TAK Blog

Welcome back

2012-02-01T08:23:00.000+07:00

We welcome our TAK family of students, parents and family back to school after the Tet holidays. We hope that all of you have had a good holiday and have refreshed yourselves for the second half of the school year. There'll be lots of fun and learning for all to enjoy. Our next celebration will be Valentine's Day.

Tet Concert 2012

2012-01-18T19:15:00.001+07:00

TAK celebrated Tet 2012 with a lovely concert on Wed morning. Our children (and teachers) worked hard to put up performances for the concert. The hard work paid off as everyone had a fabulous time.

The Principal and staff of TAK wish all parents and children a very Happy Tet holiday. Please note that classes will resume on Wed 1 Feb 2012.

Parent-Child Quality Time

2012-01-14T22:11:00.001+07:00

Many parents are so busy nowadays. They are unable to fork out much time for their children. TAK decided to organize a lantern-making session for Tet mainly to create an opportunity for them to bond with their kids. The main focus is the time and not the lantern. Well, the response from parents was very good and it seemed like they had a better time than their kids - perhaps re-living their childhood days?

Celebrating Christmas 2011

2011-12-23T23:28:00.000+07:00

TAK had our own Christmas celebrations this morning. Teachers worked hard to create the right ambience for our children. Santa Claus brought joy and cheer to the occasion. Do access your child's class blog for further updates of our celebrations. We would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Teachers' Day 2011

2011-11-18T22:32:00.002+07:00

We wish all teachers at TAK a very happy Teachers' Day. We would also like to thank all parents for their gifts of appreciation for our teachers. Please refer to the individual class blogs for updates of our celebration this morning.

THS Official Opening Day

2011-11-11T14:22:00.008+07:00

TAK was invited to join THS (The Happy Schoolhouse) in the celebration of their official opening day. This date was chosen because it is special - 11.11.11, that makes it a very special Friday Special. THS is the 3rd Alpha school in HCMC. Our kids had a good time visiting the THS classrooms and playing with the toys. Then it was down to the event hall for games. A special buffet lunch was prepared for our children, one which they enjoyed immensely. Best wishes to THS on this special day.

Mr Ben & Ms Joyce would like to thank Suri's parents for the lovely flowers. Your kindness is very much appreciated.

Halloween Celebration

2011-10-28T20:07:00.005+07:00

It was a good Halloween celebration for all staff and children this morning. Teachers stayed back after school yesterday to successfully create a Halloween ambience for our children today. Do visit the class blogs for more Halloween updates. Happy Halloween!

Halloween Preparation

2011-10-27T20:25:00.003+07:00

Teachers working overtime to get the school ready for Halloween tomorrow. Thank you, teachers!

Halloween

2011-10-09T11:38:00.004+07:00

TAK will be celebrating Halloween on Fri 28 Oct 2011.

Some information about Halloween :

Halloween is celebrated on 31 Oct every year.
It is a Western festival that is fast gaining popularity in the East.
Halloween began as a festival from Ireland to ward off evil spirits.
People carve out scary faces and figures in pumpkins, place a candle inside and set in their windows to scare away evil spirits and enemies on Halloween.
The traditional colours used for most Halloween decorations are black and orange.
Characters associated with Halloween : ghosts, witches, skeletons, vampires, werewolves, bats and black cats
People celebrate Halloween by going trick-or-treating, which means children dressing up in costumes to look like traditional characters, such as witches and ghosts, and go from house to house and say "trick or treat".
Most will give treats - candy or small toys.
Many homes will be decorated with Halloween themes to scare away evil spirits

(Source : http://www.teach-nology.com/themes/holidays/halloween/)

ASYC celebrates the fun part of Halloween by giving out candies and having our children wear costumes of any kind. Nowadays, Halloween is celebrated with all kinds of costumes; it need not be scary. We celebrate Halloween as one of the many international festivals so as to increase the international awareness of our students. Last month we celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival. In Nov, we will celebrate the Indian Festival of Lights - Deepavali, and in Dec, Christmas.

Over the next 2 weeks, our children will be doing activities, crafts and worksheets in preparation for Halloween.

Back to School

2011-09-28T08:47:00.005+07:00

We launched our school bag as part of our school identity at the start of the new school year on Mon 5 Sep 2011. Our children are proudly carrying it now.

A new welcome signboard was put up to welcome all visitors to the school.

We also celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival the very next week. Please visit our class blogs for photos of the celebration. Our next festive celebration will be Halloween.

Graduation Concert 2011

2011-05-28T22:24:00.000+07:00

We had our 2nd Graduation Ceremony today at Tay Thanh Restaurant in Tan Phu District. It was a happy day for all of us. Our children did us proud in their performances. All parents were appreciative of the hard work of our teachers. We would like to thank everyone present in making this occasion a success.

A day at Dai The Gioi Water Park

2011-05-12T22:14:00.000+07:00

For a change, we decided to to "cool" down and take a dip at the Dai The Gioi Water Park in District 5. All the excited kids were bundled up and transported to the park where they had a great time "chilling" out.

End-of-Year Photo-taking

2011-05-12T22:07:00.000+07:00

The year seems to fly by and we're now at our last stretch before the official end of the school year. As usual, all our classes had their class photographs taken. Have a look :

Busy-bodies!!

TAK Newsletter Vol 5

2011-03-16T17:22:00.001+07:00

TAK Newsletter Vol 5 (2010-2011)

International Women's Day 2011

2011-03-08T21:46:00.004+07:00

The world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8. It is a celebration of our 100 years of progress towards gender equality. It is both a day to celebrate and a day to draw attention to the challenges that remains before gender equality is truly realised.

We would like to thank all parents who made this day a special one for us through your flowers, fruits and gifts.

Proven Benefits of Interactive ESL Lessons

2011-02-28T20:21:00.007+07:00

Interactive ESL lessons make students more skilled and more rounded individuals. Students involved in these programmes are exposed to risk-taking, creativity, imagination and cooperative learning.

Interactive ESL lessons promote active learning and also provide practical experiences in communicating. They give children the opportunities to learn to work together and to be part of something, to belong in a group and to develop tolerance and empathy as they begin to see the world from different perspectives.

Here, the children are enjoying their interactive jam making sandwich ESL lesson.

Tet Celebration 2011

2011-01-28T11:47:00.003+07:00

TAK teachers worked hard to make our Tet celebration interesting and exciting for our children. They stayed back late yesterday to ensure that all decorations and logistics are in place for today. They even put up a fan dance to entertain our kids. Thank you very much, teachers. As for our children, they had fun presenting their class items for the celebration. We wish all parents and children a very happy Tet holiday. See you on Mon 14 Feb 2011.

Prep for Tet

2011-01-20T08:30:00.004+07:00

Preparations are underway for Tet (Lunar New Year) and everyone is excited about it. The school office and classrooms have been decked up in Tet decorations to set a festive atmosphere. TAK takes this opportunity to wish all parents and students a very happy Tet holiday.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T17:12:00.005+07:00

TAK wishes all staff, children and parents a very Happy New Year. We have had a great 2010 and would like to thank all parents for your staunch support of our kindergarten. We look forward to another fabulous year in 2011.

TAK Newsletter Vol 4

2010-12-31T15:22:00.000+07:00

TAK Newsletter Vol 4 (2010-2011)

TAK Christmas Party 2010

2010-12-25T09:51:00.004+07:00

Everyone had been waiting eagerly for our Christmas celebration. But before we knew it, our party came and went so quickly because it was so much fun, especially with Santa prancing around with our children. Santa is definitely a good dancer.

Christmas Prep

2010-12-06T16:28:00.002+07:00

Teachers in TAK got together to decorate the school for Christmas. They spent a whole Saturday last week to provide the right ambience for our children for the festive mood.

TAK Newsletter Vol 3

2010-12-03T16:40:00.001+07:00

Here's the colour version of VOICES Vol 3. In this issue, you can see photographs of our main activities of the day and also Teachers' Day.

TAK Newsletter Vol 3 (2010-2011)

K1 and K2 kids singing

2010-11-22T10:41:00.002+07:00

Listen to our K1 and K2 kids singing for a visitor. They're singing the "Balloon Song" and "I like the Flowers".

Balloon Song

Balloons are red, balloons are blue
Balloons are green and yellow too

I like the Flowers

I like the flowers; I like the daffodils
I like the mountains; I like the rolling hills
I like the fireside, when the lights are low
Boom-de-ada (4x)

Teachers' Day Trip to Vung Tau

2010-11-21T20:46:00.001+07:00

TAK teachers took a break from work and went over to Vung Tau for the weekend. We had a great time there and the 3 lucky winners of our lucky draw probably went home much happier than the rest.

TAK Newsletters

2010-11-10T13:17:00.004+07:00

Here are our newsletters (1 and 2-2010/2011) in colour (low-res). Feel free to browse through them online or to print or download a copy.

TAK Newsletter Vol 1 (2010-2011)

TAK Newsletter Vol 2 (2010-2011)

November 2010

2010-11-02T20:45:00.003+07:00

We are now into November 2010. 2 months have passed since school started on 6 September 2010. Our teachers prepared their classes and children well for Halloween last month.

Our children are also taking well to the additional ESL and aerobics classes that we have started for them.

We will be celebrating Teacher’s Day on the 20th of this month. It is indeed a day to show thanks and appreciation to our wonderful teachers. Kindly follow your child’s class blog for more updates and events of our school.

A new month

2010-10-02T10:40:00.002+07:00

September has come and gone. We're happy that our children are coping well with school and our enrolment has been increasing. This month, we celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival and also paid a visit to our children's favourite indoor playground, Go Go. Please visit our class blogs for photographs of the events that we celebrated. We will celebrate Halloween this month. This exposure to Asian and Western festivals will greatly increase our students awareness of the world around them, thus widening their international perspective.

Mid-Autumn Festival

2010-09-17T21:58:00.002+07:00

Mid-Autumn Festival is here again and the whole school had a great time celebrating it. Please visit our respective class blogs to see what your children have been up to.

Teacher Attachment to PCF Bishan East (Singapore)

2010-08-07T16:54:00.007+07:00

Ms Nga from TAK and Ms Dung from ASYC were attached to PCF Bishan East Centre in Singapore from 2 to 6 Aug 2010. Apart from observing the classes, both teachers also taught lessons on various aspects of Vietnam to K1 and K2 students. It was a good bilateral exchange programme as teachers learnt a lot from each other.

We were also invited to the school's National Day Celebration concert and to the Bishan East National Day Celebration Dinner hosted by Mr Wong Kan Seng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.

The Alpha Schools - Vietnam send our deserving teachers to Singapore to learn the latest trends and developments in preschool education so that we can implement them in our kindergartens in Vietnam.

Ms Nga, Ms Dung and Mrs Irene Wong, Principal, PCF Bishan East Centre

Ms Joyce, Ms Nga and Ms Dung visiting a class

Vietnamese coconut candy for everyone

Ms Nga demonstrating the Vietnamese xylophone

Genuine sacks from Vietnam for the sack race!!

This is how you play the Vietnamese shuttlecock

Students dancing to the song "mot con vit"

1st Graduation Concert

2010-07-24T18:48:00.002+07:00

TAK had our very first graduation concert today and it certainly was a fun and successful concert in many ways. Teachers reaped the fruits of their hard work as the many rehearsals paid off in fantastic performances by their kids. We are so proud of our teachers and students. And we are very touched by the generous support given by all parents by turning up in full force for the concert. Many thanks to Kim's parents for the lovely cake and special thanks to Suri's parents for the lovely bouquets and baskets of flowers for our teachers and students. Your kind gestures only serve to make us work even harder for all our students.

Thank you, Suri's parents, for the lovely flowers

Thank you, Kim's parents, for the beautiful cake

Certificates for all our students

Nang Som Restaurant

5 Little Ducks by Playgroup

Fashion Show by Pre-Nursery

Cha cha cha, aerobics and a song by Nursery

A lovely dance by K1

A "live" English lesson

Friday Treat - Visit to the Airport

2010-07-23T12:14:00.004+07:00

This Friday's treat is a visit to the Tan Son Nhat Airport - both the international and domestic. We wanted to show our children various parts of the airport and also to see the aeroplanes there. They had a good time playing with the trolleys at the airport instead!!

Our First Breakfast Party

2010-07-01T23:11:00.000+07:00

We had our first breakfast party on Thu 1 Jul 2010. We wanted to celebrate our relocation to our new premise and to thank all parents for their support. Our parents are wonderful! Almost all parents made time to celebrate with us and we received many bouquets of flowers, cakes and gifts from them. We had a good time eating, drinking and bonding with each other. Many thanks to all our parents, our children, staff and everyone who have contributed in one way or another to the success of our first breakfast party!

Our First Aerobics Session

2010-07-01T20:30:00.002+07:00

Our first aerobics session was conducted on Thu 1 Jul 2010 0945h. It was a good workout session for our children and teachers. We learnt the importance of exercise and that exercise can be fun. There was much laughter and encouragement when the instructress brought us through the routine. We look forward to our next funfilled aerobics session on Tue 6 Jul 2010!

Art and Craft

2010-06-25T20:22:00.002+07:00

In TAK, we believe in the importance of Art & Craft as they are valuable aids to improve child development. They allow children to be :

creative - learn to do things in a new way and to think out of the box
persevere - learn to keep trying until they finish. And if something goes wrong, they simply persist by learning new ways and things
concentrate - focus on the task at hand.
interact socially - communication among friends
plan - learn that careful planning is the basis of all achievements
be confident - achievement of success upon completion of work

TAK Official Opening

2010-06-08T14:10:00.003+07:00

Today, 8 June 2010, is our official opening day. It is also the first anniversary of our sister school ASYC. We held a small celebration and had a big surprise. Our good friends, Cassie, Mr and Mrs Poh came all the way from Singapore for our opening but kept it a secret from us. You can imagine our surprise when they appeared at the doorsteps of TAK this morning. Thanks for being such great friends!

A great day ... for teachers

2010-06-06T21:25:00.005+07:00

Dan Bao's parents very kindly invited all of TAK's teachers to their home in Dong Nai today. We had a great time picking rambutans (chom chom) and mangosteens straight from the trees. Some were so low hanging that we could just pluck them off the branches - what a treat! We were fed with a sumptuous country lunch. Dan Bao's parents generosity was shared by his grandparents. His 72 year old grand-dad climbed to the roof and plucked a big heap of rambutans for us to bring home. His agility puts many of us to shame. We are very grateful to Dan Bao's parents and his family at Dong Nai for making this a great day for us.

Dan Bao's parents' home in Dong Nai

Dan Bao's kind father picking rambutans for us

The great lunch that we had

Dan Bao having fun

So many rambutans

Dan Bao's grandparents looking on

Our shift to TAK

2010-06-06T19:29:00.002+07:00

After 2 months at ASYC, we have finally shifted into our new campus at 3 Nguyen Ba Tuyen. Everyone is excited at the thought of starting at our new kindergarten which is now known as Lop Mam Non TAK ("TAK" - The Alpha Kindergarten). Parents have given us the thumbs up for the new kindergarten.

New banners are up

Everyone chipping in to help

International Children's Day 2010

2010-06-01T20:55:00.001+07:00

It's the 2nd International Children's Day that we're celebrating and we celebrated at Go Go Indoor Playground. A doggy mascot and balloons completed the children's treat and we all went back to our home @ school, tired but exhilarated.

Morning Exercise

2010-03-10T21:00:00.005+07:00

In TAIK, our children have their morning exercise from 8.30am to 9am each day. Morning exercise "jump starts" our metabolism, keeping it elevated for hours, sometimes for up to 24 hours! It energizes our teachers and our children for the day.

Studies have shown that exercise significantly increases mental acuity—a benefit that lasts four to ten hours after a workout ends. Exercising in the morning means we get to harness that brainpower, instead of wasting it while we’re snoozing.

Another added benefit of a morning exercise is enjoying the positive mood. We want our children to feel clear and calm by exercising in the morning. Exercise makes us feel good mentally as well as physically, and that feeling can last all day after a morning exercise routine.

Our children look forward to their appointed morning exercise each day. Besides the satisfaction of taking care of themselves, they find that it’s a great time to start their day.

TAIK Tet Celebration

2010-02-05T22:14:00.006+07:00

TAIK celebrated Tet today with an exciting range of games and activities for our children. Token "red envelopes" (lì xì) were presented to our children to bestow good luck on them and their families. Parents were also generous with their Tet gifts for the school - again we express our sincere appreciate for their kindness and wish everyone a wealthy, healthy and blessed Tet.

ASYC Tet Fun Fair

2010-02-04T21:31:00.007+07:00

TAIK parents and students were invited to ASYC's Tet Fun Fair. We would like to thank all for their support of our sister kindergarten and we're sure that they had a good time there.

Second Language Learning

2009-12-26T10:02:00.003+07:00

In a recent article, there was a report that Vietnamese authorities and experts were against nurseries teaching foreign languages. While we respect their views, they must show proof to substantiate their claims. In general, international research on second language learning has supported the view that it is beneficial for children to learn a second language at an early age. We produce here some research findings so that parents can have an objective view of the debate on second language learning.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

Cornell University Chronicle Online

Eating & Learning

2009-12-09T20:32:00.003+07:00

Good nutrition is important for all, especially for those younger than five years as these years are demanding for the developing child. In TAIK, we put great care in planning our meals for our children. Our meal times together also serve as ideal opportunities for developing social and language skills as seen in the photographs. Encouraging children to talk about where a food comes from, what country it is grown in and how it is harvested removes some of the mystery and fear of trying new food.

1st Anniversary

2009-12-08T20:22:00.001+07:00

It's our very first anniversary - it's been exactly one year since we started TAIK. We celebrated the day with a big birthday cake and of course, our kids are game for any celebration and joined in with great fun and laughter. We thank all parents for entrusting their children in our care - that you have remained with us is testimony of our high standards of care and education.

Teachers' Day @ TAIK

2009-11-21T21:50:00.000+07:00

We celebrated our very first Teachers' Day on Fri 20 Nov 2009. We had games in the morning followed by a lunch and lucky draw. Our parents were very generous. Our general office was filled with flowers, cakes and gifts of appreciation to all our teachers. We would like to thank all parents for your generosity and kindness in making our very first Teachers' Day so special!

TAIK Newsletter Vol 8

2009-11-08T17:05:00.000+07:00

TAIK Voices Vol 8

Parachute Play

2009-10-16T16:02:00.001+07:00

For this Friday's Special Treat, our children went to ASYC for parachute play. Children love to play with parachutes and TAIK kids are no different. Running under the parachute, flapping it, being caught in it - it's lots of fun.

Mid-Autumn Festival

2009-10-02T15:44:00.000+07:00

It's Mid-Autumn Festival and we had a great time celebrating the occasion. There were games to play, a puppet show meticulously prepared by teachers, lantern display of student-made lanterns and of course, nothing is completed without chow-time. Our children had a wonderful morning, memories of which will linger for a long time to come.

Playground decorated with lanterns

Are we ready to play games?

This is how we play

Follow me...

Lantern parade

Puppet Show

Student-made lanterns

Chow-time

Lanterns galore

Teacher Training - Parachute Games

2009-09-26T22:37:00.006+07:00

We bought 4 parachutes from Singapore - these are to be used for outdoor activities for our children. Teachers of TAIK and ASYC got together to learn the various games that can be played with parachutes. This should add some excitement to our morning exercises.

Making a mushroom

Staff Outing to Mekong

2009-09-20T22:51:00.009+07:00

TAIK staff joined us for a trip to Cai Be and Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta. Some have not been to Cai Be before and were excited about it. It was a good time for bonding as we got to know each other better through the trip.

Doctor's visit

2009-09-14T15:57:00.003+07:00

The doctor comes a-calling again as it is routine medical check day. Medical checks are built into our system to ensure that our students have a clean bill of health. This keeps the school environment safe and healthy, and also saves parents the hassle of having to bring their kids to the doctor.

Safety Precautions for H1N1

2009-08-25T16:53:00.004+07:00

H1N1 is on the rise in HCMC and TAIK is doing its part to ensure that our children are kept safe. Daily temperature checks are made, especially when our children arrive at school.

We request parents' co-operation in the following :

1. Keep your children at home if they show symptoms of flu such as cough, cold and fever.
2. We need you to bring your child home if his/her temperature is more than 38.5^oC

Summer Programme

2009-08-17T16:51:00.001+07:00

We are in the midst of our summer programme as our kids go about with more fun and activities in school. There are more hands-on activities to make the summer fun for children.

Dance your heart out

2009-07-17T23:19:00.001+07:00

It's rock and roll again ... well, not quite ... more like a folk dance session as our kids trooped down to ASYC's dance studio for some dancing lessons. Cha cha cha would have been fun but that would have killed our teachers. So we had to settle for a more mundane dance routine which already left our teachers half-dead!

Are we all ready? Doesn't look quite like it.

You want to dance the "what"???

Dance Instructor Ms Hen in action

TAIK Newsletter Vol 7

2009-07-13T22:15:00.001+07:00

TAIK Voices Vol 7

TAIK Carnival

2009-07-03T18:21:00.002+07:00

It's carnival time as teachers spent a week of overtime preparing this special event just for their children. There were games, snack and fruit stalls to teach children how sales are made (while having fun too) and visitors to entertain (from ASYC and Singapore). Have a look at the class blogs for more photographs.

It's QuestXone again

2009-06-26T22:19:00.001+07:00

There are not many places in HCMC where children can play in safety and QuestXone is one of the very few. That is why we visit it ever so often. The strange thing is that our kids never tire of this indoor playground and it seems like every visit is a first time for them.

Keep an eye out for next Friday. TAIK teachers are keeping their plans under wraps - even Ms Joy doesn't know what they're planning for next Friday's treat. We're all looking forward to next week.

Friday Treat - Games Day

2009-06-19T20:50:00.009+07:00

We must start by expressing our thanks and appreciation to TAIK teachers for the tremendous effort and work put into today's games to make it exciting for our kids. It is a demonstration of your professionalism and dedication to your children, and we are so proud of you.

Thank you, Ms Phoc and Ms Thao (ASYC) for helping

Pom-poms painstakingly made from rafia

Our kids certainly had a good time today, thanks to our teachers' preparation the days before. They had a nice surprise when they wandered out into the play yard and saw the various stations set up before them.

Blowing bubbles - teachers and children having fun

Getting ready for the games

Games - Suri pitted against Bao

Go, Viet, go...

Determined Yellow

Cheer leader Yellow; Bao and Bo getting ready

Viet and Bao getting ready to race in their sacks

Kim, that's a unique way of painting

Even little Yogurt wants to paint

Long and his masterpiece

Bin is looking serious...

Who or what are you looking at, Huy?

Suri is happy with her work

Bao is in intense concentration

Kim and Bao having fun with the rollers

2009-06-19T10:24:00.001+07:00

Here's the newsletter for June 09.

TAIK Voices Vol 6