Mr Carl Mincher: Weekly Update 10/11/2017
Our Weekly Wellbeing focus on Monday established the theme of this week as Attitude for Gratitude which we swiftly followed up on Tuesday with a thought provoking performance of 100 causing us all to consider our most important lifetime memories. On Wednesday we shared our gratitude with Country Representatives in a coffee morning as a thank you for their tremendous efforts on International Day. Today the atmosphere was deeply reflective in our Remembrance Day assembly as we were caused to consider the human impact of conflict and how we can best build a better and more peaceful world. I hope you enjoy reading this week’s newsletter and can get an understanding of how this week’s events have reminded us of the importance of our emotional connections, how much we can benefit from them and how they enrich our lives.
Dear Parents,
Our Weekly Wellbeing focus on Monday established the theme of this week as Attitude for Gratitude which we swiftly followed up on Tuesday with a thought provoking performance of 100 causing us all to consider our most important lifetime memories. On Wednesday we shared our gratitude with Country Representatives in a coffee morning as a thank you for their tremendous efforts on International Day. Today the atmosphere was deeply reflective in our Remembrance Day assembly as we were caused to consider the human impact of conflict and how we can best build a better and more peaceful world. I hope you enjoy reading this week’s newsletter and can get an understanding of how this week’s events have reminded us of the importance of our emotional connections, how much we can benefit from them and how they enrich our lives.
Remembrance Day Assembly
As our Year 9 students study poetry from the war era and our IB students reading the likes of Bao Ninh’s ‘Sorrow of War’ today’s Remembrance Assembly was a moment for all of us to consider how our lives and the world has been influenced by the trials and the revelations of war and where our continual search for a better future will take us. Thank you to our 6th Form students who provided such food for thought.
SAIMUSE Charity Concert 2017
On Sunday the 5th of November, 6 international schools in Ho Chi Minh City, including 70 musicians from BIS HCMC came together to perform at the annual charity fundraising event; Saimuse. Student organiser, Chae Won reflects on this year's event...
‘Thank you’ coffee morning for our Country Representatives
Our very proud (and rightly so!) Country Reps joined us this week to enjoy a relaxing catch up and refreshments and reminisce over their shared successes on International Day 2017. It was lovely to see all of you there and once again on behalf of the BIS community I thank you for such an excellent day.
This image is one of my favourites from this year’s International Day, I hope that you have found some photos to share and enjoy in the BIS International Day Album.
Saigon International Schools Monologue Competition
The Saigon International Schools Monologue competition, begun in 2013 here at the British International School HCMC, is now in its 5th year and for 2017 was held at the International School of HCMC with seven international schools taking part. This year, five students from BIS participated and two of them won their categories, Kiera Heys for the category Devised Monologue and Aarush Yendamuri for Scripted, with all students giving excellent performances.
Year 12 Theatre Students Present ‘100’
Imagine yourself in ‘the void’. You have died and have been asked to choose one memory from your life to relive throughout eternity. All other memories will be deleted and you will forget everyone in your life if they are not part of your chosen memory. What memory would you choose?
Director and drama teacher Anne Marie Astley shares her thoughts about this studio performance:
100 is a play that encourages deep thought and consideration from its audience and when performed well the audience should leave questioning their lives and what they have achieved. Year 12 certainly performed well and I have had numerous conversations with audience members about what the one memory from their life would be.
This is the first performance from the Year 12 IB Theatre class and they have created a stunning performance that has cemented them as a powerful ensemble. Bao Tran, Carla, Crystal, Jonah and Kai Chieh should be very proud of their achievements indeed.
Juilliard Alumni Patterson & Sutton Duo to visit BIS HCMC
As a part of the Juilliard -Nord Anglia collaboration we are so excited to announce that on Thursday 23rd November our students will be visited by Juilliard Alumni Guitar and Cello duo Dr. Kimberly Patterson and Dr. Patrick Sutton! The duo will be performing for both our Primary and Secondary school students before holding a live question and answer session.
It is because of our collaboration that our children gain access to Juilliard’s worldwide network of performers such as Dr Kimberley Patterson and Dr Patrick Sutton. We have seen how working with teachers and artists of this calibre inspires young minds to achieve their dreams, and so we are very proud of our collaboration and the extra dimension it brings to our students
SISAC City Championships
SISAC U19 Volleyball and U 14 Basketball seasons finished last week in a series of exciting Championships days. Students played round robin matches against 4 other international schools from HCMC, followed by finals.
At the end of the competition for this year competitors returned home with awards in badminton and basketball. Excellent work from all competitors and congratulations to those who returned home with awards. Particular congratulations to the U14 Girls Basketball team who are the City Champions.
To hear how our competitors felt about the experience read the Match Reports
Spotlight on Learning
The death of the knowledge economy - preparing students for an era of innovation
This week Mr Falconer, Assistant Headteacher is on a mission to explore cutting edge learning technologies at the Edutech Asia conference, Singapore.
From Singapore he shares some thinking about what he has seen and learnt so far…
I am always a little sceptical of conferences - there is often a conflict of interest between conference providers, keynote speakers, corporate salespeople and the lowly delegates. This week, falling firmly into the latter category, I joined the hoi polloi of teachers and school leaders at the EduTech conference in Singapore.
First learning point - I should be less of a ‘conferencephobe’: with excellent keynote speakers, innovative ideas, training workshops and 4 superb visits to other international schools. Second learning point - the knowledge economy is dead - schooling for the industrial age should be taking a final breath. We need to prepare our students, your children, for an era of innovation. In the wise words of Tony Wagner “it’s not do you know it, but can you do it?” (http://www.tonywagner.com/about/)
One area of reflection was around what learning should look like in a rapidly changing environment. The thinking that emerged went like this… Instead of championing individual achievement, we should foster a culture of collaboration. We shouldn’t encourage compartmentalised knowledge, but should support multi-disciplinary problem solving, in a learning environment that is both engaging and supportive of risk-taking through trial and error. Encyclopaedic knowledge regurgitated from textbooks is passé; collaborative, technologically-enriched learning spaces are de rigeur. This doesn’t mean school leaders should bring in the bulldozers to knock down classroom walls, scrap the school timetable and replace pens and paper with hundreds of VR headsets and Raspberry Pis. The challenge lies, rather, in leading incremental change towards this style of learning so that your children are happy and productive members of our future society. Food for thought indeed...
So I return to HCMC buoyed to advance our educational technology and STEAM (integrated Science, Technology, Arts and Maths) agenda at BIS!
Wellbeing weekly- Attitude for Gratitude
This week our students have been gaining an awareness of the importance of gratitude to wellbeing. There is an overwhelming body of research in Positive Psychology that shows being actively grateful leads to improved mental and emotional health . (info in blog link) This week our students have been practising the art of being grateful in activities which encourage them to practice an awareness of aspects of their life for which they are grateful.
For a short and fun video on the science behind the power of gratitude click here.
Community Partners
This week we would like to share with you our partnership with the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation (CNCF).
The CNCF is a partnership of people dedicated to aiding children in need of help whether it is educational, job placement, medical care, as well as protecting children from exploitation.
We are in our second year of Noble Swimming Club where students from BIS HCMC teach swimming and life-saving skills to students from the Christina Noble Foundation. It is clear that all of the children and our students involved gain from the experience and we look forward to continuing our partnerships into the future. Read more about the Noble Swimming Club.
Look out for the students from CNCF who will be singing and dancing at the BIS Christmas BISzaar on Saturday 2nd December!
For an update of all our Community projects and how you, as a parent, can support the efforts of our students and community partners read the Community Update
PTG Parents Lunch - Monday 13th November
One last reminder of the opportunity to join the PTG and other secondary parents from Years 7 to 13 for a social lunch on the same menu as your children. The luncheon will be held in the APS Auditorium from 12pm onwards.
Christmas BISzaar - Saturday 2nd December
It’s almost time to consider what Santa will bring for those on your Christmas list this year but don’t rush out in a panic to fill those stockings just yet!
In keeping with the community and service intentions of our annual fundraising event, the Christmas BISzaar, there will be numerous offerings available, seasonal entertainment and a fun atmosphere in preparation for Christmas. Funds raised from the BISzaar go to support our many Community Partners and plenty of our vendors offer the chance to make a positive impact in purchasing as well as giving.
This is a highlight of the year and I look forward to seeing as many of you at the BISzaar as possible for good fun , good food and entertainment!
And finally…
We would like to wish our FOBISIA Advanced Orchestra participants and SEOMUN 2017 students well for their residential conferences this week in Phuket and Seoul. We look forward to hearing more on their return.
I wish you all a wonderful weekend ahead,
Upcoming Events
SEOMUN 8th to 12th Nov
FOBISIA Advanced Orchestra 9th to 13th
Monday 13th November: Secondary PTG combined parent lunch - APS Auditorium 12.00 to 2.00pm
Tuesday 14th November: U14a Football @ ABC, 4.00pm
Thursday 16th November: U14b Football vs AmIS @ BIS AP2, 4.00pm
Thursday 16th November: U19 Basketball @ ABC, 4.00pm
Sunday 19th - Thursday 23rd November: U15 FOBISIA SCA Phuket
Thursday 23rd - Sunday 26th November: Phuket 7s Football Tournament (U13)
Saturday 2nd December: Christmas BISzaar - An Phu Secondary Campus from 10.00am to 2.00pm
Carl Mincher
Head Teacher, Secondary
