tintuc@unishanoi.org UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter
Volume 21, Edition 8, Friday 03 October
NEXT WEEK…
COMING SOON
MONDAY, 6 OCTOBER JV Girls Volleyball vs. Concordia, 16:00-17:00, Sports Centre University Visits, 6-9 October , Common Room
TUESDAY, 21 OCTOBER MS Boys Basketball vs. VAS, 16:00-17:30, Sports Centre Board of Directors Meeting, 17:30-20:00, Community Room
TUESDAY, 7 OCTOBER Grade 2 Trip, 8:45-13:00 Parent Co-Curricular Info Night, 18:30-19:30, Centre for the Arts
WEDNESDAY, 22 OCTOBER APAC Boys Volleyball Tournament, AISG, China APAC Girls Volleyball Tournament, HKIS, Hongkong APAC Tennis Tournament, CA, Japan Community Breakfast with the Head of School, 8:00-9:30, Community Room University Info Session, 12:40-13:20, Common Room Board of Directors Meeting - School Strategic Management Plan 2015-2020, 19:00-21:00
WEDNESDAY, 8 OCTOBER Board Advancement Committee Meeting, 12:00-14:00, Conference Room MS Swim Meet Varsity Boys Volleyball vs. Staff, 17:00-18:30, Sports Centre Board Campus Development Taskforce, 17:30-19:00, Conference Room THURSDAY, 9 OCTOBER MS Girls Basketball vs. St. Paul, 15:30-18:00, St. Paul School FRIDAY, 10 OCTOBER UN Day Celebration, 10:30-11:45, Sports Centre UN Day Community Lunch, 12:00-13:00 Early Dismissal, 13:00 Quarter 2 Tuition Deadline SATURDAY, 11 OCTOBER SAT Testing HS UNIS Hanoi Autumn Break, 11-19 October
THURSDAY, 23 OCTOBER UNIS Hanoi Invitational Swim Meet, 23-26 Oct, Board Finance Committee Meeting, 7:00-8:30, Conference Room ES Student Led Learning Journey, 8:30-15:30 MS Boys Basketball vs. Wellspring, 16:00-17:30, Sports Centre FRIDAY, 24 OCTOBER Quarter 1 Ends SATURDAY, 25 OCTOBER UNIS Hanoi Invitational MS Boys & Girls Basketball Tournament
IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights... Notes from the Head of School (p.2) Help us find the UNIS Hanoi 15-16 Scholars! (p.2) UN Day News (p.3-5)
University Visits (p.7) Book Sale. We want your books! (p.7) SCO Funding. Apply Now! (p.8)
Co-curricular Parent Info Night (p.5) Parent as PYP Partners (p.6) UNIS Hanoi Swim Meet (p.6)
Community Garden. Produce Sale (p.8) Job Opportunity (p.9) UNIS Hanoi Supports the future of Education in Vietnam (p.9)
I would like to once again extend a big thank you to those approximately 20 parents who attended the "Hors d'Ouevres with the HoS" on 24 September. You can see the report of the meeting including the questions and answers here.
I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible next Friday for our UN Day celebration. It promises to be another wonderful display of the spirit of our school and we highly encourage all parents to take some time out of their busy schedules to come to school for an hour or so to help celebrate our school and community.
The next session will be a "Breakfast with the HoS" and will take place starting 08:00 in the morning on Wednesday, 22 October in the Community Room in the Admin building (B7).
A special reminder that on UN Day, Friday, 10 October, students will be dismissed at 13:00 and all offices will close at 14:00 for the day. Offices will be open during normal business hours during the Autumn Break - 13-17 October.
This week we opened for applications for our Scholarship Programme for 2015-2016 and I would encourage you to spread the word within your Vietnamese friends and acquaintances to help those who can benefit most learn about this opportunity. Thank you for your support with this important school programme.
Respectfully, Dr. Chip Barder, hos@unishanoi.org
Ivan (Vanya) Kortunov , 3CH
Applications for the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship programme 2015-2016 intake opened this week. And this year, we aim to increase the number of scholarship places that we can offer through a new Scholarship Fund a powerful new community partnership aimed at transforming futures. The fundraising campaign will take place in January within the UNIS Hanoi community and full details will be available later this Autumn as we finalise the planning. The UNIS Hanoi Scholarship Programme gives the opportunity for Vietnamese students from low income families, who are excelling at their local Hanoi district school to enter UNIS Hanoi until graduation. Students may apply to the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship Programme for entry to Grade 8, Grade 9 or Grade 10. In all cases, the 100% Scholarship will be valid until graduation from UNIS Hanoi. The programme was launched in 2011-12 and we have welcomed six scholarship students to UNIS Hanoi in the last three academic years. Please help eligible students find out about this programme by spreading the word amongst your friends, colleagues and associates.
UNIS Hanoi is a well-connected community and we ask you to mobilize! In addition to the fees waiver, significant support will be available for the Scholarship Students to access English support, to be able to participate fully in the activities programme in MSHS and for transport to and from school.
Applications now open! Full eligibility criteria, the timeline for the selection process and application documents are available on UNIS Hanoi website in both ENGLISH and VIETNAMESE.
Deadline for applications is 31 December. All questions concerning the Scholarship Programme should be sent by email to scholarships@unishanoi.org
The Head of the United Nations International School of Hanoi, Dr. Charles Barder, invites all parents/ guardians of our students to attend our special
Our UN Day Ceremony is only one week away and we’re busy preparing for this wonderful celebration on Friday, October 10! The band is rehearsing, the choir is fine tuning their voices, the dancers are perfecting their moves AND a new and improved sound system is being installed in the Sports Centre! Invitations to ALL parents and guardians were sent by email last week… and we hope that you have marked this date in your calendars! Invitations to UN Agencies, Embassies and Government VIPs have also been sent out, including those to parents representing these organisations. (PLEASE NOTE: Parents are not able to bring external guests that are not family) The Assembly will start promptly at 10:30 am in the Sports Centre and we encourage ALL parents/guardians to attend this wonderful event which involves scores and scores of our children from all three divisions. Please plan to be in your seats by 10.20am as entrance doors close for the Flag Parade.
You and your children are welcomed and encouraged to wear something representing your “national” dress or clothes from a place where you have lived. With such a multicultural melting pot of nationalities represented, it is sometime difficult to identify with only one nationality, so we encourage the children to create or put together a costume that represents their own sense of identity. In the end, wear something you will feel comfortable wearing. Business dress is often preferred by parents and no one should feel any pressure to ‘dress up’.
Following the ceremony ALL parents/guardians are invited to join their children and the rest of the community for our wonderful ‘Potluck’ Lunch from 12:00 in the classroom areas (ES and MS) or Canteen for High School families. Every family will be asked to contribute food for the Community Lunch to ensure that we have enough to feed all the children and guests. You will receive more information in the coming weeks about how the lunch and food is organized from your Class Parent or Grade Level Parent liaison, but please read the detailed food preparation guidelines below and start planning! Any questions don’t hesitate to contact our Community Liaison Officer, Nathalie Grun: clo@unishanoi.org
UN Day Celebration, one of the biggest events at UNIS Hanoi, will be held on Friday, October 10. The culminating event for the day is the international community lunch which is enjoyed by students, staff and parents. It is truly international and fun! Our shared lunch is provided by parents and is an opportunity for you to showcase your cultural cuisine. Many parents bring in their favorite national dish or something that is popular in their home country. All parents, family members, faculty and staff are welcome and encouraged to attend the luncheon which will start at 12:00 noon. The Community Lunch is organised into grade level lunches and your homeroom class parents will take the lead on communicating the essential information to you. They will be asking for volunteers to help (especially with the clean up) and the more people to help the better! Please DROP OFF FOOD BEFORE 9.30am to the designated drop off spots listed below.
Prepare one plate of food to serve 10 people (servings)
per child. Prepare food that does not require refrigeration or need to be heated. Prepare food that can be easily served and can be eaten with fingers or forks — no soupy or runny dishes. Do not bring any food that contains nuts of any kind; no peanuts, cashews, walnuts, almonds, etc or peanut oil or nut products. Label the food with name and country of origin; decorate the plate/food with flags or ribbons (It’s nice to know where the food you are eating originates from!) List the ingredients of your food for dietary restrictions and allergies (please see the sample below). If you bring food on a serving plate, please collect it after
Example of Food Label:
the lunch is finished so it is not misplaced. It is recommended to clearly mark it with your child’s name and homeroom. Many people made a disposable serving container using a small cardboard container lined with foil which is then decorated to serve their food. If your dish requires a serving spoon or fork, please provide. More appetizers and main courses are required than desserts. UNIS Hanoi will provide: plates, napkins, cups, and forks. Children are encouraged to use their water bottles and parents are welcome to bring their own non-alcoholic drinks (in addition to a cultural dish). Water will be available for everyone. If you have any questions regarding the UN Day Community Lunch, please contact our Community Liaison Officer, Nathalie Grun: clo@unishanoi.org
Our UN Day Celebration is a super photogenic event; we all want photos of our kids proudly representing their nationalities at the Parade of Flags or a video recording of the choir singing…but PLEASE be aware of photo etiquette. Don’t be THAT PERSON who is blocking the view of everyone behind you because you are watching the ceremony on your iPad! (you know who you are…) We understand, in this age of easy digital recording on our smartphones, iPads, DSLR/digital cameras and our snap and post culture on Facebook/Instagram, we cannot (and do not aim to) stop you from taking photos, all we ask is that you become more aware of those surrounding you by following some basic photo etiquette…
Enjoy the ceremony in THE PRESENT. Experience it LIVE happening in front of you, don’t distance yourself by watching the ceremony through a digital device.
Be aware of people behind you when taking a photo, don’t be the disrupting/annoying person who is blocking the view from others around you. It’s a crowded event already and we all want to see the ceremony. Leave aisles clear for the Flag Parade and take extra precautionary measures around the elementary kids on the floor!
Please join us on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. in the UNIS Hanoi Theatre for a Parent Information evening on the topic of co-curricular programming here at UNIS Hanoi. This particular session will focus on the co-curricular programming directly impacting our students most, and not necessarily the community outreach initiatives such as our Community Education (ComEd) programme. Topics for the evening will include, the new Activities Department structure, APAC/MRISA affiliation, building a positive culture of success, ASA sign-up process, developing a youth sport programme and how parents can help, a school’s role in sport and activities, department goals, department philosophy as well as a general description of a holistic view on education in which
iPads and even iPad-Mini’s are notorious for obstructing the view (even their covers block the view). If possible, please take photos or recordings on a smartphone or a small digital camera.
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS and the fulllength VIDEO of the 2014 UN Day Ceremony will be made available for download on our website for FREE after the October break. For more information about photo etiquette and/or the UN Day Photos please contact the Advancement Office: advancement@unishanoi.org
curricular and co-curricular programming work in a partnership. Light snacks and refreshments will be available on the evening. Tarique AL-Iesa, Director of Activities, and Adrian Hubbard, Co-Curricular Activities Manager will be available for individual questions immediately following the presentation. We hope to see you all there. Tarique AL-Iesa, Director of Activities da@unishanoi.org
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) really values parents as partners. It describes quality learning as follows:
“best done with the support of the parents, because it is the student’s environment—the home, the school and the community—that will shape the student’s cognitive experience”
hosted a number of workshops specifically for parents. PYP Workshop for Parents New to the Primary Years Programme PYP Assessment Workshop for Parents PYP Self Study for Parents These events were designed for parents to learn about the Primary Years Programme. They were also opportunities for UNIS Hanoi to get feedback from the parents about the Primary Years Programme here at UNIS Hanoi. I would like to thank all of the parents who took part and I look forward to welcoming parents to similar workshops in the future. Chris Frost, PYP Coordinator pypcoordinator@unishanoi.org
At UNIS Hanoi we embrace this stance. We aim to involve parents in a range of different ways. Opportunities include parent helpers in the classroom or school trips, home learning support and parent ‘experts’ who students often interview during units of inquiry. During September we
The first UNIS Hanoi swim meet of the year will be held on Saturday morning beginning at 9am! Nearly 100 UNIS Hanoi swimmers will have their first races of the year! We have many new swimmers this year and we are excited to help them enjoy their first swim meet as a member of the UNIS Hanoi Phoenix Swim Team. All ES and HS swimmers will begin warmup at 8:00am sharp. Swimmers should be on the pool deck with caps and goggles ready to swim at 7:55. All MS swimmers will begin warmup at 8:30 sharp and should be on the pool deck with caps and goggles ready to swim at 8:25.
Thanks in advance to those parents, PE and Aquatics staff and MS Aquatics Ambassadors Service Group students who offered your time to help us with the running of the meet. We say it every time – without you these events can’t happen.
The Middle School Swim Meet is scheduled on Wednesday, October 8th from 10:00-12:40. Parents, families and friends are kindly invited to attend the event and cheer up for MS students and House teams! For information about MS Swim Meet please visit the PE House Events page (click here to view the page).
Mon, Oct 6 13:20-14:00
Outside of Common Room B5 G29
Tue, Oct7 13:20-14:00
Common Room B5 G29
Wed, Oct 8 12:40-13:20
Outside of Common Room B5 G29
Thu, Oct 9 13:20-14:00
Common Room B5 G29
University of New Brunswick
Andrew Dunphy, International Recruitment
Concordia University – Montreal University of Alberta University of Saskatchewan
John Beaton, Admissions Counselor
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Johns Hopkins University
Kevin Newman, Admissions Counselor
Temple University Japan
Thomas Belfer, Admissions Counselor
Bates College Birmingham-Southern College
Misha Garg, Admissions Counselor John McGinnis, Admissions Counselor
Hendrix College
Michael Licatino, Assoc. Director of Admissions
Indiana University Kokomo College of Staten Island
Todd Gambill, Vice Chancellor Monika Wojciechowski, Assist. Director Intl. Admis
University of Mount Union
Dawn Adams, Director International Admission
Western New England University Widener University Mount Holyoke College
Michelle Kowalsky, Admissions Counselor
Randy Lievers, Admissions Counselor Amy Ta, Admissions Counselor
Kylie Wright, Admissions Counselor
Northeastern University
Candice Chan, Admissions Counselor Elizabeth DuMont-McCaffrey, Admissions Counselor Darryl Tynen, Assist. Director Intl Admissions
University of San Francisco
Krittaya Pichitnapakul, International Relations
Do you have books that you no longer need but which someone else would enjoy? Are you wondering what to do with them? Do you want to donate them to a good cause?
The UNIS Hanoi Book Sale, held annually at the end of November, is a much anticipated event. It’s an opportunity for both kids and adults to purchase some ‘pre-loved’ books, in their native tongue (or another language!), at bargain prices.
Kids’ books, adults’ books, fact or fiction, English, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, German, Swedish, French – we’re interested in books on any subject, in any language spoken within the UNIS Hanoi community. If it’s a book that someone else might enjoy, donate it (so no out-dated travel guides, class readers or undesirable books please!). Books will be collected in each ECC, ES and MS classroom from November, with a central collection for HS. We’ll be back with more details in due course. In the interim, please start putting your pre-loved books safely aside. Lori Fairbairn and Amanda Stevenson, Book Sale Coordinators. (Contact us at: booksale@unishanoi.org)
to/auspiced by UNIS Hanoi Service Learning. Please see the UNIS Hanoi Service Learning department to discuss your idea first. Each year, our community –through the SCO - raises funds in course of implementing activities, the main activity being the organization and administration of the Spring Fair . Some of those funds are available each year to carry out project ideas from members of the community. The funding process is designed to be fair, transparent, and community-based. Application for funding may now be prepared, and queries about funding may now be submitted for consideration. The closing date for applications will be in late November, the date to be advised. Who can apply ? Any member of our community, including teaching staff, administration, faculty, students of all ages and student groups and parents. The kinds of projects that may be funded are : for extra equipment/furniture outside the UNIS Hanoi Administration budget, fees, wages or expenses for a teaching specialist/entertainer/workshop provider, publications, and production costs. Please note : Regarding funds sought for charity. The charity must be connected
Examples of projects that have been funded in the past are – compost bins for the school garden, outdoor seating, decorations, displays, throw cushions for the Library, big drum and gong for the Centre for the Arts, badge making machine for the Design and Technology Dept, cameras for the ECC, bedding/supplies for an Orphanage, production funding for the Operation Smile Charity concert, a new timming system for the swimming pool, funding to support the UNIS Hanoi Kaliedoscope of Culture Carnival, and more. All applications must be submitted using the forms and templates which will be available from the UNIS Portal and Website in the near future. Any questions about the process or the forms should be directed to sco@unishanoi.org Pippa Wood, SCO Funding Committee
Available Week of October 6 At the Garden The MS Community Garden Service Learning Group will be selling produce directly from the MS garden throughout the school year. Variety and availability will vary depending on what we have in the garden and all sales are on a first come/ first served, cash only basis. This is a great opportunity to get some delicious, local, organic vegetables, give our MS students some practical experience in business and fundraising and help us raise money to purchase supplies for a farm family on Long Bien Island that we have been involved with for the past 4 years.
(4:00- 4:30 Monday/Thursday only) Sweet Potato Greens - Rau Khoai Lang Eggplants – Cà Tím Lemon Grass – Củ Sả Perilla – Tía Tô Baby Pak Choi—Cải Ngon Turmeric Roots—Củ Nghệ
We are now accepting applications for a Contracted Services Supervisor. This position holder is responsible for monitoring and continuously improving the work performance and quality of work by contracted services workers through close supervision to limit time waste, supervision of specific job duties to ensure that they are executed properly, meeting contractual provisions and international standards. The contracted services under the supervising scope of the Contracted Services Supervisor include cleaning services, pest control and landscape services, security services and any other services supervision that may be assigned.
UNIS Hanoi was delighted to welcome more than 150 educators from the Vietnamese Government Ministry of Education and Training today for a Curriculum Design Workshop. The government is investing considerable resources in renovating its curriculum to impact teaching and learning for the future in this country, and UNIS Hanoi has been working with them actively for more than ten years to assist development from Early Childhood through to Secondary education. Today, Dr Chip Barder and our Director of Learning, Janet Field, were joined by our PYP Coordinator, Chris Frost, our MYP Coordinator, Sybille Harth, our DP Coordinator, Chris Mills and our HS Vietnamese Teacher, Hoa Phan to present to the extended research group before proposals are made for curriculum changes to the Ministry. The focus of the Curriculum Design Workshop held with simultaneous translation in the School theatre was to demonstrate the benefits of the inquiry based programme offered through the International Baccalaureate Organisation. UNIS Hanoi is the original IB World School in Asia and is proud to graduate students every year from our non-selective and inclusive programme with both pass rates and point scores significantly above the world averages.
To view more information about the job description and requirements, and to apply online, please visit our website at www.unishanoi.org/jobs