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BISbuzz Issue 06 | 1
BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HO CHI MINH CITY| SECONDARY CAMPUS
SEPTEMBER 26 2014 | ISSUE 06
IN THIS ISSUE
From the Head Teacher 02
Universities visits 03
Peace Day at BIS 04
4th ABRSM High Scorers’ Concert 06
Community Services 07
BBGV Fun Run 08
PTG 09
International Day 12
Mathematics news 13
From The BIStro & Underground 16
September
28th BBGV Fun Run (please note revised BIS Group
Photo time of 7.30am)
29th Dragon's Den Competition, 3pm
October
1st Year 12 CEM testing
3rd Loyola University Chicago visit, 2.45pm
8th Year 11 Options Evening, 6.30pm
9th Battle of the Bands, 7pm
10th Year 7 Settling in letter
UPCOMING EVENTS

From The Head Teacher
It has been an active week at BIS, with our Year 13 Group 4 (Science) Project taking place. The
presentation boards are still in the Undercroft on display so do take a look if you are in school. This
project is a key part of the IB Diploma Programme and allows students to develop the sort of team-
working skills that all professional scientists need in their careers. Visitors from universities in the USA
were very impressed with how articulate and informed our students were on the day.
On Thursday we held our Year 9 IGCSE Options Evening, one step in the process of choosing subjects for
Year 10. Parents and students heard about the courses and the choice process and had plenty of
opportunity to consult subject teachers.
Richard Dyer
Head Teacher
Secondary
Only at BIS
Earlier this week as I passed the BIStro at around 3.15pm, the space be-
tween the tables was alive with colour. Nam Tran from Year 13 was run-
ning her Juggling Club and coloured balls and silver clubs were flying
through the air. Moving to take a closer look, I could hear a two of the
students talking while juggling: in Spanish! They were helping each other
learn Spanish vocabulary while learning to juggle. Las malabaristas de
BIS! That’s real multi-tasking. Only at BIS!

On Monday 22nd
September BIS was honoured to welcome four of the most selective universities in the
United States. It was the first visit for the four universities and following the Counsellor Reception held for
Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Northwestern and Princeton in BIS on Sunday 14th
September nine of the
most selective US universities have now visited our school.
This week marks a new record of university visits to the school. In total BIS has welcomed 51 colleges and
universities including UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Perpperdine, DePaul, Lewis & Clark and Chapman. These
relationships have been developed following a busy summer attending the Overseas Association for
College Admission Counselling Conference in Tampa Florida, and a tour to Chicago to meet with eight uni-
versities,
Our four guests on Monday evening gave a first-hand insight into selective US universities. After a
thorough explanation of degree programmes, the facilitating nature of liberal arts and science education
and how this dovetails with a specialisation in a major or often double major of the student’s choice the
audience were invited to ask questions from the floor. Our own Huy Do from 13N asked a pertinent
question on the financial aid and scholarships available at each university. Each university then fielded
personal questions at their own table and were gracious enough to spend considerable time with our
community beyond the 8.30 scheduled finish time.
On Tuesday we welcomed the four universities back for a personal audience with our students over
lunch. At the end of the visit our guests toured the school and engaged with our Year 13 students who
were giving their presentations in the IB Group 4 Project Day. They were very impressed with the calibre
of our students, their inventive ideas, quality of presentation and collaboration.
I will be attending the IB Higher Education Symposium at the University of Hong Kong in October where I
will be learning more about the value of IB in preparing students for the most prestigious universities
worldwide as well as meeting universities personally to engage with them and advocate for our students.
We look forward to attending OACAC again in the future where we will continue to welcome highly
selective universities back to BIS. From this year’s experience Columbia, Cornell, Chicago, Duke,
Georgetown, Northwestern, Princeton, Rice and Vanderbilt have an
open invitation to return BIS in the future and we look forward to
welcoming them.
Lastly, I would like to thank our community for the wonderful
support of this week’s event.
Aidan B Crowley
College & University Guidance Counsellor

Peace One Day is a non-profit organisation whose
mission is "to institutionalise the International Day of
Peace, 21 September, making it a day that is
self-sustaining, an annual day of global unity, a day of
intercultural cooperation on a scale that humanity has
never known." The organisation was founded in 1999
by Jeremy Gilley, a British actor and documentary
filmmaker. After two years of campaigning by the
Peace One Day organisation, in 2001 the United
Nations dedicated 21st
September as the annual day
of global ceasefire and non-violence. Part of the Peace One Day campaign is to invite organisations,
businesses, schools and individuals to commemorate and celebrate the International Day of Peace
through educational and public awareness activities.
On Friday 19th
September, BIS joined this influential movement and celebrated Peace Day for the first
time. The Prefect Events Committee started planning and advertising for this event in June last academic
year. They wrote a proposal for the day, which they presented to Mr Dyer, and ran an assembly to start
getting students to think about global issues of peace and conflict. In order to make the day a success, the
students on the committee had to draw upon the organisational, time management and leadership skills
which they have developed during their experience as IB Diploma students.
On Peace Day at BIS, everyone was asked to wear white to school, the colour of peace. The day began
with an assembly, in which students were encouraged to reflect on the facts given to them in the previous
assembly, and a video was shown of students, teachers and support staff stating their wish that peace
would prevail in each and every country represented by our school community. During lessons, some
teachers included a subject-specific discussion focussed on peace-related issues, such as poverty, wars,
bullying and domestic violence. Mr Ball, who teaches Design and Technology, showed a video to students
about the devices used to clear landmines. Miss Mai taught students Vietnamese words concerned with
peace and conflict, and Mr Moore discussed nuclear war in Physics. Y12 Psychology lessons involved a
debate about whether there is a link between aggressive behaviour and watching violence on TV.
During lunch and break, students left messages of peace on the Peace Board. Some wished a happy and
peaceful day to everyone; others wrote their personal thoughts about peace or wished peace in countries
experiencing difficult times. A football activity called “One Day One Goal” took place in the new basketball
court at lunchtime. Students could shoot a “goal of peace” against volunteer teacher goal keepers. Thank
you to Mr Durrant, Mr Chandler, Mr Shah and Mr Gamwell for taking part. This activity showed the power
of sport in uniting people of all ages and nationalities.
Peace Day at BIS was a memorable and joyful event, made possible through the cooperation of students
and teachers. It spread awareness in the school community of Peace One Day and its mission, and
hopefully celebrating Peace Day will become a new tradition in BIS.
For more information about Peace One Day and its impact, please visit www.peaceoneday.org
By Alex Ivanova, 13S
Peace Day at BIS

Thoughts about Peace Day by Year 10 students
“Would you like a future consumed by conflict or filled with peace? Do you think that conflict or peace is in
our hands? Young or old, rich or poor, people can make a difference in the world. We all have the power to
make a difference; we have the power to control the balance between peace and conflict.”
Edward Trinh
“Global peace is an ideal: a concept, which we, as human beings, should all strive for. Peace One Day is
the embodiment of this dream; the first step on our long path to a world without war and conflict.”
Carl Chua
“There is always a possibility of something if people try hard enough and work together as one. The
Wright Brothers believed in flight, and they spent their life dedicated to creating a machine which would
allow them to fly. Even though that flight lasted only 12 seconds, those 12 seconds allowed us to build
machines that could travel across the world, fly faster than the speed of sound, and even inspire others to
build something better. The Wright Brothers took the first step, to something even greater. Peace is like
flight, we just need one person to truly believe: to truly believe there could be world peace. That would
spread, and one day we would be able to achieve total world peace, just like we have achieved the power
of flight.
Sean Tan
“It is not the physical man who is evil, it’s the greed, the devil inside the mind that has possessed and
blinded men. To overcome this challenge, we have to be strong. To live in harmony and peace, we must
take action and free ourselves from being slaves of the money and the power.”
Anh Quan Tran
“Rather than building walls to keep us safe, we instead should cooperate, communicate, build trust and
try with effort to resolve issues rather than resolving it using physical methods. Rather than having to
build barriers between ourselves, we should start to think how to overcome these barriers and instead
build peace.”
Nathaniel Vo

On Saturday 20th
September, BIS hosted the 4th
ABRSM High Scorers’ Concert. 21 students who all gained
distinctions for their recent ABRSM instrumental exams performed their favourite pieces from their exam.
The performers all played to an extremely high standard. The concert featured piano, recorder and
singing and grades from 1 to 8. BIS AP2 students performing included Joyce Chou, Chae Won Oh, Mai
Anh Tran, Mimi Tran Lam and Sanny Wu.
Congratulations to all performers.
Ian Alexander
Music Teacher
4th ABRSM High Scorers’ Concert

Community Services
Helping Hand club
Monday's visit to Thien Phuoc, the first for three months, was one of the best I have been on in our eight
year relationship with the organisation.As soon as we arrived our group of ten students, some
experienced some new, launched straight into a whole array of activities and kept most of the Thien
Phuoc children happily occupied for nearly two hours of fun. The more mobile children are highly
energetic and enjoyed playing with lego, rolling beachballs and drawing, whilst the less mobile children
were entertained with books, toys, clapping games and plenty of hugs. What made the occasion so good
was not only the number of students who came, but also their commitment to making the activities so
much fun - it can be tiring after a long day at school. The response from the children at Thien Phuoc was a
joy to experience, and we all look forward to our next opportunity to play with them.
Tim English
Maths teacher

The PTG held our newcomers coffee morning on 3rd September .
Around 25 parents attended this event. It was a nice opportunity for all
new parents to share information amongst themselves.

PTG Wine & Cheese Evening
On 18th September, we spent a relaxed evening with about
70 parents and teachers joining the event.

PTG Year Group Lunch
Keeping with our tradition, once again we have organized our year group lunches!
Mark your calendars for the following dates…
Year 7 : Monday 6th Oct ’14
Year 8 & 9 lunch : Tuesday 7th Oct ‘14
Year 10 & 11 lunch : Wednesday 8th Oct ’14
Year 12 & 13 lunch : Thursday 9th Oct ‘14
Details will be emailed to parents directly.
RSVP: bisptgap2@gmail.com

What can maths teach us about music?
The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Photo: Alamy
“The mind counting without being conscious that it is counting.” That’s how the the philosopher Leibniz described
listening to music. By the time he came along, the idea that music and maths had a deep connection had been
around for two millenia. It started with Pythagoras, flourished in the Renaissance, and then faded away in the Age of
Reason. Leibniz’s view was already dated when he uttered it. People had stopped looking to music for a beautiful
image of the “mystical mathematics of heaven,” as Sir Thomas Browne called it. Psychology and meaning and emo-
tions took over.
Now maths is making a comeback. It’s partly because cognitive scientists have become very interested in the ways
the brain grasps musical patterns. It turns out there are overlaps between musical and linguistic and mathematical
ability, which have spawned all kinds of theories about how music arose in prehistory. Oliver Sachs has written about
the miraculous powers of music to bring patients out of long-term catatonic states.
Also maths has changed in recent times. It’s no longer just about numbers. It’s about groups and symmetries and
chaos and complexity. Mathematicians are in search of patterns, and music is all about pattern-making. In the work
of some modern composers, the new maths and the new music actually touch. Webern’s music is full of little melodic
shapes turned around on their axes, or reversed as if seen in a mirror. The Greek-French composer Iannis Xenakis
conjured sounds out of Bernouilli’s equations, and Brownian motion.
All this was revealed in a brilliant lecture on music and symmetry, given by Marcus de Sautoy as part of the Swedish
Radio Symphony Orchestra’s Interplay series. Symmetry is something music has at the very basic level of sound.
Look at the make-up of a single sound on a 3-d oscilloscope, and you find the more pure and beautiful the sound,
the more symmetry it has. The purest sound of all is a sine wave, and that looks like a circle. And a circle has infinite
axes of symmetry.
All very neat. But for most people the sine wave isn’t beautiful, it’s dull. Stravinsky said its empty purity was like a
castration threat. What he wanted was scrunchy, dirty, human sounds. There’s a film of him going to the piano,
punching out the very scrunchy Rite of Spring chord, and saying with a grin, “I LOVE dissonance.” We all do – may-
be not quite as much as Stravinsky, but without a taste for harmonies which have a spice of dissonance in them, we
couldn’t follow the simplest harmonic progression.
That simple example hints that real music might need a healthy dash of disorder to be interesting. As de Sautoy
pointed out, artists and musicians have been aware that a too perfect symmetry is fatal to art. Thomas Mann said the
perfect symmetry of a snowflake is a foretaste of death. “To be perfectly symmetrical is to be perfectly dead,” said
Stravinsky.
Does that mean that maths is actually beside the point, when it comes to understanding music? Certainly not. Mathe-
maticians are intrigued by disorder, because they’ve discovered that they can actually grasp it with new mathemati-
cal tools. But beyond that, I get a sense from de Sautoy that maths itself is tainted by the human. Without the human
element of curiosity and an appetite for beauty, mathematical discovery would grind to a halt. “Maths is a narrative, it
has an emotional trajectory,” he said to me after his lecture. “You’re following a train of thought through to something,
and sometimes it’s obscure, or it might lead somewhere totally new which opens up a new landscape.”
For me this remark pointed to another deep affinity between maths and music. Maths is full of true equations. There
are an infinite number of them, and a computer can be programmed to produce them by the million. Similarly, in
“normal” harmonic music (modern music is a different case) there are an infinite number of “true” harmonic progres-
sions, i.e. ones which obey the laws of harmony you learn at conservatoire. But most of them are deadly dull.
Why do we choose one rather than another? Because it captivates us, for a reason we can’t quite define. It may be-
cause in some way the progression bends the rules, or actually breaks them. Bach broke the rules quite often, but
that doesn’t mean we lesser mortals can do it (as I was often reminded as a student, after handing in a ham-fisted
chorale harmonisation). If we could define the thing that gives that special x factor to harmonic progressions, we
could produce them to order, or get a computer to do it.
The case with maths isn’t quite the same. There the rules can’t be bent at all. But there’s a similar need to find a pat-
tern with that extra something, which opens the door to a new world. As the American mathematician Marson Morse
put it, “From an infinity of designs the mathematician chooses one pattern for beauty’s sake, and pulls it down to
earth.” As a description of what composers do, that could hardly be bettered.
Taken from Telegraph website

The Terrifying Mathematics of Ebola
Ebola treatment facilities in Monrovia, the Liberian capital, are now so overwhelmed they are turning
away up to 30 infected people every day according the medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres.
Given the rate at which the virus is spreading, it says the virus will soon be having an “apocalyptic” im-
pact on the country and its neighbours unless there is a dramatic increase in international assistance.
“It could get very bad indeed,” said Prof John Edmunds, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hy-
giene and Tropical Medicine. ”And I mean you can’t rule out some sort of nightmare doomsday scenar-
io.”
“But the quicker we react and put interventions in place, the better chance we’ve got of avoiding some-
thing really, really serious.”
The leading epidemiologist is studying the spread of the virus in Monrovia, where the outbreak is now
most intense. He has told Channel 4 News that based on the current rate of spread and lack of power to
control it, it has the potential to infect the majority of the population of the country.
Getting a real handle on how fast the virus us spreading is becoming impossible. Official statistics are
largely based on admissions and deaths in Ebola treatment facilities, from which people are now being
turned away.
But based on data from recent weeks, researchers estimate each case in the community could be giving
rise to about 1.5 more cases. “That means each case that is turned away generates more than one new
case,” said Edmunds. And then you’re looking at an ongoing epidemic that could permeate right through
society unless we do something to stop it right now.”
“The doubling time of this epidemic is about two weeks, so if we are overwhelmed with our resources
right now, it’s going to be twice as bad in two weeks’ time.”
Last night the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $50m to support the emergency response to
Ebola. In recent days the US government has committed an additional $185m towards equipment and
100 medical personnel.
The British government also announced this week that it would build a 62-bed field hospital to help with
the outbreak in Sierra Leone. The US says its commitment has added an additional 1,000 beds. Howev-
er the World Health Organisation has estimated an additional 1,000 Ebola treatment beds are needed in
Monrovia alone.
See more at: http://blogs.channel4.com/tom-clarke-on-science/terrifying-mathematics-
ebola/1329#sthash.nYEPH2Xc.dpuf

A positive whole number less than 100 has remain-
der 2 when it is divided by 3 , remainder 3 when it is
divided by 4 and remainder 4 when it is divided by
5 . What is its remainder when it is divided by 7 ?

From the Underground & BIStro
Menu 3 (29 September)
From the Underground & BIStro
DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
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
Honey Lime Chicken,
Sautéed Potato
OR
Beef Rendang, Rice
VEGETABLES
Bok Choy & Carrot
Salad
Long Bean, Carrot
Salad
Morning Glory,
Carrot
Salad
Choy sum &
Carrot
Salad
Broccoli & Carrot
Salad
SOUP Choy sum Spinach & Melon
Tomato & Tofu
Soup
Mixed Vegetable Watercress
DESSERT Mixed Fruit 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
Aloo Tikki Burger
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
Curry Puff
Samosa
Fruit Cup

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