Secondary Campus Weekly Update - 4th November 2022

BIS Science Seminar 

The very first BIS Science Seminar included talks on sustainability of crops in Vietnam, space and the science of ketchup. Students across Years 10-13, parents and members of our wider school community came together to enjoy an evening where curiosity was at the forefront. The audience participation was excellent with students getting up on stage to assist with the Brix meter when measuring the soluble solid in the ketchup. There were thought provoking ideas linked with the Artemis project linked with the mission to the moon as well as how to grow crops with a more sustainable mindset as apply scientific thinking to the challenges we face. Overall it was a fantastic start to our series of Science Seminars which connect our community of BIS scientists to the wider Scientific community, here in HCMC and further afield. Look out for the next instalment in Term 2.

Helen Waterhouse, Head of Science

Geography and ESS expedition

Last weekend the Year 11 and 12 Geography and Environmental Systems and Societies students were finally able to return to Mui Ne to complete some long-awaited fieldwork and to explore some of the environments they have been learning about first hand.

Students spent their time examining a range of environments around Mui Ne, such as the Fairy Stream, examining river changes as it flows downstream, the shape and gradient of beaches at the Sea Links, and succession at Mui Ne's famous sand dunes.

The Geography and ESS teachers were impressed with students' collaboration and problem-solving while out in the field in a full weekend of skills development. Well done.

Peter Cowen, Head of Geography

 College and University Guidance 

On Tuesday we hosted an information session from Sogang University in Korea. This was a very popular event with almost 100 attendees including parents and students from other schools in Saigon. The event was very well received by guests. On Thursday we hosted our third University Mini Fair Which had a Theme of ‘Studying Art and Design’. We were lucky enough to be joined by some prestigious specialist Arts universities from the USA and NADBA from Milan in Italy. Although a Business School not an Arts specialist University, IE University from Madrid were also in attendance making this a very international event.

In the coming days we will be joined by two of the most popular university destinations in recent years for BIS students: The University of British Columbia and Imperial College, London. Details of these visits are on the calendar of student events and also on our university platform BridgeU. 

To see all of our upcoming college and university visits click here. 

Paul Rispin, Senior College and University Guidance Counsellor

Community Service Update:
Binh An Development Centre
(Friends for Street Children)

Earlier this week, we were delighted to purchase stationary for 250x children from the Binh An Development Centre in District 8.  Managed by Friends for Street Children, Binh An is one of three shelters with whom BIS has engaged for the past seven years, having developed a close collaborative relationship.  Not only does the school offer free education to disadvantaged children who are unable to access government education, but they also provide food and support to their families.

We would like to thank the Secondary Campus Vietnamese families whose generous donation contributed to most of the cost for:

• 1500 notebooks
• 1500 pens
• 1250 pencils
• 250 boards together with markers
• 250 sets of rulers
• 250 erasers

We are grateful for the kindness of our BIS community and for their continuing support of our local community partners.
 
Tracey Brownrigg
Co-curricular coordinator and
Community Service Project Manager

PTG Social Night

The PTG Social Night at Baba's Kitchen on Wednesday was attended by over 90 people from all across all three campuses. It was a lovely night, out in the open, with lots of laughter and connections being made. 

The art auction held some nail biting moments and raised 16 million for our Community Partners. The art works, produced by some of our IGCSE and IBDP students, left the audience very impressed.

Thank you to the PTG for organising and all who attended to contribute to a wonderful evening.

World Scholars Cup – Tournament of Champions

Kali in Year 8 will be winging her way over to Yale University in the USA next Wednesday to take part in the Tournament of Champions – a prestigious part of the World Scholars Cup. Kalie will be joining other students who also qualified at events in Nha Trang, Dubai, Prague, Cape town, Bangkok, Shanghai and Chengdu. All the competitors demonstrated their diligent learning in school subjects as well as showcasing their skills in debate, writing, collaboration, and leadership.  Kalie said ‘I am really excited about getting the opportunity to visit Yale. This is the first tournament since covid happened and I am very excited to be there’

We would like to wish Kalie the best of luck for the competition.

Dominic Cheng – Head of Year 8

BIS Sports Stars shine in City Championships

This weeks culmination of the SISAC league fixtures pitted the BIS wits against old foes ISHCMC to see who would go through to the Championship week starting on Monday. 

The week stared with a frantic and fantastically contested set of U13 Basketball games in the BIS Lion's Den. The girls started proceedings and duly served up a commanding performance to easily see off ISHCMC by a large margin, Lucy helping to win the game 20-6. 

It was a more tightly contested game for the boys, with physical match ups all across the court and great effort and attitude from both teams. It was ISHCMC who came out on top though by 20 points. It will be fixtures reversed next week in the District finals, with the boys finishing second in their league and the girls topping their group to face ISHCMC once more to progress to the City Championships. 

The U15 Basketball teams travelled to ISHCMC yesterday, with both teams still in contention to progress to the final's week. The girls were first in action and saved one of their best performances of the season to edge ISHCMC on home court, with Amelia winning the game in the closing stages to seal a 24-20 win. 

It was more of the same for the boys, with terrific teamwork and ethic producing a classic display against a strong ISHCMC side. Sebastian leading by example and showing heart and determination to make sure the score line was 22-18 in BIS favour. Unfortunately for both teams, even though they had a better overall points difference than teams they were tied against, rules state that points difference between games involving the 'tied teams' means that both teams agonisingly do not go forward to the District Championships. 

The U19 Volleyball teams closed proceedings at home to ISHCMCb. The girls teams were first to hit and started the game excellently, controlling the attack and winning the first set. ISHCMC got the momentum though in the second set and ultimately came out 2-1 winners in the deciding set. 

The boys had other ideas in their final league game of the season. After a slow start in which they invited ISHCMC to play their game, they then started to dominate the match and forced ISHCMC to play more defensively. This allowed the BIS players, led by HyunSoo's power spikes, to change the course of the game in the second set and come out comfortable winners in the third. That means the boys top their group as winners and progress to meet ISHCMCa in the District final next week. 

Games for next weeks finals week are still to be decided. District Championships will be played at the start of the week and then winners of the D2 and D7 Championships will play in the City Championships towards the end of next week. Three of our 6 teams are in contention for the top prizes going into the Championship week. Please see the link below for updates on when and where you can watch our BIS Sports Stars! 

Fixtures and Results

Phil Husband
Director of Sport

Green Network Saigon - Home Recycling

You can support our Students to help our environment!

Green Network Saigon is pleased to announce our Home Recycling Competition alongside the BIS Eco Committee.

• When: Monday 31 October to *Wednesday 16th November (extended date)

• What will we collect: TetraPak products (e.g., milk cartons, fruit juices with the Tetrapak label).

• Where: The stall will be in Building 1 Undercroft (in front of the Auditorium).

• Rewards: Notebooks for 2 kgs, tote string bags for 3 kgs, and the largest donor receives a restaurant voucher.

This will also be a house competition with participation points (the house collecting the most mass will win). It will be an inter-school competition as well against 4 other schools.

Feel free to check out our poster about the competition.

Green Network Saigon

Remembrance Day

The Royal British Legion created the Poppy Appeal to help those returning from the First World War. A Century on from that conflict, they are still helping today’s Service men and women, veterans and their families, whether coping with bereavement, living with a disability, or finding employment. Without your help, none of this would be possible.

Please join us in showing that we remember on the 11th of November by purchasing a poppy or donating to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

RBL Poppies are available at each Reception from Monday 7th November until the end of the month.

Winter Concert

- Tuesday 8th November 

We are fast approaching this year’s Secondary Winter Concert which, in the 25th anniversary year of BIS, will feature a wide mix of music based around the theme of Celebration.  The event being held at 7pm on Tuesday 8th November is one of the highlights of the BIS musical calendar.Tickets are available at Secondary reception. we hope to see you there.

Ian Alexander- Director of Music

Secondary Production “She Kills Monsters” - Wednesday 23rd November

On November 22nd and 23rd the Drama Department are excited to bring back the Senior Production, for the first time since May 2019. This year's show will be celebrating geek culture and the warriors we all hope to be with Vietnamese American playwright Qui Nguyen's “She Kills Monsters”. 

She Kills Monsters tells the story of high schooler Agnes Evans as she deals with the death of her younger sister, Tilly. When Agnes stumbles upon Tilly's Dungeons & Dragons notebook, she finds herself catapulted into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was her sister's refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and '90s pop culture, acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all. 

The show is open to all members of the BIS community and tickets can be purchased at Secondary reception for 50,000 VND. 

Performances details:

• Venue: Secondary Theatre - 6th floor

• Time: 22nd November - 7pm and 23rd November - 4pm and 7pm

• Content warning: Mature subject matter and language will not be suitable for a younger audience

We look forward to seeing you there.

Keigan Page, Drama Teacher 

Britcham Fun Run 2022

- Saturday 27th November

Tie up those laces and get ready to sport your Union Jack T-shirt - the BritCham Fun Run is back! It’s been 3 years since BIS HCMC participated and sponsored the event and we can’t wait to cross the finish line once again. 

Find out more and how to register here.

Community Choir Rehearsals

The community choir is open to all adult members of the BIS community who enjoy singing.

 

Rehearsals will take place on Thursday mornings 7.00am - 7.40am in the Secondary Theatre OR Friday afternoons in the Junior Campus multi-purpose room 13.15-14.15.

 

All are welcome, whatever your singing level.

Parents should register attendance in advance on this link.

See our full calendar of events

On the 30th November we have Y12 Parent Teacher Student Conferences online by appointment.

Other highlights include the Winter Concert next week! View our secondary calendar to see all of our events here.

Enjoy your weekend,

Kind regards,

Sean O’Neill

Head Teacher, Secondary Campus