ap2 news 27/2/2015
TRANSCRIPT
BISbuzz Issue 23 | 1
BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HO CHI MINH CITY| SECONDARY CAMPUS
FEBRUARY 27 | ISSUE 23
IN THIS ISSUE
From the Head Teacher 02
Year 12 Trip - Philippines 03
Music 05
Community Service 06
PTG 07
From The BIStro & Underground 08
March
3rd Year 12 Parent Teacher Student Conference, 4pm
4th Interhouse Athletics Sports Day
4th 8th UNIS Model United Nations conference, Ha Noi
6th - 8th DoE International Award Bronze Training Expedition
7th ABRSM Theory Exam
7th Prefect Training Day
UPCOMING EVENTS
BISbuzz Issue 23 | 2
From The Head Teacher
Welcome back to all families and very best wishes for the Year of the Goat!
We have a typically busy seven weeks ahead until the Spring holiday so it’s best to start this week’s BIS-
buzz with a look ahead to some of the key events.
Reports and Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences (PTSCs)
27th February Year 7 Short Report
3rd March Year 12 PTSC
20th March Year 8 Full Report
27th March Year 10 Short Report
10th April Year 9 Full Report
Events and Trips
26th Feb – 1st Mar South East Asian Mathematics Contest in Hong Kong
7th March Prefect Training Day
6th-8th March DoE International Award Bronze Training Expedition
10th-14th March U13 FOBISIA Games in Taipei
13th March PTG Meeting
18th March PTG Lost Property Display
20th March PTG Quiz Night
20th-22nd March Saigon Model United Nations, hosted by BIS
1st April Whole School Spring Concert
4th-5th April DoE International Award Bronze Assessed Expedition
14th-16th April School Production – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
15th April PTG Annual General Meeting
15th April Inter-House Swimming Gala
17th April Last day of term. Study Leave starts for Years 11 and 13.
Richard Dyer
Head Teacher, Secondary
From The Head Teacher
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Year 12 Trip - Philippines
For Trips Week 2015, 19 Year 12 students travelled to Puerto Galera in the Philippines to undertake a diving qualification. We returned with 17 newly qualified PADI Open Water Divers and 2 EFR and Rescue Divers. It was a week of hard work, studying and a bit of fun diving in between! The students even completed a debris dive, cleaning up rubbish from the reefs around Puerto Galera to continue their work for Project Aware. It was a great week and the students should all be very proud of what they have achieved. Ms Binnington, Trip Leader
The trip to the Philippines was extremely rewarding and everyone was successful in earning their Open Water Scuba Diving certificate, with 2 students even completing their Rescue Diver courses. It was an amazing personal experience because of the learning opportunity and beautiful scenery and coral. I will continue to advance my diving skills and consider this the best school trip ever. Tara Nichols, 12/13H
The trip was a wonderful experience! It gave me an opportunity to take on a new skill – diving - which expanded my view of the world around me, and I was luckily also given the chance to learn a few life lessons from my instructor throughout the course. I developed relations with my friends on the trip and will forever miss all the fun we had each evening. The children we visited on our last day were extremely sweet and welcoming; I would definitely love to visit them again. Finally, I would like to thank the teachers for organizing an amazing trip! Yu-Ling Lee, 12/13O
I scan the horizon from the resort pontoon. Out there, just 50 metres from me, a figure in diving gear thrashes her arms about, her face barely making it above the breaking waves. I take a deep breath. I briefly simulate the rescue in my mind as I put on my snorkel and fins. The figure is now still, perhaps unconscious. With a perfect giant stride, I plunge into the water ready for a rescue. This is one example of the scenarios Evita and I used in training for the PADI Rescue Diver Course. The course was undeniably demanding as we both needed to learn how to not only take care of ourselves whilst diving, but also to aid others, especially during dive emergencies such as diver unconsciousness underwater. At the end of the week, we received our well-earned Rescue Diver certificates, which was perfect closure to what was a fulfilling and exciting course. Hikaru Hotta, 12/13V
To breathe underwater: a truly breath-taking, unforgettable experience. It was an amazing feeling, to be completely submerged and weightless in the water, controlling my buoyancy. I learnt many skills about diving that I will never forget, but also many memories. From talking about elbow drops with Mr Gamwell and Edo, to making endless puns at everyone; the constant hash-tagging, and also the fun memories of all the board games we played. I especially loved visiting the school-children and teaching them about sharks. It was an incredible experience, which will forever be engraved in my mind. Hok-Yin Kong, 12/13S
Difficult and exhausting but worth it - our expedition from the very beginning was one that was arduous and filled with hurdles and hardships. Our adventure began with completing essential theory, our desperation to get in the water gave us the determination that we needed to complete it. The lessons that we learnt proved invaluable to us as our knowledge was put to the test through intensive pool sessions and demanding tasks that we had to complete under the ocean. However, we persevered and we obtained the feeling of satisfaction when we finally got handed our licenses. These pieces of paper were an indication of the beginning of our journey to explore the beauty that is the seven seas. Kisum Chan, 12/13O
I believe everyone was looking forward to the Philippines trip for a long time after talking to the Year 13's. It all started on the 24th of January. I was lucky to be able to finish the theory course online and complete the course quickly, along with 8 others, sparing us time for extra recreational dives. It was an amazing experience underwater, from getting to see turtles as long as me, controlling my buoyancy underwater and "trying" not to hit the seabed, and collecting a lot of underwater debris. The evenings consisted of playing board games, cards, talks about the early wrestling life and the elbow drops, and loads of fun. The visit to the school just added to our memories, as the kids were welcoming and friendly. The run to the lighthouse was tiring, but the gorgeous view overlooking the cliff and the ocean motivated us. This adventurous journey developed 19 students to persevere and endure through the obstacles, resulting in 17 of us becoming Open Water Divers and 2 students completing their Rescue Diver course. In addition I developed great bonds and friendships with all the students and the teachers. The trip was outstanding and terrific and incomparable to any other previous ones. I am delighted and grateful to be part of such an amazing journey and will miss the great times spend together with everyone in the evenings. Finally I would like to thank Ms Binnington, Mr Gamwell and Ms Horne for putting in all their time and effort in organizing such a remarkable trip. Sujash Shetty, 12/13T
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Music
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Community Service
KonTum was a unique experience. We were received with a warm welcome from the children of “Vinh Son 4” and we were also able to sleep in the villages of Kon Tum. As soon as we arrived at the orphanage, the children rushed towards us as if they had not seen us in a long time. We started the day with a simple game where they sang “Brush, Brush, Brush your teeth, Every Day!” while racing around a circle. While playing, the children had great big smiles that went up to their ears and they laughed and giggled. The next activity was more of a practical one. The children had to brush a giant tooth covered in dirt. At first, they didn’t understand what they had to do because of our lack of Vietnamese but as after a short while they understood and started to really enjoy this activity. Next, we gave out the toothbrushes. This was a very joyful and exciting moment as these children could finally have their own toothbrushes. We decided to write their names on the toothbrushes to avoid confusion. It was obvious from the look in the children’s eyes that it was a fabulous moment for them, like Christmas when they got a unique gift, an object that they would treasure for a long time. I was surprised when I saw the children put so much time and effort brushing their teeth for the first time. Some of them even brushed for 10 minutes nonstop! At that time, I realised that this operation really worked well but for it to be a real success, the children need to get into a habit to brush their teeth on a daily basis. For this, we can fortunately rely on the volunteers of Poussière de Vie who work in Kon Tum. This is only the beginning of a long project and we will hopefully be able to continue to support this project with your help. Leaving Vinh Son 4 was hard because we just started to know the children better. As our car left, they ran after it waving their hands to say good bye. We can’t wait to go back in the future to see if the children have made good use of their toothbrushes.
Happiness can be found in as simple things as sharing a smile. These children have very little, but they gave us so much.
Alois Luong 8S and Jeremie Luong 10N
KON TUM TOOTHBRUSH COLLECTION
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PTG
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From the Underground & BIStro
Menu 2 (2 March)
From the Underground & BIStro
DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
MAIN COURSE CHOOSE 1
Beef Lasagne
OR
Seafood Fried Rice
Cheese Pizza
OR
Pork with Onion, Rice
Honey Baked
Chicken,
Sautéed Potato/Rice
OR
Pork Noodle Soup
(Nam Vang)
Ham Burger
OR
Szechuan Chicken,
Rice
Ham & Cheese Croquet
Monsieur &
Roast Potato
OR
Chicken Rice
VEGETABLES
Morning Glory &
Carrot
Salad
Chinese Cabbage &
Carrot
Salad
Long Beans & Carrot
Salad
Choy sum & Carrot
Salad
Bean Sprouts & Carrot
Salad
SOUP Spinach & Melon
Soup
Mixed Vegetable Soup
Spinach Watercress Tomato & Tofu Soup
DESSERT Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit Mixed Fruit
VEGETARIAN
Vegetarian Lasagne
Chickepeas Salad
Mixed Fruit
Cheese Pizza
Mixed Vegetable Soup
Mixed Fruit
Tofu Noodle Soup
Long Beans & Carrot
Mixed Fruitit
Aloo Tikki Burger
Mixed Beans Salad
Mixed Fruit
Oriental Fried Rice
Tomato & Tofu Soup
Mixed Fru
DELI BAR OPTION
Baguette & Wrap
Fill it with a variety of choices including ham, chicken, cheese, tuna mayonnaise, beef, baked bean, mixed bean,
bolognese sauce
SNACK MENU
Curry Puff
Samosa
Fruit Cup
Chocolate Mud Cake
Swiss Roll
Fruit Cup
Curry Puff
Samosa
Fruit Cup
Banana/Carrot
Muffin
Sponge Cake
Fruit Cup
Donut
Cream Puff
Fruit Cup