Mr Sean O'Neill: Weekly Update 18/03/2022

Sharing learning experiences is at the core of a learning community such as BIS Ho CHi Minh City. 

This has of course been much more difficult in this recent period where we have missed sharing the fruits of learning together, in person, and why being able to celebrate the work of our students together has now taken on even greater significance.  It is my pleasure to invite each of you, our BIS parents, to enjoy the work of our wonderful student artists at our IB Visual Arts Exhibition 2022 held from 29th-31st March. Knowledge created in Art is a communication between artists and their audience and our IB artists have worked over many months to create and curate this exhibition for our community. I look forward to seeing you there.

IB Visual Arts Exhibition: An invitation to all BIS parents

Join us for our  International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) Visual Arts Exhibition 2022.

Our IBDP Students have been working incredibly hard for their final year exhibition, producing some truly stunning and varied pieces of artwork, with great stories behind each one.

Join us at Ngo Art Gallery, Q2 Terrace, 21 Vo Truong Toan, Thu Duc City and experience this wonderful gallery curated by our six students alongside our art department.

The gallery will be open to the public on 29th to 31st March, 8am - 6pm.

Click 'Going' on our Facebook event page to set your reminder.

Click here and fill out the form to receive more details from our team.

International Day 2022 - Thursday 31st March

For our BIS Community, International Day is when we connect not only to our own cultural identity but also celebrate our collective diversity and the common bonds that we share- and all in a spirit of fun.

Planning for International Day on Thursday 31st March is well underway and we encourage any parent who would like to support, assist or take part to contact the school via our Secondary Receptionist, Katie Walsh or sc@bisvietnam.com to find out more.

Event details

• Date:  Thursday 31st March
• Time: All day event
• Location: Secondary Campus

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.

Spotlight on Year 7 Science

It was wonderful to spend some time in the lab with Year 7 Scientists as they went on a journey of exploration into the wonderful world of acids and bases with Mr Crittenden. It was so impressive to witness their knowledge retrieval and collaboration as well as their practical investigation skills. Well done Year 7 scientists!

Leadership Update : Year 10 Pastoral Mentors

After a highly competitive and careful selection process, followed by a high level training session earlier this week, the Year 10 Pastoral Mentors team were finally able to start their mentoring journey properly today by leading activities during Year 7 form time.

The Year 10 Mentors help to improve the morale and wellbeing of the KS3 students of BIS. Through organising and delivering wellbeing themed activities, this opportunity will allow you not only to facilitate a unique relationship between different year groups but also provide a more comfortable environment amongst younger students.

In their first session today, the Year 10 Mentors led a number of icebreaker sessions with Year 7 forms to support them to get to know their assigned classes. Over the next few weeks the sessions will become more specialised, dealing with issues such as resilience and mindfulness. 

I look forward to observing this fantastic team of students over the next few months as they work support the pastoral needs of Year 7.

Well done to Bella, Kynthia, Kathy, Serena, Kevin, Sonali, Iris, Jessie, Vivian, Sarah, Thao My and Jae Yon!

I would also like to thank  Head Students Tyler and Yee Zhe for setting up and supporting the Pastoral Mentor process.  Well done everyone!

Stuart Elliot
Head of Year 10

Leadership Update: Library Leaders

Student leadership at BIS runs across all ages and areas of school life. One group that is busy shaping the student experience at the heart of our campus are our Library leaders.

Library Leaders is a group of like-minded students, from across the year groups, who have a love of books and reading, as well as an interest in building BIS reading communities on our Secondary campus and implementing student-led change in our library.

Our Library Leaders are currently surveying ideas for development in the library from all students across the school, giving every student a chance to actively participate in change and shape their learning environments and resources. They are all excited to see what changes students would like in the library, and ready to get on with the job of planning this change, and ultimately presenting their proposal to our Senior Leadership team for approval.

Please encourage your children to complete the survey out today, and help shape the Curve, our wonderful library and learning space, at BIS Secondary.

Anita Curley
Secondary Teacher Librarian.

The Importance of Nutrition for Success: Lecture for our IB Students

Preparing our students for life at university is a key feature of our Wellbeing Programme in Year 13.  We were delighted to welcome Ms Lois Topping, Science teacher and certified nutritionist back to BIS to deliver a series of lectures to our IB students on the importance of good nutrition for success.  Ms Topping shared her knowledge and experience to help our students explore how they each can maintain a healthy lifestyle when they are living independently at university in a new environment without the support of parents.

Please see the slides below for a flavour of the key messages which I think apply to us all at any age!

More success for BIS HCMC students at the Young Musician of the Year Awards

As well as our individual award winners at the 2022 Young Musician of the year Awards, BIS HCMC students were also recognised for their stunning collaborative work.

YiHeon, Jason and DongGue picked up the best ensemble award.

Click below to hear their remarkable rendition:

Covid Update

Thank you for your continued support for our community health measures. As you are aware a new decree was issued this week removing the quarantine period for people entering Vietnam. Our existing on campus measures remain in place. Here is a reminder:

Vaccinations for children aged 5 to 12 years

Thank you to all the parents that completed the Google Form regarding vaccinations.  For the families that have requested their details to be forwarded to the Ministry Of Health (MoH) and Department of Education and Training (DOET), we have completed this.  As and when we receive more information, we will share it with all parents.  Please note that we do not have information as to what the vaccine will be or when these vaccinations will take place.  It is also important to note that the vaccinations will not be mandatory for our students.

We do not at present have any information regarding a booster vaccine for students aged 12-18.  As and when this information becomes available, as always we will let you know.

School Photographs 2022 - 14th to 23rd March

Secondary Campus school photos have been taking place throughout the week. Full details have been sent to parents by email.

Secondary Campus - Monday 14th to Wednesday 23rd March

In addition to Individual and Form Group photos which will take place during school time, it will be possible to book an appointment for Sibling Photos after school hours.  Please check your emails for more information.

A reminder about the school’s uniform policy now that we are back on campus

• How we present ourselves is an important way in which we show respect for each other and the learning that takes place in our school
• The uniform is a means of showing our identity and pride in our school to the wider community as well as being practical school wear.
• All children from Year 7 upwards are expected to wear the school uniform every day.
• Students should wear sensible black leather shoes and black belts for boys.
• In addition to this, all children should wear either: white, black or grey ankle high socks.

College & University Guidance Virtual Visits 2022

This week saw the latest in our country focussed University Webinar Series with a look at Studying in Singapore, which is a popular destination for BIS students. Next week on Tuesday we have  a subject specific webinar led by a professor of Computer Science from the University of Southampton. On Thursday we will also have a webinar on Studying in Canada and then the final week the US. Details of all our University Webinars can be found on our Spring 2022 University Webinars page here. Sign-up links for the remaining webinars this term are given below.

•  March 22nd 2022 – 3.30pm – 4.30pm:  A Super Computer at your desk – A presentation from the University of Southampton. – Please sign up for this at this link

• March 24th 2022 – 3.30pm – 4.30pm:  Study in Canada – Please sign up for this at this link

• March 31st 2022 – 3.30pm – 4.30pm:  Study in the USA  – Please sign up for this at this link.

We hope to see you at one or more of these events.

Saigon Children's Charity Cycle Adventure

• Monday 14th March to Wednesday 23rd March: Secondary Campus School Photos 2022, Secondary Campus MPR
• Tuesday 29th to Thursday 31st March: IB Visual Arts Exhibition ‘22, Ngo Art Gallery, Q2 Terrace, 8am to 6pm, all welcome.
• Thursday 31st March: International Day 2022, Secondary Campus, Secondary
• Friday 1st April: End of Term 2, 11.35am
• Monday 18th April: First Day of Term 3

Have a wonderful weekend,

Sean O’Neill
Head Teacher, Secondary Campus