tintuc@unishanoi.org UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter
Volume 21, Edition 37, Friday 5 June
NEXT WEEK MONDAY, 8 JUNE MS Leavers Assembly, 12:30-13:30, Theatre TUESDAY, 9 JUNE SCO Faculty and Staff Appreciation Breakfast, 7:00-9:00, Centre for the Arts Foyer Grade 5 Moving Up Ceremony, 9:00-11:00, Theatre Grades 1,3,4 Class Parent Lunch, 11:20-12:00 Grade 5 Pizza Lunch, 12:20-13:45 Board of Directors Meeting, 17:30-20:00, Community Room
THURSDAY, 11 JUNE ABRSM Music Exams, 11-13 June HS Leavers Assembly, 10:00-11:00 All School Assembly, 11:15-11:40, Sports Centre Early Dismissal, 11:30 FRIDAY, 12 JUNE UNIS Hanoi Summer Break, 12 June - 18 August Last day of work for Faculty
WEDNESDAY, 10 JUNE Discovery Class Parents Lunch, 11:00-12:00 Grade 2 Class Parents Lunch, 11:20-12:00 K1,K2 Class Parents Lunch, 12:00-12:30 Middle School Day, 12:00-14:30 ES Leavers Assembly, 13:15-14:15, Sports Centre
IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights... Notes from the Head of School (p.2)
MS Sports Awards (p.7)
Congratulations Class of 2015 (p.3-4)
UNIS Hanoi Swim Gala (p.8)
ECC Home Language Time (p.5) Library News (p.6)
Job Opportunities (p.8) School Health Centre News (p.9)
As we head into our last week of the school year, I wanted to give everyone an idea of projects planned for the summer and what returning students and families can expect next year. Over the summer, there will be major renovations going on as we work to maintain and enhance our 11 year old facilities. There will be significant repainting, repair, refinishing, polishing, and cleaning both internally and externally. There will be new and improved flooring and lighting in various classrooms throughout the school. Plus due to moisture damage, the Sports Centre Floor will be replaced with a new floor. We are adding several new spaces to accommodate the new Mandarin programme and growth in tech support and administration. We are rewiring our public address system to insure that all 227 speakers are functioning effectively. The swimming pool will be drained once the summer programme is finished for cleaning and repairs. So you can see that there will be plenty going on over the summer and we hope you will notice a difference when you return in August.
finalize the design, determine costs and then make decisions about what we will work on first. Work will commence during the second half of the school year next year on aspects of the project that will not impact day to day learning. Part of the work next year will also be to finally install the new ES Playground. This has been in the plans and promised for several years but we have had a series of events occur which have delayed the progress. We regret that this has happened and we recommit to having a new ES Playground before the end of next school year as part of our Campus Development. So we look forward to all of the improvements for the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year and can also anticipate even more positive changes during the school year next year. Respectfully, Dr. Barder hos@unishanoi.org
During the year next year, we will be commencing with our Phase 3 Campus Development project. The first part of the year will be spent with architects and engineers to
The Board of Directors at UNIS Hanoi are all volunteers and we depend upon other members of the community to volunteer their time and talents for the benefit of the School. There are many ways you can help the school. The following are some examples: Class parent representative , School Community Organisation (SCO) position, Provide homestay accommodation for visiting sports
teams, Helping to orient new families at the start of the school
year Serving on the Board or one of its committee or task
forces.
The Board invites you to consider volunteering to serve on a Board committee or taskforce next year. We will follow up with candidates in August. To find out more about the work of this year’s committee and taskforces, click here. For more information, please contact the Board Assistant, Maeve O’Donovan, at boardassistant@unishanoi.org. Best regards, Nguyen Van Hieu, Board Chair
Photos by NOI Pictures
Photos by NOI Pictures
What an entertaining final Home Language Time session we had in the ECC this week! Twelve groups entertained us with their songs, stories and action songs. Thank you to all the parents who volunteered this year to read to our ECC students in their home languages every week. The students have loved it and it's wonderful to see everyone working together towards establishing a strong home language. We hope to have as many committed volunteers again next year. A big thank you to Ms Phuong in the ECC office for her help in ensuring our programme runs smoothly.
All books were due in the Library a few days ago, unless you have permission from a librarian to borrow items over the summer. We are preparing bills for items not returned; unpaid bills will delay report cards and other school records. Thank you to everyone who has returned all library books. We know that it is sometimes hard to part with books you've enjoyed, but thank you for helping us share the school's resources with everyone.
There are many studies that show that students lose ground in their education over the long holiday. "It is estimated that school summer breaks will cause the average student to lose up to one month of instruction, ..."(Cooper*, 1996). Other studies make clear that reading, especially reading for pleasure, can halt this "summer slide." We hope that all UNIS Hanoi families provide reading materials of all kinds as well as many opportunities for reading and talking about reading. There are several lists of good books in the UNIS Hanoi library catalogue, as well as online. Stop by the library to ask for suggestions, or speak to one of your student's teachers about what to read. We will look forward to hearing about your reading adventures when you return in August. We are always glad to get recommendations of books to add to our collection, and we especially love to get donations of good books in all languages. Happy reading! Julie Conroy, ES/ECC Librarian, Deborah Wells-Clinton, MSHS Librarian
All items will be displayed outside the Elementary School office from Monday next week. Any items left over on Friday will be donated to one of the UNIS Hanoi charities.
* Cooper, H., Nye B., Linsey J., et al. (1996). "The Effects of Summer Vacation on Achievement Test Scores: A Narrative and Meta-Analytic Review [ERIC]." Review of Educational Research, no. 66, 227-268.
This past week, UNIS Hanoi student-athletes, their coaches and parents attended the year-end MS Sports Awards Ceremony. The event was a wonderful opportunity to recall the highlights of what has been another successful year of UNIS Hanoi sports. Our programme continues to evolve and improve each year. As we highlight the wonderful opportunities from this year, we also look to a bright future for Phoenix Sports. During the Awards Ceremony, each coach presented “Coaches’ Choice Awards” to members of their team who they felt were worthy of special recognition. In some cases athletes were identified as being the Most Valuable or perhaps the Most Improved, but the final criteria for the selection of the award was left to individual coaches. The following athletes were presented with medals by their coaches:
Girls Soccer – Ela Kalra, Uyen Trinh, Katherine Taylor, So Eun An Boys Soccer – Ren Yanagawa, Daniel Rijpma, Yang Junsuk, Tri Vu Kieu Two student-athletes were selected as the UNIS Hanoi Middle School Athletes of the Year. In order to be considered for this award, candidates were required to meet the following criteria: 1. Participation on at least 2 MRISA Travel Teams 2. Exemplify the qualities of sportsmanship and leadership 3. Maintain academic eligibility 4. Demonstrate a high level of skill and athleticism
Middle School Girl – Uyen Trinh
Girls Volleyball – Elisa Dini, Ela Kaira, Thanh Le, Yuki Kusumi, So Eun, Naia Freeman
Middle School Boys – Austin Griffin
Boys Volleyball – William Van Simson Dijkhuiz, Kevin Gibney, Richard Dang, Shishir Paudel, Jun Sik Yoon, Mac Dang Nguyen.
Congratulations to all of our middle school studentathletes on their accomplishments while representing UNIS Hanoi in the competitive sports arena this year.
Girls Swimming – Adelaide Charlier, Toko Kanetaka Boys Swimming – Roope Makela, Jacob Gee Girls Basketball – Uyen Trinh, Khushi Kapoor, Ziya Griffin, Shin Young Kim Boys Basketball – Ruben Maroviet, Melih Hamalosmanoglu, Jeremy Smith, Do Gyun Kim
The Activities Team would like to express our gratitude to all members of the community who supported our program and made this year a success. Have a great summer.
Last Saturday UNIS Hanoi hosted the 2nd Annual Hanoi Swim Gala. Over 200 swimmers from 10 Hanoi teams braved the extreme heat to race. Once again UNIS Hanoi swimmers dominated this ‘friendly’ meet with over 100 personal best times, countless ribbons and smiles. UNIS Hanoi swimmers broke 4 more team records to close out a highly successful year. Grace Cenere broke the 11+12 Girls 200 free record, both Bill Nguyen and Duc Hoai Le broke the 9+10 Boys 50 free record with Bill edging out Duc to be the record holder. Bill also broke the 9+10 Boys 100IM record. Closing it out, Roope Makela broke his own 13+14 Boys 200 Free record. Congratulations record breakers!! Medals were awarded to the 3 swimmers of each gender in each age group with the most points. Congratulations go to first place swimmers: Nghia Le, U Jeong Hwang, Bill Nguyen, Kim Doan, Omaya Munro, Tat Anh Trinh, Uyen Trinh, Roope Makela, Nikki Erken and Andy Cole. Second place swimmers: Uy Doan, Hannah Goldberg, Duc Trinh, Tara Erken, Vicente Valdes, Adelaide Charlier, Luke Harris and Nils Jaranovs. Third place winners were: Soo Hyuk Choi, Duc Le, Grace Cenere, Rasmus Makela, Hanako Hieda and Joya Tabe. Thanks to all the parents who volunteered to work at the meet. We could not have done it without your contributions! Thanks also to HIWC for donating the lovely pink fans! Thanks to the MS Swim Ambassadors. Special thanks to Mr. Healy, Coach Ella, the Operations Team, Lan An from the UNIS Health Centre, Coach Cat, Coach Hiep and Coach Thuy for organizing the officials. We have lots of exciting plans for next year and we’ll keep you posted! Onward and upward! Have a great summer!
4. Part-time (40%) IB MYP and DP Mathematics Teacher - Grades 9 and 11 UNIS Hanoi is inviting applications for the following vacancies:
5. Part-time (40%) IB MYP Music Teacher (semester two)
1. Database Assistant 1. Part-time (40%) IB MYP English “B” Teacher 2. Part-time (40%) IB MYP Music Teacher - Specialization in Orchestra/Strings 3. Part-time (40%) IB MYP Mathematics Teacher - Grade 8
To view more information about these openings at UNIS Hanoi, and to apply online, please visit our website at www.unishanoi.org/jobs
Once again, another school year is about to end. There are several important reminders that the School Health Centre would like to bring to everyone’s attention: Please check your email from this week. A medical pack was sent to all returning students who need to update their medical record. The email may have gone to your spam or junk folder, please check that you did receive them. UNIS Hanoi requires all returning students to have a physical examination by a doctor and a new Medical Form completed every third year. This must be submitted before starting school in the 2015-2016 academic year. Students should have regular medical check-ups to ensure they are growing properly, there are no new health concerns and that they are up-to-date with immunizations.
Please review the mandatory immunizations and ensure your child’s record is fully updated. Students with Asthma or Allergy are required to have either an Asthma Plan or an Allergy Action Plan completed and provided to the School Health Centre. It is also important that emergency contact information is up to date. Parents can update their information on ISIS Family online portal. Make sure you give us several phone numbers to reach you in case your child gets sick or has an accident. It is absolutely essential that we be able to contact you at all times and for you to update us during the year of any phone number changes. If you have any questions, please contact the SHC. Wishing you all a wonderful summer holiday!! School Health Centre
Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS) is a viral respiratory illness that is new to humans. It was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has since spread to several other countries, including the United States. Most people infected with MERS-CoV developed severe acute respiratory illness, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Many of them have died. Recently, a growing cluster of cases in South Korea, and a single case who travelled into China have sparked widespread public health actions. However at this time, there is no indication that the virus is spreading to the general community or that it has reached Vietnam. All confirmed case so far are linked to direct contact with the "index" case, or with cases who were infected by him. There is no change to the travel advice. International SOS is monitoring the situation closely. CDC routinely advises that people help protect themselves from respiratory illnesses by taking everyday preventive actions:
seconds, and help young children do the same. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you
cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the trash. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with
unwashed hands. Avoid personal contact, such as kissing, or sharing cups
or eating utensils, with sick people. Keep some distance from people who are coughing,
sneezing or appear sick. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and
objects, such as doorknobs. Anyone who develops a fever and respiratory symptoms (such as cough) which are more than mild should seek medical attention and mention their travel history, especially if they have recently been to the Middle East. For more on MERS-CoV, read http://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/mers/about/index.html For the latest information and travel advice see: International SOS Pandemic Preparedness website School Health Centre