Issue6

3 October 2014 | ISSUE 6

Dates for your diary

IN THIS ISSUE

From: Page

Headteacher & Deputy Headteacher 1,2,3,4,5,6

Y2 Teacher 7

Y4 Teacher 8

Y5 Teacher 9

Music Department 10

PE Department & Community Service 11,12,13,14

PTG 15,16

Lunch Menus for F1-Y6 17,18

Contact information

225 Nguyen Van Huong St, District 2, HCMC

Tel: (848) 3744 4551

Fax: (848) 3744 4182

E-mail:

[email protected]

BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HO CHI MINH CITY

AN PHU PRIMARY

Newsletter

5th PTG Family Picnic 9.30—11.30am

7th & 9th Maths Calculation workshops (MP1 & MP2/MP3)

8th Y6 Residential Trip Meeting - 5.30pm

16th Business and Enterprise Day

17th School finishes for Half Term Holiday

27th School resumes after Half Term Holiday

October

From The Headteacher - Mr Simon Higham

Issue 6 /Page 2

Scan here to access the

‘AP1 Parent Blog’

AP1 Parent Blog

http://ap1parentblog.blogspot.com/ The AP1 Primary Parent Blog is a one stop shop of information, detailing

how you can help to make a difference in our child‟s education by knowing

how to help.

If you are new to Vietnam, visit the AP1 Parent Blog and simply click on the

„Parent Documents‟ tab and access the „Welcome to HCMC - New Family

Guide. This will give you a comprehensive guide to what to do and what to

expect if you are new to HCMC.

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly - [email protected]

if you have any further ideas about how to make this blog more useful.

Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, wrote: „To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is

spelled out is a spark.‟

This week, our focus at AP1 has been to read, read and read some more. It has been a privilege for

me to visit classrooms and read to our children during Book Week and it has been wonderful to see

small faces light up with excitement and wonder, caused by words and pictures within a book.

I would like to thank Adam Bushnell, our resident author at BIS this week for working with all of

our children from F1 to Y6. His passion for both reading and writing has inspired and encouraged

our children to make reading a regular routine. Aside from teachers and authors, parents too have a

large part to play in the reading process too. Please can I urge all of you to read as often as you can

with your children - whatever their age and ability. It is clear that those children who regularly

share books with an adult become more confident and competent readers and writers. I encourage you all to „light that fire‟

and „be that spark‟.

Next week, our Mathematics Leaders are offering two workshops on Tuesday (MP1) and Thursday (MP2 and MP3) from

8.15am to explain the methods of calculation that we use at BIS. Further details about this will be sent to you via email

shortly.

Thank you for your support in ensuring that all children are wearing the correct uniform. This helps us to reinforce the

highest standards that we set across all areas of our school life. May I also remind you to label all uniform, especially hats

as this helps to identify any lost property that we have during the week.

I look forward to seeing you all at this week‟s Family Picnic at AP1 from 9.30am to 11.30am. If you still have not purchased

a ticket, payment can be made on the gate, with all families that are new to BIS this August coming free. Thank you in ad-

vance to all parents from the Family Picnic committee that have made this event possible. Look out for the pictures in next

week‟s newsletter. If you would like to help out on Sunday, there is still time to do so. Sign up by clicking here

‘Fill your house with stacks of

books, in all the crannies and

all the nooks.‟ - Dr. Seuss

I hope that you enjoy looking

through the many activities

that have occurred this week

at AP1.

Book Week in Pictures

Issue 6 /Page 3

Meet our New

Teachers!

Meet our New

Teachers!

Introducing Our New Teachers

A chat with Ms Anna from F3I

Pick the first 3 words you think of when I say Vi-

etnam

Hot, busy, food!

What are your first impressions of BIS?

A very friendly and welcoming place to work. A

school that has realistically high expectations

of staff and the pupil’s enjoyment in learning

is the top priority.

What new experience have you had since you ar-

rived in Vietnam?

Actually having money at the end of the month!

This didn’t really happen in London.

If you were writing a postcard to friends back home,

what would it say?

You must come and visit! Bring me an espresso

maker and a tin opener please.

A chat with Mr Pete, Cover Teacher and Infor-

mation Literacy Leader

Pick the first 3 words you think of when I say Vi-

etnam

Friendly, vibrant and interesting.

What are your first impressions of BIS?

I am really enjoying working at BIS. It was a

little different teaching lots of different classes

every week but I really like it because I now

know so many different people/students. Every-

one is so friendly and happy and I feel very

happy and settled here already.

What new experience have you had since you arrived

in Vietnam?

I now have a motorbike so am starting to feel

properly Vietnamese. I am getting used to the

traffic and am enjoying the freedom of being

able to explore and find new places.

If you were writing a postcard to friends back home,

what would it say?

Dear Mum and Dad,

Having a great time in Ho Chi Minh City. I re-

ally like the food, the warm weather, the school,

the students and I have made lots of new

friends.

Dear parents,

We are continuing to introduce our new teachers to you and let you know how they are settling in. Please do

say hello if you see them in school and feel free to offer them some of your „top tips‟ about life in Vietnam!

Kind regards,

Deidre Grimshaw Deputy Headteacher

Issue 6 /Page 4

Responsibility at BIS is given, where possible, to the children. Having ownership of their school and a vested

interest in its improvement and development is an important part of the children‟s development and gives them

a real sense of belonging. Throughout school we look for opportunities to make this happen.

Perhaps two of the most important ways to achieve this is through the Student Council and House Captains.

We are delighted to introduce you to the new House Captains for 2014 – 2015 and also our new Student Council

for 2014 – 2015. All of the students had to apply for the posts and were chosen by their peers for the roles.

House Captains

Mailk, Shayna, Jessica, Huy Kai, Tim, Teaghan, Emily

Renee, Jung Min, Sophia, Henry

Go Eun, Ly, Ben, Joseph

The Student Voice at AP1

Issue 6 /Page 5

The Student Council, will also be guided by a teacher, Ms Marion, who facilitates meetings and supports them

as they too generate ideas to further improve our campus and what we do for the students. We look forward to

hearing their many ideas to support our school and make it even better. The executive committee will also meet

with Mr Simon every week to feed back their ideas, suggestions and any concerns that they have.

The Student Council

Student Voice

Issue 6 /Page 6

Issue 6 /Page 7

2S Community Service Visit

Last week, 2S visited Anh Minh

School to meet their partner class.

The children in Anh Minh school have

h e a r i n g i m p a i r m e n t s s o ,

in preparation for the visit, our chil-

dren investigated different ways that

deaf people can communicate. Our

children were really supportive and

helped their new friends create a pup-

pet.

A lot of fun was had by all. 2S are

looking forward to the children from

Anh Minh School visiting us at AP1

next month.

Ms Jude Handscombe

Y2 Teacher and MP1 Leader

Year 4 - Buddy Classes We are really settling into life in Year 4! One of our favourite activities so

far this year has been meeting our younger friends in our buddy class.

When 4S met F3S we had great fun in the role play area. We helped them

to create pictures using stencils and built towers with the construction

toys. As part of Book Week, each class paired up to share our favourite

stories. We had to choose a book that our buddies would be interested in

and made sure we used our most expressive voices when reading. It was

lots of fun and they were a great audience! 4I, on the other hand, gave

their buddy class (1I) a dance lesson on how to do the „Time Warp‟. The

hilarious results of which can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=c6XHihPbFyg .

Year 4 look forward to keeping the „Buddy Class‟ system working as bril-

liantly for the remainder of the year!

Mr Chris McKelvie

Y4 Teacher & MP2 Leader

Issue 6 /Page 8

Business and Enterprise Day - Coming Soon!

Issue 6/Page 9

Where in Ho Chi Minh City can you have your hair styled, relax with a manicure and pedicure, buy some deli-

cious home-made chocolates, visit a sweet factory, pop into a tea shop, pick up some essentials for Halloween

and watch a talent show all within a few metres walk? The answer is right here in AP1 on Thursday 16th Octo-

ber between 10.00am and 11.30am, when the front playground will be transformed into a market place. Classes

across the school are shortly going to receive their starting capital and have begun the process of designing a

game, service or product that will attract the attention of other children in the school. In addition to every class

becoming a business for the day, every child will be invited to bring in maximum spending money of 50,000

VND. This will enable them to experience managing their own budgets by being necessarily selective in decid-

ing how to spend their money from the array of tempting offers.

Parents are very welcome to come and observe the young entrepreneurs in action, although we would ask par-

ents to resist the temptation to buy from the stalls so that customer base of the producers is not confused.

Mr Andy James

Y5 Teacher and Mathematics Leader

Issue 6 /Page 10

We‟ve been making a lot of noise in the Music depart-

ment during the last few weeks with the start of our af-

ter school and lunchtime clubs. We have begun to pre-

pare a range of musical items for our Carol Concert in

December and are full of the Christmas spirit already,

despite it only being October!

For more information about our clubs, you can check out

our AP1 Music Blog at www.ap1music.blogspot.com

Ms Beth Bown

AP1 Music Leader

Music

Issue 6 /Page 11

Extra Curricular Clubs – Term 1 2014-2015

Thank you for your support with the first two weeks of our Extra Curricular Clubs programme. Most of our clubs are well repre-

sented however there are still some that need more children to run effectively (see above).

If you would like your child (ren) to be allocated to another club, in addition to their current allocation, please look carefully

at the list of clubs above and email Ms Nhung directly.

[email protected]

Please note that if minimum numbers for some clubs are not reached, then

they may not be able to run.

Ms Deirdre Grimshaw

Deputy Headteacher

Scan here to access the

AP1 Club Booklet

Name of club Year group Time & Date

Tag Rugby Y1&2 Monday 7:00am

Paid football Y4-Y6 Monday 4:45pm

Create and Write Y3 Monday 2:45pm

Make Your Own E book Y3-Y5 Monday 2:45pm

Girls Football Y4-Y6 Wednesday 7:00am

Swim General Y4-Y6 Wednesday 7:00am

Tag Rugby Y5-Y6 Thursday 7:00am

Space Y3-Y4 Friday 7:25am

Green Screen Y5-Y6 Friday 7:00am

Keen to be Green club needs your help.

Please bring in any used, small drinks

bottles to school. We would like to recycle

them by making them into a rubbish bin

as shown in the picture.

Please take your bottles to Ms Rachel in

room 010.

Keen to the Green Club Members

Keen to be Green Club - we need your help!

Issue 6/Page 12

Holiday Sports Programmes - October 2014

Date Sport Time Head Coach

Mini-

mum

No. Of

Stu-

dents

Age Prices (all

in VND) Location

20/10 - 24/10 Football 8 am- 11 am SSA Min 8 Year 3 upwards 1,900,000 Big field

20/10 - 24/10 Basketball 1pm-4pm SSA Min 8 Year 3 upwards 1,900,000

AP2

Sportshal

l

20/10-24/10 Multi Skills 8.00-9.00 Mr Richard So-

riano Min 8 Y1-Y3 440,000

AP1

Sportshal

l

20/10-24/10 Multi Skills 9.00-10.00 Mr Richard So-

riano Min 8 F1-F3 440,000

AP1

Sportshal

l

20/10-24/10 T ball 4pm-5.30pm Mr Richard So-

riano Min 8 Y3-Y6 660,000 Big field

Group Time Cost Venue Minimum Maximum

Foundation 2-3 8.00 – 08.45 415,000 VND AP1 5 10

Foundation 2-3 08.45 – 09.30 415,000 VND AP1 5 10

Year 1 – 2 09.30 – 10.15 415,000 VND AP1 5 10

Year 1 – 2 10.15 – 11.00 415,000 VND AP1 5 10

Year 3 – 4 11.00 – 12.00 550,000 VND AP1 5 12

Year 5 upwards 12.15 – 01.45 825,000 VND AP1 5 15

20/10 - 24/10 Swimming 8am- 1:45 pm Mr Vinh Ngu-

yen Min 8 F2 upwards

Various

(see letters) AP1 pool

Holiday Swimming Programmes - October 2014

U11 Boys & Girls Basketball vs TX

On 1st October we had a great match against BIS TX

campus.

In the first half we were losing 5-2 with Jonathan

Brownrigg scoring a nice basket through a jump shot

13 feet away from the hoop. From there, we started to

heat up and pour in the baskets.

In the second half our defence got better too. We left

them scoreless in the second half, while taking ten

points ourselves. Jonathan scored 6 points overall, Wil-

liam scored 2 with 3 assists, and Young Jin scored 4. In

the end, we won our third match in-a-row 12-5. The

coaches are hoping for more of the same in 2 weeks

against ISHMC. Go BIS!

William Shultz 6B

The wind was gently brushing past my red sweaty

face. My heart was palpitating so hard I could hear

it resounding in my ears. “Pass Tig!” the ball flies

across the air towards me. One chance is all I got, I

reminded myself with a deep breath and I took the

shot. It rolled around the hoop, and went it! The

score was ten- nil. We were wining and there was

only a few seconds left on the clock.

Soon the countdown had begun 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4,

3, 2, 1! We had won! All that hard work had paid

off. I scored 2 baskets (4 points), Emily scored 2

baskets too and Ela scored 1 basket (2 points).

Overall I really enjoyed the match and hope to play

against TX again soon.

Naomi Martin 6V

Everyday there are losses of life due to traffic accidents - 15 people out of eve-

ry 100,000 die due to road accidents, and this is partly due to not wearing

helmets. By just wearing a helmet, motorcycle injuries are reduced by 69%, and

motorcycle fatalities by 42%.

Last year in Secondary the Year 9s collected data, monitoring helmet wearing at the school gate before and af-

ter the school day. The Year 8s analysed the results in their maths lessons to find:

It is surprising that still after 4 years of helmet wearing campaigns approximately 20% of the secondary pop-

ulation (adults and students) do not wear helmets on two-wheeled transportation and over 60% of adults do

not wear helmets on their bicycles! Time to reflect and become change makers!

Make sure YOU wear your awesome helmet, be a role model in your community and join the Helmets for

Kid‟s Campaign!

Helmets - a crucial asset to transportation

Accidents will always take people by surprise, and anyone can be affected, even in An Phu! This is why we see

the importance of committing to the Public Health Project - Helmets for Kids within the wider Community Ser-

vice Projects Program, to raise awareness in our community of the importance of wearing a helmet. We Year 9s

are committed role models. As a parent, teacher or student are you?!

Hoang Son, Ji Min and Mai, 9N and

Ms Emma Jane Morris

Community Service Projects Manager

Issue 6 /Page 13

Issue 6 /Page 14

BBGV Fun Run

Click on the YouTube icon

to watch the video

Issue 6 /Page 15

Volunteers are needed for ticket sales & day of event.

To volunteer, please email

[email protected] or [email protected]

Thank you!

50,000vnd per

ticket

&

Free Entry for

Adults &

Children under

2 years

Term 1

New

Families –

Free Entry

PTG - Events

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C054EACAE28A4F85-bisfamily/

Issue 6 /Page 16

PTG

Issue 6/Page 17

MENU FOR F1 - F2 MENU 1 (WEEK BEGINNING 6 OCTOBER)

DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

MAIN

COURSE

CHOOSE

1

Honey Lime Chick-

en, Sautéed Potato

OR

Braised Tofu with

Pork, Rice

Cottage Pie-Beef

OR

Chicken & Vegeta-

ble Curry, Rice

Pasta with Pork

Balls

OR

Fish Teriyaki,

Rice

Roast Pork,

Mashed Potato

OR

Chicken Noodle

Soup

Fish Goujons, Potato

Wedges

OR

Minced Beef & Vege-

table Stew, Rice

VEGETA-

BLES

Choy sum & Car-

rot

Chinese Cabbage

& Carrot

Spinach

Long Beans &

Carrot

Morning Glory

SOUP

Spinach & Melon

Soup

Watercress

Mixed Vegetable

Spinach

Cabbage & Carrot

FOR VEG-

ETARIAN

ONLY

Aloo Tikki Burger

Spinach & Melon

Soup

Vegetarian Cottage

Pie

Chinese Cabbage

& Carrot

Pasta Napoli-

tana

Chickpeas Salad

Vegetarian Noo-

dle Soup

Long Bean & Car-

rot

Tofu & Vegetable

Stew, Rice

Cabbage & Carrot

Soup

MENU FOR F3 - YEAR 2 MENU 1 (WEEK BEGINNING 6 OCTOBER)

DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

MAIN COURSE

CHOOSE 1

Honey Lime

Chicken, Sau-

téed Potato

OR

Braised Tofu

with Pork, Rice

Cottage Pie-Beef

OR

Chicken & Vege-

table Curry, Rice

Pasta with Pork

Balls

OR

Fish Teriyaki, Rice

Roast Pork, Mashed

Potato

OR

Chicken Noodle

Soup

Fish Goujons, Po-

tato Wedges

OR

Minced Beef &

Vegetable Stew,

Rice

VEGETABLES

Choy sum &

Carrot

Chinese Cabbage

& Carrot

Spinach

Long Beans & Car-

rot

Morning Glory

SOUP

Spinach & Mel-

on Soup

Watercress

Mixed Vegetable

Spinach

Cabbage & Carrot

FOR VEGETAR-

IAN ONLY

Aloo Tikki

Burger

Spinach & Mel-

on Soup

Vegetarian Cot-

tage Pie

Chinese Cabbage

& Carrot

Pasta Napolitana

Chickpeas Salad

Vegetarian Noodle

Soup

Long Bean & Car-

rot

Tofu & Vegetable

Stew, Rice

Cabbage & Carrot

Soup

DELI BAR

OPTION

Bun

filled with Ham

& cheese

Served with

Salad

Jacket Potato

filled with Baked

Beans & Bacon

Served with Salad

Bun

filled with cheese &

egg

Served with Salad

Jacket Potato

filled with Bolo-

gnese Sauce

Served with Salad

Bun

filled with Chick-

en & mayonnaise,

Served with Salad

Fresh Fruits & Salad Bar are available daily

Issue 6 /Page 18

MENU FOR YEAR 3 - YEAR 6

MENU 1 (WEEK BEGINNING 6 OCTOBER)

DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

MAIN

COURSE

CHOOSE 1

Honey Lime Chick-

en, Sautéed Potato

OR

Braised Tofu with

Pork, Rice

Cottage Pie-Beef

OR

Chicken & Vegeta-

ble Curry, Rice

Pasta with Pork

Balls

OR

Fish Teriyaki, Rice

Roast Pork,

Mashed Potato

OR

Chicken Noodle

Soup

Fish Goujons, Po-

tato Wedges

OR

Minced Beef &

Vegetable Stew,

Rice

VEGETA-

BLES

Choy sum & Carrot

Chinese Cabbage &

Carrot

Spinach

Long Beans & Car-

rot

Morning Glory

SOUP

Spinach & Melon

Soup

Watercress

Mixed Vegetable

Spinach

Cabbage & Carrot

FOR VEGE-

TARIAN

ONLY

Aloo Tikki Burger

Spinach & Melon

Soup

Vegetarian Cottage

Pie

Chinese Cabbage &

Carrot

Pasta Napolitana

Chickpeas Salad

Vegetarian Noodle

Soup

Long Bean & Car-

rot

Tofu & Vegetable

Stew, Rice

Cabbage & Carrot

Soup

DELI BAR

OPTION

Baguette/Jacket

Potato

fill with ham, chick-

en, cheese, egg, tu-

na mayonnaise,

baked beans, peas

& bolognese sauce

Served with Salad

Bun/Jacket Potato

fill with ham,

chicken, cheese,

egg, tuna mayon-

naise, baked beans,

peas & bolognese

sauce

Served with Salad

Wrap/Jacket Potato

fill with bacon,

ham, chicken, egg,

cheese, tuna mayon-

naise, baked beans,

peas & bolognese

sauce

Served with Salad

Bun/Jacket Potato

fill with ham,

chicken, cheese,

egg, tuna mayon-

naise, baked beans,

peas & bolognese

sauce

Served with Salad

Baguette/Jacket

Potato

fill with ham,

chicken, cheese,

egg, tuna mayon-

naise, baked

beans, peas & bo-

lognese sauce

Served with Salad

Fresh Fruits & Salad Bar are available daily