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‘At the British International School Ho Chi Minh City we believe in a holistic education that fosters a love of learning and balances academic success, character development and wellbeing.’ This is the opening statement of our mission statement (which can be found in full on the school website).
During the time of virtual school, it was not always easy to fully achieve this, however, since face-to-face learning returned in February, we have seen the children thrive across all aspects of our vision. When we talk about holistic education we are referring to developing life skills such as the ability to speak in front of an audience, or the confidence to explore and investigate unfamiliar environments. This was evident this week as our F2 and F3 children celebrated their learning with parents, and our Year 2 children explored the Junior Campus as part of their transition arrangements.
Covid restrictions have meant that children have not had the opportunity to perform live in front of their parents. This week, our F3 children took on that challenge as they shared some of the learning that had been happening in class over the last few weeks. At BIS, we use a programme called Talk 4 Writing (T4W) which is based upon the belief that listening to stories and learning stories will enable children to read and write stories. They retold the story of Little Red Riding Hood and then in groups shared ways they could ‘innovate’ the story by introducing new characters or changing the setting.
Initially, it was evident that they had not spoken to large groups for a while, but as the assembly continued, the children grew in confidence and spoke clearly for everyone to hear. Well done F3s!
Ms Jo
F2 were delighted to be able to invite parents into school to celebrate their learning. The children sang their ‘Good Morning’ song, performed their Talk for Writing story, ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,’ played the claves to the beat, sang a fantastic song about bears where they made a very scary roar, shared pictures and spoke brilliantly about their favourite activities in F2, and finally sang a good-bye song. The teacher’s were all very proud of how confidently the children performed. Well done F2!
Last week, F2 had a ‘whale’ of a time transitioning into the EY&I swimming pool. Each class was given a 20 minute lesson of swimming by our PE teachers and swimming coaches. A safe slide-in entry was taught first before beginning motorbike kicking races, diving for hoops and taking Mr Froggy for a swim. The students were so excited to be in the ‘big pool’ and had a brilliant time swimming in the deep water and playing with their friends. It was delightful to see so much confidence and lots of smiley faces. Well done F2!
Ms Sophie
This week, the Year 2 children took their first steps into the Year 3 classrooms on the Junior Campus, taking part in a treasure hunt around the school. It is hard to believe that in only three weeks time, their time at the Early Years and Infant Campus will come to an end and they will transition into Year 3.
Year 3 children were the hosts of the visit and they partnered up with a Year 2 child, guiding them around the campus. The hunt included visits to the sports pitches, music rooms and, importantly, the canteen before the Year 2 children had to unscramble the letters, revealing a hidden message from their newly made Year 3 friends. There was then an opportunity for children to ask questions and ease any anxieties that they had about the change. There was much excitement about the size of the campus and the many play areas outside!
Next week, Year 2 children will continue with transition activities, including visits to the Junior Campus for both sports day and a Year 6 production. Here are some photos of the event.
Tom White
Year 2 Leader and Class Teacher
It was wonderful to see parents joining Ms Dee and me on Wednesday for a ‘Headteachers’ Coffee Morning’ in the Blackbox Theatre at the Junior Campus. We shared updates about our school priorities, fed back on the Parent Satisfaction Survey and looked ahead to some of the facilities upgrades that will be happening during the school holidays. If you were unable to attend, you can see a copy of the presentation here:
Headteachers’ Coffee Morning June 2022.pdf
The children have been working hard in their PE lessons mastering the athletics techniques for the upcoming sports day. After the success of last year, the format will be the same, based at the Junior Campus, with all children participating for their house in both track and field events. The children will run, jump, and throw to earn points for their house, with the emphasis on having fun!
Parents are welcome to come and watch from the bleachers next to the large field. Entry is through Gate C at the Junior Campus.
Monday 6th June
F2 & F3 - 8.30am -9.30 am
Year 1 - 9.45am -10.45 am
Year 2 - 11.00am -12.00pm
We would like to invite all parents to our PTG AGM taking place on Thursday June 9th at 5.30pm in the Early Years and Infant Campus. We will hear from the PTG at Secondary and Primary and say farewell to some key members of both PTG groups. We hope you can join us.
Consider participating in our PTG Pre-Loved Fair on Saturday 11th June. There are a couple of ways to join.
You can purchase a table and sell all your second hand goods, or come along as a customer and pick up a bargain. The Fair is open to all BIS Community members including students, families and staff.
By now you will have received our email with the details so please check your inbox.
If you would like to book a table please email the Secondary Campus Receptionist – Katie Walsh katie.walsh@bisvietnam.com.
If you have any questions please WhatsApp Melanie Rowe, PTG on +84 93 802 9513 or email melanierowe1201@gmail.com.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Event Details:
Date: Saturday 11th June
Time: 9.00am to 12.00pm
Location: Secondary Campus Auditorium
A BIS Community event
06/06/22 Sports Day for F2 - Y2 (Details above)
w/c 13/06/22 International Week
w/c 13/06/22 Staggered sharing of reports
22/06/22 F1 End of Year Celebration with F1S, V, N @ 8.45am
23/06/22 F1 End of Year Celebration with F1B & I @ 8.45am
24/06/22 Term ends @ 11.50am
Symptomatic (Any Cold/Flu/Covid Symptoms) - stay off school until symptom free.
Take a precautionary Rapid Antigen Test at home prior to return and keep the school informed.
Any concern you have at home with the health of your child, and include the Health and Safety Leads of each campus (EYIC Ms Sarah Curran sarah.curran@bisvietnam.com and JC Mr Chris McKelvie Christopher.mckelvie@bisvietnam.com.
It is vital, also, that you inform the office of any positive case within your family – these are called ‘household close contacts’.
If your child needs the School Nurse to administer any prescribed medication during the school day please do not put medication in the school bag but contact the School Nurse and sign the appropriate form.
Ms Sarah Curran and Mr Chris McKelvie, Deputy Headteachers
Online application for Fundinotots
If you are, and are interested in doing some supply/cover teaching at BIS, please contact either Chris McKelvie (christopher.mckelvie@bisvietnam.com) or Sarah Curran (sarah.curran@bisvietnam.com). They will arrange to meet and talk you through what is required in order to join those who we call upon to cover classes when the teacher is unable to be there.
We have some exciting events coming up before the end of term. Next week, there is Sports Day on Monday (see above) and on Friday we launch ‘International Week 2022’. Please make sure you check you child’s learning letter and notifications on Seesaw. We really don’t want anyone to miss out on these wonderful opportunities.
I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend,
Ian Battersby, Headteacher
Joining BIS HCMC in Foundation Stage 2 (F2) is a fantastic age to begin a lifetime love for learning, encouraged and nurtured by our experienced and committed class and specialist teachers, who personalise learning unique to every child. We look back at what our F2s have experienced in less than one term already at BIS HCMC.
The weekly update from Ian Battersby, Headteacher of the Early Years and Infant Campus highlighting some of the events that have taken place this week.