Weekly Highlights 04/10/2024

Mr. Simon Higham, Principal

Dear Parents

I cannot believe that we have now entered October, the 3rd different month of this academic year – time really does fly by when you’re having fun!

Mission, Vision and Values

One of our 6 core values across our school is ‘Reflection’ (I challenge you to think of what the other 5 are!)

This weekend, I encourage you to take time to reflect together, as a whole family. I trust that the 5 questions below will help prompt the conversation and help you connect further. Ask each other:

1. What is the one thing that you have learned about yourself so far this academic year?
   
2. What is the one thing that you have learned about others around you so far this academic year?
   
3. How are you different now, compared to the start of the year in August?
   
4. What are your top 3 targets for the rest of this term?
   
5. What is the one thing that you have done that you know you could have done better? (How do you know this?
   

As always, I’d very much like to hear about your favourite responses. Feel free to share these thoughts with me either via my PA, Ms Jacy jacy.nguyen@bvisvietnam.com or directly to me at the school gate. I look forward to hearing your replies.

Typhoon Yagi Appeal - Update

Thank you again for all of your help and support last week with our Typhoon Yagi Appeal, designed to raise money for those affected in the north of Vietnam. 

With the transferred money, I can confirm that essential supplies have been purchased and are being distributed through the BVIS Hanoi community partners, to those most in need.

A full list of both what, and how much has been bought, is below:

Each of the items have been placed into packages with the distribution plan from the Community partners, outlined below:

Blue Dragon is helping with families in remote areas of Ha Giang to communities that have been heavily damaged by Yagi. Alongside with helping them to rebuild facilities, 150 packages will be donated to families to help support their resilience.

BVIS will deliver goods to their representative in Ha Giang. 

SCDI is supporting families in Yen Bai to rebuild and repair their houses, schools and community spaces. 100 packages from BVIS schools will be distributed to families within this project, with goods delivered and distributed through the SCDI’s office in Hanoi. They will then deliver the packages to families throughout October.

Floating Village - After Yagi, many houses and common places have been destroyed. For this community, BVIS Hanoi staff and students will deliver in-kind donations and 50 packages directly to them.

To read more about these caring gestures of love and solidarity and see pictures of how the funds were raised, click here to access the post on the News section within our School Website.

Useful Parent Seminars

Throughout the BVIS academic year, we have planned a wide range of parental workshops to help support you, to support your child(ren’s) learning at home.

This week, we have again hosted some very well attended sessions, enabling parents to further engage and connect to form an even stronger partnership between home and school. These include:

• Parent Workshop: Helping at Home
  
• Phonics and Readings
  
• Study Skills 

If you were unable to attend these events but want to catch up on their content, please find full presentations on our School Website, within the ‘Parent Essentials’ section.

Thank you for taking time to learn with us and we hope that you found (and continue to find) these parental sessions both useful and enjoyable.

Welcome to our New Teachers

Kelly Aldersley - Secondary maths teacher
- Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Studies, University of Leeds (2009)
- Postgraduate Certificate in Education (2015)

Kelly has a decade of experience teaching mathematics in a variety of settings, having previously lived and taught in Romania, Thailand, and the UK.

Before teaching, Kelly worked as a computer programmer, where she enjoyed the challenge of applying the skills learned by studying maths to solving complex coding problems. However, her heart was with mathematics, and so she applied to become a teacher in order to pass on her love of maths and problem solving to the next generation.

Outside the world of mathematics, Kelly has been heavily involved with school trips and activities, especially the Duke of Edinburgh Award. She is a keen traveller, and enjoys playing board games.

Contact Us

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 Parent's Handbooks or via our Primary/Secondary Receptionists.   

Have an amazing weekend ahead!

Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary

U11 Girls Bulldog Footballers versus ISHCMC Rhinos

On Monday our U11 Girls football team played against the ISHCMC U11 Girls football team in a cross district friendly fixture; a first of its kind in recent years and an excellent stride in further opportunities for sport. The game was played in excellent spirits with talented young footballers enjoying the fun, safe and challenging competitive environment.

The footballers from both teams worked together to generate a wonderful atmosphere which was enjoyed by students, parents and staff from both schools. The standard of competition was inspiring and the outcome was very close right until the final moments of the game.

Our BVIS Bulldogs emerged victorious with a 2-1 win with all 20 squad members having contributed to this success.  Special mentions go to Ha Anh who scored the opening goal and Ana who played as a goalkeeper and striker, scoring the second goal.  An honourable mention also to the foundation of the team’s success, Lily and Kate, who played the whole game as defenders, providing a stern wall of resistance to the Rhino attackers.

Congratulations, Bulldogs!

Phonics Workshops for Parents

The third and final workshop of the series was delivered to enthusiastic parents on Thursday.  There has been an increased number of parents joining each week which is testament to the quality and value that these workshops have in supporting parents to guide their children through their journey of learning to read.  Thank you to all families who have joined Ms Ha and Ms Rioghnach over the last three weeks.  For further information about your child’s phonics and reading going forward, please contact your child’s class teachers who are best placed to share specific information about your child’s learning.

At BVISHCMC, our approach to phonics in both English and Vietnamese supports students to be successful bilingual learners.  Our very own teachers have developed a bespoke Vietnamese phonics structure to match our philosophy of, ‘know one, learn two’.  The phonics approach used in Vietnamese and English uses the same methodology which simplifies the transition between languages for students. 

Our pedagogy and bespoke Vietnamese phonics programme at BVISHCMC was shortlisted by T4 Education as a top 10 global innovation, in the ‘World’s Best School Awards’ 2023. Additionally, our programme was also recognised by BritCham Vietnam in 2022, winning the award for ‘Innovation in Education’.  

We are proud to be facilitating the small steps required for children to be proficient and successful in two languages throughout their educational journey.

‘Helping your child at home’ EYFS Parent Workshop

On Tuesday EYFS families joined Ms Rebecca, Ms Jacinth and Ms Khuyen, to explore how parents can best support their children at home on their developmental journey through EYFS.  They shared helpful strategies to use at home which focused on developing a child’s play.  They also shared useful elements of the Reading Eggs App which supports children’s practice of their phonics skills. 

All topics covered in the workshop series of ‘helping your child at home’ for EYFS parents are key to a child’s successful development in the Early Years.  Within all workshops teachers share how home and school can work in partnership to give children the best opportunities to thrive in their earliest years.  Parents are also invited to share the challenges they face at home with regards to the topics discussed.  The next workshop in the series will be hosted on Tuesday 29th October with a focus on meaningful interactions and supporting children's ‘big emotions’.

Upcoming Events

1. 14 – 18/10/24: School Closed for Half Term Holiday
   
2. 21/10/24 - 08:25: School Resumes
3. 22/10/24 - 08:45: Basic First Aid Life Support (CPR & Choking for Children) Workshop 
   
4. 25/10/24 - 15:30: Friends of BVIS event – Halloween Movie Night
   
5. 29/10/24 - 08:30: Helping your child at home for EYFS parents – focusing on meaningful interactions and supporting children's ‘big emotions’
   
6. 03/11/24: Club block 1A ends
   
7. 04/11/24 - 08/11/24: SISAC Championship Week
   
8. 11/11/24: Club block 1B begins

Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary

Creative Arts Update

This year at BVIS, we are delighted to share our upcoming production of, "The Little Shop of Horrors." This captivating tale follows a florist who stumbles upon a man-eating plant that propels him to success but at a chilling cost. The Creative Arts Faculty are now well underway in preparations.

To support the success of this production, Mr. Marshall's Props Club will play a pivotal role in bringing the story to life. Students have already begun working on crafting various props, including: the iconic Audrey 2 plant (a large, life-sized puppet with a mouth-opening mechanism); a small hand puppet for detailed scenes; and the grand centre doors that set the main scene. This is in addition to creating a variety of other essential items that will help to propel this musical story.

The students involved are getting hands-on experience in prop-making. Throughout the process, students will develop a range of skills, including organisation, assembly, painting, structural design, problem-solving, and sculpting. These skills will not only be valuable for the production but are also transferable to other aspects of their personal and academic lives, allowing for overall holistic growth.

We are excited to witness the creativity and dedication of our students flourish as they delve into the world of prop-making. Stay tuned for updates on our progress and join us for what promises to be a spectacular performance of "The Little Shop of Horrors."

Pastoral Update

This year at BVIS we have introduced the new role of ‘Digital Leader’ into the student leadership team of each house. Their role is to create and design electronic information and design work to enhance the success of their house. Their first role was to update our house boards in the Sunken Garden. This is where each house can have their own space to promote and celebrate what is important to them.

University Guidance

Last week, we had an engaging coffee morning with parents, where we discussed the university application process and how BVIS provides comprehensive support to our students throughout their individual learning journey. From personalised guidance in choosing the right universities to helping with applications, we ensure our students are well-prepared for their next steps. We also highlighted the resources available to students, including one-on-one counselling sessions, workshops, and access to global university networks.

The full presentation can be accessed here

GC Sports Competition

Students have been challenged this month to put their best foot forward and complete the Nord Anglia Education Global Campus Sport Challenge.

In a bid to be the best, each house will collect as many kilometres as possible over the course of October and the house with the most will be awarded 50 House Points to their total score!

Students wanting to join their house’s team should contact either their Student Mentors, their House Captains or their Head Students. Good luck!

Sparx Maths Champions 

The Sparx Maths Weekly Champion is the student who is the top XP earner in each year group. 
 
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 

Huge congratulations go to our Top XP earners this week, who are:

Bedrock Champions  

This week’s bedrock champions are:  

Year 7  - Tran Bao Nam   
Year 8  - Le Hong Minh Quang
Year 9  - Nguyen Khac Nguyen Anh 
Year 10 - Nguyen Hoang Bach  
Year 11  - Ngo Khanh Ngoc

Congratulations to all the above students who came up on top in their respective Year groups. A special well done to Mraz (Le Hong Minh Quang) who achieved the highest Bedrock points total across the whole of Secondary! 

Champion of the week

This week’s champion is...

Teppi - 11B Congratulations and well done Teppi!

Champion Tutor Group

This week's Champion tutor group is...

Congratulations to everyone in Hanoi3, well done!

Housepoint Totals

It’s all change in the Housepoint league as Hanoi zoom into the lead having been in 4th place only a few weeks ago.

Upcoming Events