tintuc@unishanoi.org UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter School offices will be closed Tuesday, Thursday and Friday next week.
COMING SOON MONDAY, 4 MAY Real Madrid Football Clinic, 4-8 May IB Diploma Exams, 4-26 May TUESDAY, 5 MAY MAP testing Grades 6-8, 5-8 May Board Orientation Session, 7:00-9:00, Conference Room WEDNESDAY, 6 MAY Finance Committee Meeting, 7:00-8:30, Conference Room Advancement Committee Meeting, 12:00-14:00, Conference Room SMP 2015-2020 Task Force, 17:30-19:00, Conference Room THURSDAY, 7 MAY Community Breakfast with the Head of School, 8:009:30, Black Box Executive Committee Meeting, 12:00-13:30, Conference Room Grade 5 Unit of Inquiry Parent Information Session, 18:00-19:00, Community Room Grade 8 - 9 Parent Transition Night, 19:00- 20:00, Library
Volume 21, Edition 31, Friday 24 April SATURDAY, 9 MAY ES Global Codeathon, 14:00-17:00 Alumni Reunion in Seoul, 18:00-20:00, Coex Mall, 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu MONDAY, 11 MAY Discovery Exhibition, 11-14 May MAP Testing Grades 3-5, 11-14 May Grade 9 Parent Information Evening: Personal Project, 18:00-19:00, Black Box TUESDAY, 12 MAY ES Garage Sale, 15:30-16:30, B9 Courtyard Board of Directors Annual General Meeting, 19:0021:00, Black Box WEDNESDAY, 13 MAY Discovery Parent Performance, 9:00-10:30, Black Box FRIDAY, 15 MAY Grade 4-5 Swim Meet, 8:30-11:30, UNIS Hanoi Pool MSHS Parent Coffee with the Counselors (leaving families), 8:30-10:00, Community Room UNIS Music Academy Concert, 17:00– 19:00, Black Box and Theatre SATURDAY, 16 MAY Saturday Soccer Spring Tournament Robotics Kickoff, 9:00-16:00, Library and Sports Centre
FRIDAY, 8 MAY ISHCMC Invitational Swim Meet, 8-10 May
IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights... Notes from the Head of School and the Board of Directors (p.2) MAP Test Grades 3-8 (p.3) Robotics Kickoff (p.3) Global Codeathon. Coming soon! (p.4) Book in a bag project (p.5) K2 Recycling sale (p.5) Gr5 PYP Exhibition photo special (p.6) Grades 2-3 Swim Meet (p.7)
Grade 4 market day (p.7) HS Day (p.8) UMA Concert (p.9) APAC Soccer News (p.10-11) Summer Programme. Register NOW! (p.12) Service Learning News (p.13) Close the immunization gap (p.14) Job Opportunity (p.15) Celebration of life - Bach Quang Thai (p.16)
During the week following our Spring Break on Thursday, May 7 beginning at 08:15 in the Community Room, we will have the final “Breakfast with the Head of School”. We will be giving a short update on the Annual Climate Survey results, a summary of the CIS/WASC/IB Visiting Team report, and then we will be ready to answer any and all questions. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this meeting.
asked the vendor to remove the machine at the end of the school year. Also, for the duration of the school year, the machines are off limits during the school day. We will continue to explore other options to have in place for next school year. Best wishes for a relaxing and rejuvenating Spring Break. Respectfully, Dr. Barder hos@unishanoi.org
After a further review of the usage and concerns expressed regarding the vending machine near the Sports Centre, we have decided that we will have to come up with another alternative to help our hungry MS and HS students late in the afternoon. After several efforts to get it right, we have
If you have any specific questions you would like us to address, please send them in advance of the meeting to the Board Chair at boardofdirectors@unishanoi.org. You are warmly invited to attend the Board of Directors AGM on Tuesday May 12 in the Black Box, Centre for the Arts. There will be a reception from 6:30pm where you can meet and engage with Board members in an informal setting. Canapés, wine, beer and soft drinks will be available. The formal meeting will commence at 7pm. The agenda for the evening is the following: 1. UNIS Hanoi Board of Directors: Who we are and what we do. 2.Scholarships/Fundraising – What’s Next? 3. Breaking Ground. What’s in the plan for Campus Development? 4. Financial Update and Community Exercise, `How do we maintain our competitiveness? 5. Final Questions and Comments:
For those of you who would like to know more about teaching, learning and other operations of the School, I would also encourage you to attend Breakfast with the Head of School Thursday 7th May 8:15am where Dr Barder he will give an update on the School, talk about the Climate Survey and Accreditation Results and answer your questions. We look forward to you joining us for both of these events. Kind regards, Nguyen Van Hieu, Board Chair boardofdirectors@unishanoi.org
At UNIS Hanoi standardised testing is one way that we gather information to promote and inform student learning. A standardised test should allow students, teachers and parents to identify a student's strengths and areas of need in the different subject areas that are tested. At the schoolwide level the standardised test can help to identify areas of the curriculum that may need adapting. It will also help the school to determine how its students are performing in comparison to other students around the world and to evaluate the effectiveness of our programme. The school currently uses two different forms of standardised tests. One of these is the Measures of Academic Progress™ (MAP) which are computerized tests in Reading, Language usage, and Mathematics. The MAP test at UNIS Hanoi is done twice a year so that we can check for growth in students’ development of knowledge and understanding in the areas tested. Students in Grades 3-8 took part in the MAP test in September. The schedule for this semester is as follows: Grade 6-8 students: May 5 - 8, 2015
MAP tests are unique because they adapt to each student’s level. As students complete each test item the test alters direction, depending on whether the response is correct or incorrect. By the end, the test has focused in on the student’s level of ability, without ever becoming too difficult for them. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing. Please be aware that there is no additional preparation that students can do to prepare for these tests. It is helpful for students to have a good night’s sleep and a sufficient breakfast prior to testing. If your child is anxious you can help to alleviate their worries by talking, listening and reassuring. Encourage your child to simply do their best as he or she would do with any school assignment, test or project. Contact the homeroom teacher if you have a concern regarding your child’s reaction to the test. If you would like more information about the MAP test in general please contact Janet Field, the Director of Learning at dol@unishanoi.org
Grade 3-5 student: May 11–14, 2015
On May 16 we are happy to be hosting our first ever Robotics Kickoff. The Tech for All service learning group is collaborating with the Robotics ASA, the MS Geeksquad, Hanoi International School, St. Paul's International School, and 10 public Vietnamese middle schools in the Bac Tu Liem district to have a fun day of learning and friendly competition. In the morning from 9:00am-12pm, our students will be teaching their peers about how to solve various challenges with Lego Mindstorm robotics kits. In the afternoon from 1-4pm they will be building robots to compete with one another in races, mazes, and 'sumo' wrestling. We are also happy to welcome our friends at the FPT Technology Research Institute, who will be demonstrating the latest of their own robotics creations and helping judge the competitions. If you are interested in learning more about this event, or robotics at UNIS Hanoi, contact the MSHS Tech Coordinator, Paul Swanson, at pswanson@unishanoi.org.
Please DO NOT take your UNIS Library books with you! Our UNIS Hanoi Library books enjoy travelling from student homes to homes here in Hanoi. They do not like to leave the city. Please leave our precious UNIS Hanoi Library books at home. Thank you! Ms. Conroy, ES Librarian eslibrarian@unishanoi.org
Last year UNIS Hanoi hosted the first ever Global Codeathon. The Global Codeathon is a virtual coding conference where elementary students from around the world connect virtually with other coders through Scratch, a teleconference and a backchannel. Last year the event was a huge success, schools around the world from South Africa all the way to Switzerland were able to connect in real time. Beginning coders were introduced to the thrill of coding while more advanced coders got to improve their skills with fun challenges. One of the highlights of the day was when students realized that Dong Nguyen had judged and given them feedback on the optional Codeathon competition. Dong Nguyen, is the creator of Flappy Bird a wildly popular mobile game that was once IOS Apps store’s most downloaded game. The winner of last year’s optional competition, Eunsoo (Andy) Shin was motivated by the event to learn more about coding. He has gone on to develop his own apps, create his own company and has now released several apps, one of which is available on Mac update.
This year the Global Codeathon promises to be even better... The event has grown, on May 9, UNIS Hanoi will host four schools from Hanoi and lead out a conference that connects twenty different schools from around the world. Dong Nguyen will be at UNIS Hanoi to give a Keynote speech. He and his coworkers from Dot Gears will then stay to support students throughout the event. Dot Gears has also created an exclusive game for the Codeathon participants to work with. There will be professional coders offering backchannel support to participants worldwide. Andy Shin will be gifting the Codeathon participants with a free version of his latest App Clarvy Tunes. Even the creators of Scratch have taken notice of the event and plan to feature this years Global Codeathon in their blog. The Global Codeathon promises to be a fun and exciting chance for students to connect in a meaningful way, create something cool and inspire each other to make their next amazing idea come to life.
Students share their favourite book using a bag. Any paper bag (which can stand up) may be used. Students decorate the outside of the bag to represent the book and should include artifacts inside the bag to help tell the story. Book choice can be a work of fiction or nonfiction, a UNIS Hanoi library book or home book and may be in English or a home language. Please bring to Ms. Conroy in the Library AFTER SPRING BREAK with STUDENT’S NAME and
Our K2 students have become very knowledgeable about ways to Reduce Reuse and Recycle. They creatively turned junk and trash into robots, calendars, handmade paper, jewelry, and other treasures. On Monday they became confident, responsible shop keepers and sold their crafts at the annual K2 recycle sale. The money raised will be used to buy trees.
CLASS written on the bag. Should a book from home be used, please write the owner’s name inside the book. Book in a Bags shall be returned before the end of the year. THIS IS AN OPTIONAL HOME PROJECT Questions? Please email Ms. Conroy at eslibrarian@unishanoi.org
The Grade Five Exhibition ended in a spectacular climax this Thursday. The Exhibition is the pinnacle of an IB Primary Years Programme student's education and it takes place in every IB elementary school worldwide. It is a chance for the oldest elementary students of a PYP school to apply their learning and to undertake an eight week, collaborative inquiry. The project is driven by by the students' own, personal interests. This year those interests included: human rights, animal rights and the impact of technology on people's lives. The exhibition ended in a fantastic, celebration of learning which took place in the
Grade 5 PYP Exhibition. Photo by Tim Barnsley
Centre for the Arts. The students used multi media, the arts, data handling and languages to express their understandings in entertaining and creative ways. Members of the UNIS community who were lucky enough to attend were entertained by interactive games, documentary videos, songs and drama (to name a few). All of the presentations were designed, planned, created and performed by the students. To get a flavour of the excitement and rigour of the whole process from start to finish I urge you to click and watch this short video.
As a finale to the Price is Right unit of inquiry, the Grade 4 students hold a 'market place' event. Other students in ES were invited to help the Grade 4 students evaluate their products, advertising campaigns and basic economics knowledge in terms of value and profit. And everyone had a lot of fun with games and tasty snack for sale!
HS Day. Photo by Tim Barnsley
The Varsity Girls Soccer squad travelled to Beijing with the ambition of being competitive in every game and take each game to the opposition with a positive team attitude. Thursday morning arrived with all six teams gathering for the opening ceremony. There were fantastic performances from dancers, singers and gymnasts. Following this the tournament was officially opened by the Director of the school. The UNIS Hanoi girls faced tough opposition on day one. First it was Concordia International School. The UNIS Hanoi girls showed grit and determination in this game as Concordia had long periods of possession. The game finished 2-0 to Concordia but the players were satisfied with the performance.Game two was against Brent International School. After conceding goals before half time the girls knew that in the second half we would have to attack more to get back in the game. Brent won the game but UNIS Hanoi scored two showing the type of determination and attitude which the girls would need for the final two days of the tournament. Day two was a different prospect for UNIS Hanoi facing HKIS and the hosts WAB. The girls were filled with optimism going into the HKIS game and dominated in an impressive 3-1 win with an incredible hat-trick from Ly Ann Foster aided with assists from Saskia Brennen. WAB the hosts was a tight game with chances at both ends. The game somehow finished 1-0 in WABs favour. Day three began facing CA who did not concede a goal in the tournament over the first two days. Despite this the UNIS Hanoi girls were very competitive against a quality team. After going a goal down the team responded extremely positively and were rewarded with a goal in the final minute making the game a 1-1 draw. This result revived the team’s spirits and their hopes of securing 4th place in the league standings. For this to happen HKIS had to win against WAB but unfortunately the game finished a nail biting 2-2 which meant that UNIS tied for 4th but because of the tie-breaker system employed at APAC we dropped down to 5th, hence would play in the 5th and 6th playoff game. More twists and turns would follow in a fantastic playoff game between UNIS Hanoi and HKIS. In the first half UNIS Hanoi dominated possession with shots hitting the post twice. HKIS then scored twice in the second half on quick break aways. How would UNIS Hanoi respond? The answer, with a fighting, attacking spirit scoring two goals in
the last five minutes through Yoon Ju Gee and Ly Ann Foster, who slipped the ball past the HKIS keeper with only 30 seconds left on the clock. This meant the outcome of the game would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.. Special mention for Trami who bravely stepped up to take a penalty to make amends for a mistake during the game. The game was won in the 9th round of penalties by HKIS. Overall the tournament showed what the UNIS Hanoi girls are capable of. Every game was competitive and was never over until the final whistle. The continued improvement of UNIS Hanoi was commented on by all schools coaches and players. Thanks to the players who through their hard work have enabled this. Well done to the captains Jemima and Kim for their dedication throughout the season. Eoin Gibbons, Coach egibbons@unishanoi.org
The UNIS Hanoi boys team traveled to Kobe, Japan with confidence. Out of all the games played throughout the season only three were lost, and the last 10 games we were unbeaten including an impressive draw against the Hanoi Pro Club under 16 team. After the opening ceremony the team spent time with three elementary classes of the host school. All the students came up with great, funny and interesting questions and we even had to sign their hats, banners and flags. We felt like professional football players! But most of all we had a fantastic experience and a great start to kick off the tournament! APAC proved to be a different level of what we are used to and our boys were looking for their form and the right mindset during the first day. A 0-3 loss against HKIS and a 2-2 draw against BISM was below our standard and expectations. Highlight of the day was a magnificent goal by Hieu, who dribbled from our own half and managed to finish with a powerful left-footed shot. The second day we saw a fantastic UNIS Hanoi: united, willing to fight for every ball and convinced to gain good results. The third game was against WAB, the reigning champions and by far the best team of all APAC schools. We managed to be competitive for most of the game, with some great chances to score. The last ten minutes of the game we conceded two goals, losing 0-3. But we looked back at a positive display where we gained confidence to face CISS. This game was the first game we went 1-0 up; after a fantastic attack on the right it was KC who scored. CISS managed to get one back, but it was Toby who scored a fantastic goal which gave us the victory: 2-1! Saturday was the final day, and after a disappointing 1-2 loss against CA we could get revenge, as we faced the host school again for the 3rd/4th place play off game. We played very well, dominating the first half. Unfortunately we did not manage to score from several great chances. The second half was for the goalkeepers Matteu and Patrick to show their skills, as they both made some excellent saves. However, we conceded one goal and we had to accept the fourth place. All the boys were very disappointed, as they knew the third place trophy was so close! Overall we are looking back at a great season and we can’t wait to bounce back stronger and better next year!
The Varsity Boys team who represented UNIS Hanoi this school year consisted of the following players: Matteu Motyl, Patrick Healy, Simon McCarty, Hyun Deok Hwang, Thai Son Trinh, Leshem Cohen, Aleksi Kulmala, Pedro Montalban (captain), Hieu Nguyen (co-captain), Vikke-Elmeri Malinen, Sonwabise Pulo, Son Nguyen, Vedant Behera, Tobias Heneas, Phong Bui, Vusi Skhosana, Je Kyun Yu and Renato Restelli. Thanks for a fantastic season! Your proud coaches, Mike Lakwijk & Andy Dutton
On April 10, members of the Operation Healthy Heart: East Meets West Service Learning Group travelled to a little village to the north of Hanoi called Thôn Ấp Mới to visit a kid named Giang. Giang was provided with a heart operation by the OHH Service Learning group in February and has now happily rejoined school. It took the OHH team 3 hours to reach his village - there other villagers came and joined the team for an international feast and a game of football. We all had a lot of fun, and really enjoyed the experience of meeting Giang and his family and visiting his village. It amazed us, how simple the life of Giang was, yet how happy and wonderful he was, and how easy it was for him to have fun - he especially enjoyed our visit when we all went outside and had a nice play around with some footballs. It was a great experience. By Vicente Valdes (G06) and Max Knight (G08) We all shared a magnificent international banquet at Giang’s house…..
and later had a lot of fun as we goofed around with some soccer balls.
But 1 in 5 children is still missing out: in 2013, an estimated 21.8 million infants did not receive lifesaving vaccines. Inadequate supply of vaccines, lack of access to health services, a shortage of accurate information about immunization and insufficient political and financial support all play a part.
World Immunization Week 2015 will signal a renewed global, regional, and national effort to accelerate action to increase awareness and demand for immunization by communities, and improve vaccination delivery services. It aims to aims to strengthen routine immunization to meet vaccination coverage targets, accelerate control of vaccine-preventable diseases with polio eradication as the first milestone, introduce new and improved vaccines; and spur research and development for the next generation of vaccines and technologies. For parents, this week is a great time to review your child’s immunization record and ensure that they and yourself are up-to-date. For children, learn about your immunization status by discussing them at home and in school. The last week of April each year is World Immunization Week. It aims to raise public awareness of how immunization saves lives, encouraging people everywhere to vaccinate themselves and their children against deadly diseases.
Immunization is widely recognized as one of the most successful and cost-effective health interventions. It prevents between 2 and 3 million deaths every year and now protects children not only against diseases for which vaccines have been available for many years, such as diphtheria, tetanus, polio and measles, but also against diseases such as pneumonia and rotavirus diarrhoea, 2 of the biggest killers of children under 5. Now adolescents and adults can be protected against life-threatening diseases such as influenza, meningitis, and cancers (cervical and liver), thanks to new and sophisticated vaccines.
Both International SOS and Hanoi Family Medical Practice can provide your family with most vaccinations you may need. If you have questions regarding your child’s immunization status, please do not hesitate to contact the School Health Center. For more on World Immunization Week, see http:// www.who.int/campaigns/immunization-week/2015/ event/en/ School Health Centre
Wednesday, May 20 Time: 18.00 - 20.00 Location: Don's Bistro Rooftop (16 Quảng An Road, Tây Hồ) What would our school community be like without the love and support of our generous volunteers? We VALUE everyone who has given their time and talents to help the UNIS Hanoi community over the year. Your spirit of volunteerism makes our school community thrive and flourish.
There will be delicious food and drinks (wine, beer, cocktails, juice) for all to enjoy on behalf of the School Community Organisation and the Advancement Office as a final THANK YOU for all your help. Please register HERE before May 17th. Please keep in mind that this is an adult function and we kindly ask that you arrange childcare beforehand. Should you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact the Community Liaison Officer, Nathalie Grun at clo@unishanoi.org
To THANK our volunteers this year, we would like to invite everyone who has supported UNIS Hanoi with your time and talent to a VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION NIGHT!
Database Assistant - Starting within this school year To view more information about these openings at UNIS Hanoi, and to apply online, please visit our website at www.unishanoi.org/jobs
This week the UNIS Hanoi community joined together to celebrate the life of Bach Quang Thai with his family at a special memorial event. His many achievements were honoured and his inspirational story was told with contributions from faculty, staff, alumni and his own family. A short film about his life was edited from the VTV documentary that was made a couple of years ago about his tireless service and campaigning for others.
WATCH THE FILM A special edition of the student newspaper, The Flame, was also published this week in Mr Thai's honour (READ THE ARTICLE) and the Grade 5 Exhibition Film was also dedicated to Mr Thai. UNIS Hanoi plans to further honour his life and provide support for his children and these plans will be announced shortly for the community.