Year 8 led a wonderful assembly focusing on what community means to them. With some fabulous performances and heart felt messages, it was clear that working Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM).
During the week from 26 to 30 March 2018, community service activities continued to give our students the opportunity to develop a respectful and caring sense of social responsibility towards other people, animals and the environment.
Some of our primary and secondary students from the BIS Garden ECA have been helping to develop a sustainable garden at the Early Years Center. On Monday as part of the Nord Anglia global citizen project, our EYC children were learning about fruit, herbs and vegetables. Using compost from the chicken coop area, they have helped to dig and prepare areas for planting banana trees, strawberries, mint, lettuce and onions.
Continuing the Environment theme, Wednesday saw our students harvesting and selling our school produce to parents and staff at BIS. All proceeds being ploughed back into our BIS community garden, a truly sustainable outdoor learning area.
Our Bush Craft ECA students, have been learning many outdoor skills this term from using tools safely, chopping wood, fishing with rods they have made themselves and caring for our BIS hens. This culminated with a celebration around a camp fire where we cooked our free range eggs and enjoyed some delicious hotdog sausages.
During the week we continued to raise awareness to show how much we care about animals. After a very successful Young Enterprise Project our Year 3 students visited Tam Dao Bear Sanctuary, seeing firsthand the fabulous work they are doing to combat the evils of bear bile farming and the wonderful enrichment they have caring for the bears that have been rescued.
On the theme of caring for people in the community, 2 schools visited our students. On Tuesday our Year 10s entertained children from Hy Vong school for the deaf and disabled, with special science experiments. They will continue these exciting experiments this week and after the spring holiday we plan to visit the Hy Vong school to donate stationary and sports equipment that have been purchased from earlier fund raising events.
Last and certainly not least, our Year 2 students have had a number of exchanges this term with Nguyen Dinh Chieu school for the blind. The children playing together with homemade scented playdoh, constructing with Lego and interacting with each other through music.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents, staff, teachers and students who bought tickets for the Beauty and the Beast performances earlier in the year. All the money raised from the show has been used to purchase musical instruments which the children have been using during the visits and we will donate these to the children of Nguyen Dinh Chieu during their last visit this week.
This year has shown the significance that community service plays as an integral part of the educational ethos of the British International School in developing an education programme, which encourages students to be conscious and active members of their community.
Mr Kevin Halpin
Community Service Manager