tintuc@unishanoi.org UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter Volume 21, Edition 12, Friday 7 November
NEXT WEEK…
COMING SOON
MONDAY, 10 NOVEMBER Professional Development Days - NO classes for students, 10 - 11 Nov
MONDAY, 17 NOVEMBER THIMUN Singapore, 17-22 Nov JV Boys Basketball vs. HIS, 16:00-17:30, Sports Centre JV Girls Basketball vs. HIS, 16:00-17:00, Sports Centre
TUESDAY, 11 NOVEMBER Board of Directors Meeting, 17:30 - 20:00, Community Room, Admin Building WEDNESDAY, 12 NOVEMBER EAL Testing for Elementary students, 12-14 Nov APAC CHOIR @ CISS, 12 - 17 Nov APAC ORCHESTRA @ UNIS, 12 - 17 Nov Scholarship Annual Campaign Community Info Meeting, 19:00-20:00, Community Room THURSDAY, 13 NOVEMBER MRISA Middle School Basketball Tournament @ ISHCMC, 13 - 17 Nov Scholarship Annual Campaign Community Info Meeting, 8:00-9:00, Community Room K2 Local Shelters Trip, 8:30-11:15 HISAA Soccer Festival , 14:30 - 17:00 FRIDAY, 14 NOVEMBER Grades 3-5 Athletics Morning, 08:30 - 11:30 European University Fair, 13:20-14:00, Common Room SATURDAY, 15 NOVEMBER Japanese Community Meeting , 09:00 - 10:30, Community Room Alumni Reunion in London, 18:00-20:00
TUESDAY, 18 NOVEMBER Korean Community Meeting with the Head of School, 8:30 - 10:00, Community Room Scholarship Annual Campaign Community Info Meeting, 14:30-15:30, Community Room Board Campus Development Task Force Meeting, 17:3019:00, Conference Room WEDNESDAY, 19 NOVEMBER Finance Committee Meet, 7:00-8:30, Conference Room Advancement Committee Meeting, 12:00-14:00, Conference Room Scholarship Annual Campaign Community Info Meeting, 19:00-20:00, Community Room THURSDAY, 20 NOVEMBER Teacher Appreciation Day Board SMP 2015-2020 Task Force Meeting, 7:00-8:30, Conference Room Hult International Business School Info Session, 13:2014:00, Common Room MS Season 2 Sports Begins - Soccer, 15:45-17:30, Sports Centre IBDP Parent Info Night, 19:00-20:00, Library SATURDAY, 22 NOVEMBER No Community Education and Saturday Soccer SUNDAY, 23 NOVEMBER HIWC Bazaar
IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights... Notes from the Head of School and the Board of Directors (p.2) Scholarship Fund Launch (p.3) From the Admissions Office (p.4) UN Day Film & Photos (p.4) Annual School Climate Survey (p.5) Grade 5 Slice of ICE (p.6) Grades 3-5 Athletics Morning (p.7) MUN Conference (p.7) Counseling Update (p.8)
Athletics News (p.9-10) Smiles in the rain! (p.11) Aquatics Academic News (p.12) Book Sale. Book Collection Opens (p.14) SCO News. Project Funding, Snack Sale and more (p.15-16) School Health Centre News (p.17) Job Opportunities (p.17)
I would like to again thank the 40 or so parents who attended the Breakfast with the Head of School on 22 October. I have attached the notes from that session here. The next session will be an Hors d’oeuvres with the Head of School on Tuesday, 03 February. A reminder that next Monday and Tuesday, 10-11 November, we have professional development work and there is no school for students. The focus of these two days will be two fold – the main focus is preparation for the upcoming visit on 01-03 December by the teams from Council of International Schools (CIS), the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). There is a significant amount of report and data review, analysis of self-study results, and work on plans for improvement. All of this will be made available to the parent community shortly after we receive the Visiting Teams Reports which we should get by early March 2015.
Thank you to the community members who attended the Board Community meeting on Wednesday evening. A note of the questions and answer session will be shared with everyone in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please click here to see the PowerPoint presentation. Last week, on behalf of the Board, Dr. Barder and I made a presentation to fellow Board members and Administrators at the 2014 East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS) conference entitled: “Generative Governance – Boards Move to the Heart of the School” which is about board and heads collaborating to generative a fusion of thinking, not a division of labour. Generative Governance enables a board to become directly involved in shaping an organization without micro-managing. The UNIS Hanoi Board and Head have been on a path over the last six years to find their way to generative work. This led to our hosting a two day Governance as Leadership Workshop in
The second focus for the two days of professional development is additional training in the use of the results from the MAP tests. A consultant from the MAP group will be with us to provide a deeper understanding of the scores and how to use them to help improve student learning, communicate effectively with parents, and look at school wide impact on curriculum and teaching. Have a great weekend. Respectfully, Dr. Chip Barder, hos@unishanoi.org
Welcome to UNIS Hanoi
September for Board members and Heads of Schools around the world. Regards, Ms. Sarah Garner, Board Chair boardofdirectors@unishanoi.org
The UNIS Hanoi Scholarship Programme was launched to celebrate the School's 25th Birthday. Our Scholars describe their experience at UNIS Hanoi as the turning point in their lives or the shattering of a shell to release their potential. We want to create more opportunities to transform more futures. Our goal is to raise $2.5 Million USD over the next five years to create three new Scholarships in perpetuity.
In January we will launch the first of five annual campaigns for The Scholarship Fund. Every member of our community will be invited to make a gift to reach our 2014-2015 goal of $75,000 for our first NEW Scholarship. Every year we hope to add ONE NEW 3-Year Scholarship.
Attend one of our community meetings: Parents, Faculty and Staff all welcome! Scholarship Fund Champions create a team of active
volunteer supporters to help with the Scholarship Fund Campaign No experience is required to provide this essential role in the success of the campaign. All you need is passion and enthusiasm for our Scholarship Programme! Read the volunteer role description in full
CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER
Wednesday, November 12 at 19:00 Thursday, November 13 at 08:00 Tuesday, November 18 at 14:30 Wednesday, Novmber 19 at 19.00 (Vietnamese only)
Find out more on The Scholarship Fund website: www.unishanoi.org/scholarshipfund
If your family intends to leave UNIS Hanoi at the end of the first semester, please submit an Admissions Withdrawal Form. School will close for the winter break on Friday 12th December. The last day of the first semester is Friday 16th January. Upon confirmation of your departure, we shall guide your family through the withdrawal process. If you require any further assistance, please email admissions@unishanoi.org or contact Admissions staff on 37581551 extension 8217 / 8220 / 8732.
Please CLICK HERE to view and download all UN Day photos.
Its survey season! This is the time of year when we gather as much information as we can to help us make UNIS Hanoi the very best experience that we can for everyone!
Cuộc Khảo sát toàn diện hàng năm đã tới, ý kiến của quý vị sẽ giúp nhà trường xây dựng những điều kiện học tập tốt nhất cho con em mình.
New families have already received a satisfaction survey about joining UNIS Hanoi, and now it’s the turn of EVERY parent, teacher and MSHS student to have their say.
Phụ huynh có con em nhập học UNIS Hanoi năm nay đã vừa tham gia khảo sát về mức độ hài lòng của gia đình, nhưng đây là cuộc Khảo sát dành cho TOÀN THỂ phụ huynh, giáo viên và học sinh cấp II-II (Middle School và High School) nhân cơ hội này nói lên ý kiến của mình.
Your opinions and perspectives about the school you have chosen for your children are very important to us, and each year we ask all members of our community take part in our School Climate Survey.
Với tầm quan trọng đặc biệt, chúng tôi tổ chức cuộc Khảo sát hàng năm thông qua chương trình School Climate Survey để lấy ý kiến của quý vị.
Today, every parent and faculty member has received a personal invitation to take part in the 2014 online survey with detailed instructions. (Students will take the survey during a scheduled homeroom in the coming weeks) The survey covers all aspects of our school’s performance and helps us measure progress and identify areas for improvement. This is especially important this year as we work on the school plan for the next five years. This is the sixth year that we have used this survey, and it can be taken online in 12 languages including Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese – our largest non-English mother tongue groups. The survey is especially created for all schools accredited by CIS (Council of International Schools), and we look forward to sharing the results of this data with you upon completion of the process. It will take only about 15 minutes of your time and the insight we will gain from your participation alongside parallel surveys amongst our students (Grades 6 to 12), our entire faculty and our Board of Directors will be invaluable.
The survey is available online TODAY – Friday November 7 for a two week period – check your inbox for your invitation. If you have any questions – or have not received your email with the access link and survey code - please contact the Advancement Office: advancement@unishanoi.org
Trong hôm nay, quý vị và toàn thể giáo viên nhà trường sẽ nhận được thư mời tham gia Khảo sát qua thư điện tử có kèm theo chỉ dẫn cụ thể. (Riêng học sinh sẽ tham gia Khảo sát tại lớp trong một vài tuần tới.) Cuộc Khảo sát sẽ giúp nhà trường đánh giá toàn diện để đưa ra những yếu tố cần cải thiện và phát triển. Năm nay đặc biệt quan trọng vì chúng tôi đang xây dựng kế hoạch phát triển 5 năm tới cho nhà trường. Đây là năm thứ 6 UNIS Hanoi thực hiện cuộc Khảo sát trực tuyến dưới 12 ngôn ngữ khác nhau, trong đó có tiếng Việt, Hàn Quốc và Nhật – nhóm ngôn ngữ thông dụng thứ hai sau tiếng Anh trong cộng đồng nhà trường. Cuộc Khảo sát này được áp dụng tại các trường được Hội đồng Trường Quốc tế (CIS) công nhận. Chúng tôi mong sớm hoàn thành cuộc Khảo sát để có thể chia sẻ kết quả tới toàn thể phụ huynh. Mỗi phụ huynh chỉ cần 15 phút để hoàn thành Khảo sát này. Kết quả Khảo sát từ quý vị phụ huynh, học sinh (lớp 6 - 12), giáo viên và Hội đồng nhà trường sẽ đem lại cho chúng tôi một tầm nhìn vô giá.
Cuộc Khảo sát sẽ được tiến hành trong hai tuần, bắt đầu từ hôm nay - Thứ Sáu 7/11/2014. Quý vị vui lòng kiểm tra thư điện tử để nhận được thư mời từ chúng tôi. Quý vị có thể liên lạc với phòng Advancement tại advancement@unishanoi.org để được hỗ trợ. Xin trân trọng cảm ơn sự giúp đỡ của quý vị trong công việc hết sức quan trọng này.
Grade 5 morning “On the Move” on Thursday, November 6th, highlighted the collaborative student understanding and learning from their same titled Unit of Inquiry. The central idea was ‘Humans migrate for many reasons which results in changes to themselves as well as the local population’. The Arts Team began the year working with this central idea and relating all conceptual learning and understanding to creatively express migration through the changes in people and how they express themselves in the Arts and learning about some art forms which have changed historically with the influence of people migrating.
Grade 5 Classroom Teachers worked with their students to find out more about migrant experiences. Students did in depth research into one migrant's story and then retold this in character. They considered push and pull factors and how the migrants had changed as a result of their move, as well as reflecting on what they had brought to their new country. Students either interviewed family members, or used book research to inform their presentations. Some students chose to create a character, but with a story based on their factual research. The morning was very well supported by the parent community, and the children shared their learning with confidence and enjoyment.
For the past 5 weeks, the whole elementary school has been out on the field practicing their athletic skills and pushing themselves to improve their running fitness. On Friday the 14th of November the Grade 3, 4 and 5 students will be putting what they have been working on to the test. They will be joining in with their houses to compete with each other for house pride.
at 8:45 and look forward to seeing you there. Cameron McHale, Elementary PE Team Leader cmchale@unishanoi.org
They will be getting points for their houses in the throwing (discus, shot put, javelin), jumping (high jump, long jump) and running (400m and sprints) events. The morning will culminate in the ever-exciting relay races. The emphasis is on effort and pushing oneself to achieve personal targets. Parents are most welcome to come and cheer in what has always been a very popular event. We will open the event
Model United Nations is an opportunity for students to role play the committees and debates of the United Nations. This years annual Security Council Simulation involved close to 100 UNIS Hanoi students simulating the procedures and debate of the United Nations Security Council. The students, in 5 rooms, debated and attempted to find world peace in the situation that has developed with ISIS in Syria and Iraq. The debate was at time heated, and at times the veto power of the permanent five was wielded. In the end, student delegates passed clauses that focused on humanitarian aid to those who needed help the most. The students are starting to learn about the diverse needs of the nation states of the world in their learning experience. The next event for Model United Nations is a conference
in Singapore where we have two of our students taking part as special delegates on an Advisory Panel on Natural Resources, Seas and Oceans in addition to two students who will be taking on the role of student officers leading the debate in two of the committee rooms. Look for an update on Model United Nations when we return at the end of November. Donna Frose, Model United Nations Director dfrose@unishanoi.org
The High School Counselors will be holding an informational session for Grade 9 students and parents about the university process and valuable information they should be aware of early in their high school career.
When: November 26, 2014 @ 6-7 pm Where: Library
On Tuesday, November 11th the Grade 12 students will be taking their individual and group graduation photos. The Grade 12 students will meet at the UNIS Hanoi campus at 8:00 and take private buses to the downtown area for our traditional group photo. Please make sure that students are dressed appropriately with proper shoes, boys with collar shirts and girls in dresses. Even though they will be wearing their caps and gowns, shoes and collars show up in the photograph. Please know that your child will be off campus between the hours of 8:15 and 11:00 on November 11th. We will schedule individual portraits after students return to school around 11:00. The photographer will be at UNIS from 111:30 to take individual portraits of each student in building B7. When each student has completed their photo, they are free to leave campus.
France Sciences Po Paris - Campus de Poitiers Ireland Waterford Institute of Technology Dublin City University Griffith College Dublin Institute of Technology Tallaght University of Limerick Netherland Van Hall-Larenstein University of Applied Sciences Rotterdam University Poland Poznan University of Technology Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management Trinity College Dublin National University of Singapore California Lutheran University Hult International Business School
Fri, November 14, 2014 1:20 PM
Common Room B5 G29
Mon November 17, 2014 1:20 PM
Common Room B5 G29
Thu November 20, 2014 1:20 PM
Common Room B5 G29
Last week UNIS Hanoi hosted the 2014 Mekong River International Schools Association (MRISA) Senior Volleyball Championships. Sixteen teams (8 boys, 8 girls) from around the region took part in this great event. The UNIS Hanoi community was fortunate enough to experience great interscholastic competition as well as all the other positive that come with hosting such an event. Both final finals were of of very high standard. The International School of Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC) took the crown in the boys bracket while the girls from International School Phnom Penh (ISPP) raised the MRISA trophy. Thanks to the entire UNIS Hanoi community for supporting this event. Tarique AL-Iesa, Director of Activities da@unishanoi.org
UNIS Hanoi will be hosting the 2014 Asia Pacific Activities Conference (APAC) Orchestra Festival from November 12-16, 2014. Musicians and directors from visiting APAC schools will be working collaboratively to nurture the talents and skills of our young festival participants. APAC believes that it is essential to provide guest specialists to enhance the high quality learning experiences for the participants. To that end, we have recruited the support of Dr. Dan Perkins as our guest conductor for the festival. Dr. Perkins is a professor of music at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire U.S.A. He will be working with our students and directors over the course of the event.
email cocurricular@unishanoi.org. We will let you know as soon as possible if space is available as well as when and where to pick up your tickets. Tarique AL-Iesa, Director of Activities da@unishanoi.org
The festival will culminate with Final Concert on Saturday, November 15, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. We would like to welcome members of our UNIS Hanoi community to attend. If interested in reserving tickets please
Community Education (ComEd) Programme is planning for the Spring Session 2015. If you would like to offer ComEd a class, please send your proposal to comed@unishanoi.org by 17.00 Friday, 28 November 2014. ComEd is a programme of activities in the areas of cooking, movement, language, arts and culture, skill building, swimming... that UNIS Hanoi offers to the wider local community. ComEd has 2 sessions in a school year: Autumn Session (September – December) and Spring Session (January – May). Our aim is to provide opportunities for people of all ages to gain new skills, expand their knowledge, have fun and to bring the community together.
UNIS Hanoi is proud to be hosting the Hanoi International Schools Activities Association (HISAA) Grade 4 and 5 Soccer Festival. HISAA was initiated by UNIS Hanoi and a number of international schools in Hanoi to meet the cocurricular needs of our Elementary students. This Soccer Festival is the first ever HISAA event and four other international school from Hanoi will be visiting UNIS Hanoi to participate. We warmly welcome the UNIS Hanoi community, especially Grade 4 and 5 parents/guardians to the UNIS Sports Fields on Thursday 13th November. The first round of matches will commence at 14.30. Adrian Hubbard, Co-Curricular Activities Manager ccamanager@unishanoi.org
Our Elementary School brought their own sunshine of smiles as they braved the miserable drizzle of a wet and grey Hanoi day for this year's Walk-a-thon. As the laps started to count up, not even the rain could dampen the spirits of the children who knew that every with lap they walked or ran, more street children in Hanoi would be helped back to school by Blue Dragon.
Thanks to the ES service group who have worked so hard to make the Walk-a-thon a success, and thanks of course to all the wonderful parents who turned out in boots and umbrellas to support the children and cheer them every step of the way. Well done everyone! And don't forget to hand in your sponsorship money so we can report the grand total next week.
Photos from Tim Bansley
At our 9th Annual UNIS Invitational Swim Meet, over 100 swimmers from the UNIS Phoenix Swim Team had a great competition. The swimmers’ hard work this fall was rewarded with each swimmer recording up to 5 personal best times! The Phoenix team won the Championship Trophy by outswimming ISHCMC, HIS, Concodia, ESF from Hong Kong and Hanoi Japanese Swim Club. Uyen Trinh continued her assault on the records books by breaking 13-14 year old team records in the 200 Free, 400 Free and 100 Back. A new swimmer this year, Rasmus Makela also broke our team record in the 9-10 50 fly! Age Group High Point Awards for 3rd place went to Kitty Tran, Rasmus Makela, Uyen Trinh, Vicky Cortes Freeman and Nils Jaranovs. 2nd place High Point Banners went to Joya Tabe and Sofie Brondum-Reeh! Congratulations! I wish we had room in Tin Tuc to mention each best swim
by each swimmer, but there wouldn’t be space for any other UNIS Hanoi news! Very special thanks go to all our parent volunteers led by our Meet Directors in Training, Clarissa Hu, Iftekar Ahmed and Tess Dunne. Thanks additionally as always to “Miss Ella” Healy for all her work as well as to our hardworking operations staff who set up the pool, our “tech expert” Duc, Ms Hoa from the Activities Office and the coaching staff! Our next and final competition for the fall season will see 48 swimmers travel to ISPP for their first invitational meet. Andy Myers, Aquatics Academy Head Coach da@unishanoi.org
Students in Grades 9-12 have been working for the past 10 weeks putting together this year’s musical, “Little Shop of Horrors.” A lot of time and energy have been invested in this “off-beat” show, including: designing/building the set, the plant and props, designing/planning/programming/ running lights and sound, selecting/preparing/tailoring/ accessorizing costumes, designing/testing/practicing makeup and hair, designing/distributing publicity, selling tickets, creating programmes and rehearsing vocal music, instrumental music, choreography and staging.
“Little Shop of Horrors” Synopsis Seymour Krelborn is a poor young man, an orphan living in an urban skid row. Audrey is a pretty co-worker at Mushnik's Skid Row Florists, a run-down flower shop owned and operated by the cranky Mrs. Mushnik. Seymour has recently obtained a mysterious plant that looks like a large venus flytrap. Seymour is secretly in love with Audrey and names the plant Audrey II in her honor. The plant does not thrive in its new environment and appears to be dying. Seymour accidentally pricks his finger on a rose thorn, which draws blood, and Audrey II's pod opens thirstily. Seymour realizes that Audrey II requires blood to survive and, as Audrey II grows, it becomes an attraction and starts generating brisk business for Mushnik. When Seymour stops feeding the plant, Audrey II reveals that it can speak (in a demanding voice) and says that, if fed, it will make sure that all of Seymour's dreams come true… Will Audrey and Seymour end up “happily ever after?” Will Audrey II take over the world or will Seymour and Audrey defeat it?
Applications for the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship programme 2015-2016 are open until 31 December Full eligibility criteria, the timeline for the selection process and application documents are available on UNIS Hanoi website in both ENGLISH and VIETNAMESE. Any further questions, email to scholarships@unishanoi.org
Calling all of your used books! Now is the time to donate them to the UNIS Hanoi Used Book Sale. Please donate books through your children's classes where they will be counted towards a contest to see which class donates the most books. The students in the winning class will receive their own new book of their choice! We are accepting all books in any language. We ask that non-English books are labeled on the inside cover in pencil what language they are. This is a great chance to buy pre-loved books at great prices and support an excellent cause. Last years donations will be funding an entire library in Vietnam for children who otherwise would not have access to books through Room to Read. This year the funds will once again go to Room to Read, but supporting girls education. Every book you donate helps! We also need volunteers to make this day a success. If you are able to give some of your time please sign up here. For every 1 1/2 hour shift you sign up for we will allow you to pre-buy a children's book before the rest of the community, so the more you sign up, the better.
The sale will be on November 28th and 29th.
Thank you for your anticipated support! If you have any questions please contact Lori Fairbairn at booksale@unishanoi.org
Oh the weather outside was a bit chilly today, but that didn't matter...because it was SNACK SALE DAY!! Thank you to classes K2CO, K2CA, G1TA, G3TS, G3CH, G3BM and G3NO for your creative homemade snack contributions! We had Samosas, shrimp and fishball skewers, really detailed puppy cookies, popcorn, fruit salads, muffins, cookies and sooo much more!
Snack Sale Coordinators: Manami Tsuda: ma-na10@hotmail.co.jp Akiko Nakano: akiko.nakano2008@gmail.com Bo Young: soool2@yahoo.com
Thank you to Masumi, Akiko and Bo Young for helping to organise the ES Snack Sale along with all the volunteers that came to help sell snacks to the elementary school children today! A total of 9,890,000VND was raised at the snack sale today! All the money raised support the School Community Organisation Project Funds submitted by the community. In case you are wondering when it’s your turn to donate snacks, below is the list of Snack Sale dates and contributing classes. Looking forward to seeing more delicious treats!
DTU, DSS, K1DV, G1VC, G4HK, G4LL, G4BM, G4PB
K1KM, K1AP, G1SF, G5MN, G5JH, G5DL, G5TC
Check out the new water bottles available in the shop! Currently three different types are available: a thermos (with hot and cool features), a stainless steel bottle and a BPA free bottle for the younger ones (with a removable straw). All bottles reputable Lock & Lock products and have a white box printed on them to customize with your child’s name on it!
20% OFF all of last year’s winter gear! Get you track suits, sweatshirts and other UNIS gear for the winter at a bargain price! We are clearing shop for exciting new product expected in the next few months! Opening Hours: On Wednesday afternoon we were open to students and faculty during their lunch hour. Since we were not very busy at this time, we have decided to move our Wednesday afternoon shift to after school from 14.00 – 15. For the opening hours and price list, visit the website.
timing system for the swimming pool (2013-2014) electronic notice board (2013-2014) Each year, our community raises funds through the activities of the School Community Organisation (SCO) such as the Spring Fair and the ES Snack Sales. A large portion of funds are available each year to carry out project ideas from members of the community. The funding process is designed to be community-based and transparent.
display project and dragon kite for the library (20132014)
Thuy An Orphanage funds for Service Learning project (2013-2014)
Kaleidoscope of Culture Carnival Entertainment and ticket subsidy (2013 - 2014)
compost bins for the school garden outdoor seating decorations for the Library throw cushions for the Library big drum and gong for the Centre for the Arts
Any member of the UNIS Hanoi community; including teaching staff, administration, faculty, students of all ages, student groups and parents are welcome to apply for SCO Project Funding. The kinds of projects that may be funded are for:
school equipment
badge making machine cameras for the ECC bedding/supplies for an Orphanage production funding for the Operation Smile Charity concert
and many more!
furniture outside the UNIS Hanoi Administration budget, fees, wages or expenses for a teaching specialist
entertainment and/or production costs for community building initiatives
workshop provider publications
1) Carefully read the Project Funding Application Information 2) Fill in the Application Form 3) Fill in the Budget form 4) Submit BOTH forms to the School Community Organisation at sco@unishanoi.org Questions about the process should be directed to the SCO Treasurer, Petra Eichler at sco@unishanoi.org. Pippa Wood, Renea Freeman, Petra Eichler SCO Grants Committee
The SHC has recently seen several cases of dermatitis caused by the Rove beetle. Contacts with the insect often happened at home or outside of school, thus everyone is advised to be vigilant as the beetle are roving again at this time of the year.
Rove beetles do not resemble other beetles; instead they look like big ants. They have short fore wings and part of their abdomen is exposed. Most are 2 -8mm long but others can grow really big up to 1.5in. Their bodies are elongated and slender, with colors varying from orange-yellow to reddish-brown, brown or black. These insects can be found anywhere but usually inhabit agricultural lands, grasslands and forests. They appear between April and October but favorable conditions like moist environments and presence of decaying plant matter can lead to localized population explosions for short periods. During daytime, the beetle can be seen crawling around swiftly, with hidden wings resembling ants. When disturbed, it raises its abdomen in a threatening gesture like a scorpion and can fly away. It can also run swiftly on water too!
one’s body or smearing the eyes with soiled fingers can cause severe form of dermatitis or conjunctivitis. Initial symptoms are redness with burning sensation, followed by painful irritation and itching with extensive pustules and blisters that may remain for 10days.
Since rove beetles are attracted to light when it is dark and thus enter into lit homes, people are advised to minimize lighting while at sleep. Another precaution is keeping windows closed at night, because screen windows alone cannot keep the insect out. Wearing of long-sleeved shirts and long-legged clothing can also minimize exposed skin. If the insect touches the skin, blow it off or use objects to remove it; refrain from directly touching or crushing. Areas of contact should immediately be washed with soap and water. Wash clothes thoroughly and separately if stained with pederin. Cold compresses, antihistamines or Aloe Vera help alleviate symptoms. Seek medical attention for severe skin reactions to the toxin. School Health Center, nurse@unishanoi.org Photo sources: (1) http://www.eduwebs.org/bugs/rove_beetles.htm (2) http:// myvistabay.blogspot.com/2010/08/rove-beetle-update.html
Rove beetles have become of utmost concern because the body has toxin called pederin. Contact collision with the beetle can happen while in motion (riding bikes) or even while one is stationary (sleeping). Crushing the beetle on
UNIS Hanoi is inviting applications for the following job openings:
The successful candidate is expected to start full time employment from 1 March 2015, with a hand-over commencing 5 Jan 2015, which can be on part-time basis. Assistant to the Board ensures the effective management and coordination of the Board’s activities in line with established procedures and priorities and to act as a key conduit in the management of the Board’s institutional memory, in order to achieve the Board’s annual and longer term strategic objectives. This position reports to the Head of School but must work closely with the Board Chair and other Board members, which may include direct assignment of work from time to time. Closing date for application is 14 November 2014. To view more information about the job description and requirements of the above positions, and to apply online, please visit our website at www.unishanoi.org/jobs