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Education in its essence is about change, it is a slow process - evolution not revolution. But, every now and then it creates moments that serve as mileposts, as markers on our journey. This week, we had the opportunity for two such mileposts for our Year 7 students and our Year 12 students.
The whole Secondary Campus community has felt joy in the palpable energy and enthusiasm our Year 7 students have brought to the campus. They have been simply superb in the way they have adapted to being back together face-to-face, enjoying building connections and exploring our learning and social spaces. We will focus on building these routines and connections as they complete the transition to life at Secondary over the term ahead. Well done Year 7 for a great week!
Our Y12 students received significant recognition this week for their magnificent performance in the 2021 Cambridge IGCSE examinations series. BIS HCMC students claimed an incredible 15 Outstanding Learner Awards in total- with 3 High Achievement Awards for French, Korean and Spanish and nine Top in Vietnam Awards in Mathematics, Science, English Literature, Chemistry, Economics, Geography and Computer Science. Two students - Marya and Sue - achieved the highly prestigious Top in the World Award for Modern Foreign Language, Mandarin and Design Technology. Finally the “Best Student across Eight subjects” accolade was also claimed by a student from BIS HCMC. Congratulations Jane! Please see below for more details.
I am sure you will agree these achievements are significant recognition of the dedication of our students and can give us all confidence and pride to be part of such a successful learning community. We value these academic outcomes because of the knowledge, skills and understanding they represent and the doors they open for students, but we know that a true education is one that does more. In this week’s update you will find news on the re-introduction of our internal CCA programme commencing later this term that forms such an important part of our students’ education.
Lastly I would like to draw your attention to the COVID Update from Mr Wills below. Following these clear and simple steps will enable us all to be confident in our role as parents and measures followed in school. We thank you for your continued support.
We have made great strides forward in recent weeks and I know that if we continue to work in partnership in the important period ahead, all our students will be able to learn together on campus and achieve their potential as our Year 7 and Year 12 students have demonstrated this week.
With my best wishes to you all for the weekend ahead.
Sean O’Neill
It is with great pride that we celebrate our students who have received prestigious awards from Cambridge Assessment International Education to acknowledge their outstanding performance in the 2021 Cambridge examination series.
The Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards programme celebrates the success of learners taking Cambridge examinations in over 40 countries around the world.
I am so proud that BIS students are among the recipients of this year's awards and was honoured to be able to present these students with their awards this morning in a special year 12 Assembly. To reach such levels of achievement is a huge testament to the dedication of these students and the support of their teachers and families. That they accomplished this in such a period of uncertainty is worthy of even greater praise. They are an inspiration to other students as to what can be achieved.
I know you will join me in congratulating each student on this significant achievement which is a source of pride for our whole school community.
BIS HCMC students received awards in the following categories:
It has been a real pleasure to welcome Year 7 to the campus this week and to see the gradual easing of apprehension over the first few days as they get settled into campus life. It has been noticeable how much more relaxed the students have been since Monday’s start. Following the prolonged time spent online, it has also been great to see them return to their practical subjects with a love and enthusiasm for their learning. Well done Year 7s! See below a flavour of our year 7s first days on campus.
Ioan Morgan - Head of Year 7
It was fantastic to be able to welcome parents of our Year 7 students to campus this week for our Year 7 Parent Open Morning. We very much appreciated the chance to connect face-to-face for the first time with so many parents and lead campus tours where we saw learning in action in our new facilities. A huge thank you to all the parents who attended. Look out for further opportunities for parents of other year groups later in the academic year.
Here at BIS HCMC we take great joy in our Nord Anglia collaborations with pioneering institutions such as MIT, Juilliard and of course the humanitarian aid organisation, UNICEF. This partnership seeks to empower our student changemakers and provides them with priceless opportunities to gain the knowledge and skills required to make positive change within their communities. With December 2021 marking the 75th anniversary of UNICEF it provided excellent opportunities to celebrate the milestone with meaningful projects such as The Wisdom Project.
As a part of this project, our own BIS HCMC Year 12 student, Nini Pham, was selected to interview former UNICEF UK President and UNICEF Ambassador, Lord David Puttnam. Watch Nini and Lord Puttnam’s discussion on Sustainability for the Wisdom Project.
This week we launched sign-ups for our upcoming internal CCA programme led by our teaching team and older students. Co-curricular learning is an important feature of our students’ experience at BIS, where we create opportunities for them to develop learning skills and character traits outside of the classroom and formal curriculum subjects. These CCAs cover Creativity, Activity, Service, Sustainability, and Study Support domains, with something on offer for everyone. They enable our students to connect with each other over their passions, and generate excitement and enthusiasm across the campus. We’re also looking forward to the continuation of many of our student-led sustainability and community projects, where they are able to tackle local solutions for community problems making a positive impact. A huge thank you to all of our teachers who are helping to make this programme happen!
Students can sign-up for CCAs using SchoolsBuddy by Wednesday 23rd February. Places are randomly allocated and will be confirmed on Friday 25th February. CCAs begin from Monday 28th February.
COVID UPDATE
Covid Community Transmission Management, Reduction and Prevention Measures: A Summary
As a school we recommend regular testing at home. The health of our community is everyone’s responsibility. Through vigilance, monitoring, testing and following these points, we can all help to maintain safety and lessen the chances of community transmission.
Click here for Vietnamese Version
Click here for Korean Version
Gareth Wills Deputy Head, Welfare & Guidance
We have so far experienced a very successful return to campus with students getting back into the rhythm, flow and routine of school life. However, it is important not to miss the significance of this shift.
For many the transition has been taken in their stride, being smooth and relatively uneventful. For others, it has been more taxing and a struggle. For all, it is a change and it is important for us all to be mindful of this, the journey and of the stages of other members of our community on this journey. Additionally, it is valuable to remember that this transition is not over and is ongoing. Click here to read more.
February 17th 2022 – 3.00pm-4.00pm: An overview of University Guidance at BIS – Watch again here
This webinar is aimed at parents as well as students. It will be particularly useful for parents of students in Year 10, 11 and 12. You will hear from Dr. Simon Finnigan and Mr. Paul Rispin who will talk about the “Journey” students make through the last two years at BIS when they will be making plans for future university study.
The webinar includes current Year 13 students, who discuss their own experiences of making university applications, and our new Year 12 University Guidance Subject Ambassadors- Bella Johnston and Marya Cao- who will be assisting in the coordination -and sometimes in the hosting- of our Spring 2022 Webinar Series.
Australian University Fair - Thursday 24th February
This is a major event being hosted exclusively for our group of 4 British Schools, with an impressive 17 universities in attendance:
La Trobe University
There will be an overview of studying in Australia followed by each university being in a breakout room. This will give students and parents a fantastic opportunity to individually ask questions of the university representatives. This event is recommended for any students considering applying to any Australian university.
February 24th 2022 – 3.30pm-5pm: Australian University Fair – Please sign up for this at this link.
As we have recently welcomed our students back to our Secondary Campus, we are now able to look forward to experiencing some of the events that really shape what makes BIS, BIS. The first of those, arguably our students’ favourite event of the year, is International Day.
We are beginning our plans to hold International Day on Thursday 31st March and invite our Secondary parents to join the Secondary Campus International Day planning meeting on Wednesday 2nd March at 8.45am in the Auditorium.
Event details
Date: Wednesday 2nd March
Time: 8.45am
Location: Secondary Auditorium
Register here if you will be attending the meeting on Wednesday 2nd March.
If you would like to sign up as the representative for your country, please use the link below and register your name using this link - Country Representative Link 2022
Have a wonderful weekend,
Sean O’Neill
Head Teacher, Secondary Campus
We are incredibly proud of our Year 11 class of 2024, for their impressive IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) results. This incredible cohort of 155 students, our largest IGCSE class in the history of the school, have significantly surpassed UK and international averages and were awarded 97% of all grades at A*-C. An incredible 62% of all grades awarded were at A*-A.
A whole world of possibilities awaits our graduating class of 2023. With 385 university offers so far, and many more still to come from Korea, Australia and Singapore, their remarkable IBDP achievements have opened pathways to some of the best universities and specialist institutions across the globe.