13th September 2013
newsletter D
ear Parents,
During the past two weeks a great deal has happened in our school. A huge thank you to our PTO for organizing Family Night for the school community. The event was amazing and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Since arriving, the new senior team has been very impressed with the wonderful community we have at ISHCMC. The students are fantastic and the commitment and level of involvement of our parents is quite impressive. A dedicated parent body has a very positive impact on a school and you can see this very clearly at ISHCMC.
Simon Leslie Headmaster
The PTO also held a General Meeting at Blu Restaurant last Tuesday and we had a very strong turnout for the meeting. Thank you to everyone who attended. Adrian and I really enjoyed the opportunity to answer questions and hear your comments and suggestions. It is very helpful for us to hear your feedback so we very much appreciate your participation in these meetings. On the physical front, new security fencing and a new playground has been constructed at the Early Explorers Centre at the Riverside complex. On the main campus, the new playground and sandpit area has been completed and is proving very popular with all of our children – both young and old! A new playground in the EE4 playground has also been completed and the students really seem to be enjoying it. Next week our secondary students will depart ISHCMC for their annual field trip programme. On Wednesday evening this week, meetings were held at the School to explain details about each field trip. These meetings were well attended. As I have previously explained in my letters to parents, students and staff, an important aspect of any overnight field trip is the completion of comprehensive risk assessments. Unfortunately in the Grade 6 and Grade 8 assessments there were concerns which we were unable to address in time for the scheduled trips next week and we regret any disappointment this may have caused. Some of these concerns include: No rope qualifications for the courses being offered;. No abseiling qualifications or inappropriate qualifications for leading a group of students No open water safety qualifications; No wilderness qualification for trekking. No wilderness first aid certification by the outside providers;. No up to date First Aid certificates for the providers. Some guides with none at all; No evidence of a public liability certification; No evidence of a company personal accident insurance certificates for students attending the field trip. There was a range of other safety concerns which could not be rectified in time for these trips. In addition some of the risk assessment information was not in enough depth to satisfy general safety concerns about storms, camping safety, lightening, etc. Alternative trips have been arranged close to and within HCM for these grade levels and we shall work on scheduling appropriate outdoor education experiences later in the year. Again, a very big thank you to our PTO! We truly appreciate all that you do for our school community. Simon Leslie
D
ear Parents,
We have just had a fantastic week with your children at ISHCMC teaching and raising spirit. Spirit is not just about a sense of having fun and belonging it goes much deeper and into the classrooms and the learning. It is well researched that if students are happy and safe in their school environment they learn much better. This week has emphasized that for me. Walking round the School I have noted an increased feeling of excitement from students in their classroom as they have been engaged in learning. I have witnessed students deeply and passionately thinking about topics and sat with their teacher’s inquiring about questions that have been asked. This is what should be happening in 21st century classrooms.
Adrian Watts
Director of Academic Studies Deputy Headmaster
Below is Blooms taxonomy , explained in depth if you click on the hyperlink, that illustrates where we are trying to go with learning at ISHCMC. Our goal is to produce knowledgeable thinkers who have a mastery of content but use this to be creative in the interpretations and conclusions. Most of us adults when we look at this taxonomy will realize that our education’s focused on the lowest levels of thinking, understanding and remembering. How often were we encouraged to ask questions about what we were being asked to memorize? As you will learn if you watch this short 3 minute video by Sir Ken Robinson, creativity is much in demand today and is the most desired characteristic by the majority of leading CEO’s worldwide. We want our teaching at ISHCMC to be empowering students to be asking questions that will create new answers for our 21st century world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywIhJ2goiGE Last, but certainly not least, if you are really interested in what educators are thinking about for 21st century schools then please feel free to read and share my blog: http://4u2nomore.blogspot.com/ where I regularly post articles that I feel will be of interest to you as parents and help build an understanding of how your children and your school are thinking. This really is an exciting time to be learning about and engaging with education. Have a great weekend, Yours, Adrian Watts Reference: Blooms taxonomy diagram: http://ww2.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm
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D
ear Parents and Guardians,
It has been an extremely entertaining Spirit Week in Primary as students and teachers have thoroughly enjoyed the wide-range of activities that our Student Representative Council (SRC) arranged. This was the first year that Primary participated in Spirit Week and it is safe to say it was a huge hit. Thank you to all parents who helped their children with their wacky outfits this week.
Also this week, we started our ‘Positive Post’ drive at school. This is a slightly different approach towards rewarding student behaviour than our old ‘Student of the Week’ certificates as it is something that centres on the IB Learner Profile and is given to students throughout the week. Please watch out for these postcards either in your mail or in your child’s school bag.
Kurtis Peterson Primary Principal (EE2-Grade 5)
Finally, we had a visit from a local ambulance for students in EE4. They loved the visit though the siren did turn a few heads throughout the school. Well done to our EE4 teachers for organizing this connection to student learning. Pictures of the trip can be found at the bottom of this message. Also a big thank you to the team at Family Medical Practice for taking the time to teach our children about ambulances and the service they provide.
Reflections from EE4 students of their ambulance visit
Primary Fun Day! On Friday, 20th September we will be running the Primary Fun Afternoon. The Fun Afternoon will see students competing against students from other houses in a number of different fun activities. The event will be held on the field, the basketball court and on the covered courts behind the administration building. The Fun Afternoon will begin at 12:20pm and finish at 2:20pm. After the event, students will return to their classrooms from where they will be dismissed at the normal time. We strongly encourage as many parents as possible to come along and support their child on this day. If there is heavy rain, the Fun Afternoon will be held in the MPR and Gym with the students participating in a modified program of events. Students will be provided with water and fruit on the day but should still have their own water bottle. They will also need to bring with them the following items labelled with their name and class: • Hat • House coloured t-shirt • Sports shoes • Towel and change of clothes (there may be some “wet” events) School Calendar Please note that a new, updated school calendar is now on the website (www.ishcmc.com) for your reference. Most upcoming events are on this calendar but also note that as the year continues, new events and dates will be added. Upcoming Events and Dates Secondary trips next week means we will have the school (mostly) to ourselves. As well as our Sports Day, we will also have a Moon Festival assembly on the 19th starting at 8:30am. All are welcome to attend but students in EE2/3 must be accompanied by a parent. Our next coffee morning for parents will take place on October 3rd with our topic to be named at a later date. Also, don’t forget to look at the eReporters newsletter for next week’s update of events and what is going on in our school. Have a relaxing weekend.
Kurtis Peterson
National Day assembly
Pto Family night L
ast Friday night over 800 students, teachers and their family filled the canteen for this annual welcome back event. While the rain poured down, it did not put a damper on the evening. Balloons and flowers helped to transform the school into a party-like atmosphere. There was music and dancing, face painting and balloon art and for our younger attendees, a colouring station. The photo booth was as popular as ever as student lined up to take home memories from the evening. Pizza, hamburgers, sausages and ice cream were served throughout the evening so no one went hungry. The Rhino Hut was hopping with business the whole evening as it held its grand re-opening with a new look and new products. Thank you to Family Medical who donated their time to be on hand to ensure the safety of all who walked through the gates. Thank you to the many volunteers who help to make this event run smoothly and a big thank you to both Ms. Ha in marketing and Mr. Tang and his operations staff who worked behind the scenes to ensure the success of this event. I look forward to next year’s event already. Kelly Neumann PTO Vice President/ Events
meet our ishcmc PRIMARY SRC Executive committee
Jooyeon Kim President
Nick Thao Vice President
Emma Shadwell Treasurer
Advaith Jai Secretary
Ashley Rosado Treasurer
committee members
arajan Eli Rang 2A
omer Lucas R 2B
Marika A oki 3B
Julia Ca ubo 3A
en
er Alexand 2C
Katie Da ng 5B
thwell
g
ee
m
Lily Pine 4B
olden Baxter G 4D
Jaime D
imalanta 5D
Choi
i Yichan K 4B
Nathan L 4A
omey Olivia Tw 4D
William Ryu 5C
Hansuel 3C
Sou Michael 2D
nsbur e R n a V Nikolaj 4A
hen Henry C 4C
Ivy Nguy 4C
Hicks
Samanth
a Jackso n 5D
meet our ishcmc SECONDARY SRC Executive committee
Youngjoon Lee
Karen Nguyen
Daewon Lee
Hung O
Eunyi Kim
Khang Dinh
committee members
nh Tran i M g n u T 6A2
YeonWo o Kang 7A1
Alexand
er Buurm an 9A1
Minje Ki m 9C2
Kim SangBin 10D2
SangEon Choi 11D
im
K SeoHee 6B1
Brenda S
ulamdan y 7B2
Sophia D o 9B2
Trinh
ong JeeYe H 10A1
g Han
Seung Y eon Lee 11A
Gia Han Banh 11B
ong Le
uoc Cu Pham Q C 12
eol Lee Seung Y 6D2
Sean O’ Dore 7D2
Isaiah C hoi 7C2
t Vy Tran Nha 8B2
HeeChan 9D2
uban
ska J Franche 6C2
g Kim Jun Sun 12D
mew Bartholo 1 8C
Gomes
Verma Tanisha 6D2
Ngoc Th
anh Vi D ang 8A1
oreno Adam M 8D2
h Tran Ngoc An 10B1
Carl Ste
inbach 11B
g Moon n o e Y i u H 12A
oon Ji Hae Y 10C1
Merel Bo 11C
ngers
en
y g Vy Ngu n o u h P Hoang 12B
spirit week
The Birthday Boys! Simon Leslie and Kurtis Peterson were paid a surprise visit from students to wish them both a Happy Birthday!
SURPRISE!
Parent Choir R
ehearsals are held in the Meeting Room – behind the uniform shop every Wednesday from 1:30 to 2:30. No prior music experience required. If you can breath you can sing. Please come and support this ISHCMC community group. Enquiries can be directed to Katia 0122 9168330 or Nerida 01266 017 178.
PTO General Meeting T
uesday, September 10th was the first ISHCMC PTO General Meeting. There was a great turnout with 80 people attending. Simon and Adrian were on hand for questions and answers. Some of the topics open for discussion were:
Risk assessments for field trips School traffic After School Activities (ASA) Programme Terry Fox Run Parent Choir Curriculum For further details please refer the attached minutes. http://db.tt/ws4CBsTz The PTO are also looking for ideas from parents regarding informational sessions for future meetings. If you have suggestions email mollyspan@ mac.com. Molly Spangler PTO President
nEWS FROM THE CLINIC C
onjunctivitis is an eye condition that may also be referred to as pink eye. It is an infection of the conjunctiva, which is the clear membrane that covers the eyelid and partially covers the eyeball. Conjunctivitis is often caused by a bacterial or viral infection; however, it may also be caused by an allergic reaction to some substance. It can be hard to tell whether the infection is caused by a virus or bacteria. In general, the discharge associated with viral conjunctivitis is watery, whereas it will be thicker and more pus-like when the infection is caused by bacteria. When you wake up in the morning, your eyelids may be stuck together. Itchiness and tearing are common with allergic conjunctivitis. A physician can help determine the cause of the infection and prescribe proper treatment. How Long Is Conjunctivitis Contagious? Conjunctivitis that’s caused by bacteria is contagious as soon as symptoms appear and remains so as long as there is a discharge from the eye — or until 24 hours after antibiotics are started. Conjunctivitis that’s caused by a virus is generally contagious before symptoms appear and can remain so as long as the symptoms last. Allergic and irritant conjunctivitis are not contagious. Can I Prevent It? Because infectious conjunctivitis is highly contagious, wash your hands after interacting with anyone who has the infection. If you have conjunctivitis, it’s important to wash your hands often, especially after touching your eyes. The infection can easily spread from one eye to the other on contaminated hands or tissues. It is school policy that any student or staff member that has conjunctivitis is sent home. They can return to school once that have started treatment or they have a doctors’ note saying that they “are fit for school”. I hope that you found this information useful. If you have any questions please e-mail us in the clinic nurse@ishcmc.edu.vn Kind Regards, Clinic Staff
upcoming community events Following ISHCMC’s mission to create a “Caring Community” and understanding that many of our ISHCMC parents serve on local charity boards, the Community Section of the newsletter was created to help communicate upcoming charity events being held in HCMC. If you have an upcoming charity event that you would like to share with our school community, please send your submission to MarketingManager@ishcmc.edu.vn. All submissions and graphics should be sent as a PDF.
UNTIL NEXT TIME