UN International School - Hanoi

I went to two coffee events at my children school yesterday as if I needed that much coffee to stay alert. I had to leave the first one early and arrive the second coffee late because of overlap in schedule. Their school is a UN International School, one of the two schools in the world; the other one is in New York. Apparently, the UNIS in New York is one of the founding schools of International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

I heard about IB program for the first time in Tokyo and wanted my children to experience it when possible. My first impression of the school is very warm and fuzzy. Elementary school has no homeworks. Yaay for Khin!! Not that she ever complained about homework back in DC. In fact, Rob and I have always been the lucky parents who did not have to battle with our kids to get the homework done. Recently someone commented that our kids are easy going because the parents are easy going. Imagine a big smile on my face! I take credits whenever possible even though all I contributed was my genes, which has enough flaws, believe me.

Middle school will have some projects to work on as the term progresses. I don’t know when that will be but for now Zey is enjoying his free time after school since after school activities have not begun yet.

They study Burmese at home with me after school. We play Xbox Just Dance and read and talk. Sometimes, we try to play guitar as I am learning how.

Going back to the coffees, the middle school coffee event focused on transition phase and we had a chance to check our own emotional well being if it is balanced or if one or more areas need more attention. The eight areas are: relationship with partners, living environment, finance, work, personal growth, leisure time, health and well-being, and family and friends. We then talk about what makes us happy and sad, and about our children. After a quick talk, a few of us left to go to the next coffee.

The second coffee is organized by the elementary school. Principal and other administrative officials talked about the school and the program, and we watched a short video about ocean pollution by plastics. Sadly, Vietnam contributes to the problem as well as suffer from it. During the talk, a deputy principal explained the school’s three principles: learning, community, and responsibility. UNIS has a strong focus on community service and both kids will be doing something for the community.

I am so happy Zey and Khin are attending UNIS. No wonder they are transitioning well. The school is welcoming and really awesome. I know that when we move to a new place, the initial phase is usually positive, followed by down period. I have some observations that are not very flattering, of course, but I shall not dwell on the negatives, at least for now. With that, till next time.