tintuc@unishanoi.org UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter
NEXT WEEK... MONDAY, 17 MARCH MSHS Grade Level Trips (Grades 6-11) 17-21 March Grade 12 Mock Exams 17-27 March ES Parents Forum with the Principal and Deputy Principal, 18:00-19:00 Library Projection Room TUEDAY, 18 MARCH BoD Information Session About Board Service, 19:00 20:30 Community Room, B7 THURSDAY, 20 MARCH ES World Happiness Day Celebrations
Volume 20, Edition 25, Friday 14 March
COMING SOON... MONDAY-TUESDAY, 24-25 MARCH Half-term Break. No school for students/Offices open. WENESDAY, 26 MARCH Grade 12 Mock Exams (Continue) IB Diploma Art Exhibition 26 March - 4 April MRISA HS Soccer Games, 15:30 - 16:45 THURSDAY, 27 MARCH MS Volleyball @ St. Paul Int’l School Hanoi, 15:30 - 18:00 K1 Field trip, 10:00 - 12:30 FRIDAY, 28 MARCH Grade 4 - 5 Swim Meet SATURDAY, 29 MARCH UNIS Phoenix Cup HS Soccer Tournament 29 - 30 March No Saturday Soccer SUNDAY, 30 MARCH UNIS Hanoi Alumni Reunion in Tokyo, 18:00 - 20:30
IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights... Notes from the Head of School (p.2) Notes from the Board of Directors and Admissions Office (p.3)
ES World Happiness Day (p.4) ES Sports Afternoon Report (p.5) Notes from the MSHS Principal (p.6) DP Exhibition Opening(p.7) UNIS MUN Report (p.8) HFH Trip Report (p.9)
Library Update (p.10) UNIS Summer Programme. Coming soon! (p.11)
Spring Fair (p.12-14) Kaleidoscope of Culture! (p.15)
School Health Centre (p.16) SCO Boutique. Spring Sale! (p.16)
I want to extend my appreciation to the 20 parents who attended our “Hors D’Oeuvres with the Head of School” last week. The notes from the meeting can be found here. I believe for next year we will alternate mornings and evenings so more parents can attend at least two of these meetings. One question that came up at this session last week with parents is an issue that has been mentioned to me in some emails I have received from parents. The issue is the offering of Mandarin instruction at our school. Here is what I said last week and what I want to highlight to all parents including those who have written to me. We are always looking for ways to improve and enhance our language programme. We would like to add Mandarin. Since the survey of two years ago, we have been:
Reviewing other schools who are currently offering Mandarin.
Looking at the impact on the budget (adding a language is expensive if you do it right. It is more than just adding one teacher since you have varying ability levels at each grade level)
Considering the impact on the schedule (we do not plan to make the day longer so what do students NOT do in order to take Mandarin during the school day).
Offering it as an online alternative at the IB diploma level which we have done.
Thinking about whether we start out by offering it after school.
Contemplating which grade levels we will start to offer it in first.
Exploring the availability of qualified teachers of Mandarin as a foreign language in Hanoi.
We are hoping to finalize a timeline this spring and we will let you know by the end of the year. One final clarification – we are referring to Mandarin as a World or Foreign Language, and not as a Mother Tongue.
The progress on the new six lane bypass road and bridge continue to move along. As happens here in Hanoi, cars and motorbikes are beginning to use the road before it is officially open. I encourage all drivers heading out of Ciputra to Lac Long Quan to cross the six lane highway cautiously as some of the vehicles on the highway are traveling quite fast and do not plan to stop to allow you to cross this road. See you at Spring Fair tomorrow. Respectfully, Dr. Barder, Head of School hos@unishanoi.org
There are many opportunities at UNIS Hanoi for parents to share their talent, time and expertise with the community, demonstrating to our students the value of a life-long commitment to community service. Whether this be coaching weekend sports, talking to students about career and college choices, serving as a classroom representative or helping with the many School Community Organization (SCO) events throughout the year or serving on a board committee or task force- your contributions are all welcomed and valued. Through its annual membership review, the Board of Directors has determined there will be one parent-elected position open on the Board for the upcoming 2014/2015 school year.
parent elected member, with results to be announced at the 13th May Annual General Meeting. Parents can find more information about the work of the board, the role of a board member and the election process HERE. Anyone considering this opportunity or if would like to know more about getting involved with the board’s work is invited to attend an Information Session About Board Service on Tuesday 18 March at 7pm, Community Room in the Admin Building. Serving on the board or one of its committees is a richly rewarding way to contribute in your children’s school. The Board of Directors encourages all parents to consider putting themselves forward for election. The deadline for receipt of candidate application forms is 21 March at 12pm. If you have any questions, please contact the Board Assistant, Jennifer Sawyer, at boardassistant@unishanoi.org. Best regards, Sarah Garner, Board Chair
The board will now conduct an election for the position of
Please register your child by submitting an enquiry form at www.unishanoi.org. Tuition and Fees Agreements and invoices for deposit payments shall be issued directly to families in early March. Placements for returning students must be secured by 1 April 2014. Families are required to pay tuition deposits for each attending student and commit to the terms and conditions of tuition and fees for the 2014-2015 academic year. Please notify the Admissions office of your intended date of departure. For assistance contact admissions@unishanoi.org or 37581551 extension 8217 / 8220.
On Thursday 20th March the Elementary School Students will join people in 193 other countries to celebrate the Second International Day of Happiness. This day was recognized by the UN in 2013 after being inspired by the small country of Bhutan who measure their country’s success by the well-being of the people. In 2012 the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon proclaimed March 20th as the International day of Happiness in recognition that happiness and well-being are universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world. He noted that in order to attain sustainable development the world needs to acknowledge the importance of social, economic and environmental well-being which together define gross global happiness.
On Thursday we ask all ES students to wear their brightest clothes and to carry out Random Acts of Happiness throughout the day. The students have been talking in their classes and have fantastic plans. All students will be carrying around a Happiness Heart with them onto which they can add extra hearts if they give or receive a Random Act of Happiness. Remember this starts the moment they wake up in the morning so you may be surprised. If you need your happiness quota topping up – be around the Elementary School on Thursday 20th and join in our Happiness celebrations. Jan Humpleby, ES Deputy Principal esdprincipal@unishanoi.org
to all the parents who came to our Elementary Student Led Conferences this week. The children were proud to celebrate their learning with you!
Last Friday saw our Elementary students partake in their annual Sports Event. This House activity encourages students to showcase their enthusiasm for movement, teamwork, skills and of course, what they’ve learned during curriculum. Although the weather was not favorable for the teachers and spectators, the students thoroughly enjoyed being active and getting muddy. The damp conditions could not spoil the rainbow of activity and fun that took place on the
sports field. A big thank you to all the parents and spectators for your support and especially the students, who made the event so enjoyable. ES PE Team
Eagles
Buffaloes
Lions
Tigers
3453
3068
3260
3152
Dear MSHS Families, It is hard to believe that MSHS Trip Week begins next week. That can only mean Spring is just around the corner! There is a definite buzz on campus as all grade 6 11 students and teachers take part in Trip Week. Grade level groups fan out across Vietnam to explore our host country, build bonds between classmates and learn about themselves as learners. Grade 12 students had their Trip Week in September and will be sitting Mock IB exams over the next two weeks. Good luck grade 12s! Two weeks ago I wrote an article which voiced concern over the prevalence of multitasking. Quoting my previous article, “As technology continues to make inroads into the lives of students I have become increasingly interested in the impact multi-switching can have on brain development in teenagers. Students are convinced that they can multitask and that constantly bouncing back and forth between emails, texts, chats, homework, google, music, etc. poses no problem and actually increases efficiency. However, research in this area, although still emerging, suggests that productivity can be reduced by as much as 40 percent when people quickly switch back and forth between tasks and retention levels drop even further (Meyer, 2012).” If you watch adolescent behavior you will notice an increase in multitasking behaviors. The constant switching back and forth between tasks without an in depth focus on one task is pervasive among adolescents. Studies show constant multi-switching hinders efficiency, inhibits the brain’s hard wired ability to make connections and negatively impacts both long term memory and the ability to handle analytic reasoning.
Technology with all its benefits is here to stay, no doubt about it. So what can, or better yet, what should we do to help students manage the multi stimuli world they live in? Clifford Nass a leading researcher into the impact of multitasking makes several common sense suggestions. 1. Shut out distractions, email alerts and other stimuli. 2. Focus on one task at a time for at least 15 - 30 minutes before engaging other items. This is long enough to allow the brain to focus more deeply on the task at hand providing greater depth of understanding and cognition. 3. Once your 15 minute focused time finishes scan other streams and move to another task for 15 – 30 minutes and so on. 4. Link to commons sense Best practice strategies. In closing, please observe how your children use technology. Are they spending an inordinate amount of time on their tablet? Do they multitask jumping from one stimulus to another? Please talk to your children about the benefits of sustained focus and how it builds the connections needed for greater retention and understanding. But most of all, be involved and aware. Warm regards, Pete Kennedy, MSHS Principal mshsprincipal@unishanoi.org
The Inner Being & Outer Shell UNIS DP Visual Art Graduating Exhibition UNIS Centre of the Arts Foyer
Exhibition Dates Wed 26 March - Friday 4 April 2014 Opening Night 6pm Monday 31 March 12, 2014
From the 6th – 8th of March, international students from Laos, Cambodia, and all over Vietnam came to UNIS campus and participated in the 6th Annual Session of UNIS Model United Nations. One of UNIS’s biggest events with over 200 participants, for three days, these students reenacted the United Nations and its committees, lobbying and debating on their own ideas to solve world issues. With topics such as “Resident status and immigration rights of migrant workers” in General Assembly Committee 3 to topics like “Measures to prevent clashes or armed conflict over maritime disputes in the South China Sea” in the Security Council, student delegations work under this year’s MUN theme of “Water”. The main goal of Model United Nations is to teach students about the United Nations and the members’ states that make up the organization, and hopefully bring them more understanding of the multinational world we live in. As such, students are encouraged to become their roles. For the duration of the conference, they are the spokesmen of their country, not the one listed on their passport. They
are Russia, they are Morocco and their decisions matter. By doing this, the students can really get to know a country and understand their positions on world matters. MUN also nurture students in other ways as well. They develop and practice speech-making, leadership, and thinking on the fly. The amount of work students put in for MUN is no small task, researching a country, researching at least one topic in relation to that country, and then able to fight and speak for their position among groups of peers. More often than not, delegate will find their views differ, and this is where they learn of diplomacy and compromising, of taking and giving. This event, however, would not have happened without the leadership of Duong Nguyen, our Secretary General, and the support of the UNIS Activities Office and our amazing directors, Ms. Donna Frose and Mr. Alvaro Grana. We thank you all for your hard work. Viet Than, President of the General Assembly
This year, the Habitat for Humanity Service Learning group has been working to raise money to provide a suitable home for a family here in Vietnam. We were lucky enough to be able to go to Thai Binh and be able to build a house for Mr. Chuc and Mrs. Ngot who, with the rest of their family, had been living in a very tiny building for the past 37 years. Although we had a few troubles with accommodation at the beginning of the trip, we got the honor to stay at a brand new hotel made for Vietnamese veterans. The staff at the hotel was welcoming even though the restaurant was not operating. We ate out at various places in town for lunch and dinner. Since we were so close to the sea we had seafood many of the days. In fact the family we built for made their living primarily from fishing. Breakfast was made each morning by Ms. Van and Miss Frose. Fresh bread, cheese, noodles and fruit was the daily menu. The commune we were working in made the group feel very welcome. We were met by the head of the Red Cross and the Vice Chairman of the Commune at the commune’s administration building.
The new building we were building for the Vietnamese family was a small 2 bedroom house. At our first encounter with the house on the first day, we were all quite excited about the new experiences we were going to have in the following days. Building a house, however, is not easy. The different roles included mixing cement, carrying bricks and sand and laying the bricks. It took a lot of time at first due to lack of experience, but we were soon able to become adept at all the skills. Although many of us got blisters and muscle pains due to all the hard labor, we were all very proud of our work when we saw the happy faces of the family on the last day. Although we were not entirely finished, we did complete the exterior and interior walls, the house will be completed when the Habitat for Humanity lays the roof and will be done in about 2 months. Come support our next build by stopping by our booth during the Spring Festival. Jin Sun Park, Grade 10 Student
Grades 6-12+ Access: Library catalogue Online Resources MSHS
Grades 3-12 Access: Library catalogue
Anywhere, anytime: No special reader app or hardware needed Access Links on Library catalogue: By using the library catalogue, students can locate books appropriate to their age level, Books with a Reading level: Academic, are intended for students Grades 11+ Unlimited Simultaneous use
Reading Your eBooks: Using Follett Enlight™ Reader, students can read their favorite ebooks anywhere - whether they're using the computers at school or reading on their iPad at home. The Follett Enlight Reader also gives students the ability to take notes and add bookmarks in the eBooks they're reading. This eBook also supports:
Listen: Allows you to listen to the article being read aloud while you are viewing it in text view. Articles may also be downloaded in MP3 format.
Limited Copy/Paste
Bookmark: Allows you to save and share links to specific pages in the GVRL database including search results, individual articles or a list of saved articles.
Highlighting & Note taking
Download PDF: Allows you to download or email a PDF of an article or part of an article.
Limited Printing
Translation: The content of the database may be translated to multiple languages. The translations are machine translations and so are not guaranteed to be as accurate as human translation.
Searching
Dictionary
Text-to-Speech (Computer Only)
Citation: Generates a citation in either MLA format, which you can then save or export Dictionary: Allows you to search for definitions in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Please note: While Gale strives to replicate content, some content may not be available due to rights restrictions.
The Follett Enlight Reader allows for online or offline reading on computers (Adobe Flash plug-in required), smartphones, iPad iOS 4.0+ and Android 3.0+ tablets.
Grades D-4 Access: Online Resources ES TumbleBooks are animated, talking Fiction and Nonfiction books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they'll love. Includes title related puzzles, games and videos! For mobile users (iPad, iPhone and Android) or any device that does not support Flash, you will automatically be redirect to the "iPad& Mobile Device" site when you log in. if you are not automatically redirected, simply choose "Mobile" from the drop down menu at the top right corner and click "Go". All content is streamed, not downloaded, so it never takes up space!
If you need any assistance, please email Julie Conroy eslibrarian@unishanoi.org or Joyce Miller mshslibrarian@unishanoi.org
Full day sessions will be offered for ECC,
Elementary, Middle School Students Half and full day session will be offered
for High School Students Programmes offered will include a
balance of activities including Sports, Math, English, Arts, Science and time in the Pool! Enrollment will initially be restricted to current UNIS Hanoi students and spaces will be limited so make plans to attend now and check back in to the Tin Tuc for the registration date. Come Join Us for a Great Start to Your Summer! Jason Caruana, Summer Programme Principal summerprogram@unishanoi.org
Click HERE for sneak peek of the available items. “Buy it Now� option also available - must pay on the spot. Business office can receive payments for winning bids until March 21st
We have seen many cases of fever/headaches, colds and gastroenteritis, ranging from nausea to vomiting and diarrhea in the last week. The School Health Centre is trying to limit the risk of cross infection between students across all levels.
Wash hands frequently!!! Keep nails short
Washing hands is the number one defense against infectious diseases. Get plenty of rest.
We are asking for your help and therefore request that your children remain at home for at least 24 hours after having a fever (38.0 or higher) and or, vomiting or diarrhea. Please do not send your children to school if they have been vomiting all night, had diarrhea the previous day and morning of school and have had a fever.
Eat a balanced diet. If you have vomiting/diarrhea, drink small
amounts of fluids frequently in order to stay hydrated. If concerned, consult a Doctor.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s health, please do not hesitate in contacting the School Health Centre nurse@unishanoi.org
1
Long Sleeve T-shirt 4 - 14
130000
110,000
2
Long Sleeve T-shirt S - XL
150000
120,000
3
Long Sleeve Polo Shirt - 4 - 14
120000
100,000
4
Long Sleeve Polo Shirt - S - Xl
140000
110,000
5
Sweat Hoodie W/o Zipper 4 - 14
210000
170,000
6
Sweat Hoodie W/o Zipper S - XL
250000
200,000
7
Sweat Hoodie With Zipper 4 -14
280000
220,000
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Sweat Hoodie With Zipper S - XL
330000
260,000
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Track suit top
200000
160,000
10 Track suit pants
120000
100,000
11 Track suit set
300000
240,000
12 Microfleece Vest 4 - 14
130000
100,000
13 Microfleece Vest S - XL
150000
120,000
14 Sweat Pants 4 - 14
130000
100,000
15 Sweat Pants S - XL
150000
120,000