So much of our students’ educational journey is characterised by small steps - small steps that cumulate and culminate into a significant event.
As we approach the end of Term 2, this week on the Secondary Campus has been characterised by this sense of culmination, of bringing learning and preparation together into something special. From our IBDP and IGCSE linguists completing their oral assessments, our IB artists completing the painstaking conclusion of their IBVA Exhibition, or our Year 7 students completing their first term on campus. Each is experiencing that sense of arriving at a milestone in their journey.
Next week, of course, is International Day, another moment of preparation and celebration. I would like to personally thank all parents who are already involved in what promises to be a wonderful event. We want all students to show their BIS spirit by wearing national dress, colours or costumes. Our wonderful PTG are co-ordinating the parent effort - thanks to them and to all the teachers and students who will make it an event to remember. Although we are unable to have a parent audience on campus for our culture show, we will be live streaming this feature, so please do join us online if you can!
I would like to also thank you all for your continued support for our community health measures. As part of the wider community, we are moving forward - as reflected in the updated guidance issued by the Department of Education this week. Please see the update summary from Mr Wills below.
It is through partnership that we create the conditions for our students to enjoy such a rich learning experience whilst maintaining our community health measures. As we approach the end of term, we should all feel proud of what we are achieving each week as a school community. I look forward to seeing many of you at our IB Visual Arts Exhibition and International Day next week.
For now, many best wishes to you all for a restful weekend.
Sean O’Neill
Update to Covid Management Measures for the Secondary Campus
Based on the newly released decree from the HCMC Peoples Committee, we will now be operating according to the following guidelines (see table below).
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F0 |
Self Isolate until symptom free. Once symptom free, the student can return to school with either:
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F1 Includes the following: (Direct Physical Contact during transmission period)
(Anyone living in the same home) |
If double vaccinated or recovered from covid in the last 90 days students can continue to attend school under the following conditions:
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Symptomatic (Any Cold/Flu/Covid Symptoms) |
Stay off school until symptom free.
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As you will see, our measures are in accordance with the latest guidelines, however, we have added in some additional requirements to help maintain and ensure our ongoing high levels of community health and wellbeing.
As before, please continue to communicate with the school in the event of cases, so that we can help with guidance, advice and support.
Your key points of contacts are:
In the event of any of the circumstances illustrated below, once informed, the school will make individual contact with parents to illustrate in detail the procedures and key guidance information.
Should you have any queries or questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Wills for further advice.
Many thanks for your continued help and support.
Regards,
Gareth Wills, Deputy Headteacher (Welfare and Guidance)
Year 8 Scientists felt the need for speed in their lessons this week in a cross curricular project using scientific thinking and design technology skills to put what they learned about speed into practice as they designed and made their own model F1 cars. 8B spent their first lesson this week investigating forces and speed in the Science lab. They then used their learning from this lesson to help them design their own formula one car which they then made in the DT rooms in their final lesson of the week. Next week we will race the cars to see who has managed to best combine their science learning with their design and making skills.
Dominic Cheng, Chemistry Teacher
The Kickstart Chemistry workshop, ran by the University of Sydney allowed Year 13 Chemistry students to consolidate and extend their knowledge and understanding of spectroscopic techniques. The session allowed them to revisit key areas, these include UV/VIS, Mass spectrometry, Infra-red and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). The students completed linked questions and competed in a Socrative quiz as the session progressed. The students were able to participate and interact with the workshop leaders and at the end were given the opportunity ask questions.
Helen Waterhouse, Head of Chemistry
This week, the Year 8 students became the weather forecasters for the topic, ’Weather天气’. They were so excited, well prepared and really confident to perform in front of the whole class. Such a lovely live weather forecast show. Well done, Year 8CN2
Emily Zhou - Chinese teacher
We now only have one week to go until International Day, one of the biggest highlights of our school calendar! Over the past few weeks teams of BIS staff and parents have been busy working away to create the activities that make our International Day so special, and we’re really excited to be sharing those with our students soon. Even though we have had to make some logistical changes to the running order to maintain our health and safety measures, we’ve made sure that all of the favourite activities are still taking place, from the Fashion Show to the Culture Show to the Inter-House Quiz, and of course, the International Food Festival. Also this year there will be a range of cultural workshops run by our parents and teachers from language to traditional craft activities, sports to food making- they promise to a wonderful addition to this great day of celebration.
Student checklist
A highlight of International Day is our BIS Culture Show where are students (and staff!) display their talents in performance that celebrate thier culture Although we are unable to have a parent audience on campus for our culture show we will be livestreaming this feature. Click here to join.
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 for more details and fill out the form to register.
As part of our busy Co-Curricular Programme, our Concert Band and Orchestra and ensembles have been busy honing their skills throughout Term 2. The video below is a brief taste of their wonderful sound, with the Concert Band rehearsing the theme from Hawaii 5-0!
[[\media\Orchestral Performance March 1 Web Version.mp4]]
This week saw the latest in our country focussed university webinar series with a look at Studying in Canada, which is a popular destination for BIS students. On Thursday next week we host our final Country-focussed webinar of the term looking ‘Studying in the US’. Recordings of all our university webinars so far this term can be found on our Spring 2022 University Webinars page here.
A sign-up link for next week’s webinar is also given below.
After the Spring break we will return to our ‘Virtual Visits’ style webinar. This is where rather than focusing on one country we focus entirely on one university. This gives students and parents a more in-depth look at a particular institution.
I am delighted to say that we already have Imperial College, ANU (Australia), NTU (Singapore), and the University of Edinburgh, who have already agreed to be one of our guest universities. We are also likely to once again play host US Ivy League Colleges UPenn and Brown in the coming term as well as a possible return visits from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.. We will send out further details on these Virtual Visits in due course when more are confirmed.
Following feedback from parents, we have decided to switch our webinar platform back to zoom for the summer term webinars and moving forward. As soon as these links are set up we will share these with the BIS community.
Paul Rispin, College and University Guidance
Autism Awareness Week is a collaborative effort between Saigon Children’s Charity (CIO) and the British International School, Ho Chi Minh City and will be held during the first week of April. The event serves to equip students, teachers and parents with the basic understanding of this complex, lifelong developmental disorder and encourage all stakeholders to participate in our “Steps Challenge” – a month-long campaign to fundraise for early intervention programs and other autism-related projects.
In addition, we have established resources to raise awareness of Autism for young people and families. These include two sets of information slides tailored to two different age groups – one for Primary and one for Secondary-aged children – and a Myths and Facts leaflet on Autism for parents in both English and Vietnamese. The resources can be found here and are accessible to all.
Please help us to raise awareness about Autism in Vietnam and join the Steps Challenge!
Ian Young - Director of Additional Educational Needs
For those that were around Nguyen Van Huong at pick-up time on Tuesday 22nd of March, it was a clear reminder that the rainy season here in Ho Chi Minh City is almost upon us.
Now is a good time to remind you all of the importance of staying safe during those afternoons where lightning is a definite hazard. AT BIS HCMC, we have recently installed a top-of-the range lightning detection unit which services all three campuses. The Kumwell Lightning warning system is used in other premium international schools across South East Asia, as well as leading golf courses in the region. What this offers us as a school and a community, is a good understanding of when lightning will be at its most dangerous.
To ensure the safety of all of those who enter our campuses, we have a clearly defined Lightning Procedure document which highlights risk at either a green (no-risk), yellow (increased risk) and red (high risk) level. For those that collect students, there will be some impact depending on the risk level. Please take a look at the following procedures, and be prepared for a slight disruption if there is a need to minimise risk. The following procedures will be applied according to the conditions:
No risk, continue as normal. There is no warning announcement for Green, and all outdoor activity continues as normal.
Proceed with caution. Pick up and departure from the campus is still possible, but be aware of the conditions at all times and get home as quickly as possible. At amber level, pick up will be from the classrooms for years 3, 4 and 5, and from the International Walkway for Year 6. There will be a warning announcement over the loudspeaker system.
All pick-ups will be postponed until amber is re-instated. Students and those picking them up will be required to remain under cover until the warning is lifted; leaving the campus will not be permitted. Buses will be held back until warning is lifted, or it is deemed safe to leave. At red level, pick up will be from the classrooms for years 3, 4 and 5, and from the International Walkway for Year 6. This alert will cause disruption, but is essential to ensure our students and community remain safe. There will be a warning announcement over the loudspeaker system.
If you are not the designated pick-up person for your family members, we ask you to please share these details with those that make the pick-up. Thank you for your continued support in ensuring the safety of every member of our BIS HCMC Community. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on gareth.wills@bisvietnam.com. Stay safe everyone!
Gareth Wills, Deputy Headteacher (Welfare and Guidance)
Have a wonderful weekend,
Kind regards,
Sean O’Neill
Head Teacher, Secondary Campus
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.
Last week two of our students, JaeYeon and Caitlin, joined over 100 NAE student delegates from around the world at the NAE-UNICEF Student Summit in New York City. This was an extraordinary opportunity for them to develop their leadership and advocacy skills and collaborate with like-minded students to cultivate their social purpose through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
101 Thao Dien Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Junior Campus
225 Nguyen Van Huong Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Secondary Campus
246 Nguyen Van Huong Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
