Ms Deirdre Grimshaw: Weekly Update 08/10/2021

With the lifting of restrictions here in HCMC, I have spent the week working at the Junior Campus.

It has been a real delight to be here albeit a much quieter place without the students. We were however, able to welcome all our new staff to the campus on Monday afternoon for a tour, to share with them where they will be working and welcome them properly to BIS.  It was such a delight to have them all here and there was a real buzz of excitement as we toured both EY&I and the Junior Campus.  At the end of this weekly update, you can find out what is currently happening on the Junior Campus now that we have resumed construction and maintenance in preparation for the children to return to school.

Today we encouraged everyone to step away from their screens and take part in our Global Campus Challenge Day! It has been a day filled with enjoyment, excitement, challenge, a good degree of frustration but most importantly, fun and lots of activity away from our screens.

The day has seen the children relying on many of the Aide Memoire attributes. Care, perseverance, reflection and working together if they have completed the  task with siblings or other family members.  Despite the frustrations, it was pleasing to see the children persevering when they were not able to make something work the first time and to complete the task for some and for others to have had a go. 

Being part of Nord Anglia Education brings many benefits and access to the Global Campus is one.  Today’s Challenge Day is being replicated by many schools and the children in the coming weeks, will be able to see the work of other students in Nord Anglia Schools across the Globe. 

There are many benefits of the Global Campus and during their time at BIS, students will have the opportunity through Global Campus, to experience the following:

Collaboration. Global Campus encourages your child to work together in group activities that require problem-solving skills, creativity and effective collaboration.

Internationalism. Nord Anglia encourages students to see themselves as active members in a global community. It exposes them to diverse perspectives while challenging them on their own assumptions.

Student Leadership. The Global Campus gives  the opportunity to lead groups of older and younger students in our online, in-school and worldwide activities.

Extended Learning. Global Campus activities supplement your child's academic curriculum, widening students' intellectual horizons through new experiences and engagement in areas of interest.

Independent Learning.  The various programmes offered on Global Campus empower students to direct their own learning, while strengthening their independence, motivation and creativity.

Expertise Development. Students have the unique opportunity to work with selected experts, motivating them through insight into what it takes to become an expert in a particular field.

These opportunities are developed for students at different ages and stages and we encourage you, with your child, to explore the Global Campus site and see what is available for your children.

Virtual Co-Curricular Activities (VCCAs)

Our next block of  VCCAs are being planned. They will start on Monday, 1st November and finish on Friday,  3rd December.

Do look out for the email you received on Tuesday, 5th October  that will have the link to Schools Buddy and the booklet. Sign up began on  Wednesday, 6th October and will continue until 5pm Monday, 11th October.

Any questions please contact Ms Thanh or Mr Chris.

FOBISIA Maths Competition

After school had finished on Wednesday this week, 48 children from Year 5 and Year 6 took part in the FOBISIA Maths Online Individual Competition, hosted by Seoul Foreign British School, competing against international schools throughout Asia.

The following day, a team of four children from both Year 5 and Year 6 competed in the Group Competition, a challenge whereby the team had to collaborate continually to navigate their way out of a mathematical escape room puzzle in the shortest possible time. Despite the challenges of collaborating virtually to solve complex problems, the children excelled in the way they listened to each other and shared their mathematical reasoning. Perhaps most importantly of all, they also found time to enjoy the experience as can be seen above  from the Year 5 team.  We look forward to hearing the results of the competition when we return after the half term break.

Andy James, Year 5 Teacher and Maths Leader

Exploring West African Music and Djembe Drumming

Students in Years 4 - 6 have been exploring music from West Africa in their music lessons over the last few weeks. In performing tasks they have focused on djembe drumming and have been working through a series of challenges to achieve different coloured belts.  The different belts support musical development with increasing rhythmic complexity and drumming techniques. It has been wonderful to see the progress made; students have demonstrated excellent perseverance through careful rehearsal and review of feedback to work towards the joy of achieving the next level.

We have further enjoyed developing knowledge about a different culture through listening activities combined with singing songs from Ghana and Kenya.  A specific musical focus was structure and students impressed their music teachers by applying their knowledge from their IPC units using these musical structures. The creativity of combining these with their own rhythmic patterns has been very impressive!

Watch the Year 4, 5 and 6: Djembe Judo Hall of Fame video here

The Music Department

Headteacher’s Coffee Morning

This Wednesday, we look forward to welcoming our EY&I and Junior Campus parents to another Headteacher’s Coffee Morning.  With the theme of Enrichment and Community, we will share with you what is happening beyond the school day for our students during this period of Virtual Learning.

If you have any questions or concerns that you would like to raise, please send an email with details directly to Ms Dee, deirdre.grimshaw@bisvietnam.com

When: Oct 13, 2021 08:30 AM HCMC

Topic: EY&I and Junior Headteacher’s Coffee Morning

Please click here to join the ZOOM webinar:

Passcode: 722210

Webinar ID: 868 9340 4065

 Virtual Tea Time Recitals!

What a wonderful recital that took place last Friday.  If you missed it, you can catch up on the wonderful performances here. So, sit back, pour yourself a cuppa and enjoy just under 30 minutes of wonderful music from 11 of our students in Year 3 - 6.

If you would like your child, from any year group, to feature in a future Virtual Tea Time Recital please email Ms Anna for further details (anna.hogan@bisvietnam.com)  A big thank you to all of the wonderful students, parents and instrumental teachers who have spent time preparing these for our enjoyment.

Anna Hogan, Primary Music Leader

Parcels of Hope

In our city alone, the pandemic has led to the closing of tens of thousands of businesses, and resulted in hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs. Those most vulnerable to the change are laborers who had been struggling to keep themselves and their families fed even before these challenging times.

A long-term BIS community partner, the FFSC, an organisation that provides basic needs such as food and education for more than 1,100 street children and their families, has unfortunately needed to close their shelters and centres due to Covid-19. Three of these centres, which BIS have worked closely with over the past five years;  Bình Triệu and Bình Thọ development centres as well as Binh An Shelter are seeking help for a total of 236 households in desperate need.

We are a group of Year 12 students who have been deeply moved by the living conditions of these people, and have therefore been working with the aim of providing each of the 236 families with a Parcel of Hope which will contain 25kg of rice, fish sauce, cooking oil and sugar, at a cost of 550,000 VND.

We know that this is an ambitious goal, but it can be reached if we work together. If each student from the Secondary Campus alone donates 70,000 VND, almost 130 million VND will be raised. By purchasing one parcel, you will be feeding one household for 2 whole months. Together, we will be able to provide 2 months worth of food for the 236 households, which is approximately 944 people.

The donation process will start on the 14th and ends on the 21st of October. On the first day of the campaign, the PTG will be hosting a virtual quiz and are hoping to raise funds in support of the Parcels of Hope project. Please join us by registering via Zoom at bit.ly/3kPIShh.

We are also pleased to launch our Facebook page @parcelsofhopeproject on the 14th October so please visit the page to learn more about how you can be a part of this life impacting project.

We really hope that the Parcels of Hope will find their way to the households in need and that you are a part of it.

We need your help.  They need our help.

Thai An Truong, Vivian Le, Susu Le, Philip Vuu, Steve Tran, Hellen Nguyen

BISHCMC Parcels Of Hope Team

NAE Global Campus 5k Virtual Race

The next instalment of this competition is the NAE Global Campus 5k Virtual Race. This event is due to take place from Saturday 16 to Saturday 23 October.

As the distance is significantly longer than the first race, for those of you wishing to enter, I am giving you sufficient time and information to form a training programme for this event. The event is available to all students from Y1-Y13 and to all fitness levels. If you wish to walk the entirety of the 5k virtual race as a personal challenge and for self-satisfaction then that is fantastic. Please complete it at your own pace and still send me your time. However, if you would like to attempt to run some or all of the race then I have included information below that may be off help:

 PART WALK-PART RUN the 5k

Two websites that are helpful for both advice and training programmes are below:

SIS 3 week 5k training programme (applicable to EYI and Junior Campus children)

RUN the 5k

Below is a very simple 3 week training programme to safely reach the distance of running the 5k. This plan is available and individual to all as it is based on a percentage of maximum intensity and speed of running. This will gradually build up to the 5k distance and includes rest periods if required. However, it is advised that this should only be attempted if you have a good base level of fitness and an interest in endurance running.

 I hope in the coming days and weeks that there may be some relaxation in local laws that will enable flexibility and choice in how to complete the training and race. This could include:

• On a personal treadmill
• On a treadmill that is in a legally open gym
• In a designated green zone within a villa/apartment complex (and it is safe and legal to do so)
• In a designated green zone in a park or road (and it is safe and legal to do so)

Please note that if you are able to train for and run the 5k race outside the following should be done before participation:

1. The route calculated to be 5k
2. The route checked to be free of obstructions and hazards
3. Agreed supervision by an adult at all times

If you would like to enter this competition, please complete the sign up before 3.00pm on Friday 15 October.

Once you have signed up you can complete the race anytime between 16 – 23 October and submit the RESULTS to me before 5.00pm on Sunday 24 October.

The times of this race will be done on a trust basis (no evidence is required) although you may wish to submit a picture of your treadmill / stopwatch / strava time if you are proud to do so.  I hope to see even more people being ambitious and competing against other students from Nord Anglia schools from around the world.

Good luck and stay safe!

Phil Husband, Director of Sport BIS

Health and Safety

Please remember the 5K to keep safe.

13/10/21              Headteachers’ Coffee Morning

14/10/ 21             PTG VIrtual Community Quiz 

15/10/21              Virtual Co-Curricular Activities: Block 1 Ends

16/10/21              Half-term break begins

25/10/21              Term 1.2 begins

PTG 2021 - 2022

Primary PTG Update

This Thursday the  PTG from primary and secondary will host a virtual quiz.  Details are on the poster above and we hope many of our families will get involved!   Please join us by registering via Zoom here.

We continue to encourage our parents to be an active member of our PTG group.  One way is to volunteer as a class or country rep. Thanks to all those that have volunteered so far. We have a great turnout of parents.   It’s never too late so please click on the links below  if you would like to be a class or country rep.

Class rep sign up

Country rep sign up

If you have ideas to share or would like to get in touch, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our email  is primaryptgbis@gmail.com 

 Enjoy your weekend and hope to see more sign ups.

 Thank you,

Gayatri Shankar, Primary PTG Coordinator 

And Finally…

As mentioned at the beginning of this weekly update, I have been delighted, this week, to have worked from the school campus. There is lots of noise, alas not from the children but from the army of workers completing the work on site that was stopped mid July due to the lockdown.

As I write this, there is work going on in several areas including the refurbishment of the school gym, new doors being put in place in all bathrooms and changing room facilities, the refurbishment of the Year 4 lockers and classroom frontage.  The development of the back area of the school to create a garden and outdoor classroom area. Additionally, there is maintenance of the playground areas and office areas being completed also.

A busy time but as always, moving forward with the focus on the Education, Wellbeing and Health and Safety of the students and BIS community at the forefront always.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend ahead.
 

Deirdre Grimshaw
Headteacher of Junior Campus