Weekly Updates on 01/11/2024

Dear Families

It has been another great week here at BVIS and lots of events and activities to enjoy.

As we all know the benefits of being bilingual or trilingual is enormous. Hopefully you have seen our new posters outside the campuses celebrating these benefits for your children.

A huge thank you to all those who attended my update session this week. I hope you found it useful and informative.

On Saturday we hosted an excellent event for prospective parents. We had an excellent turnout and the event was enjoyed by many.

Next weekend, on 10 Nov, we will have over 200 people from the BVIS community joining us for the BritCham Charity Fun Run. The Fun Run package will be delivered to student representatives of the registered family from 4 to 7 November. Further instructions have been sent to your email through the Principal Office. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

I wish you all a very relaxing weekend ahead.

Developing Speaking Skills

I am delighted to see the significant progress our students have made in developing their speaking skills this term. Through a variety of engaging activities, such as group discussions, presentations, show and tell, and storytelling sessions, our students have shown remarkable growth in both confidence and clarity of expression. Teachers have observed increased participation and enthusiasm during lessons, with many students taking the initiative to share their thoughts and ideas more freely. This focus on speaking skills has not only enhanced their communication abilities but has also fostered a supportive classroom environment where collaboration and active listening thrive. I am incredibly proud of our students' achievements and excited to see how these skills will further enrich their learning experiences.

Spiders and Pumpkins Party

Children learn through experiences and at BVIS the children are exposed to special days and celebrations as part of the broad curriculum. The Early Years dressed up this week for a Spiders and Pumpkins Party and took part in a Fashion Show to celebrate all the fantastic costumes. What made it extra special was the collaboration between Early Years and the Little Dragons preschool group, who also attended with their parents.

Tea Party Conversations

Last week, Year 1 has their Entry Point which brought smiles and excitement as the children enjoyed a delightful tea party! The children shared their favourite toys through conversations with peers, played together, and went on a toy hunt. They practiced identifying various toys and confidently shared which ones they liked. What a wonderful way to start our learning journey!

How the body works

This week, Year 2 have been busy exploring our exciting topic, "Superhumans!" They have been learning about different parts of the body and how they work, discussing their functions and what makes our bodies truly amazing. We even explored how muscles, bones, and organs work together, helping us see ourselves as real-life superhumans!

How to Make Instructions Clearer

In English and Vietnamese, our focus has been on instruction writing. The children have been learning to write clear, step-by-step instructions, practicing how to use action verbs, sequence words, and descriptive language to make their writing precise and easy to follow. Functional grammar has helped us understand how to make our instructions clearer, with a focus on choosing the best words to express each step.

Dinosaur Fossils

This week, Year 3 have made a start on their new topic ‘Footprints from the Past’ as they got stuck into a number of dinosaur related activities for the Entry Point lessons. They became palaeontologists; digging for fossils, using brushes to clean them and then studying them closely with magnifying glasses. They became researchers; reading facts about dinosaurs in non-fiction books and writing down facts that they already knew. They became artists: creating dinosaur pictures using cardboard. They became scientists: looking at pictures of dinosaurs and dinosaur fossils and thinking about what shape their skeletons would have been. We really immersed ourselves into the new topic and had a great time doing so.

WHAT’S ON THE MENU?

Year 4 enjoyed their entry point for the new topic ‘What’s on the Menu?’ They tasted different foods and discussed the taste of the food. We decided whether it was spicy, salty, sweet, sour, umami or bitter. 🍓🍞🍬🍋Have a look at the fun we had!

How to become astronauts

In the last week, as part of their Entry Point to their new topic, Year 5 have been learning how to become astronauts. They learned that it takes many years of hard work and training. They did a series of physical and mental challenges. The students had a lot of fun.

Exploring the World of News Reporting

For the IPC ‘Making the News’ Entry Point, Year 6 organized a role-playing news drama. The students demonstrated remarkable creativity and enthusiasm throughout the activity. They enjoyed crafting and presenting their live television reports, showcasing their imaginative storytelling skills. The experience was both educational and entertaining, providing a dynamic learning environment. Overall, it was a fun and engaging way for the students to explore the world of news reporting.

Secondary Weekly Update 01/11/2024

An update from Ms Claire

This week is our final week of Mock exams. Well done to all of our Year 11 and Year 13 students. You have worked extremely hard to prepare for these assessments and I hope you have a very well-earned restful weekend where you can recover and have some fun!

It was lovely to see so many parents at the Year 8 Parent Teacher Conference (PTC) on Tuesday and we are really looking forward to welcoming Year 9 parents next week.

Hanoi Youth Maths Conference

On Saturday 26th October, the Maths department had the privilege of taking two teams of five year 7, 8 and 9 students to a Maths competition hosted by UNIS Hanoi. After 4 rounds and 5 hours of problem solving, one of our teams won the competition! Congratulations to the winning team, consisting of:

• Khai Ky Year 7
• Bao Anh Year 8
• Tommy Year 8
• Minh Phuong Year 8
• Quang Dung Year 9

A special mention to the following students who also competed well:

• Son Tung Year 7
• Haerim Year 8
• Cong Thang Year 8
• Dieu Nhu Year 9
• Quoc Khai Year 9

And congratulations to Quang Dung Year 9 who ranked 2nd overall in the individual contest.

All the students behaved impeccably, interacted with students of other schools maturely and respectfully (and very competitively!) and represented BVIS with credit.

Visit from the University of Melbourne

On Tuesday we were excited to see Professor Vikram from the University of Melbourne speak to our Year 12 and 13 students about supply chains and their importance in the world of Business. Using his personal knowledge of running his own fashion industry Professor Vikram has now taught in the Business & Economics department of Melbourne for 15 years. He explained the importance of making supply chains sustainable in our modern world, and asked students to analyse and question products that he brought in for them to consider. We thank Professor Vikram and the University of Melbourne for spending time with our students on this important topic.

NAE STEAM FESTIVAL 2025: BANGKOK

As you know, Nord Anglia’s partnership with the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) provides our students with exclusive access to world-class STEAM resources. Throughout the year, students have the chance to engage in these dynamic challenges, equipping them with critical tools for future success. Alongside the technical skills, these challenges foster essential skills such as resilience, inquiry, and reflection.

To further promote STEAM excellence across our schools, each region hosts an annual STEAM Festival. Last year, we were thrilled to take some of our Year 6, 7, and 8 students to BIS HCMC for an incredible experience.

The festival returns next May, and registration is now open until December 10th. With only 12 spaces available, make sure to secure your spot early by following the link below. Don’t miss out on this unforgettable opportunity!

Date: 22nd-25th May, 2025
Where: St Andrews International School, Bangkok
Open to: Year 6 to Year 8

Registration link HERE

What’s been happening in Computer Science?

Year 10 students have been focusing on data transmission. They participated in hands-on activities using playing cards to illustrate how the parity block error detection method works.

Student Achievements

This week, Pham Nhat Minh achieved a Bronze medal in the Hanoi Open Taekwondo Championship 2024, organized by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports. This was his first ever competition and all of us at BVIS are rightly proud of his achievement.

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