Ms Deirdre Grimshaw: Weekly Update 10/06/2022

It’s fair to say that this week the Junior Campus was the busiest it’s been for a while!

It was a fabulous week for every single student at the Junior Campus as they were able to participate in the long awaited Sports Days.  With record attendances of parents every day, the cheering from the bleachers was immense and the atmosphere created; electric!

Records were broken, personal bests reached, ribbons a plenty and most of all fun by all.  Scroll down to read more about the Sports Week at the Junior Campus.

Sports Days 2022

What a fantastic week of sports it has been for every one of our students from Foundation 2 to Year 6, as they took part in the hugely anticipated Sports Day competitions.

Children competed house versus house in numerous running, jumping and throwing events. The PE department were blown away by the students' fantastic efforts, determination and perseverance throughout the entire mornings, under the sun, and with strong opposition from their classmates. Every student pushed themselves to run their fastest, throw their furthest, and jump their longest distance to gain every point possible to help their house win this great event. They were true sporting competitors and should be very proud of themselves.

And a big thank you to the parents who clapped, cheered, sang and danced throughout the morning, and had the children cheering for them in the grudge match of Tug-o-War with the teachers!

The results for the Junior Campus are as follows:

Simon Grimshaw, PE Leader

The fun continued indoors also, with 4 brilliant productions taking place under the umbrella of BIS- Witched  - The Wizard in You!. The JC gym was alive with wizardry and magic, adventure and fun, as students from Year 3 to Year 6 participated in 4 different productions. Having had only 6 weeks to put these shows together, students, teachers and parents were amazed at the shows they watched and the quality of acting, singing, costumes that, along with the brilliant tech, brough the stories alive for everyone.  Read on in the update to find out more. 

Anna Hogan, Music Leader

The 6 students crossed the bridge once more this week for the  Year 6 Transition Day. It was a busy day with lessons and activities galore  - a real taste of life in the secondary school, preparing them for their August start in Year 7.  Read on to find out more in the piece by Mr Iaon Morgan, Head of Year 7.

Year 6 Transition Day Review

This Wednesday saw the Year 6 students make the short journey over the campus bridge to experience their first full day on the Secondary campus. It was fantastic to see the group’s enthusiasm and excitement as they explored their new campus spaces and enjoyed a range of lessons with new Secondary teachers.

Students started their day in their new forms and were given some clear targets and challenges by Mr. Sean O’Neill who encouraged Year 6s to ‘get involved’ and to make new friends during the day. ‘Transition Day’ also provided new BIS students with an opportunity to meet their new form peers and to explore a completely new campus. I would like to take this opportunity to formally welcome any new families who are joining BIS this year and hope that Wednesday’s experiences helped to reassure and gently welcome new students to the school.

During the afternoon, Year 6s moved over to the Sports’ Field where they completed a Tug of War competition and worked in their forms through a series of team bonding exercises. I was immensely proud of their grit, determination and eagerness to involve themselves in these challenges at the end of an already long day.

To close the day, we welcomed Year 6 parents to the Secondary Theatre for a parent information evening. The session was delivered by our Secondary leadership team and discussed the practicalities of moving to Secondary school alongside some discussions about the academic and wellbeing ethos of BIS.

Thank you all for your continued support of Year 6 during this transition, we are very much looking forward to welcoming Year 7 in August and sincerely hope this week’s transition day helped to build a foundation of confidence, assurance, and familiarity.

Ioan Morgan, Head of Year 7

BIS Primary Silent Art Auction

It is with pleasure that we invite you to participate in the BIS Primary Silent Art Auction featuring a unique collection of pieces created by our very talented primary students! 

Please click here to enter the gallery where you will be able to virtually browse through some remarkable art and to easily submit a bid for any pieces which may catch your eye.

All proceeds will be donated to our community partners, Free The Bears and Laws For Paws who have engaged with our students, relentlessly raising awareness of the plight of domestic and wild animals in Vietnam.

The auction will close on Sunday 19^th June after which, you will be notified should your bid have been successful.

Thank you for supporting our community partners and for taking the time to encourage our budding young artists through your investment in their work.

Tracey Brownrigg, Co-Curricular Coordinator and Community Service Project Manager

Language in Focus tourism competition

This week, we announced the winners of the Language in Focus (LIF) Tourism Poster Competition. We received hundreds of entries for this competition and the quality was exceptional! Everyone who entered really showcased the amazing landmarks in their country and made us all keen to start travelling again!

Here are the winners for each age category:

F3: Noah F3S  

Year 1-2: Avery 2S

Year 3-4: Siwon 4B

Year 5-5: Natsume 6M

The winning entries have been enlarged and will be displayed in the gym on both campuses. The other entries will be displayed around the campuses during International Week. Well done again to our winners and to everyone who entered!

To see all the winners and runners up and to find out more about the Language in Focus initiative, visit the Google site: https://sites.google.com/bisvietnam.net/languageinfocus

Amanda Hibbert, EAL Teacher

Year 2 Visit Year 3 at the Junior Campus

Last week, the Year 2 children jumped on buses and travelled down the road to visit the Junior Campus. They were welcomed on site with big smiles and open hearts by the Year 3 students and teachers. The Year 2s enjoyed a wonderful treasure hunt guided by the Junior campus’ youngest students which gave them a guided tour of some of the most fantastic facilities we have here at the Junior Campus – the Gym, Canteen, Library, Activ8, and the Art Room, to name a few. If they were lucky enough to spot them, they even got a wave from Ms Dee or Mr Chris through the window of their offices. Once back in the Year 3 classrooms, both the Year 2 and Year 3 children had to work collaboratively to work out the mystery sentence using the clues they had collected. Why not ask your child if they remember what the sentence said!

The Year 2 and Year 3 Treasure hunt is one of the important transition activities which take place towards the end to the year. It is essential that the Year 2 students, who will be Year 3 students in August, feel comfortable, familiar and excited about their new campus and who better to better to hear that from than the children who were in the same situation this time last year. Settled and happy children learn best, and this is something children, parents and teachers all wish for. The Year 3 teachers are all looking forward to welcoming a new cohort of Year 3s to the Junior Campus in a few short months.

Aziza William, Year 3 Leader

Year 4 and 5 cook in their French lessons!

Our Year 4 and 5 students have been busy this week cooking as part of the French lessons.   They have had a great time cooking “Pain Perdu” in Year 5 and “Croque Monsieur” in Year 4.

This is a part of the French cultural activities that the children have been enjoying this term. All of the Year 4 and Year 5 French students really enjoyed the cooking sessions, especially when they were able to flip the toast and taste their own food!  Perhaps they could try making this at home for their families too!

Chau Duong, French teacher

PTG Pre-Loved Fair 2022- Saturday 11th June

Consider participating in our PTG Pre-Loved Fair on Saturday 11th June.  There are a couple of ways to join.

You can purchase a table and sell all your second hand goods, or come along as a customer and pick up a bargain.  The Fair is open to all BIS Community members including students, families and staff.

By now you will have received our email with the details so please check your inbox.

If you would like to book a table please email the Secondary Campus Receptionist – Katie Walsh katie.walsh@bisvietnam.com.

If you have any questions please WhatsApp Melanie Rowe, PTG on +84 93 802 9513 or email melanierowe1201@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Event Details:

Date: Saturday 11th June

Time: 9.00am to 12.00pm

Location: Secondary Campus Auditorium

A BIS Community event

Health and Safety Updates – Junior Campus

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.

Sarah Curran and Chris McKelvie, Deputy Headteachers

       12/06/22                         Pre Loved Fair at the secondary Campus

w/c 13/06/22                          International Week

       14 - 15/06                      Global Cafe

        17/06/22                        International Parade of Nations

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

 w/c 20/06/22                        Class Parties on different days.

       24/06/22                         Year 6 & Leavers Special Assembly

       24/06/22                         School finishes at 11.30am                       

• Please check Learning Letters for specific days and times.

PTG AGM

Last night we gathered for the PTG AGM and it was wonderful to be able to celebrate the work of the PTG this year. Despite the roadblocks that Covid presented, the PTG were absolutely brilliant in managing to organise events each term, both virtually and in person.  

We were also afforded the opportunity last night to say a big farewell and thank you to our outgoing Primary PTG Chairperson Gayatri Shankar.  As the chair for the last 3 years, Gayatri has had a tough job navigating the perils of Covid but she has done so brilliantly and always with a big smile and a commitment to finding a way!  We are very sad to say goodbye to all the family but they take with us our very best wishes for their new adventure in Singapore. Come back for the Spring Fair Gayatri!

And Finally…

As we approach the end of the year, please note that reports will be available on ISAMS next week.  Please download the report and save it to your own personal files.  Reports are released on different days for each year group. Please also take time to read through the report with your child, particularly the targets set.  If you have any questions around the reports, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher who will be happy to meet with you to discuss. 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,

Deirdre Grimshaw, Headteacher of Junior Campus