Well done, Phuc Thien!  

Champion Tutor Group of the Week

Despite the huge efforts of Phuc Thien (Champion student), 8S were unable to beat the incredible all-round efforts of 8B who gained huge amounts of housepoints this week! Well done to them for collecting more than double the number of house points than any other tutor group in Secondary! An incredible effort!   

Secondary Meet the Tutor Event

On Wednesday evening families and teachers gathered at school for the annual secondary Meet the Tutors event. Thank you to our community members who attended the evening to learn about what to expect from the year ahead, whichever year group their children are part of.  

PE and New Swimming Pool Opening

As mentioned in the message from Mr Higham, this week, we opened the new outdoor swimming pool to students. The PE staff completed a 2-day qualification with the VSLC (Vietnam Swimming & Lifesaving Company) during the summer to enhance and update their knowledge in preparation for teaching swimming in Secondary. 
 
Year 7 and 8 students are completing a personal survival unit as part of the PE curriculum this term and will develop their swimming technique as part of this. They will also learn a range of skills to keep themselves and others safe in water.  
 
The PE department are extremely excited to start teaching the students in the new swimming pool and we look forward to seeing a lot of progress in lessons. Season 1 ECAs will start soon and the pool will also be used for swim squads and other aquatics-based clubs. 

Safeguarding and Child Protection

The health, safety and wellbeing of our students remains the number one priority at BVIS HCMC.

Should you have a concern for the welfare of any child in our school, please refer to our Safeguarding poster below: