Dear IS HCMC Parents,
We are excited to be celebrating our 30th Anniversary. 30 years inspiring wellbeing and learning, 30 years in which our diverse internationally minded community have flourished as energized, engaged and empowered learners. 30 years serving a strong community of over 60 nationalities. #proudtobeISHCMC for 30 years.
30 Years ago, in 1993, our beautiful community was born. The International School of Ho Chi Minh City first opened as the (International Grammar School) in District 3.
In 1997 our school was renamed to become the International School of Ho Chi Minh City and relocated to District 2 where our primary school is currently. Our school is a school of firsts in Ho Chi Minh City for example;
the first international school
the first international school to gain international accreditation, and
the first to become an IB World School
the first to have an IBDP graduation class
the first to have 23 years of graduates
the first to turn 30
In 2000 we graduated our first class of IBDP students and in 2001 expanded our school to include Early Explorers and Kindergarten. In 2011 we joined the Cognita Schools group and became part of a family of over 104 schools located in different regions around the world.
Since 2012 we have invested in our facilities completing classroom renovations on the primary campus and opening our new secondary school campus in 2018. Over the last three years we have completed a master design plan to complete further renovations and upgrades on the primary school campus and to further develop our secondary school campus. At the start of the school year, we were excited to open the first steps in the implementation of our master design - Stage 1 and 2 of our new primary school cafeteria. This week we have been excited to see Stage 3 open and begin to be used. We are looking forward to the upcoming Official Opening Ceremony for this space.
As we continue our journey through the school year we are excited to elevate traditional events for our 30th Anniversary, to see much loved events return and new events introduced to celebrate this significant milestone in our schools growth.
The first of these events was the return of our much loved Family Fun Day which was a great opportunity for us to come together as a community to play, laugh and enjoy each other's company. It was a day filled with joy and the launch of our 30th Birthday celebrations with our community.
We are excited for this Friday 06 October 2023 where we will again come together for our traditional Flag Parade and our 30th Year Celebrating Culture at IS HCMC. We look forward to having all of our students, faculty and staff together on the primary school campus and welcome our parents to join the celebration.
A new event will be launched this year for our 30th Anniversary, our Charity Gala. This will be hosted on Saturday 02 December. This evening will mark a milestone in IS HCMC history that you do not want to miss. This is a date to save on your calendar and we look forward to seeing you there.
As part of our process to ensure that we are able to hear the voices of our community, we are launching our CIS survey over the upcoming week. This survey is anonymous and provides key data across all of the standards that are part of our accreditation framework with the Council of International Schools. Your responses will enable us to evaluate the impact of initiatives we have implemented over the last 12 months as we review our results over time and understand what is working well and what needs improvement from your perspective as we start this school year. Please look out for this information and take a moment to complete the survey.
Over the last two weeks there have been many amazing achievements across our community for us to celebrate and to be proud of, many that are highlighted in this newsletter. These include sporting success, community events, brilliant basics, parent workshops and much more.
In gratitude and kindness
Kim Green, Head of School
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