Mr Anthony Rowlands: Weekly Update 22/03/19

I was attending the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA) Heads’ Business Meeting, hosted by the British School Manila, as well as the FOBISIA Executive Board meeting. Both provided a very good experience in relation to discussing FOBISIA business and sharing ideas and developments in each of our schools. During the meetings, a new Chair needed to be chosen to replace Simon Mann, who was standing down after a very successful period. I am proud to announce that I was elected as the new Chair of FOBISIA which, for me personally, is an honour but, equally, it shows how highly  respected BIS HCMC is within FOBISIA. It was also pleasing to hear about the achievements  of our U13 team who completed with a great deal of success at the recent FOBISIA games held in Phuket. I will also be looking forward to hear about the participation of some of our musicians who are currently in Manila participating in the FOBISIA Music Conference hosted by the British School Manila.

This week, I have had the pleasure of meeting with two groups of parents. On Wednesday, I met with the Secondary PTG and we looked at the outcomes of the  CIS Community Survey in a little more detail. We had some fascinating discussions about a number of items arising from the survey. On Thursday, I met with Primary parents during the Headteacher’s Coffee Morning held at the EY&IC. At this event, we outlined the various quality assurance processes the school undertakes both internally and externally. I also had the opportunity of sharing the Community Survey outcomes with the parents present at the coffee morning.

What a pleasure it was for our school to welcome James Goddard on Thursday 21^st March. James is a  British three-time Olympian; competitor at numerous World Championships and three-times Commonwealth Gold Medallist in the 200m backstroke and relay medley. It was wonderful to see him grace the BIS pools and impart his skills and wisdom to our students. James delivered three masterclass sessions to our EYI/Blue squads, White/Red Squads and our Secondary Squads. All swimmers enjoyed James’ open, amenable and positive manner and benefitted from his expertise in reaction time, racing starts, streamlining and stroke length. An experience I am sure all of our squads will remember for a lifetime!

James was accompanied by Ben Yang from the not-for-profit KE/Yang Foundation who delivered a wonderful presentation on the Eight characteristics of Successful People, breaking down eight simple, but effective, traits that lead to a variety of successes. The KE Foundation are looking to set up links with the school to provide experiences for students at universities in the USA, Canada and the UK, as well as forge links with the school for sporting connections in the United States. A very exciting time for the school and a marvellous opportunity for our students.

I am looking forward to the Primary  PTG Spring Fair tomorrow (Saturday) on the Junior Campus. It promises to be a wonderful event and I hope to see many members of the BIS Community at the event.

I do hope that you have a wonderful weekend.

Anthony Rowlands, Principal