UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter Volume 21, Edition 31, Friday 17 April

tintuc@unishanoi.org

Notes from the Head of School and

the Middle/High School Pricipal (p.2

-3)

University visits next week (p.3)

K1 performance photo special (p.4)

Grade 3 & 10 Drama class exchange

(p.5)

Book in a bag project (p.6)

Grades 2-3 Swim Meet (p.6)

Global Codeathon. Join NOW! (p.7)

Grade 4 market day (p.8)

Spring Swim Gala photo special (p.9)

MRISA Soccer Tournament (p.10)

Summer Programme. Register

NOW! (p.10)

Hot tips for hot summer (p.12)

SCO News (p.13-14)

Job Opportunities (p.14)

NEXT WEEK… MONDAY, 20 APRIL Primary Years Programme Grade 5 Exhibition, 20-24

April Grade 1 Field Trip (1JH&1VdC), 8:30-12:00

TUESDAY, 21 APRIL Grade 1 Field Trip (1SF&1TA), 8:30-12:00 MSHS 3-Way Parent Conferences (No school for Grades

6-10, No ASAs/HS Sports, MS Sports as normal but no transportation provided), 10:00-18:00

Board of Directors Meeting, 18:00-20:00

WEDNESDAY, 22 APRIL ES Earth Day Grade 4 Market Day, 8:45-11:00

THURSDAY, 23 APRIL Executive Committee Meeting, 8:15-9:45, Conference Room

MS Boys’ and Girls’ Volleyball vs HIS @ UNIS, 16:00-17:30

Grade 5 PYP Exhibition Community Sharing, 18:00- 20:00, Centre for the Arts

FRIDAY, 24 APRIL Grade 2-3 Swim Meet , 12:30-15:20

SATURDAY, 25 APRIL - MAY 3 Spring Break

COMING SOON MONDAY, 4 MAY Real Madrid Football Clinic, 4-8 May IB Diploma Exams, 4-26 May

TUESDAY, 5 MAY MAP testing Grades 6-8, 5-8 May Board Orientation Session, 7:00-8:30, Conference Room Campus Development Task Force, 17:30-19:00,

Conference Room Grade 5 Unit of Inquiry Parent Information Session,

19:00-20:00, Library

WEDNESDAY, 6 MAY Finance Committee Meeting, 7:00-8:30, Conference

Room Advancement Committee Meeting, 12:00-14:00,

Conference Room SMP 2015-2020 Task Force, 17:30-19:00, Conference

Room

THURSDAY, 7 MAY Community Breakfast with the Head of School, 8:00-9:30, Black Box

Executive Committee Meeting, 12:00-13:30, Conference Room

Grade 8 - 9 Parent Transition Night, 19:00- 20:00, Library

FRIDAY, 8 MAY ISHCMC Invitational Swim Meet, 8-10 May

SATURDAY, 9 MAY ES Global Codeathon, 14:00-17:00 Alumni Reunion in Seoul, 18:00-20:00, Coex Mall, 513

Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu

IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights...

Like any school, we are sometimes deeply

affected by life’s events over which we

have no control. Such has been the case

this week. Most of you know that Mr.

Thai, an IT officer here at UNIS Hanoi for

the last 5+ years, passed away last weekend

at the age of 33. He leaves behind his

parents, his wife, and his three children, one of whom was

just born last year.

Our IT staff has developed over the years into a

knowledgeable, high quality, responsive, helpful, user-

friendly team. Mr. Thai was not only very much a part of

that team, but was a key person in helping that team to

become what it is today.

But what was even more remarkable about him was that

even though he was struck with polio at an early age and

was left with a physical disability, one never had a feeling

that he felt sorry for himself or was sad about his condition.

He was always very approachable, warm, and willing to help

when a technology problem was driving you mad.

He even looked outside himself and was a champion for

other physically handicapped people. As a regional

Chairman of the People with Disabilities Group, and as the

Honorary President of Hanoi Students with Disabilities

Club, he was determined to not dwell on his disability but

rather focus on making a difference to help others.

He also trained and was a Para-Olympic athlete winning

medals in the ASEAN Para-Olympic competitions over the

years.

As for how we are handling things here at school, you

already received my message earlier this week informing

you of what we have said to the students at an age

appropriate level. Just yesterday, we have set up a table in

the library with Mr. Thai's beautiful picture from UN Day,

some candles, flowers, a book to write a message and a

basket to leave a private personal message. Paper and

envelopes will be available. We will probably leave this up

until Spring Break.

We plan to provide either assembly time or smaller group

time to help students think about Mr. Thai and determine

what we can learn from him as a UNIS Hanoi staff

member and as a person. We also plan to have a

Celebration of Life event at 16:30 on Wednesday

afternoon that will last for about an hour. Location to be

finalized. This will be an opportunity for us to celebrate all

the wonderful things about Mr. Thai and give our faculty,

staff, and parents one more time to come together as a

group to celebrate his life.

Finally, several have asked about making a donation to the

family, particularly to insure that the three children are

taken care of. We are working on the details of how that

will work and will communicate that procedure to you

when it is set up should you be interested in contributing.

Our hearts are heavy. But I am confident that, as in the

past when we have faced such tragedy, our community will

pulled together to support each other and carry on in the

spirit in which Mr. Thai would want us to do.

Respectfully,

Dr. Barder hos@unishanoi.org

"Chẳng ai biết mình sống được bao lâu trong cuộc đời

này, cứ tận hưởng cuộc sống, làm tất cả những gì mình

thích với tinh thần lạc quan để sau này không còn gì phải

hối tiếc."

“We don't know how much time we have in this life, so

live your life in positive spirit to its fullest and fulfill your

dreams so you have no regrets.”

- Bạch Quang Thái

Dear MSHS Families,

Clearly the Arts are alive and well in the

MSHS! During the past ten days the

Centre for the Arts has been transformed

into a gallery of intriguing art work

showing off the considerable talent and

creativity of our grade 12 artists. Please

join me in congratulating our IBDP Visual Art students and

their teacher Michelle Wise for a wonderful Art Exhibition!

UNIS Hanoi takes great pride in offering a broad spectrum

of courses designed to challenge and stimulate our students.

For example, in the IB Diploma Programme there are six

distinct subject groups: Language & Literature, Language

Acquisition, Individuals & Societies, Science, Mathematics

and Arts. The IB places equal value on all subject groups

and strongly encourages students to enroll in courses in

each area. As such, UNIS Hanoi strongly supports Arts

education by offering four courses in the subject group:

Film, Theatre, Music and Visual Arts. A report by

Americans for the Arts states that, “Young people who

participate regularly in the Arts are four times more likely to be

recognized for academic achievement, to participate in higher level

Math and Science or to win awards for essay writing or poetry than

children who do not.” To summarize, do not forget the Arts!

They are a vital component in a high quality educational

programme.

I would also like to thank all the students and parents who

participated in the first day of 3-Way Conferences. From

all reports parents enjoyed the process and were able to

gather in depth and concrete information directly from

teachers and their children. The second day of conferences

is set for April 21.

It was my good fortune to have had the opportunity to

meet with many parents during the first day of 3-Way

Conferences. It was inspiring to learn about the hopes and

dreams parents hold for their children. While academics

are certainly a major focus for parents it was interesting to

learn that the top priority is their child’s happiness. Parents

want to know if their child is happy, has friends, is

respectful, and most of all, if they are developing into

caring young adults.

Happy Spring!

Pete Kennedy, mshsprincipal@unishanoi.org

Monday, April 20

13:20 – 14:00

Common Room B5 G29

MCPHS - Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

Mr. Rene Cabrera, Senior Director of Admissions

Thursday, April 23

13:20 – 14:00

Common Room B5 G29

Seoul National University

Ms. Hyeyoung You, Admissions Officer

Friday, April 23

13:20 – 14:00

Common Room B5 G29

Bowdoin College

Mr. Ryan Ricciardi, Assistant Dean of Admissions

Our K1 students were transformed into bears, dragonflies,

frogs, butterflies and caterpillars on Wednesday. This

'Performing Arts Celebration' (PAC) included a theatre

performance and a gallery walk of K1 artwork. The

children sang, danced and played instruments to re-

tell their version of the 'Three Bears' in the theatre. They

finished the celebration off by sharing their artwork with

their parents, which included the backdrop for the

performance. The K1 students made their parents and

teachers very proud. The K1 children would like to thank

all teachers, teaching assistants, operations staff, theatre

staff and parents for helping make their PAC so special.

Grade 2 Slice of ICE. Photos by Tim Barnsley

Photos by Tuan Anh

Grade 3 Drama students have been exploring the

performance style of Greek Chorus. We discovered that

Grade 10 Drama students have also been learning about

Greek Theatre. A small group of students were lucky

enough to be able visit the Grade 10s and present their

performances, sharing knowledge with each other. It was a

great experience and a wonderful moment of peer learning.

A big thank you to all the students and Ms Caster for

sharing in our learning.

Photos by Tuan Anh

Students share their favourite book using a bag. Any paper

bag (which can stand up) may be used. Students decorate

the outside of the bag to represent the book and should

include artifacts inside the bag to help tell the story. Book

choice can be a work of fiction or nonfiction, a UNIS

Hanoi library book or home book and may be in English or

a home language.

Please bring to Ms. Conroy in the Library AFTER

SPRING BREAK with STUDENT’S NAME and

CLASS written on the bag. Should a book from home be

used, please write the owner’s name inside the book. Book

in a Bags shall be returned before the end of the year.

THIS IS AN OPTIONAL HOME PROJECT

Questions? Please email Ms. Conroy at

eslibrarian@unishanoi.org

The Grades 2 and 3 swimming unit will conclude with

traditional Swim Meet on Friday, April 24th. The meet will

run from 12:30 to 15:20 and will include individual races -

25 meter Fins Race, Kickboard Race, Freestyle, Backstroke,

Breaststroke and Butterfly.

More advanced swimmers will have a chance to participate

in the 100 meter Individual Medley event. Teams of

students will also participate in fun House relays.

All friends and family members are warmly invited to

attend the meet and support our Grades 2 and 3

swimmers!

Photos by Tim Barnsley

Within the Transdisciplinary Theme of “How the

World Works” Grade 4 students have been inquiring into

the principles of demand and supply. They have been

investigating just how much market forces can affect the

value of goods or services. They have discovered that

determining the price of a product is a complicated mat-

ter. To make this a realistic experience as possible the

Grade 4 students have become entrepreneurs. They have

thoughtfully constructed a business plan and have been

loaned money from a financial benefactor.

On Wednesday, April 22 they will attempt to sell

their products or services to an excited band of consumers,

namely the students of Grade 1,2, 3 and 5.

Grade 4 students are asking that on that day your child will

bring in a maximum of 60,000 VND to spend at

the Grade 4 Market Day.

To help control the transactions (and to make it as safe as

possible for the students) the children will exchange their

money for vouchers, which they will then use to purchase

their items. The prices range from 10,000 VND to 30,000

VND. Students may still decide to bring a snack to school

that day, but if they intend to buy from the fantastic

selection of nibbles on offer they might not need one.

The Grade 4 team of teachers and students would like to

thank you in advance for your kind support in this. It is one

of the highlights of the year for all involved.

The Grade Four Teachers

Any concerns or questions please feel free to contact:

Heidi Kay hkay@unishanoi.org

Grade 4 Market Day 2014

Last Saturday, the UNIS Hanoi Swim Team had the first

race of our Spring Season. Our swimmers swam really really

well! There were so many best times that I lost count

before the first set of events finished! I have been

especially impressed with how well they have listened

during this spring session. Not only has their

speed improved but their technique has advanced

tremendously since the beginning of the year. When

athletes practice perfection, measurable improvement will

always follow. It is clear our swimmers have been listening

and are doing things right in practice.

Four new records set! In the 9+10 Boys, Duc Trinh set a

new record for the 200 breaststroke and Long (Bill)

Nguyen set a new record for the 200 free. Roope Makela

broke his own record in the 13+14 boys 200 free and Joya

Tabe set a new record in the 15+over 200

breaststroke. Congratulations new record holders!

We have a few more meets coming up this spring. 44

swimmers are going to the ISHCMC Meet on May 9 and

10. On Saturday, May 16, BIS is hosting a meet and we

plan to send swimmers to that meet as well. The highlight

of our Spring Season, the annual Hanoi Swim Gala, where

we invite only teams from Hanoi takes place on May

30. Please be sure that date is on your calendar. The meet

will last all day with an awards celebration at the end.

Andy Myers, Aquatics Academy Head Coach

aacoach@unishanoi.org

Photos by Natascha Sentfleben

There are no secrets of success. It is the result of

preparation, hard work and learning from failure – Colin

Powell. Every amount of work which was put into the

games was express through our preparations as team, hard

work and devotion to each practice day and most

importantly, attempting to learn from certain weaknesses

and failures. This season of the MRISA Senior Soccer has

been an effortless amount of hard work and enjoyment. As

a team, we were not strong in the first 2 weeks of practice

but after the 6 weeks of practicing and total engagement,

the team with no limitations, rapidly became as strong as

any team could get or even better. Friendly games with

other schools from Hanoi here and there was also one of

the strategies coach used to strengthen the team and also

create a connection with each other because the more we

played games, the more we had physical and emotional

bonding with another.

There have been moments were some situation get difficult

and moments where we’ve incorporated some amount of

fun and enjoyment. The laughs and little giggles with one

another and enjoying each other’s company, even with our

Coach. (Mr. Phi Nguyen – Sometimes really gets serious

causing us to focus but at the same time ensured that we

had our hearts in whatever we did on the practice fields and

game fields. Giving our all was what he wanted from us,

losing or winning didn’t matter unless we expressed our

enjoyment and amusement in every game we played before

the tournament).

The 2 days of the tournament had been a remarkable

experience for every single player and also as a team.

Coming in 7th place was not what we really wanted to

achieve but due to weather conditions, like the scotching

sun, burning your feet as you run up and down the field.

These 2 days did not really go well for us team because of

the frustration of losing to every game and exhaustion

from the sun. Every single girl gave her best but winning

the last game was just a way to end the tournament, not

losing and not coming last. Though we would have loved

to come in the 2nd or 3rd place just like the local

tournament we had hosted. A total of 6 goals of every

game was better than nothing and being the only team that

was able to score at least a goal against SSIS even though

we lost, was one of the goals that boosted our confidence

and energy to winning the other games that had been

planned.

To conclude the lovely event we encountered, making new

friends and meeting old friends was what made the

tournament an exciting adventure as MRISA is known to

be bonding and getting to know other students from

different schools in Asia. Also a big thank you to the coach

for his effortless time and engagement with the team

because not all coaches have that special bond with their

team. Also thank you to all the girls who participated in

team and hard work and time devoted to the team. To our

goalkeeper (Minh Anh – Grade 9), you have been amazing

even though this was your first time goalkeeping and

participating in soccer, you’re one of the girls who really

deserved MVP. Being the captain of the team, I hope to

have this team for next year’s tournament.

By Afia Adu-Gyamfi (Grade 10)

Summer is just around the corner. It’s time to start

preparing ourselves for health concerns while we enjoy the

hot season ahead.

Our bodies create a tremendous amount of heat. Normally,

it is cooled through sweating and by heat radiating through

the skin. But in very hot weather, high humidity, and other

conditions, this natural cooling system may begin to fail,

letting heat in the body build to dangerous levels. This can

lead to heat illness, such as heat rash, cramps, heat

exhaustion, or heatstroke.

Heat rash, also known as prickly heat, is a skin irritation

caused by excessive sweating during hot, humid weather. It

can occur at any age but is most common in young

children.

Rash looks like a red cluster of pimples or small blisters. It

is more likely to occur on the neck and upper chest, in the

groin, under the breasts and in elbow creases.

Heat cramps usually affect people who sweat a lot during

strenuous activity. This sweating depletes the body's salt

and moisture. The low salt level in the muscles may be the

cause of heat cramps. Heat cramps may also be a symptom

of heat exhaustion.

Heat exhaustion can develop after several days of exposure

to high temperatures and inadequate or unbalanced

replacement of fluids. It is the body's response to an

excessive loss of the water and salt contained in sweat.

Symptoms can include increased thirst, weakness, fainting,

muscle cramps, nausea and/or vomiting, irritability,

headache, increased sweating, cool, clammy skin and

elevation of body temperature, but less than 40°C. If left

untreated, heat exhaustion can develop into heat stroke,

which can be fatal.

Heat stroke occurs when the body is unable to regulate its

temperature. The body's temperature rises rapidly, the

sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool

down. Body temperature may rise to 41°C or higher within

10 to 15 minutes. Heat stroke can cause death or

permanent disability if emergency treatment is not

provided. Warning signs of heat stroke vary but may

include an extremely high body temperature (above 40°C),

red, hot, and dry skin (no sweating), rapid, strong pulse,

throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion and

unconsciousness.

Prevention is the best way to manage heat-related illness.

Some tips to prevent heat stress include:

Keep up your fluids – you need to drink more during

hot weather, regardless of how active you are. Do not

wait until you are thirsty to drink. Drink plenty of water

or other cool, non-alcoholic fluids. Avoid alcohol or

drinks that contain lots of sugar. Don’t have extremely

cold liquids, as they may cause stomach cramps.

Limit physical activity – too much physical activity on a

hot day can lead to heat stress. If you can, restrict

activity to cooler times of the day.

Protect yourself outside – if you must be outdoors,

remember to protect yourself from the sun –‘slip, slop,

slap’ by covering exposed skin with lightweight clothes,

using sunscreen and wearing a hat, ‘seek’ shade and

‘slide’ on sunglasses.

Don’t leave children or pets in cars – even on cool days,

cars can heat up to dangerous temperatures very quickly.

Children or pets that are left unattended in parked cars

for even a few minutes are at risk of serious heat-related

illnesses and possibly death. Never leave children or

pets in a parked car, even if the windows are left open a

fraction.

Take it easy – rest often and, whenever possible, stay

indoors or in the shade. Teach kids to come indoors,

rest, and hydrate immediately whenever they feel

overheated

Stay cool – and keep air circulating around you. Use air

conditioning if possible. (If you don’t have air

conditioning, consider visiting an air-conditioned

shopping centre or public library.) Take a cool shower,

bath or sponge bath.

Keep up your energy levels – eat regular, light meals.

For more on heat illnesses and first aid, visit http://

www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/index.asp

School Health Centre

Today we had our last snack sale of the year, we want to

especially thank K1KM, K1AP, G1SF, G5MN, G5JH,

G5DL, G5TC for all your delicious, creative and diverse

contributions! We had banh day, won tons, rice crispy

bunny treats, rainbow layer cake, crepes, tofu black sesame

chips, orange poppy seed muffins and so much more! At

the snack sale today we were able to raise 9,630,000VND

which leads to an annual total of 39,151,000 VND raised to

fund community based projects supported by the School

Community Organisation. For more information about

projects funded in the past, click here.

We would also like to take a moment to thank ALL the

parents who have donated snacks this year, without your

contributions the snack sale would not be possible! Also a

very special thanks to the Snack Sale Coordinators: Masumi

Tsuda, Akiko Nakano and Bo Young Hwang for arranging

the reminder posters, setup and vigilantly checking that all

snacks are labeled, your organizational skills make the snack

sales run like clockwork! Last, but certainly not least, thank

you to the numerous parents who have stepped in to help

sell the snacks to the children!

In order to show our appreciation for your time in helping

run the Snack Sale, please do join us on May 20th for our

Volunteer Appreciation Night! Please register here.

1. ECC Physical Education Teaching Assistant - School year 2015-2016

2. ES Multi-lingual Additional Languages Teaching Assistant - School year 2015-2016

3. MS/HS Technology Coordinator Assistant - starting April/May 2015

To view more information about these openings at UNIS Hanoi, and to apply online,

please visit our website at www.unishanoi.org/jobs

Wednesday, May 20

Time: 18.00 - 20.00

Location: Don's Bistro Rooftop (16 Quảng An Road,

Tây Hồ)

What would our school community be like without the love

and support of our generous volunteers?

We VALUE everyone who has given their time and

talents to help the UNIS Hanoi community over the

year. Your spirit of volunteerism makes our school

community thrive and flourish.

To THANK our volunteers this year, we would like to

invite everyone who has supported UNIS Hanoi with your

time and talent to a VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION

NIGHT!

There will be delicious food and drinks (wine, beer,

cocktails, juice) for all to enjoy on behalf of the School

Community Organisation and the Advancement Office as a

final THANK YOU for all your help.

Please register HERE before May 17th.

Please keep in mind that this is an adult function and we

kindly ask that you arrange childcare beforehand.

Should you have any additional questions, please feel free

to contact the Community Liaison Officer, Nathalie Grun

at clo@unishanoi.org