Weekly Highlights 04/11/2022

Mr. Simon Higham, Principal

Dear Parents 

Thank you for taking time to engage and connect with our Weekly Highlights that are published every Friday, aimed at helping you understand more about our unique and thriving BVIS community.  

CIS Reaccreditation Visit - Update

As I mentioned in last week’s Highlights, throughout the week we welcomed 11 visitors to school as part of our joint CIS (Council for International Schools) and WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) re-accreditation visit.  

BVIS was first fully accredited by CIS in 2017 and WASC in 2021 and we continue to focus upon self-evaluation and continuous improvement in all that we do. A CIS/WASC accredited school typically: 

• is devoted to its mission and vision for students 
  
  
• has thought deeply about the services it offers to students, family and community 
  
  
• invests the time and resources for validation from a globally - recognised accreditation authority 
  
  
• focuses on the quality of teaching, student learning, as well as student safeguarding and well-being 
  
  
• is committed to the development of the students’ global citizenship 
  
  
• has a suitable philosophy of education suitable for its students 
  
  
• promises only what it can deliver 
  
  
• is open to regular evaluation by its own school community and peer evaluators 
  
  
• constantly seeks improvement in all areas of the school plans strategically for the future 

Following initial meetings that took place last Saturday and Sunday between our school’s senior leadership team and the accreditation team, all of the BVIS staff were officially introduced to our visitors first thing on Monday morning. 

Throughout the week, the team visited classrooms, observed the daily life of the school and met both formally and informally with teachers, students and parents. Their purpose was to learn more about our school and the impact that our curriculum, teaching, processes and procedures have on our wider community in terms of learning, wellbeing and safety. 

Across the week, I have received extremely positive feedback linked to the quality of our teaching and learning, the professionalism and commitment of our school staff – both teaching and non-teaching and the engagement, confidence and happiness of our students throughout the school. 

Although we are unable to share the final report until all of the details have been proofread and agreed, I am confident that our visitors left with a great impression of our school community which is something that we all must feel very proud of. 

This weekend, I would encourage you all to reflect upon the following point, taken from the CIS list above: 

‘BVIS promises only what it can deliver’ 

Take time to talk to your child(ren) about how they have grown both academically, socially and emotionally in their time at BVIS.  

Ask them: 

1. What are you most proud about being a student at BVIS? 
   
   
2. What are your proudest achievements during your time at our school? 

I would love to hear about your reflections. Share them with me via the email address below: 

jacy.nguyen@bvisvietnam.com 

Family Halloween Event

A huge thanks to all families and friends who joined us in school for our Halloween Family Night. 

With our largest ever number of tickets sold for this event, we celebrated together in spooky costumes, eating Halloween themed food (the finger biscuits were my personal favourite) and having a great time playing all the games designed for an enjoyable family night out. 

Congratulations to our ‘best dressed’ winners that can be seen below: 

• The family winners: Reese family (F1B), Yoo family (3S) and Dong Anh family (2V)

• The individual winners: Thien Bao (6V), Khanh Ha (6I) and Tu Uyen (1V)

Welcome to BVIS

As part of our ongoing introduction to new members of our teaching staff, this week we are pleased to welcome Ms Ruth Bowler, our Year 6 Teacher.

1. What were your first impressions of BVIS?
   
   My first impressions of BVIS were that it is a school that celebrates the value of both Vietnamese and English and teaches in both languages in an interactive and fun way.
   
   
2. As a BVIS teacher, what are your professional priorities in this first year at school?
   
   My priorities are to build strong relationships with my pupils and my colleagues based on trust and respect.
   
   
3. What 3 things are you looking forward to doing whilst working and living in Vietnam?
   
   I am looking forward to learning more about the Vietnamese culture: language, food, geography and history I am looking forward to building new friendships and meeting new people I am looking forward to developing my teaching practice at a bilingual school

Our School Website – Top Tips 3 and 4

To help further support you navigate through our school’s website, this week’s top tips are: 

1. On the Homepage, click the 3 lines at the top right-hand side of the page.  
   
    
2. Click on the ‘Parent Essentials’ menu, scroll down and find this year’s full academic calendar. 
   
   
3. On the same page, scroll down further to access Parent Handbooks, Lunch Menus and a section of FAQs 
   
    

Contact Us

Should you require any help, support or advice regarding the school website or any aspect of your child’s education, please do not hesitate to contact us using the information below:  

Thank you for your continued support of our school and wider BVIS community and have a great weekend ahead. 

Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary

What does learning look like at BVIS?

The best learning happens when students have access to a variety of approaches.  Students who are active, engaged and challenged in their learning will grasp concepts well and make good progress.  This week as I walked around the primary lessons, I saw many different approaches to learning.  In Science, students were carrying out practical experiments by testing boats to see how long they would remain afloat when weight was added. In Music, students were playing in a xylophone ensemble and in Lien Ket, students in groups were discussing the lives of indigenous tribes in the Amazon.   

It is clear that learning happens when students are active, engaged and challenged in their activities which is why at BVIS you will often find students on their feet, using practical apparatus and working in groups to discuss, analyse and identify answers to questions.  Ask your child today, ‘How do you learn best?’ and see how they describe their preferred learning experiences.   

Season Two Clubs

After a short break of clubs, this week saw the launch of Season Two.  The after-school club programme is specifically designed to provide opportunities for students to broaden their interests and experiences. Through these opportunities, students develop new skills and hobbies which help them to build a holistic perspective.  From arts and crafts to sports and STEAM, there is something fun and new for all to try.  We look forward to seeing the students’ enjoyment in the weekly activities.   

Season Two clubs in primary run from Monday 31st October to Friday 2nd December and resume on Monday 9th January for 1 further week before finishing on Friday 13th January 2023. 

Creating the foundations for success 

A baby’s experience begins to shape their understanding of the world, their emotions, their confidence and their social skills.  Enriching these opportunities is something that we as educationalists promote and here at school, our expert teachers provide guidance for parents in achieving this enrichment and opportunity.

Play is so beneficial to a child’s learning, which is why we pride ourselves on delivering the best provision for children in the Early Years.  Fundinotots is where it all starts, offering children a place to explore, create and innovate and parents a supportive community that can provide guidance and direction to ensure the youngest learners receive the best start to becoming a life longlifelong learner.

If you would like to learn more about our creative sessions for babies and toddlers aged 4 – 36 months, please contact the admissions officer at Huyen.Le@bvisvietnam.com or contact by telephone on 028 3758 8033. 

Upcoming Events 

• 09/11/22 @ 08:30am: Positive Parenting Workshop 3: Wearing your encouraging hat (for Upper Primary parents) 
  
  
• 23/11/22 @ 14:00: Career Guidance Seminar for Upper Primary parents 
  
  
• 02/12/22: Season 2 club programme breaks 
  
  
• 10/12/22: Christmas Fun Day  
  
  
• 16/12/22 @ 11:30am: Term 1 Ends 

Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary

Season 2 ECAs

This week saw the start of Season 2 Extra Curricular Activities after school, with many of our students trying out new clubs and learning to interact with different groups of people in new ways. 

We always encourage our students to try new activities and move out of their comfort zone. ECAs are a great way for students to discover talents, skills and interests that they never knew they had. We encourage you to sign your child up for a range of ECA’s when the opportunity presents itself. 

Competition Updates

As a Nord Anglia Education School and a member of FOBISIA, BVIS HCMC has automatic entry into a number of different global, regional and local competitions 

UKMT 

This week saw the results of the UK Maths Challenge results being announced, with many of our students achieving awards with some achieving the highest Gold Award standard in this competition. 

House Football 

More locally, Saigon House won the overall House football competition, with the lead changing hands several times over the different weeks of games. Congratulations to everyone across all 4 houses who took part. 

The below two competitions have now been launched and are live at the moment, so all students can still enter. 

FOBISIA Photography Competition 

Global Campus Rollercoaster Competition

Vegan Week 

This week the Secondary Student Council organised “Vegan Week at BVIS”. This involved selling some “Chè” and having vegan options at lunch, as well as a Vegan bingo challenge. 

Student driven initiatives like this really help the school grow and develop. So well done to all of our student leaders who were behind this wonderful idea. 

BVIS Secondary Champion of the Week 

A huge congratulations goes to Hoang Anh (Julie) from 11I who is this week’s Champion. It is great to see some older students being up there at the top and stealing the crown from the Key Stage 3 students!  

Well done Julie! 

BVIS Champion Tutor Group of the Week

With a Hue student being crowned Champion of the Week, it was a great week for Mr Cooper and the Hue house students as the Tutor Group of the Week is 9I (also Hue!) Well done to 9I for your amazing work this week! 

Science 

Brain dissections, DNA extractions and preparing acids – just another normal week in the science department! 

Students have been busy across the year groups carrying practical experiments to complement the classroom theory activities.  
 
Year 11, 12 and 13 students are looking ahead to their mock exams in January, and we ask all parents to help support your son/daughter in any possible way - especially checking Teams to make sure all home learning tasks are completed on time.  

Following on from the success of Biology Week we are also looking forward to some Chemistry demonstrations next week so please remind your child(ren) to look out for them too! 

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: