BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HANOI

NEWSLETTERDECEMBER 12 2014| ISSUE 15

IN THIS ISSUE

From Mr. Anthony RowlandsFrom Mr. Christopher ShortFrom Mrs. Karen HanrattyYear 11 IGCSE Geography: Field Trip Hanoi 2014EYC ProductionWinter ConcertBBGV Christmas EventYear 3 Visits the Ho Chi Minh MuseumFundinotots ProgrammeLunch MenuContacts

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UPCOMING EVENTS

15th BIS Girls U11 Football vs Girls U14 17th F1/2 to visit the farm18th BIS Girls Under 11 vs BVIS RC19th Secondary House Sports Whole School Assembly Year 9 Interim Reports distributed Term 1 ends at 12.25pm

20th Dec – 6th Jan: Christmas Holiday

7th All students back to school for Term 2.8th KS3 Football vs Wellspring12th-16th Secondary Mock Exam Week Year 8 Information Morning13th Year 6 Learning Insights Parents Information Session Year 9 Parents Evening and Options Information14th KS3 Boys Football vs SIS15th F1/2 Learning Insights Parents Information Session16th KS3 Boys & Girls Football vs Concordia

DECEMBER

JANUARY

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From Mr Anthony Rowlands - Principal of BIS Hanoi

There are many ingredients needed to ensure that a school is an active, happy and positive establishment. Three such ingredients - learning, sport and music - have been particularly evident recently at BIS Hanoi.

Recording achievement in learning is a very important ingredient of school life and I am pleased to see that many student reports have now been issued, or will soon be issued, by the school. These reports highlight what our students have learnt and achieved during the first term of the academic year. They all record a student’s strengths and level of effort whilst also highlighting areas where a student needs to show improvement. Additionally, parents have attended Parent/Teacher Consultation Evenings to discuss their child’s progress in more detail. These reports and meetings are vital communication pathways between parents and teachers. This written and verbal communication will ensure that students receive consistent home/school feedback that will lead to further progress in each child’s future development.

Around this time two years ago, I stated that we had reached a milestone at the school as we had played our first competitive sporting fixture – a football match against Hanoi International School. We now have regular fixtures against all the major International schools in Hanoi and in many different sports.

Additionally, this year we have competed in our first overseas football tournament. On Tuesday of this week it was an absolute pleasure to watch our KS3 girls play football against HIS and they gave a very good account of themselves. The final result, a 1-1 draw, was a fair result for both teams. As shown in that particular football game, the importance of sport as a key ingredient of school life cannot be underestimated as it develops great friendship bonds, a keener sense of belonging to the school and key team building skills.

Our final vital ingredient for a happy school environment is music. This element continues to grow stronger and stronger. Last Friday our school choir and band once again played at the BBGV Christmas celebration and they represented the school with pride during their magnificent performance. This week we hosted a wonderful “Winter Concert” in the school auditorium with over a hundred of our students performing. It was an outstanding event showcasing the developing musical talent of our students. In addition to this, today, our youngest students performed “To the Crystal Caves”. Our Foundation and KS1 students were charming and all performed with such confidence and enthusiasm.

What a great way to end a week and, with three such strong ingredients at BIS, the recipe of an active, happy and positive school is constantly developing.

I do hope that you have a wonderful weekend.

CANADIAN AMBASSADOR VISITS BIS HANOI

Two weeks ago 10S gave an enthusiastic, creative and informative assembly on how Christmas is celebrated here in Vietnam and elsewhere. I know our overseas staff found it fascinating to see how the students saw a festival that is huge in our home countries but less so in Asia.

Our own version of Christmas celebrations have continued in school this week with the Winter Concert on Wednesday. As usual we had an incredible standard of musical talent and my thanks go to all students who participated and Ms Woolgar and the music department for organising the event. Some students also supported the EYC children on Thursday as they prepared for their Christmas Concert.

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From Mr Christopher Short - Head of Secondary

I have had conversations with some parents this week about the balance between academic pursuits and involvement in the wide range of other activities we also offer. This is perhaps focused at this time of year as we have a lot of assessment going on as we get nearer to the end of term. I feel quite strongly that students should learn to balance their classroom and non-classroom based activities and should not sacrifice either one as being less important. Students heading to competitive universities will need to demonstrate that on top of excellent grades they also have a wide range of skills and experience and can become rounded members of the university community. I also think that the ability to work around events such as tests, rather than withdrawing from everything in the run up to them, is an important skill for our students to master. This reflects what they need to do in their future work lives.

This week has seen two wonderful celebrations of music, drama and culture in school. On Wednesday it was very pleasing to listen to the Winter Music Concert. The concert featured children from across the school sharing their accomplishments on a range of instruments. It was

wonderful to see how many children took part – 34 Primary children in total. Some of them played individual items, some in duets or small groups and 7 of our children played in the growing BIS Hanoi Orchestra. I was pleased to see that many new children have taken up an instrument this year, but also to see how much improved the children who have been learning their instrument for some time now are. Without exception the children played confidently – quite a feat in front of an audience of over 600 people.

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From Mrs Karen Hanratty - Head of Primary

FINE DINING

Today we had the delights of the Early Years Centre concert. It was simply wonderful to see our small people performing as they did this afternoon. The acting, singing and dancing were all superb, colourful and lively, and really gave everyone who attended a warm, happy feeling inside. My congratulations and thanks go to the entire EYC team who have put so much effort into this over the last few weeks, but even more so to our children who were such shining stars this afternoon. You will be able to read a fuller account of the show later in this newsletter.

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Last week the Geography Department took the IGCSE students out into Hanoi to investigate the quality of the environment at various locations around the city. They were the first students at BIS to use the School’s hi-tech Labdisc Dataloggers and iPads outside of school to bring to life what they have been studying in class. This research will be used by the students to complete the coursework component of their IGCSE and also, equally important, it gave the students an opportunity to take learning out of the classroom.

Geography plays an important role in taking the strengths from other academic subjects and applying their principles to real life situations. For example; the students will be using Maths to manipulate data and to identify trends and outliers to assist their analysis; applying Scientific theory and practical skills when collecting the data from around the city; linking in Business Studies concepts into deciding about the location for where to collect the data by comparing different land-uses at different locations; and by using sophisticated ICT software to handle and display their data to a high standard. A subject as versatile as Geography is a highly sought-after

qualification in the global job-market, as the skills that students develop, as well as the knowledge they learn in A-Level and IB, link perfectly with other popular academic subjects when applying to universities.

The students were impeccably behaved, considerate to the residents of Hanoi throughout the trip and really enjoyed themselves as well. Working with such inspiring students across all the Key Stages, is motivating me to offer more trips in the future. All Geography Department updates can be found in the link to the Departmental Blog at http://bishngeography.blogspot.com. Watch this space!

Year 11 IGCSE GeographyBOLDINQUISITIVESTUDENTSPICK GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP HANOI 2014

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The EYC children have been working extremely hard over the past couple of months to prepare for the production and I am sure you will agree the show was a huge success. The props the children made really helped to set the scene and the stage looked truly amazing.

Foundation 1, 2 and 3 replicated “Fairytale” land and everybody enjoyed their singing and dancing. F3 looked particularly impressive playing their musical instruments and the F1/2 children all remembered the actions to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Year 1 were in “Traditional Tale” land and put on a very impressive dance routine. They all sang extremely well with the live guitar. Year 2 were part of “Disney Film Land” and once again a very slick performance from everybody involved. They all performed the choreographed dance routines with enthusiasm.

EYC PRODUCTION

To theCrystal Caves!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff who were involved in the production – as you can imagine a show like this involves a lot of hard work and dedication. I would also like to thank all the parents who helped out by practising the songs, dances and lines with their children and also for providing such fantastic costumes.

But most of the praise rightly goes to the children who sang, danced and practised over and over in order to delight us all with their magnificent performance. I hope that you all have a wonderful and happy winter holiday which is filled with happiness and joy.

Ms Kate FitzpatrickYear 1 Teacher

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EYC PRODUCTION

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Concert 2014

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BBGV Christmas Event

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YEAR 3 VISITS THE HO CHI MINH MUSEUM

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BIS HANOI MENUWeek Beginning 15th December

Monday15th Dec 16th Dec 17th Dec 18th Dec 19th Dec

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

From Year 3 to Year 12 : All meals come with a salad or salad bar choice along and 2 choices of vegetables, rice, Vietnamese soup.

From Year 7 to Year 12: We have introduced our NEW Sandwich bar with assorted cheeses, fresh tuna, egg salad, roast meats and other daily specials on our homemade bread, dark rye, whole wheat, oatmeal, french bread, Vietnamese rolls, raisin bread and other fresh baked bread every day.

Morning snack

Morning snack

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Afternoon snack

EYFS

PRIM

ARY

SEC

ON

DA

RY

Rice soup with chicken

Banana cakeAmerican doughnut

Rice soup

Lemon juice

French fries

Hawaiian pizza

Fruit

Juice Milk Juice Juice

Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit

Braised porkGrilled BBQ

chicken riceFried mince pork

Fresh tofu Egg sushi roll Oatmeal cookie Caramel

Fruit Juice Soya milk Fruit

Rice soup with chicken

Banana cakeAmerican doughnut

Rice soup

Lemon juice

French fries

Hawaiian pizza

Fruit

Juice Milk Juice Juice

Braised pork with daikon

Grilled chicken leg with pepper

saucerice

Stauteed chicken with lemon

grass,bell pepper

Fried tofu in tomato sauce

Pork caramel with egg

Sauteed pork with rice

Fried mince pork

Noodle from the central

Beef MoussakaRice noodle with

crab and beef soup

Maccaroni with meat sauce French fries

Assorted pizza

Steam roll with

pork cake

Fruit

Roasted vegetable calzone

Grilled chicken leg with pepper

sauce

Fried soy cake with sweet and

sour sauce

Stauteed chicken with lemon

grass,bell pepper

Braised pork with daikon

Pork caramel with egg

Sauteed pork with rice

Fried mince pork

BRUNCH

BRUNCH

BRUNCH

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Good communication is important to us and we would like to ensure that you have the correct contact information in order for you to call the school:

School Number: 04 3946 0435

Extention number:

Receptionist: 0(For all general enquiries)

Principal’s Office: 208principaloffice@bishanoi.com(If you wish to contact the School Principal)

Business Manager’s Office: 109thaonguyen@bishanoi.com

Primary Office: 220primaryoffice@bishanoi.com(For all enquiries regarding the Primary Section)

Secondary Office: 215secondaryoffice@bishanoi.com(For all enquiries regarding the Secondary Section)

Admission Department: 222/122/555/777/888bishanoi@bishanoi.comdessydelevaux@bishanoi.com (Admission Manager)jinnyjung@bishanoi.com (Korean Liaison Officer)hatruong@bishanoi.comtrambui@bishanoi.com

Marketing Department: 189huyennguyenngoc@bishanoi.com(For all enquiries regarding Marketing)

Finance Department: 202(For all enquiries regarding school fees)

Medical Room: 117/303linhdieu@bishanoi.com (Main school)liennguyen@bishanoi.com (Early Years Building)(For all enquiries regarding Medical Issues)

Uniform Shop: 221tamle@bishanoi.comduyennguyenthi@bishanoi.comnhungpham@bishanoi.com(For all enquiries regarding School Uniform)

School Buses: 218nganguyenthithuy@bishanoi.com(For all requiries regarding School Buses)