UNIS Hanoi Tin Tuc Weekly Newsletter 08 vol 22 tt 9 oct

School News 1

NEXT WEEKSATURDAY, 10 OCTOBER - SUNDAY, 18/10

• Autumn Break - Offices Open Weekdays/ No Classes

UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter Volume 22, Edition 8, Friday 9 October

COMING SOONMONDAY, 19 OCTOBER

• Youth Sports Season 2 Begins• JV Girls’ Volleyball vs CISH @ UNIS, 16.00-18.00

TUESDAY , 20 OCTOBER

• MAP Testing Grades 6-8, 20-22 Oct• Photo Order on Campus, Centre for the Arts Foyer• MS Boys & Girls’ Basketball vs CISH @ UNIS,

16.00-17.30

WEDNESDAY, 21 OCTOBER

• APAC Tennis @ International School Beijing (ISB), China, 21-25 Oct

• APAC Volleyball @ Shanghai American School (SAS-PD), China, 21-25 Oct

• JV Boys and Girls’ Volleyball vs HIS @ UNIS, 16.00-17.30

• Board of Directors Meeting, 17.30-19.30, Black Box

THURSDAY, 22 OCTOBER

• Advancement Committee Meeting, 8.00-9.30• MS Boys’ Basketball vs HIS @ UNIS, 16.00-17.30• Campus Development Task Force Meeting, 17.00-

18.30, Black Box

FRIDAY, 23 OCTOBER

• Committee on Directors Meeting, 7.00-8.30, Conference Room

• UNIS Committee and Task Force Welcome Reception, 18.00-20.00, B10 Foyer

SATURDAY, 24 OCTOBER

• HAC JV Volleyball Tournament @ SPAS

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A big thank you to everyone for a wonderful United Nations Day celebration today. Our hard working team of faculty and staff were once again superb, and the students did a wonderful job of speaking and making music. Thanks to all the parents for supporting the day through the costume making and potluck lunches.

Best wishes to everyone for restful and rejuvenating break.

Respectfully,

Dr. Chip Barder [email protected]

From the Head of School

Welcome to UNIS HanoiNorah Cizek, K2CO

School News 3

Photos by Tim Barnsley

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Dear MSHS Families,

As I write this article the MSHS is settling back into our daily routines after a wonderful Trip Week experience. That said, the pace of life in our busy MSHS keeps rolling along as we now look forward UN Day and October Break!

During Trip Week students in grades 6 – 12 had the opportunity to explore our beautiful host country and to further develop bonds of friendship with classmates. With roughly one-third of our student body new to the MSHS each year it is important to put students in the position where they can forge relationships that will help new students make smooth transitions to UNIS Hanoi.

Although the main focus of Trip Week is community building there are other aspects of the programme that are equally important. Trips span a range of learning experiences from investigating marine ecosystems and gaining a better understanding of environmental

From the Middle and High Schoolsustainability to overcoming physical challenges and deepening cultural awareness. The trips are designed to be developmentally appropriate, educationally stimulating, personally challenging and fun! We hope that students return from Trip Week with a better sense of community and a deeper appreciation of Vietnam.

Trips and Destinations:• Grade 6: Cuc Phuong National Park

– Primates and jungle trekking• Grade 7: Mai Chau - Cultural

exploration and outdoor challenge• Grade 8: Ba Vi – Cultural activities

and camping adventure• Grade 9: Cat Ba Island – Marine

ecosystems and inspirational journey

• Grade 10: Sapa – Mountain hiking and homestay adventure

• Grade 11: Phong Nha – Caving challenge and group dynamics

• Grade 12: La Vie Vu Linh – Mountain hiking, lake lounging and community building

UNIS Hanoi puts a great deal of thought into its extracurricular offerings. Trips are placed throughout the year and are balanced against academic pressures to provide alternate avenues for inquiry based learning. Contrary to what some parents may believe research indicates that when school trips and co-curricular activities are part of a well-balanced programme of studies academic performance improves.

The benefits of co-curricular activity in schools have been extensively researched and it has been found that students who participate in these

activities develop higher academic results, better relationships at school, and are more likely to lead healthy, active lifestyles when they leave school. Benefits of Co-curricular Activities

As our Trip Week programme continues to develop I hope all members of our school community understand how the UNIS Hanoi co-curricular programme, including trips, adds value to the educational experience of our students.

Pete KennedyMSHS Principal

[email protected]

School News 5

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From the Library

Reminder for All Parents PLEASE CHECK YOUR FAMILY CONTACT DETAILSInformation that is currently recorded in the school system was emailed to all parents for review in September 2015. Please ensure the school has received updated address and telephone information for each parent or guardian. Emergency contact information for each family is also required in the event that parents may not be reached in an urgent situation. Emergency contacts should be living in Hanoi.

• Have you checked your address/phone and other contact details lately?

• Do your nominated emergency contacts still live locally?

Please view this information on your INSIS Family page and request any amendments through the online change request utility.

Please email [email protected] or telephone for assistance:3758 1551 extensions 8217 / 8738 / 8220 / 8732 / 8739

From Admissions Office

We LOVE our UNIS Library books!

And hope you do too!Please do not take them traveling with you this October break.They travel a lot already; going from home to home with our fantastic UNIS Hanoi students! Thank you for caring for our precious books!Ms. Conroy, ES Librarian

School News 7

Standardised Tests

At UNIS Hanoi standardised testing is one way that we gather information to promote and inform student learning. A standardised test should allow students, teachers and parents to identify a student’s strengths and areas of need in the subject areas that are tested. At the schoolwide level the standardised test can help to identify areas of the curriculum that may need adapting. It will also help the school to determine how its students are performing in comparison to other students around the world and to evaluate the effectiveness of our programme.

The school currently uses two different forms of standardised tests. We recently completed the annual International Schools’ Assessment (ISA) tests in Writing, Reading and Mathematics. The other tests we carry out are the Measures of Academic

Progress™ (MAP) in Reading, Language usage, and Mathematics. We do MAP tests twice a year so that we can check for growth in students’ development of knowledge and understanding in the areas tested.

The schedule for this semester is as follows:

Grade 6-8 students: October 20 - 22, 2015

MAP tests are done on computers, and are unique because they adapt to each student’s level as the test proceeds. Each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing. There is no special preparation that students can do to prepare for these tests. It is helpful for students to have a good

night’s sleep and a sufficient breakfast prior to testing. If your child is anxious you can help by talking, listening and reassuring. Encourage your child to simply do their best as he or she would do with any school assignment, test or project. Contact the homeroom teacher if you have a concern regarding your child’s reaction to the test. If you would like more information about the MAP test in general please contact Janet Field, the Director of Learning at [email protected]

Janet FieldDirector of Learning

[email protected]

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Primary Years Programme

The PYP is a curriculum framework that encompasses a wide range of research and experience - excellent practice derived from both national and independent schools all over the world. PYP schools ensure that learning is engaging, relevant, challenging and significant units of work. Here at UNIS Hanoi we aim higher! We aim for PROVOCATIVE engagements, DAILY LIFE relevance, POSITIVE, ENCOURAGED challenges and LOCALLY/GLOBALLY significant units.

The PYP asks us - How will we best learn?

Let’ts start with provocative engagments. Here’s how Journey in Early Childhood defines provocations...

Deliberate and thoughtful decisions made by the teacher to extend the ideas of children. Teachers provide materials, media and general direction as needed (but the children take the ideas where they want) and encourage children to engage with the ideas and take then forward.

Already this year across the year levels we have observed and heard about provocative learning engagements from our students. When we are hearing about it from our students, we know it has been a success! It creates excitement around their learning, provokes them to wonder more about what they are learning about and also gives them the desire to learn because it is makes them so curious, it’s relevant and fun!

Here are a few pictures of some provocations that we have seen here at UNIS Hanoi in 2015-2016:

Grade 1 :Central idea: Communities have a set of routines and structures to help them function

Prueann BrowningPYP Coordinator

[email protected]

Grade 2 - Central idea: Knowing and using our strengths and working on our challenges helps us build a balanced community.

School News 9

Welcome to Hosting and “Homestay”

As a UNIS Hanoi family you are offered a wonderful opportunity to see first-hand what a top tier international school has to offer in terms of co-curricular programming. There are many international schools around the world, but only the top schools are willing and able to commit to dedicating the necessary resources to run a top tier international school co-curricular programme.

One of the key foundation pieces of our programme here at UNIS Hanoi is our affiliation with the Mekong River International Schools Association (MRISA) and the Asia Pacific Activities Conference (APAC). Our students are afforded incredible opportunities through these two organizations whether they are directly involved or not.

Any student accepting membership on a co-curricular group with UNIS Hanoi must be aware of the hosting responsibilities we accept as members of MRISA and APAC, as well as our partnership with other international

schools around the world. When we host events that require overnight stays, accommodation must be provided for the visiting students. By accepting membership on a UNIS Hanoi co-curricular group, our families agree to support the programme by opening their homes and accommodating our guests. In short – if you take part in the programme, you must house visiting students.

Considering the number of events that UNIS Hanoi hosts each year, we also have to request support from other members of our school community to help make sure all our guests have a comfortable and safe place to stay for the duration of the event. With the help of our UNIS Hanoi families we hope to establish a long-standing tradition of hospitality for our guests who will join us from our sister schools around the world.

For those of you who are new to the concept of reciprocal housing or billeting, the following summary may help you understand what is involved and answer questions you may have. It is important to completely understand what the opportunity encompasses and what is expected.

As a host family we ask that you provide the following:

• Accommodation - Sleeping quarters for your guest(s).

• Some Meals - This will primarily be breakfast each morning and possibly two to three dinners. Most participants will be at school or the event venue during lunch time, and have an activity planned around dinner.

• Laundry - The students may need to have their uniforms washed on

competition/performance days. We would appreciate you helping them with this. If the best way for you to do this is to show them how to use the washer, that is fine.

• Transportation - We ask that you pick up your guests at the designated location specified in the Host Family Packet which you will receive well in advance of your guest arriving. For the duration of the event, we ask you to provide transportation for visiting students between your home and UNIS Hanoi. In some cases UNIS Hanoi can help arrange bus transportation at a fixed pick-up/drop-off locations.

• Supervision - At least one parent or responsible adult should be present in the home while your guests are staying with you.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)HOW MANY VISITING STUDENTS AM I EXPECTED TO HOUSE?

Generally we prefer to put our guests up in pairs. When two visiting students are together it makes the experience more comfortable for the guests as well as the host family. However, some of our UNIS Hanoi hosts take 4 to 6 guests at a time.

DO WE NEED TO GIVE THE STUDENTS THEIR OWN ROOMS OR CAN THEY SHARE?

It is appropriate to put two (or more) students in a room together.

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WILL I HAVE MIXED GENDER GUEST (E.G. ONE BOY AND ONE GIRL)?

No, your assigned guests will be all of one gender.

ARE COTS, SLEEPING BAGS, OR A MATTRESS ON THE FLOOR ACCEPTABLE?

A bed is preferred, but cots, sleeping bags or a mattress on the floor are acceptable. If students are on the floor, there should be some form of cushioning under them i.e. air mattress, floor mattress, etc. Please provide appropriate bedding.

IF THE PARTICIPANTS USE A TAXI, DO WE PROVIDE TAXI MONEY?

Transportation should be the responsibility of the host family. If for some reason you can’t provide transportation, please provide taxi fare or arrange for alternate transportation. Guests should not take a taxi without a UNIS Hanoi host student or parent. In some cases UNIS Hanoi can help arrange bus transportation at a fixed pick-up/drop-off location.

WHAT ARE CURFEW CALLS AND ARE THEY NECESSARY?

Calls will be made to your home phone, not to a mobile, unless your home has no land line. Please be prepared to receive these phone calls at approximately 10:00pm each night. Although this may seem inconvenient, we ask that you be patient and understand that this procedure is taken seriously by the chaperones and their

schools as a way of ensuring the safety and well-being of their students. You can have your guests near the phone at curfew time so as to cause minimum disturbance to you and your family.

WHAT IS MEANT BY CURFEW VIOLATIONS?

A curfew violation occurs when a participant is not in the host family’s home by the curfew time set up for that particular event. The participants will be scheduled to be back to your homes well before curfew, allowing them plenty of time to arrive by the deadline. There should be no attempt to “cover” for the students. If a chaperone calls and your guests are not in, please tell the chaperone and they can either call back or have the students call when they arrive. The curfew time is very important to follow, and for safety reasons will be strictly enforced. Also, please note that there are no exceptions to the stated curfew times; curfew will not be extended for anyone at any time.

IF A STUDENT HAS BROKEN THE RULES, WHOM DO I CALL?

If there is anything happening that you question, please call the Director of Activities, Mr. Tarique AL-Iesa at +84 125 882-8672 immediately. Another appropriate action is to communicate with the chaperone. Either way, the Director of Activities should be informed. We do not want you to have a negative experience in any way. A shared set of rules and expectations will be included in the Host Family Information Packet.

DO PARENTS/GUARDIANS HAVE TO BE AT HOME DURING HOUSING?

Please make sure that if you offer to house that at least one parent/guardian is in Hanoi and available to act as chaperone and emergency contact.

We understand that we are to provide breakfast, and possibly dinner for the participants, but who pays if they want to go out? If students want to go out for dinner, and it is no problem for you, they pay their meal themselves. Most visitors bring extra money for these situations. Only official group dinners are allowed and the coach/chaperone must be present with the entire group. Official group dinners or other special trips for individual groups during an event must be approved by and coordinated with the event director, and clearly communicated to the host family.

Tarique AL-IesaDirector of Activities

[email protected]

Welcome to Hosting and “Homestay” <continued>

School News 11

UNIS Phoenix SwimmingThe UNIS Phoenix Swim Club opened the 2015-2016 year with our Blastoff Swim Gala last Saturday! Over 100 UNIS Hanoi students participated from ES, MS and HS. Despite some weariness from Trip Week, our swimmers still managed to attain well over 150 personal best times (PBs) and broke six UNIS School Records. The swimmers, after training for over a month, were clearly ready to race!

One of our newest swimmers, Sophia Villamil, broke the record for the 11&12 Girls 100IM and narrowly missed two others. For the boys, Roope Makela broke his own 13&14 year old Boys record for the 50 free. In the 10+Under Boys events Bill Nguyen and Duc Hoai Le each broke two records and had some of the most exciting races of the meet. Duc narrowly edged Bill in the 50 free and Bill just touched Duc out in the 100 free. Both of them shattered the existing records in their races. Duc also broke the 100IM record and Bill also broke the 200 free record.

Super special thanks go out to all the parents who volunteered at the meet. Without your active involvement these events would not be possible. Our biggest meet of the year is coming at the end of the month and I look forward to your continuing support and efforts for your swimmers.

Our next swim meet is the annual UNIS Invitational with 10 schools from SE Asia coming together to race at our pool! The UNIS Invitational takes place Saturday Oct. 31 and Sunday Nov. 1.