Mr Tim Deyes: Weekly Update 10/02/17

It has been a couple of weeks since my last blog, but so much has happened.  

To begin with, I have had my first experience of travelling to the UK in order to recruit new teachers for British International School HCMC.

Now, this process is not as easy as it may first appear as it involves adverts in Educational newspapers, candidates uploading details to a website, filtering through, literally, hundreds and hundreds of applicants, making some very difficult choices that finally culminate in invitations to interview. All throughout this process one has to be very mindful that behind every CV and application letter there is a person and very possibly a partner and children whose lives can be dramatically affected by this entire process.

Fortunately, BIS HCMC is a centre of excellence and trust but even so it is a huge leap of pedagogical faith to travel away from one’s home country to come and work here.  You will all be pleased to hear that the quality of the candidates for all vacant positions was excellent and we had an incredibly hard task choosing who the best person for each job. We are now very close to filling all the positions that are to become vacant with first-class teachers. 

Equally rewarding is the fact that the number of teaching staff we have leaving us is at an almost all time low, staff are staying with us for longer periods of time and levels of satisfaction are very high.  All signs of a very healthy school!

Whilst I was in London with Mr Simon Higham we also attended the British International School Awards with our Community Service Project Manager, Clover Sharman, as we had been nominated on a global scale for Community Initiative of the Year.  Whilst we did not actually win the award, the recognition itself was quite enough and the honour of being shortlisted for such a prestigious award was something we can all be very proud of.  On a lighter note, I found myself the day before the event rushing off to Oxford Street to buy a tuxedo for the event and it was only on the night that I found out I had committed a most heinous sartorial faux pas by wearing brown shoes with a tux.  Never again!

But now, it is great to be back in HCMC, back at BIS and back in the whirlwind of preparations for the rest of the year, preparations for next year and looking forward to the hum and buzz that typifies our BIS HCMC Community.

Tim Deyes, Principal