Mr Ian Battersby: Weekly Update 20/05/2022

In assembly today, we explored the theme of being healthy as we grow.  The children were very quick to tell me that to be healthy, we need to make good choices about what we eat, get enough sleep, exercise and drink lots of water.  We went on  to talk about how we can keep our brains healthy.  The key to good mental health is making sure we talk to someone about how we feel, especially if we are worried about something.

In addition to parents and children, at BIS, we have the Advice, Support and Counselling (ASC) team who are Ms. Saskia, Ms. Zara and Ms An.  They are also available to talk to the children. They made a short video for the children and asked them to think about who they would talk to when they are upset.

Children’s Mental Health Week was in February.  This website has lots of great advice for parents to help talk to their children about mental health.

Potluck lunch

It was wonderful to see so many parents at the PTG Potluck Lunch on Thursday.  A number of parents have spoken to me about a sense of loneliness during the period of lockdown here in Vietnam.  Having the opportunity to meet together and get involved in events at school is so good for everyone’s mental health, and we look forward to further events in the near future.

Laws for Paws Vietnam Visits F1 and F2

Every animal in the world needs to be taken care of by providing them food, shelter, veterinary care and love. In BIS, we believe that we should respect and show care to everyone to create a peaceful and sustainable world.

This year, F1 and F2 started a community partnership with Laws for Paws Vietnam, a charity organisation that aims to improve the welfare of dogs and other animals in Vietnam. These past two weeks, we were very fortunate to have visits from Dr Nghia and Dr Huong who are vets, Ms Elizabeth who is the Adoption Coordinator and Founding Director of Laws for Paws Vietnam and another animal advocate, Ms Korra.

During their visits, they taught us the importance of taking good care of animals and ensuring their health and safety. We learnt that onions, garlic, chocolates, grapes, raisins and human medicines are not good for dogs. We also learnt that we always have to ask owners if we want to touch their pets, use gentle hands at all times and use our indoor voices when around animals to prevent them from getting scared.

On these visits, we were very lucky to have met two adorable pets. Dr Nghia brought a rescued cat named Apple. She was delightful and we had a chance to give her gentle strokes. Ms Elizabeth brought her lovely friend, Donny. He is a special needs pup who is in a wheelchair due to a road accident, causing him to lose a leg.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Laws for Paws for visiting us and imparting the value of being kind and caring towards animals. We look forward to working with you more next year!

Lastly, a big well done to F1 and F2 children for being amazing during the visits.

Crislet Silva

F1 Class teacher & Community Leader

Interdisciplinary Learning in IPC - Developing Two Skills in One Context

Year 2 have enjoyed furthering their knowledge and skills in both Art and Design, and History. We became Historians and Ceramists, applying our learning about Greek mythology to create our own clay Greek plates to convey our favourite hero’s story. This formed the ‘Research and Record’ section of the IPC Learning Process, where children further their knowledge and understanding and then record it in a variety of creative ways. The children loved getting their hands dirty, using the clay tools and combining our learning in a fun context!

Sports days are coming!

The children are currently working hard in their PE lessons mastering the athletics techniques for the upcoming sports day. After the success of last year, the format will be the same, based at the Junior Campus, with all children participating for their house in both track and field events. The children will run, jump, and throw to earn points for their house, with the emphasis on having fun!

Parents are welcome to come and watch, entry through Gate C at the Junior Campus

Monday 6^th June

F2 & F3 -  8.30-9.30

Year 1 -  9.45-10.45

Year 2 - 11.00-12.00pm

Tuesday 7th June - Year 6 -  8.45-12.00

Wednesday 8th June - Year 5 - 8.45-12.00

Thursday 9th June - Year 4 - 8.45-12.00

Friday 10th June - Year 3 - 8.45-12.00

‘Language in Focus’ Tourism Poster Competition 2022

The deadline has been extended to Friday 27th May, so you have one more week to get your entries in to the EAL team.

Moving On Workshop for families departing BIS

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.

Book Sale: 24th May EY, 25^th May JC

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.

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

Primary Potluck Lunch

We had our first PTG parent potluck on May 19th, 2022. The parent potluck usually happens every term but this year we were able to organise this event only in Term 3. There were 90 registrations, and more than 70 parents attended the event. The tables were filled with food brought by the parents. A huge thank you to all the parents who were so generous with the portion sizes. The volunteering team had to keep adding tables for food. Parents started coming from 11am and stayed until 2pm. Every seat in the small hall on the 3rd floor of the EY campus was taken. It was nice to see the parents connect with the newcomers in their group. If it hadn't been pick-up time already, we are sure most parents would have stayed for some more time.

Such events build stronger communities and the smiles proved it was a much-awaited event. The senior leadership team- Mr. Ian, Ms. Sarah, Ms. Maria from the Early Years campus, Ms. Dee, and Mr. Chris from the Junior Campus took time out of their busy schedules and attended the event. Also it was wonderful to see Mr. Anthony chatting with the parents while enjoying the delicious food.

This dream event would not have been possible without the volunteers who planned the food display, helped the parents to place and label their food, as well as serve it. Thank you, Ms. Mercia, Ms. Anh, Ms. Maha, Ms. Lenka, Ms. Arisa, Ms. Julia, Ms. Amy, Ms. Divya, Ms. Vy, Ms.Yunah, and Ms. Duyen. A special thanks to Ms. Duyen and Ms. Lan for engaging the parents with live music and singing. It was fun to sing Saigon Dep Lam and 'Heal the world' along with other songs. A huge thank you to Irene from Upcycled uniform project. She and her team collect old BIS school uniforms and create beautiful things. If you are interested to learn more about this project, please remember to attend a meeting taking place on Monday at 1pm at The Loop on Thao Dien Street.

If you have books for donations please leave them at the guardhouse of either campus. The book sale will be on 24th May at the Early Years campus and 25th May at the Junior campus. Please send an email to primaryptgbis@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Lastly, we are inviting new PTG members to join the team. If you are interested please contact us through email.

 Gayatri

 Primary PTG

23&24/05/22                         Primary PTG Book Sale

24 - 26/05/22                         F2 Teddy Bears Picnics

31/05/22                                 Year 2 to Year 3 Transition Meeting for Parents

03/06/22                                 Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

06/06/22                                 Sports Day for F2 - Y2 (Details above)

w/c 13/06/22                          International Week

w/c 13/06/22                          Staggered sharing of reports

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

24/06/22                                 Term ends @ 11.50am

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

Fundinotots Update

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 would like to enrol, please click on the link below:

Online application for Fundinotots

Are you a qualified teacher?

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. 

And Finally…

We are hearing that the second vaccination for students is imminent. Please can you ensure you are checking emails regularly as it may be a last minute call from us if we receive late notice.  Unfortunately, we have still not received any information about vaccinations for 5-year olds.  We will let you know as soon as we hear anything.

I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend,

Ian Battersby, Headteacher