ap2 newsletter 5th june

BISbuzz Issue 35 | 1

BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HO CHI MINH CITY| SECONDARY CAMPUS

JUNE 5 | ISSUE 35

IN THIS ISSUE

June 7th AP2 Flea Market, 9am 8th—11th LAMDA Examinations 9th Year 6 Parent Transition meeting, 3pm 10th Year 8 NC Level Report 12th PTG Meeting, 8.15am 12th PTG Quiz, 4pm 12th Year 11 Prom, 7pm 12th Year 10 & 12 Exam Reports

UPCOMING EVENTS

From the Head Teacher 02 Cricket Match Report 05 Music 06 Ultimate Culture Club 08 Community Service 09 Sport News 10 PTG 11 Quiz Night 15 From The BIStro & Underground 16


From The Head Teacher From The Head Teacher

Flea Market Don’t forget to visit the annual PTG Flea Market at AP2 on Sunday from 9am. Entry is free and many bar-gains will be for sale as people clear their houses for the summer. Spread the word! Graduation 2015

Last Saturday our Year 13 graduates gathered at the Rex Hotel for a memorable and uplifting graduation ceremony to mark their transition from BIS. Ms Lara Vu from UNICEF was our guest speaker, and the Head Students rounded off the event with their reflections on the past and a gaze into the future. I spoke to the graduates about integrity, that little word at the top of our aide memoire that gets such little atten-tion but that is so important for life. For those who were unable to attend the ceremony, I have repro-duced my message below.

It is a very special day for the graduates of the British International School, a day that they have been an-ticipating for quite some time. I am sure that for some, it feels like this day has come too soon, as they prepare to leave behind their school days and embark on the next stage of their lives.

Graduates: This represents the biggest leap you’ve made so far and the day will be a day tinged with mixed emotions.

Relief, that the biggest exams of your life are over. For now.

Excitement, about today and about the changes that are about to take place in your lives.

Nostalgia, as you prepare to leave behind a school community where you have grown and, I hope a community you have grown fond of.

And, no doubt, a little anxiety. I hope that today will be hugely enjoyable and that you’ll leave with affectionate memories of your time at BIS and with wonderful memories of this day itself.


Long after you have forgotten the facts and figures that have filled your minds during your years at BIS, you will remember the people you have shared your time with. You’ll remember the times that you laughed together, the times you cried, the shared frustrations and celebrations, and the times of discov-ery and learning. I myself have many fond memories and feel privileged to have shared these past few years with you.

Cherish your memories, they have great value. Fix them in your minds to carry with you. Frame this time of transition in terms of what you take with you, not what you leave behind. And enjoy today. This cere-mony and this evening’s dinner, this is all for you. The only other time that so much attention is focussed on you is when you get married.

For parents, also, it’s a big leap, and one that also for you, may seem to have arrived all too soon. Along-side the feelings of pride, there will, without doubt be feelings of relief. We, as parents share the anxie-ties of growing up in ways that our children will only understand later. There may be a tinge of anxiety, wondering how your children will get on. There may be some feelings of nostalgia, remembering when they were small. Your babies have grown up, your children are about to leave home, many to destina-tions overseas, and life at home won’t ever be quite the same.

I feel all of these things, but I also feel supremely confident. I have good reason to be confident that the-se young people are as well prepared and, of course, as well-educated as they have ever been and they will make us all as proud in the future as we are today.

We have done our best as a school, you have done your best as parents, and your children will continue to do their very best. Their future is now in very good hands: their own.

Graduates: you are ready for anything! Even this, the biggest leap of your life so far.

Have you ever noticed that the projects you tackled during your years at school just got bigger and bigger, took longer and longer? In primary school, you worked hard to write a page, 300 words, during an after-noon. Your homework was to bring in your favourite teddy, of a collage of pasta shapes. Now you can tackle the 4000 word extended essay over the course of a year. And it’s not going to get any shorter. The most important projects, the most valuable, take a long time and sustained effort.

Let me give you two illustrations.

Fifteen years ago, when many of you were starting at kindergarten, the Millennium Development Goals were established by the United Nations. Eight goals, simply stated. Where are we now? Target 2: By 2015, all children can complete a full course of primary schooling, girls and boys. Well, it’s 2015. We’re not there yet. 58 million primary age children are still out of school.

At the same time, you, the privileged students of BIS, have benefitted not only from a fabulous primary education, but secondary also, and now have the opportunity for tertiary. This confers great responsibility on you.

Ten years ago, in 2005, the UN Summit and the G8 meeting were urged to support action to eradicate world poverty, to make history by making poverty history. This was a remarkable success. Has it finished? Is world poverty eradicated?

Big projects – this is the world you are entering, graduates, beyond the Extended Essays, from Group 4 to G8. Longer, bigger, more important.

You are embarking on your biggest and longest project so far: your life. Project You.


What lies ahead for Project You? Much is unknown, but we do know this. Over the next ten years you will: Grow around 140 km of hair on your head. And around 40cm of hair up your nose. You will grow around 4m of nails. Eat about 20kg of chocolate – some of you will eat considerably more. You’ll spend a week or so kissing and your heart will beat around 370 million times You’ll spend 1 month of the next decade on the toilet. You will produce 20 billion new red blood cells. Every day. And you will talk for two whole years. What will you say? What effect will your words have? Much of this you won’t even notice. Much of this you can’t control. The challenge for you lies in what you choose to notice, in what you choose to control.

This also lies ahead: During the next ten years or so, cognitive neuroscientists tell us that your brains rapidly re-wire them-selves for adulthood. This is the last great growth spurt in the brain and it sets you on track for life. What-ever you want to change about yourselves, however you wish to define yourselves, this is the time to do it.

Your personality, your life, your future is shaped and defined by the defining moments of the next ten years, so make sure they are worthwhile moments. Make deliberate choices, make good choices. Do things that develop and add to who you are. Build what people call “identity capital”. Spend your time in the way you would spend your last dollar. Wisely, with care.

Your life is a huge project. What advice can I offer you, as you embark on Project You?

Maybe I should say: “Life is too short to live anyone else’s dream”.

Maybe I should advise you to follow your heart.

Or remind you that you are unique, just like everyone else.

Or pass on advice from my mother who, when I was looking for something and couldn’t remember where I’d put it, would always tell me – “It’s always in the last place you look.” Of all the wisdom from my par-ents, that has certainly turned out to be true. Rather spooky. You are 18 years old now, IB Graduates, and you have developed the capacity for sustained attention, in depth analysis, for examining issues from multiple perspectives. You deserve advice of a little more sub-stance. You deserve something that will challenge you to use these capacities to the full. My advice is this.

Right at the top of our school mission statement, underneath the words “Global Citizens”, lies the word “Integrity.” It nestles there, challenging us to think about it, but hiding under the larger words above, al-most dodging out of the way, as if to say, “Go on then, what am I all about?” My advice is: Live a life in pursuit of integrity. As simple as that. And as complex and challenging as that. What does integrity mean? What is it all about?

It’s not just a synonym for “honesty.” It’s more than that. To me, it’s about connection, completeness, alignment. The word has its roots in the Latin word integer, meaning “intact, complete, whole”. We get words like integer, integration from this; and, of course, integrity. For me, it means that your values are reflected in your thoughts, your words and your actions. It means that how you live and what you do is driven by what you love and aligned to what you value. It means that what you value comes not just from the heart, your passions and your instincts, but from your intellect, from a rigorous examination of your motives and actions.

So, when Aristotle said “An unexamined life is not worth living”, he wasn’t referring to the IB exams. He meant that a life worth living comes from regular reflection and a critical examination of what you think, what you believe and how you act.


If integrity is about how you act, it is about your impact on others and on the world. It’s about leaving a positive legacy, each hour, each day, each decade. Two years of talk in the next decade – what will you say? What impact will you have? What legacy will you leave when you interact with people?

Striving to live with integrity is more than simply following your heart, then. It’s getting your head and your heart aligned. Do that, and your action will follow.

Before I finish, I will say one more thing. I have come to believe that living with integrity is a life-long pro-ject. It’s never accomplished. We get it wrong, we make mistakes, we change our views, our values, life happens. If we listen to others, and pay mindful attention to what is going on around us and within us, it’s natural and good and positive to change. It’s an exciting project.

So, integrity certainly isn’t just another word for honesty. But it does mean being honest with yourself. Zen masters teach us to live our private and inner lives as if they were public; to live at home as if we were expecting important visitors at any time. To live inside our heads as if our minds could be read.

Daniel Goleman of Emotional Intelligence fame reflects this with words of advice, words of caution which fit well with much of what I’m saying. I’ll round off with his words:

The range of what we think and do

Is limited by what we fail to notice.

And because we fail to notice

That we fail to notice

There is little we can do to change

Until we notice

How failing to notice

Shapes our thoughts and deeds.

So, Class of 2015: Graduating from BIS should, if nothing else, leave you prepared to embark on your big-gest project so far, bigger even than the Extended Essay, longer than a BIStro baguette. That project is “Project You: your life.” Strive to live honestly and with integrity. Seek continuously to be true to your-self, your values and your passions.

These are not fixed. They will change. Be prepared to change with them and change always for the better. And if you get it wrong, change again.

Notice. Above all, be good, take care, have fun and enjoy the project.

Richard Dyer Head Teacher, Secondary


On the 2nd of June 2015, ABC came to the AP 1 field in BIS and Agastya was our captain. We lost the toss and they elected to bowl first (as they did in the previous match that we unfortunately lost). Atharva and Rahul opened but unfortunately Rahul got out quite early, with an unlucky shot that came right into the fielder’s hand. After Rahul got out, Raafay came into bat and scored a solid partnership of 24 runs with Atharva, with some beautiful shots from both the players. Raafay unluckily got run out with a wrong call between the players. Atharva eventually scored a slow and steady 20 when he was forced to retire. After that, there was nothing much in the batting line up, however Rohan came in and hit a beautiful shot down the ground for four runs. We eventually ended up with a solid score of 48-6. Next, ABC came into bat with key opener Vansh, getting dismissed early with a great bouncer from Raafay. Later on in the innings, some sharp fielding from Raafay dismissed ABC’s opener, Adam. Rohan also fielded really well with an accurate throw onto the stumps that got Kai run out. The captain, Agastya, bowled a maiden over in a crucial moment of the match. Raafay also bowled well with the bowling figures of 3-4 (3 wickets with 4 runs conceded). Rohan was simply amazing with a beautiful spell of 5-0(5 wickets with 0 runs conceded). Apparently, Ms. Easter had never seen such bowling figures in the 30 years that she has been scoring cricket. Our catching was amazing with a diving catch from Atharva at mid-wicket. Nam, who hardly has any experience in cricket, took the initiative of playing for BIS and he in fact, took a magnificent catch run-ning backwards and stretching his hand out into the air. BIS eventually got ABC all out for only 13 runs! Rohan’s beautiful bowling and Atharva’s amazing 20, led our team to victory by 35 runs against ABC. Final Score: BIS 48/6 ABC International School 13 all out Rohan, Raafay and Agastya

Cricket Match Report

Back row left to right: Abishek Patki, Navin Ranasinghe, Jaimie Short, Will Manley, Adwaith Nair, Rahul Sharma, Ashyle George, Nam Nguyen

Front row left to right: Keminda Dassanayake, Rohan Pandey, Atharva Deshpande, Raafay Qamar, Agastya Rao


BIS Jazz at the Bourbon Street Jazz Festival 2015 On Saturday 30th May, the BIS Big Band and the Jazz Quintet were privileged to be invited to play at the ‘Bourbon Street Jazz Festival 2015’, held at the fantastic Q4 events arena. The band played a set of 4 songs including our favourite tune ‘The Jazz Police’ and our first performance of the funky tune ‘What Is Hip’. In between the Big Band set, the Jazz Quintet played ‘Cold Duck Time’ and ‘Watermelon Man’, fea-turing some excellent improvised solos from all the members of the group.

Both groups played to an extremely professional standard and the sets were met by very positive feed-back from a large audience.

We enjoyed the opportunity to play on the huge Q4 stage with full lights and sound and hope to be invit-ed back next year.

Ian Alexander Music Teacher

Music


ABRSM Practical Exams - June 10th to June 29th 2015 I hope that preparations are going well for all students who are taking ABRSM practical exams over the next few weeks. We look forward to welcoming our examiner, Ms Helen Cawthorne to Ho Chi Minh City early next week. Helen will have the pleasure of hearing nearly 400 students perform over the next three weeks including many BIS students. Helen studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music, London and won many awards for both solo perfor-mance and accompaniment. She has performed as an accompanist at many of the leading chamber ven-ues in the UK including the South Bank Centre and the Wigmore Hall. She has also been an audition and rehearsal pianist for all the major music colleges and many of the leading orchestras and choirs in London. If you are taking an exam, please make sure you arrive in the dance studio at the BIS secondary school (5th floor) about 15 minutes before your exam time to make sure that you are warmed up and ready to play. You will be taken to the theatre at the correct time for your exam when the examiner is ready. Don’t for-get, you may use the sheet music for your pieces, but scales and arpeggios must be played from memory. Best of luck to all candidates! Ian Alexander ABRSM representative, HCMC


Ultimate Culture Club

This past year with the Ultimate Culture Club has been an amazing experience for me. I was able to go through the process of filmmaking while helping the Vietnamese students from a local school with their English. In term 1, we made a Vietnamese cultural film called ‘The Legend of Tam and Cam’. We were tak-en out of our comfort zone into using green screen and relying on effects a little more during the process. In term 2, we decided that we will also use term 3 to construct a short film in a similar style to the horror, thriller, ‘The Blair Witch Project’ featuring hand held cameras and a limited camera angle. During the course of shooting the movie, we helped the Vietnamese students to improve their English by giving them roles in the film and playing educational games with them. Towards the end of the year, we decided that the students should also participate in the process of making their own film, so with our guidance, they’ve produced their very own short films. It has been a privilege being able to join the UCC club and I hope that I will have the opportunity to participate in such an excellent extra-curricular activity again. Marwin Keeratibunharn 9N

We asked the Vietnamese students to rate UCC from 1 to 10 (being 1 the lowest and 10 the highest) and the average score was 9.3! However, they also gave us some feedback with some tips of advice for next year. They want to improve their English with vocabulary games, board games and they would like BIS students to break down the language so they can understand everything. If you think you are a good com-municator, you like making movies and teaching English as a foreign language, do not hesitate to become part of UCC

next year. We have a lot of more films to make! Thanks to Nam Anh Nguyen Tran 12/13N and Tuna Nguyen 12/13M for the survey We have had a great year of running the Ultimate Culture Club. Throughout the whole year we were able to film 3 short movies with the kids: Tam & Cam, which is the a traditional Vietnamese story, “The Downfall”, a horror movie that you all will see very soon and finished the year off by making a quick short film in which the main aim was to teach the kids of how to direct and edit movies. We found was that the Vietnamese students liked to film Tam and Cam the most because it was a traditional Vietnamese tale that everyone knew. After having the opportunity of collaborating and creating a bond with the kids, we as a group are able to recognize and appreciate how the privileges of being enrolled in a school that allows us to interact with people from all around the world. Overall, our year of running the Ultimate Culture Club was fantastic. Nam Anh Nguyen Tran 12/13N


Year 9 – Community Service Project - Helmets For Kids 14,000 deaths per year. 2,135 injuries per month. They are indeed, numbers that cannot be ignored. As we looked around our environment, we noticed that having a basic knowledge about road safety is a cru-cial part of living in a country like Vietnam, where ceaseless road injuries are reported every day. After we heard about these frightening statistics, the Year 9s started working on a long term project called ‘Helmets for Kids’. We went through different stages of tasks, of which the final aim was inviting local children to our event, hosted last Thursday, which showcased our skills and knowledge from ILS les-sons in the past few years. The Helmets for Kids fair consisted of numerous children from the local Huynh Van Ngoi school, visiting BIS to take part in various fun games and activities while still learning many invaluable lessons about road safety and the importance of wearing a helmet whenever on a motorbike or while riding a bike. Every-thing was organised by the students of year 9, who demonstrated their capabilities of strong leadership, communication and organisation before and during the fair. These skills enabled the whole year group to eloquently communicate with the local Vietnamese kids and overcome the language barrier with ease. Besides the Helmets for Kids fair, students in year 9 have been raising awareness of the importance of wearing helmet around BIS by producing advertisement videos, posters, and performing several presen-tations at the AP1 campus. All of these events that year 9 have gone through will become cherished memories that we will always look back and remember. I am sure that we will continue to accomplish our goals, work towards becoming better global citizens and do our part in improving the local and global community. Ji Min OH, Mai Pham and Kim Ninh Year 9

Community Service


Saturday Football Tournament

AP2 Saturday football programme conducted its end of year tournament last week. Matches were played in 2 leagues with 4 teams in each league. Chelsea, Arsenal, Man U & Man City were in the English Premier League. Lazio, Juventus, AC Roma & Napoli were in the Italian League Serie A. Manchester City & Juventus were the Champions with Arsenal & Lazio made runner up teams. Players enjoyed the day and matches were close and competitive. Champion and runners up teams received trophies and there were awards for best player and fair play in each league. Saturday football programme is run by parent coaches and it is a great opportunity for BIS students to play football regardless of their skill levels.

Phil Drake Director of Sport/Activities & Trip Coordinator

Sport News


PTG


Meet & Greet our New Head Teacher

In an informal coffee morning, about 17 BIS parents met and wel-

comed Mr. Carl Mincher on 29th May, Friday. He was impressed by

the warm community spirit displayed by the parents of BIS and looks

forward to building on that spirit when he joins in September.


Agenda AP2 PTG Meeting

Friday 12th June 2015 at 8.15am

Adoption of minutes of previous meeting

News and Updates

Community Service

Review of Past events:

Coffee Morning with the New Head Teacher (29th June)

PTG Second Hand Sale (7th June)

Nord Anglia Team meeting with BIS parents (9th June)

Year 6 Students Transition Evening (9th June)

Upcoming Events:

Quiz Night (12th June)

Lost Property (17th June)

Dodge Ball Competition (19th June)

Year Group Lunch meets (16th, 18th and 19th June)


From the Underground & BIStro

Menu 2 (8 June)

From the Underground & BIStro

DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

MAIN COURSE

CHOOSE 1

Beef Lasagne OR

Seafood Fried Rice

Cheese Pizza OR

Pork with Onion, Rice

Honey Baked Chicken,

Sautéed Potato/Rice OR

Pork Noodle Soup (Nam Vang)

Ham Burger OR

Szechuan Chicken, Rice

VEGETA-BLES

Morning Glory & Carrot Salad

Chinese Cabbage & Carrot Salad

Long Beans & Carrot Salad

Choy sum & Carrot Salad

SOUP Spinach & Melon

Soup Mixed Vegetable Soup

Spinach Watercress

DESSERT Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit

VEGETARIAN Vegetarian Lasagne Chickepeas Salad

Mixed Fruit

Cheese Pizza Mixed Vegetable Soup

Mixed Fruit

Tofu Noodle Soup Long Beans & Carrot

Mixed Fruitit

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 Curry Puff

Samosa Fruit Cup

Chocolate Mud Cake Swiss Roll Fruit Cup

Curry Puff Samosa

Fruit Cup

Banana/Carrot Muffin

Sponge Cake Fruit Cup

FRIDAY

Ham & Cheese Croquet Monsieur &

Roast Potato OR

Chicken Rice

Bean Sprouts & Carrot Salad

Tomato & Tofu Soup

Mixed Fruit

Oriental Fried Rice Tomato & Tofu Soup

Mixed Fru

Donut Cream Puff Fruit Cup

ap2 newsletter 5th june

Documents

bisbuzz issue

time of transition

school community

special day

ptg meeting

ptg quiz

fond memories

annual ptg flea market