Weekly Updates on 28/02/2025

Dear Families,

Driving Innovation in Teaching and Learning 
The conference provided a valuable platform for educators to collaborate, share best practices, and gain insights into AI in education, neurodiversity, inclusive leadership, and metacognition—helping students develop independent learning skills. 

Strengthening Our Global Community 
Beyond professional growth, the conference allowed BVIS Hanoi educators to connect with peers worldwide, reinforcing their role in Nord Anglia’s global education network. 

The knowledge and strategies gained at the SEAMEI Teaching & Learning Conference 2025 will continue to shape learning experiences at BVIS Hanoi, ensuring that students benefit from the latest advancements in education. This was a great event and we have come back to school with many new ideas for further improvements to the school.

There are many areas of school life that I believe are critical to the success of the school. Our recent parent satisfaction results are impressive and show year on year improvements. I am particularly pleased to see exceptionally high scores on safety, happiness, relationships with teachers and academic expectations. These should always be at the core of a thriving successful school. 

Last year your feedback was to further improve the homework children receive across the school. I am delighted to say that we listened, acted and the most recent parent survey results show an enormous increase in your satisfaction levels on homework. There is still more to do but I am delighted with the impact we have made in this area of the school.

Last week we hosted a two day visit from the Regional Safeguarding Director. He was here to audit the school and ensure the school is implementing policy and practice as required by NAE. I am delighted to report that he was very impressed with the school and verbally reported back that in many areas the school was far exceeding the minimum expectations on safeguarding matters. We will receive a full more detailed report in due course.

Our new security gate system is working well and this gives us an extra layer of protection for your children. Please can I remind you to ensure you or whoever is authorised to collect children from school are wearing the parent badge to access the school. We shall now be getting much stricter with those that regularly forget their card and will be asking them to formally sign in. Thank you for your support with this important health and safety initiative.

Finally, a reminder that summer school is running again this year. And today is the last day to receive 20% discount on Summer school 2025 tuition fee. Don't miss it!

I wish you all a very relaxing weekend ahead.

Active, inquisitive learners in the Early Years

The Early Years children have been learning about Sustainable Development Goals this week in line with Primary School. These development goals are presented to the children simply, as important ways to live and and how to help others live well. This week, the goal of Good Health and Wellbeing was the focus. As a significant part of the Early Years curriculum, the children were learning about what keeps them strong, fit and healthy, making them active, inquisitive learners. 

Staying active and keeping fit in Year 1

Last week, the children thoroughly enjoyed Sports Day, engaging in a variety of games and activities. They demonstrated excellent teamwork skills while staying active and keeping fit. It was wonderful to see their enthusiasm and collaboration throughout the event. Well done Year 1! 

Becoming more confident in Year 2

In Year 2, children started a fun learning journey using drama and role play. They explored places like a river, floating village, forest, and school. By acting as different characters, they enjoyed the activities and improved their speaking skills. This helped them become more confident and work well with friends. 

Learning about history of chocolate in Year 3

In STEAM lessons, Year 3 have been using their 5 senses to explore the appearance, smell, texture and taste of cacao beans. This week, students have made chocolate drinks; each following a recipe that they created themselves and then evaluating their recipe based on the taste of their chocolate drink. They really enjoyed this! The chocolate theme continued into our IPC lessons, where Year 3 students have been learning about the history of chocolate, and how it changed over time to become what it is today.  

Practising speaking and listening in Year 4

Year 4 have been enjoying a variety of ‘barrier games’ including ‘Draw and Describe’, ‘Guess What’ and ‘Information Gap’. It was wonderful to see the children practicing new vocabulary and developing speaking and listening skills with great excitement, displaying excellent enquiry skills alongside a friendly yet competitive nature. Super learning Year 4!

Building bridges in Year 5 – literally!

 Roman culture was famous for architecture and infrastructure. Some of the bridges they built even stand strong to this day! Year 5 has been exploring what made these designs so strong, and compared them with modern bridges in Hanoi, focusing on ideas like shapes and 'load bearing' to design super strong structures. 
They were then set a challenge to build the strongest bridge they could, using what they learned, and only using straws, cardboard, and string! 

Enthusiasm and effectiveness in Year 6

This week, Year 6 students enthusiastically participated in the poetry contest organized by the school. In addition to reading their favorite poems, they also composed poems and wrote music to turn the poems into raps, performing them very professionally. The students participated in the activities in each class with enthusiasm and effectiveness. The creative designs the stilt houses of the Vietnamese ethnic groups were truly impressive." 

An update from Ms. Claire

It was great to welcome parents to our Y11 Parents Teachers Consultation on Tuesday night.  This was our first hybrid event with both online and in-person meetings.  If you have any feedback on this format, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yesterday, we wished our U13 FOBISIA Team good luck as they headed ff for a three-day tournament in Thailand.  We will report on their progress in next week’s newsletter.

NEXT WEEK - Book Donations for the Floating Village library and K-Hospital

Throughout the day, students collaborated in groups to design and build creative solutions using recycled materials. Some teams focused on converting plastic waste into sturdy bricks, offering a potential solution for low-cost, sustainable construction. Others explored using fabric waste as an alternative construction material, reducing textile waste while promoting eco-friendly innovation. Food waste was repurposed into nutrient-rich compost, highlighting the importance of circular waste management. Additionally, students worked on designing AI-driven waste management systems, exploring how technology can optimise recycling and waste reduction.

The students showed fantastic teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills, and their enthusiasm was evident in the outstanding models and prototypes they produced in one day.

What has been happening in Computer Science?

This is a crucial time for Year 11 students as they embark on their revision for the upcoming computer science exams in May. Now is the time to channel all their effort and determination into making a final push for success.

Secondary