Mr Carl Mincher: Weekly Update 31/05/2019

01 June 2019

Sean O'Neill (58 posts) Head Teacher, Secondary Campus View Profile

Dear Parents,

Marking the end of their time at BIS our Graduating Class of 2019 shared fond farewells last Saturday, reflecting on over 500 shared BIS years amongst them. These are bittersweet moments where we all feel a sense of sadness but at the same time know that they are well equipped for the next stage of life and learning and step forward with high expectations and excitement.

More farewells, but of a more temporary nature, came on Sunday morning as Year 9 students departed for their expedition to Borneo. The final students return shortly but you will see below that they have enjoyed an exceptional week at Camp Tinangol and Bongkud.

Our Week without Walls activities on campus have given students in Years 7 and 8 opportunities to develop important skills and attributes in new and often challenging scenarios. The levels of engagement with these activities have been impressive and have brought more great fun to our learning too.

The Year 10 and 12 exams taking place throughout the week have given students a great opportunity to demonstrate their learning so far this year and now gives our teachers more opportunity to provide the all important feedback through they can develop - this is the most important part of the process for us, at this stage even more so than the examination result itself. Please take time to discuss the feedback received with your children as it is given.

In the week ahead we will be extending many welcomes to the Secondary Campus.

On Wednesday evening we turn to a focus on the Arts once more and I encourage you all to join us for our open event, ‘A Night of The Arts’.

I also very much look forward to welcoming Year 6 students and their parents to the Secondary Campus on Wednesday in the next stage of their transition.

On Friday we welcome students and their teachers from a range of schools in the region to join our BIS F1 Grand Prix, a hugely exciting event.

And finally, on Sunday morning it is our Pre-loved Fair where you can join us and perhaps pick up a great bargain whilst enjoying refreshments and catching up with fellow BIS parents.

Overview of the week’s activities

Graduation Ceremony: Class of 2019

Friday 24th May marked the end of a challenging period of final IB examinations for our Year 13 students and so you may be able to imagine their relief and joy as we all joined together last Saturday to celebrate their Graduation at the Park Hyatt, Saigon.

We were delighted to welcome our guest speaker, The British Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Gareth Ward. Families and teachers filled the grand ballroom to share in the celebration of our students and their achievements at BIS HCMC.

It was a very special ceremony filled with emotions and great pride as we reflected on shared BIS experiences and considered what lies ahead for our graduating Class of 2019. The event was of course tinged with some sadness as we also said our fond farewells.

We wish all of our Class of 2019 our very best wishes for a hugely exciting and worthwhile future.

Week Without Walls videos

Week Without Walls is an entire week where we say goodbye to formal lessons. This week our Year 7 & 8 students were engaged in a range of activities designed to extend their learning beyond the 'walls' of the usual curriculum and classroom environment. Each activity is designed to foster collaboration and communication, and encourages students to step outside their comfort zone and try something new.

#BISHCMC #NAEBeAmbitious

Year 9 Borneo Expedition 2019

Spotlight on Learning:

Planning STEAM at BIS in 2019-2020

Our STEAM Co-ordinator from 2019 onwards is Luke Dyer and he has shared this item:

This week we brought together a team of teachers, representing all three BIS campuses and many different subjects and skill sets, including two who are currently engaged in Masters level study in STEAM related areas.

Free from normal routines and ‘locked’ within the Junior Campus DREAMS Lab for the day the goal was to create a vision of what STEAM education means for us here at BIS HCMC. To be more specific, we wanted to begin forming an image of what the STEAM learner at BIS will look like from Foundation Stage to Primary to Secondary to the Graduating student who will need the skills of STEAM thinking in a rapidly changing and unpredictable 21st century future.

We are, of course, not starting form a blank page, we are building on the exciting STEAM activities that already take place across the school but with an intention to create a coherent BIS STEAM learning experience. These are early steps of a journey and there is a lot still to be done, but the future is certainly exciting.

Luke Dyer

Club Cure, An Update - Shared by Saigoneer

Ratul and Sagarika are keen divers and have with an interest in conservation and they are using these interests to focus their efforts in a Co-Curricular Activity called Club Cure. Earlier in the year, they travelled to Nha Trang to sink a ship to encourage reef development. They recently met with Saigoneer to talk about saving reefs and servicing communities at the British International School HCMC.

Remembering Anne Broughan

The article is written by Junior Campus teachers John and Jude Handscombe informing us of the very sad news regarding the passing of an ex BIS teacher:

"Long standing members of the BIS community will remember Anne Broughan. Anne was a popular primary teacher in AP1 amongst children, parents and staff from 2006 until 2013. Unfortunately, Anne passed away in the early hours of last Friday having succumbed to an aggressive form of cancer.

Anne

For Anne the suffering thankfully was relatively short and she was well supported by friends and family from New Zealand as well as staff from her school in Oman.

Her daughter Aliyya, now 18 has just finished her IB exams and will return to New Zealand with her aunt and her mum’s best friend.

Anne radiated an incredible warmth. She will always be remembered for her unique laugh, the way she brought people together as well as her direct, no-nonsense approach to life."

Head Teachers Coffee Morning and PTG Catch-up

Key items to be discussed in the meeting will encompass some of the developments in preparation for next academic year including; the summer facilities improvement programme, improvements to Parent Communications systems through iSAMS and the 2019-2020 Wellbeing Curriculum.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday 12th June

Time: 8.30am to 9.30am

Location: Secondary Campus Study Room

All parents are welcome, the session will also be attended by Mr Carl Mincher and Sean O’Neill along with the Secondary PTG Executive Committee.

Masters Research Study - Mr Jonathan McLoughlin, HoY7

Mr Jonathan McLoughlin is our Head of Year 7 and is currently undertaking postgraduate study for a Masters in International Education with King’s College London. He shares this request to parents concerning his research:

All parents of Year 6&7 students have received an email today via CHQ requesting consent for your child’s participation in his Masters of International Education research project. The research will be investigating the expectations of Year 6 students and the experiences of Year 7 students transitioning into an international school.

Your support in providing consent is greatly appreciated. It is hoped that this research will continue to inform and guide our teaching body on how best to prepare your children for the transition from primary to secondary school in an international context. If you have any queries or questions please respond to the email.

BIS Grand Prix 2019 - Friday 7th June 2019

BIS HCMC is holding our second BIS Grand Prix and 5 international schools, Northbridge IS from Cambodia, including BIS & BVIS from Hanoi and ISHCMC and ABCIS from here in HCMC. In addition the BIS Primary students will be attending. The Head of Marketing for Formula One, based in Hanoi will also be attending the event along with the Nam Phong Racing team sponsors.

The aim of the Formula One in Schools Event is to raise awareness of this globally renowned STEM competition across Vietnam. The challenge is open to students aged 11-13 years old and involves designing and manufacturing the fastest miniature model F1 car possible, emulating the design and engineering processes employed by real engineering companies.

Be involved

PTG Pre-Loved Fair - Sunday 2nd June

PTG Pre-Loved Fair | BIS HCMC

Relocating? Having a spring clean? Or perhaps just looking for a bargain? Join us on Sunday 2nd June at the PTG Pre-Loved Fair to buy and sell second hand/used items! Click here for more details.

Event Details

Date: Sunday 2nd June

Time: 9am - 12pm

Location: Secondary Campus Auditorium

Everyone is welcome to attend. If you are a BIS family and would like to register a table, please visit the Secondary Campus Reception before Friday 31st May. Registration fee is 200,000vnd.

T-Shirt Design Competition- Global Goals Summit 2019

As you may remember from our end of term whole school assembly, Nina Pham (Year 12) and Eugene Chang (Year 11) have been selected as South East Asia delegates representing Vietnam at the upcoming Global Goals Summit in New York. They have an exciting opportunity for you to participate in. Details of the competition have been sent to all Secondary students by email, please click on the linked documents for further information.

We are running a t-shirt design competition for the South East Asia delegates to the NAE-UNICEF Global Goals Summit in New York this summer. As with last year, we would like to extend this competition to the BIS student body.

The submission deadline is the 5th of June, any entries can be submitted to either Nina or Eugene. Please be reminded to include your name and age on each entry. The winner will receive a t-shirt of their own as a prize.

BIS Night of the Arts

The BIS Night of the Arts is back by popular demand!

An evening dedicated to showcasing our Design, Visual and Performing Arts Departments: observe lesson demonstrations, open rehearsals and live performances from our students.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday 5th June

Time: 6.30 to 8pm

Location: BIS Secondary Campus

No tickets are needed and everyone is welcome.

BIS Triathlon - Saturday 8th June

For the first time ever BIS are holding our very own Triathlon. We are hoping to give all members of our community a fun and challenging morning.

Event Details

Date: Saturday 8th June

Time: 6.45am to 10.30am

Location: BIS and Nguyen Van Huong Street

For more information please and sign up link, please click here.

BIS Sports Awards Evening - Friday 14th June

Sports Awards 18-9434

The second annual BIS Sports Awards will be taking place on the evening of Friday 14 June at the Novotel Diamond Ballroom. Players of the season awards for each team, players of the year award for each sport, special guests, great food and partying with even better friends is to be looked forward to in this celebratory event.

Event Details

Date: Friday 14th June

Location: Novotel Diamond Ballroom

Tickets and sign up information to come out in May. It would be great to see as many of you there as possible to congratulate each other on a highly successful year in sport.