Dear Parents,
This week was a momentous one in the life of the Secondary Campus. This week not only marked the departure of our year 11 and Year 13 students as they commence their period of study leave prior to their IGCSE and IBDP examinations- but also the simply stunning School Production of Bonnie and Clyde.
Working in a school like BIS with students of teachers of such calibre and commitment, we are fortunate enough to have seen many great performances over the years- so it is quite remarkable to acknowledge that the standard and quality just gets better and better each year.
It was such a pleasure to see a group of committed young people working together, supporting each other with such warmth - and in doing so achieving great things. The sense of collective excitement, satisfaction and pride was wonderful to witness.
The similarity between the cast and crew of Bonnie & Clyde and our departing Year 13 students is striking.- they too have worked together for a long period of time- some at BIS for 15 years, some for 7 years for some for the 2 years of the IB Diploma Programme. Throughout this time, they have worked together, laughed together, overcome obstacles together, grown up together - and achieved great things. In our Leavers Assembly today it was wonderful to be joined by so many year 13 Parents and share our collective pride in the achievements of our leaving students and celebrate the friendships they have made in their time at BIS.
This moment in the school year is always one filled with emotions as Year 11 and Year 13 reach this milestone in their educational journey. At these moments we can reflect on the partnership between our wonderful students, our committed and skilled staff and our supportive parent community. It is this combination that makes BIS such a strong community and I know will provide the platform for our students' success in the upcoming examinations and beyond.
I would like to thank you for your partnership throughout this term and wish you all a relaxing Spring break together with your family.
Warm regards,
Sean O’Neill
This past week BIS had the opportunity to witness 7 months of hard work from a team of over 50 musicians, performers, and crew members with the performance of this year's musical, Bonnie & Clyde. The portrayal of 2 of the world's greatest lovers and criminals was brought to life in a high energy 2-hour show filled with incredible dance numbers, emotionally charged moments and beautiful music. The passion and pure joy of all students involved in this show was apparent from the hopeful opening numbers to the somber ending. Even through it’s darker moments this show left audience members tapping their feet and dancing in their seats. Congratulations to everyone involved on a show that will be remembered for years to come.
Mr. Keigan Page - Drama Teacher
Today we bid farewell to Year 13 students who now embark on their study leave before their final examinations. This was an opportunity to celebrate their successes already achieved during their time at BIS.
The Big Brunch, was an opportunity for Headteacher, Mr O’Neill, Head of Sixth Form, Ms Hall, IB Coordinator, Ms Fountain and Senior College and University Guidance Counsellor, Dr Finnigan to share important information regarding final tasks in completing the IB programme, university offers, results day, graduation and support available in the lead up to their exams.
In the Final Assembly, with Year 13 parents as our guests, we celebrated the Year 13 ‘life and times’ and then gave the Class of 2021 a deserved send off. Many of the students have been at BIS for over a decade, and twelve students since Years F1 and F2! Ms Hall shared fond memories of the year group with the students and parents who were also treated to an excerpt from this year’s school production of Bonnie & Clyde. Mr O’Neill expressed our appreciation for the contribution made to the school by our outgoing Head Student Team before they carried out their last duty in office before saying farewell to their fellow Year 13s to end the assembly and the Year 13s’ journey.
BIS wishes all Year 13s good luck in their IB exams and look forward to hearing of their achievements as alumni in the years to come.
Dai Pugh- Assistant Head of Sixth Form
The Year 11s enjoyed their final assembly together on Friday 16th of April. The year group were greeted by the harmonious voices of the IGCSE music class as they sang Weezer’s ‘Feels Like Summer’. The proceedings were opened by Miss Davies’ warm-hearted address and followed by each form group extending their gratitude to their respective form tutors for all their hard work over the years. Mrs Lowry tugged on the collective heart-strings of all those in attendance as she read a short story titled ‘The Wonderful Things You Will Be’, which was capped by another amazing musical act: Year 11s very own Battle of the Band winners ‘Weezerz’ who aptly sang One Direction’s ‘History’. It was certainly an assembly that will go down in history.
John Redmond - Assistant Head of Year 11
During an emotional Year 13 Leaving Assembly our Year 13 Head Students had some heartfelt messages to share to parents, teachers and their peers. Here are a few sentences from each of our 2020-21 Head Students.
Maika Pedersen - ‘How BIS has shaped us’
Starting at BIS without being able to speak a word of English, I have come to appreciate the endless support I have received.Whether it has been the sport teams that I have trained and competed with to the vast teaching and student guidance, I can wholeheartedly say that the people who have surrounded me during my time at BIS have been a driving force in shaping who I am today.
Min Ho Kim - How Learning/knowledge is Power
Crescat Scientia. It’s a latin phrase on our school emblem with the meaning ‘may knowledge increase’. Just like the phrase, the British International School has been a place where we could accumulate knowledge about our world in depth through various perspectives. You may be familiar with the phrase ‘knowledge is power’. Then, according to this phrase, every one of us would be powerful thanks to the knowledge gained from the challenging IB course we’ve all just been through right?. Actually, I don’t think we are powerful just yet. I believe that true power doesn’t come from knowledge itself but instead comes from actions that are the result of abundant knowledge. If we remain static, then we are simply losing the potential that our knowledge can have. BIS has provided us with knowledge; now it is entirely up to us to use it as a tool to make changes.
Holly van Zwanenberg - ‘The relationships that make BIS’
We have regularly been asked how we feel about leaving BIS, graduating from school, saying goodbye - and personally at least, I can not come up with an answer. How do you encompass the feeling of accomplishment and the pride we hold for one another for our shared success, the excitement of beginning a new chapter of our lives; and the sadness we feel.
Not only for stepping out of our childhood, but also for moving away from this support base. Saying goodbye to each other, and to teachers that we have leaned on through a tumultuous year; the people who care and remember to check in on us; those who are willing to listen to our rants; the teachers who notice when ‘something isn’t quite right’; and the familiarity of seeing everyone’s faces every day.
It’s not the walls and the lessons and the playground that make up BIS, it’s the people. And I for one, am so grateful that I got the chance to be a part of it. So, on behalf of all of year 13, thank you to all the teachers, and to each other, who have helped shape us, and who will always be remembered and loved.
Ashley Lee - ‘Congratulations and Good Luck’
To the Y11s and Y13s, there’s no better phrase but to say Congratulations. You faced a most unexpected situation and were challenged to adapt and stay motivated amidst peaks of uncertainty during what may seem like the single most important period of your academic career. Individually, you may have enjoyed it, see it as a success, or a disaster. But regardless, your perseverance is what led you to this moment, this achievement and right now, you deserve to savor it.
Unfortunately, it’s not over yet and we still have to overcome our final obstacle - our examinations. So good luck. With the support of our parents, teachers, and peers we’ve made it this far. Now finish it.
And thank you to the Student Council, the Prefect team and the student body for working with us - the Head Student Team of 2020-2021 - this past year. Your support was crucial to our achievements and we look forward to hearing what we as a school will achieve in the future.
This time of year marks an important moment in the life of our school, the handover by the outgoing Head Student Team. It is my great pleasure to introduce the New Head student team for 2021-22. Our new Head students have gone through a rigorous selection process for this prestigious role and have demonstrated throughout their years at BIS not only that they are great student leaders, but they also embody the BIS values, demonstrating each in their every day school lives.
They have been working with the outgoing team to build on their successes and will make a significant contribution to developing our school community further in the year ahead. My congratulations to Alexer Yap, Tyler Carriaga, Yee Zhe Tan and Yu Gyeong Kang.
We know that as parents we can play an important role in supporting our sons and daughters in the examination season, but it can be a challenging time. Our Counselling & Support Team held a session for our Year 13 parents and have put together a practical guide.
Please see the slides below for a simple guide to supporting your child during the pressure of the examination season.
Parents Guide to Exams - English
Parents Guide to Exams - Vietnamese
Parents Guide to Exams - Korean
It has been the busiest and most exciting week of the sporting year at BIS to finish this long term, with District championships at U19 Football and league games for U13 and U15 Badminton and Volleyball. At time of going to press, BIS have competed in 15 sports fixtures in the previous three days. Some we have won. Some we have lost. I am glad to say that in all fixtures I have witnessed, the sporting attitude of the BIS coaches and players has matched the BIS Sporting Ethos at crucial moments in games.
For more highlights and the results for all of our SISAC fixtures check the Sports Round Ups for Week 29.
Please visit this Fixtures list for all of the upcoming Season 3 matches and follow this link for Match Highlights of our U15 and U19 home games. Also make sure to visit https://twitter.com/BISHCMC_PE for more photos, videos and all of the action from each of our games.
Mr Husband - Director of Sport BIS HCMC
KAIST – Virtual University Visit – Thursday April 29th 3.00pm Vietnam time.
We are delighted to announce that once again we have had terrific success with our Year 13 applicants to KAIST. Three students from the class of 2021 have been admitted to KAIST, which is one of the most prestigious universities in the world for STEM subjects. Following on from this success KAIST have offered to host a Virtual University Visit for our school and community. This will be open to all parents and students of BISHCMC. The visit will be conducted in Korean but the video recording will be translated into English afterwards. So if you would like to sign up to the Webinar please use the following link https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NvC3kpxSTA25bjXO_xaMHw
KAIST – 온라인 입학 설명회 – 4월 29일 목요일 오후 3시( 베트남 시간)
13학년 학생들의 KAIST 지원에 좋은 결과를 얻은 것을 다시 한번 전달 드리게 되어 기쁩니다. 2021년 3명의 학생이 STEM 과목 분야에서 세계 최고 명문 대학 중 하나인 KAIST로 부터 입학 허가를 받았습니다. 이 좋은 결과에 이어 KAIST는 우리 학교와 커뮤니티를 위한 가장 대학 설명회를 제안하였습니다. 이것은 BIS HCMC의 모든 학부모님들과 학생들이 참여 가능합니다. 설명회는 한국어로 진행되지만 영상 녹화는 추후 영어로 번역 될 예정입니다. 이에 따라 웹 세미나에 등록을 원하시면 아래 링크를 클릭해 주십시오. https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NvC3kpxSTA25bjXO_xaMHw
감사합니다.
Additional Webinars planned for Term 3 include...
April 29th Virtual University Visit - KAIST
May 4th Virtual University Visit - University of Toronto
13th May Virtual University Visit – UCL
20th May Virtual University Visit - University of Bath
27th May Virtual University Visit - Imperial College, London
3rd June Virtual University Visit - Yale-NUS
10th June Virtual University Visit – NTU
Further information and registration for these webinars can be found at the BIS CUG Website, CUG Webinar Series 2.
Simon Finnigan - Senior University Guidance Counsellor
Each year BIS HCMC joins other students from across NAE schools in the Visual Arts competition. Each school is able to submit one entry for each of four age categories: Under 8s, 8-11, 11-14, and 14+, and these are fiercely contested places. Our students have once again risen to the challenge and produced some outstanding pieces of artwork along the theme of Climate Action.
Lauren Binnington, Deputy Head Teacher Enrichment, Regional UNICEF Lead for SEAME, shares more about the Global Campus Visual Arts Competition 2021.
The development of the Wellbeing Website has been a long process that has involved the efforts of a range of students. In particular, the Wellbeing Prefects’ achievements should be recognised, with the support and advice of the Wellbeing Student Council members. The Website has been developed with the aim to provide all students with access to tools and resources to support their ongoing wellbeing. It includes a range of collated content including advice from, and the experiences of other students, in addition to tips for navigating some of life’s challenges. We aim to update this website monthly with the feedback we receive from all students regarding what content is liked or not liked, and what is missing.
With the inauguration of the Mental Health Awareness Week, the BIS community had the opportunity to get involved in many activities to raise awareness and encourage positive discussions about student mental health. Throughout the week, there were many students wearing green ribbons across the school to signify mental health awareness. The activities situated on every day of the week provided an influential opportunity for students to reflect on the importance of mental health and student wellbeing including, from writing an anonymous letter with positive messages to another student, to short positive messages on a huge collection of colourful sticky notes. At the end of the week, it became evident that small individual actions like these can make a big collective impact in raising awareness for student mental health here at BIS and for the future.
Holly van Zwanenberg, Head Student Class of 2021, and Yee Zhe Tan, Head Student Class of 2022
School photos are now available for purchase via the Picture Day website and individual access codes for students were sent out last Friday evening.
Sibling photos will be available to order soon and we look forward to sharing the details with you when we return from the break.
A gentle reminder that the deadline to order photos in time for free delivery to school is this Sunday 18th April.
If you have any questions or queries about school photos, please contact Katie.Walsh@bisvietnam.com.
We are looking forward to celebrating a return to learning for Term 3 with BIS HCMC Book Day on Wednesday 28th April.
There will be a variety of activities this week including a book stall, Community Pre-loved Book Sale and Dress Up for BIS HCMC Book Day. We hope that we have given you all enough time to plan your costume.
Event Details
Date: Wednesday 28th April
Time: 7.30am to 2.40pm
Location: Secondary Campus
The PTG and Community Service department are looking forward to this chance for the BIS community to come together, eat tasty home-made cakes and help support Thuy’s Dream Foundation. More information will be shared soon.
Event Details
Date: Thursday 13th May
Time: 8.30 to 10.30am
Location: Early Years and Infant Campus Gym
For more information please contact our PTG representatives; Gayatri (Primary) - primaryptgbis@gmail.com or Mel (Secondary) - bisptgap2@gmail.com
Monday 26th April: All students back to school
Wednesday 28th April: BIS HCMC Book Day, Secondary Campus
Thursday 29th April: Virtual University Visit - KAIST
Tuesday 4th May: Virtual University Visit - University of Toronto
Thursday 13th May PTG Coffee and Cake Morning for Thuy’s Dream, EYI Campus Gym, 8.30 to 10.30am
Have a wonderful holiday,
Kind regards,
Sean O’Neill
Head Teacher
Secondary 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
