Dear Parents,

This has been a week involving a great deal of exciting learning beyond the classroom, visitors arriving with valued insights from overseas, city sporting championships, and a very enjoyable PTG event too.

BIS Crowned Champions of HCMC at SISAC Athletics

Parents and staff were treated to an impressive display of athletics at the Saigon International Schools Athletics Championships on Saturday.  BIS students put on an  inspirational performance as a team and as individuals. The hard work and training paid dividends with BIS students placing in the top 3 in nearly all of the track and field events with some truly outstanding performances. This proved to be influential  in the overall standings, with BIS securing victory in each of the age categories to retain the title and be crowned Champions of HCMC. Congratulations to all involved in making the day such a success, be it on the track, field, training or support. More photos and results here.

All the supporters were very impressed by the comradery shown across the team as our athletes supported each other so vocally, as well as the great respect and courtesy shown to fellow competitors from other schools.

SISAC Cross Country

Our cross country teams competed strongly in testing conditions to return in second place overall. A great set of team results with some very impressive individual performances in all age groups. A full set of results can be found here.

SISAC U14 Boys and Girls Football Tournaments

Our football teams have also represented BIS with great skill and determination during the SISAC Football Tournament this week ending a thrilling week of BIS sport. A full set of boys results and more images and girls results and more images are available on the BIS Hub

UNISMUN Hanoi

Yet another MUN conference on the cards this week with the 8th annual UNIS Model United Nations conference in Hanoi taking place on the 2nd – 6th March. This prestigious conference hosted by the United Nations International School and aims to develop students’ research, leadership and public speaking skills as well as advancing their understanding of global issues.

PTG Wine and Cheese

Once again our Secondary Parent Teacher Group excelled themselves by bringing teachers and parents together for wine, cheese and a wonderful array of other food and drinks at The Boathouse. These events are a great opportunity for our working parents to join in social events and are always well supported.

Maths Department Welcomes Renowned Maths Educator, Charlie Gilderdale

As part of our ongoing teacher development program our Maths teachers have been eagerly waiting Charlie Gilderdale’s visit.  During the last 20 years Mr Gilderdale  has been working at the University of Cambridge, initially in the Faculty of Education training new mathematics teachers and more recently as a member of the Millennium Mathematics Project contributing to the NRICH website and working in schools with students and teachers. His recent work has focussed on problem solving and on creating opportunities for learning mathematics through exploration and discussion. A full day program for our Maths staff!

Adding to Maths

Still on the Maths front, this week we celebrate the achievement of our Maths students at both SEAMC and FOBISIA Maths. Follow the links and find out in our student’s own words how they performed.

Keeping ourselves safe to learn

As you know the health and safety of our students is our prime concern. Earlier in the week we carried out a further routine test of our evacuation processes in case of  emergency. I am once again pleased to report that our students were excellent in their response. On this occasion both AP1 and 2 campuses evacuated campuses together and I am pleased to report that the process was very successful.

Spring Concert Ticket Reminder

Tickets for ‘A Spring Serenade’ Music Concert taking place on 9 March are still available at the Secondary Reception. Tickets are free to all. If your child is performing and you have not yet collected a ticket please make sure that you do so on Monday to avoid disappointment.

Duke of Edinburgh Practice Expedition March 2016

Our Year 10 students participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award completed their practice expedition to Kontum in the Central Highlands recently. Lots of photos and information on the BIS Hub.

Year 12 Geography field trip to Dalat  

Some of our wet Year 12 Geography students pause for a photo while collecting data and pondering the mysteries of water and it’s effects on our environment. Follow their endeavours on the BIS Geography department’s twitter feed

Colleges That Change Lives

We were very pleased this week to host a visit from this group of small, liberal arts colleges and universities. The visit was very well attended by our senior students and their  parents. Read the overview of the visit which has been provided by Ms Lieve Perera, one of our University Counsellors.

Year 9 Vietnamese Students Visit Independence Palace

This morning our Year 9 Vietnamese students were given the opportunity to discover one of the most beautiful and historic pieces of architecture in Ho Chi Minh City. The trip is a compulsory part of the year 9 Vietnamese curriculum and is always greatly enjoyed by the students.

Red Nose Day coming up at BIS - Friday 11th March

Comic Relief is a major charity based in the UK, with a vision of a world free of poverty. They aim to drive positive change through the power of entertainment. Founded in 1988, Red Nose Day is celebrated around the world and is a day when people get together and use comedy in order to raise both awareness and funds for a worthy cause. This year's Year 12 committee decided that they would tackle the local issue of street children by supporting Binh Loi Social Center, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that takes care of street children in Saigon, Vietnam by providing education, shelter and food. Binh Loi has also been a community partner of BIS for several years.  

All of the money raised from this year’s Red Nose Day will be used to support Binh Loi Social Center, but instead of simply donating money to the NGO, the money will be used to buy items such as books, clothing, stationery, and food which will then be donated to the Binh Loi Social Center.

For more information on the BIS Red Nose Day, click here.

 I wish you all a wonderful, relaxing weekend.

Carl Mincher

Head Teacher 

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