This has been such a busy but great week at the British Vietnamese International School. As referenced in both Heads of Section newsletters who refer to the joint CIS/WASC Accreditation visit, I want to pick up on this process and the outcomes.
We have had 9 experienced educators giving up time from leadership in their own schools to come to view what we do, and to test the robustness of our systems, procedures and, of course, our education provision. Every teacher has been viewed teaching and the accreditation visitors have been observing high quality of learning, engagement and participation. Universally, they have found a school with an extraordinary culture, in which even the newest teachers have engaged with our ethos, and contribute greatly to the attainment and progress in all areas of school life. Thank you to all our special staff for making this a reality. The leadership of the school has come in for special praise. I say this not for my own sake, but for the outstanding contributions of the senior and middle leaders within the school, who have painstakingly helped create a school of great note. For myself, I want to quote Lao Tze, the semi-legendary Chinese philosopher, writer and poet who, as a contemporary of Confucius, wrote:
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists: when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”
We have always sought to empower both the students and staff in their respective activities and roles and it is a philosophy that is not without its challenges. But from the comments of our team of accreditation visitors, we can see that this humility and unrelenting pursuit of excellence is at the heart of our lovely school. That said, we do not think for a moment that we have achieved all that there is to achieve. This is just one step along the journey of steady and continuous improvement. As Lao Tze also said:
“Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
And so, on we go. The report will be available for sharing to our wider in the new term. It has been a very rigorous process, one that we have accepted gladly and one that will indeed help us on that journey of self-improvement. This Wednesday, I also had the privilege of attending in Ho Chi Minh City the Nord Anglia Quality Assurance training for Principals and Senior Leaders of the schools within our region. Not only did it showcase the enormous talent on offer within these schools but also showed the considerable commitment Nord Anglia as an organisation has to growing our schools, already high quality but earnest in their desire to be and do even better. We are very glad that you, as parents, are sharing in this journey with us. We are indeed privileged to enter into this journey with your children.
Do also take the time to read the articles, to share in the successes of the students. The World Scholar’s Cup results are indeed a fantastic result for our first year and again showcase the involvement and commitment of the excellent staff and students. My congratulations to all those involved. The recent U15 Sports trip to Phuket Thailand also was a great success. We look forward to sharing the video from their time there as soon as it is available.
I wish you all a very happy and restful weekend.
Mr. Mark Sayer
Principal
