Year 3 - Renaissance International School Saigon

Transcription

A year of Events
at Renaissance P.57
Year 13 Graduation
P. 98
P.42
Mary won 1st and Vina won 5th in The
International Smiles Art Contest 2013
HCMC International School
Netball Champions 2013
P.46
Our year working with Go Vap Orphanage - P. 119
MUN - P.111
Talent Show - P.40
Parents Class at Renaissance - P.115
Year 13 Graduation - Class of 2013 ........4
Dr. Bruce - Head of School.......................6
BOARD OF DIRECTORS.....................7
Academic Management Team..................7
Administrative Staff ................................7
Renaissance Teachers..............................8
Teaching assistants..................................8
Early Years Teachers................................9
Primary Teachers.....................................9
Secondary Teachers................................10
The Invaluable Support Staff....................11
Mr. David - Head of EYs and Primary.......12
EARLY YEARS
Early Years - Ms sonia & Ms Connie.........14
Nature Collage.......................................15
Our ‘Then and Now’ pictures in EY2......16
Early years 3 - Ms kerry..........................17
Essential thinking - Early years 3..............18
PRIMARY
Year 1 - Ms Kara....................................20
Year 1 - Ms Lucy.....................................21
Ms Lucy & Ms Kara - Year 1 Teachers......22
Year 2 - Ms Amy.....................................24
Our year in Y2A.....................................25
Year 2 - Ms Robyn..................................26
Spotlight on 2R.......................................27
Year 3 - Ms Debbie.................................28
IPC In Year 3D........................................29
Year 4 - Ms Jillian...................................30
Favourite Magical Memories of 4J............31
Year 4 - Ms Rennie..................................33
Our year in 4R........................................34
Year 5I - Ms Imogen................................35
Spot The Difference in 5I..........................36
Year 5 Ms Liz..........................................37
Can you find everyones name in 5L?........38
Year 6 - Mr Andi.....................................39
Mr Andi & Ms An...................................40
Year 6 - Mr Robert..................................41
Primary EAL............................................44
Primary ICT - Ms Tina..............................45
Primary PE Department............................46
Early Years Vietnamese............................50
Vietnamese Culture..................................51
Primary Vietnamese................................54
Primary Music.........................................55
Primary Parliament..................................56
Renaissance: A Year of Events!!................57
SECONDARY
Mr. Robin - Head of Secondary................61
Year 7 - Mr John.....................................62
Year 7 - Ms Lily.......................................64
What a hair raising ................................65
Year it has been!.....................................65
Year 8 - Mr Lenny...................................67
Year 8 - Ms Tracy....................................69
Year 8T Recap.........................................70
Year 9 - Mr Chris....................................72
Our year in Y9CB...................................73
Girls Under -14s Football Team................74
Year 9 - Ms Monica.................................75
These are some of the weird...9MG have!.76
Year 10 - Mr Joe.....................................79
Our year in Y10ID..................................80
Year 10 - Mr Tome..................................81
10TC Most likely to..................................83
We are the 10TC....................................84
Year 11 - Mr Eoin...................................85
Our year in Y11EO.................................86
Year 11 - Ms Laura.................................87
Our year in 11LV....................................88
Global Perspectives.................................90
IB for Yearbook.......................................91
Year 12 - Mr Geoff.................................92
Year 12 - Mr Gavin Nattrass....................95
Our year in Y12GN................................96
Golden Nuggets......................................96
Year 13 - Mr Mark Teacher......................97
Class of 2013.........................................107
IB in the Business & Management Class.....108
Humanities at Renaissance.......................110
Renaissance Model United Nations...........111
The Path to Power...................................112
English Department.................................113
Parents of Renaissance............................115
Renaissance Sport 2013..........................116
MacArthur: Hopeful................................118
Our year working with Go Vap Orphange119
Korean Department.................................122
Keystage 3 ICT........................................123
Information Communication Technology....124
Secondary Student Council......................125
World Scholars Cup................................127
Chinese class..........................................130
My First Year at Renaissance....................133
Secondary Vietnamese............................134
Music Department...................................135
Talent show.............................................137
Fun Day - Rock Again!............................138
Secondary French Deapartment...............139
Renaissance International School Saigon | Year Book 2013
3
YEAR 13 GRADUATION - CLASS OF 2013
4
Year Book 2013 | Renaissance International School Saigon
5
From Head of School
It
DR BRUCE . M ROBINSON
Head of School
is a great privilege for me to write an introduction for the 2013
Yearbook. As you all know this has been my first year as Head
of our school and it has been a rewarding and challenging
experience. I have had numerous opportunities to meet students and
families throughout the year and I believe one of our greatest
achievements has been a renewed partnership between the school
and the various community groups that make up of learning
community.
Our community events such as Carols by Candlelight, our Tet
celebration and Fun Day have been remarkable successes with the
majority of our school community attending and celebrating
together.
This past year has also seen improvements to our campus, IT
infrastructure, the teaching and learning programme, a widening of
after school activities and more effective communication between
the school and parents.
Our yearbook provides a pictorial review of events and happenings
during the year together with articles from students and staff. Our
students look forward to the publication of the yearbook each year
as it provides an opportunity to reflect and to remember enjoyable
times, great friendships and participation in school activities.
The yearbook also signifies a time of sadness as we farewell students
who are leaving us. As an international school it is common for
students to stay with us for varying periods. We bid farewell to those
who are leaving us and wish you well for the future. Our school is
growing and we expect to see many new students join us next year.
For those returning in August, I hope you have an enjoyable and safe
vacation and return to us ready for another exciting year.
At this time, I would like to express my appreciation to all staff who
have contributed to the successes the school has enjoyed this year
and as you look through the pages of the 2013 Yearbook, I hope you
will cherish the memories.
6
STAFF
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MS LINH VUONG BUU
MS QUYNH NGUYEN THUY
MR TUYEN NGUYEN
MR THANH TRAN KIM
President & CEO
Board Member & Vice President
ACADEMIC MANAGEMENT TEAM
DR BRUCE . M ROBINSON
MR ROBIN KLYMOW
MR DAVID COLE
Head of School
Head of Secondary
Head of Early Years and Primary
MS LE THANH TUYEN
PA to Head of School
MS NGUYEN AI LIEN
MS LE HOANG PHUONG ANH
PA to Head of Secondary
PA to Head of Early Years and Primary
Ms Han, Ms Diem, Ms Tuyen
Admissions
Ms Truc, Ms Thu, Ms Mai,
Ms Tinh, Mr Vu, Ms Kieu
Accounts
Ms Thuy, Ms Oanh, Ms Nga, Ms Diem
HR/ Admin
Ms Chau, Mr Hung, Ms Thanh
Purchasing
Mr Binh, Mr Robert, Mr Quy
IT Department
Mr Nhat, Mr Sang
Resources
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
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STAFF
RENAISSANCE TEACHERS
Mr Gavin, Ms Elizabeth, Mr Martin O’Donnell, Ms Amy, Ms Rennie, Mr John, Mr James, Mr Kevin,
Mr Mark, Ms Laura, Mr Eoin, Mr Simon, Mr Geoff, Mr Don,
Mr David Cole, Ms Monica, Ms Lucy, Ms Laura Baines, Ms Kara, Mr Robert Flynn, Mr Robin, Mr Ajay, Mr Robert,
Mr David Amitage, Mr Gavin Machell, Mr Wu, Mr Christopher Baker, Ms Tracy, Mr Chris Cromey, Mr Tome, Mr Lenny
Ms Misuk, Ms Trang, Ms Tina, Ms Robyn, Ms Sonia, Ms Kerry, Dr. Bruce, Ms Thu, Ms Laura Verdugo,
Ms Jillian, Ms Pippa, Ms Connie, Ms Imogen
TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Ms Le, Ms An, Ms Hoai Son, Mr Vuong, Ms Khuong, Mr Hieu,
Ms Nhi Anh, Mr Trung, Ms Quyen, Ms Huong, Ms Yen, Ms Kim,
Ms My, Ms Hanh, Ms Soan, Ms Uyen, Ms Lien, Ms Son, Ms Thu, Ms Ngan
8
STAFF
EARLY YEARS TEACHERS
Ms Sonia / Pre-Nursery Teacher
Ms Connie / Nursery Teacher
Ms Kerry / Reception Teacher
PRIMARY TEACHERS
Ms Kara / Year 1 Teacher
Ms Lucy / Year 1 Teacher
Ms Robyn / Year 2 Teacher
Ms Amy / Year 2 Teacher
Ms Debbie Buckle / Year 3 Teacher
Ms Jillian / Year 4 Teacher
Ms Rennie / Year 4 Teacher
Ms Imogen / Year 5 Teacher
Ms Elizabeth / Year 5 Teacher
Mr Andi / Year 6 Teacher
Mr Robert Flynn / Year 6 Teacher
Ms Tram / Primary Vietnamese Teacher
Ms Pippa / Primary EAL Teacher
Ms Tina / ICT Teacher
Mr Chris / Primary Music Teacher
Mr Wu / Primary Chinese Teacher
Mr Vuong / Primary PE Teacher
Mr David Armitage / Parliament Coordinator
and EAL Teacher
Mr Nigel / PLC Teacher
Ms Chi, Ms Jane, Ms Tam / Librarian
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STAFF
SECONDARY TEACHERS
Ms Lily / Y7 & ICT Secondary Teacher
Mr John / Y7 & Design Technology Teacher
Mr Lenny / Year 8 Teacher & KS3 Coordinator
Ms Tracy / Year 8 & Maths Teacher
Ms Monica / Year 9 & Sience Teacher
Mr Chris Baker / Year 9 & Biology Teacher
Mr Tome / Year 10 & Secondary PE Teacher
Ms Joseph / Year 10 & History Teacher
Mr Eoin / Year 11 & PhysicsTeacher
Ms Laura / Year 11, English & Global
Perspectives Teacher
Mr Gavin / Year 12 & Geography Teacher
Mr Geoffrey / Year 12 & Art/Design Teacher
Ms Laura / English Teacher
Mr Stephen / English Teacher
Ms Trang / English Teacher
Ms Loan / Vietnamese Teacher
Mr Thi / Chinese Teacher
Ms Misuk / Korean Teacher
Mr Kevin / English Teacher
Mr James / Music Teacher
Ms Thu / Vietnamese Teacher
Mr Donald / Mathematics Teacher
Ms Sarah / English Teacher
Mr Mark / Year 13 and Business Teacher
Ms Danielle / French Teacher
Ms Jennifer / Chinese Teacher
Mr Simon / IB Co-ordinator
Mr Gavin Machell / Chemistry Teacher
10
STAFF
THE INVALUABLE SUPPORT STAFF
Ms Xuan, Ms Dao, Ms Mien,
Ms Hong, Ms Loan, Ms Van,
Ms Sang, Ms Hanh, Ms Lan
Anh, Ms Hong Xuan, Ms
Hoa, Ms Thu, Ms Khoi, Ms
Tram, Mr Hien, Ms Hoang
Anh, Ms Thao, Ms Nhu, Ms
Minh Thu.
Mr Truong, Mr Thanh,
Mr Hai, Mr Vu, Mr Thuc,
Mr Giang, Mr Quang,
Mr Manh, Mr Hung.
Mr Thien, Mr Truong,
Mr Vinh, Mr Hung, Mr Thao,
Mr Loc, Mr Phuong.
Ms Hanh, Ms Vy
Creative Designers
Ms Phung
Nurse
Ms Tung
Uniform Shop
Mr Tuan
Specialist Media
Mr Hung
Maintenance
11
PRIMARY
Mr David Cole - Head of Early Years and Primary
PRIMARY
END OF YEAR REPORT
SUMMER 2013
Autumn Term
Start of Year Interim Report
First Parent-Teacher Consultations
Spring Term
Second Parent-Teacher Consultations
Summer Term
End of Year Full Report
Third Parent-Teacher Consultations
Mr David Cole
Head of Primary and Early Years
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Dr. Bruce Robinson
Head of School
PRIMARY
Effort
Achievement
Always looking to give 100%
Always trying to do even better and achieve
more.
Ways in which you as parents have supported Renaissance
Thank you to parents and the wider community for all the help and support you have given Primary
this year. As a result of your generosity and the hard work and dedication of the staff team we have
had many very successful and enjoyable events throughout the year which complimented and
enhanced the quality learning and teaching taking place.
Head of Primary’s observations
I am delighted to be here in Vietnam. This first year has gone by so quickly. I would like to express
my appreciation and gratitude to all teachers, TAs and the administration team for their hard work,
efforts and the long hours they devoted to help me and to make Renaissance even better for our
children. It is common in International schools for some of our team to be moving to new schools
or to new projects elsewhere in the world. I am very grateful to all for the contribution they have
made to Renaissance’s success and I wish them well in their new endeavours.
During the next academic year, many new initiatives will be introduced and I am now looking
forward to working with the existing team and our new staff as we embark on the next step of our
school’s journey.
Future Targets
• To ensure our children are happy, safe and enjoy learning.
• To ensure our children reach their full potential.
• To continue to work in partnership with our parents.
• To continue to improve communication and maintain good home-school links.
• To be committed to a culture of school improvement to ensure Renaissance has a place as a
leading International British school.
Comments about our children
Our school is a unique community of learners and our children have such diverse talents, needs and
ambitions. We are all very proud to have the opportunity to be part of their learning and teaching.
This year it has been a great experience working with them and we are looking forward to all the
exciting things the next academic year will bring.
Mr David Cole
Head of Primary and Early Years
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PRE-NURSERY
MS SONIA
Pre- Nursery
Teacher
MS SOAN
Teacher Assistant
Early Years
Ms Sonia & Ms Connie
MS CONNIE
MS UYEN
Nursery Teacher
Teacher Assistant
Archie Bews
Dang Thua Khanh
Duong Minh Khoa
Joshua La Phu Hao
Le An Minh
Le Hanh Nguyen
Le Nguyen Gia
Hung
Le Thanh Hoang
Thao
Luu Hong Bao Tran
Mai Dinh Khai
Minh Larry
Nguyen Chuong
Nguyen Hoai Nam
Anh
Nguyen Huu Ngoc
Khue
Pakamon
Rittinarongchai
Phan Hoai Bao
Ngan
Sophia Davies
To Van Anh
14
PRE-NURSERY
Nature Collage
An adventurous simple activity that gets young children outside examining the world around them,
exploring their creativity and imagination freely.
Putting treasures in the basket
Using plants & twigs to make paint brushes and creating textured painting
Spreading glue and start placing the nature discoveries
15
NURSERY
Nursery - Ms Conie Teacher
Our ‘Then and Now’ pictures in EY2
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RECEPTION
MS KERRY
Reception Teacher
MS LIEN
Teacher Assistant
EARLY YEARS 3 - MS KERRY
MS NGAN
Teacher Assistant
Beverly Cayla
Sekar Martdany
Yudianto
Bui Pham Phuong
Uyen
Chung Young
Dong
Eric Tran
Ho Hoang Nam
James David
Edward D Carle
Le Ngan Minh
Lee Jiwon
Lee Yae Seo
Libby Melissa
Nattrass
Mai Hoang Minh
Thu
Mai Linh Amy
Sanderson
Nguyen Hoang Vy
Nguyen Huu Khai
Nghiep
Nguyen Minh Anh
Nguyen Nho Nghi
Nur izzati Binti
Rosli
Phan Thien Nam
Sharfinas Aimee
On Kailin
Tran Chi Dung
Tran Ngoc Boi Tu
Truong Minh Quy
Tran
Vuong Hue Quan
Zoe Ruth Diego
Jacobs
17
RECEPTION
ESSENTIAL THINKING
EARLY YEARS 3
By Ms Kerry Cole - Reception Teacher
As James’ construction bent over
- he devised an innovative way of
strengthening it - pegging on a large
tube!
Eric points out to Khai Nghiep that
if he joins his longer lines up with
shorter ones - he can draw a web... Khai
Nghiep took this advice on board and
continued working that way...
Izzati builds to a pre-drawn plan amending it as she adds new elements
to her design
One way of representing spiderman’s
web...
The EYFS emphasises teaching that
supports essential thinking skills and
sustained shared thinking.
A focus groups takes a close look at toy cars - what
do you notice...what details can you see...
When teachers and children plan
together to develop an idea or
skill - sustained shared thinking can
happen…and when teachers are
responsive to the children’s genuine
interests, their understanding and
their ideas - this sustained shared
thinking becomes a rich cognitive
process.
A lovely example of divergent thinking
Sharing the process of planning with
children supports shared thinking and
it also allows the 6 critical thinking
skills to be practiced:
Enquiry skills: the thinking skills
responsible for asking questions and
thinking about the right questions to
ask… then to plan additional
questions based on the answers
received - and the outcomes.
Reasoning skills: the thinking
responsible for forming our opinions
based on information gathered. With
practice, children eventually become
better able to order their thoughts
and begin verbalising them to explain
their opinions and thinking to others.
Information processing skills: The
skills responsible for organising and
retaining information.
Evaluation skills: The ability to
process the information they have
and then decide whether they agree
with it or not.
Spidermans Web...the children had to
work through some problems with how
to connect such long lengths of ribbon
without it falling down...a rest and a
time to admire the work so far...
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A team of planners meet to devise a building plan which another team will construct...
Problem solving skills: the skills
required for recognising what things
can be changed or altered and how
that change might affect or can make
a difference to an end product or an
idea.
After negotiating with the web builders, it was
agreed that Spiderman’s Web would be beautified!
Children
learn through
observation and
doing - peers
support peers
RECEPTION
Creative thinking: the skills
involved with using imagination to
invent something new or generate new
ideas…to innovate - thinking outside
the box.
We are more able to support these 6
essential thinking skills when
curriculum planning is developed
by - or in conjunction with the people
the planning is actually intended
for - the children! And in the process
gain a better insight into their
motivations, preferred methods of
learning and their rich ideas.
By Ms Kerry Cole - Reception Teacher
Small group activities - ensure thinking is focussed
and the teaching tailored
The boys
share
their idea
of why
Spiderman
is tangled
in his
web...
building plans
Counting the total number of dots...
there are two even groups of 20 - that’s
40 boxes for the building team to use.
Izzati inspects Young Dongs creation...
he had torches set up behind coloured
lenses which shone onto the curtain truly innovative construction!
Children naturally inspire...Libby is keen
to replicate the radial painting nearby...
Michelle and Minh - trying to beat the
clock, playing electronic boggle...how
many CVC words can they think of and
write - before the letters disappear...
Open endedness is key to thinking
skill development - in questions and in
resources.
The building team meets for a second
time to represent the number of boxes
to use - in coloured dots...
The children began using discarded tin cans from
a previous activity, as drums - talk about ‘DJ’s’ and
drummers went on for many days...so we relocated
the tin drums so they could play along with
Internet drums
To give others an idea of how to get
around Spidermans web...the boys
each wrote a line...just go under...
Working together to undo screws requires more skill and patience than
it seeMs..
19
PRIMARY
Year 1 - Ms Kara
Banh Quang Son
Chen Hung Yu
Le Thuc Phan
Suri
Lee Dong Wook
Ray
Lee Jun-hee
Pham Phuong Hai Anh
Phan Nguyen An Khoi
Ryusei Kimura
Than Trung Minh Tri
Nguyen Huu Minh
Khue
MS KARA
Tran Hoang Vi
20
Y1 Teacher
MS MY
Teacher Assistant
PRIMARY
MS LUCY
Y1 Teacher
MS QUYEN
Teacher Assistant
Year 1 - Ms Lucy
Chau Thuy Hai Phuc
Lee Yae Eun
LEE Yun Hyeong
Ma Tri Dung
Nguyen Hoai Nam
Khanh
Nguyen Phuc Duy
Khang
Nguyen Xuan Thuong
Park Seo Yun
Tran Nhat Quang
Trinh Nhut Nam
Tuladhar Lam Ha Selena
21
PRIMARY
Ms Lucy and Ms Kara - Year 1 Teachers
Suri- learning
to swim
Minh Khuesinging songs
in Music
Selena- writing my own story
of ‘The 3 Little Pigs’
Read what our favour
have been thi
Year 1 have really e
about fairy tales and tr
in English this year. Ca
person is dressed as the
tale or traditional story
Rachel - making 3D
shapes using nets
Jun-hee learning to
balance with a
partner in P.E
Vi- learning
to swim
An Khoi adding numbers
in Maths
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Hai Anh - learning
to balance in P.E
Ms Lucy and Ms Kara - Year 1 Teachers
PRIMARY
Son- making
paper mache
models
Khanh- using
charcoal to sketch
stilt houses at the
Crescent
Minh Tri- learning to type
and paint pictures in ICT
Kitty- guessing
what is in the ‘feely
bag’ when learning
about our senses
rite memories
is year.
enjoyed learning
raditional stories
an you find which
eir favourite fairy
y character?
Kenny- going
on a trip to
the Crescent
Flower Show
Quang- learning
how to balance
in P.E
Raymaking
my own
board
game
Win - making
a pop-up story
book
Derek making my own
board game
Ryusei- making
models from
3D shapes
Hung Yu smelling the
flowers at the
TET Flower
Show
Seo Yun acting our
stories in
English
Yun Hyeong Making my
own board
game
Namlearning to swim
23
PRIMARY
MS AMY
Y2 Teacher
MS HANH
Teacher Assistant
24
Year 2 - Ms Amy
Bryn Lewis
Nattrass
Dang Thua Hien
(Kelvin)
Fields Henry
James
Huynh Gia Phuc
Kim Hee Ju
Le Thanh Thanh
Thao
Luu Nguyen Thai
Duong
Mai Dinh Chi Minh
Nguyen Phuoc
Nha Linh
Nguyen Tan Thuy
Linh
Nguyen Thuy Gia
Anh
Pham Ngoc
Huong Nhi
Roh Su Chul
Smith Ella Le My
Lien
Smith Tesni Myan
Son Min Jin
Strait Daniel
Russel Loudewy
Tran Ngoc Dinh
PRIMARY
In Year 2 we were learning how to write non-fiction texts.
• We read non-fiction books and learned about contents, headings and index.
• We thought of questions about animals that we wanted to find out.
• We learned how to research. Now we can use google to find information.
• Then we wrote an information report using headings and paragraphs.
• Finally, we turned our information into a poster to present.
By Ms Amy - Year 2 Teacher
25
PRIMARY
MS ROBYN
Y2 Teacher
MS YEN
Teacher Assistant
Year 2 - Ms Robyn
Learning Leader for Key Stage One and Early Years
Duong Khanh Dan
Emma Waldstrom
Kwon Hyeok Hui
Lee Soo Bin
Nguyen Hong
Phuc (Bill)
Nguyen Quynh
Anh
Nguyen Tam Minh
Anh
Pham Ngoc Uyen
Nghi (Angela)
Pham Tran Chieu
Anh (Cindy)
Pham Viet Khang
Phan Duong Minh
Anh (Tina)
Shin Eun Jae
(Crystal)
Shin Jang Hyeon
Van Thi Kim Thoa
Vo Phuong Anh
Wang Yin An
(Kenneth)
26
MS HOAI
Teacher Assistant
PRIMARY
SPOTLIGHT ON 2R
Check out our Hanboks. Don’t
we look cool! - J.H
Who gave Snow White the poisoned apple? - S. Bin
I like working with money, especially when we get
to play shop - Emma
Pull!!! We are much stronger than
you! - Bill
“Chức Mừng Năm Mới” - Khanh Dan
My favorite song from our play was Aussie Jungle Bells
- Phuong Anh
Do you know how to make delicious
pancakes? - Thoa
I love learning about lucky money and eating chocolate
coins...yummy! - Tina
We love Book Week. Can you guess which book
characters we are? - Angela
By Ms Robyn - Year 2 Teacher
Rarrrr... We are frightening! Kenneth
Cooking is so much fun! I especially liked making
spring rolls - Quynh Anh
27
PRIMARY
MS DEBBIE
Y3 Teacher
MS KIM THOA
Year 3 - Ms Debbie
Teacher Assistant
Learning Leader for Key Stage two
Banh Da Na
Do Gia Han
Kim Geon Hee
Kim Ji Hee
Jung Hwan Hee
Jung Se Yoon
Jung Seung Won
Kang Seok Min
Kim Ji Min
Kim Min Jeong
Kim Seo Jin
Le Cong Hoang
Muhammad Imran
Bin Rosli
Ng Jin Quan
Alston
Nguyen Hoang
Kim Thy
Nguyen Nam Loc
Nguyen Pham
Hong An
Tran Jessica
Truong Hien Long
(William)
Truong khanh
Bang
Vo Dang Khuong
Yeon Dong Won
Yuniarso Ayu
Leticia
Ngo Cat Tuong
Sophia
28
PRIMARY
IPC In Year 3D
We began this year with our IPC unit ‘Pictures, Paintings and Photographs’. We used paints, charcoal and
photography to depict the school playground. It was amazing to see how our representations were so different
depending on the medium used. We learned to look carefully at everything around us noticing the true colours and
the smallest detail.
Our next unit was ‘Time, Place, Earth and Space’. We learned how the Earth, sun and moon move around each other
and found out about different time zones across the world. We also learned about different climates in various
countries.
‘Inventions That Changed The World’ was our next unit and we made our own collection of things that we thought
were the most important inventions of the past 100 years. We also designed and made our own moving toys and
learned a lot about magnets.
‘Treasure’ was an
exciting unit
because we made
treasure maps
and learned about
some famous
pirates. We also
pretended to be
archeologists and
dug for treasure in
the sandpit!
Our most
favourite unit of
all has been
‘Dinosaurs’. We
began this unit by
having a sleepover
at school. We even
had a dinosaur
egg hunt!
(Actually they
were coconuts but
don’t tell
anyone!). In this
unit we have
learned how to
research
information using
more than one
source. We found
out lots of
interesting facts
about many
dinosaurs and
made our own
power point
presentations.
Ms Debbie
Year 3 Teacher
29
PRIMARY
MS JILLIAN
Y4 Teacher
MS THU
Year 4 - Ms Jillian
Teacher Assistant
Chung You Jin
Do Anh Gia Huy
Kim Jong Chan
Kwon Se Yeon
Le Nguyen Khiet
Tam
Lee In Soo
Lee Je Hoon
Luu Hong Thao
Nhi
Ng Jian Bin Joseph
Nguyen Chau Khoi
Nguyen Gia Han
Nguyen Ngoc Nha
Uyen
Nguyen Phuc
Xuan An (Susan)
Nguyen Phuoc
Bao Di
Oh Eun Ryeol
Pham Le Nhu Long
Terinate Pedro
Than Trung Minh
Duc
Tran Ngoc Khai
Walstrom Ly
Hannah
30
PRIMARY
FAVOURITE MAGICAL MEMORIES OF 4J
“I got to go to the fantastic Fairy Stream”
“We went to the Fairy Stream
and we had ice cream all the
time! It was soo much FUN :)”
Hannah
Mui Ne residential
“I loved it because we were
independent
and it was great
fun!” Susan
Hannah and flip flops
“I loved
going to the
Fairy Stream,
making
sandcastles
and playing with my
friends!” Nhi
Tam and Nana
“I had a lot of fun
when we had a
sandcastle making
afternoon” Huy
“It was fun and
we spent more
time with our
friends- but
without our
families!”
You Jin and Se Yeon with
coconut
hermit crab!
Khai “ I got to
practice
writing
a diary!”
Khai
Nana
“ We got to go to
the Fairy Stream
with all our
friends” Uyen
Uyen
boats
Minh Duc
“We got to
make sandcastles and sleep
in a room with
our friends for 2
whole nights!”
You JIn
“We played so
much, ate lots of
food, explored
habitats, slept for
2 nights in a lovely
hotel and made
sandcastles with
our friends!” In Soo
all in stream
Joseph
“ We made sandcastles and slept
with our friends
in a lovely hotel!”
Nana
Starry Night
sand dunes
In Soo
“We made
sandcastles and
went to the
Fairy Stream
without our
parents!” Bao Di
Ms Jill
“We spent lots of
time with our friends
and it was fun!” Tam
Bao Di
Thu and Nhi
Bao Di, Long and Minh Duc
31
PRIMARY
“We got to try out lots of amazing
Science experiments!” Pedro
Science Week
“ It was really interesting and we got
to learn about fireworks” Jong Chan
Pedro
Papier Mache Making
Papier Mache making
“Piggy bank making was my
favourite memory- we got
to stick the newspaper, then
paint and create a pig!”
Se Yeon
Se Yeon
Pedro and Jong Chan
House Football
“ This was my
favourite as my
favourite sport
is football and I
like sports activities so much!”
Eun Ryeol
“I liked this the
best as when
I grow up I
want to be a
footballer!” Je
Hoon
Je Hoon
Eun Ryeol
Basketball at school
Long and Fruit Loops!
Long and Minh Duc
Khoi
“I got to try different foods from
different countries” Long
“ One of my favourites
was having breakfast
at school” Khoi
32
birthdays
PRIMARY
MS RENNIE
Y4 Teacher
MS SON
Teacher Assistant
Year 4 - Ms Rennie
English Learning Leader
Chau Viet Man
Chen Hung Chang
Fields Chloe Mai
Lien
Gordon Jones
Daisy
Heo Jeong Yun
Huynh Tran Bao
Ngan
Je Yoon Ji
Kim Yoo Chan
Le Anh Khang
Lee Soo Yeon
Lee Yae Rin
Mai Hoang Minh
Ng Jin Huang
Alden
Ngo Lam Tai
Nguyen Nhat
Quang
Nguyen Tran Thai
Binh
Park Sang Won
Park Seo Young
Pham Thu Uyen
Tran Ngoc Bao
Nghi
Trinh Xuan An
33
PRIMARY
Our year in 4R
Mui Ne and Halloween,
What a busy year it’s been.
Art in the park and tasting food,
Our year’s been busy, our year’s been good.
In the water, in the sun,
Here;s a year of 4R fun.
34
PRIMARY
MS IMOGEN
Y5 Teacher
MS KIM SON
Teacher Assistant
Beckers Ticha
Bui Sally
Doan Duc
Heo Yeong Jae
Hong Ken
JANG Chan Sol
Jo Sumin
Joo Subin
Jung Seung Gyo
Lee Jun Seok
Nguyen Nguyen
Nguyen Thinh
Pham Anh
Phan Linh
Shankar Tanisha
Thai Chau Anh
Tran Khanh
Tran Khoa
Year 5I - Ms Imogen
IPC Learning Leader
Vorawan Pena
Vu Tommy
Zhang Van Trinh
35
PRIMARY
Spot The Difference in 5I
Find and circle 21 differences between these two photographs of 5I. Can you find them all? Good Luck!
36
PRIMARY
MS LIZ
Y5 Teacher
MS HUONG
Teacher Assistant
Dang Gia Hue
Huynh Minh Tam
Huynh Ngoc
Quynh Tram
Kerolous Medhat
Baky Azmy
Rezkalla
Le Anh Khoa
Lee Jae Yoon
Lee Jun Ha
Ly Hoang Phuc
Nguyen Han Ho
Ngoc
Nguyen Hong
Dieu Linh
Nguyen Nho Phuc
Nguyen Quoc
Hung
Nguyen Tran Thai
Son
Ou Xiao Cheng
Park Chae Yeon
Roh Myung Jin
Shim in Keun
Tran Phan Khanh
An
Tran Vo Song
Thuong
Truong Pham Gia
Loc
Jung Hae Yoon
Year 5 Ms Liz
Maths Learning Leader
37
PRIMARY
CAN YOU FIND EVERYONES NAME IN 5L?
by Ms Liz - Year 5 Teacher
CHAEYEON, HAEYOON, HENRY, HUNG, INKEUN, JACK,
JAEYOON, JERRY, JUNHA, KATY, KEROLOUS, KEVIN,
KHANH AN, LINH, MYUNGJIN, PHUC, THUONG, TINA,
TRAM, XIAOCHENG, YVONE
38
PRIMARY
MR ANDI
Y6 Teacher
MS AN
Teacher Assistant
Year 6 - Mr Andi
Ashur Eli Perandis
Dang Thi Ngoc Mai
Doan Pham Gia
Phuc
Hau Duong Quang
Vinh
Hong Shin Young
Hwang Hye Ryeon
Jang Hye Jin
Le Vinh Khang
Lee Ju Eun
Lee Min Jae
Miyazaki, Yumi
Nguyen Kim Uyen
Nguyen Quang
Minh
Oh Seung Ryeol
Shar Latt
Sohn Ji Hoon
Sun Woo Jin
Tran Ngoc Triet
Truong Nhat Huy
Yang Jun Yeong
39
PRIMARY
YEAR 6
Mr Andi & Ms An
This year our trip went to Madagui! We had a
fantastic time doing challenging activities like
Climbing, Hiking, Grass-Sliding, Ziplining and
Paintball target shooting. There were more
relaxing times in the swimming pool and fishing
too. We had to work together and showed
excellent cooperation to build a raft. It was
designed to cross a lake, and when we tested it, it
worked! A few of us tried paddling to move it.
The main reason the trip was so good was for the children to learn independence, a life value. This
showed them that they could believe in themselves and how to use their friends for support when
there were challenges that made them a little worried. The whole class bonded incredibly well and
showed genuine resilience, combined with a fantastic sense of humour.
Mr Andi and Ms An would like to wish all of 6A (and 6R of course!) a very happy and successful time
next year in secondary school. Remember what you learnt in Madagui- when faced with a difficult
task, remember to believe in yourself, look to your friends for support, and do your absolute best to
achieve more than you ever knew you could!
40
PRIMARY
MR ROBERT
Y6 Teacher
MS DUNG
Teacher Assistant
Year 6 - Mr Robert
Austin Le Phi
Smith
Bui Ngoc Van Ha
TChan Bao Kim
Kim Seo Yeon
Kim Su Min
Lee Da Eun
Lee Yoon Ha
Park En Hee
Pham Nguyen
Minh Nhat
Pham Thu Giang
Terinate Divina
Le Tran Anh Tuan
Tran Jimmy
Tran Phuc Vuong
Tran Van Thanh
Khoa
Truong Song Kim
Ngan
Vo Danh An
Yang Min Yeol
Nguyen Duy
41
PRIMARY
This year’s group of 6R students leave me with very fond memories
indeed. I truly enjoyed being part of their academic and personal growths
as students and people. From the beginning of the year until the end our
students were able to step up to any challenge and exceed expectations.
As a teacher one cannot ask for more. However, beyond anything else what I will always remember
is their kind and generous nature. Whether it was for Terry Fox Run, the Christmas Toy Drive for the
orphanage, the bake sale for clean water wells in Cambodia or one of the many other fund raisers
Renaissance had this year, 6R stood at the head of the school. Well done to all and wish you all the
best with your journey through secondary school.
Year 6RF
Mr Robert
Another second amazing year working with Year 6 along with Mr Robert has been an exciting and
fulfilling time for all of us. I can’t wait for our students to move forward to year 7 and watch them
continue their studies at Renaissance.
Ms Dung
Big Book Project by Danh An, Charlotte, Alice and
Mary - Year 6
Mary 1st, Vina 5th in the 2013 International Smiles Art Contest
International Day
42
Terry Fox Challenge
PRIMARY
Students Memories:
I’ll remember when….
I stayed in the same room with my friends in Madagui - Christina
I played on the school basketball team - Bill
I saw Sirian for the last time - Danh An
We went to Madagui and I did the zipline ride - Jimmy
We made our bridges - Yoon Ha
We went to Madagui and we did many fun things - Min Yeol
We went ice-skating in Crescent Mall - Khoa
We made the Fairground project for IPC - Seo Yeon
We made boats for IPC - Yoon Ha
I signed up for the basketball team - Tuan
Showing the little ones
Vina played basketball - Alice
We ate lunch - Su Min
I first came back from the U.S.A. and everyone pulled me into class - Duy
I won two 1st place ribbons in the swimming gala and sold all the cookies for the bake sale - Da Eun
We won the water polo match versus BIS
Mr Robert called me by my sister’s name (so bad!!) - Anna
I won three ribbons for Sports Day - Austin
I won 1st place in the International Smile Art Contest- Mary
We went skating and finished 5th in the International Art Contest - Vina
Testing centripetal force
The Race
Experiment on friction
IPC Cooperation
Friction on ice
Working with circuits
6A and 6R debaters
The Big Book Authors
Thumbs up to direct current
43
PRIMARY
Key stage 2 wrote creative stories using their
weekly spelling words about plural nouns.
Primary EAL
Year 1 and 2 created imaginative and
touching poems called ‘If I could touch
the sky’.
Ms Pippa
EAL Learning Leader
Mr David
EAL Teacher
In Primary EAL
the children are
encouraged to
reflect on their
learning and
achievements.
Ms Nga
EAL Assistant
In Primary EAL the children learn to be
communicators through a variety of
activities.
Presenting a speech to an audience,
extending and then using vocabulay
in a meaningful way and creative
writing, are some of the exciting
things that happen in Primary EAL.
44
PRIMARY
Primary ICT - Ms Tina
45
PRIMARY
PRIMARY PE DEPARTMENT
INTER-HOUSE COMPETITIONS
By Ms Laura Wilson - Primary PE Teacher
Inter-House Football
Boys
Currie
Girls
Hung
KS2 Swimming Gala
1st
Currie
2nd
Hung
3rd
Pasteur
4th
Macarthur
KS2 Sport Day
1st
Currie
2nd
Pasteur
3rd
Hung
4th
Macarthur
INTER-HOUSE BASKETBALL YEAR 5 & 6
Year 5
1st
Currie
2nd
Hung
3rd
Macarthur
4th
Pasteur
Year 6
46
1st
Currie
2nd
Hung
3rd
Macarthur
4th
Pasteur
PRIMARY
PRIMARY SPORTS TEAMS 2013
By Ms Laura Wilson - Primary PE Teacher
U11 BOYS BASKETBALL
U11 GIRLS BASKETBALL
2nd Place
HCMC International School - Basketball Tournament
The U11 girls played some tough friendly fixtures and went into the end of season tournament
without a win under their belts. The girls played their hearts out beating ISCHMIC, SSIS and AIS and
losing narrowly to BISTX. The Girls had surpassed their expectations and went onto beat Singapore
International School in their Semi Final to reach the final against BISTX. The final was a close fought
game resulting in draw at full time. 3 minutes of Extra time was played and we lost 6-4. Well done
for finishing the season on a high.
U11 GIRLS FOOTBALL TEAM
U11 BOYS FOOTBALL TEAM
5th Place
HCMC International School - Football Tournament
7th Place
HCMC International School - Football Tournament
Unbeaten in all friendly games
It has been a pleasure to witness some amazing football from our U11 boys this season and some
incredibly close fought games. Though Unbeaten in all friendlys this year the boys were unlucky in
the HCMC tournament.
The game Vs ABCIS has to be one of my personal highlights of the year with unbelievable goals
from In Keun, Woo jin and Seung Ryeol to secure RISS a 9-7 victory. It was also here at ABCIS that
the U11 team girls won their first match of the season 2-0 with both goals from Shar Latt.
47
PRIMARY
PRIMARY MIXED NETBALL TEAM
HCMC International School - Netball Champions 2013
Unbeaten all season the U11 netball team went into the tournament as ‘The team to beat’ and they did not fail to
deliver. They won all their pool games to reach the final…. Beating AIS, BIS, ACG, and BISTX to reach the final against
BISTX.
PRIMARY WATERPOLO TEAM
PRIMARY SWIMMING TEAM
PRIMARY ATHLETICS TEAM
PRIMARY BADMINTON TEAM
We had some outstanding performances at the HCMC International Schools Athletics
Championships as well as the HCMC Cross Country Championships. Well done to all those who
competed. In particular, Daisy, Minh & Khang (Yr4), Hwan Hee & Dong Won (Yr 3), Hae Yoon (Year 5)
and Phuc, Woo Jin & Austin (Year 6)
48
PRIMARY
Primary PE / Ms Laura Wilson Teacher
SPORT ROLL OF HONOUR 2013
This year a new monthly award was introduced to encourage increased participation in lessons as well
as extra-curricular sport.
SPORT STARS OF THE MONTH
Ca
Friendly
rin
g
ship
eader
L
January
Eun Ryeol & Diviva Terinate
Febuary
Austin Smithh & Gordon Jones
March
Huynh Tram & Mai Hoang Minh
April
Nguyen Nho Phuc & Shar Latt
May
Jung Seung Gyo & Nguyen Kim Uyen
June
Shim In Keun & Zhang Van Trinh
Team Player
Hard
work
odel
Role M
He
lfu
l
e
rtiv
po
Sup
Early Year 1 & 2
Early Year 3
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Luu Hong Bao Tran
Nur izzati Binti Rosli
Lee Yun Hyeong
Kim Hee Ju
Tran Jessica
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Year 6
Je Hoon
Doan Pham Gia Duc
Shar Latt
Sun Woo Jin
To every Primary student who has represented the school this year whether in friendlies or
tournaments, worked hard in lessons and always remembered their PE kit. you should be immensely
proud of themselves as I am of you.
49
PRIMARY
Early Years Vietnamese
By Ms Ngan - Nursery Vietnamese Teacher
Reception - Ms Quyen
50
PRIMARY
VIETNAMESE CULTURE
Ms Tram - Primary Vietnamese Culture Teacher
Moon Festival with a lot of fun!
We try our best in these performances as presents for our great Teachers.
51
PRIMARY
Tet assembly is always our most important of the whole year. We put a lot of effort to it.
We learned to make a lot of things in Vietnamese Culture.
We are making our own lanterns and Teacher’s day cards.
We make paper roses. We hope our Teachers like it!
52
PRIMARY
It’s not easy to weave these strips in. However, we try very hard and finally we can do it!
We learn how to make “Tò he”Vietnamese traditional toy. It looks
so cute!
It’s so yummy!
Wow, it’s so interesting to make “Bánh xèo”.
We like to hear the sound “xèo…oooo…”
Ms Tram - Primary Vietnamese
Culture Teacher
We make Cu Chi Tunnel model.
53
PRIMARY
Year 1 A - Ms Son
Year 1 B - Ms Tuyen
Year 6 - Ms Huong
Year 5 - Ms Long
Year 2 - Nhung
Primary Vietnamese
54
Primary Music
It’s been another fantastic year at Renaissance from a Primary
Music point-of-view!
A new emphasis this year has been on building foundations
in Music Theory for all students in Primary Music. I have been
very impressed with the progress that many of our older
students have made with their Music reading ability! Equally
I have been inspired by the enthusiasm displayed by many of
our younger students in Music.
With last year’s focus in Primary Music being on creating a
‘singing culture’ at our school, this year proved to be a
successful year for singing. From our Christmas ‘Carols By
Candlelight’ show, through to our Music Assemblies singing has consistently been improving all year throughout
the school.
Next year Renaissance will be looking to add a team of
peripatetic music teachers under the guidance of Ms Jill. They
will offer music tuition on a one-to-one basis, on instruments
that potentially could include: piano, violin, clarinet, trumpet,
saxophone, percussion and singing!
By Mr Christopher Cromey - Primary Music Teacher
PRIMARY
Primary Parliament
January saw a new venture at Renaissance with the formation of a Primary
Parliament run by the pupils for the pupils.
All the Primary pupils had the chance to stand for election as their class
member. All classes have a Member of Parliament with Early Years represented
by two Special Envoys elected from year 6.
We meet twice a month and discuss suggestions put forward by class councils,
these suggestions have covered various topics. The suggestions are then voted
on by the Members of Parliament. Some issues, designed to improve
learning for both pupils and teachers, have be sent for consideration to the
school’s Senior Leadership Team and the Board of Directors.
One of our first suggestions was to look at ways of reducing the waste of plastic
cups within the school, we asked the Secondary Council to join forces with us,
and a delegation met with the Senior Leadership Team with suggestions and
solutions. We are pleased to say the present policy is being reviewed for the
start of 2013/ 2014 School Year.
Our major success came in the form of a ‘cake sale’ to help S E Asia families
have clean water ‘on tap’.
This was a suggestion that Parliament voted on and decided it was an event
we should support.
The event took place on the afternoon 22nd May, It was a great success, with
donations from pupils and staff: cakes, biscuits and other assorted goodies
raised 8,300 ,000 dong, which should provide at least 3 families with clean
water wells.
56
MR . DAVID A
Parliament Coordinator
PRIMARY
Renaissance: A Year of Events!!
Ms Amy Sands - Primary Teacher
This year has been full of many new and exciting events! As a community we have come together to
support our children, our school and various charities, namely the ‘Go Vap Orphanage.’
All our events were great successes and we hope that next year we can continue with everyone’s
support for another eventful year! Here is a brief flashback to our events…
International
Day - ‘We love
celebrating our
home countries
and learning
new things.’
‘Well done
Teachers for
your amazing
dancing!’
School Dances - Great themes, great parties! Let’s keep dancing!
57
PRIMARY
‘We raised so much money for the Go Vap Orphanage!’
Battle of the Bands
‘Well done to all the bands! You Rock!’
TET on the field
‘Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!’
58
Ms Amy Sands - Primary Teacher
PRIMARY
Crescent Mall - ‘What
an amazing morning
at the Crescent! You all
did an amazing job!’
Movie in the Park - ‘A really pleasant
evening watching Wall-E’
59
PRIMARY
Talent Show - ‘Our students at
Renaissance are extremely talented!’
Fun Day - ‘What a great day of fun activities!’
60
SECONDARY
Time at Renaissance seems to pass more quickly here than in
other parts of the world. It really does seem like only three
months ago that I joined this school but it is almost a year.
Mr. Robin
Head of Secondary
My favorite things about Viet
Nam and Renaissance:
Citadel - Hue
‘Awesome Coffee’ - House
District 7
Riding a motorbike
Year 10 Business Classes
Banh Mi
Ms Lien - for helping me keep
organised
I am most privileged to be working with such a great team of
Teachers, Teaching Assistants and of course Students. I have
witnessed some outstanding successes in the year. I have seen
students working really hard on improving and learning in their
subjects and particularly in Year 11 and Year 13 who sat a
multitude of exam papers for their IGCSE and IBDP in May and
June. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those teachers
who have given so generously of their time to help our secondary
students reach their potential.
Time does fly and nor does it stand still and the school has
already said good bye to that great bunch of Year 13s who now
start a new learning experience in Asia, Europe, North America
and Australia. The Alumni group at Renaissance is getting bigger
and one day will be bigger than any Renaissance school
population can host.
What perhaps struck me most was the friendliness of the students
who attend this school. I have worked in several international
schools, but I must admit that the positive manner and friendly
characteristics of our students always amazes me. This school
does have a great community feel and that is down to so many
students who are genuinely friendly and outgoing.
Schools are never just about classes and lessons. That would make
learning incredibly dull and through this year I was so pleased to
see students from Year 7 to Year 13 get involved in the wide array
of activities and opportunities outside of the classroom. It is the
breadth of a curriculum that a school offers that gives that added
value to learning. Well done to all those students who jumped in,
tried new things, and exhibited that IB learner profile Risk Taker.
61
SECONDARY
MR JOHN
Y7 Teacher
Year 7 - Mr John
Design Technology Teacher
Chung Won Seo
Dinh Nguyen Nam
Phuong
Joo Su Yeob
Kang Bo Seung
Kim Hyeon Ji
Lee Jae Won
Ly Vy Khang
Medhat Youssef
Baky Azmy
Nguyen Hong Han
Ho
Nguyen Hung
Manh
Nguyen Ngoc Mai
An
Nguyen Truc Xuan
Phan Minh
Nguyen
Roh Kyung Jae
Shen Chun Chin
Sulamdany Brenda
Christy Sekar
Tan Bao Phuc
Tran Lien Ha
Phung
Yim Jeong Yeon
Zeller Elliot
62
SECONDARY
Adventures of 7JA
In this year, I think the school trip
This year I enjoyed PE
to Dalat was the best experience.
because we can run around
We played together, I was really
and be healthy, and I liked
happy.
Math because Mr. AJ lives
-Leah
In this year, I think the Dalat trip
was very exciting. We can improve
in the same apartment as
me!!!
-Bo Seung
our friendships and play together.
It’s the best trip I ever had.
-Won Seo
63
SECONDARY
MS LILY
Y7 Teacher
Year 7 - Ms Lily
ICT Teacher
Choi Suk Hyun
Chung HuiJin
Doan Tran Khoi
Nguyen
Huynh Gia Phat
Hwang Yea Jin
Jeong Ha Young
Joshua Gordon
Jones James
Kim Dong Seok
La Ngoc Dan
Thanh
Le Vivianne Uyen
Hwang Sewon
Lim Seong Min
Ngo Vu Minh Khoi
Nguyen La Chan
Tran
Nguyen Thanh
Phuong Anh
Oscar Zeller
Park Sang Wook
Song Byeo Ri
Tram Gia Loi
Tran Anh Thy
Tran Chi Nam
Tran Gia Huy
Tran Tuan Luong
64
SECONDARY
What a hair raising
year it has been!
7LH
started the year off with Oscar meeting and greeting some new
staff, including our new Head of Secondary, Mr Robin Klymow
and our Head of School Dr Bruce Robinson. We also had students,
not only new to our form, but also new to the school. We welcomed Gia Huy, Kate
and Sarah to our form.
We then crammed in lots of activities into our
first year, as well as the usual studying in the
classroom and the homework we got from our
teachers.
We had lots of days where we were changing
into different clothes. Everyone got involved
in dressing up in their National Costume for
International Day, or as their favourite character
for Book Week-Dong Seok was especially cute
as the Hungry Caterpillar. The boys also enjoyed
scaring the girls during our Halloween party.
65
SECONDARY
We had lots of fixtures in house, with our badminton, dodgeball, football
and sports day events as well as beating some of the other schools with our
basketball and football team players-well done Khoi, Katie, Vivi and Oscar.
7LH have some really talented students. Firstly Dan Thanh showed off
her dancing skills at a performance at the Crescent during one weekend.
Whilst Nguyen showed off his acting skills during his performances in the
Hunchback of Notre Dame. Both were a great success.
According to 7LH the best time ever was going on our IDEALS trip to Dalat. Never did we think
that eating plants and flowers from the Organik farm would be so tasty, or that throwing ourselves
onto a zip line across a lake could be so thrilling and exciting. Everyone said the best part of the
trip was spending time with their friends and doing activities which they could not do in school.
We cannot wait for next year’s IDEALS trip.
7LH have finally completed their end of year exams, and are now looking forward to a
well-deserved break. Have fun everyone, keep yourself safe and we will see you all back in August
for another great year.
66
SECONDARY
MR LENNY
Y8 Teacher
Year 8 - Mr Lenny
Humanities Teacher
Bui Hai Lam
Choi Da Hyun
Dang Minh Chau
Jin Woo Chan
Katrina Kay Martin
Kim So Yeon
Kwon Do Gyun
Lee Da Jeong
Lee Da Yoon
Lee Jae Yong
Lee Sung Jin
Lim Gyu Won
Nguyen Chi Thien
Nguyen Phan Huy
Hoang
Nguyen Thanh
Phong
Park Gun Hyun
Peji Rosanes Toni
Angela
Shin Ju Kyoung
Tan Bao Ngoc
Tran Ngoc Minh
Tuong
Vo Van Cong Huan
67
SECONDARY
8LP
Proudly presenting the smartest form!
During this year, we have been
involved in many exciting activities. A
lot of which were while we were on
trip. We made new friends, grown
closer together as a form and found
out new things about the friends we
already
had.
The
activity that contained the most
fun, danger, and excitement was
mountain climbing. When we saw
the mountain and the destination
where we had to climb to, We all
felt quite scared and challenged.
However, when we started to climb up, we all felt this activity was
the most exciting and rewarding thing that any of us had ever done.
In 8Lp we are proud of the progress we have made this year, and
hopefully if we all achieve our learning and report card targets, Mr.
Lenny will take us to a movie day like he promised.
68
SECONDARY
Year 8 - Ms Tracy
Maths Teacher
Bui Pham Phuong
Vy
Chan Victor Wan
Lung
Huynh Quoc Trung
Huynh Tran Bao
Nghi
Kim Dong Woo
Kim Kyu Sik
Le Anh Phuong Vy
Le Thi Khanh Ngoc
Lee Da Yeong
Lee Hyuk Goo
Lee Kwang Seok
Lee San Ha
Moon Dong Hyun
Nguyen Anh Thu
Nguyen Chau Nhi
Nguyen Ton My An
Nguyenn Chau Nhi
Park Soo Hyun
Shin Jin Hwa
Vo Danh Trieu
MS TRACY
Y8 Teacher
69
SECONDARY
Year 8T Recap
70
D
SECONDARY
uring the academic year 2012-2013, we has progressed greatly as a class, in terms of cooperation
and personal achievements. It has been proven that we have taken a giant leap together. Shown in
our test results and our daily life in school. Of course these bonds aren’t formed without our hard
effort and teamwork. There were a lot of experiences that has strengthened and tightened the bond. One
of them was our IDEALS trip to Mai Chau.
Our annual IDEALS trips were always memorable times of our school year. It was the time that we were
able to get to know each other more through fun yet challenging activities. This year was no exception. Our
friendship and cooperation were put through the test in activities that encouraged motivating and helping
out our peers such as rock climbing. A lot of us was very frightened at the sheer height of the cliffs we were
supposed to climb but when we stepped up to the challenge, we were flourished and overwhelmed by the
sense of accomplishment that enhanced the experience by an infinite amount. It showed just how far we
can go with enough courage and voices that were extremely comforting knowing there were friends who
would encourage us to do something that we thought we never could do!
Another fun class event that we participated in was our Geography trip which led us to Giang Dien
Waterfall. It was a two hour drive away from our school but it was definitely worth it! The landscape at the
waterfall was amazing! We were put on the task of measuring the dimensions and the force of the water of
the two rivers started near the main waterfall. We all managed to collect accurate data that we used in the
class to find out the velocity of the river, how much cube meters of water was flowing through the waterfall
per second. After we completed the task, we joyfully jumped into the plunge pool and enjoyed ourselves.
Thanks to MrGavin who organized and made sure that we knew what we were doing when measuring the
rivers.
Just recently on Fun Day, one of our class members achieved a goal that was recognized throughout
the school. Kathy of our class won the talent show. She sang and played the Piano at the same time! It was
a mind-blowing performance as she sang the song It’s time by Imagine Dragons. She was calm and poised
as she finished the song together with a staggering amount of applause coming from the audience. The
Korean Girls from our class also performed a KPop number ‘’Oh My God’’. They also received a large applause
from the audience. Overall, we are all very proud of our friends’ performance and results in the talent show.
71
SECONDARY
Year 9 - Mr Chris
Biology Teacher
Choi Joonho
Choi William
Choi Won Sang
Choi Yu Jin
Dinh Hong Jason
Gil Gi Woo
Hoang Quan
Hwang Anne
Kim Hyung Min
Kim HyungJun
Kim KiHwan
Lim Seong Jun
Nguyen Duong
Pham Khoa
Song Anh Phan
MR CHRIS
Y9 Teacher
72
SECONDARY
It
has been another successful year for 9CB. The class have really come out of their shells to
show how hard they can work and represent Renaissance positively in a variety of activities.
They enjoyed their trip to Malaysia with Mr Stephen and Ms Monica, performed in the school
orchestra and taken part in MUN, as well as making many other contributions to the school. We have
improved on every aspect of being positive role models to the younger years: speaking more English
around school; making multi-national friends; making sure diaries are signed on time; punctuality and
attendance. Getting these basics right is fundamental to achievement and I am proud that my form
have incorporated good habits into their daily routines.
9CB have now chosen their IGCSE options and I am confident that every one of them is ready to enter
Key Stage 4. We have welcomed a number of new faces to our class throughout the academic year.
These students have freshened up the form, bringing with them new ideas and personalities, as well
as making friends with ease.
9CB have gone from a wriggly, sometimes silly form class to one that Renaissance International
School can be proud of. They have grown in height (some of them are taller than me now!) and
Biologyconfidence during my two years with them. Though I will be sad to say goodbye to 9CB at the end of this term, I know that I am leaving behind a talented group
of students who can perform school-based tasks independently and who harbor a
drive to succeed that will see them right through to IB. By Mr Chris Baker
Y9CB
73
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GIRLS UNDER-14S FOOTBALL TEAM
The girls’ under-14s football team have gone from strength to strength over the past two years. We have
achieved numerous successes during my time as coach - both in match results and skill acquisition. The
squad is made up of numerous nationalities and it truly represents what it means to be part of an
international school. The girls have shown commitment to the team. They arrive at training every week
and motivate one another to improve. They have settled into their individual positions well,
understanding their roles within the game. Ngoc has proven to be a great captain, making rational
decisions and shouting instructions to team members when required.
The team has retained the RISSSING Cup for two years straight. We came close to losing this award earlier
in the year. In fact, I thought we had. I handed the trophy to Singapore International School’s team coach
and they were just getting ready for their victory photograph when Nancy pointed out to me that I had
miscalculated the aggregate score! I ran over and reclaimed what was rightly ours. Now the RISSING Cup
sits proudly behind the trophy cabinet glass in the main foyer.
We were unfortunate not to take part in this year’s annual football tournament at BIS, due to a clash with
trips week. I am sure that the girls would have performed better than last year if we had been there. Next
year, they will prove themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
I am sad to leave the girls team behind at the end of this year, as I move to China to start a new job in
August. We have one final away game against the British Vietnamese International School on the 20th of
June. I predict a win for Renaissance International School, but as I always say - winning is nice but, as long
as the girls enjoy the event, it doesn’t really matter.
I know that whoever is lucky enough to take over as team coach next year will enjoy guiding the girls as
much as I have.
Well done girls, and… Don’t forget your shin pads!
By Mr Chris
74
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MS MONICA
Y9 Teacher
Year 9 - Ms Monica
Science Teacher
Choi Seung Il
Dang Vinh Phuc
Dinh Duc Minh
Hwang Jong Won
Kim Min Ah
Kim Min Ji
Kim Yoo Min
Lim Su Min
Nguyen Bao Nghi
Nguyen Ngoc Dan
Thanh
Nguyen Quang
Hung
Nguyen Yen
Phuong
Park Geun Ryeol
Park Yun Seong
Pham Anh Kiet
Seo Sang Ki
Son Hyun Jin
Song Yu Ri
Vo Van Khanh
Vo Hoang Thai
Duong
75
SECONDARY
These are some of the weird
and wonderful achievements,
aspirations and memories that
9MG have!
“This has been an eventful year for 9MG. They have been busy with
extracurricular activities such as orchestra, MUN, basketball, football, trips,
theatre and helping with Go Vap charity boxes. In the meanwhile, they have
been busy studying hard in their lessons to ensure they are achieving to the best
of their ability. It is pleasing as a form tutor to hear such positive feedback about
9MG from other teachers. Next year 9MG will be getting to grips with their
IGCSEs and if their commitment to success this year is anything to go by, I am
confident they will continue to develop into model Renaissance students. I am
looking forward to another fun-filled, challenging and eventful year with 9MG!
Enjoy your summer holiday.”
Kiet
My achievement this year is that I learnt to type 60 words per minute.
Next year I want to be able to type 70 words per minute. My favorite memory
from this year is whitewater rafting in Malaysia.
Hung
My achievement this year is that I was Pasteur’s house captain.
Next year I want to do well in my IGCSEs and join the senior basketball team. My
favourite memories from this year are white water rafting, basketball, football
and tennis club.
Duong
My achievements this year include making friends with more people at school,
making friends with people who play game like me and making friends with
people that I don’t know by playing game. Next year I hope too……. ???? Make
more friends by playing the game? My favorite memories from this year are
reading comics at 12.00pm and meeting my old friend in primary.
Bao Nghi
My achievement this year is winning the badminton trophy (3rd place).
Next year I aspire to have more fun activities on the school trip and waste less
time travelling to places. My favorite memories are making friends with a guy at
Moon River Lodge (Malaysia) and chilling out in the white water rafting activity.
Seung Il
My achievement this year is that I made some friends. I also learnt a lot of things.
Next year I aspire to study harder.My favorite memory is eating pizza with Ms
Monica. She buys us more pizza when we speak English.
76
Yun Seong
My achievements this year include Chinese
chess and soccer. Next year I aspire to have a
bonanza year. My favorite memory is eating
pizza.
Sang Ki
My achievement this year is that I spoke more
English. Next year I would like us to win the
Hope cup. My favorite memory is pizza party
(because I spoke English) and the Geography
trip (thanks Mr Gavin).
Geun Ryeol
My achievements this year are that I was in the
football team. Also, I only had three detentions.
I hope to do some great work in IGCSE and
win the Hope cup. My favorite memories are
win some football games, losing some football
games and Geography trip.
Hyun Jin
My achievements this year are that I have got
many more Vietnamese friends. My hope for
next year is to join higher English class. My
favorite memory is eating pizza at pizza party
for speaking in English.
Yoo Min
My achievement this year is that I had just a few
detentions. Less than ten, more than five. I am
the ‘Boom Boom king’ at white water rafting.
Next year I aspire to win the Hope cup and
have nice end of year resources. My favorite
memories from 9MG are farming in Malaysia
and football time.
Phuong
My achievements in 9MG are that I have done
better in English, I’ve joined the basketball club
and I’ve started learning to play the piano. Next
year I hope to go to Australia and work harder
than this year. My memories are having the first
long trip to Malaysia, the Quartet was formed,
best form ever (9MG is the best) and I became
closer to the Korean girls in my form.
Dan Thanh
My achievements include getting a few
rewards, being part of the school production
Hunchback of Notredam, I did some splendid
written and Art work, I performed in the Dance
club and joined the basketball club. Next
year I aspire to have an even better year with
my friends and family… and to get my ideal
boyfriend…. My favorite memories are forming
the Quartet, basketball(?) and my 9MG form,
the whole of year 9 and the trip. THE TRIP!!!! ;-)
Phuc
My achievement is that, for the first time in my
life, I managed to get a B for Chinese. Also I
changd to higher level Maths class. Next year I
aspire (hope) to have at least a B in all subjects.
My favorite memory is from the field trip to
Malaysia. It was great.
Van Khanh
My achievements this year include joining the
basketball club and the dance club. I also made
new friends with Min Ji, Yun Ju and Su Bin. Next
year I hope to make even more friends, improve
my English and get a boyfriend. :) My favorite
memories from this year are the school trip to
Malaysia and forming the Quartet.
Min Ah
My achievements this year include becoming
closer frinds with the Vietnamese girls in my
class. Also I can speak English is better than in
year 8. Next year I hope to learn more English
and Chinese. My favorite memories are having
pizza parties many times and when I swam in
the swimming gala and I lost.
Min Ji
My achievements this year include becoming
better friends with the Vietnamese girls in my
form class. Also I have grown 1cm this year.
Next year I hope to grow another 3cm.
My favorite memory this year is performing
‘three little pigs’ while other students were on
the CIDEALS trip (thanks Ms Sarah!!!)
Yu Ri
My achievements this year include making
friends with the Vietnamese people in my class
and being a part of SAIMUN.
Next year I hope to make more new friends.
My favorite memories are the Halloween party,
the Christmas party and performing the ‘three
little pigs’.
Su Min
My achievements in year 9 are being part of
SAIMUN, UNISMUN and learning to play the
piano.
Next year I aspire to get good IGCSE scores.
My favorite memories are the Christmas party
and being a member of the student council.
Minh
My achievements this year are joining in the
badminton tournament, running in sports day
and the dodge ball tournament.
Next year I aspire to learn to play one kind of
musical instrument and get good reports.
My favorite memories are the Malaysia trip and
also the Geography field trip.
Ms Monica
My achievement this year - getting to know
each and every member of 9MG better.
Next year I hope that members of 9MG start
bringing me breakfast into school each and
every morning. (Thanks to those of you who
already have… you know who you are!!)
My favorite memories with you guys in 9MG is
in form time when I make you use your diary
to do productive stuff instead of having free
time. And you all moan and grumble about
it. And when you don’t tuck your shirt in even
though I’ve asked you to a million times before.
And when you pretend to speak in English
really quietly when really you are speaking in
Vietnamese or Korean. You think I don’t know!!
Oh and the Malaysia trip!! :). Have a great
summer. Look forward to see you next year.
77
SECONDARY
ACROSS
2
Vietnam’s ancient king.
3
Went to MUN representing delegate of UK.
5
Plays games really well.
11
Vietnam’s ancient king’s friend.
12Xavi.
14
The most serious Vietnamese girl in 9MG.
15
Nickname is the name of a group of people who left Scandinavia and travelled by boat to other
countries, such as Britain and Ireland. Some went to fight and steal treasure. Others settled in
new lands as farmers, craftsmen or traders.
16
Has bad luck all year due to dead snake in front garden.
17
Won 3rd place in badminton tournament against CIS.
18
Boom Boom King of white water rafting.
DOWN
1
My name is the same as one of the members of Girl’s Generation (SNSD).
4
My name clue is ‘M’ and my name means small and beuatiful in Korean.
5
Choi Bruce is my English name.
6
Khoi’s brother.
7
Female Vietnamese member of our form who played the role of a gypsy in Hunchback of
Notre Dame production.
8
One of our newest form members who is a lego legend.
9
Cute boy in 9MG.
10
Handsome guy in 9MG.
13
Most punctual member of the form - first person to arrive each morning.
16
Some people call me ‘duck face’.
19
This person LOVES science and in the second earliest to form time.
Answers Across: 2. Hung 3. Su Min 5. Sang Ki 11. Duong 12. Yun Seong 14. Phoung 15. Van Khanh 16.
Ms Monica 17. Bao Nghi 18. Yoo Min DOWN: 1. Yu Ri 4. Min Ah 5. Seung Il 6. Kiet 7. Dan Thanh 8. Jong
Won 9. Hyun Jin 10. Geun Ryeol 13. Phuc 16. Min Ji 19. Minh
78
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Year 10 - Mr Joe
History Teacher
MR JOE
Y10 Teacher
Hau Duong Vy
(Andi)
Ho Nguyen Trinh
(Tom)
Jang, Gee Young
Jeon Su Ung
Jung Seung Hyun
Kim Do Un
Kim Hyung Won
(Olivia)
Kim Sung Cheol
Le Nguyen Thuy
An (Katie)
Lee Jee Hoon
Lim So Hee
Ly Chinh Linh
(Sharon)
Park Seong Hwan
Po Chiao (Eugenia)
Samuel De Lisser
Sang Jun Hwang
(Jimmy)
Thai Ky Tu
(Jason)
Trung Hoang Huy
Vo Ngoc Linh Dan
Xiao Tong
Yoon Ki Hoon
Yu Ye Jin
79
SECONDARY
Year 10ID
I
t has been a real pleasure being the
form tutor for 10JD this academic year.
Seeing them all grow and
mature into interesting and fun young
adults with unique characters, has been
the most enjoyable part of my job at Renaissance. It is nice when you hear other
teachers say how enjoyable 10JD, and
year 10 in general (10TC ain’t so bad ), are
to teach. I would echo these sentiments. As a group, we are a tight unit and what I like is how well all students mix
with each other, regardless of background and nationality.
We have had some good times this year, with Friday fun time, parties, games and charades. I really enjoyed our road
safety assembly of ‘put a lid on it’, with our silly pink bike and smashing helmets. (Thanks to Dan, Katie and Tom for
your help). However, the highlight of the year has to be the trip to Thailand for IDEALS week, where none of the
students wanted to come home. The way everyone bonded through hard charity work, as well as fun games and
activities was really something to see.
On the academic front, 10JD have been ploughing their way through the rigours of the IGCSE course. It never
ceases to amaze me how well they are doing, with English as their second language in these tough subjects. This
has to be their main focus for the next academic year, while maintaining all their various achievements on the
extra-curricular front.
In terms of extra-curricular activities, 10JD are high fliers and very much lead the school in some of their
achievements. The amount they contribute in sporting, musical and other activities is a credit to the school. I have
listed some of these below. Personally, I have enjoyed coaching many of the boys for football. I have also been
impressed by the keenness of the girls in the World Scholars’ cup.
• Student council reps: Ye Jin and Katie
• World Scholars’ cup: Do Un, Katie, Ye Jin
• MUN: Ki Hoon (UNIS), Tom, Katie, Sharon, Ye Jin (sorry if I forgot anyone!)
• Football boys: Andi (star striker), Jimmy (GK), Seong Hwan, Su Ung, Ki Hoon, Jee Hoon (midfield maestros)
• Basketball girls: Katie, Jeany, Sharon
• Boys: Tom, Sam
• School Orchestra: Seung Cheol, Seong Hwan.
We have been fortunate to have received some new members to our troop of cool cats this year: Jimmy, Xiao tong,
Eugenia, Sam, Ki Hoon and Seung Hyun. We will also said goodbye to Woo Seok and So Hee, and will have to say
goodbye to some more of our members for various reasons at the end of the year. I’m sure the friendships you have
made in 10JD and Renaissance will last a life time for some of you. I personally will be very sad to say goodbye to
you all.
• Most uniform errors: Huy and Sam
10JD memories/Most likely to:
• Most jokes: Jimmy/Ye Jin/Seong Hwan
• Most noise: Katie, Dan, Sharon, Jeany. Every
• Most bad jokes: Tom
morning, every lesson, every minute, every day!
• Most ‘The most’: Sharon
• Most likely to never shut up: Katie/Tom
• Most goals: Andi
• Most mental/monkey like/5 stars on reports: Ye Jin • Most powerful shot: Seong Hwan (he nearly broke my
• Most smiles: Do Un/Olivia/Eugenia
hand!)
• Most high 5s: Do Un
• Most cool: Su Ung/Cool Dan
• Most kind boy: Gee Young
• Most likely to be a fashion designer: Jee Hoon
• Most kind girl: Olivia
• Most likely to be a fashion model: Jeany/Do Un
• Most improved English: Xiao Tong/Eugenia
• Most likely to be a politician: Ki Hoon/Jason
• Most hair colours: Seung Hyun
• Most likely to be a computer king: Seong Cheol
• Most hair gel: Huy
• Most lessons missed: Huy and Sam
Happy days
• Most lateness: Huy and Sam
By Mr Joe - Year 10JD.
80
SECONDARY
MR TOME
Y10 Teacher
MR STEPHEN
Y10 Teacher
Year 10 - Mr Tome
PE Teacher
Bui Minh Thy
Cao Ngoc Thuy
Anh
Choi Seung Yeon
Dinh Hong Duc
Ha Seung Hoon
Huynh Hong Phuc
Hwang Kyu Min
Jang Jin Sol
Jung Ji Yoon
Kim HyunJu
Lee Hyuna
Lee Jeong Seop
Lee Seon Beom
Lee Yi Ra
Lim Jang Hyeok
Ly Bich Chau
Moon Hyeong Gin
Nguyen Hoang
Anh
Nguyen Minh Tuan
Nguyen Thanh
Duong
Pham Nguyen
Khoi
Phan Huy Anh
Quan
Chan Bao Nhu
Tran Uy Nhiem
81
10TC MOST L
most likely to
grow dread
locks
most
likely
to be
the
tallest
most likely
to be a music
teacher
most likely
to sing
opera
most likely to
be ‘badder’
most likely to
be a farmer
m
a
T
most likely to
be Korean
most likely to be bad
most likely to
be addicted to
her cell phone
most likely to
be a superhero
most likely t
a gentleman
most likely to
be awesome
82
LIKELY TO....
y
most likely to
win high jump
most likely
to be a god
most likely to
grow goatee
most likely
to be a
male model
most likely
to turn into
a horse
most likely to be
as good as Ms
Tracy at Maths
most likely to
be a clown
most likely to
be Rapunzel
most likely
to open a
school shoe
company
most likely
to be anime
most likely to
be soy sauce
most likely to join
jabbawockeez
to be
n
83
SECONDARY
WE ARE THE 10TC
“More like a family than a normal form class”
This year we have started the first half of the IGCSE course. It was rather new to us at the
start of the year but we have gotten used to it. We have to work harder than before. We’ve
made some new friends in our class and went to Thailand together for 1 week of school
trip. We also helped organizing the Terry Fox run for charity.
In our class, Chau and Quan won the prize of the “Best Couple” at the annual Prom. We
were very happy about the arrival of MrTome’s first child - Elliot, she was the new member
of 10TC! We had fun playing her when Ms Melissa brought her to school sometimes. Although we are quite sad to know that they are leaving this year. But we are very proud to
be the only form group with 2 form tutors. They always think of new activities in class to
make school more fun to us.
We share many secrets, plans with each other and tell jokes to relax before class. 10TC is
more like a family than a normal form class, we’ll never forget that we were once the 10TC
Invincibles!
By Polly and Hiro
84
SECONDARY
MR EOIN
Y10 Teacher
Year 11 - Mr Eoin
Physics Teacher
Choi Won Suk
DSC_2945
Kang Gi Ho
Kim Jun Young
Ku Yen Lun
Kwon Woo E
Le Khanh Nhu
Liao Wenli
Morea Medhat
Baky Azmy
Ngo Thi Ngoc
Dung
Nguyen Duy Kien
Nguyen Phan My
Phuong
Park Jong Won
Krish Shankar
Vu Trinh Bao Chau
Tran Tuan Hung
85
SECONDARY
Year 11EO
When I’m older I want to......
Follow My Dreams
Be a doctor
…I Don’t know!! Have a family
Be a Pirate, of course!!
Paint a self Portrait
Learn o swim Be a famous dancer
Fall in love
Be independent!! Terminate Injus.ce!! …….Be the man!!! Be awesome! Be stronger than Mr. Eoin ..Chill!! Be rich!......No ma<er what.. Be a famous sports star 86
Imprison MR.EOIN…..for making us look silly SECONDARY
MS LAURA
Y11 Teacher
Year 11 - Ms Laura
EAL & Global Perspectives Teacher
Dang Nhat Xuan
Dinh Nguyen
Ngoc Huy
Ei Hlaing Zar
Hoang Le Minh
Jang Hye Sung
Kim Dong Hyeon
Lee Chae Yeong
Nguyen Hai Nam
Park Joo Hyun
Shin Eun Jee
Shon Yae Chan
Tran Duc Khiem
Tran Giai Du
Tran Minh Nhat
Vo Nguyen Mai
Hoang
Yang Seung Doo
87
SECONDARY
We were such a cool form...and we still are!!
11LV
Chae Yeong playing for the
school orchestra
International day...we
were just so cool
Eliza finding cl
History day
Break time!
everybody enjoyed
Angkor Wat
future president of the U.S
Giai Du looking good on
Halloween
Dodgeball game
88
Joshua was re
where is the f
Kelly trying to avoid the
hard work...
Nhat during the Green trip
Mr Adam w
SECONDARY
we are talented too
such a hard work for a
good cause
spiders,ants and
humidity...but we are glad
we went camping!
lues on
Milo time! the time
everybody longs for after
a hot day
the walking dead!
Yae Chan is super ready to
fight in his sunglasses!
eally hungry..
foood!!!
was awesome
our first and best
assembly...RISS IDOL!!!!
we are also caring
We enjoyed more than the
little kids...
Tom, where is you
Renaissance International School Saigon
sport clothes
| Year Book 2013
89
SECONDARY
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
By Ms Laura Verdugo - Y11LV Teacher
Throughout the year, grade 11 students have worked really hard to complete their portfolio and project in
Global Perspectives.
They have researched about many different topics and have shown real interest in current issues. Here you can
find some of the questions they wanted to investigate:
ADRIANA
KIEN
SUNG
TOPIC - Humans and other Species
• What are the factors affecting the
population reduction of marine life
and how it will affect human life in
the future?
TOPIC - Cultural Identity
• What factors affect immigrants
and local people, when they
move to another country?
TOPIC - Conflict and Peace
• What is the significance of the
ongoing conflict on the Korean
Peninsula and how does it affect
us as a whole?
TOPIC- Law and Criminality
• Should the use of cannabis be legalised the same way that alcohol and
tobacco are?
TOPIC- Education for All
• How lack of motivation affects
the learning process of
students?
TOPIC - Tradition, Culture and
Identity
• Why are some nations more
accepting towards homosexuality
in the 21st century than others?
KIEN - Tradition, Culture and
Identity
Main question: How lack of
motivation affects the learning
process of students?
They also did a wonderful project about DISCRIMINATION and presented it in assembly to all
secondary students.
a video on gender stereotypes
do you know what discrimination is
Kien and Sung asking questions to year 12
students
90
Sung trying to catch people’s attention...
SECONDARY
Our senior students have completed their
schooling as it all draws to a close with the end
of year IB Graduation Dinner at the White Palace
Convention Centre. On the whole it’s been a great
year with students gaining places at some of the
best Universities, but as many of our Graduating
Class will testify, it’s been a tough year too.
been out in the community doing
interesting things for their CAS
component and have had their horizons
broadened with the Theory of
Knowledge course.
It is often stated that IB is the best
qualification for undergraduate
The International Baccalaureate Diploma is
studies. The rigour of the programme
meant to be challenging; nothing would ever be
differentiates the very best students, the
achieved in life if we found everything easy and
assessments are fair and the standard
my message to the incoming Year 11’s and the
well respected worldwide. I believe that
current Year 12’s is
there is more
that the IB Diploma
to IB than a
isn’t meant to be easy,
final score
so be prepared to
out of 45, in
work hard.
that the IB
Diploma
I saw the students at
enables you
the start and the end
to manage
of each of their exams
your time
last month and they
well and the
seemed to be suitably
variety of
self-assured, if not a
compulsory
little nervous as they enter
tasks result in
the final lap of this 2 year
students being
course, putting it all together
better able to cope
By Simon Scott - IB Coordinator
one last time on
with degree level
paper, though much
standards as
of that work had
they emerge
already been
from the
submitted as part of
programme
that assessment.
very well
prepared
The IB Diploma places
for the next
a lot of emphasis on
stage of their
coursework in all
education.
subjects, up to one
third of their final
We send
score was completed
them out
ahead of the exams in the form of oral speaking
with our blessing. Well done our
tests, projects, presentations, essays and guided
Graduating Class of 2013, it has been a
experiments. In this way the IB provides students
pleasure working with you all, on behalf
with a skill-set they would not have in other
of all the staff here at Renaissance we
pre-university courses. In addition to the
wish you nothing but success and
assessments in all 6 subjects, they also complete
happiness in the road ahead.
an investigative essay of 4,000 words, they have
IB for Yearbook
91
SECONDARY
MR GEOFF
Y12 Teacher
Year 12 - Mr Geoff
Art Teacher
Choi Yoon Hee
Chung Sung Hoon
Han Yeol Lim
Hoang Kim
Phuong
Jeon Jeong Eon
Le Duc Dang Khoa
Lee Jung Hoon
Lee Seung Jae
Nguyen Anh Thu
Nguyen Ton My
Linh
Phan Quang Binh
Seul Sun Ho
Yu Ye Lim
92
SECONDARY
It's been a very long and arduous 1st year in IB for Y12GB But
thinking about it...it has also been a lot of fun and very rewarding... !
93
SECONDARY
Another Amazing Year for Fantastic Artwork
Another great year of fantastic Artwork
From All Year Groups...
in all Year Groups
94
SECONDARY
MR GAVIN
Y12 Teacher
Year 12 - Mr Gavin Nattrass
Geography Teacher
Cha Won Hyuk
Choi Mi Ran
Nguyen Dang
Khoa
Nguyen Hoang
Khai Thu
Nguyen Thanh
Truc
Phan Dang Anh Vu
Kim Ji Yeon
Lee Ah Young
Lim Gyuha
Phan Quang
Nguyen
Seul Sei Ran
Yoon Ji Hoon
95
SECONDARY
12GN
Golden Nuggets
By Mr .Gavin
I have thoroughly enjoyed building up a rapport and spending tutor time and Core time with the
students in 12 GN. As I write this we are looking ahead to a late CIDEALS trip to Bintan in Indonesia.
Whilst we are excited about the kayaking and other activities we have planned we are also looking
forward to some rest time and space for reflection on what has been a very very busy academic year.
As this year has unfolded I have been surprised week by week as each student reveals the full extent of
their passions and talents. My favourite moment has to be The Jellyfish band singing at the graduation
night, right at that very moment when Ji Hoon started singing with such a deep sonorous voice and I
caught a look from Quy Ha on the drums A knowing look that said “Don’t underestimate us”. I think it’s
fair to say all IB teachers are highly impressed with this tutor group and Mr Geoff’s.
Thank you guys for such a rewarding year with you all.
I am mega mind!!!
96
SECONDARY
MR MARK
Y13 Teacher
Year 13 - Mr Mark Teacher
Business Teacher
Aina Nadhirah
Ferhat Abbas
Hong Eun Ho
Hsieh Tsai En
Hur Ji Young
Hwang Hyun
Jung Hyun Ji
Kim Hee Hyeon
Kim Joo Hyuk
Kim Seung Jun
Kim Tae Hyun
Le Thanh Trung
Lee Ji Weon
Pham The Hien
Phan Ngoc Bao
Nhi
Shen Ching Yao
Tran Thi Ngoc An
Vuong Hue Van
Yang So Yun
97
Highlights: Kony 2012, District 4 School for the Blind, Model United Nations: RISSMUN
2012 Secretary General, THIMUN Singapore, SAIMUN, UNISMUN Hanoi, MUN clubs, Lion
King Musical, Hunchback of Notre Dame Musical, House Captain 2011, Secondary
Football team, IDEALS Trip to Borneo.
Awards: Academic Excellence in French, Art, ICT, Effort Awards in English, French, CAS
Award, Leadership Award.
Aina Nadhirah
Ferhat Abbas
University Goals: Interior Architecture; I have received several offers from Birmingham,
Southampton, Oxford Brookes, UBC applying for an International Relations course.
Recently, I have had a change of heart and have decided to do Interior Architecture at
Oxford Brookes. After I have received my Bachelors, I would like to work at a famous
interior decorating company.
Life Goals: After receiving my Bachelors, I would like to travel around the world and
work in an NGO, helping those children fighting against poverty. I am hoping to become
a successful and well-known interior decorator and help those in need with the money I
gain, intertwining my university life and my high school MUN life. After I have gained my
Bachelors my siblings and I would like to buy my parents a house in Scotland, hoping my
interior decorating skills are suffice to decorate their house with.
Highlights: Model united Nation - Head of Administration, IDEALS Trip to Borneo, GINS
Conference.
Awards: Academic Excellence Award in Maths, Chemistry and ITGS, Effort Award in
Biology, Chemistry, Math s and ITGS, Full Attendance, MUN certificate.
University Goals: I received an offer from the University of Hong Kong to study a
Bachelors of Science degree. It is a four year program. I am supposed to choose my
major on my second year of University, but I am still unsure about what I want as my
major, but I am planning to focus on Maths, to become a high school Maths teacher.
Kim Hee
Hyeon
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Life Goals: I am planning to travel around the world. I still need to improve my English
skills. I started to encounter another world apart from Korea just two years ago, I need
to learn more things through experiences. With my major in my Science Degree, I would
like to be an international Maths teacher.
Highlights: Projects for Go Vap Orphanage, Talent Show on Fun Day, Art books for
charity and conventions.
Awards: Vietnamese, Theory of Knowledge, Go Vap Orphanage Service Award.
University Goals:I truly want to go to Sydney Institute - Design Centre, because it is a
college famous for Digital Arts, Media and Illustration. I have applied to some
Universities in the USA but I think I am going to TAFE in Australia instead. I have already
studied in Sydney for more than two years so I am confident in going back there, the
education is great because I have experienced it myself.
Life Goals: I want to become a freelance digital artist while working in the psychology,
human behaviour field. However, I want to obtain a job that allows me to work in not
only one but different countries. I believe it does not matter which university or college,
nor which courses, major or minor we start with, we can achieve our dreams step by
step.
Tran Thi Ngoc
An
Highlights: IDEALS Trip to Borneo, Model United Nations, Go Vap Orphanage, Band
Festival, House Captain for Pasteur.
Awards: Leadership Award for House Captain for Pasteur, Certificate for Full Attendance,
Model United Nations , Certificate of Participation for School Musical, International
Award.
University Goals: I will be applying to Universities in Seoul, Korea, in July. I want to
major in Business Management or Hotel Management.
Life Goals: To become a good father and a successful business man.
Kim
Seung Jun
99
Highlights: Basketball team, Go Vap Orphanage, Member of the Student Council, Curie
House Captain.
Awards: Model United Nations, Helping with Kids Without Borders Organisation.
University Goals: To study in Canada and eventually get a good degree. I want to study
a Computer Science Degree.
Life Goals: I want to join the army after graduating from University and then find a job
and have a good life.
Shen
Ching Yao
Highlights: Helping with the Go Vap Orphanage was one of the best life’s lesson I have
learnt. School trips is tiring but priceless.
Awards: Helping Kids Without Borders Organisation, Art Effort Award, CAS Certificate.
University Goals: I want to study fashion management or merchandising for my
University. I want to get a Masters Degree in fashion management and running my own
fashion brand.
Life Goals: To work in the USA for 2 years and then come back to Vietnam to have my
own company. I want to enjoy my life on working in fashion.
Phan Ngoc
Bao Nhi
100
Highlights: Joined the tennis tournament for charity. Ideals Trip to Borneo.
Awards: Leadership Award.
University Goals: I have applied to several Universities and received several
acceptances. However I feel that I am heading towards ICHM in Adelaide, Australia. After
I received my degree in Hospitality, I want to be a good manager and hope to explore
more about this industry.
Life Goals: I have always wanted to work in the hotel or restaurant sector or even open
my own bar. Be rich. Live a posh life.
Le
Thanh Trung
Highlights: Kony 2012, IDEALS Trip to Borneo, working with the Go Vap Orphanage.
University Goals: I have applied for RMIT University. I have been there 3 times before
and realised it is a really good University. I am planning to study Bachelors of Economics
after IB.
Life Goals: After getting my Bachelors Degree, I would like to spend some time to do
things I have planned like travelling the world. After finishing University I would like to
continue my family business.
Pham
The Hien
101
Highlights: School Student Council, joined the School Musical “The Sound of Music”,
“Scheherazade” and designing costumes for “The Lion King”. Being the first team to
organise the “Go Vap Orphanage” project. IDEALS Trip to Borneo.
Awards: ICT Award, Maths Award, Chinese Award, English First Language Effort Award,
Leadership Award, GIN Conference Award, Kids Without Borders Recognition Award, Art
&Design Award, Physics Award.
University Goals: Taking Business Marketing Bachelors Degree. I have applied for jobs
in Promotional Events Organisation. After gaining experience, I will study to earn a MBA
degree.
Vuong
Hue Van
Life Goals: To be able to take care of my family and give them all the best in life “Live like
there is no tomorrow”.
Highlights: IDEALS Trip to Borneo, Model United Nations, Go Vap Orphanage, Band
Festival, Member of the Student Council.
Awards: Model United Nations participant.
University Goals: I have applied to Universities in Korea, and I would like to study
Engineering.
Life Goals: Be rich and be happy.
Kim
Joo Hyuk
102
Highlights: Being part of the first team to set up links between Renaissance School and
Go Vap Orphanage, House Captain for Pasteur.
Awards: Geography Award, Chinese Award.
University Goals: I have applied and been accepted by 2 Universities - SCAD in Hong
Kong and LASALLE in Singapore. I have received scholarships from SCAD, but I have
decided to study at LASALLE. I want to major in Communication Design and I hope to
become an outstanding graphic designer who can deliver messages effectively through
illustrations.
Life Goals: After I graduate from University, I want to try many different jobs which do
not need to be necessarily related to the course I studied at University. I want to gain
more social experiences and always be a daughter who my parents would worry less
about.
Hsieh
Tsai En
Highlights: Musical backdrop, band performance, setting up first connection between
Go Vap Orphange and school (getting to know the life of orphans).
Awards: Creativity Award, Art Award. Full Attendance Award.
University Goals: I got accepted to University of Leeds, Kingston University, Goldsmiths,
University of Arts London, Savannah College of Art and Design each with scholarships
but I choose to study Advertising Design at School of Visual Arts in New York USA with
merit based scholarship.
What I want to learn from this major is to study advertising skills, how to communicate
with people using different languages just through visual media.
After this university, I want to be an advertising art director, creating advertisements
which care about people.
Hwang
Hyun
Life Goals: to be the most influential advertising art director who let the world listen the
voice of the minority such as abused children and the environment. And become the
person that society needs.
103
Highlights: IDEALS Trip to Borneo, Model United Nations.
Awards: Academic Excellence in French, Art, ICT, Effort Awards in English, French, CAS
Award, Leadership Award.
University Goals: I am applying for Korean Universities in July. I want to do my major in
Business and Management.
Life Goals: I want to work for a multi national company.
Yang
So Yun
Highlights: Band for charity, setting up first connection between Go Vap Orphange,
IDEALS Trip to Borneo, Business &Management and Mr Mark.
Awards: DT Academic Award, Korean Academic Award, ToK Award, IDEALS Environment
Award, MUN Award.
University Goals: I have applied to the University of British Columbia and have been
accepted to the University with scholarship. I am going to study Commerce in Canada
and I would like to work in there. I will complete a Co-op programme that is provided by
UBC for getting internship experience. After the graduation, I would like to work there.
Kim
Tae Hyun
104
Life Goals: My life goal is making the world more efficient and rational. Also I wish to
travel the world.
Highlights: MUN Leader, IDEALS Trip to Borneo, House Captain, School Musical, Charity
for Children.
Awards: Academic Excellence in History, Biology and Korean, MUN, Leadership Award,
Excellence in Group 4 Project.
University Goals: I have always wanted to study and spend my university life in Korea. I
am applying for Korean Universities in July. I want to do my major in Human Nutrition or
Biology.
Life Goals: : I would like to work in an international organisation in the future. I want to
help children who are suffering from malnutrition and prevent any child abduction.
Lee
Ji Weon
Highlights: IDEALS Trip to Borneo, Model United Nations in Hanoi,
Go Vap Orphanage.
Awards: Model United Nations participant.
University Goals: To go to a Korean University to study History.
Life Goals: To get a good job and become rich.
Hong
Eun Ho
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Year 13 Trip
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Year 13 Trip
CLASS OF 2013
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IB in the Business & Management Class
(oh ..and it’s about coffee)
By Phuong Hoang - Year 12 Student
IB is a tough course. Apart from the six subjects chosen, you will also need to do CAS, Extended Essay, as well as Theory of
Knowledge. When I was in the white shirt, sitting in business class, I thought the Year 12 and 13 students have a lot more
free time and are treated very nicely and so, I wanted to be an IB student very bad. But as an IB student now, I actually
miss my time back in the white shirt.
Business class in IB is different. With IGCSE, I didn’t get to listen to music, didn’t get to drink coffee but now, we get to
listen to music while doing work, the class room environment is much more relaxed. We joke about many things in class,
especially about coffee. My Year 12 business class seems to have a little problem with coffee. Since the first day of IB, we
have spilled quite a lot of coffee, so much that the table seems to turn into a brownish gray colour. I’m pretty sure that if
we remove the posters that Mr Mark stuck on the table, there will be coffee stains all over the place (sorry Mr Mark ).
Apart from the spilling of coffee, Mr Mark’s room is very well-known place for instant coffee. I actually think that Mr Mark
can make a business out of this because at the moment, his classroom is like a coffee station for IB (mostly) Business
students and the teachers. During the months of attending IB, we have observed a number of teachers stealing his coffee
(especially Mr Robin). We love to joke about Mr Robin and his coffee beaker. As I am a chemistry student, we have a rule
about eating in chemistry lab (or use anything in the lab to contain food). It is certainly not safe to make coffee in a beaker
because you never know what it contained before that. Not only making his coffee in a beaker, Mr Robin used to use
scissors to stir the coffee as well. This is very unhygienic . I really hope that he will buy a “real” coffee cup and a “real” stirrer
in the near future.
Since Mr Mark has just lost his “famous” coffee cup, he has been using a “baby bottle” instead (which is way better than
using a beaker). Although he has claimed that it is not a baby bottle but we all think that he “stole” it from Gabby. Since Mr
Mark misses his mug badly, I suggested an idea of a wanted poster and stick it around the school, but too bad he doesn’t
have a picture of his cup. But if anybody sees his cup (and I’m pretty sure some of you have seen it), please return the cup
to Mr Mark so Gabby can get her own bottle back .
I could sit here and brag on and on and on about our “coffee station” business class but it is not the true colour of IB. It is
not IB without all the workloads and Internal Assessments (IAs) and Extended Essay and all sorts of other things. Behind
all of the fun parts of being an IB Business student (yes! Business! Not others), there is a reason why Mr Mark tries hard (I
think it is hard) to provide us a very relaxing environment in his class. While the contents are pretty much similar to what
we’ve studied in IGCSE, but it goes in to more depth and detail. The
knowledge we earned in IGCSE could either be our advantage but
also acts as a disadvantage. The advantage is that we sort of know the
contents so it is easier to understand and the lessons can be much
faster. However, IB requires a much deeper level of thinking and how
we effectively apply what we learn in class into real life situations.
Because we already know the contents pretty much before hand, we
are more likely to fall into the trap of being laid back, not trying to
absorb the higher order information that is required, being
descriptive rather than analytic and of course, being more
theoretical than applicable. IB is all about application and believe it
or not, students lose a lot of marks because of this.
So here is a little tip for those of you who are planning to take
business. It is fun to do business, especially at higher level in IB.
Although there is a lot of work that needs to be done, I enjoy doing
business at higher level because you can learn so much more and the
work you have to do is more interesting. Start to practice your
application skill and don’t lay back. You may already know the
contents but to get the top marks, you will need to reach a more
in-depth understanding and thinking of the situations.
But you get to listen to music while doing work, joke around and of
course, enjoy coffee at our business IB class.
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Humanities at Renaissance
Mark Rees - Head of Humanities
The end of the year approaches and it’s always a time
to reflect on what has gone by. This year has been a
busy one for all of us and a year in which the
Humanities department has gone from strength to
strength. We have seen our first Information and
Technology in a Global Society (ITGS) students
complete their IB course. Our student numbers in both
History and Geography have grown showing the
esteem with which students hold their History
teacher, Mr Joe, and their Geography teachers, Mr
Simon and Mr Gavin.
Mr Joe leaves us this year for a school in Guangzhou,
China and I wish to thank him for all he has done for
the Humanities department over the last two years.
History students have taken a number of field trips,
KS3 students can be seen
wandering corridors sporting
models of roman amphitheaters
and mock short swords, and IB
History numbers continue to
improve each year. This is the
legacy Mr Joe leaves for the
school and I would like to
publicly thank him on behalf of
all the students he has taught,
and the management of the
school, for his efforts in raising
the profile of History at
Renaissance.
In Mr Joe’s place we have a very experienced teacher
from the UK, currently teaching in the Middle East, Mr
Richard. He too is an enthusiastic historian and I am
sure he will build on the solid foundation set by Mr
Joe in History. Mr Richard enjoys his use of
technology and so students in in his class are likely to
become very
familiar with his
Prezi
presentations
and, no doubt,
will be
producing a few
of their own.
Seeing as we’re on the theme of next year it is time to
highlight the Global Perspectives subject. This
subject is currently taught by the very versatile Ms
Laura Verdugo and is one of the most interesting
IGCSE subjects. So interesting in fact that we have
decided that all of Year 10 need to study this subject
next year. There are many reasons for this but the key
reasons are that it will, a) provide a students with a
major broader view of the world and world issues, b)
110
it is a student centred course that allows students to
explore, in-depth, areas of interest to themselves and,
c) it is the ideal
preparation for IB as
it helps students to
develop the
research and
writing skills that
will help in their IB.
This is the way
Cambridge
International
Examinations (CIE)
have described the
subject
“Meeting government ministers, organising a
local river clean-up project and writing to the United
Nations about climate change, are just some of the
activities learners are pursuing through the
Cambridge IGCSE Global
Perspectives course.
Cambridge IGCSE Global
Perspectives is a groundbreaking
new course that is crosscurricular, stretching across
traditional subject boundaries.
It taps into the way learners of
today enjoy learning, including
group work, seminars, projects,
and working with other learners
around the world. The emphasis
is on developing the ability to
think critically about a range of global issues where
there is always more than one point of view.”
Next year promises to be an eventful year in the
Humanities Department and I, for one, am looking
forward to it as we build on the strengths of our
existing courses in Business, ITGS, History and
Geography, fully integrate Global Perspectives at
IGCSE level and, for the first time, introduce Economics
at IB level.
From a personal perspective I would like to say thank
you to all the staff in the Humanities Department
for their efforts to educate your sons and daughters.
Thank you to Mr Joe, Mr Lenny, Ms Lily, Mr Gavin, Mr
Simon, Mr Robert, Ms Laura, Mr Robin and Ms Sophie,
your efforts do not go unnoticed. Enjoy your summer holidays everyone and see you back at school in
August.
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Renaissance Model United Nations
Mark Rees - MUN Director
June 13-15 sees the first ever invitational Model United Nations hosted by our school. We have, for
several years now, been holding internal training MUN’s and they have become ideal preparation for
the MUN’s we attend in the region. This year we decided to open up our internal MUN and to help
out two other schools in training their MUN students. We invited along ABC International School and
The American International School. This is significant because if we continue to develop this event it
has the potential of becoming a citywide MUN to rival SAIMUN (The Saigon MUN).
I’m quite proud of what our students achieve through participation in MUN and I encourage you to
read Sung’s article in this Yearbook titled “The Path to Power”. In this he explains what he, as an
individual, gains from participating in MUN’s. Sung is now quite well known in the region for his
robust MUN debating style and his wide knowledge of world events. As one of the MUN Director’s
(along with Ms. Lily and Mr. Martin) I am pleased to see how much he gains from MUN. It is not
however, the strongest speakers, that I always look forward to during an MUN. The people I often
look forward to hearing from are those who join
MUN even though they fear public speaking. The
students for whom standing in front of an audience is not an easy thing to do. When one of these
students stands up and speaks for the first time to
ask a question, debate a point or to give a speech
I feel immense pride in their achievement. Bravery
comes in many forms and one of them is
speaking in front of a knowledgeable, well-spoken
MUN general assembly even though you’re not
feeling confident.
The other group of people who I must mention are our IB students who helped to organize this quite
large conference (over 100 delegates). Ji Hoon, Ye Lim, Phuong and Ji Yeon have all taken on senior
leadership roles and have coordinated everything from the food, to the rooms to the topics debated
to the countries to be represented. I have seen experienced adults falter at such challenges and it is a
credit to their organizational and management ability that they have been able to coordinate such a
challenging task so easily and with so little fuss. Not many students get to experience the challenges
of event management as they have and this is in addition to the roles they will have to play during
the conference (Ji Hoon as Secretary General, Ye Lim as President, Phuong as Chair and Ji Yeon as
Head of Administration). I’m exceptionally impressed by, and proud of the work they have put into
this. If I were still managing hotels I would hire them all to work for me. As I’m not working in hotels
anymore the best I can do is congratulate them here publicly on organizing the most impressive
MUN Renaissance has ever arranged. Well done all four of you.
Finally a word about the MUN students. They spend the term reading and researching difficult
topics from countries they often know very little about. They need to read complex documents in
levels of English that are challenging for University students and yet they do it. They do it because
they are interested in the world around them. They want to try to figure out how it works. They want
to see how they can contribute. Sometimes they just want to wear a suit. Sometimes they want to
know why things cannot just be fixed. Every one of them wants to be better and wants to make
things around them better. They understand that knowledge comes first, then comes empathy and
then comes compromise. In this way the world moves forward to solutions to, what have often been
seen as, intractable problems. I’m proud of the fact that our MUN students live up to the school
motto of “non sibi sed omnibus” – not for self but for all.
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The Path to Power
As a student who has followed and actively participated in the
Model United Nations at Renaissance since its grassroots day
when we had no more than about twenty-five members, I am
not only proud but also deeply grateful of the fact that this
activity has grown to almost three-fold its starting size. But why
is this article titled after Margaret Thatcher’s ‘The Path to Power’,
because in my humbled opinion, I believe that there is no better
phrase to describe this activity at Renaissance.
I remembered very clearly that when I first joined this activity
and had my very first conference as the United States, I was
absolutely sure that I could invade whatever I see fit. I was also
a less competent speaker back then, often muttering fillers like
‘um’ and ‘erh’. But after almost two years of being in this Model
UN activity, much has changed, I now understand the politics
of the world much better; why nations are at war, why we trade,
the difficulties of finding peace and economic probleMs I have
learnt much in my journey. The best thing is that I am now able
to confidently speak in front a massive audience of countless
other equals like me in a plenary session at THIMUN Singapore,
and defend and express opinions that I or my nation holds. I am
now more self-empowered and knowledgeable than before and
there is no better way to describe this as a great advancement
on ‘The Path to Power’.
As a club and activity, we as a school have been steadily making
ourselves known as a force to be reckoned with. We now attend
at least three external conferences annually; two of which are
regional (UNISMUN and Saigon MUN) and the other being an
international one (THIMUN Singapore). We are becoming
recognised as a school of debaters that do not take no as an
answer, in fact we made such a name for ourselves that ever
since UNISMUN last year, we have always been given a
permanent position on the Security Council at our regional
external conferences. It is even possible that next year we host
the Saigon MUN under the Renaissance banner with another
fellow school. In fact our school is so proud of this club and
activity as not only is it a fun event to go to but it strengthens
and build upon the core values of our school; internationalism,
cooperation, being an understanding person, leadership and
open-mindedness, and has supported our hosting of a smaller
conference at the end of the year making it the first interschool
Renaissance MUN.
As students we are learning how to solve issues without playing
with guns, we are learning how to accept each other for our
differences in this activity. The regional conferences that we
attend were also successful as a handful of our students made
themselves renowned to the MUN community in Saigon and
South East Asia through much debate and superlatives (I won
the most passionate and knowledgeable in UNISMUN and
Saigon MUN in my committees). This year we have even gone a
step further, and in UNISMUN we were appointed not one but
two chair positions. Our MUN activity has grown so large that
we have trebled in size growing to almost seventy members.
But the great thing about this is that despite our large size we
are still growing, and not only do we incorporate those who are
more obsessed about politics, we incorporate people who are
interested in sports, who are interested engineering, those who
are interested in science and economics, etc…
We encourage everyone to join. And guarantee that that if you
choose to put the work into it, you will come out of this as a
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person who knows the world better, who can understand other
people better (despite not agreeing with them at times) and a
person who is more confident in your own capabilities (this is a
promise, not a statement from Gordon Brown). Join the
Renaissance Model UN team and we will ensure that your
advancement down the Path to Power will be with much greater
purpose and with much greater rewards.
By Kevin Mulqueen - Head of English
English Department:
Highlights of the Year!
Ms Trang
This year, students in Years 7, 8 and 9 have had more
English learning time to acquire more academic
language for their mainstream lessons. During EAL
lessons, the students have spent their time practising 4
skills of English: reading, writing, listening and
speaking. With the new
text book, “English
Explorer”, they have
obtained more knowledge
of history, science and
culture in many countries
of the world. We have
done many activities
including the following
highlights of the year:
In Term One, Year 7 produced some good work about
Egyptian society and how dead people were preserved.
They have recently mastered how to write letters
giving advice, especially Leah (7JA) who wrote a frank but
sincere letter to advise her friend not to hide bad scores
from her parents. Bo Seung advised his friend not to let
the “worry germ” attack him. Using comparatives and
superlatives of adjectives, the Y7 students taught me
what is better and best in terms of school life at
Renaissance and in Korea!
Year 8 students have done a lot of work on how to use
Simple Past tense and Present Perfect tense. They
produced some good stories about the recent changes in
their lives since they moved to Ho Chi Minh City.
Year 9 students have lately written a “Rescued” story using
Past Simple and Past Perfect tenses. With a little help from
their teacher to do the planning, Su Bin and Ki Hwan
produced quite engaging stories with very good
adjectives to describe feelings to hold their readers till the
end.
Laura Baines
My exceptional Year 8’s turned an anthology of Roald
Dahl’s short stories into their own modernized versions of
the narratives. They rewrote them as play-scripts and
performed them to the class. The students’ creativity
made them very funny and exciting to watch. They all got
into character and took their roles very seriously. We had
to guess which short story they had used as their
stimulus. As always the class put their all into the task and
it was a great success.
My 12’s became critical and questioning individuals about
the world around them. They were given the question:
To what extent is there a distorted view of beauty in the
SECONDARY
media? They had to draw on their own case studies of the
perceptions of beauty from all around the world. The
students researched how the concept of beauty is, and
has been, presented around the world and whether there
can ever be a definition of true beauty. They presented
their own case studies including: Taiwanese plastic
surgery campaigns; the unnatural bodies of various
supermodels; skin-whitening adverts; skin-darkening
adverts, Karen Hill Tribe women in Thailand, who add
metal rings around their necks to make them longer, as
well as prehistoric perceptions of beauty. The most
interesting debate was considering the irony of the
whitening and darkening obsessions in the Asian/
Western world, where both whitening and tanning are
million-dollar industries targeting people who always
want the opposite of what they’ve got!
Laura Verdugo
One of the highlights of
this year has been to see
my Year 10 ESL improving
so much in many areas;
they have become so fluent in English overnight!
I have seen a big change
in just a few months. They have grown more mature and
have shown a lot of interest in almost everything we have
done.
They have enjoyed many activities in lessons, including
debates and role-plays. Most of these students are also
studying Global Perspectives, which might be one of the
reasons why their argumentative skills have developed so
quickly. Talking about current issues is always engaging
and fun!
My Year 9’s did wonderful powerpoint presentations
about different topics: koalas, ancient Egypt, movies,
dolphins and so on, which helped them to improve their
speaking skills.
Mr Kevin
I love it when a student does something interesting or
brilliant in my class. There have been a number of such
highlights for me this year. The most memorable were the
Grade 9 Hero Talks.
My Grade 9’s had to give solo talks about their heroes.
It was fascinating. We learnt many things about Bruce
Lee, Kim Yuna, Uzumaki Naruto, Paul Scholes, Vo Thi Sau,
Helen Keller, Pete Sampras, Ban Ki Moon, Richard
Hammond and…the fathers of Dan Thanh and Van
Khanh, as well as
Phuong’s mother!
Minh had the
bright idea of
giving
presents - biscuits
and food - for
correct answers to
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his questions. This soon became the norm, and Mr
Mulqueen’s classroom resembled a canteen during hero
talks!
My students went to great lengths to give vivid portraits
of their heroes. They handed out information sheets and
treated us to PowerPoint presentations and YouTube
videos. These lessons sharpened the students’ presentation
skills, provided great entertainment and made us all wiser. Mr Martin
I have been blessed with many highlights this Year. All my
students have surprised or delighted me in different ways.
Unfortunately or, should
I say, fortunately, there
are too many to mention.
I hold particularly close
to my heart the following
highlights: My Year 7 class
has provided me with many
highlights; their ability to
infuse a particularly
infectious form of humour
into all their work has been a joy to observe. From layering
subtitles (their own dialogue) over emotional scenes from
foreign films, to their entries in comic strip
caption contests, to their film-making and theatrical
reinterpretations of scenes from books or short stories, my
Year 7 class has consistently surprised me with their
vigorous imagination and spirited wit.
Working with my Year 10’s on a New Yorker article about
the rise of K-Pop and the Korean cultural wave (Hallyu) was
another highlight. I had just started at Renaissance, and it
was a joy to learn about Korean culture with the help and
insights of my Korean and Vietnamese students.
Mr Robin
My Year 7 class has been a great group from whom I have
learnt much. They have always been creative students, and
their writing skills have improved so much during the year.
With new students joining us each term - most recently
Kate - the competitive nature of the class has increased.
I think that every student enjoyed some or all of John
Marsden’s ‘Tomorrow when the War Begins’ I could see
students like Phuc and Phat paying special attention when
the heroes and heroines of the book blow up a petrol
tanker, while Lydia and Thanh clearly like the romantic
parts of the book.
I liked learning from the students about how parents in
different countries make children go to bed on time. It
seems to be common to many cultures that we try to scare
youngsters by telling them that if they don’t go to bed on
time, goblins, dwarfs, devils, animals and aliens of one kind
or another will come and “get you”. I trust my English class
sleeps well over the vacation!
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Mr Stephen
Every year students
surprise me with facts
they have learned and
new information they
want to share.
This year my classes
have taught me a lot
about their own countries, things they like and places they
like to visit. Year 10 proved what excellent reporters they
could be when we recorded a news item about
archaeology and cannibalism.
Year 7 and 8 worked very hard through some tough
grammar but were rewarded with the chance to read
some books in the third term. Year 7 came face to face with
Dracula, but told me how all vampires are handsome and
beautiful. I think they’ve been reading too much ‘Twilight’!
Year 8 read Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The book has
some rich characters, but Gyu Won and the K-boys were
more interested in Bill Sykes’ dog!
I look forward to seeing my students again next year!
Ms Hong
It has been such a great pleasure to be a part of the English
department with all the English teachers who are very
clever and hard-working.
I have been impressed by Mr Kevin Mulqueen’s Grade 9,
especially by their hero talks. One student impressed
me by presenting her father as her hero, because he has
brought her up well and given her a good life. All the
students were excited about their heroes - everyone
enjoyed discussing about their own heroes and learning
about other people’s.
Mr Stephen Isaacs teaches Grade 7 and students are
learning literature through reading Dracula. One day, the
task was to create a Vampire Hunter Guide booklet. It was
incredible to see how creative the students could be when
they came up with illustrations and writing. I really liked
Manh Hung’s work because he put a lot of effort into it and
it was really well done.
Ms Sarah
Although there have been many highlights teaching IGCSE
and IB this year, there is one particular lesson with my Year
12 English B class that stands out above the rest. While
learning about the topics of health and beauty, the Year 12
class participated in a debate on: ‘Who is to blame for the
obesity epidemic?’ It was truly inspiring to see both sides
of the argument that were presented so passionately and
fiercely by this class.
My IGCSE class also outdid themselves with the impressive
level they reached when completing their final pieces of
coursework. It has been a rewarding journey for myself, as I
have seen their skills as English students improve over the
last two years and themselves as individuals become more
confident and creative. 2013 has been a rewarding year for
me as a teacher.
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PARENTS OF RENAISSANCE
COME TOGETHER
By Mr Stephen - Secondary English Teacher
Over this year it’s been my real
pleasure to teach English to some
of our Renaissance parents. We’ve
covered lots of grammar and
vocabulary and played some
interesting educational games. I
feel very lucky to have seen you so
many times over the last year and
I’m happy to have got to know you
all.
We studied many different topics
from living in Hong Kong, to what
the weather is like in Seoul. I think
you have also taught me lots of
things about your countries. I don’t
think I’ve ever bought so much
candies as presents over this year!
I’m really happy with the progress
you’ve made, and I hope to see you
all next year.
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Renaissance
Sport 2013
Mr Tome Chan Chui - Secondary PE Teacher
2013 has been a very
successful year for sport at
Renaissance International
School Saigon. This year we
competed in Boys and Girls
Under 14 Basketball and
Football, Boys Under 18
Football, and Girls Under 14
and 18 Badminton and Boys
and Girls Under 18 Basketball.
This was the first year that our
school has been able to field a
girls Under 18 Basketball Team
which is one indication that
sport in the school is growing.
We are hoping to move
forward next year and be
able to also field a girls Under
18 Football Team and begin
entering Volleyball teaMs So
if you are interested in joining
a sports team make sure you
visit the Physical Education
Department office.
Football
The football teams performed
really well this year, the use
of the RMIT football fields has
definitely had a positive effect
on our schools football teaMs
This year our teams have
shown greater skill, greater
stamina and have a more
professional approach to the
game.
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U14 Boys and
Girls
The two teams performed
extremely well this year
retaining the RISSING cup once
again (an annual two series
match against Singapore
International School). This is
the second year in a row that
we have won this cup which
tournament. We had beaten
ACG earlier in the year but
we didn’t get the win when it
counted. However, the team
look strong and committed
and most students in the team
are returning next year so
we should do very well next
season.
Basketball
The basketball teams at
is a great achievement. The
girl’s team coached by Mr Chris
Baker was outstanding
winning one of the games
5 - 0. The annual HCMC Under
14 Football Tournament fell on
the same week as the CIDEALS
trips so the teams were unable
to attend which is unfortunate
as both teams would have
been very competitive and
tough to beat.
U18 Boys
The Under 18 football team
(coached by Mr Joseph
Dawson) were outstanding
this season. The team won
every game throughout the
whole season, except for one.
The boys beat ACG, CIS, AIS,
APU and TAS. Unfortunately,
their only loss came in the
semi-final of the HCMC
championships, the loss was
against ACG who eventually
went on to win the
Renaissance International
School Saigon are continuing
to grow and the skill
development has been
immense. 2013 has been the
first year we were able to enter
a team in the HCMC
championships for every
grade.
Under 14 Girls
This was a very inexperienced
team; some girls had not
competed in a basketball team
before this season. Despite
this they performed very well
and represented our school
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with pride. They didn’t win
as many games as we hoped
but they did not give up and
they competed well against
the best schools in the city. It
has been a learning curve for
the team and we expect the
lessons we have learnt to show
next season.
win the tournament, we were
undefeated in the 7 games
that we played that day. “Hard
work pays off, Period!” LIAO
Wen Li.
Under 14 Boys
The boys team approached
training and games in a very
professional manner, members
of the team were able to lead
warm ups, drills and training
sessions on their own. Their
experience and knowledge of
the game showed on the court
as they had only lost to one
school leading up to the HCMC
championships. Unfortunately,
we did not perform to our
potential at the tournament.
We lost to schools that we had
beaten by big margins earlier
in the year and our execution
was not as accurate as it had
been throughout the season.
The team understands that
sport is unpredictable and it
did not go our way on the day
but there is always next year.
Under 18 Girls
This was the first time Renaissance International School
Saigon has entered a team in
this grade and the girls did not
disappoint. Their
aggressiveness on the court
and their motivation and drive
to win contributed to their
successful season. As it was our
first season we did not expect
much but we still trained and
worked hard during matches.
In the end we finished 2nd at
the HCMC Basketball
Championships. A very
pleasing result overall.
Under 18 Boys
The boys had an outstanding
season this year, led by LIAO
Wen Li (the weapon) the team
were sure to do well. The team
literally put blood, sweat and
tears into this season.
Unfortunately, we did not get
off to a good start. Losing our
first game to APU was very
disappointing and
demoralizing considering all
the hard work and effort that
had gone into preparing for
this season. However, as true
champions the team bounced
back, got back into the gym
and worked hard to rectify
their weaknesses. In the end
the boys entered the HCMC
championships and went on to
Badminton
As usual our badminton teams
performed very well, our
school was obviously the team
to beat at both tournaments.
Under 18
In the Under 18 division our
school won 3 of the 6 trophies
that were on offer. Quan from
Year 10 came 3rd in the boys
division, Vy from Year. 8 came
3rd in the girls division and
Lisa from Year. 12 came 2nd in
the girls division; an amazing
effort by some very talented
badminton players.
Under 14
In the Under 14 division our
school won 2 of the 6 trophies
that were on offer. Bao Nghi
from Year. 9 came 3rd in the
boys division and Ngoc from
vision. We were unlucky not to
win more trophies on the day.
Overall it was a very successful
tournament.
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MacArthur: Hopeful
for the
future!
By Ann and Seong Jun
Breaking News!
In a nail-biting finish
MacArthur won the house
dodgeball! Go MacArthur!!!
Ann 9CB
MacArthur is one of the houses in Renaissance International School. I’m the junior house captain Ann
from Y9. From 27th of August to 31st of May, there were many matches between houses such as
swimming gala, sports day, house badminton and house football. If you ask me ‘How many of these did
MacArthur win?’ then, the answer is ‘nothing’. All of our house members tried really hard, but we mostly
got 2nd or 3rd places except in sports day. However, MacArthur is still the best house among the
others. This is because we always try hard, we never give up and our teamwork is really good. With our
confidence, winning mind and strong teamwork, next year I truly believe that our house can earn 1st
places in every matches. Also, I hope we can win in the other 2 matches (house basketball and house
dodge ball) that would be held soon. Nothing is impossible and we have possibility to win in the all
house events next year.
MacArthur is the best house ever.
Seong Jun 9CB
Swimming: 2nd Football: 2nd Sports Day: 4th Dodge ball: ? Basketball: ?
Overall, MacArthur kept its team’s mood and put up great effort, but unfortunately, for the Sports Day,
MacArthur was the last place, which was a flaw in a jewel. This year was just a step backward for the
next year’s two steps forward. So I’m looking forward MacArthur to try their best and win all sports
events, next year. MacArthur… Fighting!!
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Our year working with
Go Vap Orphanage
Ms Laura Baines - Charities Coordinator
We started our projects with Go Vap Orphanage a year ago now. In a small space of time we have
established a strong relationship with staff and children there. Here is a reminder of what we have
achieved as a school over this last year.
Christmas Boxes
When we worked together as a whole school we achieved more than we could have imagined. Every
student in the school from Nursery to IB got involved in this activity as well as teachers, staff,
management and parents. We made, designed and decorated beautiful Christmas boxes filled with
clothes, toys, toiletries, books and cAndi. We made one box full of presents for the 280 children plus
10 more big boxes of supplies for babies. What a huge success it was- and what a difference it made
to the children’s Christmas Day!
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Ms Laura Baines - Charities Coordinator
Carols by Candlelight
The fun and festive event was not only a lovely
opportunity for parents, students, teachers and staff to
socialise together but also a fund-raiser for Go Vap
Orphanage. Whilst we were all singing, dancing, eating,
drinking and holding candles in the moonlight, we were
creating an opportunity to save a little girl’s life. Quang,
who has Downs Syndrome, has a severe heart defect
which means that she needs consistent medical attention
to keep her alive. Our school managed to make 60 million
VND on this occasion to pay for her treatment and future
operation. Another heart-warming success of the
Renaissance family.
The Buddy Scheme
This is exactly what the name suggests; a buddy scheme
where our students go to the orphanage once a week for
an afternoon to create a relationship with the children
there. Each of our ten Year 12 and 13 volunteers have
been ‘buddied’ to one or more children who they support
emotionally, socially, physically and academically. The way
that they have connected with these children from
completely different backgrounds is amazing. Their
individual emotional and physical needs can be
challenging to deal with, but our students’ empathy and
compassion shines through.
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‘Play-Day’ at our school
In April our school hosted a Saturday ‘Play-Day’ for 65 of the children from Go Vap Orphanage. They
do not have an outside area to play in, nor a swimming pool to use like our children, so our school
wanted to offer them the use of our wonderful facilities. The children of all ages, and with various
special needs, were able to take part in activities run by our Year 12 students and teachers including,
swimming, outdoor play, team games and a picnic lunch with all the staff and students at the
orphanage and Renaissance school. All of our senior management were also there and many
teachers with their own children. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to organise an
event like this and be part of such a hands-on community service project. This is something we will
be doing regularly next year and involving more of our students in lower year groups. The children
and staff at the orphanage enjoyed the day immensely, as we did, and they are still talking about it to
this day.
We are incredibly proud of our school
and students for the dedication and
commitment they have shown for Go Vap
Orphanage. They are making a real
difference to improving the lives of those
that are less fortunate than themselves,
not just in a financial capacity but more
importantly in an emotional capacity.
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Korean Department
By Ms Misuk - Secondary Korean Teacher
Korean KS3 - Year 7, 8, 9
Key Stage students did various activities such as
writing newspapers, being a radio DJ and
producing filMs
Korean KS4 - Year 10, 11 (IGCSE)
*Presentation and debates- 10 short stories
Key stage 4 students have read one short story
every week and did presentation followed up
with debates. They also approached and
appreciated the stories through various means
such as taking quizzes and acting.
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Korean KS5 - Year 12,13 (IBDP)
*Analyzing movies - The Curious Case of
Benjamin, Seopyonje, Life
*Interactive debate - the Outsider, Crime and
Punishment, Don Quixote
IB students appreciated six novels - The Curious
Case of Benjamin, Seopyonje, Life, the Outsider,
Crime and Punishment, and Don Quixote. In
order to meet the learner profiles, students
carried out lots of activities such as mock trials,
filming, debates, acts, and taking speed quizzes.
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Keystage 3 ICT
Mr Robert Sanders - Secondary ICT Teacher
This Year in Key Stage 3 ICT we have been
working on a variety of project based learning
Tasks. Students are expected to use technology
in meaningful ways to help them investigate,
collaborate, analyze, synthesize and present
their learning.
In Year 7 We have been covering concepts such
Media, Design and Programming using Programs
such as Stencyl and Scratch. Our first major project
of the Year was creating a game for iPhones and
iPads using a program called Stencyl. The level of
creativity and inventiveness was amazing, our games
were thoroughly enjoyed by those testing them, and
next year we hope to extend this by loading them to
the Apple APP store, for free of course
In Year 9 We have been working hard on
extending the knowledge we have acquired
in Years 7 and 8 and prepare for our entry into
IGCSE studies. We have covered topics such as
digital publishing, where we became
publishers of a magazine and created our own
magazine, using Adobe Creative Studio 6. We
further enhanced our creative skills by creating
our own Microsoft ® Xbox ™ 360 Games using
the fun and interactive language of KODU. We
had a great time creating our games and are
looking forward to seeing them on the Xbox
Students portal in the coming months.
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Information Communication Technology
By Ms Lily - ICT Teacher
It’s has been a busy year for the ICT department. At
the beginning of the year we welcomed Mr Lenny and
Mr Robert to the department, who along with myself,
taught ICT to Years 7 - 13.
Mr Robert did an amazing job with Year 9, by
introducing them to computer programming and
teaching them how to design their own computer games. The students
were so engrossed with what they were doing they were actually
staying up late into the evening to finish off their homework. We even
had parents writing in to check that the work they were doing was
actually homework, as they were working really hard and enjoying
themselves. That must be a first! Students enjoying homework!
Mr Lenny also got the students to taking extra Drama
lessons by getting them to video themselves
performing and acting around the school, and turning
their recordings into short filMs
For the Year 11 students, there were so many of them
who chose to study ICT that the school had to have
2 sittings for the practical exams, as we could not fit
everyone into one exam room. Next year we have even more students
that we may have to have 2 exam rooms and 2 sittings each. This is
turning into a popular subject, with Mr Robert and Mr Lenny
encouraging the students at Key Stage 3 of how exciting technology
can be.
This year is the first time we have taken our first group of IB students
through the ITGS course (Information Technology in a Global Society).
It was very nerve racking, both for the teacher and the students, trying
to ensure that all their EE’s (Extended Essays) and IAs (Internal Assessments) were up to the highest standards as possible. Good luck to the
Year 13 students with their final results.
It’s great to see so many students around the school with their portable
devices, such as laptops, ipads, notebooks and mobile phones, trying to
work and access the internet in their classrooms, corridors, on the field,
124
without even having to visit the
library or an ICT room. However
can I remind students that it is their
own responsibility to look after
their property at all times and not
to leave it unattended.
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Secondary Student Council
by Hoang Kim Phuong 12GB
My name is Hoang Kim Phuong. I am the President of the Student Council
(2012-2013). As we know the school year is almost ending. This academic
year (2012 - 2013) has been a very busy year for us all. The Student
Council is no exception. We underwent some big changes to try to
improve on previous performances, by trying to improve our
communication link between The School and students, holding events to
help our students have an enjoyable and relaxing time between the
stressful school days. It has been tough and challenging, but we’ve given
our best efforts to satisfy our students.
At the beginning of the year, we received numerous concerns from our
students about problems ranging from lockers to the unsatisfactory of the
old canteen. Through discussions with the Head of School - Dr. Bruce
Robinson - some positive changes have been made, taking into account
students’ suggestions. We now have a new canteen with better quality and
quantity of food, new lockers and lockers now available in PE changing
rooMs
This year, we also introduced projects that can be added to the school’s
annual events. For the first time since Renaissance International School
Saigon opened, we’ve held a Halloween Party for our Primary and
Secondary students. Although we had a lot of ideas when planning the
events, we faced many difficulties and some plans did not work out the
way we expected them to. Nevertheless, the party was still a success and
we are confident that the Halloween party next year will be even better.
We also had a lot of fun when planning for our annual Christmas party and
End Of Year Prom. After the Halloween party we only had a short amount
of time to organize the Christmas Party which was to be bigger and bet-
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ter than last year. We also tried to deliver the best Prom so far by
changing the location to Nikko Hotel. At the time of writing this
article the Student Council are finalizing last minute details of the
Prom. We hoped you had an enjoyable Prom party this year.
I am proud of the job that the Student Council has done this year.
Although there is room for improvement, I believe that with the
continuous effort and the enthusiasm from students, the Student
Council will continue to flourish into a more effective. And along
the way, we need you to help us on this long and challenging
journey.
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announced that Day 1 was over and the whole auditorium
cheered and left.
Day 3 @ WSC
On Day 2 at N.I.S.T. we made a few friends, some of them
were Stefan, Michael, Krits, Isabel and Lisa from other
schools in Asia who had gone to participate. We all went to
the auditorium again and started the Scholars Bowl event.
The event was probably one
of the most exciting events,
as we got to play with clickers
and answer questions. The
Day 1
fun with clickers was finally
At 4:30am our alarms went off, we got our bags and said
coming to an end, we were
goodbye, drove off to school and got on the bus. Everyone
dismissed and had break. Afwas excited to be a part of this journey. Soon we arrived at
ter break there were another
Tan Son Nhat airport, while all of us were waiting Ms Lily
debate showcase but this
and Mr Mark checked us all in and then we set off to the
was from the Junior division.
food court. After being fully stuffed by food we hurried to
Nancy was selected as a main
the airplane.
debater for the showcase from our school. The debate
As time went by we finally arrived at Thailand, Bangkok.
showcase finally ended, with Nancy’s team
A van picked us up and drove us to our accommodation
winning of course, and we moved on to Scholars Talent
called “Hiptique Hotel”. Everyone dropped their bags off
Show. Phuong and Ji Hoon were chosen to perform from
and went off to their
our school.
rooMs After spending an
They were
hour we headed down to
amazing plus
the Sky Train station by a
they only knew
Thai transportation called
they had to
a Tuk Tuk. We used the Sky
perform an
By Brenda SulamAndi 7JA and Lydia Shen 7JA
Train to get to Terminal
hour before
21 which was a shopping
show time. There were some very talented people who
mall. Terminal 21 was very interesting they decorated each
participated, some of the performances were cup song,
floor as different cities around the World. After doing a bit
singing, burping the alphabetic song and there were
of grocery shopping we headed back to our hotel taking a
one girl who memorized all of the periodic table. At the
leisurely walk with Ms Lily and Mr Mark.
end of the day a big table of trophies and medals came
out. Although this was our first time to WSC we were not
Day 2 @ WSC
expecting to win anything, as there were schools that had
This was the day everyone had been waiting for. Everyone
been here for the past 4 years. We were really amazed,
got dressed in their smart clothes, got their laptops and
went down the elevator to the lobby. We went to N.I.S.T.
(New International School Thailand) by a Tuk Tuk where
the World Scholars Cup was taking place. As we got down
from the Tuk Tuk, Daniel Berdichevsky (the creator of WSC)
showed up to greet us. One of the World Scholars Cup staff
led us to the auditorium to where the World Scholars Cup
event was to begin. The Junior teams started off with the
collaborative writing event and the Scholars challenge,
while the Senior team started off with the team debate
event.
Lunch
finally
came, the
seniors
and the
and proud that Renaissance won awards for the following:
juniors
switched
Collaborative Writing, Current Affairs, Top Debaters, Special
events.
Mr Mark
Areas, Top Teams for writing, top rookie teams and top
went
with the
scorer. As we had scored so well we were also invited the
seniors
and Ms
final round in Dubai. The day was over. Everyone took their
Lily
went with
Alpacas, Medals and Trophies.
the
juniors.
In the
Junior
After WSC ended Lydia, Brenda, Nancy, Phuong and Katie
Debates Nancy was charmed by a boy from team 102 by
went back to the hotel and decided to play Truth or Dare
saying the word “Attract” instead of “Attack”. We also found
to celebrate. The dares that Lydia gave to Brenda to was
out that Ms Lily was one of the adjudicators for the debate
to go down the hotel reception and ask the receptionist
event. One of most nerve cracking events was the team
whether she could borrow US $1, 000, 000. The
debate because there were 3 rounds and we had to try
receptionist said yes and we all burst out laughing. Lydia
our best at every debate round. After the debate was over
then had to prank call Ji Hoon’s room, Nancy had to do
we all went to dinner and we were served ice cream there.
push-ups to Ye Lim, Katie did the same dare as Lydia and
Everyone headed back to the auditorium and watched the
Phuong had to knock on Binh’s room. It was such a great
debate showcase from the senior division. Zach Ellington
way to end the day. We had so much fun.
World Scholars Cup
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Day4
Our last day was awesome in Thailand.
We got to go shopping and buy some
souvenirs and gifts for our families to say
thank you for supporting us at the World
Scholars Cup. It was an amazing few days,
we got to see another country, meet new
friends, bring back an Alpaca, and win 23
trophies and medals in total. When we got
to the airport we all celebrated by eating
dinner at Subways. As soon as the
airplane took off it was time to say bye to
our memorable journey.
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KS 4-5 Chinese Classes 中文高中部
Mandarin B students are presenting their proposal about the traveling plan after graduation.
What she said is
correct. We do need
to be more mature.
Qingdao! I
second.
Who should I
listen to ?
Qingdao is your first choice with the best beach,
clean spring, fresh sea food, unique street scene ...
I know for most people the first place to think of
are those entertaining places but after graduation,
the first thing you need is a quiet place to reflect
and meditate to prepare yourself for next journey.
Guests’ comment:
“ Hao Chi ! ”
I must learn
it !
Students learnt to make traditional Chinese food for Spring
Festival-Jiao Zi to experience
Chinese culture.
Let’s guess a
Chinese riddle.
It’ ll be fun!
I’ve never been this
sweaty, not even
after football.
The patriot I want to
introduce is a famous poet. –Y7
Lydia
They will have a
sleepless night
for sure!
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CHINESE CLASS
中文班的学生
Mr Thi - Secondary Chinese Teacher
Students in my Chinese
class are very lovely,
hard-working and
humorous. They have
shown an interest and
passion in Chinese
language. Most of them
are Korean and
Vietnamese. They have a
solid basic knowledge of
the language, so they feel
easy and comfortable to
learn Chinese characters.
They are responsible for
their learning and respect
the teacher. They follow
the lessons and
participate with
enthusiasm in the subject.
My students are the
greatest students.
我的学生最好！
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Congratulations
…our year 10
students passed the
HSK exam.
Mr Wu Zang - Secondary Chinese Teacher
The Chinese field trip was amazing that I could
say this is the best trip so far. We, as a big class
went to many famous Chinese place in HCM city.
It was a very great idea to hang out with your
friends and learn new knowledge.
Seon Beom 10TC
During this term, we did many
activities for Chinese subject.
Through the field trip, we had so
many fun experiences, learnt so many
things and exciting highlights.
131
SECONDARY
KEYSTAGE 3 EAL - “HOW DO THEY DO IT?”
Ms Trang - Secondary English Teacher
This year, KS3 EAL students have received additional English lessons in order to achieve more
academic English to help them study better in Secondary School. Apart from the highlight of
the year (see English page), some Year 7, 8 and 9 students would like to share some thoughts
about the subject.
We have learnt how to use verb
tenses correctly. That is useful for
us to express ourselves properly
so that we can join Geography
class again.
i
Jae Yong _ 8LP
Dong Hyun _ 8TS
I’m trying to use more good
adjectives when I write.
Adverbs and adjectives
help to make things we
write and speak more
descriptive.
Kyung Jae _ 7JA
Gyu Won _ 8TS
I enjoyed Ms Trang’s
funny stories!
Julia _ 8TS
Joon Ho
_9CB_
We used our imagination
to write the “Rescued”
story.
Dong Woo _ 8TS
I want to
try harder. I
have to win
it!!!
In EAL class, we have learnt about
basic grammar and other parts of
English. I have gained more
language skills; especially, my
writing is getting better, I think.
Hyun Jin & Ki Hwan
_9MG_
The New Year
project helps us to
learn more about
superstition
in
different countries.
132
Leah _ 7JA
SECONDARY
My First Year at
Renaissance
Mr Martin with his Year 7’s.
I began my time at Renaissance as a substitute
teacher to cover Ms Sarah as she learnt how to
raise a human being. I was traveling through
Vietnam (on my way to China) under the
impression that I would spend only 2 months
in Vietnam. However, Renaissance gripped me
with its tentacles (cushiony, warm, welcoming
tentacles) and I stayed the whole year. It’s been a
wonderful 12 months, full of lovely characters, some great teaching,
brilliant colleagues and many highs. Teaching Years 7 through 10 has
blessed me with many highlights.
The Year 7’s - Khang (would have almost have passed Year 7 if only, oh
God save us, the boy could spell the word immedidatly); Joshua the
Possum; Nguyen The Eliminator; Lien The Awesome; Nam oh Man it’s
Nam; Katie the Lazy who’s always Latey; Tricky Trucky; Queen B; Vivi
The Annoying - (well at least always annoys poor Mr Martin) have at
times, quite honestly, shocked me with the breadth of their creativity,
humour, intelligence and the depth of their personalities.
The Year 8’s have been one of the liveliest of my classes. The 22
students have provided me with many amusing moments, some
great pieces of work and brilliant (if somewhat cheeky) conversation.
I have had the joy to teach Year 9’s both Drama and English. I took
over their English education in Term 2 much to my delight. Their
personalities are only rivalled by the Year 7’s: lively, brilliant kids who
have completed some fabulous pieces of work.
Year 10 has left me with an indelible impression. They tackled and
fought with concepts that are difficult and came out on top. They
have at times, shown a real perseverance and strong interest in the
deeper meanings of the world through the texts we have studied.
They all shine with infectiously heartwarming personalities.
Some of my greatest memories at Renaissance have been drawn
from the extra-curricular activities that I have been involved in at the
school. MUN has been such a joy. Helping students (not that they
needed much help) as they became absorbed in the experience of
defending and standing up for their arguments in front of kids from
other schools was a pleasure. The trip to Hanoi to attend the United
Nations school MUN was an experience I won’t forget.
My first year at Renaissance has been a stupendous experience. The
school’s students and faculty truly are gifted. Its size fosters a real
sense of community, a community that I am proud to be a member
of; I look forward to many more experiences to come.
133
SECONDARY
Year 7
Ms Loan
Secondary Vietnamese
Year 8, 9, 10
Ms Thu
134
SECONDARY
Music Department
Mr James - Secondary Music Teacher
This year has been a very productive time for the Music Department. We started by putting on a fully
staged version of the highly acclaimed and successful Musical “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. There
were many people involved in this including many of our talented students. Adrianna (Year 11) took
the title role, relying heavily on makeup, to make her the deformed Hunchback Quasimodo. Sung (Year
11) put in a very villainous performance as the evil Judge Frollo. Won Hyuk (Year 12) played the part
of the heroic Knight Pheobus who along with Quasimodo falls deeply in love with beautiful gypsy girl
Esmeralda, played by Hiro (Year 10). C.J. (Year 11) turned in a very colourful performance as Clopin, the
jester who features prominently as a narrator at the beginning and end. Among the supporting cast
were the Gargoyles, a pair of living statues played by Minh (Year
11) and Nancy (Year 8) and the Gypsies. We also had a Cameo
role from Dr. Bruce, our School Principal, as the Arch Deacon of
Notre Dame Cathedral.
However, before the cast can perform the show there is a huge
amount of work that needs to be completed in order to achieve
a successful performance. Mme Danielle was responsible for
the Acting and Staging of the show. She and the Students involved put in many hours during and outside of School time to
ensure that it was up to a very high standard. If you were fortunate enough to watch one of the performances I think you will
agree that the acting was a particular highlight this year with
all of the main characters being portrayed in a believable and
professional manner. I would like to mention Mr Pierre for his design and hard work building the set.
This was no small task and gave us a realistic recreation of the Cathedral of Notre Dame on our Theatre
Stage. Many of our characters would not have been believable without Ms Monica. Her artistic
interpretation of the makeup required really brought out the best in the Students performances,
especially Quasimodo the Hunchback. Mr Geoff, Ms Sophie and
Mr John were also essential to the production by producing the
backdrop, props and an incredibly detailed Dolls House with
matching Dolls.
As ever, no Musical would be complete without its Musical
Ensemble this year we performed with the Renaissance
International School Orchestra who did a very proficient job
during all of the performances. Considering some of the year 7
students had never played in a Musical Ensemble prior to joinRenaissance International School Saigon | Year Book 2013
135
SECONDARY
ing in September they were able to do a fantastic
job. The Music for this show, as with most Musicals, is quite complicated and requires many skills
above and beyond just playing notes on a page,
split second timing is necessary for the narrative
to flow smoothly without interruption, the ability
to reproduce the exact same Music each and
every rehearsal without mistakes, the ability to
dynamically adapt to what is happening on stage
as well as all the skills required to play in a
Musical Ensemble.
The Renaissance International School Orchestra
is currently preparing for several performances
towards the end of this term. The International
Baccalaureate Graduation Ceremony is on the
31st May followed closely by Fun Day on the 1st
June. However, our main aim for the rest of the
term is Summer Concert
Summer Concert Monday June 24th 7pm
Renaissance International School Theatre
The Orchestra will be joined by several soloists
as well as singers from the Primary School, Year
7 and Year 8. They well be singing well known
songs including “Imagine”, “When You Say
Nothing At All” and “Can You Feel The Love
Tonight”, a song made famous by the singer
Elton John and also from the Film and Musical
the “Lion King” (the Musical we performed here
at Renaissance International School last year). We
will also be featuring two of the Minuets from the
Music for the Royal Fireworks originally
composed in 1749 commissioned for King
George II to celebrate the ending of the Austrian
War of Succession in 1748. The first performance
took place in Green Park, London during which
barges sailed past on the Thames with fireworks
being launched from their decks, hence the name
“Royal Fireworks”
We will also feature some original Music
composed by our Geography Teacher and CAS
Coordinator Mr Gavin. For those who don’t
know Mr Gavin he is a keen guitarist and writer
of songs. I have taken a few of these and orchestrated them for our School Orchestra. We will be
featuring his song “The Girl in the Lift” which is
about a person who has a beautiful singing voice
but is very shy and so she only sings when she
is alone in the lift. I chose to include this on our
Summer Concert Programme as I feel it fits some
of our students well.
I hope you will all join us to support the Students
for the Summer Concert.
136
SECONDARY
Talent show
By Mr James - Secondary Music Teacher
The Renaissance International School Saigon Talent Show was
held on the 1st June just after Fun Day. It was a great event that
showcased some of our most talented students in displays of
many different talents. We had Singing, Piano Playing, Skipping,
Guitar Playing, Dancing and even a Magic Show. We saw students
from both the Primary and Secondary School performing all to a
very high standard. The students involved were: Quang, Seo Yun,
Quynh Anh, Seo Jin, Ji Min, Hwan Hee, Seong Won, Min Jeong,
Katrina, Kathie, Da Jeong, Da Yeong, Ju Kyong, So Yeon, Da
Yoon, Min Ah, Ji Woo, Yu Jin, Min Ji, Yu Ri, Seong Jun, Yae Chan
The Judges must have had a very hard decision to make as each
act was so good. But in the end Dr. Bruce, Mr Robin, Ms Pippa, Ms
Monica and Mr Martin were able to come to a decision. All the
students involved did a fantastic job but there could only be one
winner from each group.
The awards went to:
Key Stage 1 - Quang - Dancing
Key Stage 2 - Seo Jin - Skipping
Secondary - Kathie- Singing at the Piano
Congratulations to everyone involved.
137
SECONDARY
Rock Again!
138
SECONDARY
139
SECONDARY
SECONDARY FRENCH DEAPARTMENT
Another exciting French year is gone
Hope you enjoy as well as we do
Each of us will go on the run
But we will always remember you
Bonne chance !
140
Ms Danielle Fontaine
High quality tuition with native speakers
8th July to 16th August (Courses from 3 to 6 weeks)
+ Free Bus services for Phu My Hung route
+ Discount 10% for Early Bird registration on or
before 30th June 2013 (applied for Mandarin)
Mandarin
Programme
9.500.000
English
Programme
19.900.000
VND/for 6 weeks VND/for 6 weeks
EARLY YEARS
PRIMARY
SECONDARY
74 Nguyen Thi Thap Street, Binh Thuan Ward
District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
Tel: (+84-8) 3773 3171 - ext 120
Email: [email protected]
w w w. re n a i s s a n ce. e d u. v n
Renaissance is an International School offering
places in Early Years - Primary - Secondary.
Apply as early as possible to secure a full-time
place for your child.
2013-2014 Scholarships fund
available of 9 billion VND for
leading students
CONGRATULATIONS IB GRADUATES
Our graduates this year have been rewarded for their hard work by achieving university
places in Canada, England, Holland, USA, Korea and Singapore. Well done graduates.
Renaissance building the future.
Hwang Hyun
The Renaissance Valedictorian
2013 is Hwang Hyun who after
receiving multiple scholarship offers
from universities around the world
will be studying at the prestigious
School of Visual Arts, New York.
Aina Abbas
Lee Jiweon
Special congratulations to Aina Abbas and Lee Jiweon on receiving
the ‘International Student Award’ from the Council of International
Schools, for their contributions to the promotion of Global
Citizenship and the Development of International Awareness.
EARLY YEARS
PRIMARY
SECONDARY
74 Nguyen Thi Thap Street, Binh Thuan Ward, District 7, HCM City, Viet Nam - Tel: (+84-8) 3773 3171
Email: [email protected], Website: www.renaissance.edu.vn
CONTACT US
RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SAIGON
EARLY YEARS - PRIMARY - SECONDARY
74 Nguyen Thi Thap Street, Binh Thuan Ward,
District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: (+84-8) 3773 3171, Fax: (+84-8) 3773 3176
Website: www.renaissance.edu.vn
ACADEMIC
Dr. Bruce M. Robinson - Head of School
Mr Robin Klymow - Head of Secondary
Mr David Cole - Head of Early Years and Primary
ADMISSION
Tel: (+84-8) 3773 3171 - Ext. 120
Ms Man Thi Ngoc Han - Student Recruitment Supervisor
Tel: (+84-8) 3773 3171 - Ext. 120
Ms Le Thanh Tuyen - Admission Officer
Tel: (+84-8) 3773 3171 - Ext. 121

Year 3 - Renaissance International School Saigon

Transcription

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