Robert Burns was a famous Scottish poet. In one of his poems he wrote, ‘The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.’ Throughout the pandemic, these words, written over 200 years ago, have rung true; our plans to see Year 2 children return to the EY&I Campus next week being a case in point.
At the very beginning of term, I pointed out that we would all need ‘patience and flexibility’ as we came to terms with virtual school. As the term nears its end, I would like to thank you all for being so supportive allowing the children to make the most out of their learning whilst online. Seesaw has proved an invaluable tool to help the learning continue and this is evidenced by the amount of use we have seen this term. Ms Dee shared this graphic with me which really highlights this point:
It is amazing to think that across the Junior Campus and Early Years and Infant Campus, there have been over half a million posts, that is tasks set by teachers and the responses from the children. Well done to everyone for all your hard work!
This week you will have received an email notifying you that your child’s report is available on iSAMS. Please take the time to read through the report with your child; celebrating their achievements and
looking forward to how to develop further as we move into Term 2.
If you have any issues logging into the iSAMS parent portal, please contact Ms Maria (maria.shooter@bisvietnam.com).
Parent teacher student conferences (PTSCs) will be held on Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13th January. These will provide an opportunity to discuss the report in more detail with your child’s class teacher. Details regarding signing-up for the PTSCs will be sent in the week beginning 3rd January.
In Year 2 EAL, we have loved exploring instructions recently. Beginning with a live sandwich making lesson, the teachers needed help as our instructions were all muddled up! The students then made their own sandwiches at home and shared their own oral instructions on Seesaw. Later, we focused on a set of creative instructions as a baby dragon was loose at the EY&I campus. We found dragon eggs in the library and Mr Ian had said that the baby dragon needed to be caught! The students learnt about the different features of instructions and later innovated their own version following the Talk for Writing approach. Well done Year 2 EAL students for their hard work and contributions during EAL lessons in this term of Virtual School.
Luke Neville
EAL Assistant Leader
Thank you to our music team for creating so many wonderful memories with the online concerts. As we enter the last week of term, we have one more event to look forward to:
F1 Singalong - Wednesday 15th December @ 8.50am
DECEMBER DASH is Up and Running!
And we’re off! Our first 3 days of the December Dash have been a whirlwind of action and activities throughout the year groups and classes!
Children have been running, swimming, roller blading, footballing and ski jumping this week, accumulating vital minutes towards our 200,000 minutes goal.
Teachers and parents are invited to participate too, to add to the fun and make it a real community activity for our first 12 days of Christmas.
Check out the website here, and take up the challenge.
Ho Ho Ho, Go Go Go!
The PE Team.
Last week saw the launch of the NAE Writers competition for students from Year 1 to Year 6. There are six categories for the children to choose from Poetry, Diary, Film, Letter, Comic and Photo. Rules include; Entries must be original work, Writing must be in English, It can be submitted as an individual, or as a group, You can enter as many categories as you like, but you can only submit one entry per category, By entering the competition, you agree that Nord Anglia Education can publish your entry online and in print.
The deadline is in February so plenty of time! Here is the guide for students. Have a look on Global Campus because there are workshops your child might like to participate in. On Monday, November 22nd – the judges’ workshops were launched on Global Campus. Visit Global Campus to find out more and to join the workshops.
Pantomimes (pantos) are British traditional plays that take place around Christmas. Audiences are expected to join in and be a part of the performance. I haven’t got enough space to here to explain fully what is involved, but this website explains in more detail some of the key features:
A Beginners Guide To British Pantomime Traditions
We will be live streaming our version of Aladdin here on Thursday afternoon at 1.30pm. I hope you will be able to enjoy our pantomime and get an insight into British culture.
With Tết (Vietnamese New Year) just around the corner, we are delighted to invite you to support one of the school’s long standing community partners, Operation Smile, by purchasing a set of beautifully designed ‘lucky money’ envelopes.
Operation Smile transform children’s lives by performing free cleft lip and palate surgery on children from low income families in Vietnam as well as globally. When left untreated, this condition can result in difficulties with eating, breathing and speaking, in addition to which, they also often need to deal with social issues such as not being accepted by their peers and communities.
Operation Smile are committed to long term medical care and have established year-round treatment centres as well as implementing educational programmes to address the stigma associated with this condition. They also provide medical training to local doctors and contribute medical equipment and supplies where needed.
Your purchase will contribute to this important and life changing work.
There are two different sets of cards with the themes of Freedom and Happiness.
Payment can be made either via bank transfer or cash on delivery.
To place your order please either click here to access the “Operation Smile Vietnam” fan page or, contact them on their Zalo Hotline at 090 211 0550
Shipment of the cards will be from the 22nd December 2021.
We are proud to launch a limited edition calendar which brings together a selection of studies created by Y10 and Y11 students as part of their Life in Vietnam Unit for IGCSE Art and Design. The work is based on the students’ own observations and photography from our Thao Dien photo walks. All proceeds from the calendar sales will be donated to our local Community Partners, who are an integral part of ‘Life in Vietnam’ for us as a school community.
For just VND 100,000 per calendar, you will be contributing to the support of children whom we value and care for as part of the BIS family.
The calendars come boxed and will make a great Christmas or Tet gift. To order click here.
The Vietnamese Lunar New Year, Tet (a colloquial term shortened for Tết Nguyên Đán), showcases the country’s traditional values and rich culture. The grandly celebrated holiday extends beyond a week which offers time for families to unite. Last year, donations from the BIS community supporting our ‘Tet Box Collection’ enabled more than 1,500 children from our community partners to experience a more joyful Tet holiday.
According to Unicef, more than 170,000 children are without parental care, destitute, or abandoned. This year, with the hopes of bettering the lives of these children, BIS will continue to hold the annual ‘Tet Gift Collection’. The project aims to provide 1,389 disadvantaged children, and their families, a fulfilling Tet celebration by providing them with basic necessities. These families are from eight of our community partners including: Binh Tho School, Anh Minh School, Thien Phuoc Foster Home, Binh Anh School, Ky Quang Pagoda, Go Vap Orphanage, Mai Tam House of Hope, and Mai Am Boys Shelter.
How to make your donation?
In essence, each campus is assigned to a category of basic necessities requested by our community partners. If you are interested in making a donation, please drop off the following items at their corresponding drop-off locations. We are not able to achieve this goal without your support, and we would greatly appreciate your consideration of our project. Each and every one of your contributions will help protect the smiles of these vulnerable children.
The drop-off details:
Kelly Tran and Susu Le,
On behalf of the Year 12 BIS Community Committee
At BIS, the education that we provide is based upon research, experience and feedback. The feedback can be in the form of exam results or through the analysis of data we collect in school; another essential part is the feedback we receive from parents and staff. On Tuesday, you should have received an email from Mr Anthony with details about and a link to this year’s Parent Satisfaction Survey. Please take a moment to complete the survey, as the information you provide plays a vital role in the strategic planning process as we work together to make BIS an even better place for our children to learn.
Here is the link:
2021- 2022 Parent Satisfaction Survey
15/12/21 F1 Singalong
16/12/21 1.30pm Aladdin - The BIS Primary Pantomime
17/12/21 End of Term 1 at 11.30am
5/01/22 Term 2 Begins
Please remember the 5K to keep safe.
We continue to encourage our parents to be active members of our PTG group. One way is to volunteer as a class or country rep. Thanks to all those that have volunteered so far. We have a great turnout of parents. It’s never too late so please click on the links below if you would like to be a class or country rep.
If you have ideas to share or would like to get in touch, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our email is primaryptgbis@gmail.com
Enjoy your weekend and hope to see more sign ups.
Thank you,
Gayatri Shankar Primary PTG Coordinator
It was great to see so many children collecting their SPLAT bags and Busy Learning resources this week. We hope that this will be the last one but we are planning for both virtual and face-to-face school in January. It is a very positive sign that our Year 11 and 13 students will be returning on Monday, and as soon as we have a confirmed opening date we will let you know.
Have a restful and relaxing weekend,
Ian Battersby
Head of the Early Years and Infant Campus
At BIS HCMC, our story is one of connection, continuity, and care — a place where learning begins with curiosity and ends with confident, compassionate graduates ready to shape the world. Earlier this year, we witnessed a moving reminder of this journey, as eighteen members of our Year 13 Class of 2025 returned to the place where it all began: Early Years Foundation Stages.
Joining BIS HCMC in Foundation Stage 2 (F2) is a fantastic age to begin a lifetime love for learning, encouraged and nurtured by our experienced and committed class and specialist teachers, who personalise learning unique to every child. We look back at what our F2s have experienced in less than one term already at BIS HCMC.
