1. 19 SEPTEMBER 2014 | ISSUE 4
Dates for your diary
IN THIS ISSUE
From: Page
Headteacher 2,3,4
Community & MFL Department 5
Fundinotots Department 6
PE Department & Marketing Department 7,8,9,10,11
PTG 12,13,14,15
Lunch Menus for F1-Y6 16,17
Contact information
225 Nguyen Van Huong St, District 2, HCMC
Tel: (848) 3744 4551
Fax: (848) 3744 4182
E-mail:
simonhigham@bisvietnam.com
BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HO CHI MINH CITY
AN PHU PRIMARY
Newsletter
22nd T1 Clubs begin
23rd EYFS & MP1 Reading Workshop - 8.15am
25th MP2 & MP3 Reading Workshop - 8.15am
25th Wine & Cheese 7:00pm-10:00pm
28th BBGV Fun Run.
1st - 3rd Book week Author Visit (Adam Bushnell)
3rd Book week - Non Uniform Day
September
October
2. From The Headteacher - Mr Simon Higham
Issue 4 /Page 2
Scan here to access the
‘AP1 Parent Blog’
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘settle’ is defined as follows:
‘to adopt a more steady or secure style of life, especially in a permanent job and home’. Over
the first 4 weeks of this new term, I have had the privilege of monitoring this settling pro-
cess. It has been lovely to watch our very youngest children in school settle gradually into
their new school lives. Having visited many EYFS (F1, F2 and F3) classrooms this week, I
have been impressed how well our younger children adapt to new challenges and new rou-
tines whilst developing crucial independent learning skills that will serve them well in
their future at BIS. In addition, I have received feedback from class teachers this week
about how all of our new children have settled into their classes and school life. It has been
very encouraging to note that a strong community is being formed and I am looking for-
ward to seeing this grow and develop over the forthcoming year.
I am grateful to all parents that supported our ‘Settling In’ workshop on Tuesday this week. With over 50 par-
ticipants and some very practical input and advice from our Admissions Department, School Counsellor and
PTG, I hope that this has helped families to tackle the settling issue from a slightly different perspective.
Remember, adopting a more steady and secure style of life, especially in a permanent job or home, will take
time. At BIS we are committed to supporting all of our children and families and helping to support you all the
way through the exciting journey that lies ahead. The link to the presentation from this week’s workshop can
be found by clicking here.
Further parent workshops will also take place next week. I look forward to seeing many of you again for our
Reading Workshops for EYFS / MP1 parents on Tuesday 23rd September and for MP2 / MP3 parents
on Thursday 25th September. Both workshops will take place in the AP1 Gym from 8.15am and more infor-
mation will be sent to you shortly, via email from our English leaders.
Thank you to all EYFS parents that visited school this week to take part in our parent teacher meetings. If you
have yet to meet your child’s F1, F2 or F3 teacher, please contact them directly via the school diary to arrange
an appointment. Please note that parent meetings for all Y1 to Y6 parents will take place on the 18th and 19th
November. More details about this will be sent to you closer to this date.
Our Extra Curricular Clubs programme begins on Monday. Please can you ensure that you check the ‘My
Schedule’ tab within your child’s CHQ login to ensure that they know which activities they have been allocated
to. I would very much appreciate your support in making sure that all children are collected from their activity
on time.
I hope that you enjoy reading through our Friday Newsletter and finding out more about life within our school.
AP1 Parent Blog
http://ap1parentblog.blogspot.com/
With over 2,500 new page visits, the AP1 Parent Blog is being accessed regu-
larly to find out important about AP1.
If you would like to access an overview of what your child is being taught
across all subject areas this year, visit the AP1 Parent Blog and simply click
on the ‘Curriculum Overviews’ tab.
Similarly, why not explore all of the online curriculum resources that our
teachers have recommended using the ‘Useful Websites and Resources’ sec-
tion.
3. Issue 4 /Page 3
Extra Curricular Clubs – Term 1 2014-2015
Sign up for the Term 1 Extra Curricular Clubs programme is now complete.
Before the club programme begins on Monday 22nd September, click onto the ‘My Schedule’ tab and scroll through to Monday
22nd September - you will be able to see your accepted clubs. In addition to this, all accepted clubs will be confirmed to you via
email before the Term 1 club programme begins.
Please do not hesitate to contact Ms Nhung if you require any assistance regarding our Extra Curricular Clubs:
nhungdanglehong@bisvietnam.com
Scan here to access the
AP1 Club Booklet
Please find below, the finalised academic calendar for 2015 - 2016.
4. Dear parents,
We would like to introduce our new teachers to you over the next few weeks and let you know how they are set-
tling 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
A chat with Ms Jessica from F3V
Pick the first 3 words you think of when I say
Vietnam
Friendly, Humid, Motorbikes!
What are your first impressions of BIS?
Friendly and enthusiastic staff and children
What new experience have you had since you ar-
rived in Vietnam?
Riding a scooter for the first time, I was terri-
fied at the beginning but loved it by the end of
the ride! Also trying Eel for the first time,
hmmm...
If you were writing a postcard to friends back home,
what would it say?
Have met so many lovely people, having the
best time ever!
A chat with Mr David from 4V
Pick the first 3 words you think of when I say
Vietnam
Friendly, Busy, Green
What are your first impressions of BIS?
Lots of focused and polite children from an
amazing variety of countries
What new experience have you had since you ar-
rived in Vietnam?
Visiting a coconut plantation and trying the
coconut wine!
If you were writing a postcard to friends back home,
what would it say?
Just got a scooter! Watch out!
Meet our New
Teachers!
Meet our New
Teachers!
Issue 4 /Page 4
Introducing Our New Teachers
5. After school clubs are starting up next week, and there are still some spaces available in several Community
Service Clubs! These clubs are a great way to get involved with the community through making new friends
from local schools, trying new activities, and sharing experiences with other children. You can even make an
impact on the environment! Did you know that Community Service Clubs are in addition to your child’s free
clubs ? That means that even if you are already a member of after school clubs, you can ADD a Community
Service Club as an extra - and every Community Service Club is FREE!
Take a look at the clubs that are still available for your Year Group, and email Ms Nhung to find out more:
nhungdanglehong@bisvietnam.com
Ms Samantha Baker and Ms Aoife O’Connor
Community Service Leaders
Club Day Year Group Teacher
Helping Hands with Thien Phuoc Foster Home Monday Years 4-6 Ms Louise Short
Ms Aoife
Let’s Get Together with Binh Trieu School Monday Years 3-6 Ms Esther
Working Together,Playing Together
Learning Together with Binh Trieu School
Monday Years 2-4 Ms Louise Swift
Friendship Club with Binh Tho School Thursday Years 1-3 Ms Melanie
Games Club with Mai Am School Thursday Years 4-6 Ms Georgina
Ms Lisa
Keen to be Green Thursday Years 4-6 Ms Rachel
Community Service Clubs
So many things have happened in the MFL
lessons since the beginning of the year!
In French, Y4 students especially enjoyed Miss
An’s class about making Parisian buildings
with marshmallows and spaghetti! The best
part, according to them, was to eat the marsh-
mallows at the end of the lesson!
In Chinese, the children did a lot of activities
related to the Moon Festival, including songs,
stories, and dances. They also had fun intro-
ducing themselves pretending they were fa-
mous Disney characters!
In Spanish, our F3 children practised their
dancing skills while learning the numbers
from 1 to 10. Year 5 and Year 6 students’ fa-
vourite MFL time is when they review the vo-
cabulary using the website Linguascope. They
cannot get enough of it!
We all look forward to a fun filled and exciting
year in MFL!
Ms Sophie Tighzer
Primary MFL Leader
Hola! Bonjour! Ni Hao!
Issue 4 /Page 5
6. Issue 4 /Page 6
Currently, we are looking for class parents for the following classes:
Heather Loake - F1V Judith Handscombe - 2S
Patricia Thomas - F2I Andrea Pye - 3N
Gemma Gotting - F3B Chris McKelvie - 4I
Jessica Miller - F3V Guy Dormer - 5I
Nicole McKelvie - 1I Deborah Spencer - 5S
Anna Coy - 1V Andy James - 5V
Aoife O'Connor - 2B Sahita Balzer - 6B
If you are interest in volunteering or want to find out more about this role, please use the sign up sheet below
or contact Ginette Rodriguez directly using the links below.
To sign up for "Class Parent", go to:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C054EACAE28A4F85-class
Email the PTG directly at:
bisvnptgap1@gmail.com
Fun in Fundinotots - BIS Baby & Toddler Group
PTG - Class Parents
Find out more about when
we meet.
Click here for more details or
scan the QR code below using
your mobile device.
What a fun first few weeks we
have all had in Fundi-
notots. Painting, climbing, build-
ing towers, singing nursery
rhymes, jumping in the soft play-
room, riding in cars, dressing up,
reading books, playing instru-
ments, hiding under the para-
chute, playing with the sand and
making new friends are just a
few of the things we have been up
to. If you have a baby or toddler
aged 0 to 36 months and would
like to join Fundinotots with your
child please ask in the primary
office for more information or
click on the link below.
Ms Sarah Bonner
Fundinotots Leader
7. U11 Girls
On Wednesday, a team of 9 U11 Girls played against A.I.S in a basketball game. We all played really well as a
team and ended up scoring 28 points. Anna Kinder used her height to her advantage to score and helped us to a
convincing win. We are all looking forward to the next game. Thank you to Mr Richard for umpiring and our
coach Mr Chris. – Gemma Handscombe & Teaghan McKelvie.
U11 Boys
On Wednesday 17th September, the BIS under 11 Boys played a basketball match against AIS. We had some
new people in our team who did a great job. In the first half we were losing 4-0 but after talking as a team we
were able to win and get an awesome score of 4-10. AIS did a brilliant job and showed us a lot of respect. The
people who managed to get a basket are: Mathew (1), Jonathan (1), Jong Jing (1) and Andy (2). Jonathon
Brownrigg.
Mr. Chris Pemble
Primary Physical Education Leader - AP1
U11 Girls and Boys Basketball
Issue 4 /Page 7
8. Issue 4/Page 8
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
Scan the QR code or click the
swim symbol to access the
AP1 PE Blog for more sport-
ing updates.
13. For more information, please contact
BIS AP1 PTG at
bisvnptgap1@gmail.com or go to
Belgium / Brazil / Chile / Denmark /
France / Germany / Hong Kong /
Hungary / India / Ireland / Italy
Kazakhstan / Netherlands / New
Zealand / Russia / Saint Kitts and Nevis
/ South Africa / Sri Lanka / Switzerland
/ Taiwan / Trinidad and Tobago /
Ukraine / Venezuela
www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054EACAE28A4F85-country
Issue 4 /Page 13
PTG - International Reps
15. Issue 4 /Page 15
Volunteers are needed for ticket sales & day of event.
To volunteer, please email
ellaraj@hotmail.com or santisa17@yahoo.es
Thank you!
50,000vnd per
ticket
&
Free Entry for
Adults &
Children under
2 years
Term 1
New
Families –
Free Entry
PTG - Upcoming Events
16. Issue 4 /Page 16
MENU FOR F1 - F2
MENU 2 (WEEK BEGINNING 22 SEPT)
DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
MAIN
COURSE
CHOOSE
1
Roast Chicken,
Mashed Potato
OR
Pork in Dark Soya
Sauce, Rice
Beef Lasagne
OR
Seafood Fried Rice
Cheese Pizza
OR
Pork with On-
ion, Rice
Honey Baked
Chicken, Sautéed
Potato
OR
Beef Ball Noodle
Soup
Spanish Fish Pasta
OR
Szechuan Chicken,
Rice
VEGETA-
BLES
Cabbage & Carrot Spinach
Morning Glory
Long Beans & Car-
rot
Choy sum & Carrot
SOUP
Spinach & Melon
Soup
Tomato & Tofu
Cabbage & Car-
rot
Spinach
Watercress
FOR VEG-
ETARIAN
ONLY
Chickpea & Vege-
table Curry, Rice
Spinach & Melon
Soup
Vegetarian Lasa-
gne
Tomato & Tofu
Soup
Cheese Pizza
Cabbage & Car-
rot Soup
Vegetarian Noodle
Soup
Long Beans & Car-
rot
Spanish Veggie Pasta
Watercress Soup
MENU FOR F3 - YEAR 2
MENU 2 (WEEK BEGINNING 22 SEP)
DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
MAIN COURSE
CHOOSE 1
Roast Chicken,
Mashed Potato
OR
Pork in Dark
Soya Sauce,
Rice
Beef Lasagne
OR
Seafood Fried Rice
Cheese Pizza
OR
Pork with Onion,
Rice
Honey Baked
Chicken, Sautéed
Potato
OR
Beef Ball Noodle
Spanish Fish Pas-
ta
OR
Szechuan Chick-
en, Rice
VEGETABLES
Cabbage & Car-
rot
Spinach Morning Glory
Long Beans & Car-
rot
Choy sum & Car-
rot
SOUP
Spinach & Mel-
on Soup
Tomato & Tofu Cabbage & Carrot Spinach Watercress
FOR
VEGETARIAN
ONLY
Chickpea &
Vegetable Cur-
ry, Rice
Spinach & Mel-
Vegetarian Lasa-
gne
Tomato & Tofu
Soup
Cheese Pizza
Cabbage & Carrot
Soup
Vegetarian Noodle
Soup
Long Beans & Car-
rot
Spanish Veggie
Pasta
Watercress 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
17. Issue 4 /Page 17
MENU FOR YEAR 3 - YEAR 6
MENU 2 (WEEK BEGINNING 22 SEP)
DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
MAIN
COURSE
CHOOSE 1
Roast Chicken,
Yorkshire Pudding
OR
Pork in Dark Soya
Sauce, Rice
Beef Lasagne
OR
Seafood Fried Rice
Cheese Pizza
OR
Pork with Onion,
Rice
Honey Baked
Chicken, Sautéed
Potato
OR
Beef Ball Noodle
Soup
Spanish Fish Pas-
ta
OR
Szechuan Chicken,
Rice
VEGETABLES
Cabbage & Carrot Spinach Morning Glory
Long Beans & Car-
rot
Choy sum & Car-
rot
SOUP
Spinach & Melon
Soup
Tomato & Tofu Cabbage & Carrot Spinach Watercress
FOR
VEGETARIAN
ONLY
Chickpea & Vegeta-
ble Curry, Rice
Spinach & Melon
Soup
Vegetarian Lasagne
Tomato & Tofu
Soup
Cheese Pizza
Cabbage & Carrot
Soup
Vegetarian Noodle
Soup
Long Beans & Car-
rot
Spanish Veggie
Pasta
Watercress 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, chick-
en, cheese, egg, tu-
na mayonnaise,
baked beans, peas
& bolognese sauce
Served with Salad
Wrap/Jacket Potato
fill with bacon, ham,
chicken, egg, cheese,
tuna 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
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
