Concordia Hanoi News March 2017

CONCORDIA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL HANOI
NEWS
March 2017 Newsletter
In This Issue...
3
ONE WORLD,
MANY STORIES
5
CLOSER TO
NATURE ASA
8
CHALLENGING
THE HEART,
MIND, & BODY
concordiahanoi.org

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ONE WORLD, MANY STORIES
ES BOOK WEEK
We are many people in this one world and we all
have a story to tell! Our elementary students spent
the week diving into over 40,000 minutes of athome
reading, which covered a variety of stories
in many languages. This reading marathon did
not even count the tremendous amount of books
being consumed on campus and in the classroom
through mystery readers, Drop Everything And
Read (DEAR) time, and much more.
To celebrate our love of each person’s
story, we asked students and
teachers to pick a favorite book and come to school
dressed as that book or a character from that book.
The result was a tremendous parade of literature!
If that wasn’t exciting enough, the week
culminated with a day with visiting children’s
author and illustrator, Yangsook Choi. While
on campus, Yangsook taught students ways of
bringing their own ‘drawings’ to life. She also led
workshops on how students can share their own
stories.
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100 DAYS OF SCHOOL
CELEBRATING IN ELEMENTARY
Elementary students are 100 days smarter, 100
days wiser, and have 100 days of fun at Concordia
behind them with many more to come. This exciting
milestone celebration was enhanced by all the
parent volunteers in the classroom- THANK YOU
PARENTS!

NATURE WALK ASA
LEARNING TO CAPTURE NATURE THROUGH ART
Snack-Walk-Explore: Start with snacks then...take a walk near school each week to see what we can
see. Sketch, collect, examine parts of nature during the walk. Young artists in our after school activities
(ASA) are learning how to draw items they see in nature. To help with inspiration for their art, students
walk around the surrounding area of the school campus. Since Concordia is located in the lush
area of Van Tri and sits adjacent to the Van Tri 18-hole golf estate, you can imagine that there is some
inspiration to be had!
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THUNDER FITNESS CHALLENGE- GETTING SOCIAL
by Gracie Byun
In February, middle and high school students took on the Thunder Fitness
Challenge for their house activity. Students challenged themselves to do
daily exercises, and present it through posting on social media.
This house activity was built to promote health and wellness among students,
and raise awareness about the importance of living an active lifestyle
on social media. Each house created its own unique hashtag (#boomwowchaunicornsTFC,
#turtleswillgetthereeventually, #bananaadayfunkymonkeys,
#lionspumpingiron, #thunderfitnix) to use it for the posts on social
media and earn house points. Throughout this month-long challenge, students
once again recognized the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and found
motivation in staying physically active.

THUNDER FITNESS
BY STUDENT WRITER, GRACIE BYUN
MORNING MARATHON
Since the middle of February, the Elementary
School has started the Morning Marathon Club.
Every morning from 8:00am to 8:15 am, all
elementary students are invited to go to the field
and either walk or run laps. Students have been
keeping track of the number of laps they have
completed on their Morning Marathon Card.
One lap around our field is about 250 meters, so if students
run 168 laps, they will have completed about a full
Marathon. The Morning Marathon will continue until the
end of the school year, so all Concordia students–even
high school, are welcome to participate, and pump up
their fitness as well as their brain every morning!
Also, be reminded to join us for our annual Walk-A-
Thon on Monday, March 27th!
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INTERIM
MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL
Interim is a week-long off-campus
experience designed to
challenge the
hearts,
minds,
and bodies
of Concordia’s
Middle &
High School
students.
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Through ongoing collaboration with
Vietnam Experience, Concordia students
have donated and constructed 20
homes to aid poverty alleviation programs
throughout this Interim. Unique
to this year, our students also had the
opportunity to work in a community
organic garden. Activities included
composting, fence construction, preparation
of vegetable beds and introduction
to permaculture. The students
were hands on with their attitudes of
SERVICE to others and made their
school proud.
HOI AN
CENTRAL VIETNAM
3

Perhaps the most picturesque of all the
interim locations, this trip introduced students
to Khmer history and culture surrounding
the World Heritage Site of Angkor
Wat. During their time in Cambodia,
Concordia students examined contemporary
issues facing young Cambodians by
visiting the NGO, Journeys Within Our
Community (JWOC). Students worked
alongside local staff, volunteers, university
and other school students in the JWOC’s
community school in Siem Reap.
SIEM REAP
CAMBODIA
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SAPA
NORTHERN VIETNAM
BY STEPHEN REED, G7
Seventh grade students enjoyed an adventure in the
mountains near the China border. It included bike
rides, an overnight train ride, visits to a local ethnic
market, a celebration of our teacher, Mr. Snider’s 40th
birthday. We celebrated by roasting marshmallows by
the bonfire, and a whole lot of hiking! It took 4.5 hours
to hike to our next homestay but we were rewarded
with a karaoke party that night in the village. It had
rained the previous night so the trails were muddy and
very slippery which made our hike back up the valley
a challenge. In the end, we learned plenty about how
local people live in harsh conditions and really enjoyed
being outdoors bonding with our classmates during our
Interim trip to Northern Vietnam.
3

DA LAT
SOUTHERN VIETNAM
The stunning City of Da Lat is often referred to as the garden of Vietnam
due to the large amount of sought-after produce grown there, making
it a cool and quiet retreat from the bustling capital city of Hanoi. In
the mountains of southern Vietnam, Concordia students engaged in an
adventure course of orienteering, biking, trekking, and team building activities,
in the mountains of south Vietnam. The pine woods and mountainous
surroundings were the perfect backdrop for fresh air, outdoor
activities, and getting to know each other better.
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The Hue trip was completely focused on service. Students were encouraged to develop themselves in new and
unfamiliar areas as they learned more about service and how each is capable of making a difference in the
wider community. Concordia students were not afraid to get dirty, despite the constant rain. Concordia students
helped to beautify a local school by planting a tree and cultivating flower beds. Even throughout the rainy
weather, the students kept a cheerful demeanor and spirit as they served.
HUE
CENTRAL VIETNAM
13

MAI CHAU
HOA BINH PROVINCE
Mai Chau, Vietnam is located four hours southwest of
Hanoi and is respected for its scenic beauty, Hmong and
Thai minority groups, and a variety of outdoor adventures.
While in Mai Chau, Grade 6 students hiked, biked,
explored, rock climbed on the famous hills of the valley
and did a team building challenge. Evenings were cool
and crisp as students experienced a traditional Pham
Coong village stay, sleeping in stilt homes overlooking
the rice fields.
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The Eighth Grade Interim Trip to
Cat Ba Island centered on leadership
development. While participating
in activities such as hiking, climbing,
rappelling, and team-building
activities, students worked to improve
communication, decision-making, and
teamwork skills. The course included
being stranded on an island and building
rafts to get back to civilization
and a simulated rescue mission. All
students performed well and returned
tired--but a much stronger team.
CAT BA
ISLAND
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Article by Student Writer, Gracie Byun
Math Olympiad is the annual math competition
among students from international
schools in Hanoi. This event was an opportunity
for middle and high school students to
participate in challenging, but fun math games
and explore math in creative ways. Students
from each school formed two groups of five,
and collaborated to work through a series of
challenges. They took on five rounds of different
math games organized by each school.
This event encourages students to build not
only math skills, but also teamwork, creativity,
leadership, and have some fun!
This year is Concordia’s second year hosting
the event. With the new campus, Concordia
proudly and successfully provided facilities
to run this inter-school community bonding
event. We are delighted to be part of the HAC
community and encourage students to be
involved in these events.
If you have an interest in math or have any
questions about the Math Olympiad or the
Math Club, please contact Mr. Whitehead,
our mathematics director.
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