News for Parents

The magical world of fairy tales fascinated the children of the Resourceful Researchers during the holiday week. They eagerly listened to the exciting adventures of Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and Snow White. Among other things, they made a magic mirror and tried to find the correct objects from the fairy tales in a “fairy tale memory game”. Which fairy tale does the golden plate belong to? Do you know?

The Fearless Explorers embarked on an adventurous journey of discovery. They started in the jungle, where they discovered the jungle animals with an animal domino and then later had to find them again in the jungle. Then they plunged into the underwater world, where they could give Nemo his bright colors back by “painting by letters” and went on a safari on Thursday with self-made binoculars. In the end they ended up in space, where they helped the astronaut Karl to find his things in the spaceship. Every day there was something new to discover and explore. There was a lot of math, handicrafts, dancing and singing.
For the Clever Researchers, everything revolved around the five senses during the holiday week; seeing, tasting, smelling, touching and hearing. Every day they took a closer look at a different sense and were able to find out some interesting things about each sense. The children designed glasses and fragrant meadow flowers, and also had a lot of fun with various search and guessing games. During the virtual walk through the jungle, all five senses were consciously used.

This last week before the autumn break, the students of the IGS secondary level have been examining and exploring the significance of German reunification during their History classes. In this context they have been investigating to what extent the former division of Germany still influences the way people think today.

Grades 5-7 have increasingly occupied themselves with a creative approach to illustrate their results and thoughts. The students in years 8-10, on the other hand, have actually prepared scientific analyses in the fashion of professional historians in order to discuss their results afterwards.

Nevertheless, all classes have come to the conclusion that the younger generation in Germany thinks less and less in the categories West and East and is more likely to identify with a unified Germany. The overriding goal of this very specific thematic week was to raise awareness for important events in German history as well as for the importance of examining and contrasting divergent perspectives in History lessons.

On Friday, the students of Grade 4 invited Grade 1 to 3 to our first-ever virtual presentation hour. Everyone was very excited to see the other students and teachers again. Moderated by individual students of the Zebra Class, all classes presented something that they had already learned in the first few weeks.

Grade 4 initially took the children on an exciting journey through the solar system. Then Joris and Cici from class 2 presented the comics they had made in their German class.

It then went on to a piece of music which Ivy and Leonie, Grade 4, had composed in music lessons with  Mr Armes using an app.
Grade 1 then showed a warm up exercise to the letter learning and the other children afterwards had to find out which two letters the children had already learned.

Then the fun continued with sports with toilet paper, instructed by Khan Ngoc and Jade from Class 3.
At the end everyone danced together to the song “Best Day of My Life”.
It was all a lot of fun and we are looking forward to our next meeting.

Sometimes it hisses and pops really well in the Kid’s Lab. During the many experiments on the subject of “water”, the pot bubbled and hissed and cold ice cubes turned into hot water in no time at all. But why does the pot lid suddenly look so strange? Why is it full of water droplets?
The children were able to explore with us how ice becomes water and water becomes steam. In the end we all asked ourselves the question: What actually happens when you cook muddy slush?

The U6 Section was able to introduce some positive developments this week. We would like to give you a brief overview here:
The online lessons in the U6 Section got off to a very successful start and all children have been able to get involved in the support units and activities on offer in the past few weeks. It is a great pleasure to watch the development of the children, especially the children who have just joint the IGS.

The “visiting days” of the preschool children in the online lessons of the primary school were so exciting and interesting for the children that we plan to continue to visit them regularly. Last week, we were allowed to solve math problems together with the “Koalas” (class 1, Ms Bachler). With class 2, under the direction of Mr Tietz, the children did some sport and had a lot of fun.

As you probably know, teachers are allowed to re-enter the campus. This means that lessons for U6 children can take place online with additional learning materials. For example, this week we have been able to offer the Kid’s Lab again, which is very popular with our children. It started with the topic of “water”, where the children were able to find out, among other things, whether ink dissolves faster in hot or cold water and why this is the case.

English classes could also be resumed this week. We are very pleased that our new colleague, Ms Alexandra, has been supporting the U6 Section since this week during morning circles and learning units in English and she can draw on a lot of experience from her previous placements as an English teacher at international kindergartens in China and Vietnam.

There is also good news from the educator staff: after a waiting period, the three U6 teachers, Ms Kiefer, Ms Nolden and Ms Heinl, have been able to enter the country from Germany and have been involved in all day online lessons since then.

Another great asset is the increased use of the Seesaw app in the U6 Section. In addition to photos and information for the parents, the children are regularly given tasks to promote German language acquisition. This app allows children to easily do worksheets and exercises on the “letter of the day”, to deepen vocabulary knowledge or to understand numbers and quantities from home. Further, it is used for simplified and timely communication with parents.

Each year on the third of October, Germans celebrate “German Unity Day”, which is fast approaching. Unfortunately, IGS will not be able to organise an actual event on the school’s campus this year as we are still affected by the ongoing Covid restrictions.

Consequently, the History Department has compiled a digital learning programme for grades 5 to 10 in order to jointly assess and emphasise the significance of this day. In the course of the upcoming week, the students are going to explore the backstory of the West-East division and its effects on German society in small teams. They are going to examine ways in which public perceptions of unity in Germany are still affected by these West-East categories and to what extent this way of thinking has been overcome.

Our classes are also going to find out how this historic event is also related to very personal experiences of former Vietnamese contract labourers in the former GDR. At the end of the week, the students are going to create a digital guest book in order to share their results and thoughts with each other.

Being a German school in Vietnam, one of the goals is to enhance the students’ perspective with regard to significant events of German history. It is also the goal to show that there are many aspects of our history which connect German and Vietnamese experiences, even though this might not always be obvious. Moreover, students are going to improve their skills in being aware of divergent perspectives.
The History Department really wishes to arouse the student’s curiosity in terms of their own history, which is supposed to offer a pedagogically enriching alternative to the ordinary school routine.

We are very happy to announce that, on Wednesday, September 29th 2021, we sent out the school books and other materials packages via delivery and post service to our IGS students who currently reside in Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces in Vietnam.
The packages will be delivered directly to your confirmed home address and for your own safety, please do not forget the “5K message of Covid-19 safety” whenever you receive the packages from the shipper.
For those students who are currently abroad, the school book packages are ready for you on campus now. Please come by the school to pick them up once you are able to return to Vietnam.
We are very excited that our students will have their physical school books in their hands which will help to further reduce screen time.

Happy Learning!

The Moon Festival, originally a harvest festival, celebrates the beauty of the moon, which is largest and brightest at this time of the year. It is a family festival where families get together, exchange gifts and eat traditional dishes.
As a German School in Vietnam, the IGS would like to celebrate the moon festival with the students and also celebrate the traditional Vietnamese cultural heritage.
This year the children in the U6 section met online for a small tea ceremony in the morning circle, and presented each other their mooncakes, which were lovingly prepared and decorated by their parents. Many children proudly wore their Ao Dai to celebrate the day.

In the afternoon, the children listened to the story of Chu Cuoi, how he found the tree with the magic leaves and how he ended up flying it to the moon. And if you look closely, you can spot him and the tree on the moon.
The festival was also celebrated in primary school: First the legend “The man in the moon” was told. A good party also needs decoration and music. Therefore class 3 made beautiful lanterns and danced to the song “Party on the Moon”.

In classes 5 and 6, the students animated a dragon dance and made traditional fruit sculptures from various fruits. After these works of art were photographed, the artists were allowed to eat the sculptures.

In classes 5 and 6, the students animated a dragon dance and made traditional fruit sculptures from various fruits. After these works of art were photographed, the artists were allowed to eat the sculptures.
Classes 3, 4 and 5 have been experimenting with bringing the moon festival alive! Our younger students projected shadows and told stories with puppets, while class 5 created a multicolour stop motion animation – inspired by a 129 year old performance called the Serpentine dance!

GIF

From 20.09. – 23.09.2021 the parents’ evenings took place in the U6 section in the form of a webinar series on various topics. This enabled a lively exchange with the participating parents, who directed many interesting questions to the educators. There were also further ideas and suggestions for the ongoing course of home-based learning. Both our new Head of School, Mr. Schopp, and our new colleagues, were able to introduce themselves to the parents in real time.
One of the main focus points of the webinars was the topic of “language acquisition”, on which parents were provided information about the language support methods being employed, namely KIKUS, Flex & Flora, and the Marburg language screening. Parents were also given insights into the educational work being done. Another highlight was the topic “Support at Home”, which is particularly important for many parents at the moment.

We thank all participating parents for the lively exchange!

The first parents’ evening of the school year took place on Thursday, September 23rd. The parents of grades 1-12 came to meet with the class teachers via Zoom. In addition to general information about the course of the school year, the focus was on igs_online 4.0.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much for your feedback and your constructive ideas.

Interview with Mr. Schopp

At the end of the learning unit “Jobs and work in school” there was a special interview partner for class 3 on Thursday: our new headmaster Mr. Schopp answered questions from the students about his career and of course about his job as headmaster for an hour.
In the conversation, Mr. Schopp stated that the IGS was now his fifth position as headmaster. His father was already a teacher and so he studied German and history. He hadn’t planned to be headmaster at all. What he finds particularly fascinating about the job, however, is to have his finger on the pulse of the times. “I work with the new generation every day and can thus experience how they think and feel. The exchange with children and young people in particular gives me a lot of pleasure.”
When asked what makes a good headmaster, Mr. Schopp replied, “I avoid sitting in the office behind closed doors all day. It is important to seek encounters – with students, teachers and parents. With heart and mind you can conduct even the most difficult dialogue, that makes the job so exciting and you even stay a little young.”
Andy was surprised: “A school principal works 10 to 12 hours. That is a lot. And then he has to see for himself when he can take a break.”
Jojo summed up: “I would never have thought that as a headmaster you would have so many meetings. I’m already looking forward to Mr. Schopp’s next visit – then also on our campus. ”

In addition to the regular parents’ evenings, the first IB information of the year for interested parents took place on Thursday, September 23rd. Supported by the experiences of the twelfth graders and the expert translation by Mme. Melanie into Vietnamese, the parents were able to gain an initial insight into the course level. The headmaster, Mr. Schopp, also once again expressed how valuable the GIB is for the further educational career of the IGS graduates. The next step is the course selection for class 10 in January. For this purpose, advisory discussions will take place between the families and the IB coordinator, taking into account the strengths, interests and choice of study.

The traditional Moon Festival, which celebrates the beauty of the moon, was originally a harvest festival. Nowadays, it is mainly a festival for children, where not only fruit figures are carved, lanterns are made and the popular moon cake is baked, but a lot of time is also spent with the family.
Although we cannot celebrate together on campus this year, preparations for a Moon Festival online are in full swing. We are already looking forward to lanterns, carved fruit and the special legends of the Moon Festival.

We are happy about a good start into the new school year 2021/22. Grades 2-12 were able to start the first day of school online together and schoolchildren from across the continents of Asia and Europe dialed in to Zoom on time.
In the first three lessons, the classes met with their class leader and listened to the piano pieces composed by An and Khoi, both of class 10, which started the day on a festive note. The secondary school students then learned what their timetable looked like and who their subject teachers were for the year. Both the new teachers and the “old” had specially recorded video messages to introduce themselves to the student body.
In the elementary school, the introduction of the teachers by Koala Kurt, the new mascot of the 1st grade, was shown in a gorgeous video clip. After individual class activities for team building and target reflection, the classes started with their regular IGS_online schedule.
We are enthusiastic about the energy and motivation that the students showed in the first week and wish all members of the IGS school community a successful school year 2021/22.

Kunstbox project ‘21

Mit Schulbeginn nächste Woche ermutigen wir unsere Schüler*innen, eine aktive Rolle bei der Vorbereitung auf das neue Jahr zu übernehmen. Im Fach Kunst bedeutet dies, einige einfache Hilfsmittel zu sammeln und nach Materialien zu suchen, die für anstehende Projekte recycelt werden können! Listen und weitere Details werden mit den Klassenleitern und in unseren Online-Gruppen geteilt – viel Spaß beim Sammeln!

With many “Hellos” on Thursday, the children of the U6 section were welcomed as the first students to start the new school year. Although the reunion could only take place on the screen, everyone was very happy to finally be able to laugh, sing and learn together again.
To get started, the U6 team came up with lots of exciting activities and interactive games, and the children also proudly presented their first SeeSaw homework, which the teachers had posted in advance. This means that even the little IGS’s have already become experienced SeeSaw and Zoom professionals, because both apps are accompanying the online learning time in the U6 section and help to take further big steps in language acquisition in German.
This year the children will be accompanied by Ms. Julia Nguyen, Ms. Lena Nolden, Ms. Michelle Heinl and Ms. Kathrin Lauw in the “Entdeckerhaus” (“Discoverers” – children from 18 months to 4) and Ms. Laura Birk, Ms. Christine Kiefer and Ms. Denise Schoechert in the “Forscherhaus” (“Explorers” – children from 4 to school-entry age).

We wish all children and their families a great start into the new school year!

We have recorded the highlights of  2020/2021  for you.

Enjoy!

Please click here

The International German School HCMC (IGS) has developed from a primary school to a recognized German school abroad with middle and upper grades during the past years.
This development was accompanied by a quadrupling of the number of students, the achievement of economic stability and an expansion of the campus.

Multilingualism, early learning in the natural sciences, side entry programs, digital transformation and the promotion of creativity have been just a few of the focal points of the profile in recent years.
The development priorities have also included the revision of the school concept, curricula, the standardization of assessment policies, the introduction of research and debate lessons, library classes
and method units in elementary school or Vietnamese as a foreign language.

In 2018 the IGS received official approval to carry out the first exams for the German Language Diploma of the Conference of Ministers of Education in southern Vietnam. In 2020, the IGS was authorized as an IB World School and was given the right to conduct DSD II exams.
School events such as the German Christmas Market, the research ship on the Mekong, concerts, exhibitions, lecture series, competitions and appearances have helped shape the image of the German community in Vietnam.
With the conclusion of an agreement between the IGS and the AA, the official placement of a school principal from Germany has been finalised.

I am pleased that the Central Office for Schools Abroad has succeeded in appointing Georg Michael Schopp, an experienced headmaster for the position at the IGS,
who has taken over responsibility for the IGS from 1st August 2021.

In particular, I would like to thank you, dear parents and parters of IGS, for your support and mutual success in recent years.
My special thanks go to the management team, especially Heide Schaffer, for the continuous support and expertise on this path.

For the coming school year, I wish the IGS a solid start, in which the diversity of the IGS profile can again be experienced on campus.

Dirk Thormann

SV is the German abbreviation for the term Student Council. The SV is made up of the class representatives from all classes. The class representatives are elected by the classes and represent the students. This means that the students pass on concerns, ideas and wishes to their class representatives. If the concerns, ideas and wishes do not only concern the students in that class, they are taken up and solutions pursued by the SV the class representatives.
In the SV there are meetings with the class representatives of all classes as well as with our SV spokespersons, Hannah and Katie, and of course our SV teachers Mr. Wayman and Mr. Reisdorf, in order to discuss the concerns of the students and to implement goals.
This year, three projects were particularly important to us: The Student Support Network which has been prepared to the point that it can be started in the next school year. Here students can turn to a group of selected teachers for assistance with personal and school questions. Another project concerned the school uniform. Ideas were collected for supplementing school clothes . Thirdly, in the cafeteria project, we were able to work with the caterer to implement suggestions regarding the food and the serving of food. It all sounds a bit complicated, but it does mean, for example, that we can eat tacos more often.
We have achieved a lot this school year. Especially when you consider that we had online classes for many weeks and couldn’t go to school. Classes and exams online have not always been easy.  Sometimes the internet fails for the students, sometimes the electricity for the teachers. Sometimes there is a lack of mutual laughter in class and sometimes it is difficult to stay focused if the teacher cannot see everything that’s happening in the class and you fear being admonished.
Nevertheless, we mastered this difficult situation together in this school year, learned a lot, had a lot of fun in between and especially in the last few weeks. We would like to thank you, the students who have stood by us with suggestions and support, the teachers who have always taught us new things, and all the others who are responsible for the success of our everyday school life. A special thanks goes to Mr Thormann: thank you very much.
We wish everyone an exciting and healthy summer vacation and of course that we can finally see each other for real again in the next school year.

Hannah, Katie and the SV team

Together with their classmates and class leaders, the students finished another successful school year at the IGS on Friday. The ceremony was introduced musically at a gathering in Zoom classrooms and this year began with a poignant self-written piano solo by An from class 9, followed by the solemn speech by the Headmaster, Mr. Thormann, which focused on the school’s achievements and thanks.
After an interlude of an impressive original composition by Khoi, also from class 9, individual students were honored for special achievements by school awards that were given by the school principal. This year these came from the following areas: Language Acquisition, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Music / Art, Social Commitment and outstanding academic achievements.
In an address, the student representatives also highlighted the increasing performance of the student council this year and thanked the teachers and the school management for their support. The class-internal certificates were then issued.
Finally, class activities were carried out that will be remembered! Many classes reflected on the school year and formulated goals for the future, e.g. through individual letters to the future self, which the students sealed in envelopes and will open at the end of the next school year.
The IGS wishes the school community a relaxing summer vacation and we look forward to seeing you again in the new school year. 

Speech of the Headmaster

A few places are still available in the German A2 and B1 student courses of the Language Institute CaféDeutsch. These are suitable for revising and consolidating what students have learned and support a good start into the new school year.

A2 Programme:

B1 Programm: