Weekly Highlights 31/08/2023

Mr. Simon Higham, Principal

Dear Parents

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Weekly Highlights that aim to help support our BVIS community to engage and connect by celebrating the many successes that occur across our school each week, inform and remind you of future, important events and help to bring us even closer as a wider BVIS community.

Thank you for taking time to read these Highlights and should you want to read through previous editions, they can be found here, on our school website.

I look forward to seeing as many parents as possible to our upcoming Principal’s Afternoon Tea:

Topics covered will be: 

• School updates since we last met 
• Refreshing our school’s Mission, Vision and Values
• Future topics to cover for the next Principal’s Afternoon Tea event
• ‘Friends of BVIS’ – updates, proposed events and next steps to support the establishment of a more formal parent group within school 

To join us on Wednesday 6^th September, please click on this link to register.

Mission, Vision and Values (part 3)

Following the introduction of our updated Mission and Vision in the previous two editions of the Highlights, I would like to share with you our core school’s Values – both what they are and what they mean. 

Our values within school dictate our behaviours and are the norms and beliefs of BVIS to help guide both our students and adults within our school and wider community.

Our values will be familiar to you as they are seen throughout school on our Aide Memoire. Below you can see not only what they are, but also how they guide our behaviours:

• Integrity – We always act with integrity, even when nobody is looking. All of our actions are guided through a common understanding of what is right and wrong.
• Care – We act with care towards all others, ensuring that we do no harm either physically or emotionally. We also care for ourselves and our environment.
• Respect - We respect the rights, opinions, personal choices and attributes of other people at all times. 
• Enquiry – We have a passion for learning and ask relevant questions to extend our knowledge and understanding.
• Reflection – We reflect on how our decisions and actions impact others and ourselves.
• Perseverance – We never give up on ourselves or each other.

This long weekend, take 15 minutes to talk to your son/daughter about our values and ask them:

• Which values have you demonstrated since the beginning of the new academic year?
• How have you demonstrated these values? Can they give at least one example?
• Which value do you need to work on next and what are you going to do, to demonstrate it in the future?

Becoming a true Global Citizen is an integral part of the BVIS journey. Therefore, following our recent CIS and WASC accreditation, we thought it necessary to define what we mean by the term ‘Global Citizen’ and more importantly, how we can achieve this.

Global Citizenship at BVIS is the commitment we make to ensure that our actions have a positive impact on both Vietnam and the wider world.

We achieve this by:

• being open-minded and having a desire to learn
• establishing sustainable and environmentally friendly practices across our school community
• identifying and addressing both local and global issues
• respecting and valuing diversity in all its forms
• ensuring equity in our actions and outcomes to protect all human rights

Equally and alongside Global Citizenship is our commitment to developing and celebrating Vietnamese Perspective. Below is our own school definition of what this means to us:

Vietnamese Perspective at BVIS, means that we protect and celebrate Vietnamese language, culture, customs and traditions. We are proud of our identity and history. We strive to create the best future for Vietnam.

I hope that through our updated and refreshed Mission, Vision and Values, you are able to understand the clear direction of our school and the exciting journey that lies ahead for all students at BVIS.

BVIS HCMC student receives a 4-billion VND scholarship from New York University, USA

A huge congratulations to Nguyen Lam Nhat Minh who has recently been granted a scholarship of over USD 165,000 for four years by New York University (NYU – US). 

Nhat Minh graduated from British-Vietnamese International School HCMC in June, surpassed thousands of candidates worldwide, and received an incredible scholarship from NYU. This soon-to-be NYU-er will take Business with Core Concentrations starting in September. 

NYU is ranked 25th among National Universities in the U.S., according to the U.S. World & News Report. This year, the university received over 120,000 applications with an acceptance rate of 8%.

Read more about yet another incredible achievement from our BVIS alumni in this link from our school website.

Introducing our Amazing New Teachers

Mr. Alexander Wells 

• BSc, MChem (Hons) Chemistry - University of Leeds, UK 
• PGCE in Chemistry - University of Sheffield, UK 

Alex worked in a lab researching the synthesis of new pharmaceutical drugs before deciding to become a teacher. He has worked for three years in a school in London as a Chemistry and Physics teacher, taking on the role of enrichment co-ordinator and promoting extracurricular activities at the school. 

Alex has also volunteered at a school in India where he taught practical science.  

In his spare time, he enjoys playing sports, particularly football, and music with an interest in playing the guitar. 

 

Should you wish to contact your child’s Class Teacher(s) or Form Tutor directly, we encourage communication to be written in the language you most feel confident to use. 

Parents may also find it useful to contact their child’s class teacher(s) or form tutor directly for all individual queries about their academic work/social and emotional wellbeing in school.  Individual contact details can be found in the Parents’ Handbooks or via our Primary/Secondary Receptionists.  

On behalf of everyone at BVIS, we wish you a relaxing long weekend ahead and look forward to welcoming you back into school again on Tuesday 5^th September.

Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary

Fundinotots is Beginning!

Next week sees the start of our bespoke Fundinotots programme for this academic year.  A baby’s experiences begin 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 are here at school to guide parents in how this can be achieved.  Fundinotots brings this all together for you and your child from birth to 36 months.  

From 24 months old, parents have the option of enrolling their child to Foundation One, which is a full day programme where children stay at school without their parents; this is a great option for working families.  The Fundinotots programme is purposefully planned to prepare children for this time when they are in school for full days without their parents or carer.

If you would like to trial a Fundinotots session with your child and see just how beneficial the programme can be for their learning and progress, then please contact Ms Huyen Le, our Admissions Officer at huyen.le@bvisvietnam.com or telephone 028 3758 8033.  Ms Huyen will answer your questions and share more information about the unique opportunity that BVIS offers children aged from birth to 36 months.   

Technology for Learning

Understandably so, many parents ask how technology at BVIS is used to enhance and support student learning.  

Technology is ever-advancing and as educators, it is important for us to stay up to date with applications that support learning and the skills that students will need to ensure they have the capability to continually progress with upgrades in technology as they grow and mature into the workplace.  Alongside this knowledge, we as adults have a duty of care to understand the complexities of the devices that children have access to and how to ensure children remain safe when using these.  For these reasons, next week we are hosting two coffee mornings that will focus on learning technologies tailored to specific year groups.  The first of these is on:

Tuesday 5^th September at 8:30am for parents of EYFS children and the second is on: 

Thursday 7^th September at 8:30am for parents of children in Years 1 to 6.  

For further details, please see the emails and ClassDojo posts about these events.
 
We look forward to welcoming as many parents as possible to these events next week.

Primary Parents’ Evening Meetings

At the beginning of the week, parents were notified by email that the parent's evening booking system is now open.  Meetings are scheduled for next week for B and I classes on Tuesday 5^th and Thursday 7^th September, and for V and S classes on Tuesday 12^th and Thursday 14^th September.  

These one-to-one parent consultations with your child’s class teachers provide the opportunity to discuss how children have settled into their new year group and their targets for the academic year ahead. 

Please log in to the parents evening system to book your individual meeting time.  If you would prefer to meet the teachers online, please message them directly and they will arrange a Teams link for the time of the booked meeting.   

Upcoming Events

1. 05/09/23 @ 08:30am: EYFS Parent Coffee Morning – Technology in EYFS (open to F1 to F3 parents)
   
   
2. 05 and 07/09/22: Parents’ Evening Meetings for B and I classes  
   
   
3. 06/09/23 @ 14:00: Principal’s Afternoon Tea (open to all parents)
   
   
4. 07/09/23 @ 08:30am: Primary Parent Coffee Morning – Technology in the primary years (open to Years 1 to 6 parents)
   
   
5. 12 and 14/09/23: Parents’ Evening Meetings for V and S classes  
   
   
6. 14/09/23 @ 08:30am: Phonics coffee morning Workshop 1 (open to F3, Year 1 and 2 parents)
   
   
7. 21/09/23 @ 08:30am: Phonics coffee morning Workshop 2 (open to Year 1 to 2 parents)
   
   
8. 28/09/23 @ 08:30am: Phonics and Reading coffee morning Workshop 3 (open to Year 1 to 3 parents)
   
   
9. 10/10/23 @ 08:30am: Positive Parenting Workshop – Wearing your Firm for Upper Primary year groups (open to Year 4 to Year 6)

Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary

Pastoral Team Update – Hanoi House

This week our new head students and prefect teams introduced themselves to their houses in the first house assemblies of the year, setting out their goals and ambitions for the term ahead. In Hanoi, the team tested house members with a fun quiz to see who could remember most about Hanoi and the previous year’s highlights.

It has been fantastic to see so many students putting themselves forward for leadership roles within the school, and we are very much looking forward to seeing what they achieve and the legacy they are building.

The Importance of Reading – Oliver Clark, Head of English and Media

At BVIS, we have one simple, guiding principle we try and instill in our students every day: read more. It is unsurprising to hear that becoming a strong reader takes time and effort throughout school, but the benefits are remarkable and clear.

Reading regularly with children is of paramount importance as it nurtures their cognitive, linguistic, and emotional development. Reading fosters a strong foundation for language acquisition, expanding vocabulary, and enhancing comprehension skills. Additionally, these interactions stimulate critical thinking, creativity, and imagination. 

But remember, there aren’t just cognitive and academic benefits; reading together cultivates emotional bonds between adults and children, creating a safe space for communication and nurturing a lifelong love for learning. By exposing youngsters to diverse perspectives, cultures, and experiences, students develop empathy and a global mindset.  

Ultimately, the practice of reading with children not only empowers them academically but also emotionally, guiding them down a path of intellectual curiosity and emotional intelligence that sets them up for life as interesting, well-rounded individuals. 

So, our mission moving forward this year and beyond is clear: children must read, read, read, and be read to lots and lots. Together, as a team, we can achieve this goal!

Instrumental lessons

At BVIS, we offer our students the opportunity to take a range of instrumental music lessons. 

Registration for Term 1 lessons is now open, please sign up using the Microsoft Form. These lessons will run from Monday 11th September to Friday 1^st December with a specialist teacher from the Auftdart School of Music and Performing Arts. The cost of a 30-minute lesson is 450,000 VND.

Your child is invited to learn one of the following instruments on offer:

• Guitar
• Ukulele (recommended for younger learners)
• Piano
• Singing
• Drums (on a kit drum)
• Violin

Sports Squads Update

As a new academic year begins the BVIS Bulldogs prepare for the start of the 2023-24 sports season. Students have competitively trialed to secure their place in the Season 1 squads including Football, Basketball, Badminton and Swimming across a range of age groups. This year BVIS moves to a 2 season year as opposed to a previous 3 season year to provide squads an opportunity to train for longer, improve skills and develop team cohesion. 

After the outstanding success of the Rising Stars Football Academy last year and the significant impact made on our squad success from U9-U19 we will welcome back Mr James McAloon the Founder and Technical Director of RSFA and his team to provide the highest quality football coaching for our BVIS students. 

This week also marks the start of the first 2023-24 FOBISIA games preparation for the U15 age group.

Students who wish to participate in this fantastic opportunity have begun trialing for the FOBISIA Squad. 12 Girls and 12 Boys will be selected and start their multisport training schedule next week. They will work hard to represent the BVIS Bulldogs and Hammerhead Sharks at the November Games, held in Bangkok, Thailand 

The PE faculty are extremely excited at the prospect of working with students to go above and beyond our achievements last year at U15, U13 and U11 FOBISIA games.

Champion Student of the Week

A huge congratulations goes to The Dung (9B) who scored more housepoints than anyone else in the school this week. Well done The Dung!

Champion Tutor Group of the Week

This week’s champion tutor group is 9B. Well done to everyone in the form who collectively earned more housepoints than all other tutor groups.

Current Housepoint standings

Here are the current housepoint standings for this week:

• 1^st - Hanoi
• 2^nd - Dalat
• 3^rd - Saigon
• 4^th - Hue

Remember to keep gaining as many housepoints as you can to help your house reach the top!

Upcoming Events

1. 01^st Sep, 23: Public Holiday – School Closed
   
   
2. 4^th Sep, 23: Public Holiday – School Closed
   
   
3. 6^th Sep, 23: Principal’s Afternoon Tea
   
   
4. 11^th Sep, 23: Clubs (Block 1A) starts
   
   
5. 14^th Sep, 23: Year 11 Options Evening at 16:00
   
   
6. 20^th Sep, 23: Year 7 Coffee Morning at 8:00am
   
   
7. 21^st Sep, 23: Year 9 Options Evening at 16:00
   
   
8. 26^th  Sep - 12th Oct, 23: House Football Competition
   
   
9. 28^th Sep, 23: UGC Coffee Morning
   
   
10. 3^rd Oct, 23: Year 11 parents’ evening at 15:30
    
    
11. 10^th Oct, 23: Year 9 parents’ evening at 15:30 

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: