BISbuzz Issue 18 | 1

BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HO CHI MINH CITY| SECONDARY CAMPUS

JANUARY 16 | ISSUE 18

IN THIS ISSUE

Council of Interna onal Schools Five‐Year Visit 02

From the Head Teacher 03

No nos dejemos engañar 04

Ac vi es 05

ABRSM Theory 05

Community Service 06

University Informa on Evenings 08

PTG 09‐10

From The BIStro & Underground 11

January 

19th Ac vi es start

19th University Informa on Evening ‐ UK, 6.30pm

21st World Wise Geography Quiz, 2.45pm

21st University Informa on Evening ‐ US & Canada, 6.30pm

22nd—30th IGCSE Mock Exams / IB Mock Exams

22nd University Informa on Evening ‐ Asia & Australia , 6.30pm

26th—30th Trips Week ‐ Year 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12

UPCOMING EVENTS

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Dear Parents

Council of International Schools Five-Year Visit

You may be aware that BIS was granted full accreditation by the Council of International Schools (CIS) in November 2009. This accreditation was awarded for 10 years subject to a review after five years. Last November a CIS team visited the school for three days to conduct the Five-Year review. I am delighted to inform you that the visit was successful and that we continue to be a fully accredited school. The visiting team was very complimentary about the school and as a summary statement wrote ‘BIS knows itself exceedingly well and is not satisfied with the status quo at any level of its operation. This attitude is shared by the range of stakeholders in the school and ensures that the school will continue its growth and improvement.’ The Visitors identified the following strengths for the school: A commitment to providing high quality education for all students through classroom programmes,

teachers’ continual professional development (CPD) and resourcing A visible commitment to facilities improvement, providing learning and recreational spaces that are

equitable across all campuses Its commitment to the care and support of all staff The high quality of senior management A serious commitment to the accreditation process exemplified by the exceptional progress the school

has made in meeting the Visiting Team’s recommendations A Mission Statement that is clear and truly serves as a focus for all school operations Owners and a Principal who are focused on students’ learning and to creating an environment to

support the school’s aim to be one of the best international schools in the world The Visitors also identified a small number of areas for improvement that are linked to changes in the Standards for Accreditation under which we will be assessed in five years’ time. A full report is available in each campus reception for parents to read. For the parents of the school this award provides further confirmation that their children are receiving a high quality education from a caring and skilled team of educational professionals. I would like to congratulate all of my colleagues at school and thank them for their continued dedication and commitment. The whole school community can take great pride in retaining this formal recognition for the school. Yours sincerely

Shaun Williams CEO and Principal

From The Principal

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From The Head Teacher

Welcome back to the start of Term 2 and a very Happy New Year! We are delighted to start this term with the announcement of a very successful Five Year Review from the Council of International Schools. More detail is on page 2 of BISbuzz where you will find a letter from Shaun Williams. My thanks go to the parents of AP2 for their help with the CIS visitors and for their continued support. CIS report that we are “an exemplar of a mission-driven institution”. Our mission does, indeed, guide us in our work. In many ways this is easy as our mission was created and developed by ourselves and has stood the test of time. I have often said that all schools have mission statements. Good schools, however, have good mission statements. Our difference, as an outstanding school, is that we use our mission statement. Our mission is referred to in lessons, in praising and rewarding students, in assemblies and on the sports fields. You see the “aide-memoire” on display around the school, in our yearbook, in Spectrum and in our newsletters. At the top this aide-memoire, the words “integrity, respect, care” appear under the phrase “global citizens”. This resonates with the IB Mission which challenges us to do nothing less than “develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world though intercultural understanding and respect.” It urges us to encourage students to “become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.” Watching the events in Paris last week, and in Pakistan and elsewhere, I have to wonder what might have been different in the lives of the perpetrators of the attacks if they had attended a good international school such as ours, driven by a consistent message of intercultural understanding and respect. I am heartened by the commitment of our students to making the world a better place. They have some work to do. One sixth form student of IB Diploma Programme Spanish, Raul, put his language skills to the task with a response in Spanish to the attack on the Charlie Hebdo staff. Raul has been to school in Italy, Mexico and now Vietnam, and while condemning the violence, reminds us to be cautious about the conclusions we may draw.

Richard Dyer Head Teacher, Secondary

From The Head Teacher

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El 7 de enero de 2014 dos hombres con metralletas entraron las oficinas del semanario satírico, Charlie Hebdo en Paris y empezaron a matar a los editores uno por uno, para vengarse de las burlas hacia el Islam; en total hubo 12 muertos y 11 heridos. Al finalizar el tiroteo, los hombres se metieron en un coche y es caparon; no obstante la policía acabó ubicándolos el 9 de enero y tuvo que recurrir a matarlos. En los días siguiendo al atentado, la prensa ha tomado una postura en contra del Islam, atacando a los musulmanes y declarando que la religión promueve la violencia. Sin embargo, también ha habido otra gen-te que se ha dedicado a defender al Islam, con el argumento de que a pesar de que gran cantidad de terroris-tas son musulmanes, la mayor parte de la población musulmana no lo es en absoluto. Además, el Islam está absolutamente en contra del uso de la violencia contra los ciudadanos inocentes, incluso es una religión que prohíbe dañar el medio ambiente y cortar árboles. Recientemente, con el incremento de atentados relacionados al Islam, los inmigrantes de orígenes musulmanes han sido grave-mente afectados debido a los prejuicios que se imponen sobre ellos. Como ha sucedido esta semana, una gran cantidad de la población mundial, esta echando la culpa a gente que no tiene nada que ver con los atentados. Raul Carvajal Vásquez 12C (Translation by Google Translate) On January 7, 2014 two men with machine guns entered the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris and started killing editors one by one, to avenge the insult to Islam; in total there were 12 dead and 11 wounded. At the end of the shooting, the men got into a car and escaped; however the police finally found them on January 9 and had to resort to killing them. In the days following the attack, the press has taken a stand against Islam, attacking Muslims and declaring that religion promotes violence. However, there have also been other people who are dedicated to defend-ing Islam, arguing that even though many terrorists may be Muslims, the majority of the Muslim popula-tion is not at all. Moreover, Islam is absolutely against the use of violence against innocent citizens, it is even a religion that prohibits harming the environment and cutting trees. Recently, with the increase in attacks related to Islam, immigrants from Muslim backgrounds have been badly affected due to prejudices that are imposed on them. As has happened this week, a lot of the world's population is blaming people who have nothing to do with the attacks.

No nos dejemos engañar

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ABRSM Theory

The next ABRSM theory exam is 7th March at 9am and the deadline for application is 16th January Please check out www.abrsm.org/vn for more details Ian Alexander Music Teacher

Activities

Please be reminded that ECA’s begin on Monday 19th January. All students would have now received a confirmation email detailing their activities for term 2. If there are any ECA’s that students still want to join they need to talk directly with the teacher/coach leading the activity.

Phil Drake Director of Sport/Ac vi es & Trip Coordinator

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Community Service

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Dear Parents and Students of Year 12, Next week we will be holding a series of university information evenings. This year we will be focussing on different destinations on different evenings so students and their families can choose the most appropri-ate session for them. The destinations are based on the most popular choices made by our students. Should a country you are interested in not be covered in this series we will of course work with the student and family to establish entry requirements and other factors related to the application process. Following Trips Week each student will have a one-one guidance interview which parents are welcome to attend. Details of the interviews will follow after the information evenings. The information evenings will take place in the Study Room [Room 124] at the following times: Please register your interest on CHQ. We very much look forward to seeing you next week. Kind regards, Aidan B Crowley College & University Guidance Counsellor

KOREAN UNIVERSITY UPDATE

We will be holding a separate information event for Korean University applications and requirements. The time and date will be confirmed later in the term but we envisage we will hold the event in early April in time for this year’s application cycle. Students and families in Years 10-13 are more than welcome to at-tend. We are delighted to announce that SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY will be visiting BIS on the 4th February. The time is not yet confirmed and we will notify students and families in due course. We look forward to welcoming SNU to the BIS community.

Day/Date Time Destination

Monday 19th January 18.30-20.00 United Kingdom

Wednesday 21st January 18.30-20.00 USA & Canada

Thursday 22nd January 18.30-20.00 Asia – specifically Hong Kong, Singapore & Australia

UNIVERSITY INFORMATION EVENINGS

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PTG

The first coffee morning of this year was held on 14th January. Nearly 30 parents attended this coffee meet. It was a very good opportunity to meet new parents and get to share information amongst each other.

Welcome back and New Parent Coffee Morning

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Wine and Cheese Night A good chance to catch up with old friends a er the holidays and a chance to make some new ones!

It promises to be a relaxing evening of wine, food and lots of interes ng people!

Thursday, 5th February 2015

From 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Tickets 200,000 VND per person Available at the AP2 recep on.

Venue: Dist ‐2 ,Thao Dien

AP2 PTG

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From the Underground & BIStro

Menu 3 (19 January) 

From the Underground & BIStro

DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

MAIN COURSE CHOOSE 1

Chicken Carbonara OR

Roast Pork, Rice

Pasta Bolognese-Pork OR

Sweet & Sour Fish, Rice

Battered Fish & Chips OR

Nasi Lemak (Chicken & Egg)

Chili Con Carne - Beef, Rice

OR Won Ton Noodle

Soup

VEGETABLES Bok Choy & Carrot

Salad Long Bean, Carrot

Salad

Morning Glory, Carrot Salad

Choy sum & Carrot Salad

SOUP Choy sum Spinach & Melon Tomato & Tofu Soup Mixed Vegetable

DESSERT Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit

VEGETARIAN

Braised Tofu & Beans, Rice

Choy sum Soup Mixed Fruit

Veggie Pasta Chickpeas Salad

Mixed Fruit

Vegetarian Chili Con Carne, Rice Tomato & Tofu

Soup Mixed Fruit

Tofu Noodle Soup

Choy sum & Carrot

Mixed Fruit

DELI BAR OPTION

Baguette & Wrap Fill it with a variety of choices including ham, chicken, cheese, tuna mayonnaise, beef, baked bean,

mixed bean, bolognese sauce

SNACK MENU

Curry Puff Samosa

Fruit Cup

Chocolate Mud Cake Swiss Roll Fruit Cup

Curry Puff Samosa

Fruit Cup

Banana/Carrot Muffin

Sponge Cake

FRIDAY

Honey Lime Chicken, Sautéed Potato

OR Beef Rendang, Rice

Broccoli & Carrot Salad

Watercress

Mixed Fruit

Dhal Broccoli & Carrot

Mixed Fruit

Donut Cream Puff Fruit Cup