tintuc@unishanoi.org UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter
Volume 21, Edition 38, Friday 11 June
SUMMER BREAK
COMING BACK?
12 June - 18 August
TUESDAY, 4 AUGUST New Faculty Orientation, 4-11 August WEDNESDAY, 12 AUGUST Professional Development Days for Faculty & Staff, 1217 August TUESDAY, 18 AUGUST New Families Orientation and Welcome BBQ WEDNESDAY, 19 AUGUST First Day of School 2015-2016
IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights... Notes from the Head of School and the Board of Directors (p.2-3) Notes from the Elementary andMiddle and High School Principals (p.4-5)
Grade 8 Art (p.7) MSHS Uniform Requirements for 2015-2016 (p.8) SCO Constitutional Amendments (p.8)
Notes from the Admissions Office (p.5)
Break Poverty Bike Donation (p.9)
Goodbye (p.6)
School Health Centre Reminder (p.10)
Job Opportunities (p.9)
As we end the year, I wanted to mention two slight revisions to our Master Calendar for the 2015-2016 School year.
The Hung King Holiday falls on 16 April 2016 which is a Saturday. In recognition of this national holiday, we chose to close school on Friday, 15 April. Since then, it has come to our attention that when a holiday falls on a weekend, the government usually declares the national holiday on the next working day after the holiday. In this case that would Monday, 18 April 2016. Knowing that people make their travel plans for holidays early, we have decided to officially change our master calendar. On Friday, 15 April 2016, we will have school as normal. And we will celebrate the Hung King holiday on Monday, 18 April.
The Vietnamese Victory Day Anniversary, 30 April 2016, falls on a Saturday. The International Labor Day, 01 May 2016, falls on a Sunday. In recognition of these holidays, we chose to close school on Friday, 29 April and Monday, 02 May. Once again we have reviewed these holidays in light of the government’s usual way of handling public holidays that fall on a weekend, and we have decided to officially change our master calendar for this situation as well. On Friday, 29 April 2016, we will have school as normal. And we will celebrate Vietnamese Victory Day and International Labor Day on Monday, 02 May and Tuesday, 03 May. You can find the newly revised UNIS Hanoi Master Calendar for 2015-2016 here . We will re-announce this revision at the beginning of next year as well. We apologize for having to revise things but believe it is in everyone’s best interests to make these changes.
This has been another outstanding year filled with numerous learning experiences for all of us in the UNIS Hanoi community. I would like to take this opportunity to extend to everyone my sincere appreciation for all of your help and support on behalf of our students. To the families who are leaving our school, I send to you my best wishes for a successful transition to the new school and location. Change is never easy or straightforward but we hope we have prepared you well for you to land safely in your next location and have a successful transition to the new school and community. And remember that you will always be considered a part of UNIS Hanoi and are welcome to come back and visit anytime. All of you including students and parents are now officially alumni and will be included in future communication from our Advancement Office. For those returning for next year, I hope you have a wonderful vacation and I look forward to seeing you on the first day of school on Wednesday, 19 August 2015. In addition to all the wonderful enhancements, additions, and changes I mentioned last week, we hope to do an even better job regarding air quality monitoring and upgrade of air handling in classrooms. We plan to have our own professional air quality monitoring system on campus and therefore the AQI will be much more reliable and localized to reflect the quality of the air on campus. The same action protocols will be in effect regarding the different levels. The difference will be that the AQI reading will in fact be taken on campus and not several kilometers away on the top of a building. The other enhancement is that we are adding air purification systems next year. Each classroom will be fitted with an air purification machine that will filter out contaminants and other particles. We look forward to these enhancements as we work to provide a safe environment for our students while on campus. Finally, I want to once again thank our faculty and staff for a job well done this year. Our facilities are wonderful and our school is well-resourced, but at the end of the day, it is our personnel who work so hard to deliver the programme. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to them on a job welldone. Respectfully, Dr. Barder hos@unishanoi.org
I am delighted to announce that the following officers were elected to the Board for the 2015-2016 school year; Board Chair: Mr Nguyen Van Hieu Vice Chair: Mr. Barry Knaggs Treasurer: Mr. Bob Hughes Secretary: Ms. Amie Pollack The 2015-2016 UNIS Hanoi school Board and officers assumed their duties following the board meeting on June 9. Board officers serve in that capacity for one year.
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 Strategic Management Plan 2010-2015 will be completed at the end of this school year. Throughout the last two years, the Strategic Management Plan Task Force has worked with faculty, administration, students, community members and outside consultants to define the new strategic path for UNIS Hanoi for the next five years. The Framework for Strategy 2020 which defines the goals, objectives and vision for UNIS Hanoi was approved at the June Board meeting. Details of the plan including metrics for success will be presented in detail during Quarter 1 2015 -2016.
Before we all head in different directions over the summer to meet up with family and friends, I would like to ask you to consider volunteering at the school next year.
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.
Thank you to the Board, Committee and Task Force members and everyone who contributed to making 2014-2015 another wonderful year. Safe travels and we look forward to seeing you on campus next year. Best regards, Nguyen Van Hieu, Board Chair
Dear ES Families It is with some sadness and nostalgia that I write my last TinTuc article for UNIS Hanoi as the Elementary School Principal. My three years here have flown by and now I find myself amongst the leavers making preparations for my move to Colorado to take up the Headship of the International School of Denver. Transition is never easy for anyone and it is always so important to prepare the way for your successor to make the change over as smooth as possible. With my two leadership team members Jan Humpleby (ES Deputy Principal) and PYP Coordinator Chris Frost also moving on to promoted posts this summer, (Jan to become ES principal at the International School of Tashkent and Chris returning to Tokyo International School to become ES Principal), we have been working extremely hard behind the scenes to make sure all is extra prepared and ready for the new school year and the incoming team. Ms Megan Brazil, the new ES Principal, and I have been in regular contact and she visited the school again very recently to meet with staff, students and parents to get things set up. She and her two incoming Deputy Principals are also in regular contact already and all are really looking forward to coming to lead the Elementary School onto the next stage of its developmental journey.
From my perspective I am proud to be handing on a fabulous team of dedicated teachers and support staff who have always gone the extra mile when needed and who never cease to put the children and their learning and wellbeing first. It is such a pleasure to have worked with the children and families here at UNIS Hanoi. My last school in Belgium was equally international in terms of the number of nationalities and languages spoken, but the unique aspect here has been the connection to the United Nations, a draw card for many educators as they seek to join the school. Trying to live out the UN principles, declared as part of our Mission Statement, and applying them to day-to -day life within the school is an added dimension that I will miss. I will, of course, continue to watch the growth and development from afar with great interest and a real sense of connection to the community. I will take this final opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy summer and my particular best wishes to those transitioning out of Hanoi to pastures new. Who knows where or when our paths may cross in the future in this very small world of ours. My thanks to all of you have made my stay in Vietnam very special. Warmest regards, Carole Denny
Dear MSHS Families, It seems that the saying, “Time goes by faster the old you get” is indeed true! What a whirlwind this year has been. As you can imagine, the MSHS is full of excitement as students have finished their academic requirements and are looking forward to a well-deserved break. I would like to give a special thank you to the student body for their maturity, hard work in the classroom and enthusiasm during the 2014/2015 school year The end of a school year is a time of great excitement. Exams are over, vacation looms, no homework deadlines to complete (At least for the next two months!) … life is good! But I do encourage everyone; students, teachers and parents to take a moment and look back over the past school year. Please focus on the positive in terms of achievement, relationships and opportunities but also do take a moment to reflect on what did not go as well as planned. It is important to learn from both success and adversity.
I am sure the entire UNIS Hanoi community will join me in thanking the following departing MSHS faculty members for their contributions to our school: Phil Sanchez (English), Melanie Sanchez (English), Kevin Johnston (Humanities), Lin Turley (Counseling), Brian Healy (PE), Susan Lepry (Science), Samantha Trebesch (Math), Jon Trebesch (Learning Support), Sibylle Harth (MYP Coordinator), Lindsay Reilly (Science), Christopher Gerdes (Humanities), Nicolaj Nielsen (Music), Ivo Jonker (Dutch) and Sara Petersson (Swedish). Our entire learning community appreciates the contributions you have made and wishes each of you the very best luck in the future. Before signing off for the year I would like to wish all the students and their families who will be leaving our school community every success in the future. Good luck! To everyone who will return to UNIS Hanoi please enjoy a wonderful break and I look forward to seeing you in August. Best regards and enjoy a well-deserved break! Pete Kennedy, MSHS Principal
If your family intends to withdraw during the school holiday, please confirm in writing by submitting an Admissions Withdrawal Form. You will be required to complete withdrawal procedures by returning all UNIS Hanoi property to school such as borrowed resources, parking permits and remitting payment of outstanding bills to the business office. Leaving documentation shall be issued to you from the Elementary or Middle and High School offices upon completion of withdrawal procedures. For assistance contact admissions@unishanoi.org or 37581551 extension 8217 / 8220 / 8732.
School might be out for summer, but remnants of our student body remain. Grade 8 art classes just finished a sculpture unit that required them to cast some or all of their body using tape. They were inspired by artist George Segal as they considered The Art of the Ordinary. Their final product was submitted as a photograph. Here are some of their images:
The Serve by Rohan Gowda
Hanging Around by Caitlin Guthrie
Super Hero by Eliza
In the Nurse's Office by Khanh Linh Duong
Making Music by Yeonsu, Jae Yoon, and Solmin
Adelaide Squared by Adelaide
Dear MSHS students and parents, For the 2015-2016 school year all MSHS students will be required to wear a UNIS Hanoi PE uniform consisting of:  UNIS Hanoi Light blue PE shirt (sleeveless, short sleeve
or long sleeve acceptable)  UNIS Hanoi PE shorts (unisex or girls shorts).
In winter, only UNIS Hanoi sweat suits, track suits or leggings may be worn in addition to a PE shirt. All acceptable items will be specifically labeled 'PE' on the price list and available in the School Shop starting from August 18, 2016. Please note, these changes are for MSHS students ONLY.
In 2009 the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) worked together with two consultants to proactively organize and structure the PTA. In this process, it was decided to change from the name of the PTA to a more inclusive name, the School Community Organisation (SCO) was created and along with it the SCO Constitution. When the Constitution was created in 2009, it was based on what they thought was best for the organisation. Since 2009, members of the SCO have made their best attempts to follow the Constitution which has proven to be a practical tool for the SCO Executive Committee and Committee Coordinators. However, for the past 2 years the SCO Executive Committee have been working on making updates to the constitution to reflect what has been tested and tried over the years with transparent, workable procedures and an effective system of checks and balances. At this time, we hope to have reached a structured yet flexible tool to guide any incoming committee members.
The reason for this requirement is to avoid confusion amongst students of what to wear to scheduled PE classes. Therefore we will create consistency through our PE programme. Should you have any questions regarding this change in policy, please contact the Head of MSHS PE, Mike Lakwijk, at mlakwijk@unishanoi.org and MSHS Principal, Pete Kennedy at mshsprincipal@unishanoi.org. We wish all UNIS Hanoi families a fantastic, healthy, balanced and active summer! The MSHS Physical and Health Education Department
According to the Constitution, amendments need to be made at the SCO AGM. A motion was made to move the vote for Constitutional Amendments to the first SCO General Meeting of the school year, as opposed to waiting until the 2016 AGM. This motion was endorsed by a unanimous vote in favor of moving the voting date to the first SCO General Meeting of the 2015-2016 school year. Both the Head of School and SCO Executive Committee have approved the Constitutional Amendments. Below are two links for the community to review the original and the amended versions of the SCO Constitution. It is hoped that this process reflects the original intent of the Constitution to allow for a period of public consultation before constitutional amendments are voted. SCO Constitution (May 2009 original version) SCO Constitution (June 2015 amended version) If you have any suggestions, questions or concerns please contact sco@unishanoi.org
They G5 Exhibition 'Poverty' Group would like to thank those who donated their bikes to the 'Break Poverty Bike Donation'. We delivered the bikes to HSVC on Monday morning and they will take them to a village where children need bikes to get and continue attending school. As we learnt and many of you know it is education that really helps break the poverty cycle. They will let us know who received the bikes over summer. Thanks again. Ananya, Bill, Ben and Ms Tracy
3. Part-time (40%) IB MYP and DP Mathematics Teacher - Grades 9 and 11 UNIS Hanoi is inviting applications for the following vacancies:
4. Part-time (40%) IB MYP Music Teacher (semester two)
1. Database Assistant 1. Part-time (40%) IB MYP Music Teacher - Specialization in Orchestra/Strings 2. 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
The 2014-2015 academic year has passed very quickly. The School Health Center Nurse Team would like to wish everyone a very happy, safe and healthy summer and all the best to those of you departing UNIS Hanoi. We would like to say a very special good bye and thank you to Nurse Kelly Havlin who will be leaving UNIS Hanoi. Your hard work and dedication to the students, families and staff of UNIS Hanoi will be missed by all of us. You have truly made a difference to the physical and emotional health of many students -- you will always be remembered for the nurturing and caring you’ve given them.
All returning students who have not submitted a
Medical Report in the past 3 years must submit an updated report, completed and signed by a licensed Medical Doctor. A medical pack was sent through email to all returning students who need to update their medical records. Students with Asthma or Allergy are required to have an
Asthma Plan or an Allergy Action Plan completed and provided to the School Health Centre.
Please review the mandatory immunizations and ensure
that student record is fully updated. Update the SHC next school year with any changes to
your child’s medical status, to include new medications to be taken, allergies, vaccines received over the summer. Update emergency contacts and family phone numbers
if these have changed. Have twice yearly dental visits for teeth cleaning. Seek eye/vision exam for your child if you notice he/
she has any difficulty seeing and/or having persistent headaches. Refill prescription medications: Ensure that the validity
dates for inhalers, Epipens and oral medications cover the next school year 2015-16. In case meds expire before June 2016, make sure new ones are available for the remainder of the school year. See you all in August -- from the SCHOOL HEALTH CENTRE NURSE TEAM!!