From the Perseverance...two buses departed for Dalat with 64 students, five staff and high...

AIS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | Issue Sept 2018

Perseverance

From the Executive Principal

Perseverance

T his past week I spoke with the students about perseverance. I showed a Tedx talk, called Making

the Impossible Possible by Imran Khan, (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmbs8ihPrlg). While the

talk was filmed in 2011, and deals with how with how the speaker became an international sports star,

it is worth watching in full, as Imran Khan kept dreaming and kept persevering, and is now the new Prime

Minister of Pakistan.

In summary, Mr Khan simply states that to achieve success, we need to

• never give up

• learn to cope with the bad times.

This is of course the definition of perseverance, and it had me thinking. How do we manage when things

go wrong? We know that we will have good days and bad days, so how do we help our children to

persevere. This is something I consider that we should not just encourage but actively build in our

children.

In thinking further about this, I read again the following article and it has some excellent strategies for

parents to help their children develop perseverance:

• Be positive. See mistakes are learning opportunities. Martin Seligman argues, ‘Children need to fail.

When we impulsively protect our children from failure, we deprive them of learning the skills (of

pereverence).’

• Don’t find someone to blame. Blame doesn’t solve problems, rather it blinds us to our own failings

and complicates corrections.

• Seek to understand. It is essential to be able to listen without judging; or to apologise for the times

we didn’t listen; or we jumped to conclusions; or we just reminded children again about their past

mistakes.

• Avoid correction by nagging, sarcasm, lectures, or the ‘cold shoulder’. If you need to correct, give

clear reasons and help your child understand the consequences of their actions.

• Be encouraging. A parent who gives lots of encouragement gives an important message of trust in

the young person’s good intentions, and confidence that present difficulties will pass.

• Don’t allow a small matter to escalate.

• Remember that your child loves you even when he or she says the most hurtful things.

Dr Roderick Crouch

The Leader ¡ September 2018 2

• Never, never, force your son or daughter into a ‘box’ with wild threats like: ‘If you get a bad report

then find somewhere else to live.’

• The calmer the better! Parents who show self-control keep the line of communication open and

model the behaviour they want their child to adopt. Abusing or hitting your children only builds fear

and resentment. It never helps.

• Remember: hard lessons can be the best lessons.

• ‘No’ is a loving word.

Source: Institute of Advanced Family Studies, www.uic.es/en/marriage-education-family

The best we can do for our children is to give our children not just opportunities but the life skills to deal

with those opportunities and whatever else life throws at them. This is not something we do in a day,

rather it takes time effort energy and commitment. The result - seeing our children grown into fine young

men and women, persevering and capable of facing the world with the confidence to achieve their

potential - is absolutely worth it.

A wonderful example of PerseveranceCongratulations to Mai Phuoc Minh Quan, Tran Quoc Anh Andrew and Rohit Ambakkat for their

outstanding effort in achieving 5 or 6 A* in last June’s IGCSE exams.


Last week was the inaugural Year 12 Camp – and what a fantastic

start to the IB Diploma Programme it proved to be. Monday morning,

two buses departed for Dalat with 64 students, five staff and high

expectations. Once at the campsite, students immediately got involved

in team-building exercises and a briefing on leadership skills.

The camp was designed specifically to explore leadership, to create

strong bonds between the students and to teach the ethos underpinning

the IB Diploma Programme. This was achieved through activities such

as high ropes and canyoning, which also challenged our students

physically, mentally and emotionally. In addition, they trekked through

the Bi Doup National Park and gained an appreciation for the natural

environment and the importance of maintaining it. During the evening,

students were given classes on the IB Diploma, the CAS programme

and coping strategies for the two years of academic work ahead of

them.

We all returned Friday afternoon having learnt what a fantastic group of

students we have in Year 12. As one of the students said, “I think that

the greatest aspect of this camp was the people I came with. I started

to know more people from many different activities. I think I even grew

as a person”.

Our thanks to everyone concerned: the Northstar staff, the teachers

and all the students.

Year 12 CampFrom Andy Cartlidge (Head of Senior School and IBDP Coordinator) and Andrew Masterton (CAS Coordinator)


Just recently, the students in Secondary School nominated and voted for their tutor group SRC

representatives for the 2018-2019 academic year.

I am pleased to announce this year’s SRC

Congratulations students.

LE Minh Tam

TRUONG Nguyen Anh

SUNG Yu Kyoung

Natalie HUYNH

Karolina TRONIN

Brian BAEKO

Kanna WASHER

KIM Kang Gyun

Josh E. PAYONG

CHANG Ju Han

DO Minh Giang

SUNG Ho Kyoung

PHI Bao Khanh

SHIN Ha Neul

NGUYEN Nu Khang My

Sean BAEKO

TRAN Gia Bao

CHOI Young Jin

BUI Phuong Anh (Anna)

CHOI Hyeon Hwa

NGUYEN Hong Trinh (Vanessa)

JUNG Sun Min

Jenny MOON

DOAN Ngoc Anh (Sue)

Angela GUERRERO

Secondary School SRC Representatives for 2018-2019

From Gabriel Price


At AIS, the children learn through the PYP curriculum to be aware and mindful of their local and global

environment. We all understand that we have a shared responsibility to educate the next generation

but how can you as a parent do that at home? Please find below my 7 top tips on how to help your child

and your family protect our beautiful world for future generations.

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Reduce simply means reducing what is produced and what is consumed.

Reuse items for a different purpose instead of sending them to landfills. Recycle means that it will be

transformed again into a raw material that can be shaped into a new item.

2. Become more aware of resources: Start by living with a greater awareness of the resources that you

use in your daily life. Pay attention to how you choose to cool your home, to travel, to use water and

to use products that were made by manufacturing practices.

3. Practise conservation: With your new awareness of how natural resources are used in your life, start

to practise conservation. This can be as simple as turning off the lights and air conditioners as you

leave a room.

4. Conserve water: Water needs to be conserved as energy is required to pump water from rivers or

lakes into your home. Some ways to conserve water include – taking shorter showers, turning the

tap off while you brush your teeth and always carrying a reusable water bottle.

5. Buy locally grown products: An easy way to reduce your carbon footprint is to buy locally grown

products. When you shop at the local wet market with your child instead of buying products that

were shipped from far away, you are actually supporting local producers and farms.

6. Buy recycled products: When you go out for shopping, try to buy products that are made up of

recycled materials with minimal packaging i.e. the product should be environment friendly.

7. Encourage your child not to litter: One of the common sights that we see every day on the streets is

litter on roads. One of the ways to keep the environment and surrounding clean around you is to take

your litter home with you or dispose of it in the nearest bin.

Environmental Awareness

From Rachel Perkins Primary and Kindergarten Principal


Primary House elections were held in August at both the TT and TD

campuses. Eight students from each campus were chosen by their

peers to represent them. One of the first tasks students worked on

was creating a house chant/war cry. Students spent Friday afternoon

sharing their ideas and designing a chant that students can bring

along to inter- house competitions. The aim of a chant is to motivate

each other and help build up team spirit for each house group. I am

looking forward to hearing the student’s belt out their chants!

It has been a great start to the semester for sport at

AIS. There has been a large number of children who

have signed up to start training for soccer, badminton,

athletics and swimming.

The school’s Primary Cross Country event will take

place this Semester. Further details about this event

will be sent out to parents soon. Students who do

well, will have an opportunity to represent the School

in the SISAC Cross Country event in November.

U11 girls and boys soccer training has started on

Wednesdays after school. Please make sure to check

MyAIS, which has information about up and coming

fixtures.

Congratulations to the 2018-19 House and Vice-

Captains who were elected this term. The P.E. team

are looking forward to working with you throughout

the year.

This year the P.E Department are introducing a PSPE

Class Award in assemblies. The focus in on classes

working together using their teamwork skills while

achieving the Learner Profiles from the PYP

Programme.

Just a reminder that students need to be wearing the

correct footwear for their PE lessons. Students are

physically active in these lessons and need quality,

supportive sneakers/trainers.

Primary House Elections

AIS Primary Sports News

From Rachael White - AIS Thao Dien House Supervisor

From Rachael White - Primary P.E. Department

Thu Thiem CampusGia Han Ong (Pegasus House Captain)William Hansen (Phoenix House Captain)Viona Le Zagler (Sphinx House Captain)Ronni Balbon (Griffin House Captain)

Thao Dien Campus

JiHoo Park (Pegasus House Captain)

Hoang Khoi Do (Phoenix House Captain)

Heejun (Jun) Kim (Sphinx House Captain)

Hamish Masterton (Griffin House Captain)


Year 13 IB Design and Technology Students have almost completed their DT Major Projects

and have some great ideas which include:

• A Bike Rack• A Solar powered brush cleaner• A Multi Purpose lamp, drawer and book stand• A Pet Feeder• A Condo plant storage and waterer• An ADHD Stool for kids• A Fashion Clothes Stand• A Cubicle workstation

Congratulations students on your hard work.

From Tom Mitchell

IB Major Design Projects 2018-2019


Over the summer break, Mai Phuoc Minh

Quan successfully completed a course

entitled “Paradox and Infinity” a course of study

offered by MITx, an online learning initiative of

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Agustin Rayo, Professor of Philosophy and

Associate Dean of Humanities, Arts, and Social

Sciences at MIT personally wrote to Bob

because he was one of a handful of students to

get a final grade of 90% or better in the course. He sent this message, “This is a very significant accomplishment.

Paradox is designed to be a hard class -- one that requires both mathematical sophistication and philosophical

subtlety. You should feel very proud of what you have achieved.”

Because of his exceptional performance, Bob was invited to submit an entry for the MITx Philosophy Award.

Congratulations Bob Minh Quan.

On 25 August, 12 students from AIS went to ISHCMC for the 2018 Senior Mathematics Competition. The

three teams represented the School well and were great ambassadors for AIS. Team 1 in particular

managed to achieve first place in arguably the most difficult round of the day – Code Breaker. It is the first time

that this round has been offered, and so was unfamiliar to all students present. Team 1 also achieved 5th

place overall for the day – congratulations.

MITx – Bob Minh Quan

Senior Mathematics CompetitionFrom John Pollard - Subject Co-ordinator Mathematics

From John Pollard - Subject Co-ordinator Mathematics


Ms White and Mr Manion are now awarding a 'Class of the Week' certificate in recognition of

outstanding work in Primary PE classes. Congratulations to 3REV (Caring in Week 1), 6ABR (Risk

Takers in Week 2), 1SMA and 6BWI (Principled in Week 3) and 1TOU (Principled in Week 4)

Primary School PE 'Class of the Week'From Andy Manion

We have had an enjoyable and very busy start to the year. We have relished in being inquirers and

discovering how we can manipulate different materials to meet a need.

We have been principled and love the leadership role we have as the student leaders of Primary School. We

really liked working with the whole school to write the playground essential agreement.

Year 6 SCOFrom Shanna Comervelle - Year 6 Classroom teacher


BBQw

elcome back

On a clear, balmy evening in August, the AIS community gathered at the AIS Thao Dien Sports Centre to

celebrate the start of another school year. This event is always a highlight of the school social calendar

and provides a welcome opportunity for students, parents and staff to meet in a relaxed atmosphere. In fact,

it was sometimes hard to tell the staff from the parents, as people mixed and mingled. These strong relationships

are one of the unique features of AIS, which help our students to achieve their full potential. The hard work

and talent of our primary and secondary students was showcased through a variety of musical performances

under the watchful eye of the music department. Refreshments were organised by our ever-supportive parent

body, led by the Parents and Friends Group (PFG). There were also many fun activities for our students. What

a marvellous way to mark the beginning of the 2018-19 academic year.

Welcome Back BBQFrom Kevin Demmon - Deputy Primary Principal


midautumnfestival

a

Thao Dien Campus (Sports Centre)5pm-7pm • Thursday 20 September 2018

Thu Thiem Campus (Auditorium)5pm-7pm • Friday 21 September 2018


Learn more about the Primary Years Programme (PYP) Update. The International Baccalaureate PYP Section underwent a review process over the last three years in order to strengthen the implementation of the Primary Years Programme.

Get together with fellow parents to understand the developments that come into action this year, as we are all learners within the AIS community.

for both new and returning parents

RSVP to [email protected]

Thao Dien campus (CB):8.30am - 9.30am (Lunch Hall)

Thu Thiem campus:1.30pm - 2.30pm (MPR - 3rd �oor)

Thursday 20th September 2018


From the Perseverance...two buses departed for Dalat with 64 students, five staff and high...

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