Mr Ian Battersby - Weekly Update 26th August 2022

‘Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity.’ - Nat Turner

The beginning of the school year involves a great deal of learning for everyone involved.  Children learning new routines and getting to know their teacher and their classmates, and teachers carrying out initial assessments to identify ways forward for the children.

Parents also have a lot of information to take in (especially those new to the school), and it was wonderful to see many parents at our Parents’ Information Evening on Wednesday.  As I mentioned at the start of the evening, there would be too much information to take in all at once, with both the main presentation in the Sports Hall and the Year Group presentations in the classrooms. They are good sources of information, so I would recommend that they are downloaded for reference.  Here is the link to the presentation:

Early Years and Infant Campus Parent Information Evening Presentation

Parent Teacher Student Conferences (PTSCs)

For children to thrive in their education, the partnership between home and school has to be strong.  On Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th September, Parent Teacher Student Conferences will be held. These meetings provide an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between home and school.  On Monday, you will receive a letter regarding the PTSCs; this will be followed by details of how to log in to our Parents Evening Software, so you can make an appointment with your child’s class teacher.

Vietnamese Language Coffee Morning

Monday 29th August at 8.30am in the EY&I Sports Hall

Vietnamese is a compulsory part of our education for Vietnamese families in our school.  The sessions run after school on Tuesdays and Fridays for children in Year 1 and above.  This year we are beginning a new programme for our younger Vietnamese children in F1, F2 and F3.  To find out more, please join Ms Vy (our Vietnamese Coordinator) on Monday.

Settling in Workshop for New Families

For families that have recently joined us, we hope that your child has begun to settle into our school and is beginning to feel more confident in their new surroundings. 

Transitioning to a new school and in some cases, a new country can be challenging and there will be a period of adjustment for all.

To support parents and families through this process, we would like to invite you to attend a ‘Settling in Workshop’ next Wednesday 31^st August 2022 at 8.30am. It will take place in the Sports Hall at the Early Years and Infant Campus.

The purpose of the workshop is to:

• Ensure the Admission Process is complete and that all relevant documentation has been shared and up to date contact details have been passed on.

• Provide support from our counselling team helping families to settle in Vietnam and thus help parents to support their children through this transition process.

• Provide an opportunity for you to ask any questions about the initial settling in period and seek clarification on any queries that may still be unresolved.

Please can we ask you to complete this short form to let us know if you will be attending the workshop. We look forward to seeing you next Wednesday 31^st August at the workshop.

Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs)

The Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) sign up closed at 5pm on Friday.  Next week you will be notified regarding which clubs your child will be participating in.  For any clubs requiring payment, please see Ms Minh in reception (Minh.Vu@bisvietnam.com).

Barracuda Swim Squad trials

Wow! What a week it has been for swimming. We have had over 350 children from across all three campuses trialling for the Barracudas Swim Squads this week. All of the students demonstrated commitment, dedication and passion in their trials, and we were blown away by the standard of swimming. The effort that the students put into their races was admirable, with many students arriving at school at 5.45am to be prepared for their trial. A big thank you to family members for supporting your children with this.  It has been a very difficult decision for us choosing just 30 swimmers to be part of each squad.

Please check Schools Buddy to find out if your child has been successful in making a squad. All the details regarding the days and times of training will be detailed there.

If you were not successful this time, please do not be disheartened, keep swimming and practising as you will be able to trial again at the beginning of Term 2.

Congratulations and a big well done to all involved.

Ms Sophie Roberts | Head of Aquatics

Moon Festival

Young Interpreters

Whilst starting at a new school is an exciting experience, we can all remember the feeling of ‘first day nerves’. Thankfully for the new students here at BIS Primary, the Young Interpreters have been close at hand to help and support them as they begin their learning journey at BIS.

Every class from Year 1 to Year 6 has at least one Young Interpreter – a student who has been chosen because they demonstrate excellent characteristics such as Care, Respect and Integrity. These dedicated students completed their training before the end of the last academic year, learning how to be a supportive ‘buddy’ for their new peers.

At the Junior Campus, the Young Interpreters from Years 4 to 6 even came to school a day early – to welcome new families for the Orientation Morning on Tuesday 15^th August. They were waiting at the gate sporting beaming smiles and shiny purple sashes as new children arrived at BIS for the first time, and later they took their new classmates on tours in order to familiarise them with the campus and establish new friendships along the way. The Young Interpreters showed great independence and maturity by taking on their responsibilities in such a positive manner, and before long the new students were chatting away and feeling more at home in their new surroundings.

Over the past 8 days, Young Interpreters across both the Infant and Junior campuses have been fantastic in helping new children to settle into their new routines and make friends. We would like to say a big thank you for all their hard work.

Mr Josh, Mr Paul, Mr Luke, Mr Rob & Ms Sasha – EAL Department

29/08/22                                 Vietnamese Language Coffee Morning - EY&I

31/08/22                                 Settling In Workshop - 8.30am at EY&I

1& 2/09/22                             School closes - Vietnam National Day holiday

5/09/22                                   Back to school

6/09/22                                   Primary PTG Coffee Morning @8.30am

7&8/09/22                              Primary PTSCs

8/09/22                                   PTG Class Rep Meeting

9/09/22                                   Moon Festival - Primary

13/09/22                                 Maths Coffee Morning EY&I

Medical Updates - URGENT

If you have not completed the ‘updated medical information’ Google Form that was shared by BIS HCMC on the 1^st of August, you will receive an email shortly urging you to do so. This information is vital, especially in the event of an emergency. Your swift completion of this task is much appreciated and thank you to those families who have done so already. If you did not receive the email about medical information, please contact Ms Van (Van.Pho@bisvietnam.com) immediately.

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.

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. 

Ms Sarah Curran and Mr Chris McKelvie, Deputy Headteachers

PTG

Happy Friday!  We hope the children are starting to feel more settled after their first full week in school.  At last week's whole school ‘Welcome / Welcome Back’ coffee morning, the PTG from both Primary and Secondary absolutely loved being able to connect with so many parents across the school. It was such a great turn out and so much to talk about that the last parents didn’t leave until the canteen staff needed to set the tables for lunch!

So, after such a successful turn out, we are really looking forward to hosting our own PTG Coffee Morning, for Primary parents. It will be a great opportunity for lots more chatting, and a chance for us to share specific information about what the Primary PTG team do and different ways parents can get involved (if you want!)

 We will share more about …

• The Primary PTG – who we are and what we do   
• What events are happening over the next few months and how to get involved (if you wish!)
• The Class Parent & Country reps, why they are important and how they can support you
• Our ‘soon to be launched’ Dads club!
• Upcycling Uniform initiative

….and lots more…

Class Parent Representative

These next couple of weeks, our focus is on promoting and recruiting the Primary PTG Class Parent Reps. They are an important part of our school community, helping the core PTG team connect with a greater number of parents, on a more personal level.  Each Class Rep helps to connect parents within their child’s class, welcome new families to the class community, and support the PTG by sharing and promoting key messages about what we are doing and what support we need. Those of you able to attend the Primary Parent Information evenings this week will have learnt more about the Class Parent Rep role.  If you were unable to attend you can learn more here.

If you are inspired to volunteer, please sign up here.

For any Class reps who have signed up, or if you are interested but would like more information, or to meet other class reps, then we invite you to our Class Rep Information meeting on Thursday 8^th Sept @ EYIC Small Hall (3^rd Floor).

Country Representative

Would you like the opportunity to share some of the things you love about your home country with our BIS community during our famous international week? Are you passionate about a place you have lived? Would you be willing to offer support to other families arriving from your home country?  If yes, then volunteering as Country Rep is another wonderful way to support the PTG and parents in our BIS community.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Providing support to new families joining from your country.

• When there are new students arriving at the school from your country, they will be introduced to you.
• Support new families to introduce them to other families and provide any guidance that they may need setting into both the school environment and the local community .

2. Lead your Country group during the International Week (Start of Term 2) 

• Coordinating a food stall at the Global Cafe
• Coordinating any country specific performances

PLEASE NOTE: To take on this role, you do not need to have a passport of the country that you would like to represent. As long as you or your child/children have some connection to that country.

Please review the available slots here and click on the button next to your country to sign up.

As always, for more information about the PTG, to connect with us and ask questions, or if you would like to support as a volunteer, please email us directly on  primaryptgbis@gmail.com

We look forward to meeting you all soon

Pamela, on behalf of the Primary PTG Team

And Finally…

At the Parent Information Evening, and at each Headteachers Coffee Morning, we share a slide that has the words ‘trust’ and ‘support’  in the middle.  As parents, you have put your trust in BIS, and through mutual support and a great deal of communication, we know the children will flourish.  If there is anything that is not clear, I would encourage you to speak to your child’s class teacher, or to contact a member of the senior leadership team.  We are always happy to help.

Please remember that school is closed for the public holiday on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd September.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ian Battersby

Headteacher