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Mr. Simon Higham, Principal
Dear Parents
This week has been yet another extremely busy and productive time across the whole school, with global citizenship, STEAM and TEDX events leading the way.
Alongside the rigour and challenge of the daily curriculum, BVIS students, teachers and parents are encouraged to never stop learning.
During this week, all our Primary students have been learning about different countries, cultures and of course foods during their annual International Week.
The development of being a true Global Citizen is one of the core values within our school’s overall Mission and Vision. But what is a Global Citizen at BVIS and how do we achieve it? Our school definition is below:
Global citizenship at BVIS is the commitment we make to ensure that our actions have a positive impact on both Vietnam and the wider world.
We achieve this by:
This weekend, please take time to talk to your child(ren) about this definition and ask: ‘What do you do both inside and outside of school that makes you globally minded?’
I’d love to hear what responses you both come up with!
Read more about this year’s Primary International Week in Ms Mary’s Highlights below.
On Friday 29th March, I had the honour and privilege to attend our first ever TEDX event at BVIS.
Developed, organised and led entirely by our students, the event, that was held in our school theatre, was an opportunity to nurture and value students’ innovative ideas and perspectives. We heard a range of insightful talks presented by four of our BVIS students that covered a diverse range of topics including artificial intelligence, mental health and feminism.
My heartfelt congratulations to all our Student Council who helped make this event possible and thank you to Annie (13V), Cherry (10V), Fifi (12I) and Nhu Y (12H) for their articulate, honest and inspiring talks that quite frankly made me sit back in awe – well done!
#veryproudPrincipal
Should you wish to contact your child’s Class Teacher(s) or Form Tutor directly, we encourage communication to be written in the language you most feel confident to use.
Parents may also find it useful to contact their child’s class teacher(s) or form tutor directly for all individual queries about their academic work/social and emotional wellbeing in school. Individual contact details can be found in the Parents' Handbooks or via our Primary/Secondary Receptionists.
I wish you and your family a very enjoyable and peaceful weekend ahead.
Thank you for again taking time to read our Highlights that help to further strengthen, engage and connect our wider school community.
Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary
Research shows that mentally healthy students are more likely ready to learn, actively engage in school activities, have supportive and caring connections with adults and young people, use appropriate problem-solving skills, have nonaggressive behaviours, and add to positive school culture. At BVIS, students’ mental health and wellbeing is always at the forefront of our priorities.
We're thrilled to announce next week is Mental Health Awareness Week in primary at BVIS! To kickstart the event, all primary students are asked to wear their PE kit on Monday 1st April for a meaningful and active assembly. Let's promote positive wellbeing together!
In addition to meaningful activities throughout the week at school, the students are invited to take part in a special Family Challenge! We encourage families to engage in activities together to promote wellbeing and strengthen bonds. Some of the activities could be cooking, gardening, doing exercise, singing and dancing, playing board games and riding bicycles. We encourage you to capture these special moments by recording a short video and posting it on ClassDojo. As an incentive to share, the students will receive 10 dojo points for each video.
Let’s make meaningful memories together and spread positivity throughout our school community.
Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary
Last weekend, our BVIS students participated in the NAE South-East Asia STEAM Festival 24 at BIS HCMC, and it was an incredible experience.
During the event, which lasted two and a half days, our students collaborated with peers from different schools across the region.
Together, they engaged in hands-on activities simulating the challenges of settling on a distant exoplanet.
They took on various tasks, such as designing landing mechanisms, building shelters, and developing transportation systems. Each challenge required creativity and problem-solving skills, which they demonstrated admirably.
Throughout the festival, participants explored a range of topics, including planetary geology, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and social development goals. This allowed them to deepen their understanding of these subjects while also enhancing their teamwork, critical thinking, and innovation skills.
At the end of the event, our students proudly showcased their achievements through displays and presentations, reflecting on their journey of discovery and collaboration.
The festival provided them with a valuable opportunity to apply their classroom learning to real-world challenges, igniting their curiosity and passion for STEAM disciplines even further.
We are thrilled to share the outcome of the Saigon Senior Maths Competition held here at BVIS on Saturday March 9th. The event was a resounding success, thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of all participants.
A total of 19 teams, including three teams from BVIS, took part in the competition, with four rounds designed to test their mathematical and problem-solving ability. A special congratulations to our outstanding Year 12 team for their performance, securing 6th place overall in a very tight competition.
A special shoutout goes to our Year 11 student helpers, whose support and assistance were indispensable in ensuring the smooth running of the competition.
Once again, congratulations to all participants, and a big thank you to everyone involved in making this event a resounding success!
Last week saw a wide variety of performances from across the Secondary Campus at our March Live Lunch. This included highlights from our reigning champions from Saigon’s Battle of the Bands ‘The Bittersweet’, The Entertainer performed by pianist Phu Dong in Y7 and a surprise entry by Y13 performing Bastille’s Pompeii with added saxophone to delight the crowd. However, it was Mr Dobson and the amazing Physics songs that stole the show!
Thank-you to everyone who took part, especially in the fantastic sing-a-long.
This Thursday saw our Secondary students from Art, Drama, Music and Media Studies share the creative process with friends, teachers and family. All were welcome to peek behind the curtain and see what actually goes on whilst on the creative journey. Artists used clay and batik to share their ideas; musicians highlighted their work-in-progress pieces; Drama shared one-man-shows and Media Studies wowed everyone with final projects from Y13 students.
Thank-you to all who attended and shared in our learning.
Over the past two weeks we have been joined at both Primary and Secondary by two wonderful Curriculum Specialists as part of our NAE-Juilliard Performing Arts Collaboration. Ms Tania Hakkim (Drama Curriculum Specialist) and Ms Erin Wight (Music Curriculum Specialist) worked with teachers and students to share the ongoing goal of developing the creative process within BVIS. Teachers took part in observations and workshops and students got to learn from the expertise of two experienced performing arts practitioners.
A particular highlight of their visit was a Parent Workshop led by Ms Erin, inviting mums and dads to experience a reflective Music lesson using motivic development. Well done parents for being so creative with only 3 notes!
This week's First News Champions are:
Year 10 – Nguyen Thanh An
Year 9 – Max Nguyen
Year 8 – Nguyen Ngoc Nguyen
Year 7 – Nguyen Hoang Khoi
A special congratulations to Max who was the champion across the whole school!
This week’s bedrock champions are:
Year 12 – Trinh Quang Dung
Year 11 – Aki Vo
Year 10 – Sam Dang
Year 9 – Billy Nguyen
Year 8 – Shawn Nguyen
Year 7 – Mraz Le
Congratulations to all the above students who came up on top in their respective year groups. A special well done to Mraz who once again achieved the highest Bedrock points total across the whole of Secondary!
Students earn XP by completing tasks in their Sparx Homework
Compulsory Tasks earn 60-80XP
XP Boost Tasks earn 120-150XP
Target Tasks earn 120-150XP
Independent Learning Tasks earn 100XP
Students reach a new Sparx Level every 10000XP
Top XP earners this week are:
Year | Name | Form/Class |
7 | Alice Nguyen | 7V |
8 | Anna Quach | 8zMat2 |
9 | Paul Tran & Angelia Nguyen | 9zMat1 |
10 | Emma Nguyen | 10zMat2y |
11 | XP Pham | 11zMat4 |
Saigon stay in the lead for now, but will they still be in the lead at the end of the term?
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: