Integrity, respect, care, enquiry, reflection, perseverance - these are the six characteristics that make up the ‘aide memoire’. At BIS, these underpin all that we do in our approach to education. Of course, these qualities are not limited to what happens in school.
In the assembly today, Ms Maria explained how the Ironman 70.3 event in Da Nang last weekend, presented a great example of what can be achieved when we put these qualities into practice.
On Saturday, members of our school community (teachers, parents, students, PTG) took part in the ‘Sunrise Sprint’ which required individuals, or relay teams of 3 people, to swim 750m, cycle for 20km and then run for 5km. This was followed by the IronKids events, with a similar format, but over short distances.
The main Ironman 70.3 event took place on Sunday. It is a real endurance event with individuals or teams swimming for 1.9km, cycling for 90km then running for 21km. Ms Maria highlighted that a key quality demonstrated by all that took part was perseverance; there is a lot of training required and a huge amount of determination to complete the course.
Having participated in the event, once again I was reminded that we are part of a great community. There was so much care and support offered by family members and friends who had come along to watch the races. It was super to see children, parents and teachers taking part. This was echoed in this morning’s assembly, as many of those who were in Da Nang, joined in a mini-triathlon around the hall.
There have been strange goings on in the playground this week! It seems an unidentified flying object (a UFO) crash-landed in the playground! The incident was caught on the school’s CCTV and Mr. Ian sent Year 1 down to investigate further. We found shards of metal along with what appeared to be parts of a spacecraft, scorched grass and some very mysterious yellow slime! Year 1 got to work straight away writing down everything they could see using fabulous adjectives. The children think they saw an alien in the playground and went to search for more clues, more yellow, sticky slime was found and even some muddy footprints. They then wrote up their investigation notes for Mr. Ian!
Our new unit of work in English is a story called ‘Beegu’. It tells a story of an alien who has crash landed and been left on Earth. She tries to find people to help her get back to her parents throughout the story, without much luck until some friendly children are kind to her and she is reunited with her family.
We will be learning the story of ‘Beegu’ through Talk for Writing actions and drama, so the children imitate the text until they know it well. We will then focus on describing settings before starting to innovate a class version of the story. Throughout this unit, the children will be practising vocabulary and grammar skills as well as building ideas until they create their own version of ‘Beegu’.
Gemma Gotting
Y1 Leader
This week F2 has been busy learning and acting out our new Talk for Writing story, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt." We had great fun in the ELC where we went through the tall grass, saying, "Swishy swashy, swishy swashy", through the deep river saying, "Splish, splosh, splish, splosh." Through the thick, oozing mud saying, "Squelch, squerch, squelch, squerch." We ‘stumbled’ through the deep dark forest saying , "Stumble, trip, stumble, trip." Then went through the swirling whirling snowstorm saying, "Woo, Hoo, woo, hoo" and finally to the deep dark cave where we tiptoed very quietly and found a bear! So we quickly went back home and jumped into bed, but then we realised that it was a friendly bear! We have now been brave and entered the cave and enjoyed playing with the bear. What a lot of fun to bring the story alive.
Ms Juliette Petrie
F2 Year Leader and F2B Class Teacher
There are a number of stages in a child’s educational journey where choices need to be made about which subjects they will study. My daughter, who is Year 12, is currently considering which subject to study when she goes to university.
Ms Sophie Tighzer, our head of modern foreign languages (MFL), led a webinar for Year 2 parents on Wednesday, as families in Year 2 will be facing the first choice regarding what to study in Year 3. Families have a choice of studying French, Spanish or Mandarin, a language that the children will continue to study up to iGCSE.
For those who were unable to attend the webinar, you can watch it here:
Or, if you would simply like to review the slides in the presentation, they can be found here:
As mentioned, having the parent community back on site is one of the highlights of this term. The PTG asks that you save the date for their Primary Potluck Lunch! Please see the details below and we look forward to seeing you there.
Having the parent community back on site is one of the highlights of this term. The PTG asks that you save the date for their Primary Potluck Lunch! Please see the details below and we look forward to seeing you there.
Parent Potluck: 19th May at EY campus from 11am-2pm
Book donations: 4th May to 19th May
Book Sale: 24th May EY, 25th May JC`
We are delighted to invite you to the parents' Potluck Lunch to be held at the small Hall on the 3rd floor at the EY Campus on 19th May,2022 from 11.00-2:00pm.
This has traditionally been a wonderful, fun-filled event where parents come together to sample different kinds of food and chat. We hope many of you will be able to join us for this event!
For both new and returning parents, the lunch will be organised as follows:
Format - Cold Buffet Style. Ideally finger foods, although curries and dips are welcome!
Amount of food to carry – A small plate filled with food is ample!
Examples of foods you could bring – Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Korean Gimbab, Japanese Onigiri, Brazilian Pão de queijo, Indian Samosas, German Bratwurst, Canapes, Garlic Bread with Sundried Tomatoes & Cheese and all sorts of sandwiches. Both sweet and savory foods are most welcome – so please bring rice cakes, traditional cookies, cakes and laddoos if you like. NO NUTS!!
Must the food be home made? This is not necessary. The idea is to get together for a good time. Please feel free to buy the food if this is easier.
Drinks – Juices and water will be available at the lunch venue
Sign up for lunch – Please use the SUG here to signup for the event. This will help us to plan for the event well.
This would be a golden opportunity for you to meet the other parents which was not possible before.Come and enjoy good food, music, drinks and company of other parents.
Do you have books you no longer need? Are you ready to add some new (preloved!) books to your collection?? WE HOPE SO!!! The PTG are so happy to be running a book sale event that we hope will enable us to raise some much-needed funds for a very important community partner, Thuy’s Dream Foundation.
There are two ways you can help!
Firstly, if you have any unwanted books you would like to donate for the event, you can drop them at the guards house/Gate A at either EY campus, or Junior campus, every day from Wednesday 4th May.
Secondly, we invite you to visit our book sale during pick up time, on either Tues 24th May at EYIC, or Wednesday 25th May at Junior campus, choose the books you want, and make a donation of your choice. All proceeds raised will go directly to Thuy's Dream foundation.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us on primaryptgbis@gmail.com
Gayatri Shankar
Primary PTG Chairperson
We would like to invite all families that will leave BIS at the end of this academic year to our ‘Moving On’ Workshop.
It will take place on Friday 27th May at 8.30am in the Black Box Theatre at the Junior Campus.
This workshop will be hosted by the Admissions Team, and Counselling Team. It aims to support those transitioning from BIS. Members of the Whole School Leadership Team will also be in attendance. We hope to see you there.
19/05/22 Primary Parents Potluck Lunch
23&24/05/22 Primary PTG Book Sale
24 - 26/05/22 F2 Teddy Bears Picnics
25- 27/05/22 F3 Little Red Riding Hood Picnics
31/05/22 Year 2 to Year 3 Transition Meeting for Parents
22/06/22 F1 End of Year Celebration with F1S, V, N @ 8.45am
23/06/22 F1 End of Year Celebration with F1B & I @ 8.45am
Symptomatic (Any Cold/Flu/Covid Symptoms) - stay off school until symptom free.
Take a precautionary Rapid Antigen Test at home prior to return and keep the school informed.
Any concern you have at home with the health of your child, and include the Health and Safety Leads of each campus (EYIC Ms Sarah Curran sarah.curran@bisvietnam.com and JC Mr Chris McKelvie Christopher.mckelvie@bisvietnam.com.
It is vital, also, that you inform the office of any positive case within your family – these are called ‘household close contacts’.
If your child needs the School Nurse to administer any prescribed medication during the school day please do not put medication in the school bag but contact the School Nurse and sign the appropriate form.
Ms Sarah Curran and Mr Chris McKelvie, Deputy Headteachers
Do you have a baby or toddler at home? If so, you may be interested in joining Fundinotots.
Fundinotots is a friendly place to meet other parents with young children. It provides an informal play based environment that enables children to have opportunities to interact with their peers and flourish within our creative school setting. Sand and water play, painting, large play apparatus, story time and music sessions are just a selection of the activities on offer.
Fundinotot sessions are held each morning in our purpose designed Fundinotots unit and provide a great opportunity for parents to come together and support each other during these formative early years.
We are delighted to announce that Fundinotot sessions will begin this Monday 16th May. If you have any questions about Fundinotots, please contact Sarah Bonner (sarah.bonner@bisvietnam.com).
If you are, and are interested in doing some supply/cover teaching at BIS, please contact either Chris McKelvie (christopher.mckelvie@bisvietnam.com) or Sarah Curran (sarah.curran@bisvietnam.com). They will arrange to meet and talk you through what is required in order to join those who we call upon to cover classes when the teacher is unable to be there.
As each week goes by, there are more and more positive signs that we are coming out of the pandemic and school life is returning to normal. This morning, we were delighted to welcome Dr Nghia and Dr Hung and Apple the cat to F1 and F2. This is the first visit by one of our community partners that we have been able to organise this academic year. The children were delighted. There will be more photos and information in next week’s update after the visit by ‘Laws for Paws’ next Friday.
I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend,
Ian Battersby, Headteacher
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.
