Mr Ian Battersby: Weekly Update 19/10/18

In our assemblies this term, we have been focusing on ‘care’; caring for our new friends, looking after ourselves, caring about our community and our environment. I have been so impressed with the way the children who started at BIS this term have been welcomed by their classmates.  This level of care shown by the children is a real strength of our community. 

I was speaking to one of our new parents this week and he was reinforcing this as he thanked me for the way his child had settled.  He went on to say how much benefit he was getting from ‘Seesaw’, and how insightful the comments from the class teacher were.  ‘Seesaw’ is a new development at BIS this year, and has proven to be very popular.  I would be delighted to receive your feedback about the app either via email, or during the forthcoming Headteachers’ Coffee Morning which will be happening on Thursday 1^st November.  At the coffee morning, there will also be an opportunity to hear more about other developments at BIS.

EAL Workshop for Parents

Thanks to Mr Chris and the EAL team for organising the workshop for parents on Thursday morning.  For the vast majority of children at BIS, English is not the main language spoken at home, and many children arrive at BIS requiring support to enable them to develop basic spoken English and then move on to academic English.  Mr Chris explains more in this post:

EAL Workshop

Young Musician of the Year

On Tuesday evening I had the privilege of listening to children from BIS, BVIS and ABC International School perform in this year’s Young Musician of the Year final.  It was a wonderful occasion, not only celebrating the perseverance required to attain their level of proficiency, but also to see FOBISIA schools across the city collaborate in this way. 

Ms Frances did a marvellous job organising this event; thanks to her and to everyone who took part.

Young Musician of the Year

 Year 2s Take Part in Enterprise Day

There had been a great deal of collaboration taking place at the Junior Campus over the last two weeks which culminated in Enterprise Day on Thursday of this week.  Children in Year 2 headed down the road with cash in hand, wondering who would entice them to spend their money on their stall. 

It was an excellent morning, not only because of all the learning that had been taking place, but also because of the money raised to support our community partners. 

Click here to view the amazing photo gallery.

Specialist Parent Teacher Student Conferences (PTSCs)

Our first specialist PTSCs of the year will take place on Tuesday 6^th and Wednesday 7^th November.  As many of our specialist teachers work on both primary campuses, the meetings will all take place at the Junior Campus from 3.30pm to 6pm on both evenings. 

As there are a limited number of appointments available, parents with children in Year 3 to Year 6 will be able to book an appointment with teachers from PE, Music, ICT and MFL (French, Spanish and Chinese).  Appointments with our support specialists (English as an Additional Language (EAL) and Learning Support (LS)) will be available to all parents from both campuses whose children receive provision in these areas.

In order to provide an opportunity for parents at the Early Years and Infant Campus to meet our specialist teams, we are organising a Specialist Open Morning at 8.30am on Wednesday 14^th November, where there will be a short presentation by our specialist leaders, followed by an opportunity to visit the specialist teachers in their teaching areas.

A separate letter has been sent out with details about booking appointments for the specialist PTSCs, and more details will be provided about the Specialist Open Morning after the holiday.

Join our BIS Baby and Toddler Group

Children can start at BIS when they are 2 years old. Fundinotots is the ‘BIS Baby and Toddler Group’ where parents of children aged 0 to 36 months can meet other parents and allow their children to engage in a range of activities. Fundinotots is based on the new Early Years and Infant Campus.

To find out more about fundinotots at BIS HCMC, please click here.

Academic Success at BIS

We're proud to announce that BIS HCMC won the prestigious honour of “Best International Baccalaureate Results” tied this year with Nord Anglia International School Shanghai, Pudong with an average score of 36.4 points on the IB Diploma Programme. Find out more about this prestigious award and others in this post

20/10/18 – 28/10/18 Half Term Holiday

29/10/18 – School reopens

30/10/18 – Drummer, Andy Gleadhill, in school

01/11/18 – Headteachers’ Coffee Morning @ Black Box Theatre (formally the Multi-Purpose Room), above the canteen on the Junior Campus

06/11/18 – 07/11/18 – Specialist Parent Teacher Student Conferences (Please see the separate section of the update about this)

08/11/18 – Emotional Resilience (Zippy and Apple Time) Coffee Morning @ EY&IC

14/11/18 – Specialists Open Morning 8.30am – 9.30am @ EY&IC

20/11/18 – Official Opening of the Early Years and Infant Campus

20/11/18 – Teachers Day and World Children’s Day

22/11/18 – Year 1 & 2 Sports Day at the Junior Campus

27/11/18 – F2 & F3 Sports Day at the Junior Campus

28/11/18 – F1 Physical Development Day

29/11/18 – Moving On Workshop

5/12/18 – F2 Superhero Bootcamp

5/12/18 – Year 1 Production

7/11/18 – Interim Reports to Parents

11/12/18 – Primary Carol Concert

12/12/18 – EY&IC Christmas Market

14/12/18 – Term 1 ends @ 11.45am

School Identification Badges

With so much happening across the three campuses, we see an increase in parents and visitors on site and as such we need to be more vigilant about campus security both during the school day and at weekends.  We would like to remind all parents that school identification badges must be worn even on the weekends when attending school activities.  If not, you will be asked for some form of identity and asked to wear a visitor’s badge. You will also need to visit Reception for a completed ‘Permission to leave slip’ before exiting the campus together with your child.

If you are sending a nanny or driver, please ensure they have the school identity lanyard or some form of identity card. We thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students and school site safe and secure.

If you are sending a nanny or driver, please ensure they have the school identity lanyard or some form of identity card. We thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students and school site safe and secure.

Health and Safety

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFM)

Please note that there has been a country wide increase in cases of Hand Foot and Mouth disease, dengue fever and Influenza A. Here at school we are taking all the necessary precautions including encouraging extra handwashing, providing extra hand sanitizers and more deep cleaning of classrooms and learning spaces. Please can we encourage you to take the necessary precautions at home also and if your child does become ill, please keep them at home until symptoms have passed. 

Mobile Phone Numbers have Changed

According to Decision 798/QD-BTTTT dated 25th May 2018, which was issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications, from 15^th September 2018, 11-digit phone numbers have changed to 10 digits.  It is the first part of the number that has changed, the remaining digits will stay the same.

The changes are based on the following rules:

If your phone number has changed, please contact Ms Palm (Dabassawinee.W@bisvietnam.com) to inform us of your new 10 digit number.

Please can you let us know as soon as possible as the old numbers will stop working on Wednesday 14^thNovember.

Thank you

Stay Vigilant

As in all major cities petty crime does occur, as a reminder to all of us please always take care of your personal belongings, especially when walking across roads and along the pavements.

Safeguarding at school – it’s everyone’s responsibility

Photographs

It is every parent’s wish to capture memorable moments on camera of their child at school either performing in an assembly, on their birthday or simply playing with their friends on the playground before the start of the school day.  Any photos that are taken by parents on personal devices must be kept private.  They must not be shared publicly on social media or between non-family members such as, other parents in the school.  By following these guidelines, we ensure our BIS safeguarding policy is adhered to and that our children are kept safe. 

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

If, during your visit to school, you have any reason to be concerned about the safety of a young person, please contact the Designated Safeguarding Leader.

Thank you,

Ms Mary

PTG

Today has been International Day at the secondary campus.  In my 7 years of working at BIS, this is the first time I have been able to experience this event first hand.  It was amazing – the international STEAM Fair, the country rooms, the culture show all made this day one to remember for all the students.  Congratulations to all involved with Secondary PTG for all their hard work and dedication…it clearly paid off!

We are now at the stage where we need to be preparing for the Primary International Week.  We want to give our students a similar experience and we cannot do that without your help. We are still looking for a number of country reps to help organise the international week celebrations.  If you are able to give up a bit of time to support, we know it will go a long way making this experience wonderful for all the children.

For the rest of this week’s news, and to see which countries are still requiring a country rep, please click on the link below;

Primary PTG Update: 19/10/18

And Finally…

The first half term of the fully functioning Early Years and Infant Campus has now come to an end.  I would like to thank all members of our community for their support in making it a half term to remember.  Thank you to the teachers and teaching assistants for the dedication and effort in the classroom – they are the ones who make the difference, but they would not be able to do their job without the support of all the admin staff and other support teams across the three campuses. 

I would also like to thank all parents for your support and would like to wish you a wonderful and relaxing holiday,

Ian Battersby, Head of the Early Years and Infant Campus