The last week of term is often the culmination of weeks of hard work and preparation. Our children in Year 6 have been designing and building fairground rides as part of their IPC topic. In addition to the ride itself, the children had to come up with posters and other ways to market their ride. On Tuesday morning, the rest of the school voted on whose ride was the best.
Year 6 Fairground Exhibition

Programming Project Comes Full Circle
Projects have also been reaching their conclusion at the secondary campus. On Friday last week, our Year 2 children went across to test the Year 8’s games that they have been designing this term. Please see Ms Claire Easter’s (Head of Computing) post about this project:
Programming Project Comes Full Circle

TX Christmas Market
Unfortunately, the wet weather forced our Christmas market inside, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the children, friends and parents who took part. It was wonderful to see how the whole school community got involved in this event with every child helping to make Christmas decorations for the market stalls, and parents, teachers and other members of staff on hand to enjoy the evening.
TX Musical Christmas Market

Thien Phuoc Orphanage Christmas Parties
Our community partners were not forgotten this week. On Monday, several members of staff, Ms Mary and I went with members of staff from the An Phu Primary Campus and their Harmony Choir, to the Thien Phuoc Orphanage to join in with their Christmas party. It was wonderful to see the smiles on the children’s faces as we sang songs and distributed presents; even Santa made an appearance. Later in the week, some of our parents went along to the orphanage for another visit. You can read more about this on the Parents Corner post.
Thien Phuoc Christmas Party

Boxes of Hope
The members of the student council have a message regarding their Boxes of Hope appeal:
A huge thank you to those of you who brought in a box of hope. The response from you all was truly amazing! This Christmas, 295 children will have a present thanks to you. A massive thanks must go to the Student Council for organising this, especially Ms. Jane and Mr. Ian. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.
Tadala, Jeorgia and Naomi (Year 5).

Holiday Homework
Many parents ask me about the best way they can support their child at home. Up to the age of 11, there are many ways to support your child’s learning but without doubt the most effective way is to encourage reading. For younger children, this means establishing a routine of reading to your child every night for 20 minutes before they go to bed. It becomes a special time and engenders in the children a love of reading. As the children get more independent in their reading, it is essential that they are provided with a wide variety of texts so they can read for pleasure – again, make it part of the bedtime routine.
Have you looked at the new eBooks that are available to BIS students? These are a great way to get hold of high quality reading material during the holiday. Please download the app on to your device or laptop. Log in to you school account, and the great books are available within moments.
The eBooks Guide is attached to this week’s Weekly Update email.

We have a lot of events coming up. Please make sure you make a note of when these events will be taking place:
4/01/17 – Term 2 Begins
10/01/17 – Y3 Parent Lunch
11/01/17 – Parent coffee morning, “Happy New Year” & TX Fete preparations @ 8am in MPR
12/01/17 – Parents’ Evening
16/01/17 – Term 2 Clubs Begin
18/01/17 – EYFS Sports Day
19/01/17 – Years 1 – 6 Sports Day
23/01/17 – EYFS Tet Celebration
24/01/17 – Tet Fair
25/01/17 – 5/02/17 – Tet Holiday
Parents Corner
To round off what has been a very successful Term 1, Anne on behalf of the Parent Group recounts the festive activities that have been happening this week. Please follow the link to read more.
Parents’ Corner – 16/12/16
And Finally…
It has been a super term at Tu Xuong with children being busy both inside and outside the classroom. We have seen some wonderful learning taking place and many activities that enrich the educational experiences of the children. It is now time for a well-earned rest and I look forward to seeing you all again on Wednesday 4th January.
Wishing you all peace and joy this Christmas,
Ian Battersby, Head of Tu Xuong Campus