I love the sense of optimism that comes as the new school year gets underway. Everyone is keen to find out what people have been doing during the holidays and talk quickly moves on to who your new teacher is, who has joined the BIS HCMC community and the opportunities that lie ahead.
I love the sense of optimism that comes as the new school year gets underway. Everyone is keen to find out what people have been doing during the holidays and talk quickly moves on to who your new teacher is, who has joined the BIS HCMC community and the opportunities that lie ahead.
I am sure you would like to join me in congratulating 4 members of staff who got married over the summer; Mr Matthew and Ms Hayley, and Mr Andy and Ms Alicia. We wish you a wonderful life together.
There a number of new members of staff that I would like to welcome to the Tu Xuong Campus; this year, many of our new teachers are very familiar with BIS already.
Ms Philippa (Year 6) has been working in BIS Hanoi for the last 5 years having previously worked in Panang, Jakarta, Brisbane and Bangkok.
Ms Fran (Year 4) spent two years working in Manchester before coming to Vietnam last year where she worked on the An Phu Primary Campus.
Ms Jo (Year 1) was teaching in London for a number of years before taking up a position at BVIS in Hanoi, where she was based before joining us.
Mr Chris (EAL leader) has been in Vietnam for 8 years and worked at language schools and the An Phu Primary Campus.
Ms Fran (Cover teacher) qualified as a teacher in 2011 and taught in Oxfordshire and Bristol before joining BIS this year.
Ms Sophie (MFL Leader) has spent two years away from BIS working in Brunei, but has returned to take up her previous position.
Ms Rebecca (Music intern) will be working with small groups of instrumentalists on Fridays.
Ms Palm (Receptionist) was born in Thailand, but spent a number of years growing up in England.
We wish all our new members of staff well and hope they enjoy their time working at TX.
Great Expectations
‘If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right’ Henry Ford
Henry Ford was a man who really believed that he could do the things he wanted to do. His legacy remains to this day as a testimony to his self-belief. I spoke to the children this morning about expectation - the belief that someone will or should achieve something. Countless studies have demonstrated that children will achieve what they expect to achieve. It is our role as parents and educators to raise those expectations in our children and provide them with the conditions to develop the same belief in themselves that we have them.
What do you think you can do this school year? As Henry Ford says, ‘if you think you can do a thing…you’re right!’
I also spoke to the children about our expectations regarding uniform. The children looked very smart as they returned to school in their new school uniforms. However, can I remind you of the additional details regarding shoes and socks that can also be found in the parent handbook:
Shoes: Sensible black leather shoes (Foundation Stage 1 & 2 exempt) or closed toe sandals, preferable without laces for the younger children. F1 & F2 should wear sensible shoes or closed toe sandals to aid the growth and development of small feet.
Socks: White, black or grey ankle high socks.
Please can I remind you that parents, nannies and drivers need to be wearing their ID swipe cards on lanyards when entering school and at all times when on campus. Thank you to all the adults who are following this procedure; wearing the lanyard containing your swipe card makes it easy for all staff concerned to identify if someone has a right to be on the campus. I am sure you will agree, we want to make our campus as safe as possible for our children.
With the amalgamation plans in full flow, you may begin to notice slight changes to structures, routines and curriculum. As we begin to align the two campuses to ensure the amalgamation is seamless, Years 3, 4, 5, and 6 will have two PE lessons a week instead of one PE lesson and one swimming lesson. These year groups will have their swimming lessons in either term 2 or 3, which matches the curriculum timings with our An Phu campus. Because of this change, you may wish to purchase an extra PE kit for your child. Please visit Ms Dat in the uniform shop from Monday 28th August.
It is time to consider your club choices for Term 1. The Term 1 2017-2018 CHQ club booklet is available today, Friday 25th August and attached to this week’s weekly update email. You have the weekend to look through the club choices and then CHQ opens online for sign up on Monday 28th August at 4pm.
Now is the time to get prepared with your CHQ login details. You will need your child's username and password to log in and sign up for the clubs. Sign up will close again on Friday 1stSeptember. Ms Van will be hosting a drop in session on Tuesday 29th, Wednesday 30th and Thursday 31st August at 8am in foyer. Clubs will be selected randomly by the CHQ system. Please visit the office or email Mr Ali who is now leading the TX club programme if you are unsure of your login details; we will be able to help you identify these.
CHQ link on the school’s website
We have a great opportunity for a friendly and enthusiastic individual to join our primary admissions team. The role will principally involve the co-ordination and administration of all tasks and activities related to admission and enrolment of expatriate students to the primary campuses. Although previous experience of working in a school environment would be useful, this position would be suitable for anyone who is confident, well-organised and demonstrates good interpersonal skills. You will act as an ambassador for the school, enhancing and building our reputation both locally and globally. You will work across our school to embed a sense of community, pride and belonging.
If you are a native or fluent English speaker, and would like to find out more about the position, please email recruitment@bisvietnam.com for further details.
We look forward to working with you.
Due to the planned amalgamation in January, we have produced a Tu Xuong calendar for Term 1 which will be emailed to you next week.
28/08 – CHQ Club Sign-up Opens, 4pm
31/08 – Parents’ Information Evening @ 6pm in the Sports Hall
01/09 – CHQ Club Sign-up Closes, 4pm
04/09 – School Closed: HOLIDAY Vietnam National Day
05/09 – Settling in Workshop @ APP
W/C 11/09 – EYFS Parent Meetings
13/09 – TX Parents’ Evening
18/09 – Term 1 clubs start
21/09 – Joint APP/TX PTG Social
24/09 – BBGV Fun Run
02/10 & 03/10 – Book Celebration
05/10 – EYFS Moon Festival
06/10 – Moon Festival Assembly
12/10 – Young Musician of the Year Semi-final
17/10 – Young Musician of the Year Final
23-27/10 – Half term holiday
23-26/11 – Phuket Football
24/11 – Coffee & Cake – Joint PTGs
25/11 – TX Leaving Party
28/11 – Year 4 & 6 Sports Day
29/11 – Year 3 & 5 Sports Day
30/11 – Year 1 & 2 Sports Day
1-4/12 – Nord Anglia Education Games
1/12 – EYFS Christmas Concert
3/12 – Clubs finish
4/12 – Student Council Cross Campus
6/12 – EYFS Superhero Bootcamp
7/12 – Whole School Music Concert
8/12 – MP1 Christmas Production
8/12 – Interim Reports sent home
8-11/12 – Bangkok Swim Meet
10/12 – Community Football Tournament @ APP
13/12 – TX Christmas Concert
14/12 – Parent Group Potluck Lunch
15/12 – Term 1 finishes @ 11.30am
It was wonderful atmosphere at the ‘Welcome and Welcome Back Breakfast’ on Wednesday morning. Thank you to everyone who came along; it was so uplifting to see our fabulous community back together again. This is going to be a special term and I look forward to working with everyone, as we make sure that this last term at TX is one packed full of great learning, spectacular events and memories that will be cherished forever.
Have a lovely weekend,
Ian Battersby, Head of Tu Xuong Campus
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.
