Ms Deirdre Grimshaw: Weekly Update 04/10/2019

Our community came together last Sunday to take part in the BBGV Fun Run and it was great to see so many of our student and parent community in attendance.

Our community came together last Sunday to take part in the BBGV Fun Run and it was great to see so many of our student and parent community in attendance.  Our Marketing and Admissions team did a wonderful job of creating a BIS Photo Booth and we hope you all enjoyed sharing your posts with the wider BIS Community.  Please click here to find a post with lots of great pictures of our fun morning in District 7.

Thank you to all the parents that also attended our workshop this morning about supporting your child’s learning at home.  It was a great turnout and our thanks to the EAL teachers that ran this event for us. It was wonderful to see parents engaging with one another and enjoying the session. If you missed the workshop, you can access the slides here.

It was also great to see so many of you at the Bake Sale this afternoon by the PTG. Thanks to those that baked and provided cakes and those that supported the event. Sincere thanks to the PTG for organising such a lovely afternoon.

Young Musicians

I was lucky enough to catch some of the auditions for the Young Musician competition this week.  It was a really tough decision for the Music teachers. I’m glad I didn’t have to judge! Our semifinals are next week and the final will take place on Tuesday October 15^th. Good luck to all the competitors.

NamrunsNam!

We would like to wish former BIS teacher Ms Naomi Skinner the best of luck as she sets off this Sunday on her NamrunsNam epic run from Hanoi to HCMC.

Find out more about this amazing charity run and how you can support her along the way. Click on this link to find out more.

RESULTS - BOYS

BIS         1-1         ISHCMC

BIS         7-0         AIS

BIS         12-0       ISSP

BIS         2-2         EIS

FINAL

BIS         4-3         ISHCMC

RESULTS - GIRLS

BIS         0-1         ISHCMC

BIS         2-2         AIS

BIS         4-0         ISSP

BIS         2-0         EIS

FINAL

BIS         2-0         ISHCMC

Let’s Think in English in action in Year 3!

Our students have been accessing Let’s Think in English lessons for the first time. These lessons are an excellent way to develop their critical thinking skills and other tools to improve their learning skills. Read more in this post by Mr Mike Martin, Year 3 Leader

Year 6 House Captain Training

Our Year 6 students crossed the bridge this week to take part in House Captain training.  Working with students from secondary, they came together to look at leadership, team building and to have some fun.  We are very proud of their involvement and what they have already achieved in their short time being in post.  Read more here!

Open Morning at BIS Junior Campus for prospective parents

In just over a week, on Tuesday October 15^th, we will have an Open Morning here at the Junior Campus. This is aimed not at current parents but at families that may be interested in joining BIS. If you do know of families and friends, please direct them to this page where they can sign up. Please note that places are limited for the open morning.

New Staff Profiles

We would like to introduce a few more staff to you this week that have joined our school.  Do read on!

Mr Tom White

Hello to all the parents and students at BIS. My name is Tom and I am teaching in year 5. I am from a small town in the north of England called Doncaster. However, when anyone ever asks where I’m from I usually say near Manchester or Leeds because not many people in other countries have heard of Doncaster. I don’t know why though because there is a lot to love, such as the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, the fantastic Doncaster Racecourse and my favourite football team Doncaster Rovers!

However, there are many things you won’t find in Doncaster:

• Thousands and thousands of motorbikes!
• Banh mi and pho, morning glory and spring rolls!
• Big smiles wherever you go!

I have grown up with my mum, dad and brother and we are a close family however I feel like I am settling into life in Ho Chi Minh really well. Thank you to everyone that I have met because you have been so welcoming. I’ve only been living here for a couple of months but I already love Vietnam and my only regret is that I didn’t come sooner.

Ms Suzannah Breen

Here in Saigon, the children and families in 4I have immediately made me feel at home. The children welcomed me into their school with silliness, kindness and creativity (we laugh a lot!). I’ve only previously visited the North of Vietnam and look forward to exploring more. I’m always on the lookout for amazing destinations which are off the beaten track, so let me know if you have any recommendations!

I grew up in Nottingham, England, where I also trained to be a teacher. Before that, I worked as a teaching assistant in Special Needs schools and Secondary schools. Although I miss my home and my family, it’s so important to gain new experiences, get to know unfamiliar cultures and learn about different histories. 

I then moved to Yangon, Myanmar, to work at the Nord Anglia school there. The experience was amazing: mountains, pagodas, noodles, fresh salads, festivals, language learning, beaches, beeping taxis, power cuts, floods, kayaking, biking, climbing… the list goes on!

I’m really grateful to the whole community here at BIS. Thanks for a lovely start.

Health and Safety Updates

Photographs

Please take note of the school’s policy regarding photographs.  Photographs shared privately through our online journal, Seesaw, must be kept for personal viewing only; they must not be shared publically on social media.  Any photos taken in school on personal devices must be of your own children only and must not have other parents’ children in the photograph.  All photos taken of your children at school must not be shared publicly on social media or between non-family members such as, other parents in the school.  By following these guidelines, we ensure our BIS safeguarding policy is adhered to and that our children are kept safe.  Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Collecting Children Safely

Keeping our children safe is extremely important.  From Monday 7th October, we will ask all students, teachers and parents to walk along the corridors when visiting the school between 2pm and 3pm instead of walking across the main playground which will allow us to get the buses on site carefully and the children on the buses in a safe manner. Thank you for your kind support.

Gate C Exit and Entry

If you are a parent that uses Gate C to enter or exit from school or who has a nanny or driver that takes your children that way, please can we remind you that you need to use the footbridge if you want to cross the road. We do not have guards on duty there to help people cross and with a lot of traffic coming around that corner quite quickly, we must keep the area clear. Please can you heed the requests from staff when they ask you to use the bridge to cross. Thank you for your support.

PTG Weekly Update

Find out more about the upcoming PTG events including the parents' pot luck lunch that you won't want to miss and the rest of the work that the PTG do by accessing their weekly post with more details here.

Managing our Traffic Together

We would like to remind all parents about our Drivers Code of Conduct and once more ask for your assistance and cooperation in helping to make the BIS traffic flow with ease between the campuses and in the general vicinity of the school. Using the Code of Conduct, with key information in both English and Vietnamese, we aim to further educate our drivers to make better choices when they enter the areas around our school campuses and within the Thao Dien area as a whole.

Please take time to talk to you drivers about the this and ensure that it is visible in your car at all times. This will serve as a reminder about our expectations for all drivers when they are bringing our children to school in the morning and picking them up at the end of the day.

Safeguarding at school – it’s everyone’s responsibility

If, during your visit to school, you have any reason to be concerned about the safety of a young person, please contact the Designated Safeguarding Person.

Please note that CCTV cameras are in operation at all times across the campus.

And finally,

Please take note of some upcoming important dates for the diary. 

• Wednesday 9^th October                                3pm – 5pm         Young Musician Semi Final @ Black Box Theatre
• Tuesday 15^th October                                     9am – 11am       Open Morning at Juniors for Prospective parents
• Tuesday 15^th October                                     5.30pm                 Young Musician Final @ Theatre
• Thursday 17^th October                                   All Day                  Business and Enterprise Day @ Small Field
• Friday 18^th October                                         8.15am                 EAL Presentations for parents                   

Thank you for your continued support of our students and school. We hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw, Headteacher of Junior Campus