News for Parents

Book Party

Posted on10 Oct 2020

On October 7, 2020 Grades 1to 6 participated in a book party event in the primary library. The students had a chance to look at and peruse the new books that the library had added earlier this year.

Apart from reading the new collections, every grade performed specific tasks: Grade 1 watched interactive stories, Grade 2 sequenced two stories together, Grade 3 made their own colourful pop-up art books, Grade 4 matched summaries for the new German books, Grade 5 matched summaries for the new English books, and Grade 6 had a chance to design their own superhero masks.

Interview with contemporary witnesses

Posted on10 Oct 2020

Last Saturday marked the thirtieth anniversary of German Unity Day. On October 3, 1990, the unification treaty between the FRG and the GDR came into force.

On this occasion, discussions with contemporary witnesses took place at the IGS. In addition to a recorded interview with Mr. Ressler, who witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall near East Berlin, a conversation with Mr. Gigger and Mr. Birkner was also held on site. Mr. Gigger experienced the autumn of 1989 as a contemporary witness in the FRG, Mr. Birkner in the GDR. At this point, many thanks again go to the contemporary witnesses.
The students in grades 7 to 11 then analyzed the eyewitness conversations.

Cardboard Crafts AG

Posted on08 Oct 2020

Cardboard Crafts aims to develop the students’ fine motor and critical thinking skills with fun. In the picture, the students are holding their completed cardboard lamps. They learnt about making stable structures and how mathematics plays a role in making accurate designs. They were also introduced a little bit to electronics, wherein they wired their bulbs to the switch and fixed the light for the lamps.

moon festival

Posted on02 Oct 2020

Video clip (subtitles)

The IGS community was filled with a celebratory spirit during the week of the Moon Festival. It was a wonderful opportunity for every student to learn stories and legends behind the Moon Festival. Creativity was on display with the making and decorating of lanterns along with some inspirational fruit-cutting displays.

The celebrations culminated with a performance of song, music and poetry. The friendly, sharing atmosphere was evident in the enjoyment shown by the enthusiastic performances and attentive audience.

Pedagogical Advisory Board of DAS / Southeast Asia

Posted on28 Sep 2020

The school principals of the Southeast Asia region and the responsible German authority are in regular contact with the latest developments at German schools abroad. The last meeting was strongly influenced by the effects of Covid-19 on school operations. While schools are still running online in some countries, the schools in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, for example, and the IGS, were able to resume regular school operations. For all schools, the entry of teachers from other countries is very complicated this year.

student council

Posted on26 Sep 2020

This Friday was the first meeting of the student council. Representatives from all classes met our SV teachers to discuss the hot topics of this year and strategies moving forward!

Garden AG

Posted on25 Sep 2020

We made Magic Butterfly Pea Lemonade. We also picked the flowers and mint from the school garden. We didn’t have any limes in the school garden, but the experiment was a complete success. There were also bananas as a snack in between. The peels and the leftovers from the lemonade production were then discarded on the compost bed.

School Menu

Posted on25 Sep 2020

Starting from today, the school’s menu can be accessed online on the page parent information.

The menu for the U6-section is selected by the U6 teachers.

computer game Workshop

Posted on18 Sep 2020

“Man only plays where he is fully man, and he is only fully man where he plays.” – Friedrich Schiller

Playing is acting free of necessity and duty, and in this sense offers training in strategy, trial action, and a special experience of freedom, the latter of which constitutes the value of playing. Many people would say for sure that gaming is a basic need for them. In a world increasingly characterized by digitalization, the play behavior of many children is changing. With this development towards the digital, we at the IGS don’t want our students to miss out. For this reason we are offering a computer game group this school year. Here, the students’ interests are noted, and students are supported pedagogically with the aim of promoting the skills they need to work in a team and develop strategies. I am really looking forward to this. The computer game group is aimed at pupils in grades 6, 7 and 8 and takes place every second Friday from 2.40 p.m. to 4.15 p.m.

Tim Reisdorf

field trip

Posted on18 Sep 2020

As part of the research work pupils in grades 9 and 10 chose a topic at the beginning of the school year 20/21, which we will deal with in depth this year and which we will conclude with a written elaboration and a colloquium. Against the background of my career aspiration as a “mechatronics engineer”, and in line with this year’s school motto “Future Cities”, I have chosen the topic of “Smart Home” for my research. To get started with the topicI visited the flagship store of a leading manufacturer together with my supervisor, Mr. Reisdorf. Here we were introduced to networked and remotely controllable devices as well as automatable processes. We tried them out, e.g. controlling the lighting system of the television or the ventilation system via the smartphone or looking into your own refrigerator remotely if the shopping list has been forgotten. I became aware of the advantages but also the challenges for the residents of smart homes. Inspired by these motivational experiences, I plan to equip a small model house with sensors and actuators, in the further course of my research, in order to increase the quality of life of its residents.

I’m really looking forward to the first results.

Tobias (Grade 10)

3D Printer for the ICT Department

Posted on18 Sep 2020

The ICT Department at IGS has added a 3D printer to the work force! In the coming weeks, students of Klasse 6 will be designing components for their Rube Goldberg machines, like plastic balls, inclined planes, small levers, wedges and screws. Later in the year, Klasse 7 will be involved in designing their Bloxels heroes, Klasse 8 will design their furniture pieces using Sketchup and Tinkercad applications and Klasse 9 and Klasse 10 components for their products that would also involve Arduino coding.

Uma Shankar Singh

Art and Music

Posted on18 Sep 2020

For the last two weeks Klasse 3 has been on a mission from the music department. Working with B- Wayman and J. Armes our students built an assortment of colourful instruments that will be displayed in the music room – looking good guys!

school activity “Teamgeist”

Posted on15 Sep 2020

In the after school activity “Teamgeist” it is all about being active in team sports. The sport could be hockey, soccer or volleyball. In a team sport, you can only have fun and find success in the long term if you are a team player and collaborate with your teammates. It’s a great thing that you can have a lot of fun and learn important social skills for your entire life all in one place.

Nico Bösinger

The Drama AG

Posted on09 Sep 2020

The Drama AG is all about providing the students with a platform to express their ideas through drama. There will be a focus on developing confidence in speaking, using the body to express ideas and developing techniques for delivering lines with meaning and intent. The group will produce dramas from time to time.

Douglas Vale

ZFA DSD GOLD – DSD II

Posted on08 Sep 2020

World’s first ZFA DSD GOLD – DSD II blended learning advanced training successfully completed – handover ceremony at the International German School HCMC (IGS)

On September 7, 2020, the ZfA specialist advisor for German, Dr. Jörg Helmke, presented the final certificates to the teachers at the International German School HCMC (IGS) in Vietnam. Over the previous few months, 20 participants had taken part in the world’s first DSD GOLD – DSD II blended learning training course. The training addressed both didactic questions about teaching and questions on how to conduct exams. The participants from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City engaged in a lively professional exchange during the training via the Moodle platform. The online training typically concludes with a face-to-face seminar.
We thank the German specialist advisory service, Dr. Helmke and Thomas Dippe, as well as the developers of the online course for the work they did in making the course so memorable and beneficial.

Dirk Thormann
principal

First Day Of school for the Penguin class (grade 1)

Posted on03 Sep 2020

Story for the first day of school of grade 1

Once upon a time there was a little penguin. A prince! He lived in a huge castle made of ice – with towers made of snow, slides and windows Damasked with ice flowers.
When he was bored, the little penguin would slide on the ice slide into the cold sea water or play with a snowball. but he preferred to sit in the palace’s large library and read books. He had learned to read at an early age from his penguin grandmother.
When he read, the little penguin dreamed of distant lands with green palm trees and very colorful birds, of turquoise lizards, huge rice fields, of the hot sun and so much rain that the streets sometimes turned into raging rivers – like ours did last night. In the books he read about children who go to school, who sing, study, swim and play together …
One day the little penguin said: “I want to go to school too!”
So he packed his school bag with his favorite books, a small telescope, swimming trunks and a sun hat. Hmmmm, but how should he get to school? The little penguin slid down the ice slide on the side of the castle and waddled to the sea to talk to his best friend, a whale.
“Hey big whale, I want to go to where the green palm trees are, where there are rice fields and lots of sun, where the old dog Baloo runs around and the little cat peeps out from behind the bushes.”
The big whale said: “Little penguin: The warm countries are very far away and besides you are dressed too thickly. You’ll sweat and you don’t have friends there either …”
“I don’t care,” said the little penguin. “I want to see the world and I finally want to go to school!”
So the little penguin waddled on the large body of the whale and both swam and swam and swam … many days and nights, days and nights, days and nights …
Suddenly, they saw something on the horizon. It was moving, one ship, one big ship.
The whale stopped and said: “You have to continue swimming from here, my little friend.”
The little penguin thanked him politely, gave the whale a kiss and swam towards the big ship. On the ship were students studying the plants and animals of the sea.
The penguin splashed wildly in the water and called to the students: “Hey, good morning, snap, snap .. where are you from?”
“We actually come from many different countries. But we are all from the IGS in Vietnam. Good morning, Xin Chau!” the students shouted politely to him.
Suddenly the little penguin was happy: “Yippee, Vietnam! There are rice fields and lizards and colorful birds. Take me with you … Take me with you! I want to go to your school. Take me with you!”
The students thought for a moment and took the little black and white penguin with them to Saigon. He was looking forward to going to school for the first time.
When the little penguin started the first class and told his stories, the class quickly became known at the school. The little penguin taught the students how to read, do arithmetic, and paint. They learned why the moon never touches the sun, why there are stars in the sky at night and why the Mekong river keeps changing its direction.
All the children at the school spoke of this class with the little penguin and from then on, the clever students in this class were lovingly called the penguins.

* * *

Dear class 1 students,
I heard that the smart little penguin will join you in class this year.
Like the children in the story, you too will have many adventures with the little penguin this year. You will hear stories from him, enter the world of books and he will teach you to read, write and do arithmetic.
Of course, the penguin class also has two very cool captains, whom I would like to introduce to you now: I wish you and your class teacher Florian Tietz and your class teacher Jessie van der Riet a wonderful first year of school with exciting adventures and I hand over the helm to the two captains of the Penguin Class .

Schulbeginn 2020//2021 IGS Ho Chi Minh City

First day of school

Posted on28 Aug 2020

What a great way to start the new school year. This school year, as in all other years, the students in grades 2-11 were welcomed by the teachers’ band on campus. “It’s really great to have such cool teachers …” said one student after the concert. The U6 area also started the new academic year in a very relaxed way on Wednesday. If you, too, want to get an idea of the new class- and subject teachers, just take a look here. We wish all students, parents and teachers, especially the IB-DP class, a successful start to the 2020/2021 school year.

Congratulations – German Language Diploma I

Posted on18 Aug 2020

We proudly announce that all the students who participated in the 2019/ 2020 German Language Diploma I Exam have passed the exams successfully.

Congratulations IGS studens!

school yearbook 2019/2020

Posted on16 Aug 2020

For the yearbook, please click here

Due to the current situation, we are making the yearbook available to you as an online edition
It is important to many families to remember their experiences and school friends later on. We have therefore recorded the highlights of the 2019/2020 school year for you and your friends and family.
Have fun while reading.

Last day of school

Posted on04 Jul 2020

“Music at stations” was the motif of the last day of school before the summer vacation (Clip). Spread across the entire school campus, pupils from all classes and teachers played together and said goodbye to school and hello to the summer holidays with a successful IGS choreography as a cherry on top. We wish all IGS students happy and relaxing holidays.

School trip to Vung Tau

Posted on04 Jul 2020

Most students in Germany can hardly imagine spending a day at the beach. For our pupils from classes 1 to 10, however, this was a highlight of this year’s IGS campaign week. After almost two hours on the bus, we went to the fine sandy beach with sun hats and sun cream and into the refreshing water. In addition to a good mood and water battles by the pool, there was even a boat trip in the rubber boat that we had brought with us. The weather was great too; the usual June rains held off until the return trip.

Sports days

Posted on04 Jul 2020

With the final reports just around the corner, the IGS held its annual sports day once again. Over two days the primary and secondary students ran, sweated and laughed. While the primary students could prove themselves playing ‚Völkerball‘, ‚Brennball‘ as well as football and playing with various sets of equipment, the secondary students showed their skills in basketball, volleyball, football and ultimate frisbee. Neither hot temperatures nor sudden rainfall could stop us from having fun and we are already looking forward to next year’s sports day.

Internship class 9/10

Posted on04 Jul 2020

In the last school week the internships for individual students in classes 9 and 10 took place for the second time. The students applied to an institution or company of their choice. One chose sound design in a recording studio, one worked in a law firm, one in marketing and some in more technical professions. Others chose practical activities or engaged in the field of social services. In this way it was possible to get to know the world of work outside of school, to test oneself, and to apply theoretical knowledge in a real-world environment.

Presentation day secondary school

Posted on04 Jul 2020

The last third of the school year was packed again with many activities in and around the class. The presentation day offered by grades 5 to 8 was a wonderful opportunity to show collaborative class achievements to others. In cross-class groups, the children explained to each other their projects, which were as varied as the lessons at the IGS. The topics ranged from film analyses with class 6, to chemical examinations with class 8, to fictitious interviews with important personalities in class 7, and paper plane designs in class 5.
All participants were very well prepared and were capable of conveying the topics to their group well, so that this day was a success for everyone and something new was learned by everyone.

Game day

Posted on04 Jul 2020

The last week of school started for classes 2 to 4 with lots of fun, games and excitement. First, the pupils designed their own marble run or a throwing game before trying out their games together. Afterwards everyone had a lot of fun with different board and movement games inside and outside. Before lunch, we finally went to the school yard for the water relay race, ice cube race and water balance game.

Diversity Workshop

Posted on04 Jul 2020

Last Monday Klasse 8-10 joined our humanity departments in a diversity workshop designed to encourage core IB skills, and engaged in a discussion on intercultural society. Students competed in a number of exercises which highlighted privilege and opportunity. This was followed by a group discussion on different aspects of society and inequality. Finally, a minute’s silence was held for everyone who has worked to improve the social conditions of their fellow man.

Eröffnung des ersten IB-Diplom-Jahrgangs 2020/ 2022 an der IGS HCMC

The Opening Ceremony of the first IB Diploma Class 2020/2022

Posted on27 Jun 2020

TV contribution

The opening ceremony of the first IB diploma class 2020/2022 took place on Thursday, June 25th, 2020.
Among the invited guests were the Swiss Consul General, Martin Maier and the Consul General of The Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Josefine Wallat, as well as the chairperson of the Parents’ Advisory Board, Horst Geicke and Parent Representative, Issariya Hauschild.
Needless to say, the focus was on the students in class 10, who were accompanied by their parents that evening and who will start the decisive years of the upper school with the coming school year.
The guests and IB teachers met in the IGS IB library where the evening was opened by a baroque concerto on the piano. Head of school Dirk Thormann gave the opening speech and conveyed the congratulations of SBH CEO Peter Gödde to the IGS school community.

A radiant smile could be seen on the faces of the students in class 10 as their class teacher, Mr. Viertel, played as an interlude the piece Rhapsody No. 10. Hidden within the composition were the students’ own compositions from music lessons during the year.

This was followed by the solemn speeches of the two general consuls, who told the audience about their own experiences on the way to the upper school and, among other things, addressed the particular challenges of choosing a career in the 21st century.
One aspect that was addressed in all speeches was the increasing responsibility that IGS learners will face in the coming years

At the end of the festive part of the program, the students were given a folder with the most important documents for the final year by the IB coordinator, Ms. Barnickel. The prospective diploma students signed their acknowledgement of the philosophy and regulations for the IB diploma phase in front of the guests present.

The evening ended with a drink and nice conversations.

Interview with Horst Geicke, chairman of Deutsches Haus and chair of school advisory board
We would like to thank all guests very much and wish our first IB diploma year students all the best and a good start to the last big vacation before it all starts!

Franziska Barnickel
IB coordinator

We would like to thank all those involved in the IB authorization from the teaching staff, the administration, the authorities, but also from the circle of parents and students. Our special thanks go to the IB coordinator, Franziska Barnickel, who led the IB team through the authorization process with perseverance and expert knowledge.

Dirk Thormann
Head of school

Auf Entdeckungstour im Schmetterlingshaus mit der IGS HCMC

Discovery tour in the butterfly house

Posted on27 Jun 2020

On Tuesday, class 3 went with Ms. Mönnich, Ms. Schmidt and Ms. Quynh Anh to the butterfly house HCMC in the Saigon Zoo. For several weeks now, class 3 has learned the physical attributes, the lifecycle, the development, the different species, and the enemies of the butterfly in Early Science. As result, they wanted to see butterflies in real life. At the butterfly house, the guide told us a lot about butterflies. Then we were allowed to observe them and experience them up close. We saw butterfly eggs, pupas and butterflies mating. We were also able to marvel at many new butterfly species. All children found it very interesting and realized that they already knew a lot about butterflies! Finally we got to see the other animals in the zoo. It was a very interesting and fun trip. In the end we took a little train trip through the zoo and ate ice cream to cool off.

written by Jon Suhr, class 3

Untericht vor 50 Jahren; ein Lehrer erzählt IGS HCMC

The contemporary witness

Posted on27 Jun 2020

What actually is a contemporary witness? It’s a person who experienced something long ago that no longer exists today and can tell us or write about it.
Contemporary witnesses are particularly important for understanding history. IGS students interviewed a teacher, a contemporary witness, who was in the same year group 60 years ago as they are now.
How many children were you in a class?
We were only 9 students, 7 boys and 2 girls, but the children in classes 1-4 had only one teacher and learned in one classroom, even though there were approximately 50 students in the whole class.
How did you get to school?
We had to run to school. Our house was not that far from school, about 5 minutes, but children from other villages sometimes had to walk an hour to get to school. There were no cars or buses to take us there.
What were the penalties if you misbehaved?
In addition to small punishments such as “writing” or detention, we often also received blows from the teacher, either by hand, but mostly with a stick, on the butt (buttocks) or on the hand.
What did the parents say to that?
We didn’t tell our parents, of course, because then the parents would have hit us again. They said that the teacher is always right!
Fortunately, everything is different and better today!

Theater + art

Posted on19 Jun 2020

In our ‘Ku-mu’ (Art & Music) lessons Klasse 2 & 3 have been working hard on learning new songs and creating fantastic fairy tale masks for our end of year ceremony. Good job goblins, animals, dragons and fairies!

School Menu

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