1st November 2013
newsletter
Dear ISHCMC community, ACCREDITATION: This week has been a very busy one at ISHCMC as we have entertained the accreditation teams from the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Five years ago in 2008 ISHCMC was accredited by these two leading international accreditation organizations. The accreditation period runs for ten years. At the five year half way mark (2013) a smaller team of accreditors return to the School to review the initial report and ensure that the Schools standards are being maintained. The agencies are based in North America and Europe.
Simon Leslie Headmaster
In addition to this visit the International Baccalaureate (IB) sent three teams to review the progress of the PYP, MYP and Diploma programmes. The week was very successful. It is a time which enables the accreditors and the teaching staff, parents, support staff and administrators to sit down with the visiting educators and seek their views and their endorsements and suggestions for improvement of our programmes. The final report will not be sent us for a month or two, however I am very pleased to say that we have been given a very positive verbal report in regard to what we are doing within our programmes, the direction the School is heading and in particular the emphasis we are placing on collaboration and teaching and learning. I know that our teachers are looking forward to the weekend so that they can relax a little! Thank you very much to the parents who volunteered their time to meet the visiting team. FRONT OF SCHOOL: I would be grateful if parents could ask their drivers not to drop their children at the front of the school in the street in the mornings. It is simply not safe to do so. If the drivers can be a little patient, wait their turn to enter the School, stop at the marked stopping areas inside the School, then drop the children, it would be a load off my mind – and I am sure parents as well. I do hope that you have a very enjoyable weekend. Simon View on mobile device? Slide to see more.
Dear Parents, There are two parts to my message this week. Firstly, when I was growing up my mother used to constantly remind me to never talk to strangers. It was a message that was reinforced throughout my Primary School education. Sometimes we forget this when we live abroad, and especially when we live in countries that appear as safe and friendly as Vietnam. However, it is still important to remind our children, without making them scared or paranoid, that it is important to never get into a car or take a ride with a stranger. Teachers have been asked to speak to their homerooms about never leaving school without being accompanied by a known adult. However, it is also very important that this message is reinforced at home and that it is made clear to all our younger students, that they must wait in school till either you, their parents arrive, or their maid/housekeeper.
Adrian Watts
Director of Academic Studies Deputy Headmaster
The second part of my message this week has to do with how we teach our students to be resilient and consequently successful in their lives. Did you know that in the USA and Canada an estimated $3 billion a year is spent on buying trophies for children? You attend a sporting event and you get a trophy. This behavior dates back to the 1980’s and the self-esteem movement that thought raising student’s self-esteem through constant praise and awards would lead to greater achievement and improve society. Unfortunately research is showing that this type of behavior may actually be counter-productive and instead of leading to high self-esteem and achievement may lead to a fear of failure and lack of desire to take risks. This poster advert explains Michael Jordan’s approach to being successful.
Recently there has been a great deal of attention given to this topic with bestselling authors link Daniel Pink discovering that motivation does not come from constantly being told how good or how smart you are but from having mastery, autonomy and purpose in what you are doing. This research has been further expanded by Carol Dweck at Stanford University and related directly to education. She has raised further questions about how we encourage students to achieve, not be afraid of failing, and willing to take on challenges in their learning. Carol Dweck has put forward the concept of developing a growth mindset in children. She states that when students and educators have a growth mindset, they understand that intelligence can be developed. Students focus on improvement instead of worrying about how smart they are. They work hard to learn more and get smarter. For parents the key is to praise effort not intelligence. The following short three minute video will give you a little more insight into how this works and why. http://youtu.be/TTXrV0_3UjY For us at ISHCMC as we begin to develop a Culture of Achievement, one of the main pillars is using Choice words to encourage our students. What this means is that we must be careful that the language students hear helps them see their own possibility and potential. It has been shown in research that students will perform in ways that are consistent with that language. The aim is that at both school and home we are giving feedback to our students all the time, and that this feedback will maximize potential and achievement if it focuses more on praising effort. We must try to reach each student, every day, ‘noticing’ and reinforcing positive actions which strengthens effort to work on their weaknesses when they occur. If we can encourage a growth mindset, through which students are prepared to take risk with their learning, make mistakes and learn from these, then our ISHMC students will certainly be better equipped to succeed in this world. Have a good weekend, Yours Adrian
Dear Parents, Next week will be a very busy one here at school as we have our annual Book Week, 3-way conferences, and parent coffee morning. Please note the following points that will help guide you through the coming days. MAP results for students in grades 3-5 will go home today. Please read the cover letter carefully and if you have any questions feel free to book an appointment through the primary office to speak with either Ms. Johnson or myself (preferably prior to the conference). Today at noon was the cut-off for booking 3-way conference appointments. If you were not able to book an appointment, please email the teacher directly to see what times are still available. If you require a Korean or Vietnamese translator, please contact the school office at 38989100 (ext. 210).
Kurtis Peterson Primary Principal (EE2-Grade 5)
Three-way conferences are an opportunity for those most involved in student learning to celebrate successes, discuss challenges, and develop goals. This week teachers have been talking about goal-setting with students and will be asking for your input on the day of conferences. It is important to remember that: • The major goal of the conference is for students to think and talk about their learning. • It is not a forum where parents and teachers talk over—or about—students without their input. If your teacher has concerns, they will request a different meeting to discuss these. At the end of your conference, if either yourself, or the teacher feels that an additional meeting is required this can be scheduled at your convenience. Our coffee morning this week will investigate how parents can support learning at home through some of our programming; in particular, we will focus on reading, speaking/listening, and mathematics. We will meet in the ICT lab starting at 8am. Have a great weekend, Kurtis Peterson
Dear Primary Parents, This is the first year that Three Way Conferences have taken place at ISHCMC and there have been a few questions and concerns which are perfectly valid as our parent community learns more about this approach to reporting on student progress. Hence we would like to address some of these questions through this notice: • Is there school on the 5th for Primary students? – Tuesday 5th of November is not a regular school day for students. Students come to school with their parents for the conferences and then go home when the conferences are completed. • The slots seem to be 15 minutes, does that mean it only lasts for 15 minutes?– This is correct. The format for Three Way Conferences is a 15 minute conversation between students, parents and teachers. As there has been work done in class prior to the conference itself, 15 minutes is deemed to be sufficient time for a focused discussion. If there are more issues that arise in the conferences then an additional meeting can and will be scheduled for another day. • Is there going to be a time or schedule when parents will meet directly with the teacher this term to discuss the progress of their children? – Three Way Conferences are an opportunity for students, parents and teachers to discuss the progress of the students. The focus will be on the development of academic skills and/or other issues that are affecting academic development. Students and teachers will have spent some time in class looking at samples of work, assessments and data in order to be prepared for an informed conversation. It is felt that involving students in these conversations about their own learning gives them a great deal of empowerment and also shows them that there are three important groups of people working together to help them achieve their best – themselves, their parents and their teachers. It is also felt that there are only very rare cases in which conversations about the students need to be held without them being present. In these exceptional cases, perhaps based on specific concerns that may be uncomfortable or over-complicated for students to discuss, teachers or parents may schedule separate conferences. Furthermore, a comprehensive written report that documents every aspect of student learning in the first half of the year will be shared with parents in January. We hope that this helps to further explain the philosophy and practice of Three Way Conferences. Research shows, and our experience reflects, that this type of conference is very effective and powerful for all parties involved. We hope that the ISHCMC community finds this to be a useful and rewarding exercise and we welcome feedback once the conferences are complete. Yours, The ISHCMC Senior Leadership Team
Charity Art Auction
No name Nguyen Hoang Phuong Vi
Ballerina Nguyen Hong Duyen
Beauty Vo Van Dung (Megan)
Every year, the local and expatriate communities of Ho Chi Minh City come together for Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner. This event is organised by Cancham. For the first time, this year the dinner was followed by a live art auction. The art to be auctioned was donated by visual art students that attend international schools in HCMC. ISHCMC provided three pieces for the auction. In total, the artwork raised about 21,000,000 VND. Of this, 8,000,000VND was raised by the paintings contributed by ISHCMC. All the proceeds collected at this function will be donated to a charitable organization yet to be decided. Thank you to our ISHCMC students for donating their high quality artwork and to Laura Guay for supporting her students.
ACTIVITIES & ATHLETICS Term 2 ASA’s After School Activities have begun this week for term 2. There are many new and exciting activities being offered for our primary and secondary students. If you have any questions about ASA’s, please contact Mr. Connor in the PE/Athletics/Activities office. SISAC First Season City Championships
Bob Connor Athletics & Activities Director
Our Junior Basketball & Senior Volleyball teams participated in the annual SISAC (Saigon International Schools Athletic Conference) tournaments this week. On Tuesday, the Junior (MS) Girls Basketball team traveled to SSIS and played excellent basketball, winning their first two games to place in the top position in their pool. They then defeated SSIS in the semi-final game to advance to the championship game versus American International School. It was a very close contest throughout, and our Rhinos lost by only one point in the final seconds of the game. They are proud to have earned the SISAC Runner-Up trophy for their superb accomplishment! Our Junior boys’ basketball team also participated in the SISAC Tournament at SSIS on this past Thursday. Being a bit young and inexperienced, they nevertheless played with determination and spirit, finishing strongly with a hard-fought win in their final game for 5th place. Well done, Junior Boys Basketball team! On the Senior side, our high school girls’ volleyball team played in their SISAC Tournament at BIS. After a local season with only one match loss, the team played some good volleyball to qualify for the championship match versus rivals SSIS. Unfortunately, the team struggled a bit in the final, and ended up winning the Runner-Up award. The girls will look to improve on this result in next week’s MRISA Tournament in Cambodia. Finally, here at home in our gym, our high school boys’ volleyball team hosted the SISAC Tournament, versus three local international school teams – AmIS, BIS, & SSIS. The Rhinos won all three of their round robin matches, to reach the championship versus their long-time rivals from SSIS. This turned out to be an exciting three-set match, with momentum swinging back and forth on each point. With the score tied at 13-13, SSIS managed to win the final two points to claim the title. Our boys achieved the Runner-Up trophy, and like the girls, they will be determined to learn and improve for the upcoming MRISA competition. Thank you to those students, teachers, and parents who came out to support the team. These four teams will travel by bus across the border to Cambodia next week, to participate in their season-ending MRISA (Mekong River International Schools Association) Tournaments, from November 7-10. The basketball teams will play at Northbridge International School Cambodia, and the volleyball teams will play at International School Phnom Penh. NOTE: There will be a special SPIRIT ASSEMBLY on Wednesday, Nov. 6 in the MPR from 11:1011:50am, to introduce and recognize the teams. Parents are invited to attend.
UPCOMING: Second Season Secondary Sports Teams’ Tryouts Start soon – November 13-14, 18-21. JUNIOR / MS SOCCER Boys Mon. & Wed. Girls Tues. & Thur. COACHES Jr. Girls Soccer Jr. Boys Soccer
(4:15 – 5:45pm) (4:15 – 5:45pm)
Mr. Kerry Hurst Mr. Peter Njoku
*NOTE: First day for boys’ tryouts will be Wednesday, Nov. 13; and for girls’ tryouts – first day is Thursday, Nov. 14. SENIOR / HS BASKETBALL Monday 4:15 – 5:45pm Tuesday 4:15 – 5:45pm Wednesday 4:15 – 5:45pm Thursday 4:15 – 5:45pm Friday 3:00 – 4:30pm COACHES Sr. Girls Basketball Sr. Boys Basketball
Girls Girls & Boys Boys Girls & Boys Open / Training, Fitness
Mr. Bob Connor Mr. Myke Nguyen
*NOTE: For Basketball, the girls’ first day of tryouts will be Wednesday, Nov. 13; and the boys will have their first day on Thursday, Nov. 14. The regular schedule as listed above will start on Monday, Nov. 18. If you have any questions, please contact Bob Connor, the Athletics & Activities Director bobconnor@ishcmc.edu.vn GO RHINOS!
ISHCMC Book Week
2013
November 4th - 8th
Book Week 2013
Reading takes you across the Universe Click to play our promo video of Book Week 2013
PRIMARY TIMETABLE Book Week Nov 4-8 Begin accepting Book Swap Books in Achievement Centre: Monday Oct. 28, (tickets given up to 5 per students/teachers)—announcement: Oct 22. All week activities: Class planned activities Buddy Reading (schedule on wiki) Guest Readers (sign-up schedule on wiki) Book Reviews Contest Prep
Period
D Monday
7:45-8:00 Registration
E Tuesday
Rally On Field
F Wednesday
G Thursday
Rally on Field
Rally on Field
Primary 3 Way Conferences
8-8:40 1 8:40-9:20 2 9:20-10 3 10-10:30 Recess
H Friday
Book Character Dress-up Day
Rally on Field Dear (everyone bring a book)
9:00-10:00 Primary GR 2-5 Assembly MPR 9:00-10:00 Primary GR 2-5 Assembly MPR Book Swap Open Achievement Centre
10:30-11:10 4
Book Swap Open Achievement Centre
EE-Gr 1 Assembly Meeting Room
11:10-11:50 5 11:50-12:45 Lunch
Primary Trivia Game (Library)
Home Language Reading Rooms (Classrooms, parent and teacher volunteers)
Design a Book Cover (Library)/ Book Swap Open Achievement Centre
Book Swap Open Achievement Centre
12:45-1:25 6 1:25-2:05 7 2:05-2:45 8 Afterschool
Book Swap Open Achievement Centre
55 Word Story Contest submissions due to Claire Simms
Door Decoration and Big Book Contest Completed (Judging)
Book Swap Open Achievement Center
PINK MY ISHCMC
free transport available Please register for the free return bus service from ISHCMC to the Terry Fox Run at the Rhino Hut when you collect your package.
Registration OCT 30th - NOV 8th At the Rhino Hut after school between 14:30 - 15:30
Packages collected NOV 13th - 15th From the Rhino Hut after school between 14:30 - 15:30
ISHCMC Terry Fox Week NOV 18th - 21st ISHCMC Raffle Will be drawn on Nov 24th at the Victory Party @ Boomarang Restaurant (must be present to win)
community events
UNTIL NEXT TIME