UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter Volume 19, Edition 22, Friday 08 February
Next Week... Coming Soon... Tet Holidays 09 - 17 February. School Closed. Tuesday, 26 February ● Community Event with Peter Brown 18:00 - 19:30, B10 Coming Soon... Wednesday, 27 February ● APAC Drama Festival -Seoul Foreign School, ends 3 Mar Monday, 18 February ● APAC Band-Hong Kong Int’l School, ends 3 Mar ● School Resumes ● Kindergarten PAC, 09:00 - 10:00, B10 Tuesday, 19 February ● Community Meeting: Values & Beliefs, 19:00 - 21:00, B10 ● ISIS Family workshop 17:30, Community Room Thursday, 28 February Thursday, 21 February ● UNIS Hanoi MUN Conference 28 Feb - 2 March ● MRISA Junior Soccer Tournament, HIS 21-24 February ● ECC Parent Info Session 14:00, ECC-Room G27 ● Finance Committee Meeting 07:00 - 08:30, B7 ● Information night for G5 Exhibition, 18:00 - 19:00, B7 ● Advancement Committee Meeting 08:30 - 10:00, B7
● Curriculum Transition Meeting for Grade 5 Parents
18:00, B8 Friday, 22 February
● ASA Session 3 Registration 22 - 24 February Saturday, 23 February
● UNIS Hanoi Aquathlon
IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights...
Notes from the Board of Directors Kindy PAC. Save the Date! (p.10) (p.2) Peter Brown. Coming Soon... (p.11) Admissions for 2013-2014 (p.2) 25th Birthday Alumni Project (p.11) Notes from the Middle/High ISIS Family Special (p.12-13) School Principal (p.3-4)
We had a lovely Tet Celebration Tet Bags Thank You (p.14) (p.5) UNIS Tree Nursery (p.15) NEW! Uniquely UNIS Auction (p.6) Spring Fair. Book Now! (p.16) Notes from the Middle/High New Year...New Drum (p.17) School Assistant Principal (p.7) Grade 5 Curriculum Transition After School Activities News (p.19) Meeting (p.8) APAC Swimming (p.20) ECC Parent Info Session (p.8) MUN Host Families Needed (p.22) UMA News (p.8) Job Opportunity (p.23) 100 Day Celebration (p.6)
Notes from the Board of Directors
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to wish everyone "Chúc Mừng Năm Mới" and hope that the new year of the snake brings good health and happiness to all members of our UNIS Hanoi community. The Board looks forward to meeting many of you at the community meeting scheduled Wednesday February 27, 7pm Black Box, Centre for the Arts when we will be sharing with you the first draft of the values and beliefs statements. These statements are being compiled based on everyone’s input at the recent focus groups. Sarah Garner, UNIS Hanoi Board Chair
We wish best of luck to Umi Ahmad Solihin (9MA) Who left UNIS Hanoi this week
Notes from the Middle High School Principal
Dear MSHS Families, Greetings from the MSHS. Working day in and day out with over 500 students and 70 teachers can be fairly stressful and can often leave one’s head spinning just trying to keep up the beehive of activity inherent in secondary schools. But there are times when you just have to sit back and enjoy the moment! One such glorious moment took place on Thursday when the MSHS Vietnamese language students presented a Tet assembly for our community. Dressed in regional fashion students sang traditional Tet songs, presented comedic skits, and gave the audience a brief and informative introduction into Vietnamese cultural and traditions. Congratulations to all students involved and to Vietnamese language teachers Ms. Hoa and Ms. Xuan for their wonderful direction. The HS held its Semester 1 Awards Assembly on Wednesday and it was an upbeat affair designed to honor those students who reached academic and personal excellence. The MSHS community would like to congratulate the following students: Grade Level Awards:
Grade 11 Grade 9 Learner Laureate – Chi Hyun Ryu Learner Laureate – Mana Muchaku
Leadership – Michael Emblem Leadership – Chi Mai Citizenship – Nhi Trinh Citizenship – Partho Mondal Humanitarian – Asare Buahin Humanitarian – Jamie Trees
Grade 10 Grade 12 Learner Laureate – Melanie Beek Learner Laureate – Andrew Kim Leadership Award – Veronica Lai Leadership Award – Laura Ramoso Citizenship Award – Tae Jun Park Citizenship Award – Yong Kamila Ahmad Solihin Humanitarian Award – Sara Curcio Humanitarian Award – Izziany Mohd Jamil
Please enjoy a relaxing and fun filled Tet break! Chúc Mừng Năm Mới, Pete Kennedy, MSHS Principal [email protected]
Notes from the Middle High School Principal
Academic HONOuR ROLL
Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 Bui Vu Tran My-Linh Vu Thien Barbara Ha Hai Yang Seung Yoo Cheong Devin Trees Jamie Teranishi Masatoki Phung Mai Lai Veronica Lee Ju Youn Soderberg Jimmy Kim Min Ji Jeong So Yeon Lee Ji Hoon Davies Ruby Lee Hyun Ji Jeong So Hee Le Son Senanayake Dehaja Ryu Chi Hyun Nguyen Minh Anh Stephens William (Will) Kimura Ayaki Escalante Vince Jose Kei- Senanayake Darikha Do Quynh Anh Nyberg Yanik ko Do Van Hoa Phong Kim Young Jin Fiebrantz Lena Hamer Ruan Nguyen Hai Anh Tang Zhen Wayne Buahin Awua Do Quynh Anh Ho Minh Kim Da Hyeong Shankar Anushka Fiebrantz Jonas Yoon Eel Hee Emblem Kelly Lachman Ewa Dung Noh Hae Ji Muchaku Mana Jo Tae Hee Pham Thao Kim Na Young Prytz Lucas Porter Charlotte Muchaku Mai Than Viet Sohn Seung Hyun Tran Le-My Obayashi Chihiro Vallely Gillian Le Phuong Dluzniewska Monika Trinh Nhi Yoon Hye Lin van den Brink Jessica Beard Ellen Nguyen Linh Mallon Kim Lan Tam Hiong Lin Kim Bum Soo Vo Linh Nguyen Duong Lee Dong Heon Cohen Sariek (Sarig) Beek Melanie Tang Maximilian Banglorewala Shraddha Park Tae Jun Sugimori Kanji Kim Andrew Curcio Sara Mondal Partho Le Huong Giang Evans Aincre Ngo Minh Nguyen Tuan Anh Pham Linh Le Hai Anna Nishimura Haruka Hyun Kyung Hyea Yang Na Yeong Tagomori Hanna Mai Chi Satpathy Shefali Tran My Ko Eun Bee (Cindy) Hwang Hyun Su
Tet Celebration
Notes from Advancement Office
BIRTHDAY UPDATE
Our BIRTHDAY BALL is approaching – Make sure you have the date marked in your calendar: APRIL 13. We will be launching the event details after Tet and it promises to be a wonderful community celebration as well as a lot of fun and fundraising… Get ready to party! Our goal is to make a Birthday Gift which will support those most in need in Vietnam for the next 25 years! And most im- portantly, will also engage our students and build meaningful connections in our community through Service Learning. Last week we announced our UNIQUELY UNIS AUCTION – an auction of our community’s time and talents! It is a celebration of what we all have to offer! It will also only be open to UNIS Hanoi community members for bids.
ALREADY CONFIRMED FROM FACULTY… A round of golf with the Head of School Dr Chip Barder will host a round of golf at one of Vietnam’s top courses. Handyman for the Day Director of Operations, Dave Porter, will set your home straight. Digital Scrapbooking Class HS Physics teacher Ingrid Renneberg will introduce this beautiful hobby. Personalised Perfume! ES French teacher Clemence Barbier (La Dame Clemence) will consult and create a perfume just for you! French Cheese and Wine Tasting With her French husband, Director of Advancement, Emma Silva will host a ‘guided tour’ from their homeland. NEW! Tandem Tour with our Cycling Supremo! A fun trip out with Director of Technology, Ed Gilbreath and his tandem
ALREADY CONFIRMED FROM PARENTS… Personal Style Review Wardrobe Review & Personal Shopping tour Knitting Masterclass Either beginners, starting again after a long absence or looking to tackle something more difficult. Cooking Whizz! Learn to cook a delicious new menu and then enjoy eating it! Private Yoga Class 75 min private hatha yoga class for absolute beginners to intermediate-level practitioners NEW! British Beetle Drive Bonanza A traditional Games Night for teams of 4 – Fun for all the family! These are just a few of the wonderful ideas that our parents and faculty have already come up with… But anything goes! Contact the UNIQUELY UNIS team on [email protected] with any questions or with your ideas. YOUR TIME AND TALENTS CAN CHANGE SOMEONE’S LIFE THOUGH THE BIRTHDAY GIFT FUND! Emma Silva, Director of Advancement [email protected]
From Our Birthday Sponsor For Our Community
Cafe Du Lac Westlake TET Specialties Buffet 8th -13th February Come as a family or with a group of friends and enjoy our daily lavish TET buffet with fresh Nha Trang Blue Lobster, all your favorite local seafood and imported meat as well as house made Banh Chung and 6 interactive live cooking stations. Enjoy our Traditional Vietnamese Dragon dance to bring in the Year of the Snake on the 10th VND 1, 075, 000 ++ per Adult excluding beverages VND 1, 290, 000 ++ per Adult including free flow of beer, wine and soft drink VND 2, 365 000 ++ per Adult including Moet Chandon Saigon Restaurant A Celebration of TET - February Celebrate the Lunar New Year with a range of specially designed TET celebration menus custom designed by Chef Thang and his culinary team. Signature dishes include Deep fried minced beef and green rice, Wok fried soft shell crab, Salmon gilled in Pandan leaves and Steam live Garoupa and Pink Birds nest soup and stir fried lobster TET Celebrations menus start at VND 840,000++ per adult 50% for children 6 -12 Children under 6 Eat Free Don’t forget to ask about our special TET Hampers from Le Gourmet For more information or to make a reservation, please call us at (04) 6 270 8888 or email [email protected]
Notes from the MSHS Assistant Principal
Next week after the Tet holiday you will receive information concerning this year’s Grade 6 – 11 Trips that will run from March 18 to 22. The Grade Level Trips provide an invaluable opportunity for your child(ren) to interact with the local community, to have the curriculum extended in a meaningful and productive manner and to interact socially while living and working together in a way that is not possible during the regular school day. It is an expectation that all students from grade 6 through to grade 11 will attend and participate fully. It is very important that all students have a copy of passport and visa along with their consent forms completed, signed and returned to their homeroom teachers no later than Friday February 22. A link to up-to-date documentation regarding the trips, including copies all forms, will be sent out in the very near future. Trip destinations by grade: Grade 6 - Cuc Phuong Grade 7- Mai Chau Grade 8- Ba Vi Grade 9- Ba Be Grade 10 - Sa Pa Grade 11 - Hoa Binh - V- Resort During the same time, our grade 12 students will be involved in the Mock Examinations. The schedule for these examinations will be released shortly but certainly preparation for these examinations should be an increasing priority over the next few weeks. Christina Powers, MSHS Assistant Principal [email protected]
Notes from the Director of Learning
Grade 5 Parents’ Curriculum Transition Meeting We are starting the preparation for our grade 5 students to move up from the Elementary School to grade 6 in the Middle School! This is a big transition for both our grade 5 students and parents and involves academic as well as social/emotional changes. The move from Elementary School to Middle School is an exciting time, and in order to ensure that students are successful with the transition we like to start the transition discussions with parents early on in the process. In order to help begin to prepare you for this transition, we will be holding a Curriculum Transition meeting for all Grade 5 parents on Thursday February 21, 2013 in the UNIS Hanoi Library. At this meeting you will meet the MSHS Leadership team and begin to learn about the curriculum structure in the Middle School. One of the key pieces will be to understand the Language options and Creative Arts options for your child for next academic year. We hope to see all Grade 5 parents at this event! Grade 5 Parents’ Curriculum Transition Meeting When: Thursday, February 21 2013 at 18:00 Where: UNIS Hanoi Library Who: All grade 5 parents (no students please) Meagan Enticknap-Smith, Director of Learning [email protected]
Early Childhood Centre Parent Info Session
ECC parents, please join us on Thursday February 28 at 2 p.m. for our next ECC parent-teacher session. Mary Pool, our Speech and Language Therapist will lead a discussion focusing on young children’s eating skills and the effect on speech development. Please RSVP [email protected] to confirm your attendance. The session will be held in the in the PYP meeting room (ECC B11 G27). Hedi Sayer-Sanchez, Grade level Coordinator
UNIS Music Academy News
UNIS Music Academy lessons will be on hold until Monday March 11. This is due to the Music Academy following the same schedule as the ASA program. There will be no scheduled lessons from February 18 to March 8. During February 18 to March 8, make-up lessons will be available for missed lessons from Semester 1. Missed lesson times need to be coordinated with Ms Cham in advance via email – [email protected] Wishing all the Music Academy students and parents a very Happy TET and all the best for the New year. Elizabeth Druitt, UMA Coordinator [email protected]
100 Days of School
On Wednesday the Grade 1 children celebrated the 100th Day of School. The day started with a photo of them all in the shape of 100. This was followed by some shared snack. The children then participated in a variety of activities all connected to 10. There was counting to 100 in different ways, finding and ordering all the numbers to 100 and hanging them on a line, making lines of 100 cubes, playing a Vietnamese game with 100 counters that had to be picked up using only your index fingers, a heart outline of 100 pieces, a board game racing to 100, a treasure hunt to find numbers and colour them in on a chart where a secret picture then emerged and a story about 100 Hungry Ants. Phew! The 100th day is certainly a busy one! Julia Hatch, Grade 1 teacher [email protected]
Notes from the High School Counselors’ Office
College Visits Coming Up at UNIS Hanoi. Don’t miss the date! Webster University (US) - February 26th 2013 Savannah College of Art (Hong Kong) - February 27th 2013 (For Students intersted in Art) Business Faculty/Hong Kong Polytechnic University - March 05th 2013 (For Students interested in Business Degree) Canadian Education Fair - March 08th 2013 Gold Smiths/University of London - March 11th 2013 (For Students interested in Art) International College of Hotel management (Australia) - March 14th 2013 (For Students interested in Hotel Management) Durham University - March 22nd 2013 (Ranking 05th among UK institutions) For brief introduction about the institutions, please follow this link.
Kindergarten PAC
Visitor at UNIS Hanoi
Caldecott Honour Award Winner Author and Illustrator Peter Brown AT UNIS HANOI February 25 to March 1, 2013 Author Peter Brown will be visiting ES and MSHS students
UNIS Hanoi Community Evening Event February 26, 2013 18:00, Center for the Arts
Getting In Touch Project
My name is Bryony Rickard and as a Grade 10 student I have to complete a Personal Project. My Project is to get in contact with our alumni through the use of a quick, simple online form so that our current community can hear what our school was like over the last 25 years. If you know anyone or you are someone who knows anyone I could get in contact with who has any interesting stories then please contact me! Thank you! Bryony Rickard, Grade 10 Student
What was the best advice a UNIS teacher gave you? Nationality: It's not a particular word of advice I remember, but insight into the Vietnamese cultural differences inherent in an international school. I remember one of our teachers telling us how he could tell that some of the students Where are you living now? were suffering from physical violence at home, but that it was difficult to HCMC take action: in America or Canada a teacher could be sent to jail for What are you doing now (job/studying)? failing to report signs of parental abuse, but in Korea physical Working punishment was considered normal. He said it in the best possible way, in hopes that the students suffering abuse would come talk to him What year(s) [eg. 2010-2012] were you at UNIS and what Grade privately, but without singling anyone out. It helped me understand the level(s) were you in at that time? cause of the violent behavior I had seen in some of my classmates. 1997-2002, grade 7 - 12 Who was your favourite teacher and why? What is your favourite memory from UNIS Hanoi? Mrs Auckland, my History/Geography teacher (and English? sorry, it's Playing soccer for UNIS team and finally winning the soccer tournament been so long...) She was warm and encouraging. As part of a during my last year! presentation I sang a silly little song I had written for the occasion and she was delighted. What was the best advice a UNIS teacher gave you? How did you get to school every morning? You need to work hard. I took a small school bus, like a mini-bus, but that was the easy part. The Who was your favourite teacher and why? hard part was crossing the hectic stream of bicycles and motorbikes on Mr. Jacobsen, he was my IB History teacher and also my soccer coach. I Tai Ha street to get to the bus stop. was never really into history, but it became one of my favorite subjects Who were your best friends and are you still in touch with them? even though he was probably the hardest teacher. My best friend was Trent, an Australian kid in my class, and his little How did you get to school every morning? brother Ben was best friends with my little brother (both in 5th grade). walk, school bus, motorcycle Other friends I remember were Gabriel (French), Sarah (Thai), Rowan (Australian), Frank (Dutch), Ashley (American). I also had my first Who were your best friends and are you still in touch with them? girlfriend at UNIS, Ida (Danish), and my first heartbreak when she Waleed Matin and Janice Teo amongst many of my good friends, and I dumped me a week later. I'm bad at keeping in touch but my brother has still keep in touch with a lot of them been in contact with Ben and Trent through Facebook. How did you and your friends like to spend your free time? How did you and your friends like to spend your free time? Playing sports and partying :) In between classes or during a free period we would buy snacks from the Tuk Shop on the first floor and eat them on the nearby couch in the What is your favourite memory/place in Hanoi? hallway. They sold crispy little Nem for 100 dong each, or 1 US penny at I was born there :P the time. What is your favourite memory/place in Hanoi? The Swedish Bar (not exclusively for Swedes) was loads of fun. UNIS families would gather there on weekends for drinks and hamburgers. There was a pool, and just next door, a mini video game arcade (3 or 4 machines total). I also loved the zoo, where I often went with my brother and Ben and Trent, who lived right next door at the Daewoo, though at the time I didn't realized how badly neglected most of the Nationality: animals there are... There were bumper cars, and you could hand feed USA/Spain the elephants (my brother almost got crushed once). Where are you living now? What is your claim to fame? Hong Kong Oh, I don't want to be famous. What are you doing now (job/studying)? Any other good/funny stories? Fauna conservation volunteer UNIS used to share a building with 2 other schools: a French school and What year(s) [eg. 2010-2012] were you at UNIS and what Grade a Vietnamese school. There were bars separating our school from the level(s) were you in at that time? Vietnamese one at the hallway junction by the Tuk Shop. In between Only 1 year, the 1996-1997 school year, 7th grade for me at the time classes we could see each other through the bars. Sometimes we would What is your favourite memory from UNIS Hanoi? yell and insult each other, but it was mostly peaceful. Also, my brother's I loved Olympic day at Hang Day stadium. I was so impressed by the grade had class in a temporary one-story building outside the main fact that we were competing in an actual stadium. We even had team school. During monsoon they missed a few days of school because of shirts printed out, with numbers and everything. I didn't win any medals flooding but we didn't, and I thought it was 'so unfair'. Some kids got but it was good fun. leeches.
Tech Director Tidbits
Normally at this time of year the weather is so miserable that I would be happy to be inside writing this short item for the UNIS Hanoi Community. However, the beautiful weather this week has challenged my resolve to be task oriented. Please take some time to access ISIS Family in order to confirm that your ISIS Family installation works before ASA sign- ups in two weeks. This will also be a good time confirm that your Guardian Information is correct. Please follow these steps to access ISIS Family: 1. ISIS Family works with PC (IExplorer, Firefox, Chrome) or Mac (Safari, Firefox). ISIS Family does not work with Chrome on a Mac. 2. If this is the first time you have run ISIS Family from your computer, make sure that the Microsoft Silverlight plugin is installed (version 5.1 or later) by going to: http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/ If you have don’t have Silverlight or you have an old version it will ask you to download and install the latest version:
Old version of Silverlight installed on your computer
Click here to download new version, then install.
3. Run ISIS Family in your browser, by going to the URL: http://isis.unishanoi.org/isis_family/isis_family.html 4. Enter your ISIS Family Username and Password at the prompt (the same password sent to you for Report Cards, Conference signups, and ASA Signups). Note: No @unishanoi.org after your username, as when you log into the UNIS Hanoi portal! Your password is a 6 digit number unless you have changed it. If you changed your password and have forgotten it, please call UNIS Hanoi Tech Support (04) 3758 1551 ext. 8601 and ask to reset your ISIS Family password.
Tech Director Tidbits
5. On the right hand side Family panel, click on the rectangle with your name and photo.
Click on your name & photo
6. When you sign-in and click on your picture you will see the following screen:
7. You can review your Guardian Information and submit information corrections by clicking on Change on the left side of the menu bar. Once you have made the changes click “OK” at the bottom of the Change Request screen. UNIS Hanoi will offer an ISIS Family workshop on Tuesday, February 19 at 5:30 pm in the Community Room of B7. We will have Tablets available for you to practice signing in to ISIS, checking your Guardian Information, practice accessing documents and signing up for ASAs. Please confirm your attendance by emailing me at [email protected], before close of business on February 18th, so that we can have enough Tablets available for the workshop.
Tet is wonderful time to enjoy Hanoi. Happy New Year!
Ed Gilbreath, Director of Technology [email protected]
Thank You
Dear Elementary School Parents and Students Thank you for supporting local children at Tet Time! On Monday the 29th of January, students and teachers visited two communities who live by the Red River. The students handed out Tet Bags to children and families in those communities which had been donated by students and parents from Discovery to Grade 2. On Sunday, February 3, students and teachers visited young boys supported by Blue Dragon at their regular Sunday Soccer Games at Long Bien Stadium. They handed out Tet Bags of Love full of gifts donated by students and parents from Grade 3 to Grade 5.. After giving the gifts, we saw many happy and delighted faces! …THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT…
Saussage Sizzle We have moved to our new location!
Your UNIS Hanoi Sausage Sizzle is now serving our WORLD FAMOUS products behind the B-4 Sports Centre. Fresh brewed coffee, tea, water, soda, popcorn and sausages will be available on Saturday from 9:00 to 11:30
Community Turbine Project
Our recent bake sale was a huge success! Over 2 million VND was raised. This was enough to buy another electricity generator. Thank you to all the folks who bought the goodies. Our next fundraising event will take place on the second Tuesday after Tet break (the 26th of February). CTP will be hosting a Sausage Sizzle! We will be selling hot dogs and drinks during the first break and at lunch time. Come show your support and enjoy a hotdog! For more information about our CAS group visit our Facebook page:
Community Garden News
ANNOUNCING THE UNIS HANOI TREE NURSERY! This year saw the very beginnings of what we hope will become a significant UNIS Hanoi Service Learning initiative. The Community Garden group has began the first UNIS Hanoi tree nursery! Last year, David Buckner was in contact with a forestry organization that is marketing certified ecologically sustainable forestry products from the central highlands of Vietnam. This group gifted the UNIS Hanoi Community Garden with the seeds of 11 types of forest trees, indigenous to Vietnam. The group also collected tree seeds from an additional 3 types of ‘street’ trees in Hanoi. Last spring the MS Community Garden students planted some of these tree seeds in the MSHS garden to see how they would do. The plants have flourished and the students have dug up the first baby trees to donate. These saplings have been delivered to Blue Dragon, who will include them in their TET gift deliveries to a rural school, outside Hanoi, where Blue Dragon is sponsoring several students. The Blue Dragon organizers were able to choose from a list of available trees, that the Garden Group put together. Future plans include the expansion of the tree nursery, a more detailed photo and description ‘catalogue’ for tree recipients to choose from, and continuing the donations of greenery to sites in and around Hanoi!
School Community Organisation News
SPRING FAIR 2013 Celebrating 25th Birthday! Saturday March 16, 11:00-15:00
UNIS Community Commercial Table Needed We invite any UNIS Parent or Staff with a small business to sell at the Spring Fair. The cost for a commercial stall is 2 million VND for 4 tables, no power. Commercial Stall holders must purchase entrance tickets for all staff. The deadline for registration is 22 February. For information, please contact the Commercial Tables Coordinator, Liz Druitt at [email protected].
Garage Sale/Used Item tables International Food Table This extremely popular area is for UNIS families and staff at the Spring Fair wanting to sell used items. If you will be leaving Hanoi, a Have a Favorite Dish you want to share? second hand table is a great way to quickly downsize before Don’t have a country table at the Spring Fair? the packers come to move you. Lighten your load at the No need to feel left out! SCO Spring Fair. Share a table with a friend or have your own. The cost is 1,000,000 VND for 2 tables, no power. Bring a dish for your country and join us at the Garage Table holders must purchase entrance tickets. The International Table! International Table is for everybody deadline for registration is 22 February. For information, who does not have their own country table but would still please contact the Garage Sale/Used Item Tables like to participate and be represented at the Spring Fair. Coordinator, Liz Druitt at [email protected]. Please contact Michiko ([email protected]) if you are interested in participating.
All are welcome!
SCO Boutique News
We are preparing for our Spring wear and would like to Open hours: invite parents and students to share with us: Monday and Thursday: 15:00 to 16:00 What is your opinion on our current new clothes Tuesday and Wednesday: 08:00 to 09:00 products in terms of selection, colours and designs? What else do you suggest the boutique should produce or sell? We have produced some new designs of clothes including the colorful PE girl shorts, Polo and Baseball Long-sleeves, long-sleeves slim fit, sweatpants and sweatshirts. Also some merchandise, i.e. swimming towels, picture frames, etc We can’t wait to here your ideas and suggestions. Please email us at [email protected]. Your opinions count!!!
New Drum in the Centre for the Arts
On display in the UNIS Hanoi Centre for the Arts foyer is a new ‘large’ Traditional Vietnamese Drum. This Drum is a gift from the SCO which was received through the 2013 SCO Grant submissions. This Drum joins the traditional Gong that is also on display in the foyer. Next year it is hoped to complete the collection with a traditional Vietnamese Bell….. Photographed with the Drum are the UNIS APAC Band musicians who will be traveling to Hong Kong at the end of February. Please come and visit the Centre for the Arts to see and hear this new drum. Many thanks to the UNIS SCO, Elizabeth Druitt, Centre for the Arts Manager [email protected]
AMIS Festival
I'm Yerim Kim from 8MH and last week, I went to Beijing to perform in an honor orchestra called AMIS. AMIS stands for the Association for Music in International Schools and it's a festival where people all around the world meet up to perform with you. There are three branches to this; band, strings and choir. This is my second year going and in the first time, I went there as a representative from the International School of Manila, Philippines and this year, I went to represent UNIS Hanoi. This year, it was hosted in ISB and out of the 77 schools who were registered as AMIS schools, 23 attended it from North Africa, Europe and Asia. It's such an amazing opportunity to play with such talented people all around the world! The standards are really high and so the orchestra and the choir sounds really good! This year was a extremely special because for the first time ever in AMIS for middle school, they joined choir and strings together. Because it was its first time, AMIS decided to commission a composer(Ken Berg) for him to write a piece for us that it called 'I Choose the Light.' Georgia Basset, one of the founders of AMIS says, "You can become friends through music." I think that this is absolutely true because going there gave me a chance to make friends who are from different parts of the world.I also got to see 10 of my friends there while I was at Beijing so it was even more special for me. It's really cool how people may come from different regions of the world and speak different languages but through music, you can come together as a whole. The finale concert that we had on Saturday night was phenomenal because the harmony of the different parts of the orchestra just worked magnificently. It's a really fun experience to have overall because, as I have said earlier you get meet new people while making harmony with them as well. Lastly, I just want to thank UNIS, Mr. Dirk Kraetzer, Ms. Giang Dang, Ms. Giang Ngyen and Ms. Elizabeth Druitt for helping me to prepare for this festival. Ye Rim Kim
Notes from the Activities Office
ASA Swim Information for NEW Families A “Warm Welcome” to new families joining UNIS this school year from the Activities Office and the Aquatics department! Our UNIS Aquatics Coordinator, Ms. Ella Jaranova, would like to share some information with you regarding the Aquatics programs at UNIS. All UNIS students have a variety of opportunities to improve their swimming skills during PE swimming lessons and through participating in After School Activities (ASA). The 3rd and final ASA session of this school year starts on March 11th. All students will receive information regarding PE swimming lessons from their PE teachers. Information regarding the various ASA Swimming opportunities will be sent to you by the UNIS Activities Office. This information will include details about how to register online. Registration will take place starting at 7:00am on Friday, February 22. In order to register for ASA Swimming, students need to be assessed to determine their level. Without being assigned a swimming level, a child cannot register. Please note that testing to determine your child’s swimming level is only required for those ES students who are interested in registering for ES G1-5 swim groups for ASA Session 3. The time and day for testing is Monday, February 18th from 15:30-16:30. New students not planning on swimming during ASA 3 will be assessed during their PE lessons. Parents of ES students please – Inform aquatics coordinator and class teacher on the day about the fact that your child is attending the test Inform transport coordinator Mr. Lai that your child won’t be taking regular bus home (only in case if she/he usually takes the bus) Pick up your child after school and accompany him/her to the pool area Parent(s) or nanny will be expected to stay at the pool for the whole time during the test and to organize their own transport afterwards Bring swim suit, swim cap and towel for your child. FYI -Water at the pool is heated. Looking forward meeting you at the pool! Kind regards, Ella Jaranova, Aquatics Coordinator [email protected]
After -School Activities – Session 3 Starts Soon After-School Activities (ASAs) are for students in Discovery through Grade 12. All UNIS parents and students in Grades 6- 12 should be checking their emails for information regarding the final ASA session of the school year. Everything that you will need to know about registration and the activities that are available will be explained in that communication. Registration for Session 3 will start on Friday, February 22 at 07:00 and will close on Sunday, February 24 at 23:59 (midnight). All registration will take place on the ISIS Family online system via the UNIS Portal. If you are unfamiliar with how registration works on the ISIS Family online system, there will be an information session on Tuesday, February 19 starting at 17:30 in the Community Room (Rm. 104, 2nd floor of B7). When is ASA Session 3? The 3rd ASA session for the 2012-13 school-year will begin on Monday, March 11th and will continue for nine school weeks, ending Friday, May 17th. Please do not hesitate to contact the Co-Curricular Activities Office if you any questions or if you would like to contribute in any manner! I wish you all the best in the coming school year! Dirk Kraetzer, Director of Activities [email protected]
APAC Swim Meet
First APAC medal of this school year arrived to UNIS! This year APAC Swim Meet was held in Beijing (China) at the International School of Beijing; schools participating included the International School of Beijing, Brent International School Manila, American International School Guangzhou, Concordia International School Shanghai, Shanghai American School/ Puxi, Seoul Foreign School, Shanghai American School/ Pudong and the Western Academy of Beijing. Throughout the three days, 200 High School swimmers from all over Asia from nine different schools competed; some swimmers broke APAC records, beat their personal bests and broke records from their own school. UNIS took ten swimmers to the APAC including Cian Hamer, Do Quynh Anh, Brooks Armstrong, Emma Simson van Dijkhuize, Hao Shern Lee, Jackson Wood, Jamie Trees, Joya Tabe, Nguyen Hiep and Nicolas Wipf. Each swimmer had many accomplishments; every swimmer set a new personal best in at least one of their events. Emma Simpson van Dijkhuize won UNIS’s first APAC swimming medal, coming in third place in the 100 meter breaststroke, she also made it into the A final and won 6th place in the 50m Breaststroke. Jackson Wood and Nguyen Hiep set new UNIS swim team records in multiple events including 100m Freestyle, 50m /100m Backstroke, and 50m Breaststroke. The boys 200m Freestyle relay, which included Cian Hamer, Jackson Wood, Joya Tabe and Nguyen Hiep made it into the A finals coming in sixth place. The girls, Emma Simson van Dijkhuize, Brooks Armstrong and Do Quynh Anh, also had a major accomplishment of winning the Girl’s Sportsmanship Award. Congratulations to the coaches and Not only did UNIS’s swimmers have fun swimming and making friends from members of the UNIS APAC Swim team new schools, they also toured the Beijing 2008 Olympic Park including for their recent success at the APAC Swim National Stadium Bird’s Nest and famous swimming pool known as “Cube”. Meet in Beijing. Most notable was the third Some swimmers were able to see snow for the first time. place medal, UNIS’s first, earned by Emma Thanks to the ISB for hosting APAC swimming this year and their host Simpson van Dijkhuize in the 100M families, UNIS swimmers had an amazing trip and swim meet. Breaststroke. The team achieved many personal and team bests during the meet. Thank you to the coaches – Prashad Abeysighne, Ella Jaranova, Brian Healy, UNIS was also presented with the Girls’ Kim Esaiasson for coaching and preparing the team for the successful event. Sportsmanship Award. Job well done by all Brooks Armstrong, Grade 11 student and member of APAC swim team. UNIS swimmers!! Dirk Kraetzer, Director of Activities All results, APAC records and photos could be found on Aquatics Page.
2013 UNIS “Girls” Soccer Tournament
A week after the MS Boys had their local soccer tournament at UNIS, it was the turn of the UNIS girls to take to the field. Last weekend, (February 2) UNIS hosted a Girls Invitational 7-aside Soccer Tournament. What made this event unique was the fact that it included three boys’ teams. In order to challenge the UNIS MRISA girls and provide them a level of opposition that would best prepare them for their up-coming MRISA tournament, it was determined that playing against teams of the opposite gender was the best solution. The MRISA girls played against the Grade 6-7 Boys from UNIS and two local teams comprised of Grade 5 boys (Lomonoxop and Thanh Cong). The two grade 5 teams might have been small in stature, but they more than made UNIS Blue MS Girls Soccer Team up for that with their skill level and work rate. In the end, it was the UNIS boys who provided the biggest challenge. Lead by their coach, Mr. Humphries, they beat the girls 1-0 in round robin play. The two teams met each other again in the tournament’s championship game. This time the game ended 0-0. After 5 minutes of extra-time, the game remained tied. The winner would be decided by penalty kicks. In a reversal of their earlier game, this time the girls came out on top, winning the penalty shootout 3-2. Both teams played very well and deserved to be congratulated. Good luck to the MRISA Girls and their coaches, Ms. Ferra and Ms. Bohanon, as they attempt to retain their MRISA title at HIS the week after the TET break. The tournament, which also includes the UNIS boys, will be played at Xuan La Stadium, on February 22-23. UNIS MRISA Junior Girls Soccer Team Playing in a 3-team event at the same time was the UNIS Phoenix Girls, HIS Tigers and Phu Dien School. Each team played 2 games, with the UNIS girls coming from behind to tie HIS 2-2 and then proceeding to defeat the team from Phu Dien 4-0. This meant that the UNIS girls finished play with the best record. Congratulations to both the players and their coach Pho Nguyen. Dirk Kraetzer, Director of Activities [email protected]
MUN - Host Families Needed
IN SEARCH OF HOST FAMILIES FOR THE MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE Dear UNIS Hanoi Community, As you may be aware UNIS Hanoi students are involved in many wonderful Co-Curricular activities (including sports, the arts, MUN...etc.). Through our association with MRISA (Mekong River International Sports Association) and APAC (Asia Pacific Activities Conference) UNIS students travel to many events. We also do our share of hosting events. Providing guest students with homestay accommodations is what makes these events possible. When a school hosts an event they must reach out to their school community and ask parents and teachers to take students into their houses for the duration of the event. Without host families the costs of these events would be much higher and students would not experience another culture fully, which is one of the event aims. UNIS is looking forward to hosting our annual Model United Nations Conference this year from February 27th-March 3rd, 2013 (Wednesday-Sunday). We must find host families (houses) for 90 visiting students. Please can you take these students into your homes as other schools have done for us in the past. If you have the space in your homes to host 1 or 2 or even 10 guests we would greatly appreciate your assistance. All that is required of host families, is that the visiting students stay 4 nights with your family and that you give them breakfast each morning and 3 dinners, and then every morning send them off to UNIS and make arrangements for them to return each evening. Each day the students will be busy participating in the conference and they will not be your responsibility until evening. I will be coordinating the hosting of this event. Please can you give back to this program and contact me by email now ([email protected]) to let me know if you can host any visiting guests for this event. We need to put a list together now so we are prepared for the conference and we need everyone to step up to help to make this event a success. Please email me and let me know: Whether or not you can host Your name The age & gender of your children Your nationality How many students you can host What nationality/gender of students you would like to host We will match nationalities and students ages as best as possible, but it isn’t always possible to meet all requests. Many thanks for your continued support of the UNIS Co-Curricular Programme, Dirk Kraetzer, Director of Activities [email protected]
Job Opportunity
Short term part time ES French Teacher 27 March – 14 June 2013
UNIS Hanoi has experienced steady year-on-year growth in our student population, which currently stands at over 1,000 students from 63 different countries. We are now accepting applications for a Short term part time (57%) Elementary School French Teacher with the contract from 27 March 2013 to 14 June 2013. The incumbent will report to the Elementary School Principal.
Duties and Responsibilities To teach French to groups/classes of students within the school as determined by the curriculum needs of the school. Provide for the students a differentiated programme of instruction that incorporates appropriate challenges and high expectations of learners. Deliver the curriculum within the agreed framework and philosophy of the school. To assess and report upon student progress according to the School Assessment Policy. To share in the overall responsibility for the academic progress, personal development, health and safety, discipline and well-being of all students. Participate in and organize meetings to support the curriculum. Any other reasonable duties, as directed by the Principal.
Position requirements Experience teaching in an international school Internationally recognized teaching qualifications Knowledge of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme Cross-cultural exposure and understanding Ability to work as part of a team Strong skills in monitoring and follow through Excellent organizational and time management skills Strong computer skills
In return, UNIS Hanoi offers an attractive work environment, competitive remuneration, and professional development opportunities. This is a local hire expat position, and no housing or relocation benefits will be provided.
Interested applicants please send your expression of interest, along with an up-to-date CV and current referees to [email protected]
Only short-listed candidates will be invited for interview Application deadline: 8 Feb 2013
Ms Tran Thi Quyen, Human Resources Manager United Nations International School of Hanoi GPO Box 313, Hanoi, Vietnam
Energize Schedule
ENERGIZE HOURS (February 1 onwards)
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
No A.M. Swimming 06.15 - 07.45 06.15 - 07.45 06.15 - 07.45 06.15 - 07.45 08.15 - 12.00 Swim 08.15 - 16.45 17.45 - 19.45 16.45 - 19.45 17.45 - 19.45 17.45 - 19.45 13.00 - 16.45 Pool 17.45 - 19.45
Fitness 06.00 - 08.00 06.00 - 08.00 06.00 - 08.00 06.00 - 08.00 06.00 - 08.00 08.00 - 12.00 08.00 - 12.00 Room 16.30 - 20.00 16.30 - 20.00 16.30 - 20.00 16.30 - 20.00 16.30 - 20.00 13.00 - 17.00 13.00 - 17.00
Please note that the swimming pool and fitness room will both close from Friday, Feb 8 afternoon to Sunday , Feb 17 for Tet holiday. Canteen Menu for the week of February 18 to February 22
If your child has any food allergy or Milk Product : Green Color dietary restrictions, please let us know. [email protected] Pork : Red Color Seafood : Blue Color Parents...please remember to send a lunch ticket or money each day with *** Main dish contains EGG your Grade 1 and above child so he/she can purchase lunch. FYI: The Canteen does serve a vegetarian option each day.
Western Set Menu 18*** 19*** 20*** 21*** 22 Pork Cutlet w/Sauce Baked Penne w/Tuna Chicken Quesadilla Beef Gulash w/ Sloppy Joe Steamed Rice Fried Eggplants w/Salsa Sauce Spaetzle French Fried Cole Slaw Greek Salad Potato Wedge Rice (only ES) Potatoes Pound Cake Cinnamon Toast Mexican Salad Apple & Frise Salad Lettuce Salad Fruit / Milk Fruit / Milk Orange Muffin Raisin Cake Butter Cookie Fruit / Milk Fruit / Milk Fruit / Milk
Asian Set Menu 18 19 20*** 21 22 Indo Fried Noodle Stir Fried Beef (VN) Pork Chop Suey Pop Corn Fish Tandoori Chicken w/Chicken Multi Grain Rice Steamed Rice Steamed Rice Chicken Rice Grilled Vegetables Tofu w/Tomato Sauce Mexican Salad Apple & Frise Salad Mushroom & Green Mango Salad Cinnamon Toast Orange Muffin Raisin Cake Paprika Pound Cake Fruit / Milk Fruit / Milk Fruit / Milk Butter Cookie Fruit / Milk Fruit / Milk ECC Set Menu 18*** 19 20*** 21 22 Pork Cutlet w/Sauce Stir Fried Beef (VN) Chicken Quesadilla Pop Corn Fish Sloppy Joe Steamed Rice Multi Grain Rice w/Salsa Sauce Steamed Rice French Fried Cole Slaw Tofu w/Tomato Sauce Potato Wedge Apple & Frise Salad Potatoes Pound Cake Cinnamon Toast Mexican Salad Raisin Cake Lettuce Salad Fruit / Milk Fruit / Milk Orange Muffin Fruit / Milk Butter Cookie Fruit / Milk Fruit / Milk
Photos are from www.office.com, www.wikipedia.org and www.wikimedia.org