tintuc@unishanoi.org UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter
NEXT WEEK... MONDAY, 31 MARCH DP Art Graduating Exhibition, Centre for the Arts, 31 March - 11 April DP Art Exhibition Evening, 18:00-20:00, Centre for the Arts TUESDAY, 1 APRIL Tuition Deposit for 14-15 Deadline Grade 2 Fieldtrip, 8:30-11:30 Meet the Artists, Centre for the Arts, 14:15-15:15 THURSDAY, 3 APRIL MRISA Senior Soccer Tournament @ VIS, Laos 3-6 April 5MS Parent Concert, Theatre, 13:15-13:50 4BM Parent Concert, Theatre, 14:50-15:20 MS Volleyball vs HIS @ UNIS Hanoi, 16:00-17:30 MSHS Parent forum with the Principal and Deputy Principal, 18:00-19:30 FRIDAY, 4 APRIL Quarter 3 Ends
Volume 20, Edition 27, Friday 28 March
COMING SOON... MONDAY, 7 APRIL Quarter 4 Starts TUESDAY, 8 APRIL School Photo Day (new students only), Community Room MS Athletics Day Advancement Committee Meet, 8:15-9:30, Conference Rm Grade 4 Field Trip, 8:30-11:30 Grade 3 Field Trip, 12:00-15:00 MS Volleyball Game vs. Concordia, 16:00-17:15, UNIS WEDNESDAY, 9 APRIL Hung King Day - National Holiday, School & Campus close APAC Girls Soccer, Shanghai, China, 9-13 April APAC Boys Soccer, Hong Kong, 9-13 April THURSDAY, 10 APRIL IB DP Art Exam, 10-11 April Grade 4 Field Trip, 8:30-10:30 Grade 3 Field Trip, 9:30-11:30 5DL Parent Concert, Theatre, 13:15-13:50 4MK Parent Concert, Theatre, 14:50-15:20
IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights... Notes from the Head of School and the Board of Directors (p.2) Notes from Admissions Office (p.2) Notes from Elementary Principal (p.3)
DP Art Exhibition. Don’t miss out! (p.9) Kaleidoscope of Culture. Buy your tickets NOW! (p.10)
Grades 4-5 Swim Meet (p.4) MS Athletics Day. Save the date!(p.5) Phoenix Cup HS Soccer (p.6-7) MRISA Senior Soccer. Coming soon! (p.8)
Summer Programme registration opens (p.11) Protect your brain! (p.12) Service Learning news (p.13-14)
We are already planning for next school year and one important piece of data is the number of students returning. Of course we hope everyone is returning but we know that is not realistic. Invoices for deposits have been issued to all parents by the business office and the deadline to make the deposit is 1 April which is next Tuesday. We of course have many student applicants waiting to get in so in case you have not taken care of this already, please do so by next Tuesday. Without the deposit from you, we cannot guarantee a place for next school year.
again have some talented Grade 12 students who have been working hard on their portfolio for the last two years. Come and see their work and listen to them talk about their journey as they developed their exhibition. Respectfully, Dr. Barder, Head of School, hos@unishanoi.org
Welcome to UNIS Hanoi
We hope you will be able to stop by the IB Art Exhibition next week in the foyer of the Centre for the Arts. We once
On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to announce the results of the Board 2014 Parent Election. Current parent elected Board member and Treasurer to the Board, Nguyen Van Hieu, was uncontested in the election. Therefore, there is no need for a formal vote. In accordance with the Election and Appointment of Directors to the Board as outlined in the Board Operating Regulations , Hieu’s second term as parent elected board member to the Board will be made official pending ratification, in writing, by the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Hanoi. For your interest and information, please see below Hieu’s profile and personal statement. Best regards, Sarah Garner, Board Chair
Name: Nguyen Van Hieu Nationality: Australian Grade of children: Son - Grade 4 & Daughter – Grade 2 Length of time expect in Hanoi: Long Term Resident
Personal Statement: I first arrived to Hanoi in 1995 to help set up Oracle Vietnam, where I eventually became its Managing Director. During this time, I also served as a Board of Governor member for AMCHAM and its Chair for the IT & Telecommunications committee. In 2002, I moved to Singapore via a promotion to a regional position at Oracle Corporation. However, Hanoi was not yet out of my system and I returned in 2007 as an independent entrepreneur. I feel very fortunate that our children have the opportunity to go to UNIS Hanoi. I’m grateful and indebted to those who came before us and helped build the school to what it is today. I’m committed to honoring this debt and I am dedicated to continually making UNIS Hanoi an even better school. I believe my background, experience and commitment will enable me to be an effective board member and I welcome the opportunity to serve and contribute for all our children’s future. Education: Bachelor of Engineering – Electrical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Australia.
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.
We held our third ES Parent Principal Forum of the year in the evening of Monday 17 March. Whilst only a handful of parents were able to attend, we enjoyed some great discussions about Student Led Conferences and End of Year reporting as well as ES/MS transition. The session was very informative on all sides and we love to get feedback from parents so we know how we can improve what we do for all our students and their families. Our concern is that we never get a very high turn-out for such events, whether it be a morning or evening session. We would love to hear some feedback about what we could do to make these sessions more useful and to have them better attended. Please use this link to read the meeting minutes which should give you a flavour of the discussion and questions from the evening. Warm regards, Carole Denny, esprincipal@unishanoi.org
Enjoy the “Happniess Project UNIS Hanoi� film created by Matthew Sutherland, Grade 5 Student for Happiness Day Celebration!
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This Saturday and Sunday (March 29-30) the UNIS Hanoi APAC boys and girls soccer teams will be hosting the 3rd Annual PHOENIX CUP Soccer Tournament. The tournament will involve 8 teams and will be played over 2 full days (see schedule next page). Our UNIS Hanoi APAC soccer teams play 11-aside soccer and this weekend will provide them with their final ‘tournament-like’ preparation prior to their APAC tournaments in April. This year the APAC Soccer Tournaments will have all 12 schools sending their girls teams to Shanghai American School – Pudong and all 12 boys’ teams competing at Hong Kong International School. The concept of having all 12 APAC schools at the same tournament is referred to as a “Super Tournament”. This happens only once every 3 years.
APAC Girls Soccer
This weekend in the PHOENIX CUP, the invited teams who will be joining UNIS Hanoi are:
FPT University Economic University Hanoi University of Science & Technology
Hanoi Professional Under-14 Boys Hanoi Professional Under-15 Boys Hanoi Professional Under-16 Boys Teams will play in a round-robin format, leading to Championship and Consolation matches on Sunday afternoon. The girls’ final is scheduled to start at 14:15, with the boys’ championship kicking-off at 16:45. We encourage the UNIS Hanoi community to come out and support their Phoenix teams! The weather promises to be good, as will the soccer. GO PHOENIX!!
APAC Boys Soccer
Hanoi Professional U14 Boys (HU14)
FPT University (FPT)
Hanoi Professional U15 Boys (HU15)
United Nations International School (UNIS)
Hanoi Professional U16 Boys (HU16)
Economic University (NEU Open)
United Nations International School (UNIS)
Hanoi University of Science & Tech (HUST)
Home Team Listed First #1
Boys
UNIS vs. HU14
08:00 Kick-off
#2
Boys
HU16 vs. HU15
09:15 Kick-off
#3
Girls
UNIS vs. FPT
10:30 Kick-off
#4
Girls
NEU Open vs. HUST
11:45 Kick-off
#5
Boys
HU16 vs. HU14
13:00 Kick-off
#6
Boys
HU15 vs. UNIS
14:15 Kick-off
#7
Girls
FPT vs. HUST
15:30 Kick-off
#8
Girls
NEU Open vs. UNIS
16:45 Kick-off
#9
Girls
UNIS vs. HUST
08:00 Kick-off
#10
Girls
NEU Open vs. FPT
09:15 Kick-off
#11
Boys
UNIS vs. HU16
10:30 Kick-off
#12
Boys
HU14 vs. HU15
11:45 Kick-off
#13 #14 #15 #16
Girls Consolation Final (3rd/4th) vs. Girls Championship Final vs. Boys Consolation Final (3rd/4th) vs. Boys Championship Final vs.
13:00 Kick-off 14:15 Kick-off 15:30 Kick-off 16:45 Kick-off
On April 4-5 Vientiane International School in Laos will be hosting the Mekong River International Schools Association (MIRSA) High School Boys and Girls Soccer Tournament. Sixteen teams, with a total of 160 players will compete over two days of 7-Aside soccer action. The UNIS Hanoi boys and girls teams will enter the event as the defending MRISA champions.
Girls – Salina Jamil, Lena Fiebrantz, Rosaria Batista, Freya Norton, Catherine Hoang, Afia Adu-Gyamfi, Maho Wakui, Kieu Man Tue, Na Yeon Lee and Ghiadaa Sarhan.
We wish our UNIS Hanoi teams the best of luck in the tournament!! Drink plenty of water and stay out of the sun, because it’s going to be HOT!!! This year the head coach of the UNIS Girls is Mr. Phi Nguyen and the boys are led by Mr. Mike McMillen.
You can follow what’s going on at the tournament by going to the following website :
Boys – Leshem Cohen, Aleksi Kulmala, Ujwal Kumar, Ki Hyun Lee, Steward Magau, Morgoun Nghiem, Khanh Pham, Casey Pulo, Hung Nguyen and Ju Youn Lee.
http://mrisasoccer14.weebly.com GO PHOENIX!!
MRISA Girls Soccer Team
MRISA Boys Soccer Team
The Inner Being & Outer Shell UNIS Hanoi DP Visual Art Graduating Exhibition Centre of the Arts Foyer Exhibition Opening: Monday 31 March 6pm Join the students as we celebrate the opening of the exhibition with snacks
Meet the Artists: Tuesday 1 April 2:15 - 3:15pm Exhibiting artists will be available to talk about their artwork and answer questions about Themes/ Techniques and Motivations behind their artworks. All UNIS Community/parents / classes invited
Exhibition Dates: Wednesday 26 March - extended to Friday 11 April 2014 Feel free to come and view the exhibition any other time during the time of the exhibition (school hours)
For more information contact DP Art Teacher Robert Natoli, MS/HS/DP Art Teacher rnatoli@unishanoi.org
GRADE 8 – 11 STUDENTS: Students select one morning session (8:30 – 11:30) and/
or one afternoon session (12:00-3:00) These programmes include a balance of FUN and EDUCATIONAL Activities.
ECC STUDENTS: ECC students will work with their own Coordinator and
assigned ECC Assistants The camp day will start and end at the same time as the
other age groups, but ECC students will have their own space Students will be working in groups throughout the camp
and participating in a variety of activities including arts and crafts, movement, free choice time, and sessions in the pool
Extended Essay Support (current Grade11 only) – get a
great start on your Extended Essay working toward the completion of a rough draft during the programme Writing Skills Development and Extension – develop
academic writing skills to use in high school and beyond Sports and Fitness – practice individual and team skills
along with personal fitness training Performing Arts – calling musicians and performers
wanting to work on skills and put a performance together Academic Reading Skills - get a head start on that
summer reading list while developing reading and comprehension skills
GRADE 1 – 7 STUDENTS: Students will be scheduled into age-group rotations Groups will be scheduled to rotate though two different
areas in the morning and afternoon including time in the pool Sports will aimed at fun and participation with games
and activities Performance will be a combination of movement and
music activities “Hands On” Science will be experiment and
investigation based Create will be creating arts and crafts “Math Games and Investigations” will build skills
$600 USD for the two-week full day programmes $325 USD for HS half-day programmes or one-
week of the full day programme Programmes include lunch and snacks. Bus transportation is available with an extra fee of $50 USD. Enrollment will be restricted to current UNIS students until April 18 and some programs will have limited places so make plans to attend now. To register for Summer Programme 2014 click here. If you are unable to access this link, please email summerprogram@unishanoi.org to receive the link directly.
and knowledge while having fun Digital will be working with technology in fun and
creative ways
Come Join Us for a Great Start to Your Summer! Jason Caruana, Summer Programme Principal summerprogram@unishanoi.org
Brains are so important – why are they not being protected? It is an interesting and somewhat concerning sight when coming and going from school at times. Transport on motorbikes and bicycles and even skateboards is popular and a great form of exercise for our UNIS community. However, when observing big and little UNIS students and staff without helmets, the alarm bells start to ring. Ice skating is also taking off in Hanoi as another popular exercise for big and little kids – but lets not forget our helmets! Ice is as hard as concrete and can do just as much damage. The Centre for Disease Control and John Hopkins Medical University, agree that the most common (and often most serious) injury sustained in bike and skates (inline or ice) exercise is head injury. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 11,000 road deaths were recorded last year in Vietnam with them having one of the world's highest rates per 100,000. The majority of accidents involve motorbikes. A single rule – Protect that Brain: Wear a helmet! – reduce the risk of head injury. Learn how to keep you, your big kids and little kids safe when riding a bike or wheeled vehicle as well as skates and skateboarding.
Safety Tips: • Make sure you and your child’s helmet is a safety approved helmet. Consider purchasing one when next on home leave if unable to purchase locally. • Make sure your child has the right size helmet and that he wears it every time when riding, skating, skateboarding or scooting. • Helmets should fit snugly, rest low and level on your forehead, just above your eyebrows. When you open your mouth to yawn, you should feel pressure on top of your head. • Always fasten the strap. The strap should form a “V” below your ears. • You should only be able to fit two fingers from your eyebrow to the brim of the helmet and two fingers under the chin strap. • Don’t wear a damaged helmet • Don’t buy a helmet that is too big for your child hoping they will, “grow into it”. It will not protect your child now. • Adults should set a good example for their children by wearing a helmet. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, wearing a helmet for big kids and little kids is the right thing to do. Parents it’s up to you to protect that brain – you and yours will only ever have one.
School Health Centre, nurse@unishanoi.org
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Dear Parents/Guardians It's been a busy time for Service Learning at UNIS Hanoi. A big thanks to all our Service groups who took part in the Spring Fair this year. It was wonderful this year to be able to welcome participants from the local community groups we work with, including teachers, students and parents from our partner school in Sin Chai, Sa Pa, and individuals representing minority groups from Ba Vi. A big thanks also goes to our KOTO partners who took part in our second annual Masterchef competition at the Spring Fair. Our HS Community Garden and Tree Nursery Service Learning group donated their first trees to Hanoi Academy (see separate article). Grade 10 students on their recent Grade Level Trip completed the work of the Helping Hands Service Learning group by painting and decorating the toilet facility at our partner school in Sin Chai, Sa Pa. The toilet facility was designed by UNIS Hanoi students and they raised money for the construction which took place last year.
The Mai Chau Middle School service group continued their work on a very exciting initiative to develop online collaboration between UNIS Hanoi and Cheing Chau Middle School in Mai Chau. As part of the process, Grade 7 students presented 12 Fujitsu tablet computers to the local school during the recent Grade 7 trip. These computers represent a long-term loan from UNIS. Our students did a great job of helping them learn the basics and the students from Chieng Chau School were amazed and excited. Thanks to Mr. Khanh from our Tech. Department for all of his work with the students and teachers at the school. It is going to be exciting to see what develops from this! Check out all the photos on our Service Learning Facebook Page
The UNIS Hanoi Tree Nursery Service Learning Group has been gathering seeds and growing young trees for the past two years. We currently have 20 varieties of mostly indigenous species, totaling about 175 young saplings, thriving in our nursery, beside the tennis courts. The purpose of our SL group is to grow trees to gift to schools and non-profit groups in Vietnam. Our first trees made their way to the Hanoi Academy just before trip week. A group of administrators, teachers and students greeted us and jumped in enthusiastically to plant three trees at the front of their school. Twenty more trees will be sent over in the next couple of weeks. We were happy to share this valuable resource with our neighbours and are currently looking for urban and rural Vietnamese schools that might not be able to afford to plant trees in on their grounds. Our group of high school students has inventoried our selection of trees and prepared a brochure of the species available. If you know of any school or community centers that might want trees, please contact David Buckner at dbuckner@unishanoi.org
Here is an excerpt from a recent blog that David wrote on the wisdom of trees:
Trees create shade, break up the drops of rain with their foliage, loosen and fertilize the soil so that the climate is ameliorated and the rain soaks into the earth. By their existence, they improve their environment and provide nourishment and clean air for their neighboring species. By the act of planting trees, we make a statement shared by an increasing group of activists around the world; people who make a difference by their work. But we also join a lot of common people who can see without being told the difference a tree can make. A tree is a powerful, and a wise, being with far more purity of purpose than most of us. The trees’ own plan for regeneration by seed and sucker, has unfortunately been so weakened that we must help to ensure there are enough of them to carry on their mandate in the world. Let’s give them a hand.