.png?h=69&w=500&rev=6672ae46fb154ef695c9c2fe7db57a46&hash=AA0B4798E16E4631F1CBDD81C1306AAC)
Mr. Simon Higham, Principal
Dear Parents
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Weekly Highlights and thank you for your continued support in engaging and connecting with us to celebrate the many successes that have occurred across our school this week.
Last week, our BVIS Bulldogs took part in a wide range of sporting tournaments and events to battle it out for who would be this year’s city champions.
I would like to thank all our committed and hard working competitors who represented our school extremely well both on and off the field. It is often commented from other participating schools, how well our BVIS squads encourage each other and how they play both hard and fair – that's the bulldog way! Well done everyone.
An additional shout out to our U11 Boys Badminton team who were crowned as champions within the city. Well done boys! Please take time to read more about this particular success in Ms Mary’s Highlights below.
In the joyous spirit of welcoming a new year full of opportunities, luck, and peace, before our Tet break our BVIS community gathered for the Traditional Tết Festival that embraced Vietnamese Heritage and culture.
All those who attended shared unforgettable moments, from checking in at beautifully decorated corners, enjoying impressive cultural performances, to trying out meaningful traditional activities such as making Dong Ho paintings, molding ceramics, and crafting grasshopper figurines from pandan leaves.
Read more about this year’s Tet Festival and see some beautiful pictures in this post from our school website.
Friends of BVIS (FoBVIS) is our school’s parent and teacher group that helps to support events across our whole school. The group is growing all the time and I would like to personally thank all members who helped to support our Tet Festival and also took time to meet our Events team this week to organise future events for our school.
Do you have time to help support the Friends of BVIS and make a positive difference across our whole school community?
If you can offer help and support – no matter how much or how little, please contact Ms Nhien, Events Manager at: nhien.ngo@bvisvietnam.com
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the parents and students who have shown their love, care, and generosity by contributing meaningful Tet gifts for this year’s Tet Box Appeal programme.
We can confirm the list of donations BVIS students have now distributed across our community:
Just before the Tet break, these gifts were delivered by Ms. Tram and our Primary Community Students on behalf of BVIS to the children at La San Charity School, Nhat Hong Blind Shelter, and Rang Dong School.
This term has seen the first ever BVIS ski trip to Japan. Leaving behind the warm weather of Saigon, a group of Year 9 and 10 students, along with Mr. Twemlow, Ms Lewis and Ms Ngan embarked on a skiing trip and winter exploration in Japan.
The trip lasted from January 11th to 18th and offered the students many wonderful experiences and opportunities in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Read the student’s day-to-day diary of the trip in this post. I’m sure you’ll love to see the many wonderful pictures too!
Our sincere thanks go to the children for their impeccable behaviour and sense of adventure and to our accompanying teachers/TA, Mr Twemlow, Ms Lewis and Ms Ngan for their time and efforts in making this trip a truly unforgettable experience.
Please take time to check out more News posts from across our school in the News section of our school website.
This Friday, 7 other BVIS leaders and I will be attending the annual Nord Anglia Education (NAE) Regional Teaching and Learning Conference held this year in our NAE school, NAIS Abu Dhabi.
We are all looking forward to some valuable professional learning with other NAE colleagues and look forward to sharing our insights with you in next week’s Highlights.
.png?h=350&w=999&rev=59915f8e402f44ad848483379c17ecb5&hash=0B180714BF8196A044848045AB5182AB)
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 Parent's Handbooks or via our Primary/Secondary Receptionists.
Wishing you a very relaxing and family orientated weekend ahead.
.png?h=70&w=500&rev=6f9cf8d5b1384f7080cd73957e09ccb2&hash=6A89366EA6086A80F8147CBB681E87F8)
Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary
Last week we hosted the U11 Boys Badminton Team Pool A City Championships. We welcomed five of the top teams from international schools from across the city to compete against one another for the title of City Champions. Tough competition was met throughout the afternoon of games but that did not stop our BVIS Bulldogs in their sporting triumph. The boys reached the final where they competed against BIS. Through skill, determination and teamwork, the final result saw the BVIS Bulldogs winning and claiming the title of U11 Boys Badminton City Champions! We are officially the number 1 team in the city!
Congratulations to the badminton squad and the players on the day for the Bulldogs team and thank you to their team coach, Ms Blick, for preparing them to present such sporting excellence on the day of the championships.
At the beginning of this academic year, in primary we set out to deepen the sense of belonging that every member of our community feels at BVIS. This began with considering the factors that make up ‘happiness’ being guided by the simple understanding that when a person feels happy and content, they will excel and achieve their goals. Naturally, this is incredibly important for our students.
That’s why last week during the teacher training days we invited a very special colleague from our Nord Anglia school in Singapore, Dr Angie Wigford, Educational Psychologist, to guide teachers and teaching assistants to delve deeper into the resources, strategies and actions that we can use as educators to support all our students to access the learning being planned for them.
Dr Angie Wigford, Educational Psychologist
NAE DCIS, Singapore
The training was filled with constructive discussions about understanding the differing perspectives that children have of the world, to identifying small changes that can be made to classrooms and teaching practice that would benefit children. By having these conversations as educators, we are able to think differently for our students and improve the provision of learning to ensure two important aspects:
1. Students are happy and feel that they belong at BVIS.
2. Students continue to reach their personal and academic targets.
Our teachers and teaching assistants created this word cloud to sum up the reasons for our focus on ‘belonging’.
I would like to express my gratitude to Dr Angie for the visit last week. Dr Angie’s invaluable insights into inclusion and belonging for our students at BVIS were excellent and well received by all teachers and teaching assistants.
.jpg?h=539&w=900&rev=-1&hash=347BAAF908F882E571B572A4D8099FD6)
Once again a huge thank you, this time to our V and S class parents, who attended a meeting with their child(ren)’s class teachers this week. The opportunity for teachers and parents to discuss children’s progress and next steps for development is invaluable for their educational journey. We look forward to seeing how all our primary students excel in their learning over the remaining two terms of this academic year.
If you missed the opportunity to meet with class teachers, please message them on Class Dojo to book an appointment.
.png?h=69&w=500&rev=dec69d1d0d444bc58f70f4348eb4b251&hash=25B61940D4C9E0AC8400F24E7ACE615F)
Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary
.jpg?h=475&w=900&rev=7196e3babbd0418db3a38c58aedaf5f9&hash=AAE0812804675993361C1EFFCECBB1A8)
The Duke of Edinburgh International Award is truly an emotional whirlwind pushing us beyond our limits into uncharted territories. Spending time in nature makes you realize how much of a philocalist you are. As moments of sonder soaked in, I started to notice and appreciate the little things around me—feelings I never anticipated and places I never thought I’d visit. This journey perfectly encapsulates the importance of teamwork; every step taken and decision made strengthens our bonds. Most remarkably, the adventure is a heartfelt reminder of what your true potential is outside your comfort zone, where growth and accomplishments that once seemed unreachable often lie beyond familiarity. It wasn’t just about the destination we were headed to; it was made up of everything else in between.
Bella - Year 10
Our trip to Da Lat was honestly one of the best experiences ever. From bamboo rafting and hiking to camping under the stars, every moment was filled with excitement, adventure, and a little bit of chaos. But more than just the activities, it was about the people, laughing with friends, pushing through challenges together, and getting to know our teachers outside of school were more than everything I expected to experience. Huge shoutout to Mr. Parsons, Ms. Wyatt, and Mr. Tung for being the best leaders, leading the way, encouraging us, and making everything even more memorable. Through all the team-building games and unexpected twists, we learned how to work as a group, make quick decisions, and just have each other’s backs. There were times when things got tough, whether it was a steep climb or a difficult task, but we kept going together, and that’s what made it so special. Beyond all the fun, this trip also helped us bond, not just as classmates but as real friends who support each other. Looking back, I feel really proud, not just of myself, but of everyone who made this trip so special. It was one of those experiences that I know we’ll be talking about for years.
Minh Vy - Year 10
This past weekend our intrepid Year 13 Biology students embarked on an expedition to Cat Tien national park to see shining examples of conservation in Vietnam. In the evening the students went on a night safari in the park seeing a huge Burmese python, civets, mongoose as well as many deer, showcasing the rich species diversity found in Cat Tien.
The following day we visited Dao Tien, home of the Endangered Asian Species Trust (EAST) a world leader in rescue, rehabilitation, and release of trafficked primates, particularly gibbons, lorises, and langurs. The students learned about the dangers facing all these critically endangered species.
In the afternoon, we went to the in-park rescue centre for animals that cannot be released into the wild and finished the day with a river safari.
All the students had a hugely memorable experience and have become more aware of the world around them, as well as the conservation efforts so close to their home. They saw and learned so much and had an experience that will last them a lifetime.
Mr Shoesmith
The trip to Cat Tien was fun and interesting. I made new friends and closer connections with people from school. I learned more about independence, being away from my family for a few nights, the beauty of nature, as it was very outdoorsy, and enjoyed the activities that were planned for each day.
I especially enjoyed biking and the craft workshop, where we made handmade soap. It was difficult to do the hikes, as there were a lot of rocks and low tree branches but ultimately it was a great experience. Even though the trip was short, the great memories I made from it will be long lasting.
Ruby - Year 8
The links below display the House Sways, which are put together by our House student leaders. As the term progresses different posts and updates will be added displaying the relevant news for each of the Houses.
Dalat - Dalat House News
Hanoi - Hanoi House News
Hue - Hue House News
Saigon - Saigon House News
The Sparx Maths Weekly Champion is the student who is the top XP earner in each year group.
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
Huge congratulations go to our Top XP earners this week, who are:
| Year Group | Name | Class |
| 7 | Apple Nguyen |
7S |
| 8 | Minh Thi Tchion | 8zMat4 |
| 9 | Anna Quach | 9zMat2x |
| 10 | Vuong Vu | 10zMat2y |
| 11 | Mia Ngo | 11zMat3 |
This week’s champion is...
.png?h=900&w=900&rev=-1&hash=B24304C9DA0B146133F28198C98CD938)
Congratulations and well-done to Anh Thu!
This week’s Champion tutor group is
Congratulations to 789V/hanoi3, well done!
Congratulations to Hanoi house who are still leading the house point challenge.
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:
