Weekly Highlights 12/09/2025

Weekly Highlights is a weekly newsletter sent by the BVIS Leadership Team to parents, providing updates on notable news and activities at the school. The newsletter consists of three main sections: updates from the Principal, Head of Primary, and Head of Secondary.

Dear Parents,

Despite the tricky start with all the rain this week, we were delighted to see the ECA programme across primary and secondary get off to a great start. It is always wonderful to see students trying a new sport or activity for the first time, making new friends and perhaps sparking a passion for something that they have not done before. Please do ask your children what they have been up to, what they have learned, and what they are looking forward to over the course of the ECA programme.   

It was also lovely to see so many parents attending the Parents' Evening Meetings in primary this week and building strong relationships with the teachers to ensure the best start for your children.  These continue next week, and we look forward to seeing more parents then.

We have 2 big events coming up at BVIS and we are excited to welcome parents to both.  As mentioned last week, the Online Safety Talk by Jonathan Taylor will take place next Wednesday, 16th September.  Please do take the opportunity to hear Mr Taylor speak about how we all play our part in keeping our children safe online. 

Meet Our New Teachers

We continue to introduce our new teachers.  We offer a warm welcome to Mr Adam and Mr David who have both joined the school from the UK. Adam is working as a Primary EAL teacher while David is teaching Music in Primary.

Mr Adam Crowther

 

Adam has been working in Vietnam since 2011, teaching and managing in English Language centres across Ho Chi Minh City. He holds a Master’s degree in Education, a DipTESOL and an iPGCE from the universities of Chichester, Cambridge, and Derby respectively. Adam also presented his MA thesis in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, focusing on trauma management and student well-being.

Mr David Isaac Lewis

 

David is a passionate and dedicated music teacher who believes in making music accessible and enjoyable for every child. He holds a BA in Music from Goldsmiths College and an MA in the Sociology of Childhood and Children’s Rights from the Institute of Education, UCL, bringing a unique and insightful perspective to his teaching. David earned his Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) while working in London. With over 10 years of teaching experience, he has implemented successful music programmes in the UK and in Vietnam.

At the end of September (Tuesday 30th), we are hosting a University Fair with over 200 universities attending from across the globe.  This is a wonderful chance to learn more about the world that awaits our students when they finish secondary school. 

On Wednesday this week, we conducted our Term 1 fire drill.  These drills ensure all students and staff know the correct procedures should there be a real evacuation.  During these drills, we are always looking at how we can further improve our practice and keep our BVIS community safe.  My thanks to all the support staff that do an excellent job to make sure that the highest standards of health and safety are observed during these drills.  

Wishing everyone a wonderful and hopefully ‘dry’ weekend ahead.

Contact Us

Should you wish to contact your child’s Class Teacher(s) or Form Tutor directly, we encourage communication to be written in the language you most feel confident to use. 

Parents may also find it useful to contact their child’s class teacher(s) or form tutor directly for all individual queries about their academic work/social and emotional wellbeing in school. Individual contact details can be found in the Parents’ Handbooks or via our Primary/Secondary Receptionists. 

Things are really moving now in the Primary School with the children now beginning to dig deeper into their Lien Ket topics. We have had Year 2 this week kicking off their ‘A to B –Transport’ topic. It was fantastic to see the Year 2s in the playground with their bikes and scooters on Wednesday and it was wonderful to see them wearing their helmets and being safety conscious while enjoying some fun activities. 

Inclusion Week

As we come to the end of our very first Inclusion Week at BVIS we can reflect on excellent activities across the week. Our “Walking in My Shoes” workshop enabled students to step into the experiences of others and develop a deeper sense of empathy and understanding. This interactive workshop, along with its challenge activities, was designed to help students gain insight into the diverse ways people perceive, process, and interact with the world. By simulating different perspectives, we encouraged everyone to reflect on what it truly means to belong and why inclusion matters. 

After each activity, we facilitated reflection discussions, where students shared how they felt during the challenges and connected these feelings to real-life situations. By linking these experiences to our wider Inclusion Week themes — Discovery, Mirrors, Bridges, Windows, and Celebrate — students were able to explore their own identities, celebrate differences, and recognise the power of empathy in building a supportive and inclusive community 

Thank you to Mr Sam for leading this first Inclusion Week. 

Student Council 

In recent weeks, our amazing Year 6 Executive Student Council members Mimi - 6B, Yoo 6V, Tue Minh - 6I and Lulu - 6S demonstrated outstanding confidence and leadership by speaking in both Upper and Lower Primary assemblies. They introduced the exciting student council opportunities for this year and inspired pupils from Years 1–5. Children eagerly applied, explaining why they would make excellent representatives and how they could support their classmates to make our school an even better place. Their thoughtful answers showed real passion for leadership, teamwork, and community spirit. 

We are incredibly proud of all the children who showed courage and applied.  

Congratulations to our new Primary Student Council 2025-26! 

Belonging Champions

This week we had a very important meeting. Primary Leadership team had our first meeting with the Belonging Champions for our Primary classes. Only a few classes are now without a Belonging Champion, so please let the class teacher know if you are interested. It would be fantastic for all classes to benefit from a Belonging Champion to help develop our lovely community at BVIS. Our new Belonging Champions will help to support our community and we encourage all parents to join the new groups for their children’s classes, even if you are only on to receive information. 

We will catch up with our Belonging Champions again in October and look forward to hearing all the fantastic ways in which our community are helping each other! 


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Upcoming Events

Student Leadership Launch Sets the Stage for 2025 

Wednesday’s whole-school assembly burst with energy as this year’s student leaders unveiled their house teams, council committees, and even a new university ambassador. With Ms Katie-Ann Mumby-Cole keeping the crowd buzzing as our host, the Student Council leaned into a retro game show vibe that had everyone cheering along. 

Each house then brought their own flavour: Dalat howled out their wolf-pack ambitions, Hanoi promised another fiery rise from the ashes - claiming they'd have this year "rapped" up, Hue proved themselves an Oasis of calm with a heartfelt tribute to their beloved Head of House Mr Cooper, and Saigon’s tigers came out clawing and ready for battle with a cheeky roast that brought the house down. 

And the excitement doesn’t stop there—this week sees the start of interviews for committee members and digital innovators. The Student Leadership team are ready to build their dream crew and set the pace for another unforgettable year. 

 

R U OK? Day

We are thrilled to share the success of our first-ever R U OK? Day event, held on Thursday, September 11. Organised by the Student Council Wellbeing Chairs, it was a day dedicated to promoting a culture of kindness, connection, and mental health awareness within our community. 

The core message of the day is the simple yet powerful act of asking, “Are you OK?” and making space for an honest answer. As a community, we believe it's vital to check in on one another and offer support. This year, we chose to highlight the fact that 1 in 3 people will experience panic attacks or anxiety symptoms in their lifetime, underscoring the importance of these conversations. 

Many events happened throughout the day, and all profits from the day's activities will be donated to Saigon Children’s Charity to support their mental health awareness initiatives. 


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PE 

This week saw the exciting start of our Bulldogs squads, with very strong teams beginning their training across football, badminton, basketball, volleyball, and swimming as they prepare for the new year and new season. A particular highlight is our U19 volleyball squad, who are re-entering the SISAC league for the first time in three years after a solid year of preparation—an achievement that brings fresh energy and anticipation. 

Looking ahead, fixtures kick off next week with matches against many of our local schools, providing valuable opportunities for our students to showcase their skills and teamwork. In addition, House Basketball is just around the corner, where our Houses will go head-to-head in pursuit of valuable points for the House Cup. 

Live Lunch 

Global Campus Art Competition 

Calling all artists! The Global Campus Art Competition is now open with the theme Nature’s Wonders. Submit your artwork by 24th October and let your creativity shine. Explore the artist tutorial videos available on the Global Campus website to help spark your imagination. Speak to your Art Teacher if you have any questions.  


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Sparx Maths Champions

The Sparx Maths Weekly Champion is the student who is the top XP earner in each year group.  
 
Students earn XP by completing tasks in their Sparx Homework 
  
Compulsory Tasks earn 60-80XP 
XP Boost Tasks earn 120-150XP 
Target Tasks earn 120-150XP 
Independent Learning Tasks earn 100XP 
  
Students reach a new Sparx Level every 10000XP 

Top XP earners this week are: 

Bedrock Champions

This week’s bedrock champions are:  

Year 9      Le Hong Minh Quang (Mraz)           
Year 12     Ngo Khanh Ngoc            
Year 8     Nguyen Hoang Thuc Quyen                      
Year 7       Le Hong Minh Khue                                      
Year 10     Le Nha Zooc Linh Chi                                 
Year 11   Tran Nhu Bao Thi                   

Congratulations to all the above students who came up on top in their respective year groups. A special well done to Mraz who achieved the highest Bedrock points total across the whole of the secondary school this week!

Champion of the week!

This week’s champion is.

Congratulations and well-done to Minh!

Champion Tutor Group of the week!

Congratulations to 789s/Saigon4. Well done!

Housepoint Totals

Congratulations to Saigon house, who hold on to the top spot!

Upcoming Events

17/9– Jonathan Taylor Visit
18/9– Y11 Options event
25/9 – Y9 Options event
25/9 – UGC Coffee morning
30/9– University Fair
1/10 – Y7 Pastoral Parents’ Evening
13/10 – Half Term holiday - school closed
20/10 – School reopens

Safeguarding and Child Protection

The health, safety and wellbeing of our students remains the number one priority at BVIS HCMC.

Should you have a concern for the welfare of any child in our school, please refer to our Safeguarding poster below: