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Mr. Simon Higham, Principal
Dear Parents
Welcome to the final Weekly Highlights of Term 2.
Firstly, I would like to extend a specific welcome to all our new families that began their BVIS journey with us this week. We are extremely pleased to be able to support your child/ren’s learning and as mentioned on Monday, please do not hesitate to reach out to us should you have any questions – no matter how big or how small.
This weekend, I would encourage you to talk with your son or daughter about what have been their highlights from this term. This is always a good way to help reflect upon the many successes and support the next steps for learning.
I would like to share my top 5 highlights from Term 2.
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It is always great to hear about the new experiences that have taken place and the long-lasting friendships that are made during our annual residential experiences across both Primary and Secondary. I look forward to hearing about the Year 3 sleepover next week and am particularly keen to hear about our new trip to Houston (and NASA) towards the end of Term 3.
Term 2 has been extremely successful for our BVIS Bulldog squads both within the city and internationally through the FOBISIA games.
Developing a strong, open and transparent working relationship with our wider community will always remain a top priority for our school. I strongly believe that a positive school culture, where children flourish has to be built upon a solid partnership between home and school.
It is always a highlight of mine to be at the gate each morning and welcome both new and existing parents to our school and I thank all of you for your ongoing support and advocacy.
It was pleasing to find in the 2024 Parent Satisfaction Survey that even more parents this year’s, compared to last year, would recommend our school to others. BVIS remains one of the highest-ranking schools across the whole of Nord Anglia Education for parent advocacy and for this, I am both proud of the present and excited for the future that lies ahead.
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From interacting with our youngest students’ play in F1 through to discussing what we think is meant by ‘toxic masculinity’ with Year 10 to 13 students, these opportunities remain my overall highlight of this term.
Remember, BVIS students are incredible in both what they do and the ways in which they do it!
So, what are your highlights for Term 2? I would very much like to hear what they are so please feel free to share them with me either face to face on the gate in the morning or via an email. I look forward to reading them and learning more!
This time of year is both exciting and sad as our Year 13 students prepare to sit their final A level examinations, whilst also receiving their final offers for university placements across the world.
I congratulate each of our Year 13 cohort for being exceptional learners and role models for the rest of our school to look up to for inspiration and guidance. Furthermore, we have all been extremely impressed by the university offers that they have received for the top learning establishments worldwide.
This year:
- 1 in 2 of our students received offers for one of the top 50 universities worldwide.
- 39% of offers come from top universities in Australia.
- 23% of offers come from top universities in the USA, including those that are Ivy League.
- 19% of offers come from top universities in the UK, including offers from 14 different Russell Group establishments.
BVIS students have also gained excellent scholarships based upon their predicted academic outcomes and a wide variety of enrichment experiences.
One such student is Quynh Lam (Apple), who has received offers to 8 separate US universities with a total scholarship value of 23.5 billion Vietnamese Dong or $979,600 usd.
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Read more about this incredible achievement in this post from our school website.
Should you have any questions or feedback relating to our school website or simply want to ask how to access a school prepared resource, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.
No question is ever too big or small!
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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 our school, I wish you a very peaceful and relaxing Term 2 holiday, whatever you are doing and wherever you might be.
We all look forward to welcoming you back for more in Term 3, from 8.00am on Thursday 2nd May.
Happy holidays!
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Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary
This week in primary we have been considering how our choices can impact the environment and how we can improve these for a more sustainable future on our planet. Monday 22nd April is ‘Earth Day’ where communities around the world demonstrate support for environmental protection. This is an annual event that first occurred in 1970 and this year’s efforts are focused on the theme ‘Planet vs Plastics’.
Throughout the week, we continue to support our community partners, Limloop by collecting clean and untorn plastic bags. We also continued to support Saigon Xanh by fundraising to purchase the resources needed to carry out the organisation’s work in clearing the Saigon River. Saigon Xanh paid primary a visit during the Green Week launch assembly last Friday to share the amazing work that they do to clean up the river around the city. The volunteers wear waterproof clothing and protective gloves as they enter the water and remove the debris that is found due to people disposing of waste in the river. An amazing voluntary commitment to support our environment and combat the issue of plastic on our planet.
Limloop will receive the plastic bags that we have collected this week and use these to produce new innovative products such as pencil cases, tote bags and laptop bags. These will be brought into school after the holidays for our BVIS community to purchase – look out for the upcoming sale at school as all proceeds go straight to Limloop where all workers are physically disabled.
Thank you to all who supported Green Week by donating your used, clean and untorn plastic bags. Next Monday 15th April, students are invited to wear green clothes to raise awareness, alongside this, all students are welcome to donate towards the Saigon Xanh fundraising mission as they wear green with pride.
You can read more about Earth Day and what people around the world are involved in at this website: https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2024/
This week, Y6 had their day trip out of school to Eureka: An Interactive Science Experience where students explored scientific concepts related to biology. Students could learn about how the body works by interacting with activities related to health, digestion and the human heart. The visit was planned to inspire and engage students in preparation for their final topic in science for their primary years which is all about the human body. The concepts that they were introduced to will be explored further during their science lessons in term 3. Teachers were extremely proud of how our oldest primary students represented BVIS during their visit.
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Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary
Our Year 12 AS Level students are not only studying hard, but also utilizing a range of revision activities both in class and at home. Their commitment to their studies is truly inspiring. If parents or guardians wish to know more about how they can support these diligent students at home, please do not hesitate to contact their class teachers. We’re all in this together. Good luck, students!
Last weekend, some of our Year 10 and Year 11 students attended the Model UN Conference at Renaissance International School. Every one of them passionately debated pressing issues- including nuclear proliferation, capital punishment and the Israel-Gaza Conflict. Through months of research, they mastered their countries' policies and diplomatic finesse which fostered their resilience, empathy and collaboration. As the conference concluded, delegates left with newfound confidence and a commitment to positive change. Well done to all students who put in such hard work throughout this process. A special congratulations to Chip who won the award for best delegate in her category!
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On Thursday this week, our current Year 13 students, who have secured university offers from esteemed institutions in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, took the lead in hosting a seminar on the intricacies of the university application process.
Navigating the journey to higher education can be an exhilarating yet daunting task, and at BVIS, we recognise the importance of providing comprehensive guidance to our students and their families. With this in mind, our Year 13 students generously shared their personal experiences, triumphs, and the valuable lessons learned throughout their application journey.
Their firsthand perspectives offered invaluable insights to both students and parents, empowering them with the knowledge and confidence needed to successfully navigate the application process independently.
During the seminar, we delved into various aspects of the application journey, including:
- Different application requirements for different countries.
- Insights into the application process and admission criteria.
- Factors to consider when choosing a university or major.
On Monday 15th April we will host our annual Poetry Slam competition. Slam Poetry is an energetic artistic competition where poets present spoken word poetry to a live audience and a panel of judges. Dynamic and spirited, slams are energetic, personal, and theatrical presentations, and this event showcases the wonderful talents of our students in Years 7-9, who have worked hard to create their own poem. This year, we explore the topics of adventure, power and conflict and culture. We’re particularly excited for this event as we look to welcome parents, who can come and observe the power and emotion that can be evoked in a range of poems. We can’t wait for the event, and we’re really looking forward to hosting the parents and seeing the incredible performances!
This week saw another fabulous Live Lunch, with a focus on KS5 performances sharing the theme of ‘Happiness’. This included a dance from a super Y13 girl group, wonderful bands and a crooner moment with Peter’s interpretation of ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra. Well-done to all those involved and to the superbly supportive audience.
This week's First News Champions are:
Year 9 – Max Nguyen
Year 8 – Nguyen Ngoc Nguyen
Year 7 – Nguyen Hoang Bao
A special congratulations to Nguyen Hoang Bao who was the champion across the whole school!
This week’s bedrock champions are:
Year 12 – Angel Truong
Year 10 – Phung Minh Hien
Year 10 – Michelle Kao
Year 9 – Cherry Le
Year 8 – Lee HaMi
Year 7 – Sue Pham
Congratulations to all the above students who came up on top in their respective year groups. A special well done to Mraz who once again achieved the highest Bedrock points total across the whole of Secondary!
Students earn XP by completing tasks in their Sparx Homework
Compulsory Tasks earn 60-80XP
XP Boost Tasks earn 120-150XP
Target Tasks earn 120-150XP
Independent Learning Tasks earn 100XP
Students reach a new Sparx Level every 10000XP
Top XP earners this week are:
| Year Group | Name | Class |
| 7 |
Alice Nguyen |
7V |
| 8 | Anna Quach | 8zMat2 |
| 9 | The Hy Hua |
9zMat1 |
| 10 | Emma Nguyen | 10zMat2y |
Well done to Bella (9I)!
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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:
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