In last week’s update, I mentioned our commitment to working with you the parents to ensure the best education for the students at BIS.
This was very evident this week with 3 key events taking place. The first was our Vietnamese Coffee Morning. There was a great turn out of parents at the Junior Campus on Wednesday, to learn in greater detail, how Vietnamese is taught at BIS. There is a link to an article about the workshop further on in the update including the slides if you were unable to make it. The following day, our English Leaders, shared with parents how we approach ‘Talk 4 Write’ at the Junior Campus. It was a very practical hands-on session and we were delighted to see parents actively taking a role in the learning.
On Thursday morning, it was great to meet our new class and country reps who will support the PTG this year in communication, organisation and teacher support for classes and events. We are delighted that there are so many willing parents out there to support our school. We still have a few gaps where classes need parents, 3I, 3C and 5C. Please do contact the PTG if you would be willing to be a class rep for those classes.
Next Wednesday, we will share the contact information for each class with the new class parent and country reps. They have been given strict guidelines on how to use contact details including; not sharing contact details with 3rd parties, bcc’ing all on emails and not using contact information for anything beyond class and school information. If you would not like to receive communication from the class parent or country rep, please let us know and we will remove you from the contact details. Please email my PA, Ms Thanh, Thanh.Nguyen1@bisvietnam.com with your name, your child’s class and the sentence. Please do not share my contact details with the class parent or country rep. Please note that if you opt out of this list, you may miss information with regards to school or class events such as class parties or International Week. We thank you for your support of our PTG, our class and country reps and all they do for our school.
Recently we have had 2 students from the Junior Campus that have achieved great success in the Performing Arts, more specifically Music. Dolly Nguyen from Year 6, recently returned from New York where she took part in a prestigious Music Competition. I am delighted to share that Dolly won her category and was invited to perform at the famous Carnegie Hall. We are very proud of Dolly, her hard work and commitment to her craft and her deserved successes. Well done Dolly!
In Year 4, Emily Bui, recently took part in an Asia Pacific Arts Festival along with students from many other Asian countries. This too, was a wonderful achievement and we are very proud of Emily and her Mum who was coordinating the Vietnamese group for such a wonderful event.
This Sunday, September 29th we hope to see a huge gathering once more of our BIS Community to support the annual BBGV Funrun. BBGV race numbers and shirts can still be collected from the cashiers at each campus. See you bright and early on Sunday morning! Times are on the poster above but the BIS photo will be at 7.30am!
As mentioned above, our Vietnamese Coffee Morning was a great success. Access the post here by Ms Vy, our Vietnamese Coordinator to find out more including the slides that were presented on the morning.
We are delighted to be holding an Open Morning at the Junior Campus on Tuesday 15th October 2019. This event is open to prospective parents that might be thinking about BIS for their children. Please do pass on the information to friends that might be interested. They can register here.
Last week our BIS community were out in force to clean up the neighbourhood. Please click on this link to find out more and see some pictures of those in action!
We would like to introduce a few more staff to you this week that have joined our school. Do read on!
Hello everyone! My name is Julia and I started in Year 3 at the Junior Campus in August. So far, I am absolutely loving the positivity, support and enthusiasm at BIS and in Vietnam. The children are hard-working, kind and fun to teach. It is my first time coming to South-East Asia and even though I have only been here a month, I have already discovered so many cafes, bars and restaurants at the weekends while taking in all the different buildings and street sights. Crossing the road is still a bit of challenge and I am getting used to hopping on mopeds to get around the city which is great fun.
Vietnam is very exciting and I look forward to seeing more of it throughout my time here. I lived in London for many years but am originally from Bournemouth and grew up there with my parents and two older sisters. Although my hometown has a great beach, I can’t wait to visit many Vietnamese beaches that I’m sure will be better and be able to swim in water that isn’t freezing cold! I am planning to do lots of snorkelling and scuba diving during my half term in October and also want to explore North Vietnam when some friends and family come to visit during Tet and Easter holidays.
Dublin, Ireland is where it all began,
Where the streets have no name,
And the Liffey boys swam.
To kicking footballs on the streets,
To coffee shop meets,
After all the spars in All Saint’s ABC,
Something rang clear to me,
New beginnings, new people,
New scenery.
A city so robustly charming,
With the finest cuisine,
My favourite Pho,
I can never say No,
No alarm clocks needed,
As the horns get repeated
And gradually any homesickness depleted.
Ho Chi Minh,
My new flame,
My aul triangle will have to wait,
As this city makes one feel great.
I grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and share that city’s obsessions with food, coffee and football. I also love music and so, after high school, I studied a degree in classical trombone performance and then a diploma in education. I taught high school music and social studies in Adelaide, as well as stints working in Special Education support. I have always enjoyed teaching because it’s one of the best ways to make sure you keep learning.
I moved to Ho Chi Minh City in 2015, intending to stay for one year. Forty-eight months later and here I still am! I love the friendly people here and the strong coffee but, if I’m completely honest, I think it’s the delicious bún thịt nướng that really keeps me around.
Since coming here, I have been teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), mostly in language centres. I am very happy to be joining the BIS EAL team, and to be working as part of a whole school community again, complete with sports clubs, coffee mornings and, best of all, a choir.
If you are a parent that uses Gate C to enter or exit from school or who has a nanny or driver that takes your children that way, please can we remind you that you need to use the footbridge if you want to cross the road. We do not have guards on duty there to help people cross and with a lot of traffic coming around that corner quite quickly, we must keep the area clear. Please can you heed the requests from staff when they ask you to use the bridge to cross. Thank you for your support.
The PTG are busy planning the next event which is the Bake Sale. Find out more about this event and the rest of the work that the PTG do by accessing their weekly post with more details here.
We would like to remind all parents about our Drivers Code of Conduct and once more ask for your assistance and cooperation in helping to make the BIS traffic flow with ease between the campuses and in the general vicinity of the school. Using the Code of Conduct, with key information in both English and Vietnamese, we aim to further educate our drivers to make better choices when they enter the areas around our school campuses and within the Thao Dien area as a whole.
Please take time to talk to you drivers about the this and ensure that it is visible in your car at all times. This will serve as a reminder about our expectations for all drivers when they are bringing our children to school in the morning and picking them up at the end of the day.
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 Person.
Please note that CCTV cameras are in operation at all times across the campus.
And finally,
Please take note of some upcoming important dates for the diary.
Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing many of you at the BBGV Funrun on Sunday.
Ms Deirdre Grimshaw, Headteacher of Junior Campus
101 Thao Dien Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Junior Campus
225 Nguyen Van Huong Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Secondary Campus
246 Nguyen Van Huong Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
