Weekly Highlights 11/06/2021

Mr. Simon Higham, Principal

Dear Parents 

Welcome to the final full edition of the Weekly Highlights for this academic year. 

Every week, I write about the strength of our BVIS community and how it enables us all to stay strong, keep learning and helps to celebrate in times of success, and support in times of difficulty. This week has been no exception. 

On behalf of all our BVIS team, I would like to personally thank you all for your ongoing support of our school. BVIS continues to be a special place to work and study. It is this way because of the culture that has been created over the last 10 years and I congratulate all families for being part of it – you have chosen your school well! 

My promise to every teacher, student and family is that we will continue to push the boundaries for learning and ensure that learning for everyone has no limits. We will continue to improve, be the best that we can be and ensure that we will work alongside our wider community to do the absolute best we can for every student in our care. 

This year, we can look back with pride on what we have achieved inside and outside of the classrooms, face to face and online. We can also look forward with excitement, strength and optimism as together we will continue to be stronger. 

Year 13 Graduation 

Our student voice is always important to us at BVIS and this week, Mr Rudin and his secondary team announced that following our discussions with our Year 13 cohort, we will be postponing our Graduation celebration to Friday 6th August. Hopefully, by this time we will be able to safely run a face-to-face event in school to celebrate the success of our oldest students before they move away from school and into their new universities. Contingency plans are also in place for a virtual event, should COVID-19 restrictions still be in place. 

Uniform 

Please look out for more information next week via email regarding the ordering and purchasing procedures for our new school uniform for the academic year 21/22.  

We are looking forward to offering parents an improved service that allows you to order and purchase uniform combos and individual items either online, via Zalo or, as in previous years, from within our school. 

Support and Guidance 

Although we are coming towards the end of term, our support does not stop. If you need any help or guidance with your child’s online learning, please get in touch with us. 

For all individual queries about your child’s academic work/social and emotional wellbeing in school or during this period of VSE, please contact their form/class teachers directly via email or Dojo.  

Contact Us

Additionally: 

For all additional Primary Enquiries, please call:   

(028) 3758 0709 / ext. 111   

For all additional Secondary Enquiries, please call:  

(028) 3758 0717 / ext. 211 

For further online VSE support, please click here. 

Continue to stay safe and we are all looking forward to some special online celebrations for all students next week. 

Have a peaceful and safe weekend ahead. 

Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary

Integrity 

Last week students and teachers were focusing on the attribute, ‘integrity’, from our aide memoire. We identified some great examples, and these were highlighted in our assemblies last Friday.   

If you ask any of our students, they will know that showing integrity means that you ‘always do the right thing, even when no one is looking.’ This definition helps to inform your decisions and actions and is extremely important in allowing you to be the best person you can be.   

Acting with integrity helps to build a foundation for success; we teach our students to be honest and truthful in all that we do as we know it will always make them a better, well rounded individual. 

Below are some examples of our ‘Stars of the Week’ where our students have shown integrity. 

Y6 Eco-Project 

This week our Y6 students were busy completing and sharing their Eco-Project presentations with the judges in the hope that they would receive the $1,000,000 sponsorship to build their Eco-Park. Over the last few weeks, Y6 have been working hard to develop their plans of an Eco-Park to ensure they were mindful of environmental, economic and social aspects in their designs.  

Teachers from across Primary and Secondary were judges of the projects, where they asked critical questions to unpick and analyse the worthiness of each student’s project.  

Well done to the Y6 students for their efforts and commitment through their Eco-Projects!

As The Year Draws to a Close...

As my first year as Primary Headteacher draws to a close, I look back and reflect on every first experience.  Each one of them has been incredible and special as they have shown me just how much our community is both great and one of a kind in all that it offers.  

A few experiences that stand out in my mind are: 

• Bilingual Month and Young Musician of the Year in Term 1,  

• Speech and Poetry recital and ‘Big Nights In’ in Term 2 

• Year 6 innovative Eco-Projects in Term 3.   

In all these experiences, our BVIS children have demonstrated perseverance, which has led to their achievement and success. It makes me incredibly proud to observe how our children ask questions, explore and challenge themselves to continue to improve.  

Our children thrive in the opportunities they are given, seizing every moment and trying their best in everything they do. Throughout the year, they have shown a sense of fulfilment with these opportunities, which to me is invaluable and so precious.  

Thank you for all your support during this academic year 2020-2021. I ask just for one thing; reflect on all the great opportunities that our community has had and the sense of fulfilment they have brought to us all.  

Take care and continue to stay safe.

Mr Jack Rudin, Head of Secondary

Ongoing, online success 

Thank you to all our parents, teachers and students for continuing to make our Virtual School Experience a success.  

BVIS Secondary students continue to show high attendance as more students begin to work in the virtual school environment! Our online attendance remains well in line with when students are in school for face-to-face learning, with some classes still maintaining 100% attendance.  

Well done all and keep going strong until the end of the year!  

Final Week of GCSE and A level Examination.  

We are very pleased that we have been able to offer all of our students the opportunity to finish their AS and A levels and IGCSE external examinations this week.  

In full compliance with the safety precautions put in place by the HCMC People's Committee, we separated students into much smaller rooms of only 4 students to each room for each exam. This meant that we had to ask a lot more staff to invigilate the exams, and I am grateful that all the staff stepped up to make this possible, so a big thank you to all. 

Well done to all the students too. I know that you have worked hard to get ready for the exams and I wish you good luck in the results that will be published in August. 

Topical Writing in Vietnamese  

This week, KS3 students (Year 7,8 and 9) completed their argumentative essays. Many of them were interested in topics related to environmental protection and the advantages and disadvantages of social media. They also showed interest in hot topics related to global issues faced by COVID-19, including social distancing.  

When studying the essay unit, the students expressed their opinions toward a specific social issue. In addition, they learnt how to argue and made their arguments more persuasive by providing specific evidence. 

After finishing the essay unit, the students continued to practice and enhance their good manners through PSHE lessons. On International Children’s Day on 1st June, Year 7 students showed their interest in the topic linked to the Rights of the Child.  

Despite the challenges of online learning, the students have shown great commitment and full attendance in all of their online Vietnamese lessons as if they had been learning in school, especially while taking part in warm-up activities or class discussions relating to daily topics. 

Well done to all! 

Safeguarding and Child Protection 

The health, safety and wellbeing of our students remains the number one priority at BVIS HCMC. 

Should you have a concern for the welfare of any child in our school, please refer to our Safeguarding poster below: