Esprit April Edition 2022-2023

A PLACE TO BELONG

06 | Celebrating the Vietnamese Lunar New Year

08 | World Book Day at BIS Hanoi: Celebrating Books, Authors & Stories From Around the World

10 | Enriching Experiences & Lasting Memories: A look Back at Our Secondary Residential Trips

14 | Discovery, Teamwork and Fun-filled Activities: A Look Back at Our Primary Residential Trips

16 | Friends of BIS: A Blossoming Parent Community

CREATE YOUR FUTURE

20 | Class Of 2023 Early University Acceptances

22 | What Does Effective Learning Look Like in A 21st Century Context?

24 | A Healthy Approach to Examination Success

26 | How to Support Your Child in Preparing for Exams

28 | Empowering Students Through Multilingual Learning at BIS Hanoi

30 | Ensuring Online Safety at BIS Hanoi: Partnering with Parents

32 | The Importance of Play in the Early Years

EXPERIENCE EXCELLENCE

36 | Searching for Life on Other Planets Through Our Collaboration with MIT

38 | How Our Collaboration with The Juilliard School Inspires Students and Teachers Alike

40 | Debate, Teamwork and Diplomacy at The BIS Hanoi Model United Nations Conference (BISMUN)

42 | BIS HANOI Student Wins the Global Campus Writing Competition

44 | Science Week Returns with a Bang For 2023

46 | How the Secondary Student Leadership Team Are Driving Positive Change

48 | Student Wellbeing: Developing A Robust and Supportive Wellbeing Curriculum

50 | Introducing a Brand New Primary Leadership Team

52 | BIS Lionhearts Roar at The FOBISIA U13 Games 2023

A PLACE TO BELONG

Welcome to this edition of Esprit Magazine, Term 2, 2022-2023.

A look back over the past few months at BIS Hanoi reveals a vast range of activities, events, competitions and adventures that have taken place. Students of all ages have enjoyed new experiences, both inside and outside the classroom, as well as on and off school campus. Reflecting on this myself, I was amazed at the breadth of our educational offer.

Our residential programme kicked off in January with Secondary student trips to various destinations across Vietnam. This was the first time since 2019 that the school has been able to provide such enrichment experiences for our students. It has been a delight for our staff teams to plan and deliver these fantastic opportunities.

Our Primary students also enjoyed sleepovers ahead of their own trips in March and April. It is clear from the smiling faces in the photographs that this was a much needed, and thoroughly enjoyable, set of enrichment activities away from home and school.

This term saw the return of our fabulous Tet celebrations, which this year featured both student performers and professional dragon dancers to get us into the new year spirit. Book Week was a similarly fun-filled week, this time with a focus on the joys of reading. A vast array of costumed students and staff could be seen walking the corridors, while students of all ages fully embraced DEAR – Dropping Everything and Reading.

Our enrichment programme of Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs), including sporting fixtures, performing arts events, visiting speakers, and day trips, has continued to add flavour to the daily learning and teaching focus of our school community.

The breadth of our Parent Connect workshops has also reached a whole new level; already we have seen 41 sessions delivered to parents across Early Years, Primary and Secondary. The majority of sessions were delivered by our staff team, but we are delighted to have added student-led workshops as well.

As you read through the coming pages, you will see that BIS Hanoi is indeed ‘A Place to Belong’.

We trust that parents have found these workshops to be an informative and enjoyable opportunity to dig deeper into the curriculum, as well as approaches to learning and teaching. In addition, our Friends of BIS group has led a number of family events, both on and off campus, with the aim of connecting people and allowing them to share their journey together. Thank you to everyone involved.

I hope you enjoy browsing the articles, photos and celebrations of our community’s successes. We are proud of all that our students have achieved already this year.

As you read through the coming pages, you will see that BIS Hanoi is indeed ‘A Place to Belong’.

Richard Vaughan Principal

CELEBRATING THE VIETNAMESE LUNAR NEW YEAR

Tết is the most important cultural celebration of the Vietnamese, so naturally the Tết Assembly at BIS Hanoi is a special day for all students, teachers and staff.

It is on this occasion that we introduce our school community, who come from a variety of different countries and cultures, to the many forms of Vietnamese new year festivities.

During the 2023 Tết Assembly, it was wonderful to see students, teachers and staff from different backgrounds come together wearing traditional Vietnamese ao dais: what a vibrant and colourful display!

During the 2023 Tết Assembly, it was wonderful to see students, teachers and staff from different backgrounds come together wearing traditional Vietnamese ao dais.

In the days approaching Tết, Primary students also had the opportunity to take part in activities such as wrapping bánh chưng and making fruit preserves. The Secondary Student Council helped those from other countries better understand the celebrations through games on our digital learning platform, Kahoot.

Among the most memorable aspects of the 2023 Tết celebrations at BIS Hanoi

were the incredible singing, dancing and drumming performances, which involved students of all ages.

We look forward to celebrating Vietnamese culture together during the next Lunar New Year in 2024.

Hai Nguyen Head of Whole school Vietnamese

WORLD BOOK DAY AT BIS HANOI: Celebrating

books, authors

& stories from around the world

At the end of February staff, parents and students alike took part in a week of educational activities to celebrate UK World Book Day.

In Primary, students studied works from a range of different authors from around the world during their whole class reading lessons: Grace Lin (USA), Anh Do

(Vietnam/Australia), Swapna Haddow (New Zealand), and Mem Fox (Australia). Older Primary classes were also paired with younger Primary classes to enjoy some shared reading time.

Students and teachers had fun dressing up as their favourite book characters and taking part in the World Book Day Parade

in the auditorium. Students were also challenged to re-create their favourite book character in potato form in the ‘Design a Potato Character’ competition.

In the Library, students donned their pyjamas for the ‘Snuggle Up and Read’ sessions, where many classes had stories read to them in Spanish, Japanese

and Korean by parents from the BIS Hanoi Parent Book Club.

Our Secondary students also came to school dressed as their favourite book characters and took part in a Book Trivia Quiz prepared by Mrs. Hall and the House Captains. During a special World Book Day assembly, our teachers shared their favourite ever or favourite current reads with the students.

Secondary students also had DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time over the course of the week. Students and teachers enjoyed finding a comfy, quiet spot in the Library to read their own books.

We encourage all families to declare DEAR time in your house this weekend, or perhaps even once a week!

Nerilee Hall BIS Teacher-Librarian

Students and teachers had fun dressing up as their favourite book characters and taking part in the World Book Day Parade in the auditorium.

ENRICHING EXPERIENCES & LASTING MEMORIES: A look back at our Secondary residential trips

2023 has already been packed with excitement for our Secondary students, who enjoyed a range of cultural experiences, adventures and challenges in provinces right across Vietnam.

Residential trips play an important role in giving our students a wellrounded education. They compliment academic learning by helping students develop self-confidence, enjoy new experiences, and build lasting friendships. Let's take a look back at the exciting residential trips of Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12. Our Year 11 will go on their residential later during the year.

Year 7 - Mai Chau

Year 7 students travelled to rural Mai Chau, where they headed straight to a local village to start exploring nature. They took part in a special scavenger hunt, which saw them challenged to find various objects and creatures - including a grasshopper and a stink bug! They also

took the opportunity to photograph the vast rice fields of Mai Chau.

On the second day, the students went on a hike, taking on a challenging muddy road. They spent the rest of the afternoon at their homestay house, where they played card games, shared

stories and made new friends. Finally, students faced their fears to reach the top of the wall as part of a rock climbing activity.

Emily Brawn Performing Arts Teacher Head of Year 7

Year 8 - Cat Ba

Year 8 students experienced an action-packed yet educational adventure on Cat Ba island.

Over the course of four days, they ventured through the vast island and participated in various activities to help them develop both socially and as individuals. A key aim of the trip was to help

students develop three major attributes; Risk-taking, Resilience and Gratitude.

To fulfil all these criteria during the trip, the students took part in activities such as rock climbing, cycling, beach cleaning, kayaking and raft building. Our Year 8s showed great resilience throughout the trip, breaking through their limits no matter how

new or scary the activities were.

The trip to Cat Ba was a refreshing start to the new term - and the year - with new experiences setting a positive mindset moving forward!

Sarah Macdonald Performing Arts Teacher Head of Year

8

Year 9 - Phong Nha Ke Bang

Year 9 students travelled over 450 km to reach Phong Nha Ke Bang in Quang Binh province! They experienced some of the natural wonder of Vietnam by exploring the

immense Phong Nha Cave, before tasting some local cuisine. The students enjoyed a wide range of activities in which they discovered the cultural patterns of the region, as well as made lasting

friendships and memories with their peers.

Nathan Royters

English Teacher

Head of Year 9

Year 10 - Da Lat

Year 10 students had a fantastic trip to Da Lat, which encompassed community service, camping, and teambuilding activities.

On Day 1, they learned Sign Language at Lam Dong Hearing Impaired School and donated three large bags

filled with goodies to the children. Later that night, they returned to the campsite and enjoyed delicious toasted marshmallows.

Days 2 and 3 were all about nature and the outdoors, with students building and testing their own rafts, abseiling down a mountain, and

visiting Van Thanh Flower Garden.

The fantastic weather helped keep the energy and excitement up right through to the end of the trip.

Liam Wrigh

Geography Teacher

Head of Year 10

Year 12 - Mai Chau

Our Year 12 students also travelled to Mai Chau, where they had the chance to enjoy the fresh air and breathtaking scenery.

The students also worked incredibly hard by getting stuck-in to community service activities. They collaborated with local farmers and helped with the construction of a new road that will link several villages.

Our Year 12s were able to celebrate a job well done - and it was a fantastic opportunity for them to spend time together enjoying the adventure as well as achieving great things.

Victoria Embling History Teacher CAS Coordinator

DISCOVERY, TEAMWORK AND FUN-FILLED ACTIVITIES: A look back at our Primary residential trips

Throughout March and April, Primary students travelled to destinations near and far as part of their residential trips. Due to the travel restrictions in recent years, for many of the children, this was their first experience of spending time away from their family and staying in dormitories with their friends.

It was wonderful to see some of the youngest members of the BIS Hanoi community embracing adventure, enjoying unforgettable experiences, and forming closer bonds with their classmates and peers.

Year 4 - Ba Vi National Park

On the 22nd and 23rd of March, Year 4 students travelled to Ba Vi National Park for their first residential trip.

The students participated enthusiastically in the activities on offer, and particularly enjoyed exploring the natural world together.

The range of exciting activities included catching fish with

bamboo baskets, getting hands dirty to plant young seedlings, and using ingredients found in a local garden to make delicious fresh spring rolls. In the evening, the students also enjoyed some traditional music and bamboo dancing. It was a very busy, but unforgettable two days for everyone!

Alice Goodwin Year 4 Teacher

Year 5 - Cuc Phuong National Park

At the end of March, Year 5 had the wonderful opportunity to visit Cuc Phuong National Park for their first ever residential. Any signs of nerves or worries about being away from home soon disappeared when the children became mesmerised by the beauty of the national park. The children were gripped with excitement as they set off to visit the conservation centres, which were home to turtles,

mammals and primates. They learned how the national park rehabilitates and helps animals who have been illegally traded, smuggled across borders, or injured by hunters.

Across their three-day trip, the students enjoyed learning about pitfall traps and the insects that are native to the forest. They also embarked on a hike and a challenging climb, up steep steps, to the cave of the prehistoric man. It was a great opportunity

for the students to not only try new activities, but also to sample new food, and to work with others from across the year group. Our final night demonstrated just how far some of the students had come with their confidence, in such a short space of time, as they performed in front of the whole of Year 5 as part of our Talent Show.

David Atkinson Year 5 Teacher

Year 6 - Hoi An

In April, our Year 6 students flew to the historic town of Hoi An, located in Quang Nam province. Here they enjoyed a range of cultural activities, team challenges, and plenty of opportunities to have fun together.

As part of a packed schedule, students used teamwork and ingenuity to build shelters,

took part in a scavenger hunt around Hoi An ancient town, and enjoyed some downtime at the hotel swimming pool. As well as having fun together, the students took part in enriching cultural experiences and workshops. These included seeing how vegetables are grown at Tra Que Vegetable Village, making personalised lanterns at the Taboo Bamboo Workshop, and visiting the Silk

Village to learn how traditional silk garments are made in Vietnam.

Our Year 6 students thoroughly enjoyed their last Primary residential together - and can’t wait to see what adventures await on their Secondary Residentials.

Emily Clark Year 6 Teacher

In March, we hosted a Spring Social for our school community; a wonderful event where lots of families came along and got to know one another.

FRIENDS OF BIS A BLOSSOMING PARENT COMMUNITY

Our parent community group Friends of BIS enjoyed more lovely events in Term 2.

Parent Book Club with Mrs. Hall has become a regular fixture in the diary for parents. It has been fantastic to see parents coming together throughout the year to enjoy reading and discussing a variety of texts.

Elsewhere, our Friends of

BIS Vietnamese lessons take place every Monday - and I know Ms. Hop has been impressed with the progress that parents have made in developing their language skills.

In March, we hosted a Spring Social for our school community; a wonderful event where lots of families came along and got to know one another. The Moose

and Roo Smokehouse was a great venue, which allowed the children to play and run around whilst the adults mingled. Face painters added a little extra magic to the children’s smiles, and there were plenty of fun activities to take part in throughout the day.

Friends of BIS also organised an embroidery workshop, which took place in the school

Parent Lounge. A specialist embroidery teacher came in to work with parents, who developed their sewing skills while enjoying a coffee and friendly conversation.

As we look ahead to Term 3, we are excited to announce our second BIS Flea Market of the year in May, a uniform sale, and another social event coming up in June. More details to follow soon!

To find out more about our Friends of BIS events and activities, join our Friends of BIS Hanoi group on Facebook.

Rebecca Carroll Head of Primary

Scan the QR code and join our “Friends of BIS Hanoi” Facebook Group!

CREATE YOUR FUTURE

'Create your future' reflects our belief here at BIS Hanoi that there are endless possibilities inherent in every person - whether they are students, teachers, or other members of our school community.

As an institution, our promise is to help each individual truly know themselves, set high goals, and achieve their ambitions for their future.

For students, an inescapable part of enabling future goals involves success in academic outcomes. However, this has led many schools around the world to target examination results as their sole focus, in turn creating cultures akin to "Exam Factories".

Students in these schools are led step-by-step through syllabi and are drilled in examination practice, but they experience little else to supplement their developmental needs. When the highest ideal and principal goal of a school is grades, it creates a shallow learning experience, a soullessly delivered curriculum, and sees students reduced to numbers on a spreadsheet.

While academic success is certainly a goal for us at BIS Hanoi, I know you will agree that our school is so much more than an exam factory. There are many ways to achieve academic success beyond simply having an unwavering focus on exams and grades.

Educating the whole child by igniting their skills and passions in areas outside the classroom - such as sport, art, service, and leadership - deepens learning, motivation and enhances grade performance.

The role of a school is to open each student’s mind to the greatest ideas and then provide opportunities for them to explore and apply those ideas. Ultimately, focusing on activating the whole child will lead to better results compared with simply focusing on attainment.

For students, an inescapable part of enabling future goals involves success in academics.

I am confident that you will find these beliefs and principles reflected in articles throughout this edition of Esprit Magazine. For example, you will read about the latest contemporary teaching and learning initiatives, including an article about how our teachers are using multilingual learning strategies in the classroom. This issue also contains an illuminating article about play and its crucial role in the development of young children, as well as a treatise on the importance of online safety.

Finally, I know you will enjoy celebrating a summary of our university offers for the year so far. For those taking exams this year, you will gain a lot from the two articles which explore how students and parents can best prepare for examination success.

Chris Newman Head of Secondary

CLASS OF 2023

EARLY UNIVERSITY ACCEPTANCES

USA 37 %

72 ACCEPTANCES

as of April 2023

UNITED STATES Stanford University, US

University of Massachusetts Amherst, US Michigan State University, US Northeastern University, US Drexel University, US

University of Illinois Chicago, US Penn State University, US Union College, US Santa Clara University, US etc.

UNITED KINGDOM

University of Cambridge, UK

The University of Manchester, UK

King's College London, UK

University of Bristol, UK

University of Southampton, UK

University of Leeds, UK

University of Nottingham, UK

Queen Mary University, UK

University of York, UK

University of Bath , UK

University of Liverpool, UK

University of Sussex, UK etc.

ASIA

Lasalle College of Arts, SG

University of Hong Kong, HK etc.

In order to maintain the highest possible teaching standards using the most upto-date educational research, we called on the skills and knowledge of Tricia Taylor within the Secondary school at BIS Hanoi this year. Tricia, consultant and author, has been a teacher and leader in schools in the UK, USA and Spain for more than 25 years. Her work explores the science of learning, and the most effective strategies students can use to maximise their learning potential. She talks expertly around her three key conceptsRelationships, Memory and

WHAT DOES EFFECTIVE LEARNING LOOK LIKE IN A 21ST CENTURY CONTEXT?

And what do we know about the teenage brain in order to provide conditions for it to be most successful?

Mindset – and partners with schools to ensure that they are developing the most effective study habits and healthy mindsets within their students.

We have been working hard to embed many of the principles of her practice into our classrooms for some time. With her support this year, both virtually and during her in-person visit, we have been able to gain a deeper understanding of some additional strategies that will support students in our context even more.

Memory

One of the strategies that students in Secondary at BIS Hanoi understand is the need for ‘spaced practice’. Spaced practice is the opposite of ‘cramming’ or panic revising for a test. Rather than trying to learn everything the night before, in stressful conditions, students should be spreading out smaller revision episodes over a longer period of time. This is why it’s important for students to plan their revision several months in advance of any large examinations, to allow them enough time

to revisit learning they find challenging several times.

One approach we take with helping students to understand the importance of this is to understand the ‘forgetting curve’ (Ebbinghaus, 1885). The forgetting curve illustrates the decline of memory retention over time.

The first curve (white) shows that on the first time of learning, nearly all information is forgotten, which would be lost entirely if not reviewed. However, when the learning is revisited, we

retain larger amounts, slowly moving a greater amount of information into our longterm memory.

This supports our move in school away from relying heavily on formal summative assessments into lower stakes quizzes and activities regularly in all lessons. We are constantly capturing information about the progress of each student and how much of their learning they have retained and are able to remember. This approach ensures that students are much more confident to retrieve the information when they require it, such as in a formal examination setting.

Mindset

Another crucial area in ensuring maximum success for students in a classroom environment is helping them to develop a ‘learning mindset’. Tricia Taylor refers to mindsets as being ‘an approach to learning that recognises that getting better at something necessities perseverance, hard work and challenge as well as trying different strategies and asking for help’ (Taylor, 2019).

At BIS Hanoi we are making use of ‘effective effort’ in each classroom within our Secondary school, to support students with developing a ‘learning mindset’ and ensure that they have a clear understanding of how they learn best, also known as ‘metacognition’. Providing students with feedback on their academic outcomes alone does not encourage deep reflection around the

skills they are developing as a learner, it’s important that as teachers and parents we also ‘praise the process’. By focusing on four key strands of effective effort; mistakemaking, reflection, stretch zone and responding to feedback, we ensure we are helping students to understand exactly what makes them an effective learner and how they set about improving where necessary. You will see this clearly on our academic reports in the Secondary school and we encourage the same conversations to occur at home. In her parent workshop, Taylor spoke about the benefit of modelling this ‘process thinking’ out loud at home too. The more we are able to share our thinking with students and make it visible to them, the more it supports them with developing their own thinking.

Relationships

The final area of Tricia Taylor’s work and an area which we pride ourselves on at BIS Hanoi, is the development of effective classroom relationships. We know that in order for every student to achieve their full potential they need to feel comfortable and safe in a classroom environment. Effective learning is extremely challenging and building the optimum classroom culture is of upmost importance to us. Students need to be prepared to share their thinking, ask and answer questions and demonstrate confident communication. One area that teachers will be looking to develop in the

coming months will be to encourage students to keep their hands down, or avoid calling answers out, so that they can focus on checking the understanding of all students using a range of different strategies. We will continue to ensure that the development of oracy is a focus for us and that students are sounding words clearly and are avoiding using ‘I don’t know’ as an answer.

As a school we feel extremely fortunate to be partnering with an expert who knows so much about the teenage brain. Whilst our academic outcomes indicate that our classroom practice is already in a strong position, we are always striving for better and we know focusing on the process of learning will support this. Keep an eye out for our Parent Connect sessions over the coming months which will provide an opportunity to share more strategies and explore the three key areas of Taylor’s work in a greater depth with parents.

Stephanie Miller Deputy Head of Secondary

References

Ebbinghaus, H. (1964). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. Dover.

Taylor, T, et al., (2019) Connect the Dots : The Collective Power of Relationships, Memory and Mindset in the Classroom. John Catt Educational Ltd.

A HEALTHY APPROACH TO EXAMINATION SUCCESS

As our students move into Years 10 to 13, wanting the best for them starts to include academic achievement in examinations. But how can we help our students reach their full potential? This article will explore the connections between wellbeing, mindset, and memory to provide tips and strategies to support examination success.

When adults have an important meeting or presentation to prepare for, the thoughts we have running through our mind might include:

• Am I the most qualified to do this?

• What information do I need to prepare?

These thoughts can make us feel anxious, unprepared, or even not good enough to complete the task. As a result, we take different actions. Initially we might procrastinate a little to stop feeling so nervous. However, we then move on and start gathering all the information required, making a plan, practising the presentation, and even visualising what a successful presentation looks like.

As adults, we’ve developed this cycle over time to help us reduce our stress levels, manage our time, and to ultimately achieve success.

This is also an ideal way for

students to prepare for exam success. Better preparation reduces exam anxiety, which allows students to make good choices and perform better. However, teenage brains find it hard to think in these ways, whereas adults are good at it because we’ve had practice (Jensen, 2016).

A healthy approach to prepare for exams encompasses the following considerations:

Managing Anxiety

Everyone feels anxiety before an exam - it's a normal way to feel when you want to do well. Optimal levels of anxiety and stress can actually help us to be psychologically and physically alert in the exam. Checking where your stress level is can help you to decide what will be the most effective action to support you in moving forward.

Finding the Right Stress Balance

We've all felt times like these, and it usually means that we don't perform at our best, which further reduces our motivation.

On the other hand, being overstressed pushes our brains into an emotional hijack mode, which means we're not able to make reasoned decisions or effectively manage our own emotions or anxiety (Yerkes and Dodson, 1908). Spending too much time in this panic zone interferes with our learning and memory, which can make it hard for students to focus on the questions or skills during the exam (Gino, 2017).

A Healthy Amount of Sleep

We often hear of students staying up late to cram for an assessment or finish a piece of homework. They fall into the trap of thinking that spending more time studying and less time sleeping will give greater confidence andultimately - a better result.

However, this has been found to be counterproductive. A sleep study which compared the test results of sleepdeprived students with those who consistently got 8 hours of sleep observed a 40% difference in memory test results (Walker, 2019).

Being under-stressed presents itself in a lack of focus or being demotivated.

A lack of sleep could be the difference between acing an exam and failing it. Spending

even a week without the right amount of sleep can push students into the panic zone; their focus in lessons during the day is impacted, and in turn they feel the need to spend more time studying to make up for what they can’t remember due to a lack of sleep.

Sleep can help us consolidate what we’ve learned and remember it the next day. At their stage of brain development, students from Year 9 upwards should be getting 8-10 hours of sleep per night. This not only supports their brain and memory function, it also increases their capacity to respond to and deal with anxiety (Summer, 2022).

Effective Preparation

Much of the anxiety students have around exams comes from a lack of preparation and when retrieval is infrequent, or the only time this practice of remembering is used is in high stakes exam settings. 1,500 students were asked: does retrieval practice make you more or less anxious for tests?

The Learning Scientists give an easy and detailed explanation of how to effectively use retrieval practice as a study method here.

One of the biggest tips for approaching study and preparation for examinations is “Don’t cram! Space out your revision over time” (Daniel J., 2021). This is because our brain naturally forgets information over time (Ebbinghaus, 1885). After each cycle of practice, re-visit and re-learning, the connection in a student’s brain becomes stronger and that learning becomes easier...it takes less effort to remember (Dunlosky, 2013).

Below are some things to consider which might help in planning for spaced study practice and study at home.

• Breaking study into 25-minute blocks helps the brain to improve memory and retention of information.

• Explicitly planning for self-testing doesn’t mean completing a whole past paper. A student might instead focus on an area of weakness and do 4 of these types of questions in a 25-minute study block.

• Using a timer is one of the easiest hacks for managing anxiety and improving performance. It helps students get used to the pressure of timed conditions and make more effective use of their time and energy.

How Parents Can Help

Modelling your own thoughts - and the steps you go through when faced with a challenging task - will help students to understand how they can replicate these processes when they prepare for exams.

Our students regularly view two things in particular as helpful support from their parents:

1. Students thrive on receiving regular encouragement linked to their effort and resilience, alongside reminders of when they overcame challenges in the past. This supports students in re-framing their thoughts. With healthy study habits, your child will also be happier in themselves.

2. Second, parents can deliberately pull students out of their study space to talk, exercise and eat together at agreed break times. This helps their brain to rest and recover, improving the quality of their study and focus overall.

Gemma Archer Assistant Head of Secondary (IB)

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD IN PREPARING FOR EXAMS

For parents, supporting your child with exam preparation can feel like a tricky balance to get right.

As we come closer to exam season, the issues that students bring to counselling sessions start to focus more on academic attainment. Year 11 and 13 students in particular are busy with coursework deadlines and exam revision. It’s a stressful time for them - and a time where parental support becomes even more important.

For parents, supporting your child with exam preparation can feel like a tricky balance to get right. You want to ensure that your child is putting in maximum effort to achieve the best result they can, but at the same time, you want to help reduce the stress that your child is experiencing.

As you can see from the Anxiety Curve diagram on the left, too much stress can lead to exhaustion and an inability to focus, which will not help your child do well in their exams.

Graphic from the Anna Freud - National Centre for Children and Families

However, there are multiple ways in which you can support your child to experience positive stress, rather than distress.

1. First, ask your child whether they have made a plan for their study schedule. This will help them feel confident that they will cover all the material they need to revise, in turn helping to reduce their anxiety.

2. Once your child is a week or two into their plan, it is helpful to discuss with them how the schedule is working out. Are they able to achieve the goals they set for themselves? It may be that the plan should be modified, but as the student gets into a routine of working, the modifications needed will hopefully become clear.

3. Ensure that your child has a plan for rest, as well as work. Have they scheduled regular, short breaks into their daily schedule? During their breaks, are they able to

switch off from work in a way that enables them to come back refreshed and ready to learn more? Ideally, your child should be away from their screen for most of their revision breaks.

In the lead up to exams, common messages about getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising become even more important for students to take on-board. However, how parents reinforce these messages with their children is equally important.

Parents that don’t allow their children space to study in

peace can add to the child’s distress and impair their ability to learn. At the same time, students need to feel the support of their parents during this difficult time.

Parents can achieve a balance by monitoring the child’s focus and emotional balance, checking in with them, and offering support or guidance when you think it is needed. This will help to make the child feel secure, but also free to revise in a way that suits them.

Matthew Greenwood Social-Emotional Counsellor

EMPOWERING STUDENTS THROUGH MULTILINGUAL LEARNING AT BIS HANOI

At BIS Hanoi, we strongly believe that having a low proficiency in English doesn’t mean that students should be unable to complete cognitive challenges in the classroom. Through the new Multilingual Learners Course, teachers at BIS Hanoi are finding ways to empower students by promoting multilingual learning within our classrooms, in turn helping students to power-up their classroom learning.

Within our school community, we are fortunate to have a variety of first languages that come alive and bubble throughout the corridors at break and lunch time. The mother tongue languages of our students form both part of their identity and part of our school’s identity, creating the inclusive community we pride ourselves on.

Our multilingual learners have the ability to identify patterns between their first language and the languages they learn at school. These students also exhibit cognitive benefits, such as problem solving skills and creativity.

At BIS Hanoi, multilingual learning doesn’t mean that students talk all day in their first language. Instead, we allow students to tap into their first language when it is necessary. Not only does this allow students to support their understanding and critical thinking, but it also affirms

their cultural identity and helps students build relationships with one other.

Attending the Multilingual Learners Course in Term 1 allowed me to dedicate weekly time to reflect on my teaching and to learn new techniques to use in class.

Among the strategies used in the course, one I have found particularly effective is the use of structured listening grids (below). Listening is a difficult skill to master due to the variety of accents, unknown vocabulary, and rate of speech. However, these grids allow students to focus on key information instead of being expected to understand every single word.

The listening grids are also effective because they allow students to be in control of what they record in the box; the outcome will be different for each student according to their needs.

I can see Children’s thoughts

Reasons why Questions you would ask the children?

Another useful strategy is ‘Sequencing’. In this task, students are provided with a range of sentences or pictures which they have to try to put in order. This strategy allows students to develop their communication skills as they discuss which sentence or picture should go where, and why.

How we proactively use students’ first languages in the classroom

As a whole school teacher, I have exciting opportunities to walk through a range

of classrooms and see proactive use of students' first languages in the classroom.

Mrs. Lucy Sudworth (Year 1 Teacher) has been creating a ‘language wall’, which features pictures and key words from the class story, complete with vocabulary in her student’s first language. This method has also been adopted in the Secondary school by Mrs. Joanna Shepley Clarke in her English lessons. By allowing for the use of translanguaging in our classrooms, we are educating and nurturing the whole child, instead of seeing that child as a second language learner.

Learnings from the Multilingual Learners Course course, alongside additional research, have also allowed us to employ a range of activities within lessons to support learners in their English development.

Outside the classroom, we have been able to hold more events to help students develop their English. We have enjoyed a range of assemblies, including house assemblies run by the House Captains, to promote the use of translanguaging and cultural empathy.

The Co-Curricular Activities programme also gives students the opportunity to use English as a medium to make new friends and try new activities. Meanwhile, the International Week held in 2022 allowed us to celebrate every nationality, identity, and culture within our school.

Finally, the school library contains books in a range of languages, with the Japanese books being a particular hit among the students! Events such as Book Week have even seen parent readers joining primary classes to read students a book in their first language.

As you can see, the staff at BIS Hanoi are working hard to use and trial a range of strategies, both inside and outside of their classroom, to help every student access their school day. The school is excited to graduate more staff members from the Multilingual Learners Course so that we can continue to develop ways to crosscut our student, school, and community cultures.

Lydia Finch Teacher of MFL

ENSURING ONLINE SAFETY AT BIS HANOI: PARTNERING WITH PARENTS

On Friday 10th March, we held our ‘Parent Connect - Being Safe Online’ workshop. The aim of the session was to raise awareness of online dangers among parents, as well as share advice and practical guidance to help keep our Primary students safe online.

The workshop was partly informed by a survey we conducted among our own students from Year 3 to Year 6, which resulted in the following learnings:

50% of students own a smartphone

78% own a laptop

40% own a games console

85% watch YouTube

30% use TikTok or Discord

15% use Instagram and Facebook

8% do not use social media

45% spend 1-2 hours a day on devices outside of school

20% spend 3-4 hours on devices a day

40% have seen something upsetting online

10% would not tell an adult if they saw something upsetting online

50% have discussed online safety with parents

70% think online safety is taught well at school

20% have sent or said something online that they later regretted

20% worry about online bullying

68% use devices at home because they are bored

27% use devices because they are lonely

Social media use among Primary students

In the workshop, we discussed the fact that students in Year 5 and Year 6 have unprecedented online access because they have their own devices. This means we need to be aware of the various forms of social media, including YouTube. We shared the following information about social media use amongst children:

Discord is the most popular social media platform and is used extensively by children to communicate - particularly by those who enjoy gaming.

The minimum age to use Facebook and Instagram is 13 years, so none of our Primary students should have Facebook or Instagram accounts.

The maximum amount of time a 10-yearold should be using social media each day is 2 hours.

Worldwide, only 50% of parents set parental controls on their children’s social media accounts.

Understanding a child’s ‘Digital Footprint’

As part of the workshop, we also discussed

how students can create and maintain their ‘Digital Footprint’. Our Digital Footprints stay with us forever because everything we post online stays with us forever.

This is important to understand because our Digital Footprints reflect who we are as people. Our footprints can be cyber-vetted in the future by companies who are considering hiring us, or by universities enrolling students. An online presence is expected - and a positive Digital Footprint can increase the chances of getting hired or accepted into universities. However, a negative digital footprint could result in rejection.

The role of the school and parents in ensuring online safety

At the workshop, we were pleased to share details of the school’s online safety programme for Primary students, ‘Be Internet Awesome’. It is a child-centred programme that teaches children to be:

Smart - to share with care

Alert - how to identify fake information

Strong - how to set strong passwords

Kind - how to develop a positive digital footprint by being kind online

Brave - how to report and block things we see online which are inappropriate

We also introduced parents to Interland - an online platform from Google that uses games to reinforce the messages in our ‘Be Internet Awesome’ programme.

Finally, we looked at setting parental controls. We learned how to set YouTube restrictions using YouTube Kids and YouTube Restricted Mode. This limits what children can access to prevent them from viewing harmful content. We also learned how to set Google SafeSearch to control and track what children are searching for.

There are also a variety of affordable and effective parental control apps to choose from. These are excellent tools which help protect children and provide parents with peace of mind.

One highly rated tool is Qustodio. It is available here in Vietnam for a small fee - and there are numerous videos available on YouTube to assist parents with installing the app on different devices. You can visit www.qustodio. com to learn more about this excellent parental controls app.

Both the school and parents have a role to play in empowering children to navigate the online world safely and with confidence. Together we can keep our students safe online by educating them, equipping them with the right skills, regularly monitoring device use, and by using parental controls.

Stephen Labelle STEAM & Computing Teacher

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY IN THE EARLY YEARS

It is often thought that play is a relief from serious learning, or even that school is for learning and not playing. However, for our youngest children, play is serious learning! In fact, play is much more important than you might think.

Play has a crucial role in child development because play is an activity where children demonstrate their remarkable ability for exploration, imagination and decision making. Through play, children begin to understand and process the world around them. They begin to develop lifelong skills, such as communication and problem solving, as well as physical, social and emotional skills.

The importance of play has also been emphasised by key theorists in education such as Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget.

Montessori believes that children learn about their world, themselves and others through play. Play teaches children to figure out how

things work, pick up new ideas, build muscle control and strength, use their imagination, solve problems and learn how to cooperate with others.

Piaget regards play in the early years as critical to the development of intelligence in children. He says that when your child plays, individually and with others, their cognitive skills such as thinking, remembering, learning and paying attention are all being developed.

We can also see for ourselves how our youngest learners showcase the many skills they are developing during play.

For example, in our construction areas we see children take on different roles and responsibilities. Through moving planks of wood, stacking bricks, and creating ramps and bridges, the children are enhancing their fine and gross motor skills. The children are also observing, making decisions and problem solving. For example, ‘How can we

get the animals out of the enclosure?’, ‘We must create an exit!’. The children also show perseverance if something goes wrong.

Sensory play, often referred to as ‘messy play’, is not always appealing for somefor fear of getting too messy! However, the benefits that sensory play offers are invaluable to child development. Sensory play gives children the freedom to explore a huge range of experiences by using their five senses: touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste.

In addition to being fun and stimulating for young children, sensory play can assist children with touching, smelling, and playing with different textures. As the child develops trust and understanding of each texture, it helps build positive pathways in the brain. It facilitates exploration and investigation, which in turn supports language development.

Play at BIS Hanoi is pre-planned depending on each child’s interests and stage of development, but there are many easy ways to support your child’s play at home.

Examples include cooking and baking together, arts and crafts activities, board games, water play, and construction activities

(such as playing with LEGO). Playing with your child is something that can be done in your first language, as the importance of nurturing a child’s first language is key. First language skills transfer and support the learning of a second language.

So next time you think about ‘Play’, think about Imagination, Curiosity, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical thinking, and Exploration - skills which are all needed for later in life and which are greatly enhanced through play.

Holly Carmichael Assistant Head of Primary (EYFS)

EXPERIENCE EXCELLENCE

Ten months on from returning to on-campus learning, the novelty still hasn’t worn off and our teachers are inspired by the students they teach on a daily basis. In this edition of Esprit Magazine, you will read and learn about just a few of the ways in which our students inspire both their teachers and one another.

At BIS Hanoi, we want all our students to “experience excellence”, and it’s crucial that we empower them to take meaningful ownership over their own learning. Building in regular time for reflection provides opportunities for students to think about the journey, the small steps, and the overall process that all feed into their education.

In this section of the magazine, I hope you enjoy learning about the work which the Primary and Secondary Student Council have been carrying out since August, the visible impact they are having on the lives of their peers, and their success in creating excellent experiences for others.

Earlier this year, we were delighted to host BISMUN (Model United Nations Conference), which was attended by students from schools across South-East Asia. In her article, Ms. Nia Cooper talks more about how the weekend unfolded, as well as about the growth and learning that the Secondary students experienced.

Elsewhere, Mr. Rob Taylor, Assistant Head of Secondary for Wellbeing, shares the significant steps forward which have been taken in curriculum and community wellbeing, including a look ahead to our Mental Health week which is coming up later this term.

In Performing Arts, Ms. Cat Sommerville talks about our unique partnership with The Juilliard School, which benefits BIS Hanoi

It’s crucial that we empower students to take meaningful ownership over their own learning.

students, staff and parents alike. For the first time since the pandemic, the Performing Arts department were delighted to welcome Juilliard specialists from New York to our school for inperson workshops.

The articles in this magazine represent just a handful of the many opportunities that our students both enjoy and create for others. We are so proud of everything that we have experienced together so far this year - and we know that there is so much more to come in Term 3.

Well done everyone!

Rebecca Carroll Head of Primary

SEARCHING FOR LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS THROUGH OUR COLLABORATION WITH MIT

Throughout the previous term, Primary and Secondary students spent STEAM lessons exploring space and possibility of life on exoplanets (planets that orbit stars outside of our solar system).

As part of our unique collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), students were set a challenge by Dr Sara Seager, Professor of Planetary Science, Physics and Aerospace Engineering at MIT. Dr Seager is best known as an expert and pioneer in the vast and unknown world of exoplanets.

Dr Seager challenged our students to dive into the world of exoplanets using NASA's exoplanet catalogue, which lists and details over

Our students worked in teams to locate an exoplanet that could feasibly support life, conducting research to determine if certain planets met the requirements.

5,320 confirmed exoplanets. Students were tasked with trying to find an exoplanet that could support life.

One of the key concepts to consider in the search for life on other planets is the Goldilocks Zone, which is also known as the Habitable Zone. This refers to a distance range between a planet and a star, where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist on the surface of a planet. Liquid water is considered a key requirement for life as we know it, so planets in the Goldilocks Zone are seen as the most promising candidates for harbouring extraterrestrial life.

Our students worked in teams to locate an exoplanet that could feasibly support life, conducting research to determine if certain planets met the requirements, such as the presence of water and having a suitable atmosphere.

During their research, students had the opportunity to ask Dr Seager questions about the exoplanets they discovered. They also used their creative skills to imagine what life might exist on these distant worlds, creating 3D models of exoplanets using materials such as polystyrene, Mod Rock, and paint. The students also created models and posters of the aliens that could potentially inhabit these worlds.

This MIT challenge gave students a fascinating insight into the possibility of life on planets far from our own. Dr Seager was very impressed with the students’ research and their imaginative creations.

David Burke & Stephen Labelle STEAM teachers

This year we have been delighted to return to hosting in-person visits from The Juilliard School curriculum specialists, who are instrumental to the development of performing arts teaching and learning here at BIS Hanoi.

On 24th and 25th February we welcomed our first visitor, Tania Hakkim, a Drama specialist from New York. Tania worked with our Year 3 students, who experienced Drama in their curriculum for the first time this year through their storytelling Drama lesson “What is Your Gift?”.

Tania also taught Year 7 students a workshop from the new interdisciplinary unit from Juilliard Creative Classroom, “Ellis Island”. Students responded to these sessions with creativity and attentive curiosity. They were shining examples of the imaginative and open minded students we foster here at BIS Hanoi.

Tania also worked closely with Drama teachers Catherine Somerville and Sarah Macdonald to continue to develop their teaching practice.

She supported them in finding new and innovative ways to engage students in the benefits of Drama education.

The whole Performing Arts department also took part in a professional development workshop focused on student-centred learning. This successful session will be further built on, and shared with more teaching staff, as part of our Music Specialist visit later this year.

On March 14th and 15th we were delighted to welcome Ashley Brown

HOW OUR COLLABORATION WITH THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL INSPIRES STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ALIKE

It was wonderful to see the students collaborating and performing together, while demonstrating improved confidence and expressive skills.

and Salla Saarikangas, Dance Specialists from The Juilliard School.

Performing Arts teachers had the pleasure of observing Ashley Brown teach two demo lessons to our students. Year 10 and Year 9 BISC Dance students took part in a workshop on how to use expressive phrasing in performance. It was wonderful to see the students collaborating and performing together, while demonstrating improved confidence and expressive skills. The following day, Year 3 students were introduced to the idea of groupings in dance, and thrived with their raw creative energy during their workshop.

As part of the visit, Performing Arts teaching staff were also given the opportunity to showcase their own teaching. Staff received valuable and insightful feedback on how to continue to provide high quality Dance and Performing Arts education at our school. Ashley then led the Performing Arts team in a workshop which explored engaging ways to harness deep student reflection. Staff left the session with an extensive bank of resources and ideas to utilise in lessons.

Finally, Ashley led an inspiring parent workshop to explain the Juilliard approach to teaching. Parents learnt more about the philosophy of Performing Arts education, as well as the power this holds in a fully bright curriculum. Parents were able to sample the learning activities that our students enjoy in lessons, and shared their thoughts and feelings about the experience. Parents also had the opportunity to discuss the Dance curriculum here at BIS Hanoi. We hope that they left the workshop with a passion for the subject’s place in their child’s development.

Our continued collaboration with The Juilliard School and our curriculum specialists is what makes Performing Arts a pleasure to teach and learn here at BIS Hanoi.

Catherine Somerville Head of Whole School Performing Arts

DEBATE, TEAMWORK AND DIPLOMACY AT THE BIS HANOI MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE (BISMUN)

On Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th March, BIS Hanoi hosted our first ever in-person Model United Nations conference.

The two-day conference built on the success of last year’s virtual edition and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Model United Nations represents a brilliant opportunity for participants to collaborate with others from different places and backgrounds, as well as develop collaboration, communication and critical thinking skills.

The theme of the conference was “Futurewards”, with the aim of empowering students to challenge the

status quo by envisioning and creating pathways to a fairer, sustainable and more culturally diverse world. The 6 committees debated diverse topics including the Russian Revolution of 1917, climate change, education for refugees, food shortages, colonialism, and a Fantasy Crisis Council on Genshin Impact. The quality of debate was incredibly high!

The conference was attended by students from across Hanoi and South-East Asia. School delegations included BIS Ho Chi Minh City, Concordia School Hanoi, Regents International School Pattaya, Thailand, BVIS Hanoi, and of course BIS Hanoi. It

was attended by 90 students, each of whom came ready to debate world issues and develop their diplomacy skills.

The conference was made possible thanks to twenty student helpers from BIS Hanoi, including five Year 13s who led the organisation process: Secretary-Generals Tue Nhi and Ngoc Linh, and Under Secretary-Generals Bich Phuong, Thanh Phuong, and My Lien. The process of planning the conference started back in October when the first invitations were sent out - and these girls worked incredibly hard for months in preparation.

Secretaries-General Tue Nhi

and Ngoc Linh said, “Seeing committee discussions about topics that we are interested in and passionate about made the entire experience so worthwhile. BISMUN was also an opportunity for us to be able to connect with the MUN community at BIS Hanoi, which we are so grateful for.”

Our students worked incredibly hard to prepare for conference debates in the Model United Nations CCA. They learnt how to formulate effective arguments, how to present their ideas during the conference, and how to include the interests of various countries to facilitate fruitful discussion and satisfying outcomes for all.

During the conference, there were some unexpected moments for all our delegates, but these intense and demanding situations allowed them to practise adapting their thinking. This was especially true for those students on our Crisis

Councils – the Joint Russian Assembly and the Fantasy Crisis Council – whose choice of action influenced the outcome of events in an exciting and ever-changing environment. All our councils tackled challenging topics, giving delegates an amazing opportunity to see the impact of teamwork and communication.

One attendee said, “It was educational, I learnt a lot, and it helped me overcome my fear of public speaking.” Another commented: “It was fun and valuable. The conference was well-organised and it was nice to meet other delegates with different working attitudes when approaching problems”.

Thank you to everyone who attended, as well as to those students who made our first ever in-person Model United Nations conference possible. See you again next year!

Nia Cooper Head of Enrichment

It was attended by 90 students, each of whom came ready to debate world issues and develop their diplomacy skills.

BIS HANOI STUDENT WINS THE GLOBAL CAMPUS WRITING COMPETITION

Scan to read his English and Spanish story

Students at BIS Hanoi recently had the exciting opportunity to participate in the NAE Global Campus One Third Story Writing Competition. We were delighted to find out that, our of hundreds of entries from all around the world, our Year 9 student Duc Minh wrote the winning story for his age group.

Duc Minh's story 'The Bear's Siesta’ was selected as the winner of the Core Category (ages 8-15) out of 118 stories submitted from 42 Nord Anglia schools around the world. One of the judging criteria was for one-third of the story to contain nonEnglish vocabulary. Duc Minh demonstrated his proficiency in Spanish for his story, which was chosen as the winner by renowned children's author Serena Patel.

Ms Georgina Dorr, our Head of Whole-school MFL department, said:

“We were delighted with all our entries for the Global Campus Writing Competition, which saw our

students enter stories written in Spanish, French, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Japanese. We were especially thrilled that one of our students not only got shortlisted but was selected by the author as the winner of his category!”

“Duc Minh has an excellent future ahead of him as he moves into learning Spanish at IGCSE – and we are looking forward to seeing what he does next with his excellent language skills!”

Duc Minh also shared his joy on the achievement:

"I’m proud of what I have achieved in the competition. In spite of the many challenges, I have been through, the support from my friends, family and teachers motivated me to persevere whenever I felt stuck. I had no idea when I entered the writing competition that I would be witnessing so many exciting moments, such as going on to win a Global Campus competition. Also, I am proud of the immense

Duc Minh's story was selected as the winner of the Core Category (ages 8-15) out of 118 stories submitted from 42 Nord Anglia schools.

personal growth that I have experienced in such a short period of time."

'The Bear’s Siesta’ was handed over to a professional illustrator, who brought the story to life. The final e-book is now available to read on Global Campus. Take a look at the story and we hope you all enjoy it.

A huge congratulations to Duc Minh.

SCIENCE WEEK RETURNS WITH A BANG FOR 2023

British Science Week took place this year on 10-19 March. This celebration of UK technological advancements aims to inspire the next generation of scientists by demonstrating how science improves our everyday lives.

The theme for British Science Week 2023 was ‘connections’ - and Science Week at BIS Hanoi saw plenty of exciting activities take place inspired by the idea of ‘‘connections’.

A group of Year 12 students planned an excellent bridge

building activity for Key Stage 3 students. The challenge saw the younger students spend the whole day working on their projects, using a variety of materials, and performing careful calculations to ensure their bridge structures would not collapse. It was great to see the students use their practical skills to build some impressive bridges - some of which held up to 4kg of mass!

In celebration of Science Week, Year 6 students were invited as special guests to observe a dissection carried

The challenge saw the younger students spend the whole day working on their projects, using a variety of materials, and performing careful calculations.

out by Mr. Pinnock’s Year 10 students. The older students prepared the demonstration and dissected the hearts, while the younger students observed and learnt about the process. The Year 10s did a fantastic job and impressed with their skills.

Science Week ended with a fun-filled assembly, led by Year 12 students and teachers from the Science department. Our Science teachers performed a variety

of exciting experiments on stage, including Mr Pearson’s fancy dress and minion costume, Mr Loft’s piano performance with flame, Mr Pinnock’s bed of nails, Mr Somerville and Mr Mortimer’s potato cannon, and Mr Cuckson and Mr Tobin’s bangs experiment. The performances showcased the wonder of science and blew away all the students sitting in the hall.

Our special thanks to the

Science Team (teachers and technicians) and the students for their time, enthusiasm, and creativity in putting on another fantastic Science week at BIS Hanoi.

Hollie Hudson Head of Science

HOW THE SECONDARY STUDENT LEADERSHIP TEAM ARE DRIVING POSITIVE CHANGE

This year, the main goals of the Secondary student leadership team are to boost inclusivity, collaboration and engagement between students and teachers.

The new Prefect Team, who are dedicated to improving the school, are split into multiple different departments that will work together to coordinate fun events, making BIS Hanoi an even more warm and welcoming environment for everyone. We understand that every student has a different interest, which is why our priority is to produce a diverse range of events and activities that aim to include everyone.

Our opening initiative this year was to launch the school’s first ever extracurricular social media account to promote our sports mascot, the lionhearts, on Instagram (@ bis_lionhearts). Created by House Captains and the Promotions team, the account will notify students and bring them closer to upcoming events.

We also successfully hosted an IGCSE fair for Year 11s, where students were able to note down tips and experiences from Year 12s. Looking ahead to Term 3, we are initiating ideas for Easter, Pride Month and Prom! We hope students will look forward to the upcoming activities.

Vuong Kim Ngan Head Student

Saito Pham Ngoc Le Head Student

Uniform Committee

The Uniform Committee was established with the mission of understanding and investigating student’s preferences regarding our school uniform – and to plan

for potential modifications and perhaps new Lionheart merchandise in the upcoming academic year.

The committee has conducted an extensive analysis based on a Uniform Survey sent out in February this year. The Uniform Survey gathered the opinions of 405 students about their level of satisfaction with each uniform item that was provided at the beginning of the academic year. It also

addressed possible new concepts, such as Spirit Wear or Polo shirts.

We shared the analysis in a slideshow to the Secondary School Leadership Team (SSLT), where we discussed our visions and key points of the analysis. With their approval, we plan to further present it to the Extended Leadership Team (ELT) of BIS Hanoi and make positive changes to our school uniform.

Food Committee

The Food Committee meets bi-weekly to discuss ways to enhance our lunch experience. This term, we have been focusing on the quality of foods and drinks themselves, collecting opinions specifically on authenticity, diversity and

quantity. However we have also been touching upon the canteen’s atmosphere and redesign, as well as the issue of food waste and long queues.

Incorporating the feedback from our students, we arranged a meeting with Joma, our lunch provider, to identify areas of strength and improvement, and to suggest constructive feedback. This term, we have witnessed a significant improvement in the food content, namely

having more choices for vegetarian diets and a wider variety of sauces. Furthemore, the problem with food waste has been promptly addressed by our proposal to have better communication between the chefs and the students, so that a reasonable amount of food is put out.

Looking ahead to the next term, we aim to continue improving the diversity of food, alleviating the traffic at the counter, and redesigning the canteen.

This year, the main goals of the Secondary student leadership team are to boost inclusivity, collaboration and engagement between students and teachers.

Nguyen Ngoc Linh, Year 10

Pham Bui Gia Khanh, Year 10

STUDENT WELLBEING: Developing a robust and supportive wellbeing curriculum

I have been Assistant Head of Secondary now for 2 terms, and there are times when it feels much longer. However, my main focus is Secondary student wellbeing and I am really excited to have this opportunity to update you on the progress we are making with our community.

The wellbeing curriculum at BIS Hanoi continues to evolve, with the aim of offering students the chance to improve their own wellbeing, as well as learn important life skills.

This term, students have had opportunities to reflect on their own study skills and how they

deal with exam stress, as well as learn about body-confidence, puberty and sex-education. Student-led initiatives include a plan by our Year 10 students to support their peers from a local school, who we hope will benefit from 1:1 sessions with students from BIS Hanoi. We look forward to seeing how this idea develops in the next few weeks.

To gain a better insight into what our students need from a Wellbeing curriculum, we recently asked small sample groups from each year to share the main challenges to their wellbeing - and what they need to meet these challenges. These findings will help

shape the new Wellbeing curriculum, which we will begin delivering at the start of the new academic year.

Two Student Council sub-committees - Food and Uniform - have also worked hard to gather a clearer understanding of students' attitudes towards the existing school uniform and food services. Later this term, they will present their findings to the Senior Leadership Team.

Help shape student wellbeing with the BIS Hanoi Wellbeing Committee

The Wellbeing Committee at BIS Hanoi is represented by students, staff and parents. Together we’re gathering momentum in looking at how we can improve Wellbeing

within our school community. If you are interested in joining the committee, or have any ideas related to Wellbeing, please email me at rob.taylor@bishanoi.com.

In May, we have an opportunity to increase Mental Health awareness by dedicating a week to discussing and examining our Mental health. Although Mental Health requires more than a spotlight once a year, this week-long focus gives us the opportunity to share the latest developments with our community. If you are interested in helping in any way, please contact Mr. Matt Greenwood (School Counsellor) at matthew.greenwood@ bishanoi.com.

This is undoubtedly an exciting time for Wellbeing at our school. We look forward to sharing more about how we are building a curriculum which will provide the foundation to support your child through their learning journey - and allow them to flourish here at BIS Hanoi.

Mr. Rob Taylor Assistant Head of Secondary (Wellbeing)

This term, students have had opportunities to reflect on their own study skills and how they deal with exam stress, as well as learn about body-confidence, puberty and sex-education.

INTRODUCING A BRAND NEW PRIMARY LEADERSHIP TEAM

Student Council

Since the start of the year, the Student Council has been determined to make playtime at school more enjoyable for all primary students.

The process began with council members gathering ideas, identifying which play equipment students wanted, and then choosing the best items to purchase. To make sure the new equipment could be enjoyed safely and be taken care of, they decided to split the playground into different zones in which certain equipment should be used.

The Student Council also identified the need for a new student leadership team: Playground Leaders. They quickly got to work recruiting for this new team by making posters and creating a presentation to outline the key roles and responsibilities of the position. During an assembly to Year 5 and Year 6 students, they explained the new role and how students could apply.

This new leadership opportunity was well received, and 44 students were invited to interview. The interview involved the students working in groups and designing a game to teach Year 3 using the new equipment.

The prospective Playground Leaders demonstrated impressive collaboration and communication skills.

Since being recruited, the Playground Leaders have taken responsibility for making sure that all play equipment is put out at the start of lunchtime, enjoyed safely, and tidied away efficiently. All children have loved playing with the new equipment, which has helped make playtime a happy place for all.

House Captains

It has also been another busy term for the Primary House Captains, who have continued to develop their leadership skills and gain confidence in their roles. Since January, they have supported their Houses in a range of exciting activities, including the Primary World Book Day parade and House STEAM day.

On January 11th and 12th, the second House Lunch events took place for Primary and Early Years students. After the success of the first event, this adapted lunch structure provided all students with an opportunity to connect with other children in the school and develop their sense of belonging within their house communities.

Additionally, this term has seen the House Captains introduce a lunch reward system, named ‘Legendary Lunch’, for students in Years 2-6. Each week, five lucky winners attend a special lunch with a friend as a result of their positive choices in the canteen.

As they head into the final term in their roles, we look forward to seeing what fantastic new initiatives the House Captains implement next.

Aaron Watkins Year 5 Teacher

Alice Goodwin Year 4 Teacher &

BIS LIONHEARTS ROAR AT THE FOBISIA U13 GAMES 2023

At the beginning of March, the BIS Hanoi Lionhearts travelled to Thailand to participate in the U13 FOBISIA Games 2023. The games saw our students compete with 8 teams from 6 other FOBISIA (Federation of British International Schools in Asia) schools in Athletics, Swimming, Football and Basketball. Here’s how the action unfolded:

Day 1: Swimming and Athletics

The Lionhearts demonstrated their bravery with some outstanding performances in the pool and on the track. All students showed courage and determination, even in

events which were new to them.

Day 2: Girls Football and Boys’ Basketball

The girls football started early in the morning and the team played 5 games in total, going on to secure 5th position on the day. The team worked really hard, showing resilience and determination to overcome losses; kept playing hard to win their final match of the day. We are so proud of you!

In basketball, the boys won all their matches in the pool games and secured a spot in the gold medal match. They played with great

determination in a closely contested match and the team were very proud of their silver medal. Well done!

Day 3: Boys Football and Girls Basketball

Day 3 was a long, hot day for our students! In football, the boys missed some goal opportunities, but they continued to demonstrate resilience and good sportsmanship throughout the day. In basketball, our girls won all six of their games showing great teamwork and focus when it mattered and won 1st place.

At the end of the final day, the students also enjoyed a gala

dinner where the results for swimming and athletics were announced. The Lionhearts came 4th in swimming and 6th in athletics.

Whilst medals are one measure of success, there are so many things to celebrate and the teamwork, supporting each other, learning new skills, building resilience, fitness and stamina and representing our school. Each and everyone of us tried our best and we have returned back richer for this experience and better prepared for next year! Well done, Lionhearts.

Final Results

Swimming: 4th Athletics 6th

Boys Basketball: 2nd Girls Basketball: 1st

Boys Football 7th

Girls Football 5th

A final thank you goes to our Lionheart parents who were an incredible support and cheering squad for our competitors. The trip was a huge success and the students showed great sportsmanship throughout a competitive tournament.

Salome Airdrie Director of Sports and Activities

THE LATEST EDITION OF THE BIS STUDENT MAGAZINE IS NOW AVAILABLE!

Scan

enjoy the magazine!