Weekly Highlights 10/04/2026

Weekly Highlights is a weekly newsletter sent by the BVIS Leadership Team to parents, providing updates on notable news and activities at the school. The newsletter consists of three main sections: updates from the Principal, Head of Primary, and Head of Secondary.

Dear Parents,

Student Voice, Agency and Empowerment

One of the most powerful drivers of school improvement is the voice of our students. Across BVIS, at every age and stage, we continue to place great value on empowering young people to contribute meaningfully to the community they are part of and to help shape the direction of our school. 

Over recent weeks, it has been a pleasure to witness our current secondary students actively canvassing their peers as they put themselves forward for student leadership roles for next year. The confidence with which they are engaging their peers, the respect they show for differing viewpoints, and—most importantly—the thoughtful and purposeful ideas they are proposing for the betterment of our school truly reflect the strength of our student body. These moments demonstrate student agency in action. 

[wil be updated on Friday]

Importantly, opportunities for leadership and student voice span both Primary and Secondary. From class and house roles to councils, committees and wider leadership positions, every role has merit. Each offers students the chance to develop responsibility, collaboration and confidence, while contributing both individually and collectively to the life of the school. Leadership at BVIS is not about a title; it is about impact. 

Recently, we also invited all students from Year 4 to Year 13 to take part in a whole-school student survey. This gave students a meaningful platform to share their honest thoughts about their experiences, what is working well, and where they believe, we can continue to grow. We are now in the process of reviewing this data carefully

I am personally excited to work alongside our students on this next phase, together with Ms Khuyen in Primary and Mr Every in Secondary. Our commitment is clear: every voice will be heard, every concern addressed, and every suggestion given thoughtful consideration as we continue driving BVIS forward—together. 

As we approach the end of this busy, busy term, I would like to highlight our summer camp once more.  It’s a brilliant opportunity for children to engage with friends beyond their classrooms, make new friends all while having the most fun! Have you signed up?

Contact Us

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. 

Last week concluded with a fantastic Year 1 Exit Point that celebrating their learning in style. Following their visit to Bitexco Tower earlier in the week, the children and their parents took part in a wonderful crafting extravaganza, creating their own iconic buildings from around the world. From the Burj Khalifa and the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City, Bitexco Tower, and Landmark 81! It was a joyful and creative event that brought learning to life and strengthened our home-school partnership. It was lovely to see so many parents in school supporting their children’s learning.

This week in BVIS Primary, one key area we have been focused on is further strengthening our school through our annual Nord Anglia Safeguarding Review. This ensures that all of our procedures are up to date, rigorous, and fully aligned to best international practice in protecting our students. Safeguarding remains at the heart of everything we do, and this review provides an important opportunity to reflect, refine, and strengthen our systems so that every child continues to feel safe, supported, and able to thrive.

Year 4 Production

Our Year 4 production of ‘Cinderella Rockerfella’ lit up the auditorium this week, with a fantastic performance to the school on Thursday followed by a wonderful showcase for parents on Friday. The children embraced this opportunity to perform on stage, demonstrating their growing confidence, impressive dramatic talent, and excellent English skills. It was a joy to see their enthusiasm, teamwork, and creativity come together in such a memorable performance for our whole community. Well done, Year 4!

Lower Primary Maths Workshop

This week, our Lower Primary (Years 1 to 3) parents joined us for a valuable maths workshop focused on understanding expectations within the English National Curriculum. The session provided an overview of key skills in number, calculation, and problem-solving, helping parents to see how learning progresses across the year groups. Importantly, we also shared practical strategies to support children at home, from encouraging mathematical talk, ‘mastery’ and reasoning to using everyday opportunities such as shopping, cooking, and games—to build confidence and fluency in maths.

Adolescence Workshop by American International Hospital

We were delighted to welcome AIH to lead a parent workshop focused on understanding adolescence and how best to support teenagers through this important stage of their development. The session provided valuable insights into the emotional, social, and cognitive changes that young people experience, alongside practical strategies for building strong communication, setting boundaries, and fostering independence.

 

Young Musician of the Year Semi-Finals

Upcoming Events:

Saigon Senior Maths Competition

On Saturday 4th April, BVIS hosted the Saigon Senior Maths competition. Mr Parsons and Ms Lewis coordinated an excellent event, and we had the pleasure of welcoming 96 mathematicians from 9 International Schools across the city to take participate.

Please read below Jimmy’s thoughts on the day:

“Last Saturday, I took part in a Saigon Maths Competition held at BVIS. Leading up to the competition, me and my teammates worked together in practice sessions during lunch break to solve complex math problems while also devising strategies for each round. As a Year 13 student, I knew this would be my last time to represent BVIS so my friends and I, were determined to perform our best. On the competition day, we were excited to have the opportunity to compete with brilliant minds from other schools. After each round, the atmosphere was engaging as people discussed the difficult problems and shared their ideas. My favourite part is the Dual round, where students compete with one another in many games. What is more exciting is that I was able to socialise and make new friends during this round.  After completing all four rounds, we knew we had given our best and did pretty well but did not expect to win anything. Good news came with a surprise; we were thrilled to know our team got the overall first place. I feel so proud of our team’s effort. I want to give a special thanks to all teachers and students for organising this competition. It was a fantastic experience forming part of my memory at BVIS.”

Congratulations to our winning team:

Huynh, Jimmy; Le, Gia Ngoc; JiU Moon and Kensuke Yamamura

Psychology 

Over the last year Psychology students in Year 12 and 13 have been carrying out their own research. From designing their own research question and collecting data to writing a formal report and delivering a confident presentation, students demonstrated strong critical thinking, academic writing, and communication skills, all essential skills to prepare them for university. Their work reflected a clear understanding of psychological research methods and culminating in a recent presentation of their project. It has been a pleasure to see their hard work and curiosity come together so successfully.

Cooking club

Students have been cooking a wide range of recipes in our Cooking Club this term, working collaboratively to prepare a range of delicious dishes, including fajitas, Easter cupcakes, pizza, and carbonara. Some students were excited to learn new cooking skills for the first time, while others built confidently on techniques developed last term. It was wonderful to see their growing independence, teamwork, and pride in both the process and the delicious results! 

SSLT Drop-ins

As a reminder the four members of SSLT make themselves available every Monday morning between 07:45 and 08:10 in the meeting room (043). If you’d like to talk to a member of the secondary leadership team about anything to do with BVIS, we are all available between the above times.

Sparx Maths Champions

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 

Top XP earners this week are: 

Bedrock Champions

This week’s bedrock champions are:  

Year 7 – Le Hong Minh Khue (Celine)
Year 8 – Nguyen Hoang Thuc Quyen
Year 9 – Tran Gia Huy (Ben)
Year 10 – Nguyen Bao Ngoc (Ruby)
Year 11 – Nguyen Mai Quoc An
Year 12 – Ngo Khanh Ngoc (Sarah)  

Congratulations to all the above students who came up on top in their respective year groups. A special well done to Tran Gia Huy (Ben) who achieved the highest Bedrock points total across the whole of the secondary school this week! 

Champion of the week!

This week’s champion is... 



Congratulations and well done to Katelyn! 

She has finished the “6 in 6” books challenge. This is a fantastic effort and shows her passion for reading.

Champion Tutor Group of the week!

This week’s Champion tutor group is  

Congratulations to 789s/Saigon3.Well done!

Housepoint Totals

Congratulation to Hue house, who have held the top of the leaderboard!

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: