TX Newsletter 06.03.15

1. 9- 11/3 Year 4 Trip to Long Hai
19/3 Parents’ Evening
1/4 Spring Concert (eve)
5/4 Term 2 Cbubs finish
8/4 MP2 Speech Competition
14/4 MP3 Production
BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HO CHI MINH CITY
06 MARCH 2015 | ISSUE 23
Dates for your diary
IN THIS ISSUE
March + April
TU XUONG PRIMARY
Newsletter
Contact information
43-45 Tu Xuong St, District 3, HCMC
Tel: (848) 3932 0210
Fax: (848) 3932 0770
E-mail:
suehill@bisvietnam.com
Newsletter Issue 23|1
From the Deputy Head Teacher + Finer Diners 2
Binh Trieu Visit in Y1 + ARC Visit in EYFS 3
SISAC Swim Meet 4
Kon Tum Toothbrush Collection 5
Green Certificate + Eco– Scouts Club + 6X Say No to Shark Fin Soup 6
F2 Visit to the Fire Station + Dates of Term 2 7
Friends Around the World 8
Young Musician of the Year + Holiday Programmes 9

2. Newsletter Issue 23|2
We are all citizens of Ho Chi Minh City, but our community goes well beyond simply
living in the same place. We care, show respect, act with integrity so that we can all
learn together. This was evidenced on numerous occasions this week.
Our EYFS children all had a visitor from ARC – Animal Rescue and Care; the first of
several visits teaching the children to safely care for animals. Year 1, Year 2 and
Year 6 all spent time with their community partners, Binh Trieu, Tran Khanh Du and
Poussieres De Vie. In each case the children showed respect and understanding for
the children they were working with. Our assembly this morning was led by the Year
6 children. Human desire for shark fins and rhino horns has driven these species to
the edge of extinction. Watch out next week, as the children continue to challenge all
our community to act with integrity with regards to these animals.
The second part of our assembly continued the community theme. Alois Luong is a pupil in Year 8 at the
An Phu Secondary Campus. With his brother Jeremie in Year 10, he organised the Kon Tum toothbrush
project. They spoke to Mr Wilson about the idea, built the collection boxes and then, in February, visited
Kon Tum to distribute the toothbrushes to the orphans. As he spoke to the children in assembly today, it
became clear to me how BIS children really are global citizens with a strong sense of what being part of a
community really means.
Another aspect of being part of a community is looking after each other. This week, Tim Gerrish, a child
protection and safeguarding expert from the UK visited all the campuses of the BIS, and spent two further
days training our staff. The children’s safety is paramount in all that we do, and we look forward to
receiving Tim’s report with suggestions how we can make our school an even safer place for the children.
Keeping our children safe online was the focus of our coffee morning this week. The internet was
compared to a swimming pool. We don’t build high walls around swimming pools; we teach children how
to swim. In the same way, we shouldn’t be trying to stop children from using the internet, we need to
teach them how to use it safely. The focus this week was on what systems we have in school to monitor
and filter what the children can do online, and how this can be replicated at home. Please see our Digital
Citizenship website for some resources on what you can do to make the internet safer for your children:
http://digitalcitizenship.bisvietnam.net/
Congratulations to our swimming team who came third in the SISAC Swim Meet this week. Being the
smallest of the 6 schools that took part, it is a great achievement, and thank you to Ms Charlie and Mr
Chau for all your hard work.
On Monday next week, our Year 4 children head off on their residential trip to Long Hai. I wish them a
successful trip and look forward to finding out who will be the sandcastle champion of 2015. Also next
week, please look out for the sign-up sheets for parents evening which is taking place on
Thursday 19th
March.
Have a great weekend and Happy Holi to all our
Hindu families.
Mr. Ian Battersby
From the Deputy Head Teacher - Mr Ian
Finer Diners
Congratulations to Saranya, Katie and
PO (Year 3), and Justin, Johnny and
Yun Seo (Year 4).

3. Newsletter Issue 23|3
Binh Trieu Visit in Y1
Year 1 had a wonderful time this week getting to know their new friends
from Binh Trieu! They laughed underneath the parachute, made
awesome lego models and jumped around in the soft play room
together.
Sushi said “I made a new friend and played with her in every room!”
Cadlha said “I made friends with a girl even though I don’t speak
Vietnamese!”
Kevin said “My friend was called Guong, I played lego with him!”
Duc Nguyen: Musical statues was so much fun because I didn’t lose.
Ms Holly Johnson
Year 1 Teacher
ARC Visit in EYFS
As EYFS’ community partner, we invited Ms Koto from Animal Rescue and Care (ARC) to tell us how we
should take care of our pets. She visited F1, F2 and F3 units last Tuesday morning and taught us what
our pets need. We learnt that dogs, cats, rabbits and other pet animals should be given enough water,
proper food and a clean home. They also need families and friends who will love and care for
them. Thank you Ms Koto for sharing great and useful information with us! We are looking forward to
more visits from you and your friends from ARC!
Ms Crislet
F1X Teacher

4. SISAC Swim Meet
On Wednesday 4th
March 25 students in years 3-6 took part in the SISAC swim meet from TX. The
students took part in range of short distance events and relays. They enjoyed the afternoon and a lot of
students won ribbons. Congratulations to Andrew Vu who came second in 9-10 boys’ age category and
Quynh An Tran who came third in the 8 and under girls’ category for overall individual points scored. The
TX team did extremely well and came in 3rd
place overall out of 6 Schools.
Well done to everyone that took part and keep up the hard work!
Ms Charlotte
Newsletter Issue 23|4
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5. Newsletter Issue 23|5
KonTum was a unique experience. We were received with a
warm welcome from the children of “Vinh Son 4” and we were
also able to sleep among the villagers of KonTum.
As soon as we arrived at the orphanage, the children rushed
towards us as if they had not seen us in a long time. We started
the day with a simple game where they sang “Brush, Brush,
Brush your teeth, Everyday!” while racing around a circle. While
playing, the children had great big smiles that went up to their
ears and they laughed and giggled.
The next activity was more of a practical one. The children had to
brush a giant tooth covered in dirt. At first, they didn’t understand
what they had to do because of their lack of English but as after a
short while they understood and started to really enjoy this
activity.
Next, we gave out the toothbrushes. This was a very joyful and
exciting moment as these children could finally have their own
toothbrushes. We decided to write their names on the
toothbrushes to avoid confusion. It was obvious from the look in
the children’s eyes that it was a fabulous moment for them, like
Christmas when they got a unique gift, an object that they would
treasure for a long time.
I was surprised when I saw the children put so much time and
effort brushing their teeth for the first time. Some of them even
brushed for 10 minutes nonstop!
At that time, I realised that this operation really worked well but
for it to be a real success, the children need to get into a habit to
brush their teeth on a daily basis. For this, we can fortunately rely
on the volunteers of Poussière de Vie who work in KonTum. This
is only the beginning of a long project and we will hopefully be
able to continue to support this project with your help.
Leaving Vinh Son 4 was hard because we just started to know
the children better. As our car left, they ran after it waving their
hands to say good bye. We can’t wait to go back in the future to
see if the children have made good use of their toothbrushes.
Happiness can be found in as simple things as sharing a smile.
These children have very little, but they gave us so much.
by Alois Luong 8S and Jeremie Luong 10N
Kon Tum Toothbrush Collection

6. Newsletter Issue 23|6
Green Certificate, February 2015
Despite the Tet holidays, the Eco-Scouts managed to select the first
winner of the Year of the Goat Green certificate.
Well done 4T
It’s getting harder to choose between the classes as they all get
better at being green, so who will be awarded the Green Certificate
next month?
Reduce, reuse, recycle too,
The Eco-Teams are watching YOU!
6X Say No to Shark Fin Soup!
6X have been researching the impact that shark fin soup has on the oceans of the world.
Through their research they found that demand for the soup throughout the world, but especially
in Asian countries such as Vietnam and China, has led to 100 million sharks being killed each
year. Using reliable sources for their research, 6X found that global shark numbers have fallen
by up to 90% over the past 15 years. Individual species such as bull sharks and smooth
hammerheads have seen their populations reduced by 99% since 1972! Sharks are heading for
extinction and 6X want the TX community to do something to help! Far from being a deadly
animal to be feared every time we go near water, 6X found that sharks play a valuable role in
keeping ocean ecosystems healthy and actually kill far less people each year than cows,
coconuts and even beds!! On Thursday, 6X will have a stall in the foyer where they will
encourage members of the TX community to pledge to not eat shark fin soup and save sharks
as a result. Please sign the pledge, and more importantly ‘Say no to shark fin soup!’
Mr James
Eco– Scouts Club
As usual the Eco-Scouts
met this week to continue
their junk modelling. They
are finding fun ways to
reuse and recycle their
waste.
Ms Heather

7. Newsletter Issue 23|7
F2’s Visit to the Fire Station
This week on Thursday, F2 visited the local fire station in D3. We were all made to feel very welcome and
there were lots of fun activities set up for us. There were lots of demonstrations to show the children how
people were rescued safely from a fire. We spent some time exploring the 7 different fire engines at the
station, which were from different countries. The children’s favourite activities included watching the
children go down the fire man’s pole, using the hose pipes and sitting in the engines. The children’s
confidence to ask questions and join it with activities grew as the morning went on and we finished with
listening to the fire engine siren. An exciting morning full of learning and fun!
Ms Gurvinder and Ms Grace
Dates of Term 2
Date Year Group/s Event
9/3—11/3 Y4 Residential Trip to Long Hai
19/3 All Parents’ Evening
1/4 Y3-6 Spring Concert (evening)
5/4 All Term 2 Clubs Finish
8/4 MP2 Speech Competition
14/4 MP3 Production—’Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ (evening)
17/4 All Term 2 finishes @ 11.30am

8. Newsletter Issue 23|8
Friends Around the World

9. Newsletter Issue 23|9
Young Musician of the Year
Date Sport Time
Head
Coach
Minimum
No. Of
Students Age
Prices (all in
VND) Location
20/4-24/4 Football
8 am- 11
am
SSA Min 8
Year 3
upwards
2,200,000 Big field
20/4-24/4 Basketball 1pm-4pm SSA Min 8
Year 3
upwards
2,200,000
AP2 Sports
hall
20/4-24/4 Swimming
8.45am -
1.45pm
Mr Vinh Min 8 F2 upwards
Various prices
(see letter)
AP1 Swim-
ming Pool
20/4-24/4
T-ball/
Softball
4pm -
5.30pm
Mr Richard Min 8
Year 3
upwards
660,000 VND Big Field
20/4-24/4 Multisports
8.15am -
9.15am
Mr Richard Min 8 F3 - Y2 440,000 VND
AP1 Sports
Hall
20/4-24/4 Multisports
9.45am -
10.45am
Mr Richard Min 8 F1 - F2 440,000 VND
AP1 Sports
Hall
27/4-1/5 Football
8 am- 11
am
SSA Min 8
Year 3
upwards
2,200,000 Big field
27/4-1/5 Basketball 1pm-4pm SSA Min 8
Year 3
upwards
2,200,000
AP2 Sports
hall
Holiday Programmes