Weekly Highlights 15/12/2023

Mr. Simon Higham, Principal

Dear Parents

As we come to the end of what has been an extremely busy and successful Term 1, I want to again challenge your thinking and encourage you to reflect.



Over the holiday period, take time to talk with your child(ren) and work through the following questions together:

1. This term, what has been your biggest achievement?
2. What 3 things do you know now that you didn’t know back in August this year?
3. What are the next priority learning steps for Term 2? Can you identify one for each subject you learn?
4. What 3 things have you done this term that show care towards others?
5. If you could travel back to the first day of the Term 1, what advice would you give yourself for the forthcoming term?

This festive time of year is a time to celebrate together as a family, thinking about the year that has passed and the the next year ahead. I hope that you find the questions useful and thought provoking.



I would like to thank all of our BVIS community for their hard work and efforts this term. To our teachers and non-teaching BVIS staff, our parents and of course our incredible children – thank you for making our school such a special place to be part of.

Thank you to the small number of families who will be moving on from BVIS at the end of this term – we wish you all the very best in your future adventures and please stay in touch with us.

Additionally, I would also like to welcome all of the new families who begin their journeys with us at the beginning of Term 2- we're very pleased to have you part of our school community.

On behalf of everyone at BVIS, we wish you a very peaceful Christmas holiday period and a very happy and prosperous 2024.

We all look forward to seeing you again in school on Wednesday 10^th January.

Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary

A Celebration of Learning

This week there were a number of exit points to celebrate a great term of learning – an exciting and rewarding way to end Term 1. 

Year 6's exit point was called the 'The Great, The Bold and The Brave'.  The students showcased a variety of activities, displays and performances linked to the civilisations of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.  The showcase was a demonstration of what the children have learned during Term 1 and a reflection of how hard they have worked.

Year 5 celebrated their ‘Climate Control’ exit point in the main hall.  Parents were invited to participate in various games, performances, and activities that students had prepared.  There were some valuable messages shared with families as to how we can improve our choices to support our earth and the environment.

The Year 4 students’ topic was all about ‘Explorers and Adventurers’.  Parents had an opportunity to complete some history and geography tasks led by the students for example, they drew a timeline of the main events in their life and they used a compass to follow directions and navigate their way to the treasure.

Year 2 focused on ‘Transport’ and spent time sharing their learning and achievements in their classrooms with their families.  The students felt a real accomplishment being able to demonstrate to their parents what they have been spending their time on at school this term.

The EYFS children invited families into their classrooms to listen to the Christmas songs they have been practising and enjoy some festive cookies and hot chocolate together to celebrate the Christmas season.  

Thank you to all families who attended the recent exit points, the students and teachers appreciate your time and support.

Christmas festivities at BVIS!

On Thursday this week, all students spent time celebrating Christmas together.  They had party games to play and primary students had an extra special Golden Time at the end of the day.  Our Student Council arranged for all students to dress in their chosen Christmas outfit, including the colours of Christmas, which painted a magical picture of the festive season across the whole of primary.  At lunchtime, students were treated to a traditional Christmas dinner as part of the international-themed menu and, during the morning’s class parties, Father Christmas even came to visit BVIS!  Father Christmas wished us all a very Merry Christmas filled with fun, laughter and joy! 

I would like to wish all our families at BVIS a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Upper Primary Sports Day

This week the whole of Upper Primary came together in their house teams – Dalat, Hanoi, Hue and Saigon – to compete in the annual Sports Day led by our PE department.  The excitement filled the air as the students and teaching team embarked on the buses to make their way to the Sports Stadium set up ready for the fun-filled morning ahead.  With activities like sprint shuttles, javelin launch and frisbee challenge, the students were prepared to build up their house points to work towards being named the Champion House of the Year for the Upper Primary Sports Day.  The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and made memories to keep forever.  

Thank you to our whole school PE department for planning and preparing such an exciting sporting day.  The PE teachers and teaching assistants’ hard work and dedication towards inspiring our students to pick up sport as a hobby and for some, strive to become an expert sportsperson in a field of choice, is very much appreciated and valued.

Congratulations to our winning house: Saigon!

Upcoming Events

1. 18/12/23-09/01/24 – Christmas Holiday; Holiday Camps begin (see parent emails for registration details)
   
   
2. 10/01/24 @8:25 – Term 2 Begins
   
   
3. 11/01/24 @8:30 – Healthy Habits Workshop for EYFS Parents
   
   
4. 16/01/24 @8:30 – Healthy Habits Workshop for Upper Primary Parents
   
   
5. 18/01/24 @8:30 – Healthy Habits Workshop for Lower Primary Parents
   
   
6. 19/01/24 – Interim Reports issued
   
   
7. 23 & 25/01/24 – Parents Event Meetings for B and I classes
   
   
8. 25/01/24 @8:30 – Maths Workshop for Year 1 and 2 Parents 
   
   
9. 30/01/24 & 01/02/24 – Parents Event Meetings for V and S classes
   
   
10. 02/02/24 @15:05 – School Closes for the Tet holiday
    
    
11. 05-19/02/24 – Tet Holiday, School closed
    
    
12. 20/02/24 @08:30 – School Resumes

Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary   

End of Term 1

The Housepoints are all counted, the sports day has been run, Mama Mia has sold out and finished and the Christmas fun day is done. The first term of 2023-24 is now over, but it has been brilliant, with so much going on for the students to get involved with.

As we briefly look ahead to Term 2, there are mocks exams and residential trips on the horizon for students in different year groups; but for at least some of the coming holiday, do relax and enjoy some down time. We are a very busy school populated by amazing students and dedicated passionate teachers and staff members, enjoy the time off together and we look forward to seeing you in January, refreshed and ready to learn.

Merry Christmas,

Mr Bate

House Award Winners

At the end of the term each Head of House selects students from KS3 and KS4 who they feel have contributed significantly to the House over the course of the term.

Dalat Champions

Saigon Champions



Hanoi Champions



KS5 Champions

Student Council

To conclude Term 1, the Wellbeing Committee has launched its first official event of the year: Asian Heritage Week! The week features activities for students and teachers, including a film screening of the Vietnamese film “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass” and an Asian Martial Arts talk show hosted by Year 12 member Lewis featuring our very own teacher-athletes.

Finally, to finish off the week, the Wellbeing Committee also hosted workshops on traditional games and arts from various Asian cultures, providing students with an opportunity to relax after end-of-term exams and learn about various traditions across the Asian continent.

After this event’s success, the Well-Being Committee has become even more motivated to make our upcoming projects even more successful than the last. We will continue working hard to continue our goal of enriching the school community.

Annie and Cindy
Co-Chairs of the Well-Being Committee

Sports Day 2023

This Tuesday saw the Secondary Sports Day take place at the District 8 stadium. The events set up included traditional track and field events as well as the “Tug of War”.

Once again it was an incredibly close-run event with all the houses being separated by only a few points at the end of the day.

But there could only be one winner and this time it was....



The full results were:

• Hue
• Dalat
• Saigon
• Hanoi

Congratulations to Mr. Cooper and all the students in Hue, but especially to the Student Leaders who helped their whole House through each and every event. Well done to Jimmy, Anh Khue and the rest of the Hue student leaders!

Sparx Maths Champions of the term

The top XP earners in each year group since the start of term are:

Congratulations to all the winners!

First News Champions of the Term

Bedrock Champions of the Term

This term’s bedrock champions are: 
     
Year 12 - Tran Nam Phu
Year 11 - Kensuke Yamamura                                            
Year 10 - Shunsuke Yamamura
Year 9 - Grace Do                                        
Year 8 - Kosuke Yamamura           
Year 7 - Mraz Le

Congratulations to all the above students who came up on top in their respective Year groups. A special well done to Mraz who achieved the highest Bedrock points across the whole of Secondary.  

Champion of the Week

This week’s champion student is... 

Tam An (Zen) – 7I! Well done to Zen!

Champion Tutor Group

This week's Champion tutor group is...

A huge well done to everyone in 7I who worked together to achieve more housepoints than any other tutor group last week. 

Champion of the Term

This term’s champion student is...



Gia Han (Susie) – 7V! Well done, Susie!

Housepoint competition term 1

The results are in for the end of term 1....



Congratulations to Hue who have come out on top, but there is still a long way to go to be the overall winner at the end of the year.

Upcoming Events

1. 15^th Dec, 23: Term 1 ends at 11:30am
   
   
2. 10^th Jan, 24: Term 2 starts 
   
   
3. 11^th Jan, 24: Year 10 Parents’ evening
   
   
4. 16^th – 24^th Jan, 24: Mock examinations for Year 11, 12 and 13 students
   
   
5. 16^th – 19^th Jan, 24: Trips week for Year 7, 8, 9, 10 students

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: