tintuc@unishanoi.org UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter Volume 20, Edition 6, Friday 20 September
NEXT WEEK...
COMING SOON...
MONDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER
MONDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER
HS MRISA Boys Volleyball vs St. Paul American School 16:00-17:30, Sports Centre (B4)
TUESDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER
MSHS Parent Forum with the Principal & Deputy Principal 8:30-10:00, Library Projection Room (B8)
WEDNESDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER
Grade 5 Camp September 25-27
THURSDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER
MS MRISA Girls Basketball vs. HIS 16:00-17:15 Sports Centre (B4)
FRIDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER
MRISA Leadership Conference, September 27-28, HIS Hanoi Classic HS Volleyball Tournament, September 27 -28, UNIS Hanoi ES Parents Forum with the Principal & Deputy Principal 8:30-9:45, Community Room (B7)
SATURDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER
MS MRISA Girls Basketball vs. ComEd Team 12:4514:00 Covered Court
HS MRISA Boys Volleyball vs HIS 16:00-17:30, Sports Centre (B4)
TUESDAY, 1 OCTOBER
Scholarship Programme 2014-15 Application Open (Closing Date for Applications 18:00, Dec 31) MS Boys Basketball at BVIS 15:30-18:00 MS Girls Basketball at SIS 15:30-18:00
THURSDAY, 3 OCTOBER
MS Boys Basketball at St. Paul American School 5:30-18:00 MS Girls Basketball at BVIS 15:30-18:00
FRIDAY, 4 OCTOBER
UN Day Celebration 10:30-11:30, Sports Centre UN Day Community Lunch 12:00-13:00 UN Day Early Dismissal, 13:00
SATURDAY, 5 OCTOBER
SAT Testing (HS) Autumn Break October 5-13
IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights... From the Head of School and Board of Directors (p.2) Notes from the Elementary and MSHS Principals (p.3-4)
UMA Updates (p.10) APAC Volleyball. Host Families Needed (p.11) Health Centre News (p.11) Community Connections Fair (p.12)
Birthday Gift Fund ideas wanted! (p.5) UN Day Updates (p.5-7) UNIS Scholarship Programme Expands for 2014-15 (p.8)
Getting Involved with Your Child’s School (p.12) Boutique News (p.13) HIWC Bazzar. Coming Soon! (p.13)
Service Learning & Reel Youth (p.8) New Parents Getting to Grips with the PYP (p.9) University Info Session (p.10)
New Features on UNIS Website (p.14 -15) Teaching and Learning at UNIS (p.16) Job Opportunity (p.17) Canteen Menu
UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF HANOI
Several parents have asked about the progress of the bypass road near the school and when it might be completed. We have no new information about it but there is another related project that will begin to impact our community beginning today (Friday – 20 September).
event we have each year and it is not to be missed. We hope you can free yourselves from work or other obligations so you can make it. Respectfully, Dr. Barder, hos@unishanoi.org
Ciputra has begun the construction of a gate that will be much closer to UNIS Hanoi than the current gate one encounters just after turning off Lac Long Quan. While traffic will be allowed to flow in both directions in this area, things may slow down a bit more so please be aware of this and proceed with caution. The construction of this gate is expected to be completed by late October. Thank you to all the parents who attended the Breakfast with the Head of School this morning in the library projection room. A full report of the questions and answers will appear in next week’s Tin Tuc, but I was pleased at the turnout and level of dialogue. The next Breakfast with the Head of School will be on Friday, 08 November. Finally, I wanted to encourage all parents to attend our UN Day celebration scheduled for 10:30-11:30 on Friday, 04 October. I know everyone is busy with work and other obligations, but this is the single most important all-school
The Board has approved the School Annual Action Plan (AAP) for 2013-2014. The AAP is designed to focus on those areas needing the most attention as defined by the ongoing goals and objectives of the 5-year Strategic Management Plan (SMP), the CIS Accreditation self-study and Visiting Team report, data from the annual Annual CAISA/CIS Self Study Survey and other in-school surveys together with the knowledge and experience of those charged with administering the school. For more information on the School Annual Action Plan for 2013-2014, please contact the Head of School. Best regards, Sarah Garner, Board Chair
HS Day - Photo by Hung Nguyen MSHS Moon Festival Celebration
Dear ES Families The Parent Teacher Conferences this week bring us to the end now of all our introductory events for this year. We have enjoyed a wealth of opportunities for parents to come and find out about what happens in the ES at UNIS Hanoi including Back to School Nights, coffee mornings with the Counselor and Librarian, an introduction to the Primary Years Programme and the first of the monthly IT sessions for parents. Alongside the events organised by the teachers, the SCO has been busy with class parent sessions and a 'Get Involved with your child's school' meeting. We are still searching for some class parents I believe so hopefully some more of you will be willing to step up now that everyone is more established within their new Homeroom groups. With the children themselves more established, we have recently been able to organise the Student Council elections. A very pleasing number of children stepped up to be considered and well done to all those who were risktakers, made their speeches in front of their peers and then awaited the results. It is good to know that the students are keen to represent their class mates and ensure that their voices are heard. Please see below a list of students who were elected to be on one of the two ES Student Councils this year.
2MT Meina Kuroda and Leo Jang 2TA Yi Ming Tan and Cathy Turnbull
3AL Brielle Collins and Samantha Heaton 3NO Amber Ton and XinHao Tan 3SE Travis Turnbull and Fuka Suzuki 3TS Joong Gun Lee and Kiana Collins 4BM Hannah Goldberg and Michael Vagner 4HK Ji Ah Choi and Basile Villars 4LL Ella McDonald and Woo Sung Kim 4MK Gony Inbar and Alissa Wilson 5DL Yota Suzuki and So Eun An 5JH Jun Sik Yoon and Madina Burkhanova 5KW Grace Cenere and Louis Kim 5MS Aryan Singh and Chuc An Tran Congratulations everyone and I look forward to hearing all the new ideas about how to make UNIS Hanoi an even better school from the children's perspective. On a final note, the first Forum with the ES Principal is next Friday 27 September in the Library Projection Room, starting at 08:30 so I hope to see many of you there. Carole Denny, esprincipal@unishanoi.org
1JH David Burgess and Melia Collins 1JK Yuzuki Nakamura and Michael Cools 1TA Raya Rana and Oliver Pollack 1VdC Ella Turner and Nozomi Saita 2BM Tane Rawson and Elizabeth Choi 2JC Angeli Ravi and Seung Woo Choi
Dear MSHS Families,
24 of the top 25 students were involved one or more co-
As I write this article grade 12 students are preparing for their class trip. Our grade 12s will be heading to the LavieVuLinh Sustainable Development Project for a four day excursion Sept. 19 - 22. The trip will focus on sustainable ecosystems, cultural exchange, personal challenge, and group dynamics. The students are very excited and are eager to participate in a group experience. Time will be set aside for academic work which will provide a balance between classroom and experiential learning.
curricular activity. 46 of the top 50 students were involved one or more cocurricular activity. Only 16 of the bottom 50 students were involved one or more co-curricular activity. Only 2 of the bottom 10 students were involved one or more co-curricular activity.
Contrary to what parents may believe research indicates that when school trips and co-curricular activities are part of a well-balanced program of studies academic performance improves. UNIS puts much thought into extracurricular offerings. Trips are placed throughout the year and are balanced against academic pressures to provide alternate avenues for inquiry based learning.
Let’s take a look at reasons why:
I must confess that I did write about this topic in the May 2013 Tin Tuc but this issue has been brought to my attention again. Several parents did not permit their children attend the Gr. 12 trip because of academic concerns. Obviously a parent has the final decision when determining what is best for their child but I hope decisions are made based on research. I believe that there are times when students should not participate in an activity due to academic concerns. If a student is behind in their work, not putting in proper effort or underachieving they should be held back until their academics improve. But for most students who work hard and are in good academic standing co-curricular involvement, including school sponsored trips, will benefit them academically and build memories that will last a lifetime. From the May 2012 Tin Tuc: “As an educator it goes without saying that I believe academics are the first priority, but that does not exclude involvement in co-curricular activities. In fact research is quite clear, students who are involved in a healthy balance of academic and co-curricular activities actually perform better in all aspects of life, including school. In one of my previous schools we collected data to determine the benefits of co-curricular involvement. We found that academically: 10 of the top 10 students were involved one or more co-
curricular activity.
Although the above data is somewhat anecdotal it does raise an interesting point; higher achieving students were involved in activities and lower achieving students were not.
1. Research shows that students involved in co-curricular activities are more likely to have: Higher GPAs Higher college admission test scores Less time to procrastinate Better attendance Fewer discipline referrals Affiliation with peers who are academically focused 2. Activities support the academic mission of schools. Participation in high school activities is a valuable part of the overall school experience. 3. Activity programs provide opportunities for character development and unique learning labs for valuable life lesson and universal values – teamwork, sportsmanship, self-discipline and hard work. These are qualities students need if they are to become responsible adults, productive citizens and skilled professionals. 4. Activities foster success in later life. Participation in high school activities is often a predictor of later success – in college, a career and in becoming a healthy, contributive member of society” For more information please follow the links provided: Exploring the Link between Physical Activity, Fitness and Cognitive Function Study Shows Benefits of 'Co-Curricular' Activities Warm regards, Pete Kennedy mshsprincipal@unishanoi.org
If you are aware of projects that fit the goals and would benefit from our Birthday Gift Fund, please complete our suggestions form. As you have already read in the Tin Tuc, our 25th Birthday Celebrations last year helped create our Birthday Gift Fund with more than 37,000 USD raised to support our local community. We are currently in the community consultation phase of how to spend the money… and we want to hear from you. We do not expect full and formal proposals – we want ideas, suggestions and thoughts on programs, projects and/or partners that would respect our three goals:
ENGAGE UNIS STUDENTS in genuine and reciprocal learning experiences
BUILD COMMUNITY and meaningfully strengthen the School's relationships with the local community over time
ARE SUSTAINABLE for both for the community the project aims to support, and for UNIS Hanoi.
These ideas will all go to the Advisory Committee who will follow up and help shape any new ideas with the appropriate community partners. WE DO NOT EXPECT FULL PROPOSALS, just ideas, leads and starting-points that the Committee can explore further in the next phase of the programme rollout. Final projects will be chosen with input from a variety of sources including existing Service Partners and our Service Learning Team at UNIS. COMPLETE THE SUGGESTION FORM and submit your ideas to the Birthday Gift Fund Committee BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30. And to find out more about the Birthday Gift Fund, how we raised the money, the committee and the timeline and process for the allocation of the funds please see the School website.
These can be new projects, existing projects, or projects that are yet to be created… But if we do not have them on our radar, they will not get to the Advisory Committee for further research and development.
For more information contact our Director of Advancement, Emma Silva: doa@unishanoi.org
On the morning of UN day all the Elementary School students will create a Collaborative Art project to demonstrate the concepts behind the theme of Rapprochement of Cultures. Through art they will seek to understand
the Elementary School will also write their wishes and hopes for intercultural understanding and intertwine these into the weaving.
“cultural diversity by acknowledging the importance of the constant transfers and exchanges between cultures and the ties forged between them since the dawn of humanity.” http:// www.unesco.org/culture/pdf/2010/2010_leaflet_en Definition: rapprochement Synonyms: rapprochement Reconciliation Reunion Understanding Coming together Settlement Compromise Agreement Conciliation
The collaboratively produced art installation will be a giant weaving of fabrics, textures, ribbons and wishes where students can physically create harmony and unity through interconnections of colour, texture, pattern and shape. Each child in
How can you help? If you have any ribbon,
threads, wool, strips of texture that you want to donate to the art installation please bring it to the donation box in the ES office. Come along and add
your wishes for world harmony to our art installation on UN day.
Preparations are well under way for UN Day and we are looking forward to a wonderful day on Friday October 4.
the school – 67 this year! – will be carried on a parade through our audience and above their heads on the mezzanine balcony. We have four new nations represented this year!
Invitations to ALL parents and guardians were sent by email this week… but we hope that you have had the date in your diary for weeks! Invitations to UN Agencies, Embassies and Government VIPS have also been sent out, including those to parents representing their organization. Please don’t worry if you did not receive your parent invitation (as with all email distribution systems, we do encounter delivery failures). As parents and guardians you are NOT required to present your invitation for entry. But if you would like us to try and resend your official invitation, please contact Ha Dinh (mro@unishanoi.org).
And in order to allow for a greater number of students to enjoy the honour of carrying their country’s flag we have invited the youngest and oldest students WHO HAVE NOT CARRIED THE FLAG BEFORE to take part this year. For a full list of the flag bearers that will be part of the Parade of Nations please CLICK HERE.
We are also delighted to welcome the UN Resident Coordinator, Dr Pratibha Mehta, as our special guest speaker and a host of VIP guest from the United Nations in Vietnam and the many embassies.
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belarus, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, UN, UNIS Hanoi.
You and your children are welcomed and encouraged to wear something representing your “national” dress or clothes from a place where you have lived.
Following the ceremony ALL parents/guardians are invited to join their children and the rest of the community for our wonderful ‘Potluck’ Lunch from 12:00 in the classroom areas (ES and MS) or Canteen for High School families.
The Assembly or ceremony will start promptly at 10:30 am in the Sports Centre and we encourage ALL parents/ guardians to attend this wonderful event which involves scores and scores of our children from all three divisions. Please plan to be in your seats by 10.20am.
With such a multicultural melting pot of nationalities represented, it is sometime difficult to identify with only one nationality, so we encourage the children to create or put together a costume that represents their own sense of identity. In the end, wear something you will feel comfortable wearing. Business dress is often preferred by parents and no one should feel any pressure to ‘dress up’.
The spectacular Parade of Nations will as usual launch the ceremony when all the flags of the countries represented in
Every family will be asked to contribute food for the Community Lunch to ensure that we have enough to feed all the children and guests. You will receive more information in the coming weeks about how the lunch and food is organized from your Class Parent or Grade Level Parent liaison, but please read the detailed food preparation guidelines below and start planning! Any questions don’t hesitate to contact our Community Liaison Officer, Nathalie Grun: clo@unishanoi.org
UN Day Celebration, one of the biggest events at UNIS Hanoi, will be held on Friday, October 4. The culminating event for the day is the international community lunch which is enjoyed by students, staff and parents. It is truly international and fun! Our shared lunch is provided by parents and is again an opportunity for you to showcase your nationality. Many parents bring in their favorite national dish or something that is popular in their home country. All parents, family members, faculty and staff are welcome and encouraged to attend the luncheon which will start at 12:00 noon.
UNIS Hanoi will provide: plates, napkins, cups, and forks. Children will have their water bottles and parents are welcome to bring their own non-alcoholic drinks. Drinking cups and water will be available for everyone.
Prepare one plate of food to serve 10 people (servings)
for each of your child’s classroom. Prepare food that does not require refrigeration or need
to be heated.
Please bring your dish to the following rooms between 08:00 - 09:30.
Prepare food that can be easily served and can be eaten
with fingers or forks — no soupy or runny dishes. Do not bring any food that contains nuts of any
kind; no peanuts, cashews, walnuts, almonds, etc or peanut oil or peanut products because of severe allergies. Label the food with name and country of origin;
decorate the plate/food with flags or ribbons. List the ingredients of your food for dietary restrictions and allergies (please see the sample below). If you bring food on a serving plate, please collect it after
the lunch is finished so it is not misplaced. It is recommended to clearly mark it with your child’s name and homeroom. Many people made a disposable serving container using a small cardboard container lined with foil which is then decorated to serve their food. If your dish requires a serving spoon or fork, please
provide. More appetizers and main courses are required than
desserts.
Discovery & Kindergarten 1
ECC Gym
Kindergarten 2
ECC/G10 + G12
Grade 1
Homerooms
Grade 2
B9/G40 + G42
Grade 3
B9/120 + 122
Grade 4
B9/128 + 130
Grade 5
B9/G16 + G18
Grade 6
B5-110
Grade 7
B5-127
Grade 8
B5-118
Grades 9, 10, 11 & 12
Canteen
If you have any questions or concerns about the UN Day Community Lunch, please email CLO@unishanoi.org .
Applications for the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship programme open on Tuesday October 1.
Please help eligible students find out about this programme by spreading the word amongst your friends, colleagues and associates.
And this year, we are expanding the programme both in number of students that we can enroll and the age range that will be eligible.
UNIS Hanoi is a well-connected community and we ask you to mobilize!
The UNIS Hanoi Scholarship Programme gives the opportunity for Vietnamese students from a low socioeconomic background, who are excelling at their local Hanoi district school to enter UNIS Hanoi until graduation. Four full Scholarships will be available for entry to UNIS Hanoi in the 2014-15 academic year. Students may apply to the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship Programme for entry to Grade 8, Grade 9 or Grade 10. In all cases, the 100% Scholarship will be valid until graduation from UNIS Hanoi. The programme was launched in 2011-12 and we have welcomed two scholarship students to UNIS Hanoi in the last two academic years.
Dear Parents/Guardians, We have been delighted with the manner that Grade 11 students have approached a number of new school initiatives at the beginning of this year. Responsible leadership and understanding the significance of service (including taking responsibility for oneself and others) are two important objectives in the school’s strategic development plan: “Going from Good to Great” and are key areas that the Service Learning programme at UNIS Hanoi aims to address this year and in the years to come. In the last few weeks, students have engaged in a series of workshops with the media organisation Reel Youth to help them develop skills in leadership and media creation. The focus has been enabling students to take responsibility for the leadership of the High School Service Learning activates offered at UNIS Hanoi, as well as to develop media products that inform and advocate for these activities. Last week, all of our Grade 11 student leaders lead their first Service activity sessions and they did tremendously
In addition to the fees waiver, significant support will be available for the Scholarship Students to access English support, to be able to participate fully in the activities programme in MSHS and for transport to and from school.
Deadline for applications is Tuesday 31 December. Full eligibility criteria, the timeline for the selection process and application documents are available on UNIS Hanoi website in both ENGLISH and VIETNAMESE. All questions concerning the Scholarship Programme should be sent by email to scholarships@unishanoi.org
well. As we all know, leading and facilitating a group towards a common goal is never an easy task. The films that the students made about their Service Learning activities, can be viewed here . The films were created on a tight schedule, since students have also had the demands of starting their IB academic studies. Nevertheless, we are extremely proud of the enthusiasm, commitment, and hard work that our students have shown and - we hope you will agree - the standard of the work they have produced is of a very good quality. We should advise that we have had some issues regarding audio and colour quality in some of the films you will see (especially when played back on a computer), but we hope you will overlook these and focus on what we think are the great strides that students have taken in learning to create interesting and provocative Service Learning films. Enjoy Nick Whatley, D-12 Service Learning Coordinator nwhatley@unishanoi.org
Sending your child to a new school can sometimes be a confusing and unsettling experience. For a start there may seem to be a lot of strange, new language. Here at UNIS Hanoi, words which may be unfamiliar could include “the PYP”, “unit of inquiry”, “the programme of inquiry” and “the IB”. For this reason, every new school year we hold a Primary Years Programme (PYP) workshop for new parents. The event is a chance for parents new to the school to discover for themselves what learning in the Elementary School is like. There are similar events each year held forparents with children in the IB Middle Years Programme and the IB Diploma Programme. For those of you who could not attend in person, I have included here some photographs of the event and some of the slides from the PowerPoint. I hope this gives you a flavor of the evening. The event was never intended as an opportunity for participants just to sit back and to listen. We are an IB PYP school and the IB promotes inquiry-based learning. As such participants were encouraged to join in, to think deeply and be actively involved in their own learning! The participants were set a challenge. They had to discover for themselves what inquiry teaching and learning is like. This was achieved by through an inquirybased activity. Inside an envelope they found lots of different statements about teaching practices.
Working collaboratively the parents had to take each statement and rank them according to how much thinking they believed each teaching strategy required. The parents soon realized that not only were they discovering what sort of teaching makes their children think, they were also experiencing this sort of teaching! Parents could be seen discussing their opinions, questioning one another, and justifying their reasoning. In short they were inquiring! The workshop participants went on to explore how the PYP curriculum here is organized. Once again this was through a hands-on activity which encouraged the parents to work this out for themselves. While doing so they made sense of the two new bright display boards which now feature in both the Early Childhood Centre and on a wall opposite the school canteen. The parents also discovered what many of the new, unfamiliar words mean. The parents I spoke with after the event were very positive about the experience. I would like to thank everyone who came along for their enthusiasm, commitment and curiosity! It is wonderful to have so many supportive parents. If you are curious and you would like to look at the PowerPoint we used you can access it here. For all those parents who missed out, I will be running a repeat performance in January. Whether you are new to UNIS or you would just like to have some fun and to learn some more about the Elementary School, you are very welcome to attend! Watch this space for a date! Christopher Frost, Primary Years Programme Coordinator pypcoordinator@unishanoi.org
Time: Monday, September 23, 2013 @ 11:30 - 12:30 Venue: B5 G29 Common Room
The University of Connecticut is a school of choice for academically talented students. Learn from world-renowned faculty. Participate in hundreds of clubs and activities. Conduct hands-on research. Make life-long friendships. And do it all at one of the top 20 public universities in the nation. UConn has secured its highest position to date in the U.S. News & World Report annual ranking, receiving the No. 19 spot on this year’s list of the nation’s best public universities.
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. The University of Minnesota is ranked among the top 25 of the nation's top research universities by the Center for Measuring University Performance. In 2011, the University of Minnesota ranked 28th out of more than 1000 international institutions recognized by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and is considered a Public Ivy, which recognizes top public research universities in the U.S.
Dear UMA families, Our lessons are going well and soon you will receive your invoices from the Business Office regarding payment. Those families who have indicated they wish to have UMA lessons for the whole year will be invoiced as such. These students will also have priority in session 2 and 3 for continuity of lessons and teachers. We are working hard to develop an UMA ISIS module so parents can use this system to sign up for session 2 in the same way as they do ASA’s. Watch this space for more information about this. Using ISIS will enable you to have instant confirmation and the possibility to see available slots. Each year in June many of our students sit ABRSM music exams. Some of the students who achieved high scores in this exam have been invited to perform with other students from around Hanoi, in a celebratory concert on the 29 September 2013. These concerts are special events that
Time: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 @ 12:30 - 13:30 Venue: Health Centre
A private research university with more than 15,000 students from around the world, the University of Miami is a vibrant and diverse academic community focused on teaching and learning, the discovery of new knowledge. Led by President Donna E. Shalala, the University comprises 12 schools and colleges serving undergraduate and graduate students in more than 180 majors and programs. In 2012, U.S. News & World Report ranked UM No. 44 in its “Best Colleges” listings, the fourth year in a row it has been among the top 50, and it continued to be the highest ranked school in Florida.
recognize the hard work and achievement of the high scoring students. Young musicians will perform pieces from the ABRSM exam syllabus. They are a wonderful opportunity for students to share their achievements with wider audiences, gaining valuable performing experiences in a supportive and celebratory setting. They are highly popular concerts that the students, their friends and families come away from with happy memories. If you wish to sign your child up to work towards taking the ABRSM exams in June 2014 please contact Ms. Loan Nguyen who is the Hanoi and North Vietnam ABRSM representative either on nguyentoloan70@yahoo.com or abrsm.hanoi@gmail.com. Once you sign up and receive the syllabus books, the UMA teachers can use these to structure and guide your child towards success. For more information about the ABRSM exams please refer to their website http://gb.abrsm.org/en/home. Thanks from the UMA office
Dear UNIS Hanoi Parents & Guardians, UNIS Hanoi is proud to be a member of both MRISA and APAC. These organizations offer UNIS Hanoi students the rich experience of travelling to other schools to participate in cultural and athletic events. When our students travel to MRISA and APAC events, they enjoy the hospitality of the host school by staying with families like yours throughout the event. The APAC and MRISA organizations value the host family experience as it allows students to learn about another international student’s life and the country/city they currently call home. In exchange for their generosity, we as a community and as members of MRISA and APAC have the obligation to open our school and homes to visiting guests who come to events at UNIS. This autumn, UNIS Hanoi is proud to host the APAC High School Girls & Boys Volleyball Tournament from October 23-27. We are expecting to host 60 girls and 60 boys for the APAC tournament. We would like to give all of our visiting student athletes a warm welcome and provide for them the same hospitality that UNIS Hanoi students receive from other hosting schools. Therefore, we are seeking UNIS Hanoi families who are able to open up their homes and accommodate our guests during this tournament. Hosting is a great opportunity for students to make new friends with students from different schools.
Dear Parents, The medical forms of your children have been reviewed by the School Health Centre and it has been noted that many students are not up to date with their required vaccinations and medicals. All parents have started the routine schedules but many have missed some of the routine vaccinations along the way including boosters. We can appreciate there is a lot to think about at the beginning of the school year, however, making sure that children of all ages receive ALL their required vaccinations ON TIME is one of the most important things you can do as a parent to ensure your children’s long term health – as well as the health of friends, classmates and others in the community. Please review your vaccination records and update with the Nurse as soon as possible. Most countries follow the World Health Organization, (WHO) and Centre for Disease Control (CDC) recommended schedules. If you are unsure whether your child has missed a scheduled
Maybe your child is currently participating in an autumn sport or performing art activity, and may very well be involved in further activities as the school year progresses. As such, we are asking you to be a Host Family for this event. To those who have hosted in the past, I’d like to say a big “THANK YOU!!”, and I hope we can count on your assistance again. Participation in MRISA or APAC would not be possible without this help from our families! If you have not hosted previously and want to know what is required, “Host Family Expectations” can be found here. Please complete the attached “Host Family Information Form” to let us know if you can serve as a host family and how many students (1, 2 or more!), you can accommodate. The form should be returned either by email, or by bringing a hard copy to the Activities Office (B7-112). This APAC tournament promises to be a memorable school-wide event. Thank you for your involvement and we hope that you’ll find time to come to the Sports Center to enjoy some of the action! Do not hesitate to contact me at da@unishanoi.org or by phone at 04 3758 1551 Ext. 8720, or you can contact the Activities Office at cocurricular@unishanoi.org. Sincerely, Dirk Kraetzer, Director of Activities
vaccine, then please contact the School Health Centre and we can review your records and advise. Another UNIS requirement is ensuring an updated medical by a Doctor is attended every 3 years. Children develop rapidly during school age and many changes are occurring. By attending regular medicals, an awareness of your child’s physical and mental health will ensure a positive and healthy education is certain. Many children have not had an updated medical. Updating Emergency contacts will enable the School Nurse to make contact with the appropriate person in an emergency. Please update through ISIS Family or if unsure, please contact Admissions Office. Thanks so much for taking the time to provide all that is required to ensure a safe, happy and healthy student at UNIS Hanoi. Kelly Havlin, School Nurse, School Health Centre Email – khavlin@unishanoi.org , nurse@unishanoi.org
WHEN? Saturday, September 21st WHAT TIME? 9.00am - 12.00pm WHERE? UNIS Hanoi Centre for the Arts.
Want to learn how to drive a motorbike? Where should I go if my child has a fever? Which dental services are available in Hanoi? What gym offers Zumba, Yoga or Pilates classes? Where is the best place to buy my groceries? What to do with ALL my free time?
community, especially those newly arrived expats, by bringing a variety of Hanoi's service providers and organizations together to one convenient location! WHO WILL BE COMING?
ARE THESE SOME QUESTIONS YOU ASK YOURSELF?
We will have representatives from a variety of areas (for example: medical services, vets, fitness centres, community/cultural groups, activity groups, transportation services, to name a few) come and set up an information/ display booths and will be present on the day to answer questions.
The purpose of the Community Connections Fair is to provide useful information to our UNIS Hanoi
Join us and learn more about what Hanoi has to offer and get all your questions answered !
Being involved with your child’s class can be one of the most rewarding things that we can do as parents. Supporting your child’s teacher and classmates will certainly win you popularity points! But also, you will be helping your child be more successful at school. Research indicates that children who are supported in their school activities by engaged parents will do better as this article from the National Education Association details with links to a host of supporting research articles. http:// www.nea.org/tools/17360.htm Please consider being a Class Parent (ES) or Grade Level Parent (MSHS) this year…. the more the merrier! There are still some spots available, and this is an easy way to contribute which will not take up a lot of your time and can certainly be balanced with busy social and professional lives. You can read the job descriptions (Class Parent or Grade Level Parent) on the SCO Portal area if you want to know more (or volunteer TODAY!) please contact:
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Joh Ponsen (ES Chair) or Paulina Pineda (ES Vice-Chair): SCO@unishanoi.org MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL: Pippa Wood (MSHS Chair) or Renea Freeman (Vice-Chair): SCO@unishanoi.org
NEW BOUTIQUE SCHEDULE NEW Boutique Store hours effective Monday, September 23, 2013: MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 8:00 - 9:00
8:00 - 9:00
08:00-09:00
15:00-16:00
Visit the Boutique Online for our item price range.
On behalf of the HIWC, I am excited to announce that preparations for the 2013 Annual Charity Bazaar are well underway! For the past 21 years, the HIWC Charity Bazaar has connected the Hanoi community by bringing together country and community representatives, local commercial businesses, and a variety of different charity organizations all for the purpose of raising money for charity. This year the event will take place at the United Nations International School (Ciputra) and will be held on Sunday, November 24. Interested in getting involved in Hanoi’s largest annual charity event? Here are the updates so far, as well as some ways that you can get involved! Our first Country and Community stand meeting was a great success and was attended by twenty-nine different country representatives. Among the Countries represented so far are: Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, Ukraine, USA, Vietnam Country and Community stands are a really fun and exciting way to share your culture, and we are still in need
Some of the out-of-stock items will be available from mid-week: Girl shorts in limited quantity, library bags in blue and swimming bags with 5 colors to choose from: red, green, blue, turquoise and pink.
We are looking for a parent volunteer to join us as Boutique Coordinator. Please email sco@unishanoi.org for more information, specifying that you wish to apply for the post. The team is looking forward to meet you!
of a lot of help! Many of the countries getting involved are still looking for volunteers to help run their stand.
Country stands are invited and encouraged to sell their traditional food, drinks and handicrafts! If you do not see your country on the list and you would like to get involved, or would like to get in contact with the team representing your country, please contact Sally Melville at countrytables@hanoi-iwc.com. In addition to this, our entertainment team is currently in search of acts to perform on our main stage. If you or someone you know is part of a band, dance group, or any type of cultural performance group and would like to perform in the event please contact Katrin at bazaarentertainment@hanoi-iwc.com. Interested in sponsoring the event? There are many different ways in which you can sponsor the Bazaar, including donating an item, package or prize to our Silent Auction. For more information on sponsorship please contact Rasa at vp@hanoi-iwc.com. For further information about the bazaar, please contact me, Brooke Badon, at bazaarcoordinator@hanoi-iwc.com Thank you so much. With your support we can continue to help disadvantaged women, children and their communities in Vietnam. www.hanoi-iwc.com
As promised when we launched the new website at the start of the year, our goal is to develop a communication tool that works for our community.
Go to Tin Tuc News under Community Life Scroll down the page to Current News and click on the blue ‘Alerts’ button
1. You can read the website in 77 different languages!
Register as a new user
In the past translation costs were prohibitive – all that has changed thanks to Google! We have added the GOOGLE TRANSLATE function to the website so you can read all the information on the website in 77 languages. It is not always a perfect translation but the information is accurate. The button is at top of the home page and EVERY page in the website.
2. You can receive the news items direct to your email address? We are starting to use the ‘News’ function on the website to share top stories and information from Tin Tuc and from the School. We believe excellent communication requires multiple platforms, to allow you to receive your news as you want. Through the website you can choose to receive the news direct to your inbox in five easy steps:. Follow the instructions opposite and have your news delivered to you!
Select the News Categories that interest you – Select ‘School News’ to receive all news items Exit – All done! Any new ‘News’ posts will come direct to your inbox.
3. Our MOBILE SITE is designed for smartphone quick access to key information. Our full site can be accessed by all mobile devices but we have developed a special UNIS HANOI MOBILE SITE which is designed for handheld devices and which gives the user quick access to the information they are likely to need when they are on the move.
What time is the parent meeting this evening? When is the pool open on Saturday? What did the children have for lunch today so we don’t eat the same for dinner?
When is the School Store open?
VIRTUAL TOUR: We are in the middle of developing a virtual tour of the school so families living across the world can ‘visit’ the school before they move to Vietnam. We will be launching the Virtual Tour after the October break. FACULTY & STAFF DIRECTORY: An easy to use professional directory for all our faculty and staff contacts including photos so our community can recognize each other! Due to be ready for the start of 2014.
All of this information is just a few clicks away in an easy to access, and easy to read format. Of course you can always opt out of the mobile site and visit the full site too. Enjoy! And let us know if there is other quick and easy information that you would like on your MOBILE SITE.
ALUMNI SITE: A password protected online area dedicated to our former students, their families and faculty. Find out who is living in your city when you move on from Hanoi, stay in touch with your friends, noticeboards and of course all the reunion event news. Go beyond Facebook and get involved! iPHONE APP: A special UNIS HANOI App is in development to give you more functionality from your iPhone (sorry – not available for Android users yet!)
On September 17, 2013 four of Elementary School Teaching Assistants who attended a workshop on Accessing Behavior in Children in Singapore shared what they had learnt with other Teaching Assistants. The content of the presentation was about interactive, solution-focused format that systematically deals with solving challenging behaviors. During this session they also shared ideas and learned about what are normal development, cycle of emotional growth, cycle of development, response styles and designing behavior management plans. As a part of the process all the Teaching Assistants paired up and reflected on what they had learnt from the workshop. Jan Humpleby, ES Deputy Principal esdprincipal@unishanoi.org
Teachers of IB Diploma Programme Vietnamese language A are very rare, world-wide. Last weekend nine of them gathered together at UNIS Hanoi for a ‘job-alike’ workshop that was hosted and facilitated by our Vietnamese language A teacher, Ms Phan Thanh Hoa. The visiting teachers came from two IB schools in Ho Chi Minh City, from UNIS and HIS in Hanoi, and there was even one visitor who came all the way from New York! This was the third job-alike workshop that the teachers have organized although this time numbers were greater with three of the visiting teachers being new to the event. The group is delighted that their numbers are growing year by year. The teachers spent two full days developing their
understanding of IB teaching methods and philosophy, as well as looking closely at the details of the IB Diploma language A syllabus. It was a good opportunity to share challenges in adapting their teaching style: “This time they understand more clearly what it is like to be an IB teacher teaching in international school using IB methods“, Ms Hoa said. One grateful participant contacted us to report: Trở về thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, cảm giác của em về hai ngày học ở Hà Nội là THÚ VỊ VÀ HẠNH PHÚC (Returning to Ho Chi Minh City, my feelings about the last two days in Hanoi are INTERESTING AND HAPPY). UNIS Hanoi congratulates Ms Hoa on organizing a very successful professional development event, reaching out and helping to build our wider community of learners. Photo: Vietnamese teachers exploring the IB learner profile. Janet Field, Director of Learning dol@unishanoi.org
Strong background in Science. Bachelor degree or
(one class of Grade 6 and one class of Grade 8) UNIS Hanoi has experienced steady year-on-year growth in our student population, which currently stands at over 1,000 students from 63 different countries. We are now accepting applications for a Part-time Middle School
Science Teacher (Integrated MYP Science, Grades 6 and 8). The position is 40% employment with salary and benefits prorated – Very possible to live comfortably on the salary provided. The Science Teacher will report to the Middle School/High School Principal.
Teach one one class of grade 6 and one class of grade 8 Provide a differentiated program of instruction that
incorporates high expectations for all learners Deliver the curriculum within the MYP framework and philosophy of the school Work collaboratively with colleagues both within the Science Department and the greater school community Assess and report student progress Share in the overall responsibility for the academic progress, personal development, health and safety, discipline and well-being of students Provide timely communication to parents Attend bi weekly meetings with the Grade Level teachers to discuss student concerns, plan events, discuss test results etc. Participate enthusiastically in morning meetings, house events, and assemblies Become an active member within the UNIS community : advisory, sports, after-school activities, students clubs, and community service activities Contribute to the UNIS school improvement plan by serving on committees and other shared decisionmaking groups Pursue professional development and model life-long learning Participate in team planning and curriculum development Demonstrate a commitment and willingness work with students during community service activities
above in Science Education or equivalent Technologically able Experience teaching in an international school Internationally recognized teaching qualification IB experience (MYP) Knowledgeable regarding the developmental needs of High School students Cross-cultural exposure and understanding The ability to work as part of a team Excellent organizational and time management skills
Successful applicant would be expected to commence duties as soon as possible. Interested applicants please send your expression of interest, along with an up-to-date CV and current referees to jobs@unishanoi.org Ms Tran Thi Quyen, Human Resources Manager United Nations International School of Hanoi GPO Box 313, Hanoi, Vietnam