Weekly Highlights 29/03/2024

FOBISIA STEAM Festival

High-level reflective writing inspired by World Book Day

Kevin Luong Nghi, Class of 2023 alumnus wins the best presentation award at in the US

Mrs Mary McAloon, Head of Primary

A Healthy Community

Research shows that mentally healthy students are more likely ready to learn, actively engage in school activities, have supportive and caring connections with adults and young people, use appropriate problem-solving skills, have nonaggressive behaviours, and add to positive school culture. At BVIS, students’ mental health and wellbeing is always at the forefront of our priorities.  
 
We're thrilled to announce next week is Mental Health Awareness Week in primary at BVIS! To kickstart the event, all primary students are asked to wear their PE kit on Monday 1st April for a meaningful and active assembly. Let's promote positive wellbeing together! 
 
In addition to meaningful activities throughout the week at school, the students are invited to take part in a special Family Challenge! We encourage families to engage in activities together to promote wellbeing and strengthen bonds. Some of the activities could be cooking, gardening, doing exercise, singing and dancing, playing board games and riding bicycles. We encourage you to capture these special moments by recording a short video and posting it on ClassDojo. As an incentive to share, the students will receive 10 dojo points for each video. 

Let’s make meaningful memories together and spread positivity throughout our school community.  

A valuable collaboration – Julliard and BVIS

On Thursday and Friday this week, we welcomed Erin Wight a violist and music specialist from Juilliard, one of our unique collaborations across Nord Anglia Education schools for the Performing Arts.  Erin has been committed to the Juilliard curriculum development for six years now and brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience.  Erin is an active chamber musician and avid performer of new music. Giving performances the New York Times describes as “surehanded,” “engrossing” and “rich,” she has appeared as a contemporary music soloist on four continents. Deeply committed to community engagement, Erin has been a Teaching Artist for the New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.  The collaborative approach we have with Juilliard supports our curriculum for students and enhances the programme that we put together ensuring teachers facilitate world-class learning experiences for BVIS students.  Performing Arts support students’ academic and personal outcomes through:

 

• increased creativity and self-expression.
• development of personally relevant artistic skills and concepts.
• expanded cultural literacy.
• collaboration and communication skills.
• confidence to perform in all aspects of their lives.

Erin began her visit by hosting a parent workshop that delved deeper into our collaboration with Juilliard, with a specific focus on music and student-led exploration in Years 3 to 9.  Parents also had the opportunity to ask questions to our Juilliard curriculum specialist during the workshop.  Thank you to the parents who joined us on Thursday for this insightful session with Erin Wight.

International Week in Primary

This week in primary, students and teachers embraced our BVIS value of ‘Global Citizenship’ and spent time honing their enquiry skills to learn more about other countries around the world.  Students participated in a variety of activities from learning about the geography of different countries, experiencing different cultures through dance and practicing new vocabulary from different parts of the world.  This year our wonderful canteen introduced students to snacks from around the world; the new dishes replaced the usual snack menu for students and were a welcome addition to the experiences of our annual International Week.
 
Nǐ hǎo, Namaste, Kon’nichiwa, Ciao, Hallo and Selamat Pagi are just a few of the ways our primary students learned how to say “hello” in different parts of the world.  The students thoroughly enjoyed the week of learning.  This was shown by the incredible celebration assembly that our talented team of students and teachers put together on Friday. The audience was treated to dance, music and explanations of how interesting and inspiring each country and its people truly are.  The celebration assembly reminded us of how much we can learn from one another and how unique and special our world is. 
 

Upcoming Events

1. 06/04/24 – Block 2 Club break
   
   
2. 08/04/24 – Green Week
   
   
3. 15/4/24 – Dress up day for Green Week
   
   
4. 17/4/24 @11:30am – Term 2 Ends
   
   
5. 02/05/24 @08:25am – Term 3 Begins

Mr Toby Bate, Head of Secondary   

Nord Anglia Education Regional STEAM Festival

Last weekend, our BVIS students participated in the NAE South-East Asia STEAM Festival 24 at BIS HCMC, and it was an incredible experience.

During the event, which lasted two and a half days, our students collaborated with peers from different schools across the region.

Together, they engaged in hands-on activities simulating the challenges of settling on a distant exoplanet.



They took on various tasks, such as designing landing mechanisms, building shelters, and developing transportation systems. Each challenge required creativity and problem-solving skills, which they demonstrated admirably.



Throughout the festival, participants explored a range of topics, including planetary geology, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and social development goals. This allowed them to deepen their understanding of these subjects while also enhancing their teamwork, critical thinking, and innovation skills.

At the end of the event, our students proudly showcased their achievements through displays and presentations, reflecting on their journey of discovery and collaboration.



The festival provided them with a valuable opportunity to apply their classroom learning to real-world challenges, igniting their curiosity and passion for STEAM disciplines even further.

Physics week

House Sways

Saigon Senior Maths Competition

We are thrilled to share the outcome of the Saigon Senior Maths Competition held here at BVIS on Saturday March 9th. The event was a resounding success, thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of all participants.

A total of 19 teams, including three teams from BVIS, took part in the competition, with four rounds designed to test their mathematical and problem-solving ability. A special congratulations to our outstanding Year 12 team for their performance, securing 6th place overall in a very tight competition.

A special shoutout goes to our Year 11 student helpers, whose support and assistance were indispensable in ensuring the smooth running of the competition. 

Once again, congratulations to all participants, and a big thank you to everyone involved in making this event a resounding success!

March Live Lunch

Last week saw a wide variety of performances from across the Secondary Campus at our March Live Lunch. This included highlights from our reigning champions from Saigon’s Battle of the Bands ‘The Bittersweet’, The Entertainer performed by pianist Phu Dong in Y7 and a surprise entry by Y13 performing Bastille’s Pompeii with added saxophone to delight the crowd. However, it was Mr Dobson and the amazing Physics songs that stole the show!

Thank-you to everyone who took part, especially in the fantastic sing-a-long. 

Creative Gala

This Thursday saw our Secondary students from Art, Drama, Music and Media Studies share the creative process with friends, teachers and family. All were welcome to peek behind the curtain and see what actually goes on whilst on the creative journey. Artists used clay and batik to share their ideas; musicians highlighted their work-in-progress pieces; Drama shared one-man-shows and Media Studies wowed everyone with final projects from Y13 students.

Thank-you to all who attended and shared in our learning. 

NAE-Juilliard Performing Arts Collaboration

Over the past two weeks we have been joined at both Primary and Secondary by two wonderful Curriculum Specialists as part of our NAE-Juilliard Performing Arts Collaboration. Ms Tania Hakkim (Drama Curriculum Specialist) and Ms Erin Wight (Music Curriculum Specialist) worked with teachers and students to share the ongoing goal of developing the creative process within BVIS. Teachers took part in observations and workshops and students got to learn from the expertise of two experienced performing arts practitioners.

A particular highlight of their visit was a Parent Workshop led by Ms Erin, inviting mums and dads to experience a reflective Music lesson using motivic development. Well done parents for being so creative with only 3 notes!

First News Champions 

This week's First News Champions are: 

Year 10 – Nguyen Thanh An
Year 9 – Max Nguyen                                            
Year 8 – Nguyen Ngoc Nguyen
Year 7 – Nguyen Hoang Khoi
        
A special congratulations to Max who was the champion across the whole school!

Bedrock Champions

This week’s bedrock champions are:                                   

Year 12 – Trinh Quang Dung 
Year 11 – Aki Vo                                  
Year 10 – Sam Dang      
Year 9 – Billy Nguyen                                      
Year 8 – Shawn Nguyen               
Year 7 – Mraz Le                    
                        
Congratulations to all the above students who came up on top in their respective year groups. A special well done to Mraz who once again achieved the highest Bedrock points total across the whole of Secondary!

Sparx Maths Champions

Students earn XP by completing tasks in their Sparx Homework
 
Compulsory Tasks earn 60-80XP
XP Boost Tasks earn 120-150XP
Target Tasks earn 120-150XP
Independent Learning Tasks earn 100XP
 
Students reach a new Sparx Level every 10000XP

Top XP earners this week are:

Champion Tutor Group

Saigon stay in the lead for now, but will they still be in the lead at the end of the term?

1. 6th April: Block 2 Club break
   
   
2. 10th April: Principal’s Afternoon Tea
   
   
3. 11th April: University Guidance Seminar
   
   
4. 17th April: Term 2 ends at 11:30am
   
   
5. 2nd May 24: Term 3 starts
   
   
6. 6th May 24: Block 2 ECAs resume

Child Protection

The health, safety and wellbeing of our students remains the number one priority at BVIS HCMC.

Should you have a concern for the welfare of any child in our school, please refer to our Safeguarding poster below: