1. BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - HANOI
NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 16 2015| ISSUE 17
IN THIS ISSUE
From Mr. Anthony Rowlands
From Mr. Christopher Short
From Mrs. Karen Hanratty
Physical Development in F3
Secondary English and EAL
Fundinotots Programme
Lunch Menu
Contacts
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
Issue 17 | 1
UPCOMING EVENTS
19th
ECAs start
KS4/5 Boys & Girls Basketball vs UNIS
KS3 Girls Football vs HIS
20th
KS2 House Sports
KS3 Boys Football vs St Paul
21st
KS4/5 Boys Basketball vs Wellspring
KS4/5 Girls Basketball vs HIS
22nd
- 24th
Silver DoEIA Qualifying Expedition - Dalat
22nd
Y5 Learning Insights Parents’ Information session
24th
KS3 Boys & Girls Football tournament at UNIS
26th
KS1 House Sports
KS4/5 Boys Basketball vs Wellspring
27th
- 30th
Y8 Expedition - Mai Chau
27th
Y4 Learning Insights Parents’ Information Session
KS4/5 Boys Basketball vs St Paul
29th
Y1 Learning Insights Parents Information Session
30th
Y11 & Y12 Mock Results issued
JANUARY

2. Issue 17 | 2
From Mr Anthony Rowlands - Principal of BIS Hanoi
It has certainly been a busy start to
Term 2. On the 5th and 6th January, the
teaching staff experienced some
excellent Professional Development
led by Mr. David Grewer from
‘Educational Consultancy Limited’ in
the UK. He led some engaging sessions
during the two days on the subject of
“Coaching for Excellent Learning’’. On the 7th January
we were visited by a team of 5 people from DOET who
reviewed school documentation and visited
Vietnamese lessons. On Thursday 8th January and
Friday 9th January 2015, the British International
School, Hanoi welcomed Dr. Graham Ranger - Director
of School Support and Evaluation from the Council of
International Schools (CIS). The purpose of the visit
was to provide an external verification of the quality of
education provided by the school. In order to achieve
CIS membership status the school was first required to
conduct a self-evaluation against a set of quality
standards which covered all aspects of the school’s
operations. The visitor was then able to seek evidence
at the school which supported the school’s report.
BIS Hanoi was subsequently delighted to be officially
informed that the school has been awarded CIS
membership status with immediate effect. The
feedback received contained the following observations
and commendations:
A strong commitment to developing global
citizenship, exemplified by the school’s mission and
values;
High quality faculty, support staff and leadership,
driven by its commitment to the students and their
needs;
A commitment to international education and the
international community of Hanoi, coupled with
respect and appreciation of Vietnamese culture and
language;
The strengths of the BIS group, its strategic vision,
commitment to high standards and continuous
improvement;
The high class facility, well-suited to the needs of the
community;
A very sensitive and ethically strong management of
the process of change from BVIS to BIS, early in the
school’s life;
The overall ‘feel’ of the teaching and learning, gained
by ‘walk-throughs’ and facilitated by the easy
viewing into classrooms is of well-structured,
engaging teaching and learning, with students
motivated, challenged and ably supported by skillful
teaching;
The school is committed to continuous
improvement and has a desire to engage in the CIS
evaluation/accreditation process as a means of
doing so. There is a commitment to excellence,
which includes undertaking the process to lead to
international accreditation.
For further information about the Council of
International Schools please visit www.cois.org.
This week is just as busy as the first week with our older
students in Year 11 and Year 12 experiencing “Mock
Examinations” in preparation for IGCSE and A Level
examinations that will occur later this academic year.
Therefore, these students are entering a very important
period of their school lives. In Primary this week we
have seen two year groups hold their “Learning
Insights” sessions with parents. I was extremely
pleased to see large numbers of parents in both the
Year 6 and F1/2 sessions with parents being very
positive about what they experienced.
It just remains for me to wish you all a most pleasant
weekend.

3. Our first newsletter of 2015 and we’re
already half way through the month
after a busy 8 days at school. Week 1
was no gentle ease back into work with
some excellent but intense training for
staff plus DOET and CIS visits. We were
also very excited to inaugurate our
new Student Kitchen. Cooking is a very
popular part of our ECA programme and we now have a
dedicated room to expand our provision for ECA and
class use over the coming years.
Yesterday was an important day in the UK university
calendar as it was the deadline for university
applications. Many US universities have 1 January as
their deadline so this time next year most our Year 12
students will have finished and submitted their
applications. It is often said that university choice is the
last decision a parent makes for their child and the first
decision a child makes for themselves. To assist both
Issue 17 | 3
From Mr Christopher Short - Head of Secondary
students and parents Mr Byrne and Mr Wolstenholme
will be inaugurating our Careers Room. This room will
host information on universities around the world and
be a place where students can research career options
and meet visiting university representatives.
Mock exams have taken place all week. We run them
using the same systems and regulations we will have to
use in May so students get a real feel for what they will
need to do in their actual IGCSE and A Level
examinations. There were some nervous faces on
Monday morning but we know the process really helps
so in 4 months they can just focus on exam preparation
and not worry about the mechanics of how the exam
cycle works.
Ms Marsden and I accompanied a selection of Key Stage
3 Student Council representatives to Sympa Meals to
donate some money we raised for them and discuss
ways of further working together.
SECONDARY MOCK EXAMS

4. There was a real buzz in the school last
Wednesday morning as we welcomed
children back into school after the
Christmas break. I was pleased to see
so many happy, eager faces as children
arrived to start the day. One boy, quite
spontaneously, said to me “Mrs.
Hanratty, it is so great to be back at
school!” What a wonderful validation to hear!
At the end of last week, as you will have read, we had
our CIS membership visit. Dr. Ranger spent two days in
discussion with staff, children and parents, and visited
many lessons. His feedback at the end of the two days
was another great endorsement of the school. He spoke
particularly highly about the teaching and learning he
had seen taking place: active and engaging lessons
which were appropriately differentiated to meet the
needs of all children; skilled, creative teachers who
know how to draw the best out of the children and
children who are responsive, respectful and socially
aware. We have many positives on which to continue to
build and are in a good position to move forward on our
journey of growth and improvement.
Over the next few weeks we will be holding a series of
workshops for parents which will focus on one specific
aspect of the curriculum, sharing information about
what is taught and how, followed by a practical lesson
with the class based on the content of the workshop.
There will be a workshop for each year group, focusing
Issue 17 | 4
From Mrs Karen Hanratty - Head of Primary
FINE DINING
on a specific aspect of the curriculum or learning and
teaching. Topics such as ‘Developing Hand Eye
Coordination’, ‘Bringing Learning to Life’ and
‘Developing Conceptual Understanding in Mathematics’
will be covered. We do hope that in the coming weeks
as many parents as possible will be able to attend these
informative sessions.

5. Children develop quickly in F3,
both their fine and gross motor
skills change rapidly at this age. We
should keep them physically
engaged and challenged both at
home and school.
A wide range of physical activities
are prepared in shared areas to aid
gross motor development. We do
yoga and dancing in the soft-play room, water play in the splash pool,
sports in our multi-purpose room and running and climbing games in
the outdoor play area. We also make use of other spaces like the
Secondary and Primary fields to provide a different learning
experience.
Fine motor skills are developed when doing creative and mark-making
activities, messy play, and construction.
It is important to provide opportunities for children to be active in ways
that interest them and match their abilities. When they feel successful,
they will feel confident to challenge themselves further in any task.
Issue 17 | 5
Physical Development in F3
Ms Isabell Gerona
F3 Teacher
Ms Nguyen Nguyet Thu
F3 Teacher

6. Issue 17 | 6
One of the English and the EAL
departments’ aims is to develop
students’ academic English skills so
that they can flourish in all the
subjects that they study both here at
BIS and beyond. (A reminder on the
difference between academic English
and social English is below.) One of
the best ways for students to improve their academic
English ability is through additional reading at home.
Not only can students broaden their knowledge of
literary works, they can also improve their vocabulary
and reading comprehension. Furthermore, increased
reading at home in conjunction with English and EAL
lessons can help make students better academic writers.
We also hope to encourage reading for pleasure as this
is an invaluable life-long skill.
With this in mind, the English and EAL departments are
pleased to inform parents of the acquisition of a broad
range of graded readers. As a result, students can find
an ample number of titles which correspond to their
current English level (see CEF levels below). These
readers can be found in and checked out from the
library.
CEF Scales
In order to determine the English language level of each
BIS secondary student, the Common European
Framework (CEF) is used. The Common European
Framework is composed of six levels. They are as
follow:
• C2 = Advanced/Mastery
• C1 = Advanced
• B2 = Upper-Intermediate
• B1 = Intermediate
• A2 = Pre-Intermediate
• A1 = Elementary
Academic versus Social English
Unlike social English, which can take from two to four
years to achieve proficiency, the challenges in regards
to the acquisition of academic English are significantly
more difficult. In fact, it could take an elementary
levelled student as many as eleven years to reach an
acceptable academic level of English. The reason for
this is the fact that academic English is context reduced.
In other words, students must be able to understand
cognitively challenging concepts which are often
abstract and lacking in non-verbal clues
Secondary English & EAL
Mr Shawn Gallagher
Secondary EAL Subject
Leader

8. Issue 17 | 8
BIS HANOI MENU
Week Beginning 19th January
Monday
19th
Jan 20th
Jan 21st
Jan 22nd
Jan 23rd
Jan
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
From Year 3 to Year 12 : All meals come with a salad or salad bar choice along and 2 choices of vegetables, rice, Vietnamese soup.
From Year 7 to Year 12: We have introduced our NEW Sandwich bar with assorted cheeses, fresh tuna, egg salad, roast meats and
other daily specials on our homemade bread, dark rye, whole wheat, oatmeal, french bread, Vietnamese rolls, raisin bread and
other fresh baked bread every day.
Morning
snack
Morning
snack
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Afternoon
snack
EYFSPRIMARYSECONDARY
Rice soup with
chicken
American
doughnut
Steam roll with
pork cake
Rice soup Sausage roll
Juice Milk Juice Juice Soya milk
Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit
Fried American
chicken
Korean beef stew
Roast pork with
rice rice
Caramel pork
Fresh tofu
Potato and
chicken somaso
Jam sandwich Caramel Raisin cookie
Fruit Juice Milk Fruit Juice
Rice soup with
chicken
American
doughnut
Steam roll with
pork cake
Rice soup Sausage roll
Juice Milk Juice Juice Soya milk
Fried American
chicken
Korean beef stew
Roast pork with
rice rice
Chicken Cordon
Blue
Fried tofu in
sweet and sour
sauce
Sauteed pork
with rice
Roast chicken
with BBQ sauce
Fried crispy pork Caramel pork
Fried chicken leg
Grilled BBQ pork Pan seared pork
Rice noodle with
crab and beef
soup
Moroccan chiken
rice pilaf
(v) Potato samosa
with pineapple
(v) Sauteed
vegetable and
tofu noodle
Braised pork and
tofu
Minced pork
wrapped quail
egg
Steamed roll with
pork cake
Chicken noodle
Roast chicken
with oyster sauce and chip
(v) Cheese and
corn quesadillas

9. Issue 17 | 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
Extention 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: 189
huyennguyenngoc@bishanoi.com
(For all enquiries regarding Marketing)
Finance Department: 202
(For all enquiries regarding school fees)
Medical Room: 117/303
linhdieu@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 requiries regarding School Buses)