1. BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HANOI
NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER 14 2014| ISSUE 11
IN THIS ISSUE
From Mr. Anthony Rowlands
From Mr. Christopher Short
From Mrs. Karen Hanratty
Year 9 - Sapa Trip
Year 5 Visit Red River
History Competition (2)
The Apprentice - Secondary Challenge Day (2)
Advance Notice
Lunch Menu
Contacts
02
03
04
05-06
07
08
09
10
11
12
Issue 11 | 1
UPCOMING EVENTS
17th
- 18th
School photographer
17th
- 21st
Anti – bullying week
17th
KS4/5 Boys Basketball vs St Paul
18th
Y6 to visit Museum of Ethnology
Y10 Parents Evening
KS3 Boys Football vs KISH
KS4/5 Boys Basketball vs Wellspring
19th
KS3 Boys Football vs St.Paul
20th
Secondary Challenge Day 2
24th
Ben Heason – Rock Climber visits School
KS4/5 Boys Basketball vs Wellspring
25th
Open Day
26th
KS3 Boys & Girls Football vs BVIS
Y2 visit to Alfresco restaurant, Vincom Centre
Science Competition
27th ECAs finish
27th
- 29th
Silver DoEIA Qualifying Expedition
28th
Primary Reports Distributed
NOVEMBER
2. Issue 11 | 2
From Mr Anthony Rowlands - Principal of BIS Hanoi
In our school calendar we have
designated next week as “Anti-Bullying
Week”. This is an important week for
us as we feel very strongly that bullying
has no place at BIS Hanoi. Any form of
bullying is unacceptable and, as a
school, we aim to tackle it at the
earliest opportunity in an effort to
prevent emotional or physical distress.
A common definition of bullying is:
“Repeated, persistent and aggressive behaviour
intended to cause fear, distress, or harm to another
person's body, emotions, self-esteem or reputation.”
A key word in the above definition is ‘repeated’ as it is
important to differentiate between ‘occasional’ conflict
and ‘repeated’ conflict. Schools are places where
students learn to coexist and collaborate together. Good
schools ensure that they put in place policies and
procedures that help students to live and work
cooperatively, developing a trust and respect of each
other. However, inevitably children will occasionally
disagree or argue which can end up in conflict. This
conflict is usually solved between the students
themselves or with the support of an adult. It is when a
student repeatedly finds themselves in conflict because
of the actions of others that it becomes bullying.
Students can experience bullying in several forms:
Physical bullying
Physical bullying includes hitting, kicking, tripping,
pinching and pushing or damaging property.
Verbal bullying
Verbal bullying includes name calling, insults, teasing,
intimidation, homophobic or racist remarks, or verbal
abuse.
Covert or hidden bullying
This sort of bullying is often harder to recognise and
can be carried out behind the bullied person's back. It
is designed to harm someone's social reputation and/or
cause humiliation.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying can be overt or covert bullying
behaviours using digital technologies, including
hardware such as computers and smartphones and
software such as social media, instant messaging, texts,
websites etc.
I am looking forward to addressing this important area
as a school and would appeal to you, as parents, to talk
to your children about this topic. Being bullied is a most
distressing experience which can have many negative
long term effects. Let’s ensure that we tackle bullying as
one community and ensure that BIS Hanoi students do
not have to experience such hardship.
Have a most pleasant weekend.
F3 VISIT KIZCITI
3. Last week I was privileged to join Year 9 for their expedition to Sapa. There is a full write up in
this newsletter with some photos. This was my third visit to this stunning part of northern
Vietnam and it was a pleasure to see the students in Year 9 cope so well with the challenges
thrown at them by the weather, the terrain and the problem solving activities put together by Exo
Travel, our expedition partners. The journals they created are in the Library and are definitely
worth looking at.
I have been fortunate to lead expeditions to a number of countries and it always confirms my belief that education
happens exceptionally well both in and out of the classroom. With this in mind we have our second Challenge Day
next week. This event is run by our Geography, Business Studies, ICT and English departments. The aim of the
Challenge Days is to show students a practical application for their learning and that, although we might teach certain
skills in certain subjects, in reality we need to bring these skills together to work with other people to solve challenges.
This Challenge Day is themed around the US and UK television show The Apprentice. More details and photos next
week but look out for the excellent promotion posters around school and online.
It was great to see so many Year 11 parents in school on Tuesday for our Information Morning. We understand parents
are busy which is why we give so much notice to allow them to plan. Mr Byrne gave an excellent overview of the rest
of the year for Year 11 and looked forward to A Levels and University applications. He showed an excellent video
interviewing a number of admissions officers (including MIT and Duke) on the value of A Levels for US university
applications.
Issue 11 | 3
From Mr Christopher Short - Head of Secondary
4. Over the last two weeks we have seen
House Sports events for both KS2 and
KS1. These events are eagerly looked
forward to by all children. They are
well planned and a lot of fun, with
events running continuously
throughout the session keeping
children active and giving them many
opportunities to participate and push themselves to
their limits. There is a strong element of competition,
particularly when the results are announced at the end,
but there are no individual winners or losers,
everything happens as part of a team and it is the team
that wins or does not. Ultimately, it is not winning that
matters so much as participating, being part of a team
and giving your all for that team and your team mates.
Whether we like it or not, life frequently has an element
of competition. Whilst we may do our best in
Issue 11 | 4
From Mrs Karen Hanratty - Head of Primary
FINE DINING
applications and interviews, whether we get the place
we want at a particular university or the new job we are
so keen to have depends very much not just on how
well we have prepared but also on the strength of the
other applicants. Children have to learn about
competition – it is a fact of life. Events like House Sports
enable children to experience competition, but in a safe,
controlled way. They may feel the pleasure of winning,
or the disappointment of losing, but as one of the team,
not as an individual. House Sports are about so much
more than how fast you can run or how far you can
throw.
5. The Year 9 expedition went, as usual,
to Sapa. We have been very lucky with
the weather over the last two years but
sadly our luck ran out this year.
However, the rain and mist didn’t stop
us enjoying our visit to this beautiful
corner of Vietnam and only prevented
us from doing one activity.
After collecting students from the Opera House and BIS
we settling into our train cabins for the journey north.
With the new road to Sapa it will be interesting to see
how the train line survives but it definitely adds to the
adventure of the travel to arrive in Lao Cau after a
(reasonable) night’s sleep.
The rain stopped our wholesale exploration of the town
but we did get a chance to see the church and the
market before heading out to Ban Ho, our home for the
next two days.
Issue 11 | 5
Mr Robert Glossop
English Teacher
The highlight of the trip was the Amazing Race. House
teams used clues to navigate themselves along the
valley and up the side of a steep mountain to a small
village school. Here we helped serve the children their
lunch, played games and even mixed concrete and
repaired their playground. All through the event each
house team wrote a journal and these were added to the
points earned by the team; congratulations to Dalat for
their win. Individual students were nominated by each
House staff member for their contribution on this
challenging day. These students were:
• Hanoi: BUI Huy Quynh Anh (Kelly)
• Hue: PHAM Huong Nhi
• Dalat: DANG, Dinh Trung
• Saigon: VU Bao Trang
The only casualty of the weather was the farming on the
last day. After we found out the villagers weren’t going
Year 9
SAPA TRIP
6. Issue 11 | 6
in the field that day as it was too wet we decided to do another activity. Each house group wrote and performed a
play about their time in Sapa. Through several uncanny impersonations of Mr Short we discovered that the
students had really enjoyed their week and learnt a great deal.
We had another brief visit to Sapa Town on the way back to the station although the rain forced most staff and
students into the cosy coffee shops of Sapa with roaring fires and hot chocolate.
Thirty eight happy, tired and to a certain extent dirty students and 6 staff arrived back in Hanoi in the early hours
of Friday morning with an increased appreciation of another part of Vietnam, rural life, the ethnic groups of the
country and en-suite bathrooms.
8. Issue 11 | 8
Write Your Own Historical Fiction
Competition
This second competition is open to anyone in
Years 7-9. One of the key attributes of historical
fiction is that it has a convincing setting in a past
time and place. Students can set their stories in
ANY period or place in the past, so the story can
fit in with and extend any historical topic they
choose to study.
The criteria for this competition
are:
1) the paper must have accurate historical
context within it
2) the paper should be written in less then 500
words
3) the paper should contain an annotated
bibliography.
• Entries are due in on Friday 16th January
2015.
• Book tokens will be awarded as prizes within the department.
• The best three entries will be submitted to the Historical Association to be judged in the
final against students from around the world.
• Students interested should talk to Mr O’Reilly (S219) and may also start their
investigations here:
http://www.history.org.uk/resources/secondary_resource_6902_244.html
HISTORY COMPETITION (2)
9. English, Geography, ICT and Business Studies
CHALLENGE DAY
20th November 2014
Sir Alan will meet you at 8.40am in the Auditorium.
Don’t be late!
Business / Smart - can link to house colours e.g. A blue tie for Saigon
Bring your electronic devices to help your team research
Be prepared to be challenged…You will be working in groups with students from different year groups
CHALLENGE DAY UPDATES – check the TVs and Daily Notice for more information
LOCATION
DRESS CODE
DATE
10. Issue 11 | 10
BIS Hanoi is pleased to announce that Mr Ben Heason will visit the school on Monday 24th November 2014.
Ben is one of the UK’s leading climbers and has been climbing full-time for over 15 years. He is
world-renowned for his bold climbing on routes at the cutting edge of the sport, including his impressive
exploits on big wall expeditions around the globe. In 2005 Ben was part of an International Expedition to
climb the world’s highest waterfall, deep in the heart of the Venezuelan jungle. The team's successful
expedition, with climbing at the highest level in an incredibly remote region of the planet, has been praised as
'one of the finest achievements by British rock climbers on foreign soil'.
Ben is in Hanoi with a team who are on a climbing expedition in Ha Long Bay. Ben will speak to students
during the day from Early Years through to Year 12. It will be a great experience for our students to listen and learn from a person
who achieved so much and shown so much perseverance.
You can learn more about Ben at: www.benheason.com
ADVANCE NOTICE
11. Issue 11 | 11
BIS HANOI MENU
Week Beginning 17th November
Monday
17th
Nov 18th
Nov 19th
Nov 20th
Nov 21st
Nov
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
From Year 3 to Year 12 : All meals come with a salad or salad bar choice along and 2 choices of vegetables, rice, Vietnamese soup.
From Year 7 to Year 12: We have introduced our NEW Sandwich bar with assorted cheeses, fresh tuna, egg salad, roast meats and
other daily specials on our homemade bread, dark rye, whole wheat, oatmeal, french bread, Vietnamese rolls, raisin bread and
other fresh baked bread every day.
Rice soup with
chicken
Fresh tofu Jam sandwich Banana crepe CookieCaramel
Morning
snack
Morning
snack
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Afternoon
snack
EYFSPRIMARYSECONDARY
Steam roll with
pork cake
Fried egg with
ground pork
Fried egg with
ground pork
Steamed roll
with pork cake
Fried crispy fish Fried crispy pork
Fried tofu in
tomato sauce
Grilled chicken
with oyster sauce
Pork caramel
with egg
Fried crispy fish
Stauteed beef
with broccoli
Braised pork
with daikon
Braised fish
with rice
Grilled chicken
with oyster sauce
Sweet and
sour tofu
Pork caramel
with egg
Fried crispy pork
Fried tofu in
tomato sauce
Beef lasagna
Chicken with
mashed potatoes
Hawaian Pizza
Beef lasagna
Braised fish
with rice
Chicken with
mashed potatoes
Braised pork
with daikon
Braised pork
with daikon
Steamed roll
with pork cake
Beef lasagna
Chicken with
mashed potatoes
Hawaian Pizza
Nha Trang
fish noodle
Rice soup Sausage roll
Milk
Milk
Milk
Fruit
Juice Soya milk
Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit
FruitFruit
Juice Juice Juice
Milk MilkJuice Juice Juice
Banana cake
Rice soup with
chicken
Steam roll with
pork cake Rice soup Sausage rollBanana cake
12. Issue 11 | 12
Good communication is important to us and we would like to ensure that you have the correct contact
information in order for you to call the school:
School Number: 04 3946 0435
Extention number:
Receptionist: 0
(For all general enquiries)
Principal’s Office: 208
principaloffice@bishanoi.com
(If you wish to contact the School Principal)
Business Manager’s Office: 109
thaonguyen@bishanoi.com
Primary Office: 220
primaryoffice@bishanoi.com
(For all enquiries regarding the Primary Section)
Secondary Office: 215
secondaryoffice@bishanoi.com
(For all enquiries regarding the Secondary Section)
Admission Department: 222/122/555/777/888
bishanoi@bishanoi.com
dessydelevaux@bishanoi.com (Admission Manager)
jinnyjung@bishanoi.com (Korean Liaison Officer)
hatruong@bishanoi.com
trambui@bishanoi.com
Marketing Department: 189
huyennguyenngoc@bishanoi.com
(For all enquiries regarding Marketing)
Finance Department: 202
(For all enquiries regarding school fees)
Medical Room: 117/303
linhdieu@bishanoi.com (Main school)
liennguyen@bishanoi.com (Early Years Building)
(For all enquiries regarding Medical Issues)
Uniform Shop: 221
tamle@bishanoi.com
duyennguyenthi@bishanoi.com
nhungpham@bishanoi.com
(For all enquiries regarding School Uniform)
School Buses: 218
nganguyenthithuy@bishanoi.com
(For all requiries regarding School Buses)
