October 2013
Quarter 1
From Mr. Terry Hamilton, Principal
This is our first school newsletter for the year and I can report that
we have had a great start to the new academic year. On behalf
of the school and the school board I extend a special welcome
to our new students and families. I would like to touch on a num-
ber of areas of interest to you all. The end of the last academic
year saw a very low turn-over of staff with three full time staff and
two part time staff leaving HIS. We have had new teaching staff
joining H.I.S. and we welcome them most warmly. Ms. Ceri Thorns
will be teaching Science and Biology, Mr. Steven Stander teach-
ing Secondary EAL with some ICT, Mr. Andrew Smith teaching P.E.
and some Math’s and is the coordinator for the co-curricular pro-
gramme, Ms. Jessica Ingram teaching Secondary EAL and sup-
porting Special Educational Needs and Ms. Kaori Ichijo teaching
Japanese. All new staff have settled in well and are now a sound
part of the HIS community.
Continued on page 2...
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Principal’s Message ..................... 2
VP’s Message ............................... 3
PYP/IB/IGCSE ................................ 4
Library Link .................................... 5
Rec/Gr 11 story time .................... 6
Water Puppet CCP ...................... 7
Career News ................................ 8
Student Council…………………..10
PTA…………………………………..11
Athletics…………………………….12
Swimming Gala…………………..14
MRISA Leadership Conf…………15
Hanoi International School has
been operating since 1996, pro-
viding an international English
education to international and
Vietnamese students from Recep-
tion to Grade 12. The school’s
academic programmes include
the International Baccalaureate
Primary Years Prgramme (IBPYP)
from Reception to Grade 5,
preparation for the Cambridge
University’s IGCSE from Grades 6-
10 and the International Bacca-
laureate Diploma Programme for
Grades 11 and 12.
HNOI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
48 Lieu Giai Street,
Ba Dinh District, Ha Noi
Vietnam
www.hisietnam.com
The Tiger Times
This was a great opportunity for student leaders from all MRISA
member schools to get together and share ideas. We all take
seriously the student input into the decision making that goes on
in our schools. The Conference was a great event and enjoyed
by all. Sports and cultural events will follow shortly.
Can I remind you that we will be having our accreditation visit
from CIS (Council of International Schools) and NEASC (New Eng-
land Association of Schools and Colleges) between October 26
and November 1. A team of ten educators from a number of
countries will be in HIS for a week evaluation us against what we
wrote in our Self-Study document and against the CIS and
NEASC Standards of Accreditation. Their findings and report will
be welcomed when it comes and will support future planning.
The first quarter is coming to an end and we will have the au-
tumn holiday break followed by two days of staff professional
development. This means the school is closed for students from
3.00pm on Friday October 4 until Wednesday morning October
16.
Thank you all for a very smooth and well supported start up to the
year and please regularly look at our web site for all on-going
information and communication.
Yours most sincerely,
Terry Hamilton
Principal.
2
Over the summer holiday period much effort and significant investment was put into getting the
school building and site ready to start the new school year. The biggest building project was further
improvement in the roofing and entrance way into the school, a new main office and refurbished
auditorium and re-surfacing with Astroturf the fields next door to the school. In addition we have a
new and improved swimming venue for that programme. Investment continued in technology for
teaching and learning with new computers, more interactive white boards and a range of tablets
and laptops. On-going investment will take place throughout the year for instance we are now set to
put new curtains and a new sound system into the auditorium.
We have upgraded the canteen and kitchens area and ‘Donkey Bakery’ is the new and sole provider
of food for the school canteen. A wide ranging menu is on offer and their services continue to grow in
popularity.
At this time of year HIS is host to a number of visits by universities and their admissions staff who come
and introduce their universities to our older students. To date we have had two such visits from US uni-
versities and on October 18th there is a large fair at HIS with British universities making presentations. I
am very pleased to report that on both visits so far, admissions staff have written to us praising our stu-
dents for their intelligent questioning, for their excellent manners and for just being great students. This
makes us all very proud of our senior students.
From the Head of Elementary
As we draw closer to the end of the first quarter, it’s great to be able to say that our
smooth start to the school year has continued. There are wonderful learning opportu-
nities happening in all areas of the school and our students are motivated and enthu-
siastic. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to our teacher assistants
for all their hard work in the school. Our students benefit every day in so many ways
because of their care, their hard work and their dedication. We are so fortunate to be
working with such a competent group.
I’d also like to say thanks to Mr Adam for the outstanding organisation of the swim-
ming galas. The junior elementary swim gala was great fun, and even some of the
teachers joined in the relay. It was disappointing to be rained out for both days of the
upper elementary swim gala but we are looking forward to hav-
ing this event at the end of the academic year.
I would like to remind parents that you are welcome to visit our
school at any time. Our classrooms are looking great, and the
corridors are a colourful celebration of our learning. If you would
like to visit your child’s class, please make a suitable time with
the class teacher.
Warren Bowers
From the Head of Secondary
It is hard to believe we are at the end of the first quarter of the year. It
seems like only the other day we were welcoming students back to
school and experiencing the changes that took place over the summer.
Now here we are 8 weeks later! Our PE department predicted the
weather beautifully and we had a fantastic Swim Gala and last week-
end we very successfully hosted the MRISA Leadership conference. Feedback from the
visiting schools was unanimously positive and the team involved in this event are feeling
justifiably proud of what they have accomplished.
Now it is time for a well-earned week off, and we'll look forward to seeing everyone back
in school on Wednesday October 16th, ready for an activity-packed Quarter Two.
David Miles
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What is PYP?
HIS IGCSE-IB Diploma Results May/June 2013 At a glance
Cambridge IGCSE
20 students entered
137 exams sat
68% A*-C 65.2% A*-C World Average
International Baccalaureate Diploma
17 students entered
128 exams sat
Number of candidates registered for Diploma- 13
Number of candidates who passed the Diploma- 12
Average points obtained by candidates at HIS- 33 points
World average points obtained (May 2013) - 29.8 points
Highest number of points obtained- 40 points (2 students)
A* 9
A 26
B 35
C 23
D 27
E 11
What is PYP from a student’s perspective
One of Grade 5’s recent projects was to choose a way to communicate the
beliefs and values behind the PYP.
Each student chose their own way of showing their learning. Some children
created posters, some created Prezi’s, some created PowerPoints, some
created artwork and some wrote a speech and shared it in Assembly.
The example I have attached was done by Claudia Ovejero. She created a
powerpoint in gmail. The simple nature of her presentation makes it clear to
an audience, what is PYP, how does it work and how does it connect
to us.
Miss Lisa
PYP Coodinator
Grade 5 Teacher
4
5
Holiday Fun
Read ‘Goodnight Ipad’ on this link -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=kIhiJK5xa18
A guy walks up to the library desk
and says, “Can I have a large bur-
ger, fries and a coke please?"
The librarian replies, "Sir, this is a
library."
So he whispers, "Oh ok, I'll have a
large burger, fries and a coke
please."
Ms Loan is sorting out over 400 new
books!
You can read them NOW!
Kanami Suzuki, grade 9, designed this won-
derful ‘book’ chair for the Art Exhibition last
year.
Other students have also been enjoying Kanami’s
chair.
The Library Link
Grade 11 and Reception
Buddy Interview
6
HIS is the first school in Vietnam to adopt this brand new and exciting project. With the
help and guidance of board member Mr Truyen, HIS is preparing to perform an origi-
nal water puppet show based on the Japanese tale, Momotaro. Our creative team is
busy designing the production from scratch. This includes writing the script, making
the puppets and props by hand, acting with the puppets, selecting the music, re-
cording the performance, making CDs……phew! The list goes on and on! We are
lucky enough to have our very own mini mobile water puppet theatre and are being
trained by famous water puppet artisan Phan Thanh Liem (check out his name on
google…you’ll be impressed!)
The Team: Miku Mishima, Sami Mathur, Diyanah Almad Zaki, Vic Dang (UNIS), Miss Jess,
Mr Liem, Mr Tuyen, Miss Chi
Looking forward to you being our first audience at a live performance next quarter!
Jess Ingram
Water Puppets CCP
Our very own mini-mobile water puppet theatre!
Mr Phan Thanh Liem and his super-cute son.
One of Mr Phan Thanh Liem’s training classes…mind the SPLASH!
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Career news
Counselor’s Corner
August and September have been very productive months in terms of informing
our secondary students about tertiary education options. From the USA, we were
delighted to host these colleges and universities:
Hendrix
Boston
Bowdoin
Carleton
Pomona
Swarthmore College
Centre
Hampshire
Beloit
Millsaps
Lewis & Clark
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Hillsborough Community College
Kansas State University
Mt Holyoke
Northern Michigan University
Miami University
University of Connecticut
In addition to the USA universities, we also hosted the University of Edinburgh. We
are especially fond of this institution because our alumnus, Esther Park, is currently
in the second year of Medicine at Edinburgh.
Grade 9 students have taken their first steps towards career discovery and work
experience. Each student completed a vocational
test to help them to plan an appropriate career, and
many of the students have subsequently decided on
a work experience placement. Students from other
year levels may also be interested in this test, which
can be found atwww.myfuture.com.au The Grade 9
work experience program will he held from 20th to 24th
January. An email has been sent to Grade 9 parents
in English, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean, ex-
plaining the aims of work experience.
The University of Edinburgh
Rigo working hard at
the Melia Hotel during
the 2013 Work
8
A large number of Grade 11 and
12 students are offering CCPs as
part of their CAS programs this
year. Among the offerings are
Beginners’ Mandarin; Conversa-
tional English; IGCSE Revision;
Japanese for Adult Learners; Be-
ginners’ Vietnamese; English for
Japanese Students; and Cook-
ing. Our senior students are learn-
ing so much from their leadership
of these programs and at the
same time are engaging in valu-
able experiences that will in-
crease their chances of university
selection. We look forward to
even more senior students lead-
ing CCPs in the future.
English for Japanese Students
CCP
We extend our congratulations
to all 3 of our graduating
Japanese students for secur-
ing places at some of Japan's
most prestigious universities.
Shotaro (far left) will com-
mence Liberal Arts at Sophia
University, Reina (front centre)
will study Human Science at
Yokohama National University
and Shizuka (back centre) will
join HIS alumnus Mika Niimura
at Waseda University.
Begginer’s Mandarin CCP
While on the topic of universities, our Grade 12
students are preparing their tertiary wish-lists
and some students have already commenced
the application process. Our first deadline
is Hong Kong University of Science and Technol-
ogy, rated number one in Asia for science. HIS
alumnus Hui Yeong Moon has just started her
first year at HKUST and we are hoping to send a
few more students to this prestigious research
university in 2014. Chan Min, Eui Jeong, Chelsea
and Ji Soo are currently writing their applica-
tions to HKUST and we wish them every success!
English Lessons for HIS
Mothers are continuing
this year, meeting every
Wednesday at 3pm. Our
classes are informal and
focus on conversation.
During Quarter Two,
among other topics we
will cover the English skills
and vocabulary needed
to enable parents to ac-
cess information about
tertiary options for their
children and to interact
with university selection
officers. Everyone is wel-
come to join our lessons.
HKUST
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Secondary Student Council
Jin Wook Baek -
President
It was quite challenging for me to
become a president. There were
three nationalities: Korean, Indian
and Vietnamese. As Korean is most
populated in HIS, there were some
advantages for me. However, it
was hard to predict who was going
to win the election: me, Ansh or
Tom! During the speech, I slapped
my brother, Sungwook, and said “If
I become the president, I will not
care about my brother!” This action
was one of my tactics to get some
young children like grade 6
students. I promised to hold lots of
events, be more productive and
efficient, and alleviate the chaos in
cafeteria. That was it. I became a
president. The student council’s first
event will be held during
Halloween!
I am Norihiro from grade 11. I have been elected
as a vice president this year. We recently had
MRISA leadership conference and we have learnt
a fair amount of things which we had never had
before. For this year, I would like each of the
students to get involved in decision making
because people who create a entertained year
are not only student council members but also
each of the HIS students. Let's make a great school
year together!
My idea to run for secretary started from a minor thinking. I thought it would be amazing if I
was part of student council. Since I like to speak and share my ideas to others, I decided to
try to be a person in a student council who was confident in front of crowds.
Despite my enthusiasm to be secretary, I froze on the stage for my speech. However, the
result was totally different from my expectations. Some people complimented and encour-
aged me a lot. Therefore, although I was unsatisfied about my speech, some people’s
compliments made me feel better. .
After unexpectedly elected as secretary, I was so happy and proud of myself because it
gave me a feeling of achievement and success. I encourage the next Grade 11 students
to try to be a part of student council. It was one of the best experiences for me and more
and more people need to try these amazing experiences.— Jee Hyuk Woo
The election was all right for me. Actually, I spent days agonizing
over whether to wear the headband or not. However, even if I lost
this election, it is a good experience in my life so I decided to
wear headband in order to make everyone remember me. I was
very nervous but I tried to look confident to HIS students. It was a
valuable experience. So Yeon Kim, Treasurer
Elementary Student Council Claudia from Grade 5 L will be the new Chair for Elementary Student Council.
Claudia made her debut speech at the Singing Assembly on
October 1.
Watch this space……...
10
PTA in Quarter 1
The first official PTA meeting this school year was on September 12, attended by 23 parents and HIS teachers. Subjects discussed during the first session were MRISA Lead-ership Conference Housing, Draft of PTA constitution, canteen with Donkey’s Bakery and PTA committee elections. The new committee consists as last year of Susanne Dollmann (President), Janice Park (Vice President), Mia Rees (Secretary) and Yuko Ta-kahashi (Treasurer). Upcoming Events are the International Day (November 15) the HIWC Bazaar( Novem-ber 24). Just like previous years, the PTA is getting ready to help prepare the school for the HIS booth. Everybody’s support welcome! Next PTA meeting is scheduled for October 17 at 3.15 p.m. at Secondary Library. On Monday, October 14,12.30 p.m. there will be an informal PTA-lunch at BISTRO, 2/2C, Pho van Phuc,. Everybody welcome!
We are looking forward to collaborating with and for HIS in the PTA in the new school year!
All parents are welcome to join us any time to make our organization lively. Thanks for all the great support of so many of parents and HIS staff!
With best regards,
Susanne Dollmann PTA President Hanoi, September 30, 2013
11
AthleticsAthleticsAthletics It’s been a busy, fun filled Quarter for PE
and Sport so far. Plenty of fixtures for our
MRISA Volleyball and Basketball Teams,
two swimming galas and a MRISA Leader-
ship Conference hosted at HIS!!!
In preparation for MRISA HS Volleyball and
MS Basketball competitions in Cambodia
our teams have played plenty of warm up
matches against local schools. The boys
MS team coached by Mr Spencer and Mr
Adam have played 4 games winning 3 of
them. The MS Girls are a new team and
have played two matches, although they
lost twice they have made improvements
in their game. Well done Ms Althea and
Young Cho for their hard work with the
team. Our HS Volleyball teams have been
involved in fixtures/tournaments against
UNIS playing against their MRISA and
APAC teams. Matches have been close
and the players have made excellent
progress under the guidance of their
coaches Mr Andy and Mr Xousath.
Recently, we held two Swimming Gala’s, one for Secondary school and one for Rec – 2. Both events were
well organised, students and staff had a fantastic time at both.
SECONDARY SCHOOL
1ST PLACE – DRAGON 865
2ND PLACE- BUFFALO 681
3RD PLACE- GECKO 540
Due to the weather we had to cancel the Grade 3 – 5 Gala this will be held in May/June 2014.
Continued on next page...
REC – 2 GALA
1ST PLACE - GECKO 296
2ND PLACE- DRAGON 279
3RD PLACE – BUFFALO 275
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Athletics, continued from previous page:
At the weekend HIS welcomed schools from Cambodia, Lao, HCMC, Hanoi and Thailand to the first MRISA event of
2013 -2014. The Leadership Conference was a brilliant event which ran for two days. The students learned a lot
about Leadership and the feedback received was positive. It was great to show off our school and put on an event
which teachers said “was the best they had attended”. Special thanks to Mr Dan, Ms Danielle and Mr Adam for the
planning and organisation. Other special thank you goes to Donkey Bakery for providing amazing food for the
weekend, also a big thank you to our HS students who gave up their weekend to take photos and videos of the
event.
- Adam Lee
Junior Girls Basketball The Junior Girls have been training hard and are showing great improve-
ment. Our captain, Karen, scored two baskets in our last game against
UNIS. Young Sung Cho in Year 11 has been a great help coaching the girls.
Last week, we held a bake sale to raise some money to support him, so he
can travel with us to Cambodia for the tournament, and we were able to
raise 3, 341, 000 VND. He has never had a bake sale held is his honour be-
fore and felt quite special!
Ms Althea
13
Secondary & Lower Elementary Swimming Gala
14
‘The best leadership conference I have been to in 3 years of
attending them.’ (Mike from ISPP)
HIS were the proud hosts of the 2013 MRISA Leadership Confer-
ence this quarter. On the weekend of Friday 27th September,
around forty students from schools along the Mekong Delta,
including ISPP, ISHCMC, UNIS, —————converged at HIS for
an action-packed weekend of problem-solving, communica-
tion and teamwork in order to further develop their leadership
skills.
The Conference began with a series of fun ice-breaker chal-
lenges, designed to allow the students to get to know one an-
other a little better, to relax and build confidence, whilst start-
ing to consider the main focus for the weekend- what makes
a good leader?
Then the students were presented with the ‘mystery challenge’
for the weekend- The Amazing Race! Groups were dropped
off in the middle of the Old Quarter with a limited budget and
limited time, to complete a series of tasks. The aim was to com-
plete as many tasks as possible to gain points. The winning
team managed to stay within budget, end the race on time
and gather an amazing total of 96 points!!! To make the task
more challenging, students were placed in mixed teams from
a variety of schools/nationalities and were only given 1 hour to
come up with a teamwork strategy! Students had a lot of fun!
On the second day of the conference, students gathered
again at basecamp HIS, for another day of team work, prob-
lem solving and strategy. The aim was for student s to reflect
upon their strengths as a leader and to recognize their areas
for improvement. Students took part in a card game designed
to test their thinking skills and teamwork and finally students
used their new found leadership skills to deliver a presentation
on how to organize a successful school event.
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend and many students ex-
pressed how enjoyable and valuable an experience they
found it.
‘On behalf of our ISHCMC student representatives, I would like
to thank you and all HIS staff involved in hosting the recent
MRISA Leadership Conference. Our students have expressed
that it was a very valuable and enjoyable learning experience.
Your efforts are greatly appreciated!’
Regards, Bob(ISHCMC) Organisers: Mr. Dan Slaughter, Mr. Adam Lee, Ms. Danielle
Kaunhoven
MRISAMRISAMRISAMRISA
LEADERSHIPLEADERSHIPLEADERSHIPLEADERSHIP
CONFERENCECONFERENCECONFERENCECONFERENCE
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Qu
art
er
2
Ev
en
ts
Mid semester break 5-13 October
Staff PD (NO CLASSES) 14-15 October
UK Universities Visit 18 October
PTA Lunch 11 November
PTA Meeting 14 November
International Day 15 November
Secondary Camp Week 18-22 November
PTA Lunch 2 December
PTA Meeting 5 December
Book Week 9-13 December
Yoga
at HIS
Parents from the HIS community are invited to join our yoga classes held on
Wednesdays at 3:15 pm.
Email [email protected] for more information.
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