A wonderful feeling when some dreams do come true!

A wonderful feeling when some dreams do come true! Five years ago in 2012, when we opened British International School Hanoi, I also ‘had a dream…’ and the dream, vision, or hope was that we would see our wonderful students performing outside the school environment at a high level. That dream has been realised in many ways over the last few years and two great examples of the fulfillment of my hopes happened this week.

It was Martin Luther King Jr who once famously stated ‘I have a dream…’, which was  the start of an historical address that highlighted the need for the USA to look inwards as a country at the unjust treatment of African Americans. Five years ago in 2012, when we opened British International School Hanoi,  I also ‘had a dream…’  and the dream, vision, or  hope was that we would see our wonderful students performing outside the school environment at a high level. That dream has been realised in many ways over the last few years and two great examples of the fulfillment of my hopes happened this week. I had always hoped that, as a school, we would put on a musical concert within the wider Hanoi community. On Wednesday, 17th May, that hope came to fruition as we held a Benefit Concert, in collaboration with Juilliard, at the National Academy of Music. The concert was  a blend of our talented students and some very  special guests:

It was a remarkable event and I am grateful to all the students, Benjamin Moermond (our visiting Juilliard Artist) and the May Duet (Ms Pham Quynh Trang and Ms Tran Thi Tam Ngoc) for such outstanding performances. Additionally, my gratitude goes to Ms Laura Rea, along with  the Performing Arts Department, for their professionalism and commitment in creating such an event.

Also on Wednesday, we saw the departure of our Primary Sports Team who were heading to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to participate in their first FOBISIA Games. In 2012, I set the vision that we would join FOBISIA and participate in their numerous activities including ‘The Games’, which comprise of  several different sports. This year we have sent our U15 team to Nepal, the  U13 team to Thailand and now, the Primary  U11 team to Malaysia. Whilst they are there, they will compete against five other schools from other Asian cities in Athletics, Swimming, T Ball and Football. It is a great event and exposes our students to a high level of competition whilst developing an understanding of other cultures and making new friends. Once again, I am so grateful to the students and parents for committing to such events and to Ms Salome Airdrie and the  PE Department for their hard work in preparing and accompanying the students.

Isn’t it a wonderful feeling when some dreams do come true.

I hope that you have an enjoyable and relaxing weekend.

Anthony Rowlands, Principal