Issue 31

1. MAY
25th
–28th
Secondary Exam week
26th
Year 1 visit to Flag Tower
27th
KS1 House Sports
28th
F1 and 2 visit to Long Bien Fire Station
30th
Invitational Swimming Gala at UNIS
JUNE
3rd
Year 3B to visit the cake factory
5th
Year 3I to visit the cake factory
UPCOMING EVENTS
From Mr. Anthony Rowlands 02
From Mr. Christopher Short 03
Student Council Skype with The British School Kathmandu 03
From Mrs. Karen Hanratty 04
Primary Transition Lunches 05
Key Stage 2 House Sports 06
Swimming Gala 07
Lunch Menu 08
Contacts 09
IN THIS ISSUE
May 22 2015 ISSUE 31
Issue 31 1
BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HANOI
NEWSLETTER

2. From Mr Anthony Rowlands - Principal of BIS Hanoi
I was so pleased to hear of the success
of the BIS Hanoi Invitational Swimming
Meet held at our Swimming Pool last
Saturday morning (16th
May). Unfortunately,
I was unable to attend as I was in HCMC
but there is no doubt that it was a great
event. I am grateful to Ms Airdrie and all
the staff who supported her in organising this meet. It is
wonderful to see BIS students continue to develop their
swimming skills in a competitive situation. We have
excellent facilities and I am sure that we will see our
students’ abilities in swimming continue to improve as
they gain more exposure to good teaching, coaching and
competition. Two additional things they will need as they
develop as good swimmers will be dedication and
perseverance - a value from our aide memoire to which we
often refer!
Of course we all know of great swimmers who have
shown dedication and perseverance, however, you may
not have heard of this particular swimmer - Joe Wise. In
2002, at the age of 9, Joe Wise was diagnosed with
mitochondrial myopathy - a severe muscular disorder
affecting his legs, hips, core muscles and lungs. At the
time doctors informed his family that he would not live
to see his 15th birthday. However, instead of accepting
this prognosis Joe decided to take up swimming and
excelled. He went on to represent the USA Paralympic
team at both the Beijing (2008) and London (2012)
Olympics. He has now, due to ill-health, retired from
swimming but what a wonderful example of perseverance
to us all. For many years Joe's life has been a roller
coaster ride with his disease, but the one thing that
always remained constant was his perseverance to reach
his goal of competing in the Paralympic Games. He
firmly believed that swimming would be his lifeline.
Doctors were stunned by Joe's achievements, and his
utter defiance of their earlier prognosis.
There is no doubt that swimming is an enjoyable sport and
a most effective way of keeping fit. Although I do not
swim competitively, I do use the school’s swimming pool
as part of my own exercise routine. On that note, I do hope
that you have an enjoyable and healthy weekend!
Issue 31 2
Year 6 'Growing Up' Parents Meeting

3. Along with the usual busyness of Term 3
this week we have been finalising the
timetable for next year. As you can
imagine in a F1 – Year 13 school this is
quite a daunting task but it’s actually one
of my favourite jobs of the year as it is so
critical to a highly successful school. We
started the process many months ago with a review of our
curriculum in light of our changing student body and the
other curriculum changes we are moving towards. We’re now
in the process of the actual scheduling of lessons. In some
ways this is mundane but it is very satisfying to fit together a
complex jigsaw getting students together with the right
teachers in the right rooms. On one level these are the basic
building blocks of the school but the impact of getting it right
is immense. It’s a little bit like Ronaldo making sure his laces
are tied up properly before he runs onto the pitch to show his
footballing brilliance - if the basics aren’t right then it is
difficult to perform.
From Mr Christopher Short - Head of Secondary
Issue 31 3
Next week is half term in England so there are no IGCSE
and A Level examinations. So while Year 11 and 12 get a
short break the rest of the Secondary section have their
own internal examinations, we wish them all the best in
their final preparation for these over the weekend.
Congratulations to Vo Chau Anh in Year 9 who has
reached the final of the EF public speaking competition
and is performing her speech over the weekend.
On Monday, 18th
May some members of our School Council
had a skype conference with Student Council members from The
British School Kathmandu. The students from both schools spent
25 minutes discussing how we could further help the people of
Nepal and what work TBSK were doing themselves. It was
wonderful to see two groups of students discussing such
important issues with maturity and great compassion. The money
we raised from our recent Bake Sale has already been transferred
to Nepal and will be put to good use. I am grateful to the BIS
students – Nguyen Jones Binh, Kieu Vu Hoang Minh, Nguyen
Ha Minh, Tran Hoang Tue Linh, along with Mr. Toner and Mr.
Dunwell for their participation in this worthwhile event.
Student Council Skype with The British School Kathmandu

4. The Buddha said, ‘Everything changes,
nothing remains without change’. This is
particularly true with children, who are
growing, developing and changing, almost
before our eyes. At this time of year, in
particular, everyone’s thoughts – students,
parents and teachers – start to turn to the
changes ahead of us next year.
In August, our youngest children in F1 will no longer be
the youngest, and will start to take on responsibility
helping their younger peers. F3 will leave the confines of
the EYFS unit and have a change of uniform as they step
into Year 1. Year 2 will cross the road and join the older
Primary children in KS2 in the ‘big’ school and Year 6
will move along the corridor into the Secondary wing of
From Ms Karen Hanratty - Head of Primary
Issue 31 4
the school, seemingly all very grown up! Over the next
few weeks children changing phase will have an
opportunity to eat lunch and play with their future peers.
They will attend assemblies, have some taster lessons and
be prepared to work and think more independently.
Importantly, before the end of this term, all children will
visit their new classrooms and meet their new teachers.
Change is a constant,
and not something to be
afraid of, rather to be
embraced. After all, if
nothing ever changed
there’d be no butterflies!

5. Issue 31 5

6. Issue 31 6
KEY STAGE 2 HOUSE SPORTS

7. Issue 31 7

8. Issue 31 8
BIS HANOI MENU
Week Beginning 25th
May
Monday
25th
May
Tuesday
26th
May
Wednesday
27th
May
Thursday
28th
May
Friday
29th
May
Rice soup with
chicken
American doughnut Steam bun
Sticky rice with
pork cake
Nutella sandwich
Juice Juice Milk Juice Milk
Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit
Roast 5 spices
chicken
Pork Omellete
Chinese pork with
rice
Beef noodle Fried crispy fish
Yogurt Chiken sushi roll Caramel flan Oatmeal cookie Fresh tofu
Fruit Juice Fruit Soya milk Fruit
Rice soup with
chicken
American doughnut Steam bun
Sticky rice with
pork cake
Nutella sandwich
Juice Juice Milk Juice Milk
Roast 5 spices
chicken
Grilled chicken leg
with pepper sauce
Chicken fingers Beef noodle Chicken burger
Pork caramel Pork Omellete
Chinese pork with
rice
Sauteed pork with
rice
Fried crispy fish
Roast 5 spices
chicken
Roast pork with
rice noodle
Chinese pork with
rice
Beef noodle
(v) Cheese and
corn quesadillas
(v) Vegetarian
shepherds pie
Grilled chicken leg
with pepper sauce
(v) Vegetarian
Enchiladas
Stauteed chicken
with lemon
grass,bell pepper
Fried crispy fish
Pork caramel Pork Omellete Chicken fingers
Sauteed pork with
rice
Roast pork with
BBQ sauce

9. Good communication is important to us and we would like to ensure that you have the correct contact
information in order for you to call the school:
School Number: 04 3946 0435
Extension number:
Receptionist: 0
(For all general enquiries)
Principal’s Office: 208
principaloffice@bishanoi.com
(If you wish to contact the School Principal)
Business Manager’s Office: 109
thaonguyen@bishanoi.com
Primary Office: 220
primaryoffice@bishanoi.com
(For all enquiries regarding the Primary Section)
Secondary Office: 215
secondaryoffice@bishanoi.com
(For all enquiries regarding the Secondary Section)
Admission Department: 222/122/555/777/888
bishanoi@bishanoi.com
dessydelevaux@bishanoi.com (Admission Manager)
jinnyjung@bishanoi.com (Korean Liaison Officer)
hatruong@bishanoi.com
trambui@bishanoi.com
Marketing Department: 666
gampham@bishanoi.com
(For all enquiries regarding Marketing)
Finance Department: 202
(For all enquiries regarding school fees)
Medical Room: 117/303
dungnguyen@bishanoi.com (Main school)
liennguyen@bishanoi.com (Early Years Building)
(For all enquiries regarding Medical Issues)
Uniform Shop: 221
tamle@bishanoi.com
nhungpham@bishanoi.com
(For all enquiries regarding School Uniform)
School Buses: 218
nganguyenthithuy@bishanoi.com
(For all enquiries regarding School Buses)
CONTACT US
Issue 31 9