UNIS Hanoi’s Weekly Community Newsletter Volume 21, Edition 9, Friday 10 October

NEXT WEEK… UNIS Hanoi Autumn Break, 11-19 October

COMING SOON TUESDAY, 21 OCTOBER MS Boys Basketball vs. VAS, 16:00-17:30, Sports Centre Board of Directors Meeting, 17:30-20:00, Community

Room

WEDNESDAY, 22 OCTOBER APAC Boys Volleyball Tournament, AISG, China APAC Girls Volleyball Tournament, HKIS, Hongkong APAC Tennis Tournament, CA, Japan Community Breakfast with the Head of School,

8:00-9:30, Community Room University Info Session, 12:40-13:20, Common Room Board of Directors Meeting - School Strategic

Management Plan 2015-2020, 19:00-21:00

THURSDAY, 23 OCTOBER UNIS Hanoi Invitational Swim Meet, 23-26 Oct Board Finance Committee Meeting, 7:00-8:30,

Conference Room ES Student Led Learning Journey, 8:30-15:30 MS Boys Basketball vs. Wellspring, 16:00-17:30, Sports

Centre

FRIDAY, 24 OCTOBER Quarter 1 Ends

SATURDAY, 25 OCTOBER UNIS Hanoi Invitational MS Boys & Girls Basketball

Tournament

MONDAY, 27 OCTOBER HS Spirit Week, 27-31 Oct Grade 3 Slice of ICE Exhibition, 27-30 Oct Quarter 2 Starts JV Boys Volleyball vs. HIS, 16:00-17:00, Sports Centre

TUESDAY, 28 OCTOBER MS Boys Basketball vs. Concordia, 16:00-17:30, Sports

Centre MS Girls Basketball vs. Concordia, 16:00-17:30, Sports

Centre Grade 3 Slice of ICE Parent Performance, 18:00-19:30,

Theatre

WEDNESDAY, 29 OCTOBER High School PSAT/NMSQT Test

THURSDAY, 30 OCTOBER MRISA High School Volleyball Tournament, UNIS

Hanoi, 30 Oct - 2 Nov

tintuc@unishanoi.org

IN THIS WEEK’S TIN TUC - The Highlights...

Notes from the Head of School (p.2)

From the Admissions Office (p.2)

UN Day (p.3)

Elementary Learning Journey (p.4)

Notes from the Middle High School Principal (p.5)

Aquatics Academy News (p.5)

Middle School Swim Meet (p.6)

Help us find the UNIS Hanoi 15-16 Scholars! (p.7)

Book Sale. We want your books! (p.7)

SCO Funding. Apply Now! (p.9)

SCO Boutique News (p.9)

School Health Centre News (p.9)

Job Opportunity (p.10)

By the time you read this, we will have had

another wonderful UN Day celebration. It

is the most important day in the life of our

school and is often the highlight of the

year. Thanks to all of those who worked so

hard to make it happen. From the room

parents to the teachers to the operations

staff to the Advancement Office, it is always a team effort

and we appreciate all of our efforts.

Looking ahead to the week after the break, there is a

Breakfast with the Head of School scheduled for

Wednesday, 22 October beginning with coffee and

refreshments at 0800. We invite all parents to come and

have direct contact with members of the senior leadership

team including myself. We will start things off with a

presentation of the 2014 IB Diploma results along with the

ISA and MAP results from last school year. Following that

we will have the normal opportunity to ask questions, seek

clarification, or make suggestions. Please mark your

calendars and plan to join us.

Further to the work on our Strategic Management Plan

(SMP) for 2015-2020, our consultant, Dr. Cheryl Doig, will

hold two parent meetings to provoke our thinking and seek

input into our next SMP. The meetings will be held on

Thursday evening, 23 October at 1900 in the Community

Room and Friday morning, 24 October at 0800 in the

Community Room. Parents are encouraged to attend either

one of these workshops and contribute to the future

planning of our school.

Have a wonderful break and safe travels for those who are

taking a trip.

Respectfully,

Dr. Chip Barder, hos@unishanoi.org

If your family intends to leave UNIS Hanoi at the end of the first semester, please

notify the Admissions office of your child’s last day of attendance via email.

School will close for the winter break on Friday 12th December. The last day of

the first semester is Friday 16th January.

Upon confirmation of your departure, we shall guide your family through the

withdrawal process.

If you require any further assistance, please email admissions@unishanoi.org or

contact Admissions staff on 37581551 extension 8217 / 8220 / 8732.

The sun was shining down on our celebration of

“Rapprochement of Cultures” for our 27th UN Day today –

the same day that Vietnam celebrates 60 years since the

liberation of Hanoi.

It was a carnival of culture and learning with the UN Day

Assembly as its centre-piece with its wonderful Flag Parade

celebrating the 67 nationalities represented in our

community from Angola to Vietnam!

We were delighted to see so many of our parents joining us

in the Sports Centre.

We were honoured to be joined by our guest speakers Dr

Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam and

Mr Pham Chi Cuong, Vice Director General, International

Cooperation Department who presented Dr Barder with a

special certificate to recognize his outstanding contribution

to education in Vietnam.

Thanks to all our student flag bearers, the UNIS Hanoi

Symphonic Orchestra, the Middle, Elementary and APAC

School Choirs, the Grade 8 Fan Dancers, Pixelated, our

student speaker, Kimberley Knaggs and our Masters of

Ceremony, Jewel Jackson and Trung Tran.

And thank you to the entire community for joining

together to create our Community Lunch to end a

wonderful day.

Photos and films will be available after the break on school

website: www.unishanoi.org/UNDay2014

Enjoy the 1st UN Day Film by Grade 5 Team

Dear ES Parents

The next significant stage in our

partnership with parents is our annual

Student Led Learning Journey on

Thursday 23 October. This day will take

the same format as our successful Student

Led Conferences in March 2014.

For those new to this concept, as the name implies,

students take the lead by sharing, discussing and reflecting

on their learning to date with their parents. This process

puts the spotlight on the child as the learner in a very

positive way.

The teachers and children will organize interactive learning

stations both in their homeroom and outside as well as the

subject specialist teachers organizing activities and stations

in their learning areas (Art, Music, Drama, PE, Languages,

Library). If your child receives learning support please feel

free to visit the Learning Support Centre during your

allocated time.

Goals include the following:

To encourage the students to accept personal

responsibility for their progress and achievement

To give students confidence through talking and

discussing their learning with their parents in English

and/ or their Mother Tongue

To develop communication and critical thinking skills

To help students reflect further on the process of self-

evaluation

To help parents appreciate the process not just the

product of student learning and teaching for

understanding

The day of the Student Led Learning Journey is a ‘normal’

school day for the children. School will remain open as

normal and children will attend for the full day. Grade

Levels have been allocated a double period (75 minutes)

during which the parents of children in those grade levels

will spend the time with their own child leading them

through their learning.

The allocated times are as follows:

Periods 1&2 08.30 – 09.45

Periods 3&4 10.15 – 11.30

Periods 5&6 12.30– 13.45

Periods 7&8 14.00 – 15.15

Discovery Grade 2

Kindergarten 1 Grade 3

Grade 1 Grade 4

Kindergarten 2 Grade 5

All students will stay in homeroom classes for the periods other than those above.

There will be no specialist lessons that day.

We look forward to seeing everyone on October 23rd.

In the meantime may I take this opportunity to wish

everyone a relaxing and enjoyable October holiday.

Warm regards,

Carole Denny, esprincipal@unishanoi.org

Dear MSHS Families,

A great big THANK YOU to everyone

who supported our UNIS UN Day

celebration. Thank you to parents who

organized food and national dress and to

those who attended the festivities. It was a

wonderful community event filled with

international good will ……… and great food! Well done

and thank you!

With UN Day in the books and Fall Break about to begin 3

-Way Parent Conferences are just around the corner.

Please set aside Nov. 3 or 4 for conferences with your child

and his/her teachers. Information regarding Conference

sign ups will be sent to all MSHS families via email on Oct.

10. Online conference sign ups will be open Oct. 21 – 30.

I look forward to meeting with many of you and hope that

your conferences provide valuable information regarding

your child’s progress and how you can reinforce curricular

and behavioral recommendations at home.

Shortly after Fall Break parents/guardians will be able to

access Haiku, the MSHS’s Learning Management System

(LMS) < http://www.haikulearning.com/ >. Haiku is a

state of the art LMS which provides a platform for teachers

to interact with students, post/receive assignments, provide

resources and distribute important course information.

Currently Haiku is up and running for students. Opening

Haiku to parents/guardians will add another layer of

support and accountability for students. In order for

parents/guardians to access Haiku they will need a UNIS

Google account. The Technology Office has prepared

UNIS Google accounts for all parents/guardians and will

distribute them in the very near future.

During the initial phase of the MSHS Haiku rollout

teachers are expected to post assignments, including due

dates, and begin to upload course resources. Please

understand that Haiku is a new technology therefore

teachers will need time to fully develop their Haiku sites.

Haiku tutorials will be available to parents/guardians

shortly but in the meantime I am sure your children will be

happy to show you how Haiku works!

Enjoy a relaxing Fall Break!

Warm regards,

Pete Kennedy, mshsprincipal@unishanoi.org

Last Saturday nearly 100 UNIS Hanoi

swimmers filled our pool with enthusiastic

racing and cheering for their teammates.

Our annual UNIS Fall Gala is an

intrasquad meet which means that only

our team swims. It is a low key relaxed

meet and is especially great for our new

swimmers. With our UNIS Invitational coming up in two

weeks, the Fall Gala serves as a perfect introduction to

competition. UNIS Hanoi Swim Team members and Level

6 swimmers comprised our team.

Our returning swimmers had many best times and our new

swimmers gave the coaches huge smiles with their excellent

performances. Uyen Trinh broke a team record in the

13+14 100 backstroke to start her year off with a bang.

Huge thanks to all our Parent Volunteers, Coaches,

Operations, PE and Aquatics staff and of course our

Director of Activities for all your good work!

Our next meet is on Oct 24 and 25 featuring not only our

swimmers but swimmers from the Hanoi Japanese school

team, Hanoi International School, Concordia, QSI Shekou

and EFC from Hong Kong and

ISHCMC. This year we’ll have

about 230 swimmers in our event.

Andy Myers, Aquatics

Academy Head Coach

aacoach@unishanoi.org

Spirit and Sportsmanship Award -TIGERS TEAM!

Participation Award - TIGERS TEAM!

All information about the meet – results, points and photos can be found on Aquatics House events page.

TIGERS BUFFALOES EAGLES LIONS

1450 poinst - 1st place 1275 points - 2nd place 1270 points - 3rd place 1243 points - 4th place

Do you have books that you

no longer need but which

someone else would enjoy?

Are you wondering what to

do with them? Do you want

to donate them to a good

cause?

The UNIS Hanoi Book Sale, held annually at the end of

November, is a much anticipated event. It’s an opportunity

for both kids and adults to purchase some ‘pre-loved’

books, in their native tongue (or another language!), at

bargain prices.

Kids’ books, adults’ books, fact or fiction, English,

Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, German, Swedish, French –

we’re interested in books on any subject, in any language

spoken within the UNIS Hanoi community. If it’s a book

that someone else might enjoy, donate it (so no out-dated

travel guides, class readers or undesirable books

please!).

Books will be collected in each ECC, ES and MS classroom

from November, with a central collection for HS. We’ll be

back with more details in due course. In the interim, please

start putting your pre-loved books safely aside.

Lori Fairbairn and Amanda

Stevenson, Book Sale Co-

ordinators. (Contact us at:

booksale@unishanoi.org)

Applications for the UNIS Hanoi

Scholarship programme 2015-2016 intake

opened this week.

And this year, we aim to increase the

number of scholarship places that we can

offer through a new Scholarship Fund -

a powerful new community partnership

aimed at transforming futures.

The fundraising campaign will take place in January within

the UNIS Hanoi community and full details will be

available later this Autumn as we finalise the planning.

The UNIS Hanoi Scholarship Programme gives the

opportunity for Vietnamese students from low income

families, who are excelling at their local Hanoi district

school to enter UNIS Hanoi until graduation.

Students may apply to the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship

Programme for entry to Grade 8, Grade 9 or Grade 10.

In all cases, the 100% Scholarship will be valid until

graduation from UNIS Hanoi.

The programme was launched in 2011-12 and we have

welcomed six scholarship students to UNIS Hanoi in the

last three academic years.

Please help eligible students find out about this

programme by spreading the word amongst your

friends, colleagues and associates.

UNIS Hanoi is a well-connected community and we

ask you to mobilize!

In addition to the fees waiver, significant support will be

available for the Scholarship Students to access English

support, to be able to participate fully in the activities

programme in MSHS and for transport to and from school.

Applications now open!

Full eligibility criteria, the timeline for the selection

process and application documents are available on

UNIS Hanoi website in both ENGLISH and

VIETNAMESE.

Deadline for applications is 31 December.

All questions concerning the Scholarship Programme

should be sent by email to scholarships@unishanoi.org

Each year, our community raises funds through the

activities of the School Community Organisation (SCO)

such as the Spring Fair and the ES Snack Sales.

A large portion of funds

are available each year

to carry out project

ideas from members of

the community. The

funding process is

designed to be

community-based and transparent.

Any member of the UNIS Hanoi community; including

teaching staff, administration, faculty, students of all ages,

student groups and parents are welcome to apply for SCO

Project Funding.

The kinds of projects that may be funded are for:

school equipment

furniture outside the UNIS Hanoi Administration

budget, fees, wages or expenses for a teaching specialist

entertainment and/or production costs for community

building initiatives

workshop provider

publications

timing system for the swimming pool (2013-2014)

electronic notice board (2013-2014)

display project and dragon kite for the library (2013-

2014)

Thuy An Orphanage funds for Service Learning

project (2013-2014)

Kaleidoscope of Culture Carnival Entertainment and

ticket subsidy (2013 - 2014)

compost bins for the school garden

outdoor seating

decorations for the Library

throw cushions for the Library

big drum and gong for the Centre for the Arts

badge making machine

cameras for the ECC

bedding/supplies for an Orphanage

production funding for the Operation Smile Charity

concert

and many more!

1) Carefully read the Project Funding Application

Information

2) Fill in the Application Form

3) Fill in the Budget form

4) Submit BOTH forms to the School Community

Organisation at sco@unishanoi.org

Questions about the process should be directed to the SCO

Treasurer, Petra Eichler at sco@unishanoi.org.

Pippa Wood, Renea Freeman, Petra Eichler

SCO Grants Committee

Please enjoy the second part in this series from our

School Health Centre. (For part 1, please see TinTuc 07,

September 26)

Everyone wants their child to perform well at school.

Children learn at different speeds, that’s normal, but how

can we help our children reach their maximum potential?

Research has identified 4 factors which influence a child’s

learning at school & this is where you can make a real

difference. We discussed the importance of 1. Eating

breakfast and 2. Healthy Snacking last week.

3) DRINK MORE WATER

Hanoi can be very humid during the warmer months, add

to that the amount of physical exercise & sport our children

do & they can very quickly become dehydrated. By the time

a person feels thirsty they are ALREADY dehydrated. This

can lead to headaches, lethargy & an inability to concentrate

properly. If electrolytes become depleted muscle cramps &

weakness during exercise can also occur. It is important,

therefore, to make sure your child remembers to drink

plenty of fluids. The standard recommendation for children

is 1.5-2 liters daily, taken at regular intervals throughout the

day. Always check that your child has a water bottle with

them & remind them to drink more if they are doing sports

or if the weather is very hot (on average a child weighing

30kg loses half a liter of water when exercising). Teenagers

are particularly prone to not drinking enough; they get busy

& simply forget. (www.wateriscoolinschool.org.uk)

4) ENOUGH SLEEP

Making sure your child has enough sleep is also vitally

important & research actually shows that teenagers do need

more sleep than adults!! Tired children are poor performers;

they are less alert & less able to concentrate than their peers

who are getting a good night’s sleep. The American

Academy of Sleep Medicine in the USA recommends that

preschoolers sleep 11-13 hours, children in ES sleep 10-11

hours & teens sleep 9-10 hours a night. High school

children should not be working into the early hours of the

morning & study needs to be balanced with leisure &

“downtime” to reduce stress levels & provide enough

relaxation to sleep. Try to encourage teens to plan their

weekly workload so that they don’t leave everything to the

last minute & make sure they are not taking on too much

as it’s impossible to do everything (keep an eye on all those

extra curricula’s!) For younger children try to set a regular

bedtime during the week & get into a routine of getting

school work done & then providing some relaxation time

together, perhaps by reading a book in bed. Remember a

small child who asks to go to bed is rare, so it is your

responsibility to make sure your child is getting enough

sleep & is not too tired for school.

POSITIVE PARENTING

Many studies have shown that “positive parenting “also

plays a huge part in our children’s achievement levels. It is

considered the most effective style of parenting where

parents are shown to be warm, fair & in control.

Remember that children cannot be good at everything so

try to celebrate the things they do well & encourage them

with the things they find difficult. Putting too much

pressure on children to always perform well can have an

adverse effect. Life is all about “balance” so make sure your

child has the time to do the things they enjoy such as

listening to music, playing sport, watching TV (yes we did

say that!) & socializing with their friends.

Just a few simple steps can make all the difference to your

child’s achievement levels at school. Here’s to happy,

healthy learners!

School Health Centre, nurse@unishanoi.org

Position overview

UNIS Hanoi Elementary School includes students with a

range of mild learning differences and difficulties. Some

students require support that extends beyond the purview

of the UNIS Hanoi staff and in these circumstances the

school requests the family of a student to employ an

assistant to support the student on a 1:1 basis.

The position duties and responsibilities are listed below but

it should be noted the successful applicant is not required

to assume any responsibility for students other than the one

specified by the school and employer family.

The 1:1 assistant is not employed by UNIS Hanoi but must

adhere to school operational guidelines and procedures and

is expected to conduct themselves in a professional fashion

at all times. The 1:1 assistant reports to homeroom teacher

and the employer (student’s family). Salary is negotiated

with, and paid by, the student’s family.

The homeroom teacher has overall responsibility for the

educational development of the child. The 1:1 assistant’s

role is to support the student in whatever ways are deemed

necessary to help them access the curriculum or follow an

individual learning plan.

Responsibilities:

operate within the School’s agreed ethos, policy and

procedures

Assist the child in class/lessons according to need and

as agreed with the family, LS department and class

teacher (e.g. concentration and staying on task;

working using previously adapted materials; revising

tasks for the child as necessary)

Ensure the student is able to transition from one area of

the school to another in a timely manner and assist him/

her in making these transitions

Alert the student to any changes to the daily routine

Be knowledgeable about the child’s specific needs and

use different, effective strategies to support them to suit

the situation as required

Engage regularly with the class/subject teachers/

learning support, as agreed with them

Liaise directly with the family on a regular, agreed basis

Contribute to the child’s Individual Learning Plan (ILP)

Assist the child on day trips, residential School camps,

School productions, after school activities, playtimes etc.

Work outside the main classroom from time to time on

specific tasks appropriate to the child’s stage of

development

Seek out training when possible to improve skills and

understanding of the child’s needs

In case of illness or absence notify the family so they

can contact the School to find a suitable replacement if

required

Position Requirements:

High School diploma or equivalent

Knowledge of special education environment, safety

issues and the needs of special education students

Strong oral and written communication skills and basic

computer skills

Experience working with, or caring for people with

special needs

Strong organisational and time management skills

Ability to develop respectful relations among children

and adults, and work as part of a professional team on a

daily basis

Ability to adapt behaviour and communication style

according to different stakeholders’ needs and

expectations

Drive & commitment

Displays a positive attitude

Manages time effectively to increase work efficiency

Is seen to be conscientious

Works hard to achieve required results

Strives to improve own performance

Accepts constructive criticism and uses it to improve

performance

Attitude

Presents a professional and positive image of UNIS

Dresses appropriately

Is punctual and manages own time effectively

Seeks guidance and feedback from others

Social skills

Communicates clearly, concisely and effectively, both

written and spoken

Actively listens to others

Working Hours:

From 8:20 to 15:20 (7 hours only), Monday, Tuesday,

Thursday, Friday

From 8:20 to 14.30 (6 hours only) Wednesday

Days when student has extra-curricular activities hours

extend to 16:30

Closing date for applications: 17th October 2014

Applications should include a current CV/Resume

and be emailed to: mtvyang@hotmail.com