Weekly Highlights 16/12/2022

Mr. Simon Higham, Principal

Dear Parents 

It was our pleasure to welcome over 800 attendees to our BVIS Christmas Day event last Saturday. With many games and activities on offer for our younger students and a large number of to our secondary volunteers who helped to raise funds for our local community partners, it was lovely to be able to celebrate this festive time together as a community. 

Thank you to everyone who bought tickets to join and supported through sponsorship of 50 separate raffle prizes. All money raised from the raffle will go directly to Saigon Children’s Charity who will arrange full scholarships for local education programmes. 

If you have any suggestions on how we can further improve our events or you would like to help in the organisation of future events, please get in touch with us – Ms Thao (Events Manager) is waiting to receive your email: thao.nguyen3@bvisvietnam.com 

South East Asia, Middle East and India – NAE Regional Admin leadership Conference  

Last weekend it was our pleasure to host over 150 delegates from across our Nord Anglia Education family for the annual Admin Leadership conference. 

From Tashkent to India, Indonesia to Abu Dhabi, all those who attended thoroughly enjoyed our BVIS care and hospitality and were extremely complementary about our school and its excellent facilities. 

Christmas Lunch 

This Thursday all students and staff enjoyed a traditional Christmas lunch to celebrate the commencement of the festive season. 

It definitely is beginning to feel like Christmas! 

Welcome to BVIS  

As part of our ongoing introduction to new members of our teaching staff, this week we are pleased to welcome Mrs Eliza Hart, our Secondary Learning Support Teacher.

1. What were your first impressions of BVIS? 
   
   The school have been incredibly welcoming in helping me to settle into a new city. I feel lucky to be working with a warm and friendly group of people, who have already made me feel part of their community. 
   
   
2. As a BVIS teacher, what are your professional priorities in this first year at school? 
   
   My aim is to support students in being able to access education to the best of their ability at during their time at school. I also aim to support staff wherever possible to ensure secondary school life is inclusive for all students. In doing so, I hope to build a strong rapport with students, colleagues, parents and everyone else within the community at BVIS. 
   
   
3. What 3 things are you looking forward to doing whilst working and living in Vietnam? 
   
   I am looking forward to seeing more of this beautiful country, attempting to learn some Vietnamese language, and also learning more about the local food – hopefully enrolling onto a cooking course in the next few weeks!

Contact Us

Should you require any help, support or advice regarding the school website or any aspect of your child’s education, please do not hesitate to contact us using the information below: 

On behalf of everyone at BVIS, I would like to thank you all for your support, engagement and connection this term and we look forward to building even stronger partnerships between home and school as we move into the new year. 

Please note that school will be closed for the holidays from Friday 16th December 2022 and reopen for the first day of Term 2 on Wednesday 4th January 2023. 

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our BVIS HCMC community! 

See you again in 2023!  

Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary

As Term One draws to a close each year group spent time to reflect, share and celebrate their learning with a special themed event called an Exit Point. Students prepared activities for these events by bringing together the knowledge, skills and understanding that they have developed through their most recent Lien Ket topic. This approach is a great way for students to remember and apply what they have learned. Please read on to find out more about our Year 3 to Year 6 students’ Exit Points. 

Year 3 Share Their Rainforest Performances 

This Term, Year 3 have been learning all about the Rainforest. During the topic, the students learned about the different layers of the rainforest, they became global citizens by comparing rainforests around the world and they found out about lots of rainforest animals and plants. An area the students were particularly passionate about was deforestation and its effect on endangered animals. They were very interested in the reasons why people chop down the rainforest and what we can do to help stop trees from being destroyed.  

For our Exit Point, we turned the Imaginarium into a rainforest! We decorated the room with all the children’s fantastic work and then each class taught the rest of the year group something they had learned about the rainforest. 3B taught everyone the rainforest themed song ‘The lion sleeps tonight’. 3V showed off their fantastic dancing skills with a traditional Vietnamese dance. 3I taught the students all about two endangered animals – the red panda and the tiger. And finally, 3S taught everyone how to make rainforest sounds using different instruments.  

The Year 3 teaching team are very proud of all the students’ learning during their first term in Year 3 and cannot wait for the rest of the year.  

Ms Charlotte 

Year 3 Leader  

Year 4 Go Exploring 

In our Term 1 Lien Ket topic, Year 4 learned all about ‘Explorers and Adventurers’. The students participated in a variety of activities to develop their skills in map reading, drawing a timeline and identifying key events.  Year 4 also focused on the Global Goal of ‘Gender Equality’ by looking at famous explorers in history and they learned how a compass works in a STEAM linked activity.  

During the Year 4 Exit Point, the children applied all the skills they had learned through the topic. They navigated around school by using their compass and reading the map, and they solved riddles to complete the house challenge. The Year 4 teachers are very proud of how all Year 4 students worked as a team to complete the scavenger hunt! Well done Year 4, you are true explorers! 

Ms Yen 

Year 4 Leader 

Upper Primary Phase Coordinator  

Year 5 Focus On Climate Change 

Year 5 have been learning about climate change in their English and Vietnamese Lien Ket lessons this term. At the start of the unit, we focused on identifying the cause and impact of climate change. The children were concerned by the effects they can see in everyday life and have been motivated to learn about the solutions. As a result, the children chose fun and engaging climate change activities for their Exit Point to educate and empower others to take the issue seriously. Some of the activities included building wind turbines, performing a rap about climate change and upcycling waste materials.  

The Year 5 students have come to realise that education is key to fighting against climate change and it is up to all of us to adapt our lives to prevent it. We would like to thank parents for attending our Exit Point and for participating in all the activities. We really appreciate your support.  

Ms Emily Purdy 

Year 5 Leader 

English Literacy Coordinator  

Year 6 Teach Parents About Ancient Greece 

The Year 6 children took part in an exciting Exit Point to celebrate their learning of the Ancient Greeks. Throughout the term, the children have worked tirelessly in both English and Vietnamese Lien Ket lessons completing a range of activities from Flipgrids to Drama. They have learnt who the Ancient Greeks were, when they were around, their way of life and famous battles from this era. In small groups, the children chose a specific part of their learning and created an activity for them to lead during the Exit Point. The project was student led and they have spent the last two weeks planning, creating and organising. The Exit Point was a huge success with the students becoming the teachers and informing parents, staff and the Year 5 students about their chosen topic. The children gained valuable skills and were proud of the projects they created. We would like to thank the parents for their support and hope they enjoyed listening to the students’ learning.  

Mr Matte Thomas  

Year 6 Leader 

Science and STEAM Coordinator 

Upcoming Events 

• 16/12/22 @ 11:30: Term 1 Ends 
  
  
• 04/01/23: Term 2 Begins 
  
  
• 05/01/23 @08:30: Positive Parenting Workshop 4: Wearing your firm parenting hat (for Upper Primary parents) 
  
  
• 09 – 13/01/23: Season 2 Clubs resume 
  
  
• 11/01/23 @08:30: Positive Parenting Workshop 4: Wearing your firm parenting hat for Lower Primary 
  
  
• 12 – 13/01/23: EYFS Tet Performance (EYFS parents invited – ticket only event)  

• 15/01/23: Tet Fair 

Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary

End of Term 1 

Dear Parents and Carers, 

I write to you having completed my first term as Head of Secondary at BVIS and what a brilliant first term it has been. 

The school is a truly wonderful place to be, and this is due to both the students and staff members who genuinely enjoy working together. I have worked at some prestigious and renowned international schools across my career, and I can honestly say there is nowhere quite like BVIS. There is something special about this place and one that I now feel fortunate to be part of. 

Please ensure that your children enjoy some rest during the holiday period, as they have been working very hard during this term and we want them to return refreshed and ready to learn again in January. 

For those of you with children in Year 11, 12 and 13, the mock exams will begin straight after the holiday and therefore, a balance between rest and exam preparation will need to be found. 

I am looking forward to the trips that will run for our Key Stage 3 and Year 10 students as this will be the first year, for a few years that we have been able to run them. Your support of these trips is much appreciated and shows how we are committed to giving students learning experiences beyond the classroom. 

Finally, thank you for all your support so far this year, the number of parents who have attended school events has never been higher and your engagement and connection with our events is key to helping the school progress further. 

I hope you have a wonderful break, however you choose to spend it. 

Kind regards,

Mr Bate

Bedrock Student of the Half Term 

Congratulations to Nam Phu who managed to accumulate a huge 2536 points in Bedrock, our vocabulary development software.

First News Student of the Half term

Ngoc Nguyen in Year 7 achieved a massive 86515 points over the half term in First News. Amazing progress and deserved well done! 

Year 9 Christmas Maths Activity 

Year 9 have been working on constructions and investigating fractals. 
 
As part of this, each Year 9 class created a mini Christmas tree made out of Sierpinski’s triangles. 

They then collaborated to create one giant Christmas tree to decorate the Math’s Corridor. 

As the image above shows, Year 9 students should be very proud of their achievement!  

Global Campus Champion of the Term

Amazing work by Tina in 8B who is the Champion of the Half Term for Global Campus. 

Tina has involved herself in multiple Global Campus competitions and events and should be congratulated on her ongoing engagement with the challenges set on our online platform. 

Student Champion of the Week and the Whole TERM! 

Congratulations to Phuong Nghi (Nancy) in Y12! 

This isn’t the first time she has won the weekly award and she is doing some amazing things in her lessons as well as being involved in the Blood Brothers production as well. Congratulations Nancy! 

Champion Tutor Group of the Week 

Over the last week the Tutor group that collected the most Housepoints was... 

A fantastic achievement, well done to everyone in 10I 

Champion Tutor Group of the Term 

The most successful Tutor group in terms of House Points over the whole term is... 

Congratulations to everyone in 9V, this really was a team effort! 

Upcoming Events 

• 16/12/22 @ 11:35: Term 1 Ends 
  
  
• 04/01/23: First Day back for Students 
  
  
• 04/01/23 – 13/01/23: Mock examinations for Y11, Y12 and Y13 students. 
  
  
• 10/01/23 – 13/01/23: Secondary Residential Trips 
  
  
• 18/01/23 – 31/01/23: Tet Holiday 

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: