Esprit December Edition 2019-2020

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INTERNATIONALLY-MINDED CITIZENS 04 | Students perform to celebrate Moon Festival 06 | Celebrating the diversity at BIS Hanoi International Festival 2019 08 | An incredible International Week at BIS Hanoi 10 | Fantastic learning experience at the NAE Regional STEAM Festival 12 | Year 7, 8, 9 & 10 Residential Trips 16 | We take pride in our global outlook 17 | BIS Hanoi bring home medals at the 2019 U15 FOBISIA Games

ACADEMIC SUCCESS 20 | 150 International Universities represented in one day 21 | BIS Hanoi - A Passport to the World 22 | British Ambassador congratulates BIS Hanoi students on their outstanding achievements in the IGCSE examinations 24 | Preparing our students for an ever-changing world with new assessment model 26 | Whole class reading

CONFIDENT COMMUNICATORS 30 | Primary students demonstrate their leadership qualities 31 | Primary Student Council Eco Team: Taking Action 32 | Student leadership at BIS Hanoi 33 | Our students shine in World Scholar’s Cup at Yale University 34 | Year 3 & 4 students impress with their confident delivery during the Phase 2 Exhibition

WELL-BEING IN OUR COMMUNITY 38 | Mindfulness was the main theme for The Big Draw 2019 40 | Investment in clean air within BIS 41 | Community Service 42 | Growing our community through Friends of BIS 44 | Let’s get social ESPRIT December 2019 | 1

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GLOBAL CITIZENS LEARNING TOGETHER

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At BIS we are passionate about o erin ever tu ent the opportunit to e reat there ore the ran e activitie provi e i oth iver e an inc u ive

”

I am delighted to share some of our highlights from Term 1, in our first edition of Esprit this academic year. Selecting articles to showcase from a very busy term is a difficult task. At BIS we are passionate about offering every student the opportunity to be great therefore the range activities provided is both diverse and inclusive. I hope we have selected some of your favourite events in the following pages.

Firstly, the annual International parade, held in November, was taken to a new level this year as our students of 33 different nationalities paraded proudly around the perimeter of our school, behind their country flag. This event set the scene for the week ahead with parents playing an essential part in providing students with first-hand experience of life in their home countries.

Once again, you will find that our articles have been categorised under four headings: Internationally-minded Citizens, Confident Communicators, WellBeing in our Community and Academic Success. I would like to introduce the first section, Internationally-Minded Citizens.

The second event, World Children’s Day, helped us to focus on the Convention for the Rights of the Child. Views and attitudes were certainly challenged during this week. The article ‘We take pride in our global outlook’ outlines the exciting collaboration with UNICEF during which our secondary students engaged with students from local schools to have an impact on solving problems faced by young people in Vietnam. Our Primary students also made us proud as they confidently expressed their opinions about Climate Change and the impact on our environment. This was even more special as their voice was heard in front of a packed Secondary assembly. Our students continue to amaze and inspire and are truly ‘Global Citizens, Learning Together’!

At BIS, we follow the International Primary Curriculum and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme both of which aim to develop international mindedness in our students. Being internationally-minded is about much more than knowledge of the world or speaking multiple languages, though both of these are of great value. It also encompasses how people think about the world and about the development of their attitudes and values. With this in mind, I would like to highlight two of the events from this term.

AALLLLYY N N O I O T I A T A N N R IIN NTTEER ND D M MIINDEED

NSS CCIITTIIZZEEN

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Sue Hill Principal

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tu ent per or to ce e rate

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Moon Festival

making and singing songs Festival.

The Moon Festival is one of the most highly anticipated events for students and teachers at BIS Hanoi. All students from Primary to Secondary joined in the fun and were excited to participate in activities such as moon cakes, dancing to celebrate the Moon

More than one hundred students, of various nationalities, contributed to the performance programme showcased in Auditorium. It has become somewhat of a tradition here at BIS Hanoi that every year, not only students but all teachers wear the traditional Ao Dai (Vietnamese long dress) to share the joy of celebrating the Moon Festival. Parents are also invited to the showcase, with several hundred attending. This year, in the Theatre, they were treated to a special performance of traditional and modern dancing and singing. The quality of acts alongside the amazing colourful costumes and professional choreography delighted the packed audience.

Hai Nguyen Vietnamese Leader 4 | BIS Hanoi

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Celebrating the iver it at anoi nternationa e tiva On 2nd November, our school celebrated its 4th annual International Festival where we cele rated the different nationalities and cultures represented in the school through, music, games, costumes, dance, food and community activities.

During the festival, visitors had the opportunity to visit bespoke areas that we had created: • Cultural area where they could take in Japanese calligraphy and the Korean traditional game of Tuho’ (also known as Pitch-pot).

• Gaming area where parents and students alike could participate in various fun activities including an Interactive Virtual Reality game, zorbing, fishing, basketball, table football, and face painting.

• Food area where some delicious flavours from around the world were dished up by the likes of Chops, Savoor Panini, C T S i n, Fresh arden, Sharetea and more.

• Community area where we had a presence from not only some of our partner charities, including Blue Dragon, Operation Smile and Keep Hanoi Clean among others, but also from some of our students who ran their own stalls for their various fundraising projects.

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he nternationa e tiva i the i e t co unit event o the ear at anoi hich a o our tu ent parent an our ue t to earn ore a out the cu ture o i erent countrie aroun the or

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Sue Hill Principal

The heart and soul of the Festival was the Main Stage. A huge, undercover area with several hundred seats where attendees could watch some incredible music and dance performances from our talented students of all ages. The opening performance of our Primary choir drew in the crowds and attendees were firmly planted on their seats until the final performance of the day was done, such was the quality of the performances which included choirs, a brass band, flute choir, a student band, Morris dancing, Vietnamese lotus dance, African dance, and many others. Alongside our students’ performances, there were also cultural related performances of a Japanese tea ceremony and a Korean folk song from groups of our parents.

Special thanks must be given to all the students and teachers involved but also to our Friends of BIS parents group, who sold their uniform

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upcycling products and hosted some of the stalls, and to the event sponsors and companies that offered prizes for the Lucky Draw.

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Relive the Festival:

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An incredible nternationa Week at BIS Hanoi Our International Week 2019, at the start of November, was an incredi le wee o fla s traditional costumes, music and many cultural activities all around the world. The purpose of the week is for Primary students to focus on and dive into learning about cultures, traditions and much more!

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o our o an rien hip are a on the or hich cro e in urin the ara e o ation t a a eauti u a to ic o the ce e ration As a parent, a o en o e ein a e to a aroun the choo ith tu ent teacher an ta e er tru ee e are a reat co unit

�

Anne Salapete BIS Hanoi Parent 8 | BIS Hanoi

To kick-start our International Week 2019, a colourful Parade of Nations was held on the schoolyard to celebrate the 33 nationalities in our school.

For the International Week, Phases One, Two & Three travelled through a whopping seven continents around the world! Each class was given a different country to study and spent some time thinking about how we can make links to lobal Actions.

Our learning had great breadth and depth, with activities as diverse as making Dong Ho folk paintings, building replicas of Taipei 101, making a Statue of Liberty hat, designing origami tulips from The Netherlands, playing traditional Austrian games and hearing Malawian stories. More to mention, the children were busy sumo wrestling in Japan, creating rangoli patterns from India, cooking South Korean bulgogi and kimchi, and playing ice hockey, inspired by Canada. With a focus on UN oal Climate Action, we are all reducing our waste by using recycled materials and being inspired by innovation around the world that will help save our planet.

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Especially this year, we had the Vietnamese cyclo at school just for the week and it was a real highlight for all visitors! We even had a visit from Polish MasterChef winner, Chef Ola Nguyen, and had the chance to taste the delicious Masterchef-take of an apple pancake!

International Week 2019 would not have been possible without our supportive parents and members of BIS community who come in to lead workshops, presentations, teach skills, cook food and have fun with our students. Thank you to everyone who joined in and supported us during the week!

Rebecca Carroll Head of Primary ESPRIT December 2019 | 9

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Fantastic learning experience

at the NAE Regional STEAM Festival

For the past two years, our school has been sending students to the NAE/MIT Regional STEAM festival in various locations around South East Asia. The aim of these festivals is to give students an opportunity to use the STEAM subjects, Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths, to address and solve real world problems through researching, designing, prototype-building and testing. What makes this experience particularly interesting is that students do this in collaboration with other students from schools all-around South-East Asia and the Middle East. This year, six students (Danielle, Thai Anh, Nhat Ha, Aymen, Chae Yeon and Mathilde) from Years 7 and 8 were selected to attend the festival in Regents International School Pattaya, Thailand.

As soon as students checked-in to the hotel at Pattaya, they took part in their first STEAM challenge which involved breaking codes to open a chest. The students managed to open it, thanks to their perseverance and amazing collaboration skills.

On Monday morning, all fifteen schools gathered in ‘The Globe Theatre’ for the welcome speech 10 | BIS Hanoi

and a talk from the keynote speaker, Pritika Maharaj, from Ford cars. She explained the design and development process in creating the Ford Raptor Ranger and showed how all the STEAM elements play an important role in this process. Nhat Ha won a prize at the end of the talk for asking an interesting question, while Aymen demonstrated an exciting collaborative challenge on the stage in front of everyone. After this, all students were split up into teams and attended a range of different exciting workshops including: using a Raspberry pi, robotics, presenting designs using AR and VR, creating 3D structures, Batik workshops and many more.

This year’s STEAM Challenge was ‘Extreme Environments’ so the rest of the day was spent presenting individual ideas, selecting an extreme

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environment, designing prototypes and building them. Evening entertainment included traditional Thai dancing and each school created a Loy Krathong; a floating flower display with a lit candle.

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On Tuesday, students finished making their prototypes and this involved a lot of resilience as the students tested their designs to make sure they worked. Then the expo began in which final designs were showcased to all participants on the trip as well as the whole of Year 6 at Regents International School.

The prototypes and presentations created were amazing and everyone was incredibly impressed.

At the prize-giving event, MIT points were added together and two of our students were placed in the top 3 projects: Nhat Ha’s group (Year 7) came 3rd, while Aymen’s group (Year 8) came 1st!

Taking part in the NAE-MIT STEAM festival was a truly incredible experience which will stand by the students as they continue their own STEAM challenges in school and in the future!

Eibhlín Göppert Art Teacher ESPRIT December 2019 | 11

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Year 7 Residential Trip: La Ferme du Colvert

Year 7 had an adventurous journey by spending four days at La Ferme du Colvert. The resort is an organic farm set in luscious surroundings and provides the perfect base for all our activities. After the trip, our students had learned to love being outdoors and were no longer bothered by bugs or getting a bit muddy.

Throughout the week, learners worked in their form classes in a variety of activities and challenges with the aim of developing their Ways of Being and Ways of Thinking outside of classroom.

challenging as half the team was blindfolded then picking tea. The rest of the day was spent designing and building a raft which was tested out on the lake in a raft race! A highlight for us was the gala dinner and dance performances from the local villagers. It was a memorable point of the trip when the performers got everyone up dancing and consolidated new friendships as well as strengthened the bond within each groups.

The second day was the Amazing Race where they explored the local countryside and had to battle against each other in races, bridge building, learning a local ethnic folk song and ended up walking over 10km in the process!

The final morning, learners collected natural materials to create an artwork that represented their experiences that week and the depth of reflection displayed how much each student had grown. With hearts full of memories and our stomachs full of yet another delicious meal, we set off back to Hanoi eager to share our trip with our families.

Day three saw the teams spending half the day planting in the organic garden, building a tent made more

Fiona Shanks Assistant Head of KS3

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Year 8 students had a wonderful residential trip to the beautiful island of Cat Ba. The first night was spent camping at the Cat Ba Ecolodge following a busy day of trekking and visiting a cave which had been converted into a hospital.

Days two and three of the trip were spent with students rotating through four activities, each of which brought different challenges for the students. The first activity involved students completing a bike ride along a 6km scenic track. The second activity was rafting in which students worked in teams to build seaworthy vessels.

Not all of the vessels were particularly successful when exposed to the open waters but all students showed great teamwork under tight time constraints. The third activity was kayaking: students worked in teams of two or three to develop their skills and complete various challenges on the water. Finally, students completed

a challenging rock climbing activity that pushed all students out of their comfort zones and they climbed over 20m up a steep cliff face.

On our final evening, a number of students were lucky to see the Cat Ba Langurs – the rarest primate in Asia and it rounded off a wonderful trip.

The trip will leave a lasting impact on the students both individually and collectively with their shared experience of collaboration and perseverance when confronted with many types of challenge that are so different from their daily routine.

Edward Westropp Assistant Head of Pastoral Care ESPRIT December 2019 | 13

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Year 8 Residential Trip: Cat Ba

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Year 9 Residential Trip: Sapa

Year 9 students had a fantastic trip to beautiful Sapa.

On Day 1, after the long journey, we had a lovely lunch in a local restaurant. We then had great fun walking around the local villages and exploring how people live. We checked into our homestay, met our hosts and had a delicious evening meal.

On Day 2, the weather was excellent, and we did not have any rain. Students competed in teams all day in The Amazing Race, which required all of the students to participate in lots of challenges. The students all had great fun, and they demonstrated excellent teamwork, communication and perseverance all day. The teachers were all very proud of them. When we returned from The Amazing Race, we learnt how to make local spring rolls and five-colour sticky rice, which was great fun.

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The final day involved farming activities in the morning, where students helped harvest cassava and then planted rice. We had lots of fun but got very muddy. We then had the opportunity to explore a beautiful river and clean the mud off our feet.

After lunch, we helped a local medical hospital build small walls in different places around their site. The students were amazing construction workers and demonstrated great strength and teamwork. In the evening, we had a fantastic BBQ dinner, followed by local dancing, student performances and some music by a fire.

James Trett Head of KS3

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After arriving safely at Dalat, Year 10 enjoyed a trip to the Datanla Falls, taking the alpine rollercoaster to reach it. Day one finished great with a short boat ride to the campsite, where students participated in team building games.

Day two and three of the trip were very busy yet exciting with many activities. Split into 2 groups, group A did a high rope course and hike and they had bravely stepped out of their comfort zone on the high rope course, zip line, monkey bridge and puzzling A challenge.

Every single student even did the Leap of Faith - an adrenaline-pumping jump from an elevated platform high up in the forest. For group B, students did an

impressive hike through the pine forest and impressed us with their resilience on what was a tough walk. The students then had to overcome their fears and abseil down a 25-metre rock face. Then in the afternoon, students of both group A and B had a great fun and lots of laughter whilst raft building where they showed an amazingly collaborative team effort.

On day three, 2 groups swapped activities and all impressed us with their bravery, kindness and support of each other. That night, we went for a lovely buffet dinner, after which some of the students performed in a talent show for everyone. All the acts were fantastic, the students really enjoyed the show!

Year 10 Dalat Trip Team ESPRIT December 2019 | 15

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Year 10 Residential Trip: Dalat

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We take pride in our global outlook

Earlier in the term we had an inspirational assembly delivered by our two UNICEF ambassadors, Ha Minh and Sung Woo from 12H. They took part in the Nord Anglia UN summit in New York City in July. They have continued in their role as UNICEF ambassadors by increasing awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals at the International Fair and arranging visiting speakers to BIS for an assembly.

The 20th of November each year is the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, CRC, and this year we have taken part in a very special event that was arranged by UNICEF and hosted at the United Nations International School (UNIS). Fourteen of our Year 11 and 12 students received training from UNICEF to support teams of children from public schools across Vietnam. These teams came to UNIS to work on solving problems that they had chosen as those facing 16 | BIS Hanoi

the young people of Vietnam. As part of the event, we joined the distinguished guests, including the Deputy Prime Minister and other government representatives, at an evening celebration at Hoan Kiem Lake.

We have eighteen students from Years 9, 10 and 12 taking part in the expedition to Tanzania in March 2020. Mr Wheeler and myself are the accompanying teachers who are lucky enough to be part of the expedition. Our students will be working hard to raise money for the charity partners we work with in Tanzania so please give generously when you have the opportunity!

This year at BIS, we have an EcoSchools group in Primary and Secondary. This will help us focus our energy on tackling the Global Goals related to climate change, life in water and on land as well as on sustainable resource use. Based on our thorough action plans, we are

hoping to further reduce the single use plastic that comes to our school and encourage sustainable practice for students to reduce their local environmental impact.

All students have access to the resources and opportunities on their Global Campus website.

There are competitions running throughout the year in STEAM, Art, Dance and Creative Writing as well as a huge number of chances to become even better global citizens.

Amy Greenwood Global Campus Coordinator

The BIS Hanoi squad entered with a positive mentality and gave 100 effort in each of their matches and races. Their dedication and commitment

meant that they achieved some amazing successes including 2nd place in the Boys Basketball, 3rd place in the irls Football, 4th place in the Boys Football, 5th place in the irls Basketball and many other medals and personal best times in swimming, on the field and on track. Our U15 Boys and irls squads can hold their heads up high that they achieved so much against incredibly high-quality opposition and have been fantastic ambassadors for our school!

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After months of training and preparation, in midNovember, the BIS Hanoi squad competed with high spirits at the 2019 U15 FOBISIA ames in Phuket, Thailand.

Competing against some of the strongest sporting schools in Asia, the ames was an extremely high standard multi-sport tournament.

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BIS Hanoi bring home medals at the 2019 U15 FOBISIA Games

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A BALANCED CURRICULUM LEADS TO STUDENT SUCCESS

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At BIS Hanoi, we are confi ent that our tu ent enter the competitive arenas o univer it an life with the skills an no e e the nee to ouri h

”

At the British International School Hanoi, we are proud of our balanced curriculum. The articles in this edition of Esprit illustrate this balance, beautifully. At the heart of our curriculum is a focus on the fundamental building blocks of academic knowledge. Mathematics, Science, English and the Humanities are studied by every student at BIS Hanoi from the age of 2-18.

Academic knowledge remains as essential in the 21st century as it was in ancient times. Oliver Wray’ article on how we drive reading standards higher at BIS Hanoi reminds and reassures parents that we always develop the foundation skills of all our learners.

The information age requires a range of skills. Stephanie Miller s article explains how our new Key Stage 3 assessment model develops these skills.

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The key to our success is a balanced curriculum. We focus on 21st century skill development at the same time as ensuring that students can succeed in the traditional academic fields of study. University entrance is dependent on students succeeding in their exams. We know this and that is why we take the time to celebrate with our world champion students. Please take the time to read the story of our Cambridge International I CSE celebration at the British Embassy. It is an extraordinary story of our students’ successes.

Succeeding at university requires more than knowledge and impressive exam certificates, as in life, we must have the skill to problem-solve, think critically, communicate and collaborate.

Tim Webb Head of Secondary

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International Universities represented in one day

On Friday 2 th September, we hosted the International Schools of Hanoi University Fair 2019 at our campus. There were more than 150 universities from 20 different countries in attendance along with more than 30 workshops exclusively for Year 1113 students and parents from BIS Hanoi and UNIS. The fair was attended by some top 100 world-ranking universities, such as The University of Edinburgh and University of Manchester from UK, University of Toronto from Canada, University of Melbourne from Australia, University of San Diego and University of WisconsinMadison from US as well as many more.

The atmosphere at the fair was conductive and lively with exhibitors’ stands on display, providing a huge amount of valuable information for students on application requirements, specific courses and general information on the University itself as well as the town or city that it is in.

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“

The fair was great, I had some conversation with students and the questions they had were very insightful, not only about the admission process and majors, but also about the campus culture or even their passion

”

Dane Rowley California Lutheran University

Beside the fair, there were also over 30 workshops for students from British International School Hanoi and UNIS as well as parents. Students were particularly interested in topics such as “How to Sell Yourself Through Your Activities List”, “How to Prepare for Life at University”, “How to Prepare for an Interview”. For the parents, three specific workshops were held with topics revolving around what is it like for their children to study in the UK, Canada and Netherlands. Through this event, we hope the students and parents can grasp the opportunity with both hands!

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The graphic shows the destination of our Year 13 2019 graduates. It is remarkable that they have flown in almost equal numbers across several regions of the globe. This impressive migration path reveals the international mindedness of our students, demonstrates their inner confidence and testifies to their cultural awareness. The ability to flourish in a culture different to your own is an essential skill in the

global economy. It is encouraging to know that the end result of our British International education is a student’s strong sense of cultural fluency.

I am delighted by these outcomes, but I am not surprised by them. BIS Hanoi is a Nord Anglia School and provides unique opportunities for students to practise their cultural awareness. During their time at BIS Hanoi, students have the opportunity to collaborate with Performing Arts students at the regional Performing Arts Festival in collaboration with uilliard create with international students from 12 different schools at the regional STEAM Festival and problem solve in New York with students from our 65 schools at the UNICEF conference in New York.

In addition to this, we are fully

accredited members of FOBISIA, a partnership which enables our students to compete against Asia’s best international students in the Friendly ames in Basketball, Football, Athletics and Swimming.

All of these opportunities encourage our children to seek to understand others and find common ground in shared interests and universal values. It is this rich experience of international opportunities that hones our students’ understanding of international mindedness.

Finally, when the time comes, our excellent IBDP program provides students with the necessary intellectual tools and skills to access top universities in North America, the UK, Europe and Asia.

Tim Webb Head of Secondary ESPRIT December 2019 | 21

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We are proud of how we define internationalism at BIS Hanoi.

No matter which country you originate from, at BIS Hanoi you are encouraged to think internationally. Diversity of thought is greatly valued by us. This year’s university destinations reveal that our graduates are defined by their original thinking and their desire to learn about different cultures and systems.

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BIS Hanoi - A Passport to the World

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riti h a a or con ratu ate anoi tu ent on their

outstanding achievements

in the IGCSE examinations This year, BIS Hanoi students achieved an impressive pass rate of 92.4% with 46.5% being A*/A level. The students recently had the privilege to be able to celebrate their outstanding achievements at the British Ambassador’s Residence.

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Hosted at the British Ambassador’s Residence on 11th November, 44 BIS Hanoi students were honoured to have their certificates presented by areth Ward, Her Majesties British Ambassador to Vietnam and Ms Sue Hill, Principal of BIS Hanoi at the I CSE Award Ceremony. Dr. Ben Schmidt, Regional Director, Cambridge Assessment International Education was also present at the ceremony.

Along with congratulating the 44 students, they were also extremely proud to hand out certificates to two “Top of

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he uture i ri ht or ietna e e chi ren e pecia hen the re ettin a a in re u t at anoi ith Gareth Ward Her Majesties British Ambassador to Vietnam

Scan here to watch the ceremony

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In the coming years, our 44 champions will continue pursuing their IBDP in order to apply for top universities across the world. At the ceremony, Dr. Schmidt said that the I CSE was the best preparation that the young people could take for universities and beyond.

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“I am especially proud of our students today as we look at the incredible successes achieved in our I CSE results. Alongside our students’ hard work and commitment, our teachers and staff have played a vital role in today’s results and deserve our heartfelt thanks and recognition,” said Ms Hill.

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the World” students. Hoang Hai Ha and Vu Duc Hang iang achieved the Highest Mark in the world for their I CSE Mathematics papers with an amazing achieving a perfect 100 per cent with over 45,000 students taking the examination across the world.

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assessment model At BIS Hanoi we pride ourselves on preparing students for an everchanging world, where positive and resilient attitudes and not knowledge recall alone, will set our students apart. lobally we are in a period of time where technological development is moving forward at such a pace that we are currently preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist, using technologies that have not been invented, in order to solve problems, we do

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reparin our tu ent or an ever chan in or ith new

not even know are problems yet.

We are committed to supporting students to become reflective and responsible global citizens, which have the skills to thrive in a 21st century global context.

In Years , 8 and 9 we have reviewed our assessment and curriculum model to ensure that it meets these demands. Our new model consists of three categories of Learner Ambitions developed

from the uilliard model: Ways of Being, Ways of Thinking and Ways of Doing. This move promotes key academic skills in our Key Stage 3 pupils, as well as developing the key characteristics that are central to our focus on skill-development.

Furthermore, all of these skills and characteristics have been chosen because they provide a direct link to the IB Learner Profile, a course that we hope our students achieve in during their academic career with us.

Read more about our new assessment model

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Ways of Thinking provides opportunities for our students to become outstanding inquirers who can think at a deeper level, whist being reflective about their learning.

Ways of Doing will be the subject knowledge delivered by each subject. Attainment charts for each year group are published on our school website, shared in lessons and used as a conversation tool at parents’ evenings.

Students have been getting to grips with this new type of working in their subjects and their new look reports will be distributed to parents shortly. In their tutor time they have been building a skills portfolio where they have been capturing evidence to identify the areas they are moving forward with

Parent workshops for those with students in Year 7, 8 & 9 are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks to ensure that are whole-school community are fully aware of the changes that have been made.

Stephanie Miller Assistant Head of Secondary

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and using the reflective skills to identify areas they wish to develop further.

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Ways of Being covers the development of our students to become effective communicators, risk-takers and caring individuals.

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This year, we have transformed our approach to the teaching of reading in Primary school. We now focus on high-quality texts that are studied in depth with all children in the class. This provides every child with the opportunity to learn how to analyse complex texts under the guidance of the teacher. It also ensures all children finish the year havin read a wide range of challenging and stimulating texts.

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Whole class reading

We are starting to develop a great reading culture, which we hope will provide children with a lifelong love of reading

Our approach at BIS is based on a wide range of research surrounding the teaching of reading, adapted to suit the needs of our children. By incorporating the latest research, we are ensuring that we deliver a rigorous approach to the teaching and learning of reading.

Reading is complex: it is made up of numerous skills. These include: phonics, fluency, comprehension strategies, vocabulary, and background knowledge.

A child must first secure their phonetic knowledge and then use this to develop their fluency. Reading fluency refers to the speed and

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Once children are able to read fluently, they can then start truly developing their comprehension.

Reading comprehension relies on three main strands: generic strategies skills, vocabulary and background knowledge.

Background knowledge is built daily, not just in reading lessons, by teaching a broad and balanced curriculum, as well as exposing children to a wide range of literature. Non-fiction is essential for building knowledge and linking fiction and non-fiction is a valuable strategy.

Vocabulary is also essential. This, like background knowledge, is developed daily across the curriculum alongside a rich diet of texts. Focussing on vocabulary, with both implicit and explicit teaching, is essential in every subject to help children expand their English vocabulary.

Vocabulary and background knowledge are then integrated into our reading lessons, which enables the children to enrich their understanding of the text. In our whole class reading sessions, we then focus on explicitly teaching the seven core reading strategies, which are generic approaches to all reading. These are: clarifying, predicting, inferring, summarising, questioning, evaluating and making connections. Once children

BIS’ new approach to whole class reading has been successful so far. Staff are loving teaching and students are loving learning. We are starting to develop a great reading culture, which we hope will provide children with a lifelong love of reading. You can support at home by reading daily with your child and encouraging them to use the sentence stems when discussing the text.

Oliver Wray Primary Class Teacher ESPRIT December 2019 | 2

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accuracy of a child’s reading, as well as how natural they sound. Reading fluency is vital, as being able to read fluently allows a child to focus on the comprehension of a text.

Our lessons provide children with a range of opportunities to learn and apply their learning. With reading, we mix between the teacher reading, students reading aloud to the class, partners reading together, and children reading individually.

With discussion questions, we mix between the teacher modelling, children discussing in pairs, children sharing their own ideas after thinking time’, and class discussions. We also provide the children with the opportunity to complete written analysis of the text or answers questions about the text, both independently and in pairs. Lastly, we focus on immediate feedback to ensure the children are always understanding the text and correctly applying the skills they have learnt.

WELL-BEING IN OUR COMMUNITY

understand these skills and how to use them, they are able to apply them to their own independent reading.

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AND STORY TELLERS SHINE AT BIS

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Across the school our students are communicating confidently through the Performing Arts, leadership roles and student ambassadors who represent BIS around the world. There are a wide range of opportunities for students at BIS to become leaders and our students grasp them with both hands.

“

Across the school our students are communicating confi ent throu h the Performing Arts, Leadership roles and student ambassadors who represent BIS around the world.

”

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Over the next few pages you will have the pleasure of reading articles from staff who are sharing their stories of just a few of our impressive young leaders and their incredible achievements. Over leaf you will be introduced to our Head irl and Boy in Secondary who embody the characteristics of our Aide Memoir and show integrity, respect and care as they lead their Secondary peers through this academic year.

Molly Hill, Phase 2 Leader writes about the Exhibition that took place earlier this term for students in Year 3 and 4 a wonderful showcase of learning lead by students with exciting musical and Talk4Writing performances.

Leading our Primary Student Council and Eco Team, Holly Carmichael and Niobe Shaw share how Primary Young Leaders, are collaborating and problem solving to help make our school and our wider environment a better place to be.

Three student ambassadors have recently returned from Yale University, where they took part in the World Scholar’s Cup (WSC) Tournament of Champions. Read the recount of their fantastic achievements as they returned with their many medals of succes.

We feel incredibly proud of our students and their accomplishments and I hope you enjoying reading more about these BIS student success stories.

Rebecca Carroll Head of Primary

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There are a wealth of opportunities for our students in Primary for our Year 6 students, the elusive position of House and Vice Captains of Hanoi, Saigon, Dalat and Hue were up for grabs in September. Over 25 students applied for and articulated their understanding of this leadership role with confidence.

The students shared how they had been inspired by previous House Captains and were motivated and determined to be a role model to their peers and younger students. Our Super Heroes: Care, Respect, Enquiry, Reflection, Integrity and Perseverance were also spoken about as the characteristics that they would need to demonstrate and celebrate in others.

One particular highlight was listening to the students talk about the amazing opportunities they feel they get from coming to school at BIS Listening to these eloquent orators was a pleasure and made our decision incredibly difficult. All the students should be proud of the way they presented themselves.

Whether successful or not this time, these students are future leaders who will change our world for the better and we are delighted to support them on their learning journey at BIS. Rebecca Carroll Head of Primary

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ri ar tu ent e on trate their leadership qualities

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”

Eco Team: Taking Action

October 2019 was an exciting month for student leadership at BIS Hanoi, as it saw the official launch of the Primary Student Council. The Student Council is made up of one child from each class, from Year 2 to Year 6 and is being guided by Miss Fitzpatrick and Miss Carmichael.

Our extensive ECA program saw the launch of Primary Eco ECA this year, part of which involved the setting up of and promoting the school’s new recycling bins, available for use by BIS community. Many items previously thrown in the bin are now being recycled, or even being reused for junk modelling in ECAs and Art lessons.

Student Council is a fantastic opportunity for these children, the school, the pupils and the teachers, because it provides opportunities for pupils to communicate their feelings as well as influence decisions that are made. It gives the children a voice’ in the school. It is the responsibility of each student council member to ensure they express their own views and the views of all the other pupils they represent.

Eco Team students have also been evaluating what BIS is doing well and how we could become more sustainable creating our action plan as well as our Eco Code’ which will be publicised around the school, reminding others to act in environmentally-friendly ways. During International Week, all students researched Climate Action and learned more about what is happening around the world and were inspired with ideas that reminded us, no one is too small to make a difference.

Niobe Shaw Year 4I teacher and Primary PSHE Lead

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Holly Carmichael Year 2B teacher

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ri ar tu ent Council

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“

These students are future leaders who will change our world for the better and we are delighted to support them on their earnin ourne at

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ien T g Trun13

Year 13

Year

Student leadership

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Valerie

at BIS Hanoi

“

I believe in leading through empowerment so don’t be afraid to speak up, because now we are here – your voice is heard.

”

BIS Hanoi Head Boy & Head Girl

On September 9th, Trung Tien and Valerie, our Head Boy and Girl, made their inaugural speech to Secondary students and staff. The entire auditorium was inspired by their captivating address and excited about the year ahead with these impressive leaders at the helm of the student body.

Valerie and Trung Tien shared a short video about the importance of leadership whilst introducing themselves and telling the story of their journey and how they achieved this prestigious role. One of their key points, during their address was the 32 | BIS Hanoi

importance of student voice at BIS Hanoi encouraging everyone that their voice is valued and needs to be heard.

Since then, Trung Tien and Valerie have established themselves as a mature presence in the school’s leadership team. They have inspired House Captains to lead a range of student events; acted as student ambassadors at the school Remembrance Service, hosting the Defence Attaché, Bea Walcott; and led a range of assemblies from student wellbeing to academic achievement.

Valerie and Trung Tien are BIS Hanoi’s first ever Head Students. We are extremely proud of them and they are a daily reminder that BIS Hanoi positions its students at the heart of everything that it does.

Listen to their full speech

Bao Linh, Quynh Anh and Kim Ngan returned laden with medals from their success at the Tournament of Champions which was held over five days at Yale University.

Having progressed through the preliminary rounds, the WSC Global Round in Manilla and onto the finals in Connecticut, theirs is a story of passion, perseverance and hard work. The ‘Tournament of Champions’ provides an amazing global opportunity to meet others, find out more about university life and participate in the challenge of competing against the finalists from all the regional teams. With over 3000 scholars from 68 countries these committed students competed successfully as individuals and a team in areas such as the Debate Challenges and Creative Writing. Their impressive medal haul of 3 golds, and 9 silvers was a well-earned reward for their incredible efforts.

These impressive young women made the most of this special opportunity. Below two of our successful scholars reflect on their amazing adventure.

"My experience at Yale was amazing.

I had a great time on the scavenger hunt where we explored the whole university. It snowed, I’ve never seen snow before! Unfortunately, I was inside and had no idea that it had even happened! I learned a lot of from this trip, things that I will never forget - so many skills in different areas. What is great is that I can apply this learning in school as it links with social problems, Art, Music, Science, History and so much more! I loved the debate; the skills I have acquired from this competition can be used against my parents, which is pretty useful!" - Kim Ngan “It has been a stressful year for my friends and I. WSC has been the priority for so long, and now that it’s over, I feel a bit empty. Interestingly, WSC has given me so many life

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lessons, from 'think before you do' to 'never give up', and the competition has motivated me to be the best that I can be. Some people might say that WSC is so hard and challenging, and to that, I say, WSC is hard and challenging, what matters here is that you choose the right teammates with you to go on this bumpy ride.

I was lucky enough to be in this competition with my two best friends, which occasionally reduced us to bickering and competitiveness, but we also created many amazing memories, from winning our first debate to getting 5th in the overall team writing.

Now that the competition’s over, I miss it. I miss all the new friends I have made, the new cuisine I tried and so much more. But I must thank WSC itself for giving me the chance of a lifetime, and also for the new knowledge and skills I now possess.” - Bao Linh ESPRIT December 2019 | 33

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Scholar’s Cup at Yale University

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Our students shine in the World

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Year 3 & 4 students impress with their confident delivery during the Phase 2 Exhibition The Phase 2 corridor was bustling with parents, students and staff on the 11th October for our annual Phase 2 Exhibition.

During this incredible showcase, our students led all visitors confidently through their learning journey.

Parents and guests traversed the corridor and performance spaces enjoying and engaging in the gallery prepared by the Year 3 and 4 students. This experience not only acts as a celebration of the students’ learning but is another performance opportunity. The students were wellprepared for their audience and answered questions about their learning with ease.

From Rainforests to Volcanoes and from Talk4Writing to dance performances, our parents were entertained by the students

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for over an hour and half. Learning was brought to life by the students challenging parents to put their brains to the test in a range of activities.

It was an exciting morning and witnessing the excitement and pride on students’ faces as they delivered their presentations made our teachers feel exceptionally proud.

Molly Hill Phase 2 Leader

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KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY

SAFER AND HEALTHIER Well-being continues to sit at the core of our philosophy underpinned by our values of care, respect and integrity. I feel deeply proud to be part of a whole school team that keeps your child safer and healthier.

We have made huge strides forward since I last wrote to you and strive to be even better.

“

Well-being continues to sit at the core of our philosophy underpinned by our values of care, respect and integrity.

I feel deeply proud to be part of a whole school team that keeps your child safer and healthier.

”

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Growing up with ambitious expectations of parents in a highperforming school brings its challenges. We have identified mental health as being a significant obstacle to well-being. Our pastoral team is adept in identifying problems early on and we are able to provide the emotional and practical support to help your child overcome their worries and anxieties. We plan to guide parents more over the coming year on how best to complement our work. Connected with our ambitions in this area has been our explicit rejection of the use of corporal punishment at home. We will continue to work with parents to help them find positive ways to encourage appropriate behaviour.

Our buses are safer too. I see students and bus monitors leave every day belted up and I am grateful to you for relaying any travel concerns you have. We have even conducted emergency exit training sessions with your children to show them how to get out of the bus if the driver was incapacitated and the exit doors were compromised. Our regular training meetings with bus drivers and bus monitors provides us with the route to emphasise our expectations.

Living in Hanoi means sport can easily be affected by the weather. We were delighted to see our outdoor shading erected as your children can now be kept dry while shooting hoops and kept out of reach of the burning heat of the sun, reducing the impact of long-term exposure to ultra-violet rays. Our shading is an ambitious statement of our intent to maximise well-being opportunities for your children come rain or shine.

However, our most significant wellbeing accomplishment has been the huge capital investment we have made in air purification. Today, in every classroom, your child is breathing in clean air and, once we take delivery of more air purification units in December, BIS Hanoi will be able to protect your child from air pollution in a way that other international schools cannot match.

As I write, I am preparing myself for a health and safety inspection from Nord Anglia Education tomorrow. Yet, as the Health and Safety Officer, I am looking forward to the inspection as I know we are moving forward swiftly. We are in this position because we genuinely care and are always ambitious to improve. You are integral to this process as our students’ and your children’s well-being sits in our collective hands and there, they are safe.

Jay Graham Deputy Head of Secondary

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This year’s Big Draw theme is "Drawn to life". The idea behind this is to recognise and celebrate how creativity can be an important way to be mindful and promote wellbeing.

The creative Big Draw week started with a Mindful Doodling workshop that allowed the imagination of students and staff to run wild.

Knitting, origami, clay modeling, painting on canvas and creativity to music were also on offer for students during lunch break every day. Their creative works have definitely

inspired us to learn some new skills!

One more activity of the Big Draw is mindful painting and it attracted many students. They all joined in and painted to calming music, some just freely doodling while some created a postcard for their friends and family.

The whole school contributed to a mindful colouring book by creating some awesome Zentangle designs, the most creative and imaginative will be published in the book which is being sold to raise money for the service trip to Tanzania and for other charitable causes.

It was a successful Big Draw week and we are delighted to see our student’s creativity exposed everyday!

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For the Big Draw week, our school focused on the theme “Mindfulness”.

In the foyer every morning and at lunch break for the whole week, there have been a multitude of ways for our students to be mindful and let their creativity flow.

The Big Draw Team WELL-BEING IN OUR COMMUNITY

For the Big Draw week, our school focused on the theme “Mindfulness”.

In the foyer every morning and at lunch break for the whole week, there have been a multitude of ways for our students to be mindful and let their creativity flow.

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was the main theme for The Big Draw 2019

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Mindfulness

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Investment in clean air within BIS

“

The fantastic news is that your children right across the school now have air purification units in each and every classroom.

”

Living in Hanoi presents its joys and challenges. For the latter, there is arguably no greater challenge than cleaning the air that we breathe. Huge urbanisation, industrialisation, local agricultural practice and motorbike mania has caused pollution levels to not just exceed World Health Organisation thresholds, but actually push Hanoi into the top tier of global cities with the poorest air quality.

The real hazard is the air-born particle that is just 2.5 microns in 40 | BIS Hanoi

width. No amount of nasal hair nor lung tissue will inhibit their move to our blood stream. Seemingly, each week, we meet with new health reports highlighting their potential for harm and again particularly to our young. We have been monitoring AQI (Air Quality Index) at BIS for more than a year. We have seen it rising and falling as we move through Hanoi’s seasons. We saw our duty of care to improve the air quality for your children, staff and visitors. Living our values of care and respect is part of what makes us a great school.

These units come equipped with high-end filters which can turn a hazardous air quality day outside into a safe world inside. What is more, we can monitor AQI levels in classrooms remotely and intervene swiftly should we need to say, change a filter.

Besides, unlike other international schools in Hanoi, we benefit too from students not having to exit the building to change lessons. Your children are kept safer for longer at BIS Hanoi. We have already begun work on the purification of our corridor spaces and shared indoor areas such as the dining hall, auditorium and sports hall. We hope to have this fully operational by the winter break.

We do live in a city with poor air quality but we can, with the right actions, make living here work for us all. At BIS Hanoi, we have met this challenge head on and your children will be healthier for it. We will continue to update our school community on our progress.

Jay Graham Deputy Head of Secondary

People: It was wonderful to see stalls from Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation and School on the Boat, two organisations that help children throughout Vietnam.

Animals: Education for Nature, Wilderness Foundation Africa and the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre also attended, raising awareness on the wonderful work they do to combat the illegal wildlife trade.

Environment: The ever-popular community garden stall did a roaring trade selling organic vegetables that students have helped to grow here at BIS. Our wonderful Friends of BIS group also had a fabulous stall selling products we have made from the upcycling project.

“

Our students continue to show how much they care and what fabulous ambassadors they are for our school!

”

Many of our CAS students also had stalls, helping to raise awareness and money for existing and upcoming projects.

Community service also had visitors presenting at our assemblies.

Starting with Wilderness Foundation Africa assisted by our own BIS student Rhino Ambassador. The British Embassies new defence attaché was very impressed when she attended the moving Remembrance assembly.

We also had visitors from Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation to talk

about personal experiences of being homeless.

Earlier this term, our parents attended a community service presentation and enjoyed harvesting vegetables from the garden and visiting our very own BIScoop hens and 15 newly hatched chicks! We also visited Tam Dao Bear Sanctuary to see the fabulous enrichment they provide to bears rescued from the evil bear bile farms.

Last and certainly not least, Hy Vong School for children with disabilities, have attended BIS with regular weekly visits. It is always heartwarming to see the excitement and huge smiles when they arrive, linking with our Primary students working together in Science and Art projects.

Kevin Halpin Community Service Manager ESPRIT December 2019 | 41

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Many of our community partners attended our annual International Fair:

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Community Service

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Growing our community

through Friends of BIS

After the first meeting this term, a group leader was appointed for each of the 5 key themes: Culture, Social, Environment, Fitness and Welcoming new families. Parents signed up to an area they felt they would like to become more involved in and started to have further discussion for the community’s future activities. With the support of Ms. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Buchanan, many interesting ideas have been finalised and put into action.

Building our community and providing opportunities for families to come together is the main aim of the Friends of BIS. From the start of term, until now, the Friends of BIS Community has grown with more and more enthusiastic parents getting involved in a wide variety of exciting activities.

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Let’s see a snapshot of the Friends of BIS’s activities this term: Hanoi Old Quarter Tour

Visit to Tam Dao Bear Sanctuary

Contribution to International Week A week of festivities would not be possible without our supportive parents of BIS community who have come in to lead workshops, presentations, teach skills, cook food and have fun with our students.

Upcycling Project Recycling old uniform and saving the environment, our parents are amazing us with their creative talents. Water bottle covers, stuffed animals, cushions, pet beds, bookmarks and beanbags were amongst some of the items produced by the parents for sale at the International Fair.

With the Secondary Elf Production approaching, the school sewing machines have sprung to life once more for the creation of student costumes for the production! All of which have been made by a dedicated team of parents.

Language & Music Classes Vietnamese classes continue to be extremely popular, this term we have also introduced English Conversation Class.

One to one music lesson for parents continue and a group are busy learning Christmas carols to perform.

Zumba & Yoga Classes Pilate classes have been introduced this year alongside yoga and Zumba and to improve the quality of fitness classes, we have a pleasant addition to the room: Air purifier!

Cooking Classes A series of cooking classes introducing signature food from different countries in the world continue this term and parents are loving it!

To update newest information and activities of Friends of BIS, please scan the QR code and join our “Friends of BIS Hanoi�

Facebook Group!

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Elf Production Costumes Making

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The Friends of BIS raised a total of VND 10,500,000 that will go back into the next Upcycling project and support our charity partners.

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