Weekly Highlights 17/03/2023

Mr. Simon Higham, Principal

Dear Parents

Thank you for taking time to engage and further connect with our school through the Weekly Highlights.

All past editions of the Highlights can be found on our school website within the ‘News’ shortcut.

Opportunity

The famous French General, Napolean Bonaparte said ‘Ability is nothing without opportunity’.

Once again there have been many opportunities on offer this week for students, teachers and parents to learn more and develop their skills and interests.

Student Opportunities

On Monday this week, we welcomed back our Year 6’s from their annual residential experience in Madagui where every student had the opportunity to challenge their mental and physical abilities. 

Read the reflections of some Year 6 students in Ms Mary’s Highlights below with words such as ‘confidence’, ‘independence’, ‘perseverance’ and ‘stepping out of a comfort zone’ used to describe this unique and rewarding opportunity.

On Tuesday this week, Secondary student leaders organised a bake sale to celebrate International Pi (3.142) day.

This was a great opportunity for our students to join together and raise money for our well-established community partners.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in making this event possible, from ordering the cakes to those who supported us by eating them!

BVIS Staff (teaching and non-teaching) Opportunities

This weekend, members of our leadership teams and I will be attending the annual FOBISIA Leadership Conference in Bangkok. 

With esteemed keynote speakers presenting on topics such as ‘Being the best we can be’, ‘Making our schools safer’ and ‘The paths and possibilities of education’, this is a great opportunity to learn more about how new cutting-edge educational thinking can further develop our BVIS community and culture into the future.

Continued professional development is an integral part of our BVIS school culture with all staff, both teaching and non-teaching, having the opportunity every day to develop their own knowledge, thinking and individual pedagogy to positively impact student outcomes at our school.  

Parent Opportunities 

This Summer time, all BVIS parents have the opportunity to enrol their son/daughter into this year’s Summer School that will focus upon 4 areas of development:

1. Intensive English language development in key skills including Listening - Speaking - Reading - Writing with experienced and creative expat teachers 
   
   
2. Experience first-hand our STEAM approach to learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths) 
   
   
3. Take part in a variety of PE (Physical Education) and Sports activities using our modern and world-class facilities 
   
   
4. Nurture critical soft skills (Communication, Critical Thinking, Debate, Problem Solving, etc.)  

Places are limited and remember that all paid enrolments between now and 31st March will receive a 20% discount.

Please contact Ms. Thao Nguyen, Events Manager at: 090 6880 005 or email Marketing@bvisvietnam.com for further details

Contact Us 

For all enquiries regarding your child’s BVIS education, use the contact details below – we’re ready to help and support you:

On behalf of everyone at BVIS, we hope that you have the opportunity to have a very happy and family orientated weekend ahead.

Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary

Reflections from Y6 

Year 6 arrived back with so many stories to share about their experiences last week in Madagui.  On Monday, students spent time reflecting on what they had learned, their most memorable activity and what they would like to experience again.  At school, we see the importance of taking time to reflect and consider what worked well and what could be even better next time.  This is a skill that we teach students to ensure they know how to reach optimum learning techniques and continue to make exceptional progress.  I am pleased to share with you some of the students’ and teachers’ special thoughts here in the Weekly Highlights.

Cecilia 6I: “My favourite activity on the trip was the ziplines because I challenged myself by going on all four ziplines which has helped me overcome my fear of heights.”

Henry 6B: “I really enjoyed the activity of kayaking as although it was physically tough, I had to show perseverance in order to complete the challenges.  In addition, the outdoor skills activity was extremely useful as it taught me life skills such as, how to make a fire and how to tie a secure knot.”

Mr Matte: “The Year 6 residential was a huge success. The children have returned to school with improved confidence, independence and perseverance. The trip allowed them to step out of their comfort zones and take risks in activities that some of them had never previously experienced. As staff members, we were extremely proud of how they represented BVIS by showing care and respect throughout the trip.”

Ms Nga: “Going on a residential trip encourages students to step out of their comfort zone and embrace the world without their parents. For many children, a school trip will be the first time that they are away from their family, which aids social development through creating bonds with their peers and using initiative to problem solve. Whilst on a residential trip, students overcome challenges and achieve things that they did not think were possible. This gives them a large confidence boost that they can take into other areas of their life and learning.” 
 
Once again, a huge thanks go towards the team of teachers who chaperoned the students throughout the trip and a special thanks to Mr Matthew Thomas, the residential trip leader. Congratulations to all our Year 6 students who embraced every experience with enthusiasm and ambition.

Fantastic Fairytales

On Friday, our Year One students shared their incredible performance with their families, which they have been working on over the last few weeks.  ‘Fantastic Fairytales’ struck the stage with an abundance of magic and wonder for the audience to experience.  The students performed with confidence, delivering their lines clearly and singing with joy for all to hear.  The story took the audience through a variety of fairytales cleverly woven together through a magical plot.  With the applause from the audience, it was evident that the whole theatre was in awe of what the students had achieved.  

Congratulations to our Year One stars and thank you to all teachers, assistants and parents who supported the practice and set up of this year’s Year One production.

F3 visit Tinker Play

Ready, set, climb!  This week F3 went to Tinker Play, a wooden adventure playground.  With lots of loose parts and large-scale building blocks to construct with, an excavation sand pit and a rooftop trail, the children had the opportunity to use their gross motor skills to balance, construct and climb with control and coordination.  

Using their communication skills, the children worked in teams to solve problems and take turns.  Here the children could demonstrate and develop many characteristics such as, safe risk taking, trying something new, making choices and persevering with challenges.  The children tried archery, skittles, duck racing (with rubber ducks!) and moving across trim trails whilst keeping their balance!  

Tinker Play is a great place for large-scale play; F3 had an adventurous and exciting time. 

FOBISIA Maths Competition

On Friday, four primary BVIS mathematicians departed school with Ms Phuong, our Maths Coordinator, to make their way to the annual FOBISIA Maths Competition held in Bangkok, Thailand.  

Following the recent months of preparation and practice, the four students were ready to take the challenge of competing with likeminded international students in the South East Asia region.  The three-day competition is filled with interesting and creative maths challenges for the students to collaborate and solve together.  

We wish the BVIS team all the very best for the weekend ahead and we look forward to hearing all about your experiences and successes!

Upcoming Events   

• 21/03/23: Reading Workshop for Parents of Students in F1 to Year 2

• 23/03/23: Y4 Production for Y4 parents
  
  
• 24/03/23: Term 2 ends @11:30am

Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary

FOBISIA Photography Competition

This competition was open to all schools in FOBISIA, with the theme of “happiness” for all entries.

Fantastically, Thao Linh in 12H came first in the KS5 category and Simon in 9I came second place in the KS3 category! Congratulations to both students and everyone who entered.

Please see their amazing winning photographs below:

Thao Linh: First Place KS5

Simon: Second Place KS3

 The virtual photography exhibition can be explored here: artsteps | 2023 FOBISIA Photography Competition

An Update from Computer Science

It's a busy time in Computer Science as we ramp up our preparations for the summer exams in Years 11, 12 and 13. We have started building robotics outside of our curriculum as part of our Robot Building ECA every Monday afternoon with Mr Twemlow. From our pictures you can see that we are midway through the building stage. Once complete, we will program our robotic cars using a range of sensors to navigate and avoid obstacles around the school. 

Also, congratulations to our students who have recently taken part in a variety of programming competitions, including Hack2ber and Bebra's Code Competition.  

An Update from Maths

Following our Senior Students Competition last week, Saturday 11th March was the turn of our Junior Students. 12 students from Year 7 and 8 competed against students from 7 international schools from around the city.

Our BVIS Students performed extremely well and had a wonderful morning challenging themselves against many strong Mathematicians. Special mention goes to Tue An (Cherry) who was the highest placed student at BVIS – Congratulations!

An Update from English

For World Book Day, Secondary had a competition to decorate form room doors like famous books. Almost every form group entered, but only 3 teams could take 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Mr Tung’s form, 11B, came first with their Charlie and the Chocolate Factory design!

They received a form party as a prize on Friday 10^th March.

9S and 10S took second and third place with their creative use of layering and bold colours.

Well done to all who entered!

An Update from our Student Council Well-Being Committee

As a school tradition, BVIS celebrates Mental Health Awareness Week every year during March. This year, however, we have extended mental health activities and events into a month in order to help everyone learn about its overall importance to our wellbeing and happiness.

Aside from the school-designed program, the Wellbeing Committee has been responsible for organising and hosting activities, such as the bingo challenge & weekly workshops to further engage students. 

To kick off the month, we launched our first workshop - colouring plasters to help relieve exam stress. It was amazing to see so many students join in, colouring different plasters in pictures of whales, bunnies, dinosaurs, bears, and so much more! Many have even made it a present to a special woman in their lives in honor of the recent International women’s day on 8^th March. 

Keep a look out for another two workshops in the following weeks! Our next one will include fun games (like chess and Pictionary) and another will have cupcake decorating. 

Stay tuned for our upcoming workshop activities!

BVIS Secondary Champion of the Week

Congratulations go to....

Khai Phuc (Frank)  in Year 13 who achieved the most Housepoints this week. Great job Frank and it’s good to see our older students still trying to achieve Housepoints.

Secondary Champion Tutor Group of the Week

This week’s highest scoring tutor group was...

Collectively 7I earned a huge 145 Housepoints! Well done to everyone in the tutor group!

Creative Gala

Students, Staff and Parents are invited to attend the Creative Gala, hosted by the Creative Arts team next Thursday the 23^rd of March. Tickets are 20,000VND with all proceeds being donated to the Blue Dragon charity.

We hope to see you there to celebrate the huge successes in the Creative Arts this year.

University Fair

On Monday this week, we marked the successful completion of the fifth University Fair of the academic year, featuring representatives from various American universities and colleges. The fair was an incredible opportunity for our students to explore different higher education institutions and programs available to them. They engaged with representatives directly, asked questions, and learned about the application process. We express our sincere appreciation to all the participating universities and colleges, as well as the students who attended the fair.

Upcoming Events 

• 16-24/03/23: KS4/KS5 Art Coursework on display
  
  
• 20-24/03/23: Space Week
  
  
• 23/03/23: Creative Gala
  
  
• 24/03/23: ECAs Break
  
  
• 24/03/23: End of Term 2, school closes at 11:35am. 
  
  
• 10/04/23: Start of Term 3.
  
  
• 13/04/23: Year 9 Parents Evening.
  
  
• 17/04/23: Season 3 ECAs resume
  
  
• 17-19/04/23: AS Art Exam
  
  
• 18-19/04/23: IGCSE Art Exam
  
  
• 19/04/23: Secondary Open Morning
  
  
• 24-28/04/23: Psychology Week

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: