Weekly Highlights 02/06/2023

Mr. Simon Higham, Principal

Dear Parents 

Welcome to another edition of our Weekly Highlights and thank you again for engaging and connecting with our school community to celebrate the many successes that have taken place this week.  

I simply cannot believe how quickly the weeks are going by and that we have now entered the month of June. 

This week in my section of the Highlights, I will focus upon you, our parents in: 

• how we are growing engagement,  
  
  
• how we use your valuable and respected feedback to inform our continuous development 

• where to access the information you need to help prepare for a new school year. 

Friends of BVIS Update

At our most recent ‘Principal's Afternoon Tea’ event, we launched our new initiative called the ‘Friends of BVIS’. This is a parent-led group that directly engages with our school in a more structured and formalised way to help enhance the learning opportunities for both BVIS students and parents.  

Last week, I met with a group of parents who were interested in looking at ways in which they can organise and lead an event that is designed to enrich the learning of parents, whilst also allowing them to get to know each other in a more social setting. 

The group will be formulating their ideas before we all meet again in school, towards the end of the academic year. 

We hope that this will be the start of more parent-led and school supported events, into the future. I would like to thank those parents who joined our meeting last week and look forward to working with them and others, in the next academic year. 

Look out for more updates regarding the ‘Friends of BVIS’ in future Highlights  

Parent Satisfaction Survey – Results 

On 17^th May, all parents received an email from me regarding the results of this year’s Parent Satisfaction Survey.  

If you missed this email or simply would like a refresher regarding our findings and next steps, please click here to access the information from our school website. 

Parent Essentials 

As we are fast approaching the end of this academic year and finalising the preparations for 2023/24, did you know that all of the key information needed by parents can be found in the Parent Essentials section of our school website?  

Click here to access: calendars, parent handbooks, lunch menus and how to order school uniform.  

Contact Us 

For all enquiries regarding your child’s BVIS education, use the contact details below: 

As always, thank you for your ongoing support of our school and I wish you all a very enjoyable weekend ahead. 

Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary

Children’s Day Celebrations 

On Thursday 1^st June we took the opportunity to celebrate the children of BVIS.  International Children’s Day was first recognised in 1925 when the World Conference for the Wellbeing of Children in Geneva began talking about an annual day to advocate for the welfare of children.  By the 1950s, countries worldwide had begun to celebrate the day in their own special way.  In 1954, the International Union for Child Welfare proposed the date of 1^st June to become the global International Children’s Day. 

So, how did we celebrate at BVISHCMC? 

In EYFS:  EYFS led their special day through the motto that, ‘Every child is a superhero with special powers to make the world a better place’.  They began with a superhero parade, showing off the capes and masks that they had created earlier in the week.  The children then celebrated each other’s superpowers during a ‘Superhero Bootcamp’, where they developed teamwork, communication, social and physical skills.  The oldest children in F3 supported the younger children to complete a range of superhero tasks such as, ‘Splat the Superhero’ and ‘Superhero Beanbag Toss’.  The superheroes then enjoyed a healthy snack of fruit kebabs, which they made themselves in class, and they received superhero certificates to show that they completed their Superhero training. 

Ms Rebecca Robinson 
EYFS Coordinator

In Lower Primary: Children had the choice of their ultimate ‘Golden Time’!  Each class was asked what their favourite golden time activity would be, which teachers then planned and facilitated.  The children had so much fun and learnt many different skills making slime, racing paper aeroplanes, playing football and much, much more.  The children finished their celebrations by enjoying milk and cookies – a real treat for everyone!  It was a special afternoon that centred around the children and their interests. 

Mr Max Coupland 
Lower Primary Coordinator 

In Upper Primary: There was a vibrant carousel of activities that sparked excitement and enthusiasm among all children in Upper Primary.  To celebrate, teachers shared cherished memories of their childhood, recounting games they played when they were young.  Following this insight, the children had a delightful time making a traditional Vietnamese snack called "kem chuoi", a refreshing fresh banana ice cream.  The highlight of the day was the exhilarating house competition, where each activity added points to their houses, fostering healthy competition while creating an environment where children could enjoy, learn new things and discover exciting games.  On Friday, the children enjoyed their homemade banana ice cream – they thoroughly enjoyed it! 

Ms Yen Tran 
Upper Primary Coordinator 

STEAM Month Finale 

The purpose of STEAM month at BVIS is to inspire students to become lifelong learners.  STEAM helps develop students’ critical thinking and creativity skills.  Last Friday in assembly, we celebrated the innovational moments that the students experienced at school and home, with a winner being chosen from each year group for their home learning STEAM invention.   

STEAM activities provide students with the opportunity to explore the world around them, complete research, ask questions and make discoveries.  During STEAM month, students carried out independent study and collaborated with peers to complete a range of exciting activities which help develop their problem-solving skills both in and out of the classroom.  One example activity is that classes were set the challenge to create their very own Rube Goldberg machine.  We saw many great attempts of a successful machine, but the winning class making the rolling ball reach all the way to the end was 4S – congratulations!  

Thank you to all families who supported their children at home with their STEAM home learning challenge submission.  My key message is to keep exploring and creating with your children.  The summer holiday provides time to get creative.  Please share with the school through ClassDojo, the creations that you and your child create! 

Final Live Lunch of the Year

Year 6 performed the last ‘Live Lunch’ of the year this week.  This event was a new addition to the musical opportunities for our primary students and has been a huge success.  Each term the number of students opting to perform has increased and the confidence of those performing has visibly grown over the year. 

I would like to congratulate all students who had the courage to share their musical skills and practice performing in front of a live lunch audience this year.  Through the instrumental programme, many of our students began learning to play a new instrument.  I encourage all students to consider this opportunity for next academic year as there are many benefits to a student’s overall learning capacity if they are to also learn how to play music. 

Thank you to Ms Heather Rugile, our Music Teacher, who introduced and led the primary Live Lunches and thank you to parents who have supported their children to develop their musical talent. 

Upcoming Events

• 15/06/23 @ 14:00 – EYFS Parent meeting for the upcoming new academic year

• 15/06/23 – Whole School Sports Awards

• 20/06/23 – Y6 Celebration Evening for Y6 students and families

Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary

Transition Week for Primary Students 

June 13^th – June 16^th, 2023 

Each Year, Year 6 students will have a day to explore Secondary campus, where the Pastoral leaders introduce about the main differences between Primary and Secondary; the expectations in studies, behaviour as well as higher level of independence, responsibilities that a student should take. 

This process is to equip our younger students with necessary information to settle smoothly into a new learning culture and style. However, this year, we would like to develop this process further by extending this opportunity not only to Year 6 students, but also those in Years 5 and 4.  

Specifically, Year 4 and 5 will have one short day to experience the subjects that are taught in Secondary and to get familiar with the timetable in which there is different room and teacher for each subject and that they have to move around school to have different lessons during the school day.  

Instead of the one traditional transition day, Year 6 will have 2 days this year; one day of similar academic activities as Year 4 and 5 and another day joining exciting pastoral tasks.  

With this initiative, we hope that the younger year groups will not only have great experiences, but also be able to shape their interest towards subjects they may choose in the future. Please talk to your child/ren after this week so that they can share their experiences of Secondary with you.  

Fobisia Mural Competition Update 

Back in February, FOBISIA sent out a call to KS3 and KS4 & 5 students to design a mural around the theme of sustainability. There were many submissions, and it was so hard to choose among the many creative designs. The HQ Fobisia team made sure that all the works were presented anonymously and voted upon by the team. Fobisia were so impressed with all of the artists’ submissions, each mural stands as a testament to their vision, highlighting the urgent need to protect our planet and inspire positive change. The winning artwork will be designed and painted in person, at the Fobisia HQ Office in Bangkok. 

We are very happy to announce that out of the hundreds of entries our Y10 student Kim Khanh has been awarded as Runner Up! 

Congratulations Kim Khanh, we are very proud of you, and your mural design will belong on the walls here at BVIS instead.  

Humanities 

Year 7 Humanities students have just finished studying about the Normans. As part of this Mr Streete’s class reenacted the famous Battle of Hastings, in freeze frame slow motion scenes, to help them to imagine what the incredible battle would have been like when the Normans invaded Britain. If you don’t know who won, please ask your child to tell you all about it if they are in Year 7! 

Bilingual Poetry Performance Competition 

The annual BVIS Bilingual Poetry Performance Competition will be held on Wednesday 7th June and once again it promises to be a fantastic event, showcasing the incredible talents of our wonderful students.  All students in Years 7, 8 & 9 wrote and performed their own poems in front of their peers. To reach this point, all finalists have come through two previous judging rounds; first they competed in their classes, with three winners from each class going through to the Year Group final, at which point three finalists were selected from each year group for both Vietnamese and English. 

In English, each Year group had a different theme on which students based their poems and the results and interpretations were wide and varied.  Year 7 students wrote poems based on the theme of ‘The Forest’ Year 8 on the theme of ‘The Summit’ and Year 9 on ‘The Future’. 

We are all really looking forward to the event and can’t wait to update you next week with the winners. 

The finalists for English are: 

Year 7: 

• Nhu Minh (Kate) 
  
  
• Quynh Anh (Annie) 
  
  
• Hoang Khue (Jeff) 
  

Year 8: 

• Thao Chi 
  
  
• Nhat Lam (Bella) 
  
  
• Gia Tin 
  

Year 9: 

• Bao Quyen (BQ) 

• Yen Minh (Olivia) 

• Xuan Minh (Mark) 

Vietnamese Poetry Finalists’ 

Year 7 

• Gia Khang-7V 
  
  
• Chau Anh (Joan)-7I 
  

• Hoàng Khôi (Tintin)-7S 
  

Year 8 

• Nhật Lam (Bella)-8I 
  
  
• Thảo Chi-8I 
  
  
• Ngọc Doanh-8S 
  

Year 9 

• Duy Khang (Ben)-9B 
  
  
• Tịnh Ngọc-9V 
  
  
• Yên Minh (Olivia)-9I 

Student Champion of the week 

This week’s Champions are.... 

Nhat Lam (Bella) from 8I and Ngan Giang from 8V! Congratulations to both!  

Secondary Champion Tutor Group of the Week

This week’s highest scoring tutor group was... 

Who scored a huge 103 Housepoints collectively. Well done to everyone in 7S! 

Upcoming Events  

• Ongoing: IGCSE; AS/A level exams
  
  
• 9^th June: Season 3 clubs end
  
  
• 13 – 16^th June: Transition week for year 4,5,6
  
  
• 12 – 16^th June: Science Week
  
  
• 17^th June: Year 13 Graduation Ceremony
  
  
• 19^th June: Debate Day
  
  
• 23^rd June 11:30 am: Term 3 ends

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: