Visit to Orphanage

Today, we brought the items donated and purchased by parents of TAK and ASYC to the orphanage. The sisters and the children welcomed us warmly.Some parents came along with us too and made personal donations - very kind of them.

Charity Project 2014 - Orphanage

In Dec 2013, we embarked on a fund-raising campaign to raise funds for our Christmas Charity Project for the Camillo Home for the Aged. The campaign was a success thanks to all parents' support. With the money raised, we were able to buy food and supplies for the old folks at Camillo and also a bag of goodies for each of them.

We still have funds left over from this project. I went with 2 staff to recce more homes where we could help. Our main objective was to find homes that really needed help, not those that are already well supported. We visited one home in District 8 but found it to be quite well supported.

Next, we visited an orphanage in Hoc Mon. It looked to be in quite decent shape. However, when we spoke to the some of the sisters (Catholic nuns), we found that the building was built with the donations of kind supporters and land donated by an old lady who still lives in the building. This building houses 23 orphans and 20 nuns. They are self-supporting and rely on donations of well-wishers and churches. The sisters run a small childcare centre for the poor nearby. Whatever little school fees they earn go towards the upkeep of the orphans and themselves.

A decent place to live in but they lack funds
for daily upkeep of the orphans

Agent Orange baby abandoned by mother.
His fingers are all fused into a lump on each hand.

These orphans were happy to see visitors.
I think they don't get many visitors.

Some orphans are also handicapped physically and mentally.

One of the sisters looking after the orphans.
She doesn't look 72, does she?

Excited kids

Sweet little girl

We will buy some food and supplies like milk and diapers for this orphanage. We have set aside Thu 27 Mar 14 for our next visit there. Parents' help are needed again - this time, we want to collect old clothes and toys for the orphanage.

Oxford University Press Global Sing-along Workshop

Kathleen Kampa's long-awaited visit finally materialized today. Accompanying her were 2 staff from Oxford University Press (OUP), Ms Trang and Ms Vy. It was a very fun-filled morning for our kids. With Kathleen's decades of experience working with kids, not only did our kids enjoy the session, our teachers learnt a lot too. Thank you, OUP for this wonderful workshop.

A kung-fu performance for our visitors

Kathleen and our kids take to each other well

This is fun ...

Make a circle with your ... fingers!!!

What are we looking for? The clue is in the fingers ... a heart!

What are they taking photos of?

Oh...a lovely star formation with little dainty fingers!!!

Hey...this is really serious stuff!

Captivated audience! Kathleen working her magic.

Ms Dung with the certificate presented to the school
... and a special gift from Kathleen herself!

The teachers are the ones who did it ... Ms Nga

Ms An

Ms Tai

Our global prize-winners ... we are so proud of you!

Ms Trang, Ms Vy, Kathleen & Ben

Celebrating our OUP win

With Tet behind us, the next event to look forward to is the OUP sing-along workshop with OUP author Kathleen Kampa on Thu 20 Feb 2014 at 9am.

To recall, our K1 Class of 2012/2013 won one of the 3 runners-up prizes in the OUP Global Sing-along 2013 competition. Our K2 class was in the finalists list as well. We are not only the first school in Vietnam to participate in this international competition, we are also the first school in Vietnam to win a prize in this competition.

See the comments from the judges on K1 Class' performance :
“They took the language and made it truly purposeful.  For example, the doctor and nurse coming after the phone call.  ALL the students sang so clearly.  The different locations were excellent!  We watched it over and over, it was so interesting.  Congratulations to the teachers!”

And on K2 Class' performance :

“Very well done.  All the kids sang, and you can see the hard work the teachers put into it.”

This is the programme for the morning :

9.00am            Set-up and mingle with children

9.30am            Children's performance

9.40am            Certificates for students and teachers; photographs (individual and group)

9.50am            Everybody Up Sing-along 

10.30am          End of session

A word about our trainer, Kathleen Kampa. Kathleen has been teaching young learners from around the world for over twenty-five years. As a PYP (Primary Years Program) music and movement specialist teacher she nurtures learning through an inquiry-based approach. Kathleen is actively involved as a teacher-trainer throughout Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Kathleen creates songs for children that are educational, engaging, and fun. Kathleen is American.


Have a look at the previous post and videos of the classes here :
http://taikblog.blogspot.com/search/label/OUP

TAK Tet Concert 2014

Every year I repeat myself ... time flies ... and indeed it does. It's a wonder to see our kids grow up from little babies to toddlers then to little kids. It's a satisfaction that defies words. And coming back to the topic, or rather the concert, of the day, we had our Tet celebration today. Teachers and students have spent the past week preparing for this day and the photos tell the rest of the story. Here's wishing everyone a very happy Tet holiday.

All excited for the Tet concert

The unsung heroes behind the scene - cooking, cleaning,
decorating etc. You are all very much appreciated.