Weekly Updates on 25/10/2024

Dear Families

I trust you had a good half term break with your families.

During the half term break, I attended the annual NAE SLT conference in Switzerland. This is an annual opportunity for all the principals and senior staff across our region and across the world to meet and discuss further strategies to make our schools even better than they are now.

Next week I will be hosting an update meeting and I hope many of you will be able to join one of the meetings on offer.

Please register HERE to join 1 of the sessions

Session 1: Wednesday - 30th Oct | 9:00-10:30 AM
Session 2: Thursday - 31st Oct | 2:00-3:30 PM

I am pleased to say that we have achieved record breaking attendance at the school. We are currently witnessing a 97% average attendance rate which is testament to how happy our children are attending BVIS.

Currently, our Year 11 and Year 13 are undertaking some important mock examinations. I wish them the very best of luck and know they will use the results of these mock examinations to further imporve their preparation for the formal examinations in May.

I wish you all a very relaxing weekend ahead.

Home Learning

I am happy to share the remarkable success of our recently relaunched home learning project. Over the past few months, our students have demonstrated incredible excitement and responsibility while engaging with the materials and activities provided. The initiative has not only fostered independent learning but also strengthened the partnership between home and school, as families have actively participated in their children’s educational journey.

Feedback from students, teachers, and parents has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the flexibility and accessibility of the resources we are offering. This project has truly enhanced our students' learning experiences and reinforced the importance of collaboration in education. We look forward to your continued feedback and building on this success in the future.

Progressive Learning and Development

The start of a new term is a wonderful opportunity for children to demonstrate their interests and abilities. In Early Years, the teachers promote children's autonomy, supported by clever direction and modelling of new skills. Children learn best when they are able to choose from their favourite activities and it is the role of the teacher to ensure progressive learning and development within these activities. This week, the children have been exploring learning through enquiry – look at the role play, language learning, construction, scientific investigation and writing a shopping list.

Igniting Inspiration

It is wonderful to welcome the students back to school after the break! In this term's Vietnamese and English subjects, the children will explore the journey story genre, focusing on setting description. They have had an exciting lesson called 'Igniting Inspiration' with activities such as guessing the names of objects, searching for the homes of certain animals in a mystery box, and creating a model of their favourite character's setting.

Superhumans

We have had an amazing start back to Year 2 this week. The children dived enthusiastically into their new learning. This term’s topic is Superhumans! The children have started by creating a model of the lungs and are learning about our body parts and how the body functions. They will do many more experiments in the weeks to come.

Inspiring students to think creatively

The Vietnamese topic of this term started with an exciting hands-on activity that sparked the students' curiosity. Each student eagerly shaped their own dinosaur fossil models using clay. The teacher encouraged them to explore different textures and patterns, making the experience both educational and fun. The classroom buzzed with excitement as students shared their creations, thrilled by the chance to bring their ideas to life. This engaging activity not only introduced the new topic but also inspired students to think creatively.

Fostering Teamwork and Creativity

Year 4 explored the IPC topic "Explorers and Adventurers." Students kicked off with a hands-on activity, designing, engineering, and painting their own Viking shields.
They then learned about Viking weapons and battle tactics, creating defensive and offensive shield walls while practicing formations and battle cries. The term ended with an exciting reenactment, bringing their Viking studies to life and fostering teamwork and creativity.

Imagining Surviving on an Exoplanet

On Monday, Year 5 began their new topic about Space Scientists. During their creative hook in English, we learned that outside our solar system, even within our galaxy there are likely to be billions of exoplanets. An exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star outside our solar system.

Year 5 imagined what an exoplanet might look like. They designed their own exoplanets and considered what humans would need to survive.

Speaking and Listening

Year 6 have been using hot seating.

In the engaging hot seating activity, students take turns sitting in the “hot seat” while their peers give clues about a news-related word. The student in the hot seat must guess the word based on these hints. This interactive game not only enhances their vocabulary and comprehension of current events but also fosters teamwork and quick thinking, making learning about the news both fun and educational.
Afterward, they engage in a discussion about the role of a journalist or reporter and various news areas. This dynamic activity not only sharpens their understanding of current events but also deepens their appreciation for journalism, fostering critical thinking and communication skills, interactive way.  

Secondary Weekly Update 25/10/2024

An update from Ms Claire

It has been lovely to welcome back all our students after half term. I hope you all had a great week off. The mock exams for years 11 and 13 are now underway. The results day will be Friday 22nd November. This is a busy term with lots happening. As always, we very much welcome parents getting in touch so if you have any questions or would like to discuss any matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Visit to BIS to meet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

On Thursday seven selected Year 10 students and two Year 13 English Literature students had the privilege and honour of joining Ms. Grayson and Ms. Ba to BIS Hanoi to watch Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai deliver an assembly about the importance of retaining Vietnam’s cultural heritage and the way that Literature can be used to inspire people to know more of Vietnam’s recent history.
The A-Level students particularly enjoyed how Quế Mai discussed ideas which reflected post-colonial literary theory, which they study in Year 13, and they appreciated her comments about decolonising the Western Literary Canon and challenging dominant Western voices.

The Year 10 students, who studied the novel at the end of Year 9, were each chosen to attend after completing an interview with Ms. Grayson about the importance of Quế Mai’s work and the relevance of her work in the International Vietnamese classroom. Two of these students bravely asked thoughtful and insightful questions in front of all the BIS secondary staff and students, and allowed Quế Mai to explain, in detail, what the message of her novel The Mountains Sing is, and how her experiences in 1980s and 1990s Hanoi inspired her writing.

All of the students were inspired and awed by how Quế Mai’s uses her passion for Literature to have an impact, and they witnessed how she combined her Vietnamese heritage with her role as a global citizen.

What’s been happening in Maths?

Y9 Maths – students are working on building their algebra skills. After learning how to solve equations, students worked as a team to solve a jigsaw on the same topic. Well done to Duc Manh, Khanh Tu, Ngan Khanh and Bao Anh who solved the puzzle the quickest by having good teamwork skills.

Y12 became peer teachers this week in Mathematics. When they had completed their homework and received their marks, students who were able to solve an exam question correctly became the teacher to a small group of their classmates. A good way to deepen their understanding and also learn how to read a marks cheme for A level exams.

What’s been happening in Computer Science?

Year 7 students were engaged in a fascinating exploration of binary, counting all the way up to 31 using just one hand!

Meanwhile, Year 8 students brought the story of locating and viewing webpages to life through acting.

University Visit

Please register to join the seminar/fair at following links:

Whole School

Primary

Secondary

We wish you all a very relaxing weekend!

Senior Leadership Team from BVIS Hanoi