EIS IB Continuum World School
On Thursday, the 16th
April, EIS held a press
conference and a reception
at the Intercontinental Asiana
Hotel Saigon to announce
the accreditation of its
International Baccalaureate
programmes (PYP, MYP, DP)
thus marking the milestone
of achieving IB Continuum
World School status.
Dr Nguyen Thi Quynh
Lam, President of EIS, Mr
Michael Osswald, General
Director and CEO of EIS
and Ms Sophia Burton from
Nobel Education Network
represented the school at
the press conference and
answered the many questions
from journalists. Mr Michael
Osswald first highlighted the
milestones and achievements
of the last few years,
emphasising that EIS is well
on track to becoming a leading
educational provider in Ho
Chi Minh City. Dr Nguyen Thi
Quynh Lam further explained
in depth what the advantages
of a full IB education is and
the significance of being
an IB Continuum World
School. The press conference
concluded with a session of
questions and answers and
led way to the main event of
the evening, the reception.
The
EIS
community
of
parents
and
staff,
Vietnamese authorities, the
international
diplomatic
corps and representatives
of the business community
were
invited
to
the
reception. EIS was very glad
to welcome in particular
Dr Ha Huu Phuc, General
Director of the Ministry
of Education and Training
Representative
Office
in
the South of Vietnam, Mr
Huynh Thanh Khiet, Vice
Chairman of the People’s
Committee.
In
addition
we hosted the Australian
Consul General, H.E. Mr
John McAnulty, the British
Consul
General
H.M.
Mr Douglas Barnes, the
Belgium
Consul
General
H.E. Dominique Casier as
well as representatives of the
American and other European
consulates.
Dr Nguyen Thi Quynh Lam addressing the assembly
Ms Sophia Burton, Mr Michael Osswald and Dr Nguyen Thi Quynh Lam
hold a press conference to announce the accredition of all IB programmes
The Australian Consul General, H.E. Mr John McAnulty and
the British Consul General H.M. Mr Douglas Barnes
Toast to celebrate the achievement
of IB Continuum World School Status
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2015 Issue III
Little Explorers
Book Week was a real
highlight
for
“Little
Explorers” this month. There
were lots of book-related
activities leading up to this
event as well as during the
week itself. All the classroom
doors were decorated to
reflect a favourite class book,
the children were asked to
drop everything and read at
certain times of the day and
something all the children
really loved was “Buddy
Reading” with older children
in the school. There were
many other things going on
too. We had lots of risk-taker
parents who volunteered to
come and read a story to their
child’s class. Children did
book reviews, drew pictures
and spent time at the book
fair. The week culminated
in “Book Character Dress
Up Day” where children and
teachers were encouraged to
come to school dressed as
their favourite book character.
This was a great success with
a wide and colourful array of
costumes representative of
our favourite characters from
fiction.
Teacher Story
Meet Jo Roberts our Head of Early Years
platform for our children to
learn about, understand and
more importantly accept
differences on a global scale.
For me teaching is all about
making a difference and
opening up the world to young
minds. The EIS community,
being made up of so many
different nationalities and
cultures, is a wonderful
Having lived in Vietnam for
over 12 years I have seen
many changes take place,
especially in Ho Chi Minh
City, which has grown and
developed in such a short
space of time. Every day it
amazes me that it seems the
city alters in its make up. In
the same way this constant
change and progression is
what is so rewarding about
teaching. Each day in “Little
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Explorers” is different, each
day there are new inquiries
and experiences and each
day the children are growing,
changing and eager to move
forward on their learning
journey. This is true also for
us as teachers as we learn
and grow alongside them. EIS
is a wonderful environment
for both children and teachers
to grow in. The village style
campus enables strong bonds
to be formed with one another
further enhancing the sense
of family and community
spirit which makes EIS such a
great and unique place to be.
2015 Issue III
Primary Point
Our PYP Exhibition Journey
The Exhibition is a big
project that Primary students
complete just before they
move up to Middle School.
We work really hard on the
project. The PYP Exhibition
is our time to show everyone
what we’ve learnt throughout
our Primary careers.
We started by choosing the
groups we would work in and
then we figured out what we
wanted to do our project on.
When this was done, each
group had to create Lines of
Inquiry on which they wanted
to focus their research.
The most fun we’ve had
has been decorating the
information boards that we
will show at the Exhibition.
We have to be really creative
and smart about where we
place things and exactly what
information we show.
The most challenging part
about the Exhibition process
has been that we have had
to work so hard. We have had
to concentrate a lot and do
most of the things without
our teacher’s help. It’s been
tough!
The Exhibition will be on
May 25th and 26th in the EIS
Library from 18:00 - 19:00.
We hope that many people
will come and support us by
attending on one of the two
days.
- Grade 5L
Teacher Story
by Josephine McAleer, Head of Primary
Teachers seeking to work at
EIS often tell me that one
of the main reasons they are
attracted to us as a potential
place to work is our truly international staff. The cultur-
al composition of the Primary
Team, like that of the rest of
the staff at EIS is like a global
quilt.
Everyone on the team has lived
and worked in other countries
and others have grown up
as Third Culture Kids. This
rich cultural mix makes for
very interesting conversations
among students and teachers
as well as among the teachers
themselves; it also ensures
that our students have role
models for what it means to
be a global citizen. We truly
have global citizens educating future global citizens.
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2015 Issue III
Secondary Spot
Results from the National German Exam
A big Hut ab! to all German students in Grades 6 through 10 at
the beginner level, who scored a school average of 74% on the
National German Exam. This is an online exam for American
high school students of German, and a score of 70% or above
earns a medal for achievement. Although the test is designed
for 9th graders and above, EIS students in all Secondary grade
levels scored highly, including 6th graders. The test contained
both a reading section and a listening and viewing section.
Special recognition goes to the following students for earning a
score of 90% or higher, for a Gold medal: Kim Do Yeon, Grade
8; Nguyen Quoc Dang Khoa, Grade 9; Kim Hyun Jung, Grade
10; Nguyen Dinh Hung, Grade 10.
The following students earned a score of 80% or higher, for a
Silver medal: Bui Minh Ngoc (Lucy), Grade 6; Kimberly van
der Wulp, Grade 6; Vu Tran Minh Trung, Grade 7; Jang Hye Jin,
Grade 7; Kim Si Yeon, Grade 7; Lee Si Hyung, Grade 7; Kang
Bok Gi, Grade 9; Tran Le Huy, Grade 9; Moon Ju Hyeog, Grade
10; Vuong Trung Son, Grade 10.
The following students earned a score of 70% or higher, for a
Bronze medal: Dinh Trung Duong, Grade 7; Kim Eunseo, Grade
7; Moon Ju Ri, Grade 7; Nguyen Vu Bich Ngoc, Grade 7; Tran
Viet Quang (Sam), Grade 7; Kang Min Ju, Grade 8; Phan Minh
Nhat, Grade 9; Nguyen Khanh Toan, Grade 9.
Message from the Head of Secondary
Our Secondary School is
now coming up to its third
birthday, and time has passed
very quickly. In those three
years we have seen a great
deal of development and
change. Our students have
multiplied from thirteen to
over 70; and have matured, as
the eldest which were Grade
8s are now Grade 10s, about
to start their Diploma courses
in preparation for university.
We have seen our facilities
grow from 3 buildings to
twelve, with a new football
pitch
and
library.
Our
teaching staff have developed
from IB newbies into expert
IB practitioners. We have
introduced a 1:1 netbook
programme, Managebac and
Google Apps for Education.
This last academic year we
were delighted to receive IB
authorisation for our MYP and
DP programmes, along with
PYP in the Primary section.
Next academic year we have
more exciting developments
to come, including a purposebuilt secondary building with
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science labs, new swimming
pool, large multi-purpose
room, and more classrooms.
We have the launch of our
Diploma Programme. We will
have a new and improved
library, with a large injection
of Secondary resources for
our MYP and DP students,
and a newly refurbished Arts
Villa for Music and Visual Art.
And we will be welcoming
new staff and students, as
well as saying a fond farewell
to others who are moving on.
I will be one of those saying
a fond farewell, as my family
and I will be moving back to
my home country of England,
after 8 wonderful years in
Vietnam. I am certain that
our school will continue to
grow stronger and better with
our new incoming Principal
Iain Fish and newly appointed
Head of Secondary Mark
Rees. I want to take this
opportunity to give a heartfelt
thank you to the wonderful
EIS community during my
time at this lovely school. It
has been a pleasure and a
privilege working with our
teachers, students, parents
and our school staff, and I
count myself very lucky to
be leaving with so many fond
memories and friendships.
Nick Taggart
Deputy Principal
Head of Secondary
2015 Issue III
Personal Project entry by Quynh Trang Dinh
The Personal Project was an
interesting experience. At
first, you might be scared, not
knowing what to do or where
to go to ask for help. Don’t
worry about it, I was afraid
too. At the beginning, there
were too many things I wanted
to do and I found myself
unable to decide. However,
I did what I had to do follow my heart and choose
something I like best and I
do best. I have always liked
writing, and am fascinated by
books, so, when the Personal
Project was shared with us, I
decided to write a book. But
then, I needed to choose
what to write about. I wanted
to choose a topic that raised
awareness and give back
something to the community.
This was why I chose human
trafficking. It was a hard
and ambitious project, and
sometimes I could feel the
pressure. However, in the
end, it paid off. I was able to
complete it in time and it was
one of the best feelings I’ve
ever experienced - a mixture
of pride and happiness. The
Personal Project has taught
me so many things, such as
knowledge I didn’t possess
before. Many of these life
skills I will take with me for
the rest of my life. Overall, it
has been a joyful journey and
one of the most rewarding
experiences in grade 10.
Mr Mark Rees appointed as Head of Secondary
EIS is pleased to announce
that Mark Rees has been
appointed
as
Head
of
Secondary,
effective
1st
August 2015.
Mark Rees joins EIS from
Renaissance
International
School Saigon where he
currently holds the position
of Head of Humanities. He
was a core member of the
early team of Renaissance
and has a strong knowledge
of international education in
general and schools in Ho Chi
Minh City in particular. Mark
is an IB Examiner for Business
Management and been a
workshop leader for Business
Management in the IB Saigon
job-a-like programme. He has
previously held core roles
including EE Coordinator,
Model United Nations Director
and Scheduling Coordinator.
Mark has had a role in College
& University Counselling
over the past few years and
students of his have gone onto
study at institutions including
Princeton, Michigan, Yonsei,
Seoul National, Erasmus,
Melbourne and Sydney.
Mark is a strong believer in
an IB education and one of
the facets that most attracted
him to EIS was the ability for
his two-and-a-half year old
daughter, Gabriella, to study
in an IB world school that
offered all three programmes.
Mark, who is Australian,
is married to Thuy, who is
also a teacher, and they are
expecting their second child in
July. They are looking forward
to joining the EIS community.
Mark is especially glad to be
joining a European school as
he worked for sometime in
the Netherlands, has a Dutch
mother and hopes for Gabby
to make some connections
with her Dutch background.
Mark
studied
marketing
at university and has an
undergraduate
business
degree. He also holds a
postgraduate
degree
in
education from the University
of Western Sydney, a university
which works closely with the
IB in regards to educational
research and is a leader in
this field. He qualified with
his postgraduate degree in
education, with distinction,
and on the Dean’s Honour
Role. He sees his main
focus this upcoming year
being to help to build on the
excellent work done over the
last few years by Nick Taggart
and to create a vibrant and
successful IBDP programme
in the school alongside David
Sterling. Mark is excited to
be joining the school and
strongly believes that the
underlying
Europeanness
and “Village” community
make EIS one of the most
unique and positive learning
environments available for
secondary students in Ho Chi
Minh City.
Save the Date
1st June
4th June
12th June
15th June - 3rd July
End of Year Show
Early Years
Presentation Day
Whole School
Last Day of School
EIS Summer School
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2015 Issue III