This newsletter provides information about upcoming events at the British International School - Ho Chi Minh City An Phu Primary. It includes the dates for half term holiday, an upcoming business and enterprise day where students will develop business ideas, and reminders about uniform policy and club pick up times. It also introduces the school's new ICT teacher, Mr. Paul, and discusses building the school community through recent family picnic and math calculation workshops events.

1. 10 October 2014 | ISSUE 7
Dates for your diary
IN THIS ISSUE
From: Page
Headteacher & Deputy Headteacher 2,3,4,5
Y5 Teacher 6
Maths Department 7
Community Service 8
PE Department 9
PTG 10,11,12
Lunch Menus for F1-Y6 13,14
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
16th Business and Enterprise Day
17th School finishes for Half Term Holiday
27th School resumes after Half Term Holiday
October

2. From The Headteacher - Mr Simon Higham
Issue 7/Page 2
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‘AP1 Parent Blog’
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Over 14,000 page views already!
The noun, ‘community’ is defined in the following way:
‘A feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.’
I would like to thank all of the members of the PTG (parents and teachers alike) in their support of
the Family Picnic last Sunday. The purpose of this event was to bring together our school communi-
ty and celebrate the arrival of new children and parents to our school, fostering new friendships and
reaffirming already established ones. In total, 429 child tickets were sold, over 820 adults and chil-
dren attended and as a result, a community spirit was strengthened. In addition, over 29 million
VND was also raised to go towards our BIS Community Projects. Without your help, important
events such as these could not happen. If you would like to know more about how you can help in
future PTG events, please email Ginette, our parent liaison volunteer, by clicking here.
Further community building has also taken place this week with two separate Maths Cal-
culation Workshops on Tuesday and Thursday. Across the two events, we have had over
160 parents attend a formal presentation about how calculations are taught throughout the
primary years, followed by practical activities led by our teachers and children. Both
presentations and many useful website links can be found by accessing the AP1 Parent
Blog and clicking on the ‘Useful Websites and Resources’ page.
Our Community Service Programme continues go from strength to strength with 2B visit-
ing Anh Minh School this week and our well established Helping Hands Club taking more
of our children than ever before to Thien Phuc Orphanage every Monday after school.
Please contact Ms Nhung if you would like your Y4, Y5 or Y6 child to visit too.
I look forward seeing our very first Business and Enterprise Day next Thursday, with all
classes developing a business idea, borrowing capital from our school bank and hoping to
make a profit that goes towards a designated BIS Community Project of their choice. This
should be a great event to really make learning both real and meaningful. More details of
this will be sent to you shortly via email. Look out for the separate EYFS and Y1 - Y6 let-
ters.
As a respected part of our school community, I hope that you enjoy reading through this
week’s Friday newsletter.

3. What makes a child do well in school? Page 1
Issue 7 /Page 3
1. Joie de vivre (Global Citizens Learning Together and Enquiry)
The ability to love and appreciate life might sound wishy-washy in the hard
world of exam results, but love and security feed a host of qualities that great
learners need. These include the ability to be open and receptive, to be will-
ing and to feel connected.
Meanwhile, cultivating an attitude of appreciation means being able to enjoy
the journey of learning, wonder at nature, relish a good story, feel good about
achievements, and enjoy the companionship of the classroom. All of which, in
turn, feed confidence, excitement and curiosity back into the learning loop.
2. Resilience (Perseverance)
For years, resilience has been known to be essential for great learning. Mar-
tin Seligman, the US psychology professor who has studied this extensively,
has shown that it helps children think more flexibly and realistically, be
more creative and ward off depression and anxiety.
Resilient children give things a try. They understand that learning has plen-
ty of setbacks and that they can overcome them. Resilient children talk to
themselves differently from non- resilient ones, and don't turn mistakes into
catastrophes ("I've failed my maths test, it's a disaster. I'll never get maths!").
Instead, they look at a wider, more positive picture ("Ugh, that was a horrible
test, and I messed up, but I didn't do enough work. Next time I'll do more re-
vision, and it'll probably be a better paper as well").
3. Self-discipline (Integrity)
There are many famous pieces of research that show that children's ability to
control their impulses appears to lead to better health, wealth and mental
happiness in later life. In school, self-discipline is central.
Great learners need to listen, absorb and think. They need to keep going
through difficult patches, stick at hard tasks, manage their time well and
keep mental focus. Children who bounce about the classroom shouting the
first answer that comes into their heads will never be great learners.
Of course, a joyless, overly controlled child will never be one either. Balance
matters. All children need to develop a functioning "internal locus of control".
The obvious answers are a terrific school, well-run lessons, skilled teachers and a creative curriculum. At BIS
we have high expectations of all, we believe in knowing each student as an individual and equipping them ap-
propriately for their own futures. In preparing young people for the ‘international’ world it is vital that we pro-
vide them with the opportunities to develop informed aspirations for the future, confidence in their own abili-
ties, useful transferable skills, up to date knowledge and an understanding of the melting pot of cultures and
belief systems that they will encounter in their further education and future careers. But what else does a stu-
dent need to succeed?
There is growing evidence that character traits such as resilience, persistence, optimism and courage actively
contribute to improved academic success and becoming an all round Global citizen. In an article in the Inde-
pendent newspaper earlier this year, Hilary Wilce defines six key qualities that parents can foster in their chil-
dren that will help them do their very best in school. In brackets beside each title that Hilary Wilce uses are
the Aide Memoir attributes we share and promote with our students. These are:

4. What makes a child do well in school? Page 2
4. Honesty (Respect)
Honesty matters for great learning because its opposites – deception and self-
deception – hinder progress. Great learners don't say "I'm brilliant at science"
but, "I'm OK on photosynthesis, but not sure I've mastered atomic structure
yet." This attitude needs to start early.
The pre-schooler who speaks up and asks what a word means in a story, ra-
ther than pretending to know, is already on the way to being a skilful learner.
Honesty allows children to build good links with teachers and mentors. It
grows confidence, attracts goodwill, and gives children an infallible compass
with which to steer their learning.
5. Courage (Reflection)
Learning anything – piano, physics, tennis – is about approaching the un-
known, and stepping up to new challenges. Great learners are just as fright-
ened of this as others, but can overcome their fear and find focus.
They are able to try, fail, and try again. They can also navigate school life
skilfully. Children need moral courage to turn away from distractions and to
be willing to be seen as "a geek" if they want to study, while developing cour-
age also helps them to stand their ground through the temptations of the
teenage years.
6. Kindness (Caring)
Great learners are kind to themselves. They understand that learning is
sometimes hard, and not always possible to get right, but keep a "good" voice
going in their heads to encourage themselves on. A kind disposition also
draws other people to them and bolsters their learning through the help and
support of others, as well as allowing them to work productively in teams and
groups. A kind disposition also feeds listening and empathy, which in turn
foster deeper, more complex learning. All these character qualities are great
for learning – and also for life. Research shows that they help people build
more confidence, face challenges better, earn more money, have more satisfy-
ing careers, build stronger relationships, and keep depression and anxiety at
bay.
Hilary Wilce is an education writer, consultant and parent coach.
Her latest book is 'Backbone: How to Build the Character Your Child Needs to Succeed'.
Deirdre Grimshaw
Deputy Headteacher
Socks
There has been an increase in the number of children not wear-
ing any socks to school. As per the uniform policy which is in
the parent handbook, we respectfully ask that all children wear
white, grey or black ankle high socks.
Club Pick up Times
Please can you ensure that all children are
picked up at the scheduled time after clubs have
finished in school.
Thank you for your continued cooperation in these matters.
Parent Reminders
Issue 7 /Page 4

5. Meet our New Teachers!
Introducing Our New Teachers
A chat with Mr Paul, ICT
Teacher and Leader
Pick the first 3 words you think of when I say
Vietnam
Energetic, Spring rolls, Easy Riders
What are your first impressions of BIS?
Friendly and welcoming – all pupils, staff and
the open layout of the school corridors makes it
feel welcoming to everyone.
Big. Very big – I’m sure there are still places/
rooms that I haven’t yet discovered; giving an
almost Hogwarts feel to it.
Community Role - clear to see the importance
of the school in developing and maintaining
relationships of families and parents. Celebra-
tions and events seem to generate a good deal
of support and participation from families.
What new experience have you had since you ar-
rived in Vietnam?
Visiting the climbing wall in District 3 (the af-
terschool club go there on Thursdays) an I dis-
covered I am a bit of a natural climber.
New foods – Jack fruit, Lotus seeds, BBQ frog
and wearing an Ao Dai.
If you were writing a postcard to friends back home,
what would it say?
Come to Vietnam! You have to come to believe
it. There is so much to see and do. You can feel
the energy and enthusiasm of HCMC when out
in the streets.
A chat with Ms Gemma,
ICT Teacher
Pick the first 3 words you think of when I say
Vietnam
Scooters, Humidity, Exciting.
What are your first impressions of BIS?
It’s a very friendly and welcoming school.
The existing members of staff have really
helped me settle into life at BIS and the stu-
dents are incredibly enthusiastic.
The transition from secondary to primary has
been easier than I anticipated as the students
are so eager to learn.
What new experience have you had since you arrived
in Vietnam?
A motorbike tour to the Mekong Delta and be-
ing absolutely petrified every time I cross the
road.
If you were writing a postcard to friends back home,
what would it say?
I wrote a postcard to my little brother last night
actually and it said; “I went to Mui Ne last
weekend; beautiful beaches. My friends went
sledging on the sand dunes but I was too
scared. Have been on a motorbike now, I didn’t
want to open my eyes! Can’t wait to see you,
bring Yorkshire tea!”
Dear parents,
Meet another two teachers from the 2014/2015 cohort. Paul and Gemma are our ICT teachers and you will
see below that they are very happy to be part of the BIS teaching staff. We can be very proud that the teachers
have so many wonderful things to say about the BIS community. So far every single teacher has mentioned
the wonderful students and the welcome they have received.
Deirdre Grimshaw
Deputy Headteacher
Issue 7 /Page 5
Meet our New Teachers!

6. Issue 7/Page 6
Year 5 - ‘The Trade Game’
All Year 5 classes participated in the trade game this week. The idea behind the game is to encourage the chil-
dren to become more familiar with the components involved in trade and how to trade effectively to make a
profit. We had manufacturers, distributors and sellers. The teachers were the consumers. The manufacturers
created a product which they sold to the distributors. The distributors then sold these to the sellers (shop keep-
ers) who sold the product to the teachers. Unfortunately the teachers were often looking for specific things and
didn’t want the product on sale. The children then had to work out how they could get exactly what the teach-
ers wanted. Trends were created and competition between sellers grew. It was very exciting.
Will Mr Andy buy
the product? Is it
good quality?
How much will you
charge the distributor
for your product?
Did Hope and Rosie con-
vince Ms Victoria that they
could deliver the product
she wanted on time?
Trying to sell the product
for more than you paid
for it was very important.
Ms Deborah Spencer
Y5 Teacher and Assistant
Milepost 3 Leader

7. Business and Enterprise Day - 16th October
Issue 7/Page 7
Where in Ho Chi Minh City can you have your hair styled, relax with a manicure and pedicure, buy some deli-
cious home-made chocolates, visit a sweet factory, pop into a tea shop, pick up some essentials for Halloween
and watch a talent show all within a few metres walk? The answer is right here in AP1 on Thursday 16th Octo-
ber between 10.00am and 11.30am, when the front playground will be transformed into a market place. Classes
across the school are shortly going to receive their starting capital and have begun the process of designing a
game, service or product that will attract the attention of other children in the school. In addition to every class
becoming a business for the day, every child will be invited to bring in maximum spending money of 50,000
VND. This will enable them to experience managing their own budgets by being necessarily selective in decid-
ing how to spend their money from the array of tempting offers.
Parents are very welcome to come and observe the young entrepreneurs in action, although we would ask par-
ents to resist the temptation to buy from the stalls so that customer base of the producers is not confused.
Please look out for the two Enterprise Day letters (one for EYFS parents and one for Y1 to Y6 parents) that will
be sent to you via email today.
Mr Andy James
Y5 Teacher and Mathematics Leader
Thursday
16th October

8. Issue 7 /Page 8
Community Awareness
Recently, all of our Year 6 students were asked to produce
a piece of homework that explained how their brain
works, linking to the IPC topic ‘Brainwave - How We
Learn’. One of our students, Ben Gilmore from 6I pro-
duced a piece of work about strokes and I would like to
take this opportunity to share his important message with
you all.
Well done Ben - an informative, real and thought provok-
ing piece of work.
Mr Simon Higham
Headteacher

9. Issue 7/Page 9
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
Soriano
Min 8 Y1-Y3 440,000
AP1
Sportshal
l
20/10-24/10 Multi Skills 9.00-10.00
Mr Richard
Soriano
Min 8 F1-F3 440,000
AP1
Sportshal
l
20/10-24/10 T ball 4pm-5.30pm
Mr Richard
Soriano
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 -
Scan the QR code or click the swim
symbol to access the AP1 PE Blog
for more sporting updates.
‘

10. Issue 7 /Page 10
PTG
The next PTG events are:
Thursday 20th November - Teacher’s Day
Thursday 4th December - Y1 to Y3 Disco and Y4 to Y6 Disco.
Click here to view all the committees and events this year. It’s still not too late to help.

11. Blessed with wonderful weather and a great turnout of more than 820, the Family Picnic was a morning of
more than just fun. It started off with a brisk aerobic session with the energetic children followed by the kids'
boxing demonstration which was a real hit! The others were either having their faces painted or nails or hair
done before capturing the moment at the Foto booth whilst the sand art and colouring activities not only kept
the little ones busy, but the parents as well.
AP1 8th Annual Family Picnic
The amazing maze, bouncy castle, foot-
ball and basketball entertained some
others while parents chatted, catching
up or making new friends. The morn-
ing's entertainment was topped off by a
captivating magic show with chilled
drinks and cotton candy keeping all cool
and sweet!
Many thanks to the sponsors, the staff
and all the parent volunteers who
helped make the picnic a fun and suc-
cessful one.
Ella Martin (Parent)
AP1 Family Picnic Committee member
Issue 7 /Page 11

12. Issue 7 /Page 12
AP1 8th Annual Family Picnic

13. Issue 7/Page 13
MENU FOR F1 - F2
MENU 2 (WEEK BEGINNING 13 OCTOBER)
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 &
Carrot
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 Noo-
dle Soup
Long Beans &
Carrot
Spanish Veggie Pasta
Watercress Soup
MENU FOR F3 - YEAR 2
MENU 2 (WEEK BEGINNING 13 OCTOBER)
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
Soup
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-
on Soup
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

14. Issue 7 /Page 14
MENU FOR YEAR 3 - YEAR 6
MENU 2 (WEEK BEGINNING 13 OCTOBER)
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 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
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,
chicken, cheese,
egg, tuna mayon-
naise, baked beans,
peas & bolognese
sauce
Served with Salad
Wrap/Jacket Potato
fill with bacon,
ham, chicken, egg,
cheese, tuna mayon-
naise, 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