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BISbuzz Issue 08 | 1

BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HO CHI MINH CITY| SECONDARY CAMPUS

OCTOBER 10 2014 | ISSUE 08

IN THIS ISSUE

From the Head Teacher 02 Year 11 Op ons Evening 03

Write on 04

Ba le of the Bands 2014 06

The Big Draw 07

8B’s trip to Year 1 to perform Romeo and Juliet 09

Sport News 11

Community Services 12

Interna onal Day 14

PTG 16

From The BIStro & Underground 21

October15th Student Lost Property, 12.30pm

15th Year 9 Parent Teacher Student Conference, 4pm

17th Interna onal Day ‐ school closes 2.40pm

20th ‐ 24th Half term holiday

29th Oct & 5th Nov Year 11 ‐ CIE IGCSE Maths Exam

UPCOMING EVENTS


From The Head Teacher

BISinthenewsBIS gets a men on in AsiaLife magazine again, this me highligh ng our par cipa on in the annual BBGV Fun Run. Baily and Toby are shown with their champions’ medals with HM Consul General Douglas Barnes in the background. http://www.asialifemagazine.com/education/bbgv-14th-annual-fun-run-for-charity/

Year11IBOptionsEveningOn Wednesday evening we hosted the Year 11 IB Op ons Evening. Sixth Form students and teachers were available to advise Year 11 students on the next choices in their school career and presenta ons were given on the process, the IB Diploma Programme and the university guidance service. If you missed the evening and would like further informa on, please get in touch with me and I will ar‐range for you to meet with the appropriate people.

Richard Dyer Head Teacher Secondary

OnlyatBISAs I sit in my office wri ng this week’s BISbuzz, the auditorium is slowly trans‐forming into a band venue. A few hours ago, the orchestra was rehearsing. Now, the stage is darkened and in the gloom, electric guitars, drums and key‐boards glisten and small lights blink. Students clothed mainly in black dri in from the rain in hushed an cipa on. In 15 minutes, at 7pm, that hush will be sha ered. The stage lights will blaze and the first contestants in the 2014 BIS Ba le of the Bands will take to the stage.

Only at BIS!


Year 11 Options Evening


AcademicHonestyandInternationalMindednessarethefocusasBISStudentandTeacherarerecognisedininternationalpublications

This academic year sees two members of our school community have their work selected for interna onal publica on, reflec ng the commitment to academic excellence and interna onal mindedness here at BIS.

An ar cle on the issue of academic honesty wri en by Mrs Leila Holmyard, Assistant Head of Sixth Form, was published last month in the Interna onal School magazine. In November, an ar cle on the development of friendships in interna onal schools by Gauri Prithviraj in Year 13 will appear in the inaugural edi on of the World Student magazine.

Gauri and Mrs Holmyard talk to Mr O’Neill about their work and on becoming published authors.

Gauri, what was the background to you wri ng the ar cle?

In May last year there was an adver sement on Twi er; a new interna onal magazine was being launched called “World Student” and the editor was looking for interna onal students to write ar cles for publica on. Mrs Holmyard adver sed this opportunity to all the Sixth Form students and five of us Year 12 students responded with ideas for ar cles. These ideas were sent to the editor and mine was chosen.

What inspired you to volunteer? I really enjoy wri ng and I thought this would be a great opportunity for me as I would like to study Broadcast Journalism at university.

What was your idea? I wanted to write about the friendship circles that exist in interna onal schools. Using Western expat, Ko‐rean and Vietnamese student groups as examples, I planned to explore the differing cultures, lifestyles and values which lead to the forma on of friendship groups.

Was there a par cular experience which developed your interest in this topic? I have a ended four different interna onal schools and the process of moving schools and making new friends each me made me no ce pa erns in how friendships form. I recognised that friendships are o en grounded in shared culture, work ethic and values. I thought it would be interes ng to explore this further.

What steps did you follow during the wri ng process? Before the summer, I wrote a plan and then met with Mrs Holmyard to discuss it. One difficulty I had was that I wrote most of the ar cle during the holiday so we couldn’t talk in person, but I did email Mrs Holmyard to get feedback on my dra s.

Did you ask for other students’ thoughts on the issue? I interviewed about 10 students in the Common Room and asked them a series of ques ons about their experiences of friendship groups and how their daily rou nes relate to their cultural backgrounds. I found that the Vietnamese students followed a similar daily rou ne and had more Vietnamese friends. Likewise, European students had a similar rou ne and had more European friends. In spite of this, all said that be‐ing at BIS had helped them to make more friends from different cultural backgrounds.

What is your personal experience of different cultures and interna onal mindedness at BIS? In the Sixth Form, I have found that the shared experience of going through the IB together really breaks down barriers. Doing similar tasks such as the Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge presenta ons and our community service project means that we can all relate to one another. Also, what we choose to study defines what we are interested in, so this brings us closer to others doing the same course, even if we are from different backgrounds.


And what about events across the whole school? Interna onal Day is amazing! Every na onality in the school is represented and the day aims to capture the essence of each individual culture through food, decora on, costume, music and dance. People get really excited about the day. It’s good for students to experience this. In fact, think it’s one of the best ways the school promotes and celebrates cultural diversity.

So, what advice would you give to someone who would like to write an ar cle? Make sure you are really interested in the topic so you can enjoy the process.

And lastly, what advice would you give to someone joining an interna onal school? Don’t be afraid to talk to people! Interna onal kids are used to cultural diversity and are comfortable with it. Truly being an interna onal student means having friends from different cultural groups and find‐ing common ground together.

Mrs Holmyard, what prompted you to write an ar cle on the issue of academic honesty? I a ended the IB Asia‐Pacific Conference last March and academic honesty was a topic of much discus‐sion. This led me to do wider reading on the subject and, when the opportunity arose for me to write an ar cle for the Interna onal School Magazine, this seemed like an ideal topic.

Why is academic honesty such a hot topic now in educa on? The internet makes it is easier for students to plagiarise, but is also much easier to check for plagiarism as well. This means that schools around the world are finding more cases of plagiarism and are looking for ways to develop a culture of academic honesty among their students.

What are we doing at BIS to promote a culture of academic honesty? Studies have shown that explicit educa on about academic honesty is the best way to help students avoid plagiarism. With this in mind, IB Diploma students are taught the skills of research and referencing and can also receive one‐to‐one support from the Academic English Department and from the Sixth Form Team. At Key Stage 3 and 4, the importance of academic honesty is also being highlighted to students. For example, Year 8 students write a mini‐version of the IB Extended Essay as part of their Science lessons and during this process they learn how to reference.

Mr Turner and I also led a teacher professional development workshop at the start of the year to ensure that all teachers have a shared understanding about academic honesty. Furthermore, throughout this ac‐ademic year, I will lead a group of teachers to develop a policy for academic honesty which will inform prac ce across the Secondary Campus.

What can parents do to support students? Parents can help their children simply by talking with them about their school work. Talking helps stu‐dents to clarify what ideas are their own and what sources they have drawn upon during in the wri ng process. Discussing academic honesty at home will help children to understand why it is important to credit other people’s ideas. For younger children, this can be as simple of pas ng the link under an image they’ve used or wri ng that their older sister helped them with their homework.

How did you find the process of wri ng for an interna onal publica on? I have always enjoyed wri ng and I am currently comple ng a Master’s degree which requires me to write long essays. This is the first me I’ve been published in an external magazine, though; it has been a great opportunity for me to write about a subject I think is really important.

It is a measure of the exper se we have within the teaching body at BIS that Mrs Holmyard’s ar cle has been selected for publica on and will serve to inform prac ce in this important area of educa on beyond the BIS Community.

To read Mrs Holmyard’s published ar cle in the Interna onal School Magazine, click on the link and scroll to page 33: http://www.johncatt.com/downloads/is17_1/

Sean O’Neill Assistant Headteacher


A er endless weeks of serious rehearsing, audi ons and sound checks, the Ba le of the Bands 2014 took place in the auditorium on October 9th. The evening began with an opening video based on the video introduc on to the UK compe on ‘The X Factor’. This video introduced the judges to the bands and gave them an insight into what to expect. The ‘Junior School of Rock’ opened the compe on, with a non‐compe ve item to get the party started and the audience rushed from their seats to get a front row standing point. The bands all played a fantas c mix of songs in many different styles, which were all well‐rehearsed and full of en‐ergy when on the stage. A variety of different song styles were performed, from ‘Girls Just a Wanna Have Fun’ by Cindy Lauper to ‘Holiday’ by Green Day. The expectant crowd were able to par cipate in a ‘Selfie’ Compe on during the judge’s decision. Some of the best selfie photos have been uploaded to the Music Department Website. The judges announced ‘How You Doin’ in third place, ‘TBC’ were awarded second place and the winners of the Ba le of the Bands Compe on 2014 was ‘The Blackbirds’. The judges commented on their stage presence and musical awareness in their performance of ‘Seven Na on Army’ but it was their performance of ‘Come Together’ that won them the compe on. To see the opening video and the ‘Selfie’ photographs check out the Music Departmental Website on the following link: https://sites.google.com/a/bisvietnam.net/bis-music/ I must say that a huge well done is deserved for all the bands from last night. It was agreed from a Music perspec‐ve, that this year’s bands were not just slick and professional in their performances but they also performed to the

highest standard as a cohort that we’ve had yet. Well done!

Sarah James Director of Music

Battle of the Bands 2014


“I can't draw” and “I'm terrible at art” are two phrases I hear on a daily basis in my job as a secondary Art teacher. Most of my students now know that these statements are 'illegal' in my classroom and if spoken are likely to set me off on a long rant about the importance of crea vity for all people as a form of self expression, the skill required to become good at drawing and the me it takes to develop it. As much as it is my job to teach the skills required to improve ability in the techniques and methods to gain higher levels of mastery in art it has also become a challenge for me to ac vely undo some of the preconcep‐ons young people have when they come to my lessons. This dichotomy presents quite a demanding task, as I

am trying to simultaneously encourage a feeling of freedom in art as well as an ability to remove barriers from how it is perceived.

In secondary educa on we have 'core' subjects which every student must learn un l they reach year 11. These are mathema cs, science and English as standard with varying others depending on the school's ethos and vision. There are then the 'founda on' subjects, which are op onal, such as Art, History, Business and Music. Also core to this phase of educa on are PE and some form of Health and Social learning such as ILS (Interna onal Life Skills). These are not examined subjects but rather intended to teach holis c ma ers and a tudes for a healthy lifestyle.

In my ideal school‐world there would be a two‐ ered approach to art educa on: the first I would see as some‐thing like Core Crea vity. It could include any crea ve skill or topic as well as cross curricular links (think maths, physics and the dynamics of kinesthe c sculpture); and the second I would call Ar s c Skills, in which I would teach drawing and pain ng among others, and an understanding of the formal elements of art (shape, texture, composi on, and so on).

Certain technical skills, like drawing, are useful as a tool for thinking and processing ideas. I believe everyone can use drawing in some way, to enhance their lives. To this end, Bri sh Interna onal School Ho Chi Minh City will be joining an interna onal event called the ‘Big Draw’ during October, which was founded in England and has grown over the years to reach global recogni on. The mission of the ‘Big Draw’ is simple: to celebrate drawing as a means of crea ve expression in its most basic form. We will be holding two events open to all students (whether they are studying Art or not), and hope as many people take part as possible.

“Crea vity now is as important in educa on as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” — Ken Robinson – TED Quotes As arts educators we hope to grow this event year on year and would like to include community events too, aiming to reach as many people as possible with the message that drawing isn't something you can be 'bad' at and art isn't something you don't do any more because you feel it is no longer useful in your life. Rather it is the case that everyone has the right to express themselves through art in a way that is personally meaningful, whether it is through drawing, dance, kinesthe c sculpture, poetry or by talking part in our ‘30 Day Drawing Challenge’!

Recently I asked my Year 11 (Grade 10) class to reflect on what crea vity means to them now and for their futures (they are currently selec ng courses and op ons for post 16 study). I had many interes ng replies, one of which I will leave you with here:

“…crea vity is the founda on of today’s society. We wouldn’t have the internet if it weren’t for the ingenious‐ness of a group of computer scien sts; we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the originality of the Wright Brothers; and we definitely wouldn’t be who we are today if all those authors, ar sts and actors hadn’t used their imagina on and crea vity to influence history and ourselves in the way they have.” – Ji Soo http://www.asialifemagazine.com/education/the-big-draw/

Nicola Tingey Art Teacher

The Big Draw is underway…


A spectacular performance of Romeo and Juliet was performed by 8B on 2nd Oct 2014. 8B performed the play in An Phu Primary to Mrs. Nicole McKelvie’s Year 1 class. On the day of our performance, everyone was tense but excited to be performing to lovely children since we had put so much effort and me into the play. As year 8 students, Romeo and Juliet is a serious play since its genre is a tragedy. However, as young year 1 students, they find it funny when we do live performances of suicide and deaths, hence, the year 1 children found it very amusing and there were compliments a erwards for us.. There are a few differences between Modern English that we currently use and Shakespeare Early Modern English. Many of Shakespeare plays were used wri en in a rhythmic poe c form called iambic pentameter. Of course Year 1 students couldn’t understand that. Without our scriptwriters, the play wouldn’t have been a success. A play is only considered as good when we actually understand it, hence, the scriptwriters made changes to the play as well as the lines so the children could understand easily. It was huge success. Reading is one of the key things we need to develop even if we are 5 years old. Reading is just as important as wri ng and vice versa, therefore, a er our perfor‐mance, we spent me reading to the Year 1 children. It was fun since we get to develop our speaking skills and the Year 1 got to develop their listening skill. We would like to thank Ms Cro for le ng us have the oppor‐tunity to perform and it was definitely a day to remember! Chris ne Le, 8B. With our s cky fingers, we read some stories to the Year 1 while we feasted on the goods. Finally, they gave us a surprise leaving presents that is associated with Book Week. Bookmarks! We, as a class of 8B will keep these moments locked in our heads forever to cherish them. Mai Anh Tran, 8B. The year 1s loved the play and found it par cularly funny when Tybalt and Mercu o died. Naturally there were “ewwws” when Romeo proposed but they watched it all the same. They had lots of fun when we danced the conga and they really enjoyed the stories. I hope the rest of our class would agree with me when I say that we had lots of fun too. The costumes that they wore were absolutely amazing. There were princesses and Spidermen, knights and Supermen. Regardless of who they were, they had a great me. Finally they gave us a wonderfully decorated book mark. Also some of them gave us their masks that they had decorated and worn whilst they were danc‐ing. When we had been gli ered, eaten and finished our story, it was me to go. If we had the chance I’m sure that we year 8’s would definitely go back and I’m pre y sure that we would be welcomed by the year 1’s. Daniel Ba ersby, 8B. Our class, 8B, had an amazing me on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ for English this year. Throughout this subject, we have learned a lot about the Elizabethan mes and about their levels of hierarchy. We have also learned about their love life and how they couldn’t choose their own fiancé. Our class was given an opportunity to perform ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to year 1 for AP1’s book week. During rehearsals, fabulous teamwork and commu‐nica on were shown together. The kids in year one laughed happily throughout the whole play and we were then given me to play, communicate and share things with them a er the play. Not only had we talked about ‘Romeo and Juliet’ but also shared our dreams! Thanks to Ms. Cro and Mrs. McKelvie for allowing us this chance to learn new things about our world, making new friends and tying our bonds together, this was a memorable moment. Joyce Chou, 8B. The visit to the year 1 class was amazing, not only did we have a lot of fun, but the li le kids seemed to enjoy it too. When we first arrived at the class all I thought was, that we would do our play and then be off back to secondary. But it seems that fate had other plans in store for us. A er we did our child version of Romeo and Juliet (and of course a er the year 1`s constant eewing over Romeo`s and Juliet’s Marriage), The year 1`s sang an adorable song for us. And if that wasn’t enough they planned a small but superb party, with food and mu‐sic, which we all u erly enjoyed. Then we had a great me reading short stories to each other, which was an amazing and deligh ul me for both us and the year 1`s. As the me was over we were given a variety of bookmarks, which obviously the children spent a lot of their me and hard work to make. As we crossed the bridge and headed towards secondary our minds were filled with happy thought like ones with the bright smiles of the year 1`s, their gi s and the eagerness to meet them again... Adwaith Baker, 8B.

8B’s trip to Year 1 to perform Romeo and Juliet


Sport News U13FOBISIAGamesDetails rela ng to the U13 FOBISIA Games were emailed to parents this week:

Date: 10th – 14th March 2015 Loca on: Taipei Interna onal School Age: U13 on 1st August 2014

Deadline to return reply slip: Friday 31st October 2014

CompulsoryYearTripsResiden al trips are a compulsory and integral part of the curriculum at BIS. Year 7 Year 8 Madagui Resort Dalat ‐ Vietnam Cat Tien Na onal Park ‐ Vietnam Es mated cost: VNĐ 13,000,000 Es mated cost: VNĐ 15,000,000 Year 9 Year 10 Mai Chau ‐ Northern Vietnam Hong Kong Es mated cost: VNĐ 13,000,000 Es mated cost: VNĐ 20, 000,000 Year 12 These trips have maximum numbers and will therefore be based on a first come first served basis. Full details will be sent in October. Kontum ‐ Vietnam (maximum 24 students) Es mated cost: VND 11,000,000 Interna onal Award – Chiang Mai Es mated cost: VND 22,000,000 Puerto Galera ‐ Philippines Es mated cost: VND 25,000,000 Mai Chau – Northern Vietnam Es mated cost: VND 13,000,000 The first non‐refundable trip deposit of VNĐ 6,000,000, is the same for all trips and is due by 10th October 2014, payable in cash to the AP2 cashier. Key Dates: Friday 10th October 2014 Deadline for non‐refundable deposit payment. Week beginning 13th October 2014 Informa on provided on full trip details and cost. Further informa on to follow from each trip leader. Friday 28th November 2014 Deadline for final payment. Week beginning 1st December 2014 Trip informa on evenings. Further informa on to follow from each trip leader. Monday 26th January 2015 Trips depart (When flights are confirmed, some overseas trips may need to leave on 24th or 25th and may return earlier than 30th

January). Friday 30th January 2015 Trips return.

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


Community Services

VisittoHuynhVanNgoiSchool

Last week was our first visit to the HVN primary school where we had our first lesson teaching English to the children. A er planning and preparing for over a week, we were all an cipa ng our upcoming visit with excitement and a nge of apprehension. We divided our group and had one teaching a year 3 class about the weather, and another group teach‐ing the topic of ‘Ambi ons’. The students at HVN already had a good grasp of English, however have not had as much exposure to English as we have and required prac ce on their enuncia on. We had planned several ac vi es for them including songs and a display. All of the students were enthusias c and eager to learn, which helped our lesson run a lot be er than we had imagined. Learning to adapt to the me frame given and the lesson plan were skills which we quickly picked up over the course of the hour. Finishing up our lesson was bi ersweet‐ while it was exhaus ng to try and run a lesson for almost 40 chil‐dren with li le experience, it was truly a rewarding and unique experience for both par es. We are all currently planning our next lesson’s ac vi es, and can’t wait to return next week.

Rui Lim and Leanne Lim Year 11


CommunityServiceProject–PTGMaiTamSchoolFeeSponsorshipProject The Mai Tam House of Hope is a home and center for HIV/AIDS posi ve children that provides shelter, medicine, medical care, educa on, and referrals for its residents and the many walk‐ins it receives in need of support. The children living at Mai Tam are both infected and affected by HIV/AIDS‐some are HIV posi ve or have AIDS and some are the children or orphans of persons with HIV/AIDS. When Mai Tam was established in 2005 by the director and founder Father John Toai, a Catholic priest and nurse prac oner, he hoped to assist 100 affected women and children, but today Mai Tam supports more than 500 women and children in need. http://maitamhouseofhope.com/home Over the last six years we have worked with Mai Tam on a variety of projects. For five years now the Year 10s have hosted Christmas and Easter events and par es as part of their wider ILS Community Ser‐vice Project on AIDs/HIV. Student and teacher volunteers have taken English and ac vity lessons to Mai Tam. We have taken the children for memorable days out on Innova ons Day.

The Parent Teacher Group (PTG) forms an integral part of the school community and contributes tre‐mendously to the workings of the Community Service Projects throughout the school. In previous years the PTG have supported Mai Tam in different ways including the purchase of the mosquito net on their roo op play area, a monthly supply of consumables and a washing machine. This year the wonderful PTG have commi ed to kindly sponsoring the schooling of two children of the Mai Tam House of Hope. The sponsorship includes school fees of both morning and a ernoon lessons and lunch. On behalf of the students, Father Joseph of Mai Tam would like to send his great apprecia on to the BIS AP2 PTG. We shall update the progress of the students as the year unfolds.

Emma Morris Community Service Projects Manager


The student’s Interna onal Day is next Friday 17th October. Interna onal Day is one of the annual high‐lights of the school year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those parents and staff in ad‐vance for the huge amount of work they put into making this day so enjoyable for the students. It is im‐portant that parents appreciate that this is a day for the students and is not an open invite to parents and guests. There is a guest list which contains the names of those parents and helpers working in the Inter‐na onal Rooms. Student security is of the upmost importance and only those parents and helpers regis‐tered on the guest list will be allowed entry. During the a ernoon there is a Culture Show and a Global Fashion Parade (12.40‐14.40) which you are welcome to a end. If your child is taking part or you wish to watch these shows then please write to Mr Gillmore at [email protected] so you can be registered on the a ernoon parent list.

Peter Gillmore Deputy Head

International Day


6th October Monday parents of year 7 met over lunch at The Loop, Thao Dien. 19 parents a ended this event.


Our year 8th and 9th parent lunch meet was held on 7th Oct. There were 20 parents a ending this event.


Our year 10 and 11 parent lunch meet was held on 8th October. 20 parents par cipated in this event.

Year 10 & 11 Parent lunch meet


Thursday 9th October, 12 parents of year 12 and 13 a ended the lunch meet at The Loop, ThaoDien

Year 12 and 13 Parent lunch meet


PTG would like to thank the volunteer parents who helped on the night, and also through

the week, selling the quiz night ckets. Our apprecia on goes to Christy Warren, Antoi‐

ne e Ka an, April Miller, Lori Allan, Elena Van Zwanenberg, Yolande Yong, Jillian, Bina

McConville, Chantra Kepra bunharn and Caroline Neron.

The next PTG Quiz Night will be held in March next year and we look forward to seeing you

all there!

A big ‘Thank You’ from PTG

QUIZ NIGHT


From the Underground & BIStro

Menu 2 (13 October)

From the Underground & BIStro

DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

MAIN COURSE CHOOSE 1

Beef Lasagne

OR Seafood Fried

Rice

Cheese Pizza OR

Pork with Onion, Rice

Honey Baked Chicken,

Sautéed Potato/Rice OR

Beef Noodle Soup

Spanish Fish Pasta OR Szechuan

Chicken, Rice

VEGETABLES Morning Glory &

Carrot Salad

Chinese Cabbage & Carrot Salad

Long Beans & Carrot Salad

Choy sum & Carrot Salad

SOUP Spinach & Melon

Soup Mixed Vegetable

Soup Spinach Watercress

DESSERT Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit

VEGETARIAN

Vegetarian Lasagne

Chickepeas Salad Mixed Fruit

Cheese Pizza Mixed Vegetable

Soup Mixed Fruit

Tofu Noodle Soup Long Beans &

Carrot Mixed Fruitit

Veggie & Peas Pasta

Mixed Beans Salad

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

Swiss Roll Crème Puff Fruit Cup

Chocolate Mud Donut

Fruit Cup

Curry Puff Samosa

Fruit Cup

Muffin Sponge Cake

Fruit Cup

FRIDAY

Ham & Cheese Croquet Monsieur &

Roast Potato OR

Chicken Rice

Bean Sprouts & Carrot Salad

Tomato & Tofu Soup

Mixed Fruit

Oriental Fried Rice Tomato & Tofu Soup

Mixed Fru

Curry Puff Samosa

Fruit Cup

bb8

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