Final dragon tales issue 22 compressed by Vientiane International School

Issue 22 January 2016

Dragon Tales

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this edi1on of Dragon Tales. Two edi1ons of Dragon Tales will be published this year, one at the end of each semester. If you would like to submit an ar1cle or photos for the next issue please make sure you do so by 27 May 2016. If you are a student or a member of staﬀ please submit your ar1cle to Mr Glenn (Primary) or Ms Jo (Secondary). Other members of the community should submit their ar1cles to Ms Annie, Communica1ons and Admissions Manager, at annieb@ourvis.com).

Reflections from a newbieâ&#x20AC;Ś p6

Learning maths p12

One World Day p15

SALSA Adventures p42

From the Director This issue of the Dragon’s Tale celebrates our community, the ﬁrst semester of the school year and, most importantly, provides a small sample of the incredible learning of our students. From the classroom to the sports ﬁeld, and from the theatre to all corners of our host country Laos, our students used inquiry, cri1cal thinking skills, and risk taking to deepen their understanding of concepts across a range of academic disciplines and in the wider world. The events and ac1vi1es highlighted throughout this issue also demonstrate our commitment as a school to our mission statement (“to challenge, inspire and prepare learners for life”), to our goal to empower our students to be interna1onally-‐minded global ci1zens and to our promise of ensuring that our program is balanced across social, emo1onal, intellectual and physical growth. Enjoy your reading.

Jane McGee Director Vien1ane Interna1onal School

Primary Reflections Glenn Lawler  Primary Principal Reflec5ons from a newbie... As a new member of the VIS community this year, I have had the unique opportunity and the privilege to be able to slip into the primary classrooms every day and observe the learning. And I have come to the conclusion that VIS is simply a great school. There are three main reasons for this. Firstly it has to be said, we have remarkable students in the Primary school. Bouncing in every morning with broad grins, they are welcoming, polite, mo1vated, posi1ve, and suppor1ve. In short, they are truly living the aXributes of the IB learner profile. They are ac1ve learners, inquirers and thinkers. From my many hours of classroom visits and par1cipa1ng on field trips it is clear that our students are ac1vely engaged in their learning. They are keen to learn and understand how learning is transferred to real life situa1ons. The recent student-‐ led Grade 5 bake-‐sale to support refugees in Europe is a perfect example of this. Secondly, we have a skilled and talented group of mo1vated teachers and instruc1onal assistants working in an environment of collabora1on to create

the best program for our students. Our teachers develop posi1ve teacher-‐student rela1onships. The program of inquiry ensures that there is authen1c learning happening every day. In the classrooms, workrooms and lunchrooms our teachers are talking about teaching, reﬂec1ng on how to improve their cra[. They keep up to date with educa1onal thinking through professional reading, professional development courses, sharing their exper1se and best-‐prac1se during teacher sharing sessions. Our youngsters are very lucky to have teachers with this level of professionalism and engagement. And the third and very important aspect are our suppor1ve VIS parents. It has been tremendous to see the involvement of parents at VIS playing an ac1ve role. Not just the day-‐to-‐day interac1on with teachers, but also aXending informa1on sessions and workshops, coming to 3-‐way conferences, taking on the role of guest speakers, and aXending special days such as One World Day. All this helps to promote a posi1ve learning community. We have a great school here at VIS. Let us all work together as a team to make it even beXer.

Community involvement and interaction @ VIS Primary Glenn Lawler  Primary Principal The local community is an awesome resource, just wai1ng to be tapped, to enrich the curriculum and promote inquiry for our students through authen1c experiences. There are two aspects here: ﬁrstly, taking the students out and u1lising the community through ﬁeld trips, or invi1ng guest speakers to come in. And secondly, to inform the community what is happening in the school through display boards, class websites, newsleXers, and social media. U1lising the community can take on a variety of forms, such as recent experiences for our Early Years students discovering paXerns on a walking trip to the local temple, our French students skyping (in French of course) with a class of French students in Moscow, or our Grade 1 students visi1ng our local Lao sister school to sing together. Using these resources provides a shared memory for the students who, in turn, are making connec1ons with the real world. So far this semester we have welcomed a variety of guest speakers into all of the classes to talk to the students: a geologist in Grade 4, an expert on food security in Grade 3, a variety of mystery readers in Grade 1, and many more. We have also had VIS parents and P&F representa1ves sharing their

exper1se and experiences to enhance the learning for our students. Many thanks to all who have volunteered their 1me. VIS parents and visitors are encouraged to walk the hallways and corridors and see the informa1ve display boards outside the classrooms this year. And don’t be afraid to come upstairs. Displays are changed regularly and are o[en interac1ve so you might just need a marker in hand when strolling around. Another avenue for community interac1on is through social media. VIS Primary teachers are making great use of TwiXer to broadcast the learning in the classrooms to the community. We encourage you to follow us on TwiXer by simply searching for the #ourvis hashtag, or the @vislaopdr handle. Tweets from the community are most welcome. So we will con1nue to tap the awesome resource of our local community to create authen1c learning situa1ons for our young VIS inquirers.

Katherine Williams PYP Coordinator

Maths in the PYP Recently teachers and students in the Primary School held an informa1on session for parents to communicate the ways teaching and learning maths is changing in schools around the world and what learning maths looks like in the Primary Years Programme at VIS. Students and teachers shared examples of mathema1cal learning from their grade levels and engaged parents in experiences of maths from their perspec1ves. It was a valuable 1me of sharing for everyone. Some informa1on discussed at the session is shared here. In the PYP at VIS we believe that... Maths is a tool to support inquiry. Maths is a universal language we can use to make sense of our world. Maths is a way of thinking. All students are mathema1cians. According to the latest Program for Interna1onal Student Assessment (PISA) data (13 million students), the lowest achieving students worldwide are those who use memorisa1on strategies to remember rather than learn, and the highest achieving students think of maths as a series of connected big ideas. “Maths facts are a very small part of mathema1cs, but unfortunately students who don’t memorise maths facts well o[en come to believe that they can never be successful with maths and turn away from the subject.” (Jo Boaler, Professor of Mathema1cs Educa1on, Stanford University). Also, a number of myths persist about mathema1cs – that there are “maths people” (you either have it or you don’t) or that maths is the “hard subject”. As parents and teachers, we need to be mindful of the messages we convey to learners about mathema1cs, as nega1ve messages can cause maths anxiety in children that can last a life1me. The way we view ourselves as learners of maths has a big impact on students. A recent study found “When mothers told their daughters they were not good at math in school, their daughter’s achievement declined almost immediately." (Eccles & Jacobs, 1986). We all have a responsibility to cul1vate a growth mindset in students and encourage them to view themselves as capable learners of mathema1cs.

So how do children best learn Mathema3cs? • By connec1ng new concepts to previous experiences and understanding. • By reﬂec1ng on their own interac1ons with objects and ideas. • When they have possibili1es to interact with manipula1ves. • When they have opportuni1es to converse with others and build on connec1ons. •

How do learners transfer meaning? Through the use of symbolic nota1on.eg. pictures, diagrams, modelling with objects and m a t h e m a 1 c a l n o t a 1 o n . L e a r n e rs n e e d opportuni1es to describe their understanding using their own symbolic nota1on, later transferring to conven1onal mathema1cal nota1on – not before. Learning algorithms without context or understanding is unhelpful and harmful to mathema1cal development.

How do learners apply with understanding? • By d e m o n st ra1 n g a n d a c 1 n g o n t h e i r understanding. • By independently selec1ng and using appropriate symbolic nota1on to process and record thinking through experiences reﬂec1ve of student lives outside of school. • Hands-‐on, minds-‐on ac1vi1es, play and explora1on. How do learners use their mathema3cal reasoning? • • • •

By using paXerns and rela1onships to analyse a problem. By making and evalua1ng their own and other’s ideas. By using models, facts, proper1es and rela1onships to explain their thinking. By jus1fying answers and processes used to arrive at solu1ons.

"Deep learning is applying what you know ﬂexibly and in new contexts." Professor David Perkins, Harvard Graduate School of Educa1on. Further reading 2015/2016 VIS PYP Curriculum Guide Making the PYP happen, IB, 2009 What’s Math Got To Do With It? Jo Boaler Youcubed at Stanford University hXps://www.youcubed.org/parents/

One World Day: 2015 One World Day provided an opportunity for us to reflect on the diversity and interconnectedness of our global community. On this day we aimed to challenge, inspire and prepare our students to become one-‐ minded in the hopes of understanding the many aspects of humanity and taking ac1on to bring posi1ve changes both near and far. In order to make strong connec1ons, One World Day learning experiences were linked to units of inquiry throughout the school. From the Sister School’s visit to field trips to performances and puppet shows, the day was made memorable by all those involved. The Primary School day began with beau1ful costumes and warm smiles as Sister School students were w e l c o m e d i n t o t h e classrooms. Once seXled, the children began a fun ac1vity designed and led b y o u r t a l e n t e d Instruc1onal Assistants. Many projects included crea1ng something that c o u l d b e p l a c e d o n display or taken home as a keepsake. It was lovely to see how well the students are gerng to know each other. A[er the projects were completed, it was off to assembly. In prepara1on for the assembly, which was organised by a group of secondary students, Primary students came together with their Performing Arts and Language teachers to write a song for the en1re Primary to sing. Students prepared for their roles in assembly for weeks in advance and demonstrated generosity of spirit by aXending mul1ple prac1ces and a[er school rehearsals. With solos, percussion and whole school choral singing, it was lovely to see this team effort on display for all to enjoy. We also had various groups from the Secondary school singing and dancing to celebrate the day. The whole assembly was a big hit and kept the children engaged and interested. A[er the assembly, the en1re VIS community came together to celebrate our mel1ng pot of cultures by moving as one to our next experience. With our lovely Lao inspired dancers leading the parade and music throughout, students and staff alike toured the school as they made their way to the back field for a whole school photo.

sponsored by our Parents and Friends commiXee. It was another fantas1c example of how our community works together to create memorable experiences for our students. One World Day was a perfect opportunity to showcase the ar1stry in our community. All around the world, the arts are an important part of history, communica1on, and personal and social change. On display were artworks ranging from EY to Grade 12. Students took inspira1on from overarching themes such as explora1ons of Who we are, or How the world works and created visual messages to demonstrate their understanding of a variety of concepts such as balance, self, structures or energy. This school-‐wide e ff o r t a l l o w e d t h e c h i l d r e n t o w o r k individually, in pairs, or s m a l l g r o u p s t o collabora1ve to create t h e m a ny b e a u 1 f u l pieces on display. During the middle block of the day, students at each grade level were linking One World Day themes to their units of inquiry. Guest speakers came to talk to students about a range of issues affec1ng our world, ranging from food security to migra1on. In the Secondary school, the focus was on connec1ng the day to students’ learning. Therefore each grade engaged in a mini-‐inquiry. One group debated which micro-‐financing project to fund, and created social enterprises. Three groups went into the community to learn about topics such as damming in Laos, gender equality development, and poli1cs in Southeast Asia. To finish off the day, the Primary school were fortunate to have the Khao Niew Lao Theatre Group come to VIS to celebrate the connec1ons between elephants and Lao culture. They showed a tremendous amount of crea1vity with their puppetry and communicated big ideas without spoken language. The use of humour and visual effects kept the children engaged. Classroom teachers also organised collabora1ons between grade levels to celebrate our connec1ons to each other and our place in the world. In the Secondary school, the day closed with a celebratory assembly.

Once the photo was completed, students went to enjoy a delicious interna1onal morning snack

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to make One Word Day the amazing success that it was.

Rachael Phiasanaxay Hot on the tails of their successful produc1on “Same” last year, enVISion theatre company plans to produce two plays this school year. In early December, Phillip Pullman’s children’s novel “The Firework Maker’s Daughter” hit a purpose-‐built outdoor stage in an exci1ng produc1on involving over 60 students in primary and secondary, staﬀ and parents, who worked both on and oﬀ stage to bring this story alive.

Theatre Tech Team: A team of 20 students met every Wednesday a[er school to make the set, costumes, props and design the posters and programme for the play. From these students a stage crew were selected to work back stage during the produc1on week.

This was the ﬁrst big produc1on the school has seen; audi1ons were held in August and rehearsals started in September. But of course it’s not just playing a character, there are so many other things to do. enVISion Juniors: Primary students worked on Saturday mornings on song wri1ng, choreography and mask making, and took part in a puppetry workshop run by Khao Niaw Theatre Company to learn how to operate the puppets that appeared in the play.

enVISion Ensemble: The enVISion ensemble are a group of performers who met on a Monday evening to rehearse the play, develop their characters and create the scenes of the play through physical theatre, song and dance.

As the director of the play, it was exci1ng to see the world of the play taking shape and coming to life. The Firework Maker’s Daughter was a huge success thanks to the eﬀorts of many people.

Secondary Reflections  What does good learning look like? In this day and age there are many, many different views about this ques1on. So many views in fact, that a New Zealand based researcher, Professor John Hare, has spent many years analysing this very ques1on. His research is world renowned and held in very high esteem in research and educa1on communi1es around the globe. The good news is that his research tells us that most things that teachers and students do together have posi1ve effects on learning! That is, it makes a difference and improves the chances of students moving forward. Of course though we want our teachers to focus on the skills, techniques and ways of teaching that have the most effect! This year in the secondary school, we have been doing just that, by focusing on ensuring that students have good and early access to quality feedback. Why is feedback important? Good feedback gives students a specific road map to follow to improve their skills and knowledge. It describes ways forward and is linked to the criteria of the course and the task. Feedback should always be analysed by students, and their reflec1on should build towards an improvement in subsequent tasks. Learning is a cycle and feedback and reflec1on are

Jo Loiterton Secondary Principal some of the most important aspects of improving performance. How do we go about giving feedback? Feedback happens all day long in class through teacher and student conversa1ons, conferences over work and through working together on ideas and dra[s. Feedback for any submiXed task also happens on Managebac where teachers will take the 1me to make wriXen comments against the criteria that the work is being assessed against. Is all feedback the same? No! We know for example that praising a student actually reduces performance, so we try to limit our praise to specific aspects of the work done to a very high standard. We also know that helping a student analyse and plan their own steps forward (with guidance) has a far more powerful effect than just telling a student how to correct their work. We hope that over a 1me you see a difference in our student’s approach to learning: that they use their knowledge, understanding and reflec1ons on previous work as key to understanding and comple1ng new work. As parents, you can advance your child’s performance by having them share their feedback with you and by asking lots of ques1ons about how they might improve in their next assessment. You will be providing them with important prac1ce in moving towards becoming an independent and successful 21st century learner.

Introducing the Dean of Students: Mr Mark Loiterton So what does a Dean of Students do? This new posi1on in the secondary school was created as the next step in the development of the advisory program that has been growing in the secondary school over a number of years now. In a nutshell, my role focuses on the non-‐academic life of our students while they are at school. At the heart of the advisory program is the wellbeing of each individual student. Almost all teachers are advisors to a small number of students who meet for 15 minutes every day and for a longer 1me (45 minutes) on Tuesdays. The Dean of Students is responsible for making sure the Tuesday programs are planned to provide appropriate ac1vi1es and content for each grade level throughout the year, and also for balance and connec1on over the seven years. In par1cular, we have seven Grade Level Leaders this year to help coordinate the program and keep the lines of communica1on in use. Overseeing the annual SALSA trips is also an important part of the Dean of Student’s work. Gerng the seven trips planned, booked and reﬁned based on the previous year’s feedback is a complicated exercise that involves many mee1ngs. One of my least favourite tasks, but an important one, is making sure the paperwork for each trip is complete, accurate and in the hands of the teachers before they leave. Having the right informa1on at your ﬁnger1ps when you are far from Vien1ane is essen1al. One focus for me this year is the development of the house system. Students love both large and small compe11ve ac1vi1es and reach out for any opportunity to beat the other houses. The structure of the houses across grade levels is important in allowing students to mix informally with students not in their grade level and regular classes. We are having lunch1me volleyball, trivia, mathema1cs, chess and other more zany challenges using this format this semester. We even had a Harry PoXeresque Sor1ng Hat ceremony at the beginning of the year to welcome new students into a house.

I am also responsible for monitoring the management of the school behaviour of secondary students, including aXendance and punctuality paXerns, interpersonal conflicts, and so on. I am o[en working closely with parents, the advisors and the counsellor, as well as both Program Coordinators (MYP and DP) and the Principal to help students steer a safe path through the challenges that some1mes arise. There have already been many students, parents and teachers who have found their way to my room in the secondary office area this year. Transi1on is a reality many of us face in the interna1onal school world, and I work with advisors, the counsellor and a small group of generous Student Ambassadors to make sure student transi1on into or out of VIS Secondary is as smooth as possible. This means looking a[er our VIS Grade 5 students as well as students who join or leave us at any 1me of the year. As Dean of Students, I monitor the development of student leadership through the Student Council, though most of that hard work is done by Ms. Sheryl and Ms. Teresa. It has been exci1ng to watch this year’s student council leadership group become a reality that promises to provide excellent direc1on and voice for our students. Their efforts in promo1ng school spirit naturally crosses over into the house system, as points are o[en awarded to encourage involvement. This year, I am also encouraging greater Student Council involvement in the occasional secondary assemblies held on Tuesdays. Through these ac1vi1es and involvements, I hope to achieve the aim of looking out for the welfare of each and every student of VIS Secondary.

Student Council 2015-16 VISion

Sheryl Krengel Secondary Teacher

Elec1ons, JUMP Training, Mee1ngs, Assembly MCing, Spirit Week and Halloween; this year’s VIS Secondary Student Council has started this academic school year full of ac1on. Under the leadership of Jack Wei (Grade 10) and Anakin Chantharath (Grade 11), the council has been mee1ng as an en1re group every Day 4 and the core leadership team every Day 8. This year there has been some changes to the structure and the Council has developed a VISion of where they would like to be by the end of this school year. Structural changes include the 12th graders running the elec1on and serving as mentors instead of being on the Council. This allows them to gracefully exit at the end of Semester 1 to focus on the exam prepara1on and internal assessments during Semester 2. In addi1on, there are advisory representa1ves to bring back important informa1on to each advisory group. Mee1ngs are run in a structured fashion. And lastly, there has been a more deliberate connec1on with House and earning house points through Student Council events. VISion 2015-‐16 includes working together as a school community, beXer communica1on between students and the Council and having a reputa1on for being well organised (and having good dances). When iden1fying the big areas for focus, students cited school spirit, sports, events that support community service and student voice in decision making. The Council has made a good start by having a very successful Spirit Week – including House colours Day, Twins Day, PJ Day, Pink Ribbon Day and Crazy Hair day. The Halloween Haunted House and Movie night was well aXended. A feedback system u1lising Survey Monkey has been developed to give student voice. In addi1on, the Council is planning a “sugges1on box” to encourage more student’s ideas and opinions. Here’s a selec1on pf photos from our many events.

MYP Update It has been a pleasure to return to VIS as the new Middle Years (MYP) Coordinator this year. I really enjoy the ongoing opportunity to observe and support students from Grade 6 to 10 and teachers in their development as life-‐long learners. Already this year Grade 10 students are busy inquiring into an especially significant area of interest as a culmina1ng task, the Personal Project. This project challenges the students to transfer skills from all of their MYP subjects and apply them in a final product and report presented to the community next semester. The students have developed approaches to learning in the areas of communica1on, research, thinking and self-‐ management and social skills that give them the ability to address, explore and communicate their expanding knowledge and growing awareness of the world in which they live. At the other end of the program one of the very special things we as teachers experience in the first semester is the welcoming of a new Grade 6. They have already met students and staff as PYP students but this is a 1me of new challenges and experiences. Their enthusiasm is boundless and reminds us all that learning really is fun. I’ll leave you with a few (unedited) reflec1ons on the

Jennifer Thorncraft MYP Coordinator beginning of their 1me in the MYP and imagine that in ﬁve years they too will be aXemp1ng the Personal Project. My ques1on to them was -‐”What has been your favourite learning experience in secondary so far?” I love learning about basketball in PE because it’s very fun to play with my friends and I learn many skills. Annabella The most memorable experience so far is English B when reading ‘The Bread Winner, a great story! Sakurako The ink drop experiment in Science was a really special experience because we used straws to drop the ink and someFmes the splash was really big.-‐ Phillip Learning about bridges with my favourite teacher. Isaac Parish GeJng homework done. Sonam My most memorable experience so far is going on SALSA that was not that long ago. It was a lot of fun going with friends. Darren

IBMYP PERFORMING ARTS NEWS In grade 8 performing arts students explore the key concept of iden1ty through the crea1on and development of a character in a play. Students began the unit by examining the genre of musical theatre and inquired into how music is used to convey character and iden1ty in this par1cular style of performance. The play, Blood Brothers by Willy Russell lent itself well to the inquiry being a play about the iden11es of twin brothers who are separated at birth. One is adopted by a rich family and the other remains with his working class, single mother who is struggling to survive with seven hungry mouths to feed. The play looks at the Bri1sh class system of the 1970s and students researched in to the historical, social and cultural context of the play in order to understand the lives of the characters that they would be playing. The iden1ty of the twins, who grow up becoming friends and ‘blood brothers’, when they discover

Rachael Phiasanaxay IBMYP Performing Arts Teacher IBDP Theatre Arts Teacher they share the same birthday, remains a secret un1l the very end of the play. It is therefore an interes1ng story which explores the different ways in which these twins develop very different iden11es and how it really has a lot to do with their upbringing and social class. The students developed their characters by listening to and responding to feedback from peers and teacher. As part of their process they also had to submit a ‘selfie’ task, which involved them taking a photo of themselves as the character on a specific line in the play and describing how they would use voice, facial expression, and movement/gesture to deliver the line in order to communicate their characters thoughts, feelings or inten1on. The final performance was a great success, seeing all students stepping out of their comfort zones in performing and singing solo.

David Williams Activities Director

As the first season of Co Curricular Ac1vi1es ends and another starts it is always hard to find 1me to reflect on our successes and this season has seen many of them. From new primary swimmers improving their confidence in the water in “Learn to Swim” club to senior students being ac1vely involved in the “Green Team”, students preparing for their theatre produc1on and others finishing an art project. Some achievements may seem smaller than others but they are all important to that individual student. VIS values that all students can access different ac1vi1es and have opportuni1es to succeed out of the classroom. Within all of these successes we have spor1ng achievements. The most recent being the MRISA Junior Basketball tournament hosted here at VIS. We had many supporters from our student and parent community and this was displayed in the Girls final when many came to support the VIS Girls’ team who, in the end finished runners up. The boys played in the plate final but were defeated, finishing 6th in the tournament. The senior Volleyball teams went to Saigon South Interna1onal School with the boys finishing 7th. The girls finished 8th and received the Sportsmanship Award voted by other teams. The U12 basketball teams played in the VSSA where

both teams had a steep learning curve and displayed good team spirit. The VIS Swim team had yet another successful season. The team competed in a local meet at the VIS pool and also travelled to United Na1ons Interna1onal School, Hanoi for an interna1onal meet. Both events saw large support from our parent community. The swimmers con1nue to improve their PB 1mes and show commitment in their training. It is important that we as a community acknowledge that it’s not all about winning. It’s about how our student athletes represent themselves on and oﬀ the court, something that I believe VIS does very well. The 2nd Season promises to be another busy 1me with junior football travelling to Hanoi on March 10th, primary football compe1ng in the VSSA and senior basketball travelling to Ho Chi Minh City on February 18th. Swimming will take a break with oﬀ season training and will reconvene in the 3rd rota1on. We look forward to another successful season. Go Dragons!!!!

Counselors’ Report

Mary Harrington and Susan Shuford

Grade 12 students are well on their way with College Applica1ons for 2016. Throughout Quarter 1 they par1cipated in College planning workshops in the X block. A key message we imparted to the students was the importance of “COLLEGE FIT”. Susan and Mary aXended the CIS – EARCOS Ins1tute on Admission and Guidance in Bangkok in October. This message was reiterated by many Admission Oﬃcers in the workshops we aXended. When researching prospec1ve colleges/universi1es we encourage students to move beyond rankings to make a full inves1ga1on of each college/university addressing factors such as those in the graphic below. Cost of aXending college will be important to families, but admission criteria, loca1on and nature of the community are also important.

Naviance is one of the online tools we use to help students research, prepare and apply for college/university. All Grade 12, 11 and 10 students can access a personal account on Naviance at: hXps://connec1on.naviance.com. Using the “Colleges” tab students can inves1gate prospec1ve college/universi1es in the US as well as some in Europe, Canada and Australia. The “Careers” tab is being used by Grade 10 students to explore career paths. Grade 11 students have worked through a personal interests and strengths ac1vity. We will be spending more 1me with them in Quarter 3.

The first University visit for the year was from the University of Bri1sh Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. UBC holds an interna1onal reputa1on for excellence in advanced research and learning, offering a wide-‐range of innova1ve programs in the arts, sciences, medicine, law, business and other facul1es. VIS graduates have moved to Vancouver to study at UBC. As well as working on their applica1ons, Grade 12 students have also been inves1ga1ng and applying for ins1tute specific scholarships. Scholarships do not always lead to a free educa1on, but can help defray costs. Scholarships can be both merit and needs based. There are many available, but research is required along with aXen1on to detail. Grade 12 student, Vanisa Vongphanakho’s applica1on was sent forward as the VIS Candidate for the EARCOS Margaret Sanders Founda1on Interna1onal Schools Scholarship. The Guidance NewsleXer is a new means of communica1ng with parents. It will be emailed to all secondary families once per quarter with ar1cles and links about colleges and universi1es around the world. Please contact the counsellors with any feedback on the first edi1on which was emailed last November. “Life is a Highway” was the theme for the Grade 10 Career Day held on Tuesday 24 November. Twenty members of the VIS and Vien1ane community volunteers to be “Speed Careering” mentors. These professionals spoke with small groups of students about their career journeys, sharing stories, knowledge and insight.

IBDP Update

Teresa Foard IBDP Coordinator October 2015

IB Diploma Programme

Challenging, Inspiring and Preparing learners for life

Our Learners Teresa Foard, IB DP Coordinator

In 2014 – 2015, our sixth group of IB Candidates graduated from VIS. Through continued strong support structures including internal calendars, academic support, time management strategies, our advisory and college counseling program and open communication between teachers, students and families, we continue to see trends in the IB Diploma which show that VIS results compare strongly against global results. Our graduating class for 2015 and the entire VIS community can once again be very proud of their achievements. Significant highlights include: • 55 % of VIS candidates received a Bilingual IB Diploma compared to the 28 % global mean • Highest VIS IB Diploma score: 37 • VIS Mean IB score 31 is above the global mean 29.80

Challenging, Inspiring and Preparing learners for life

MRISA

2015 MRISA Leadership Conference Yessica Krosschell, Diana Kim and Anna Park From September 17 to 20, three students (Yessica, Anna and Diana) from VIS student council aXended 2015 MRISA Leadership Summit at the Interna1onal S c h o o l o f E a s t e r n Seaboard (ISE). 41 students from other MRISA schools also aXended the mee1ng. The Jump Founda1on has contributed and h e l p e d s t u d e n t s develop leadership s k i l l s . J u m p Founda1on scheduled the whole two days to help students with collabora1on, public s p e a k i n g a n d communica1on skills. We also got into global issues and discussed what modifica1ons we could make back in our own schools rela1ng t o t h e i s s u e s happening globally. On the travelling day (September 17th), we went to Udon Thani to get our flight to Bangkok. From the Bangkok airport, we took a one and a half hour bus ride to arrive at ISE. At ISE, we received our own MRISA T-‐shirts and went to our host’s house. The second day was when we first met the other MRISA students. We focused on gerng to know each other. We went around the area with different ques1ons. We had to ask someone the ques1on that was given to us and answer the other’s ques1on. We then exchanged the ques1on cards and moved to another person. We also wrote down the expecta1ons for the next two days and organised them into three categories; met, par1ally met and unmet. We were introduced to three different unique handshakes and got a chance to do the handshakes with three different partners. We looked into the leadership mountain range of being and looked into our weaknesses and strengths. A[er break, we went out to the basketball court and did diverse ac1vi1es to

build trust between each other. We did ac1vi1es like heart and sword and physical balancing ac1vi1es. On the third day, we focused on global issues, collabora1ons skills and smart goals. When we first came into the class, individuals wrote down ideas related to the global issues that were wriXen as a 1tle on each piece of papers. To b u i l d o u r collabora1on skills, w e d i d g r o u p ac1vi1es consis1ng of Shrinking Island, Colour-‐blind and so on. We discussed in our own school groups about the things we could i m p ro v e i n o u r schools rela1ng to the current global issue being talked about. Then, we went around to other groups to get other points of improvement or ideas. We also picked an idea that we wanted to achieve first and gave a short speech in front of all the MRISA Leadership students. On the last day, we headed back to the airport at ten and safely got home at six. Going back to Vien1ane, we each got the opportunity to reflect back about this year’s MRISA Leadership Conference: Yessica: “It was great to meet people who face the same challenges with Student Council that we do at VIS.” Anna: “AQer becoming a 9th grader, it was a new experience to talk with older students about their issues and concerns.” Diana: “During MRISA Leadership, I had a chance to improve my public speaking and had a great experience to meet other people with similar concerns about leadership.”

2015 SALSA Adventures Grade 6 had a fun SALSA. We were based close to

Vien1ane. One highlight was when we visited an organic farm where we caught, iden1ﬁed and pinned insects (don't worry they don't feel pain), and looked at some of the processes of the fruits that are produced. The farm gives opportuni1es to local people to build skills and have viable employment. We learnt some skills when we visited a local poXery making enterprise and likewise a (rice) basket making enterprise, although student aXempts to produce these items appeared unlikely to meet with commercial success! A couple of cycle rides enabled us to enjoy the beau1ful countryside. A real highlight was a couple of visits to primary schools where we learnt local Lao dances (to varying success) and had great fun in engaging with the students, despite our loss in the much an1cipated football match. On the last day we enjoyed our lunch cruise and swim at Nam Ngum Reservoir and it was interes1ng to have a tour of one of the dams.

For grade 7 SALSA, we went to Oudomxay Province. During our trip we visited farms, villages and a rainforest waterfall. We were not sure what to expect based on last Grade 7's trip, but all doubts were dispelled by our lavish welcoming (involving elephants!). We also learnt a lot. We split into four groups, and each looked at the trip through the eyes of a diﬀerent subject. The four groups were Design, Science, Arts, and Language. The Designers looked at the choices the farmers were making to grow their crops and the details around the villages-‐ clothing, buildings and processes. The Scien1sts looked at how the locals are conserving the environment in Oudomxay Province. The Ar1sts learnt some dances and songs from the tribes we visited and lastly the Languages students learnt new words in a range of tribal dialects and helped teach English to a local school. As well as all the learning, we had a couple of exci1ng moments. One was a prank, organised by Ms. Ally and the girls. The girls took the guys to a room which Ms. Ally and Mr. Kila had turned into a haunted house. Even the girls were a liXle bit scared! The other was the celebra1on of Benjamin's birthday in the airport on the way back home. Some strangers even joined in -‐-‐ we think Ben was a liXle overwhelmed! SALSA was an amazing adventure, and one that we're sure none of the grade sevens will ever forget, especially those of us who will be leaving the school soon. Amelie, Ava and Gaby

Grade 8 spent the week in southern Laos, in and around Pakse, Champasak, and Paksong. In order to get to all these places, we spent some quality 1me on busses. The bus rides were worth it once we arrived at some breathtaking waterfalls and ancient religious sites. Our favourite waterfall was probably Tad Yaung, where we got to hike down to feel the waterfall mist; some students hiked even lower and a few were brave enough to swim in the cold water in the pools beneath the falls. While the Golden Buddha and Phou Asa were impressive, it was Wat Phou Temple that was breathtaking and totally worth the steep climb up the stone steps. A[er exploring the sanctuary and buildings at the top of Wat Phou, all of grade 8 sat for 10 minutes of silence to enjoy the view of the valley. Not only was the scene amazing, but we were able to enjoy it at sunset, which only added to the incredible sense of peace and calm. Part of our Service on this trip was to visit a local school. We had done fundraising ahead of 1me and were able to purchase books, supplies, and even some soccer balls for the children. A[er being greeted with flowers and some dances, the VIS students separated into groups and went into classrooms to teach the Lao students a few words in English. For several Grade 8 students, working with the students was a highlight of the trip. Another highlight of the week was our bike ride around Don Khone and Don Det islands. Not only did we get to see the Liphi Waterfalls, but our ride took us through rural farmlands on the islands. We saw farmers harves1ng rice and were able to witness a breathtaking sunset across not only the fields, but on the Mekong River. Even with all the amazing sights, by far, our most favourite ac1vity was kayaking down the Mekong River. Students were paired up and spent about 45 minutes kayaking. We were so lucky that during the ride we saw some Irrawaddy dolphins! As we were moving down the river, the dolphins slowly swam past us! When the kayaking was done, we spent some 1me on a liXle beach on the Cambodian side of the Mekong and went swimming. During this 1me, many of the students again witnessed the dolphins. It truly was amazing to see some of the last Irrawaddy dolphins in the wild. Our last night was spent on the Bolaven Plateau, where it was actually cold enough for us to enjoy a bon fire. All the students par1cipated in our talent show and we ended the night by going around the circle and sharing some of our favourite moments from the week. Grade 8 SALSA week was an amazing experience that enabled us to grow closer as a class. We’re thankful we were able to par1cipate and can’t wait to see what the SALSA trip next year brings.

Grade 9 SALSA by Lisa, Dario, Domo and Leila

This SALSA trip was a very unique and exci1ng experience. During our SALSA trip we engaged in several ac1vi1es such as visi1ng the local Hmong school, exploring various plane of jar sites, and ea1ng exquisite tradi1onal Lao Food. This trip will be remembered because of all the experiences and memories we students made and shared. Going on this SALSA trip allowed us to take many wonderful memories with us, but one of my favourite memories was visi1ng the Plain of Jars sites. We visited a number of sites, but the first site was an especially memorable experience. At the Plain of Jars site one we were surrounded by big jars and had a nice view of the city, and it was especially nice because it was during sunset. Another intriguing thing we saw were the bomb craters; I was amazed by the sizes of the craters and it was hard to imagine how it happened. This experience is, and will be, a memorable experience because of the beau1ful landscape and the interes1ng things we had the chance to see. Visi1ng the local Ban Tajok school opened my eyes when seeing the different habits as well as manners the children had regarding their gree1ngs, games and the difference of trea1ng each other than their visitors. From the very beginning of entering the Hmong school their gree1ngs were very friendly. Each student had lined up on both sides of the path and were gree1ng us with local flowers and cheers. This made us feel very special, realising that they might have never seen a western face before. When watching the local kids play their own games, we no1ced that they had invented their own entertainment with the supplies the school had available for them. A[er playing a few of their games, we got the new supplies we had bought, like a volleyball, and taught them how to play tradi1onal volleyball. While playing the games with them you could see on their faces that they were fascinated by all of the games we had shown them. At first the kids were very shy around us but as we played games, the children started talking to us and interac1ng with us more, showing that they trusted us and weren't afraid to talk to us anymore. This was a very memorable moment because I got to look and learn the different habits of the children in the Hmong school. During this SALSA trip, we were able to try a large variety of foods, some of which were familiar and others were different from what we were normally used to. One of the foods that I found memorable was the fish, which I normally do not eat a lot of because I would never order it in a restaurant due to my lack of interest. However, I was able to try a tradi1onal Lao style river fish that I have never eaten before. The taste of the fish was wonderful, and it went very well along with the other side-‐dishes served to us at the restaurant. A food that was also great and I was happy to see because it was familiar was the fried chicken. The taste of the chicken was very refreshing and felt great a[er a long day. Overall, the food that we were given was unique, refreshing and scrump1ous.

In conclusion, this SALSA we were able to: visit famous sites such as the plain of jars and learn about the history of them, visit a local school near a Hmong village and interact with the children, as well as try new foods that we may not have eaten before. It was a good trip that allowed us to learn about the history of Xiang Khouang as well as the culture of the local people who live there. We also learnt about how the UXO bombs nega1vely aﬀected the local popula1on and the steps they take to try and prevent any incidents.

The grade 10 SALSA was held in and around the town of Vang Vieng which lies alongside the Nam Song river. The grade spent the first two days of their trip based on their IDU (Inter-‐disciplinary Unit) in Humani1es and Science. The IDU focuses on dispari1es and the environment around us. During the first two days we visited a drum-‐making village, salt mine and a rubber tree planta1on. We were able to talk to the locals, collect data samples for later use in the IDU subjects, and witness the making of a tradi1onal drum. A[er reloca1ng from a luxurious hotel with an infinity pool to an eco-‐lodge we spent the rest of the trip placed far from the town. The last three days were spent rock-‐climbing, biking to the Blue Lagoon, zip-‐lining, shovelling manure in the organic farm, and visi1ng a local school where we played a friendly volleyball match and football. Even with a number of students not able to speak Lao we were able to communicate and get along with the local school students. Highlights from the trip included the numerous outdoor ac1vi1es especially the rock-‐climbing, the amazing scenery, swimming in the eco-‐lodge’s five-‐star infinity pool, the exploding sweet potato on the bonfire night and

Les élèves de première en voyage scolaire à Pakse Jour 1 -‐ Mardi (Monica)

On a quiXé l’école à 12h30, le début de notre aventure! Nous avons pris l’avion jusqu’à Pakse et nous sommes arrivés à 4h30 – nous avons dû aXendre en Savannakhet pour 30 minutes. Notre première ac1vité était très inaXendue, nous avons monté la montagne Phou Salao. Au somment de la montagne, il y avait une grande statue du Bouddha et une très belle vue sur la ville de Pakse. Après nous avons pris les photos, nous sommes descendus de la montagne. Pour le dîner, nous avons mangé dans un restaurant sur le bateau. La nourriture était très délicieuse, il y avait du poisson épicé, des légumes sautés et des fruits frais. Nous avons passé la nuit à l’hôtel Pakse (un hôtel possède par les parents d’un ancien étudiant de l’école VIS). Jour 2 -‐ Mercredi (Cassie) Le mercredi nous avons commencé notre journée avec un pe1t déjeuner dans l'hôtel à Pakse à 7h. Nous avions fait nos valises la veille pour être prêt à monter vite dans le bus à Don Daeng. Pendant notre voyage en bus, nous avons eu l’ opportunité de faire du shopping dans un marché et nous avons acheté beaucoup de nourriture comme des fruits et des en-‐cas / snacks lao1ens. Après, le bus est allé à la plage d’une rivière ou nous avons monté dans un bateau pour aller à l’île Don Daeng. Nous sommes arrivés là et après un rapide déjeuner nous sommes allés dans une école primaire où nous avons fait des ac1vités avec des enfants sur la musique, les arts et beaucoup d’autres choses. Il y a aussi un groupe qui a fait de la construc1on pour l’école et a construit une clôture. Après un jour de service très fa1gant, nous avons eu du temps pour nager dans la rivière et pour nous relaxer. Quand il faisait nuit les étoiles étaient très belles. Il a plu beaucoup et la nuit était froide. Les garçons et un groupe de ﬁlles ont dormi chez les villageois ceXe nuit la, et beaucoup de gens ont eu un peu peur en rentrant de la salle de dîner parce qu’on dit qu’il y a des fantômes sur ceXe île.

Jour 3 -‐ Jeudi (Monica) Le jeudi ma1n, nous nous sommes réveillés revigorés! Après le pe1t déjeuner (du riz et des œufs), nous sommes par1s en tracteurs pour une autre école primaire dans l’île de Don Daeng. A l’école, nous avons joué encore avec les étudiants et les autres élèves ont fait de la construc1on. Avant le déjeuner, nous avons eu une cérémonie de « baci » avec la communauté. Nous avons dit ‘au revoir’ à l’ile et nous sommes retournés à Pakse ou nous avons visité le temple « Wat Phou ». Ce temple était construit autour du 5eme siècle par les Khmer, C ’était un site inscrit sur la liste du patrimoine mondial depuis 2002. Le « Wat Phou » est l’un des sites archéologiques les plus anciens au Laos. Apres la visite de « Wat Phou » nous sommes allés a l’hôtel Arawan pour la nuit. Il y avait une piscine ou quelques uns ont nagé et il y avait la plus belle vue de la rivière.

Jour 4 -‐ Vendredi (Cassie) Le vendredi nous sommes allés sur une randonnée très difficile. Il avait plu beaucoup le jour d’avant, donc le sen1er était glissant. Presque tous les gens ont glissé au moins une fois. Il y a des gens qui ont fait la majorité de la randonnée sur leurs fesses. C ’était très fa1gant. Quand nous avons finalement fini, une moi1ée est allée au restaurant pour manger et se relaxer, et le reste est allé pour nager dans la grande chute d’eau à droite. L’eau était froide mais le chute était très belle. Beaucoup d’ étudiants ont aimé floXer dans le courant. Après ça nous sommes allés déjeuner avant de visiter une troisième école. Nous avons visité une planta1on de café et après nous avons joué au foot et au volley-‐ball avec des lycéens. Ils avaient beaucoup de talent et les deux équipes de VIS ont perdu. C’était un jour très physique donc tout le monde était heureux de rentrer a l’hôtel Phouthavada et de se relaxer à un feu de camp.

Jour 5 -‐ Samedi (Sam) Le Samedi, nous sommes allés au café Parisien et nous sommes reste. Après une pe1t recréa1on nous sommes allé un forgeron et regarde de créa1on de couteau. Après un certain temps, nous é1ons de retour sur le bus et s’est rendu a l'aéroport. Pendant le voyage un bus, la moteur est échouer. Les bus arrive après 30 minutes et nous sommes allé a l'aéroport. Nous sommes retournes a Vien1ane en moins d’1 heur. Après monter nos bagages, nous sommes allé a l'école pour ﬁni la journée. La voyage était amusant et très intéressant. Notre grade a été s’aide. Nous nous connaissons déjà plus. C'était un éprouvant et voyage exaltent. J'espère que ça va une nouveau.”

Grade 12 Trip to Luang Prabang The Grade 12 SALSA trip was an experience to remember. Students had a great 1me par1cipa1ng in ac1vi1es, sightseeing in Luang Prabang, and spending 1me with their friends. Here are some of the Grade 12 students’ favourite memories and thoughts from the trip: The first and second day of the trip were most memorable. The first day was where we had lunch by the river side, boat rides to the temple for medita1on and went to night market. The second day, we all went for a paper making workshop and an amazing lunch, where we had really delicious curry. The bikers set off a[er lunch to ride all the way to the water falls. While the rest of us sat at the restaurant and enjoyed each other’s company before taking vans to the waterfall. On the way we saw a few of the bikers, they seemed to be struggling. All we did was take videos of them from the van, that's how nice and sympathe1c we are! At the waterfall we all had great fun swimming. Once the day was over we headed back to the hotel to rest before going to dinner and the night market. The night market was the highlight of our evenings. The best part of the trip was of course, the biking marathon (I call it a marathon because it was so for me). The experience cannot be put into words, you truly have to be there to feel it yourself. As a na1ve person myself, I was super surprised to know and see that Laos has such breathtaking scenery in its possession. The best part though, was how everyone turned red and blue and green and any colour that you can think of a[er they have finished their biking trip, it was painfully 1ring but once we arrived at the waterfall, all of the struggle was worth it. The ac1vity truly brought grade 12 students closer, bikers really helped one another out, from sharing water, wai1ng for each other and walking with the bikes together when they were too 1red to bike. This reminds me that I am not walking on this path, my last path in high school, alone because everyone is here walking together. The best part of the SALSA trip was the cooking class. I have never cooked a whole meal before and it was actually good! One of the best parts of the SALSA was the dinner on the last night. There was one long table on a terrace, and the class was the only one on that floor, other customers dining downstairs. Everyone sat together and talked to each other easily, and the sense of unity was palpable through the air. The class was supposed to go out to the night market a[er dinner, but the electricity spookily went out twice before it started raining big, fat, drops. Previous plans were immediately aborted. Despite the fact that the class didn't get to go out a[er dinner, it was a fun night to revel in the bonds that had formed over the years and appreciate the friendships. There were many highlights from the trip. It saddens me to think that this is the last SALSA trip with this group, soon we will all be headed in our own direc1ons. All I can hope for is we stay in touch with each other to reunite and talk about all the silly things we did and said on trips such as this.

IBDP THEATRE

Rachael Phiasanaxay IBMYP Performing Arts Teacher IBDP Theatre Arts Teacher

ISTA (Interna1onal Schools Theatre Associa1on) TaPS (Theatre Arts Programme Symposium)

“Knowing where you are, what you are doing and why you are doing it”

In October nine IBDP theatre students aXended an ISTA TaPS workshop in Chiang Mai. This was the ﬁrst 1me we have sent students on a workshop of this kind, and it certainly won’t be the last 1me!

“Renewed passion for theatre”

“A hunger and desire will always beat skill.”

The trip was invaluable: not only did students spend three whole days immersed in the world of DP theatre, which directly related to their course, but they were fortunate enough to be led by professional theatre makers who are currently working in direc1ng, playwri1ng, and ac1ng. DP students from around the region gathered together for this workshop which also included master classes with Fran1c Assembly and Makhampon theatre companies, where students were introduced to physical theatre and Thai dance prac1ces.

“Great collaboraFon with like-‐minded theatre students” “InspiraFonal leadership” “Discovering yourself as an arFst and breaking the fear barrier. Something that is essenFal to every student.” “It was the best theatre experience ever”

As a chaperone on this trip, I observed the ways in which our students grew through the experience of making these connec1ons with like-‐minded people and how they discovered their passions for theatre making through taking the risk of being open to new ideas.

“We could experiment with theatre styles and it was ok to mess up because everyone was really open and understanding” “I met so many people who were as enthusiasFc about theatre as I am.”

Here’s some of the things that they came away with:

“It helped me understand the course a lot more.” “ISTA helped me to be more conﬁdent to speak up and not be so shy.”

”The trip just seemed like the Fme was actually being used to discover theatre and how we can use it class, the acFviFes that were provided, were detailed and properly explained by amazing professional actors/directors.“

“Being thrown out of my comfort zone and exploring performance.”

“Making new friends who were open to help and go on the theatre journey with me, with the same passion and intensity as me.”