Concordia News December 2015

concordiahanoi.org

C O N C O R D I A I N T E R N A T I O N A L S C H O O L H A N O I

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CONCORDIA FALL FESTIVAL

4-5RAISING FUNDS

FOR HAI LY -ONE LAP

AT A TIME

8ALL-SCHOOLS SOCCER DAY

In This Issue...

The Concordia Upper School Choir made their debut performance at the National Opera House as part of the Sing for Joy Charity Concert

December 2015

CONCORDIA FALL FESTIVALWITH PRESCHOOL- GRADE 2

Balloons and bouncy castles were back again this year for our

annual Fall Festival Celebration at Concordia. The students in Grades

preschool to Grade 2 had a chance to lend their smiles to a whole

bunch activities from games to face painting. Concordia parents

played an integral part of the day and came out in wonderful numbers

to help run the events and lend their creative skills as volunteers for

the kids.

A huge thank you to all who participated and we hope you enjoy these

few mementos from the day!

CONCORDIA NEWS DECEMBER 2015 concordiahanoi.org2

CONCORDIA HAPPENINGS

Take a look at some of these great shots of what

has been happening in the Concordia community.

PICTURES- Top: Preschool learning all about apples,

including how to buy them; Middle Right: Learning

about Vietnamese food and trying xôi (sticky

rice) in Modern Language class; Below: Coaches

conference at our sister school in Hong Kong. Can

you spot our Concordia coach, Mr. Doutt in the

crowd?

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WALK-A-THON 2015RAISING FUNDS FOR FAMILIES IN HAI LY

Over 300 people including students, parents, grandparents, siblings, teachers,

and staff came out to participate in our fifth annual Concordia Walk-A-Thon to

raise funds for five families in Hai Ly Province.

Students walked a total of 1124 laps around Nghia Do Lake, amounting to

over 1,067 km, or 663 miles, which would be the equivalent of walking from

Hanoi to Hong Kong or Bangkok.

The five families were identified by Concordia’s partner organization, LCMS

International, and will be visited by the Middle School students in December

as part of their Service Learning Fall trip. Learn more about those five families

in the next couple of pages.

MRS. CAM & FAMILY

Mrs. Cam is 23 years old and already has three kids who are

2,4, and 5 years old. Her husband goes fishing for a living. Yet,

as the initial investment was high, they had to borrow money

from the black market with up to 10% interest monthly.They

are now living in an unfinished house with a broken door and

no separation between their living space and the animals’

space.

When Mrs. Cam and her husband go to work, they have to

lock their kids inside the house and task the 5 year old with

looking after the two younger siblings.

MRS. KHAN- 80 YEARS OLD

As she reached her 80s, Mrs. Khan developed an eye

impairment. Despite the fact that she gave birth to 10 kids

and 4 of them are live in the same commune, she lives alone

in a crumbling house with a leaking roof and open toilet. She

lives on a government subsidy of 180,000 VND ($8 USD) a

month and babysits the neighbor’s kids for meals.


CONCORDIA STUDENTS CAN AND DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

THESE ARE FIVE FAMILIES IN HAI LY PROVINCE THAT WILL

BENEFIT FROM THE FUNDS RAISED DURING THE

WALK-A-THON. EACH OF THESE FAMILIES HAVE THEIR OWN

UNIQUE STORY WHICH WE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE BELOW.

MRS. DAN- 85 YEARS OLD

Almost 10 years ago, Mrs. Dan received a donation from a

group of donors from Denmark to build a new house. She

was taken care of by her son until he passed away three

years ago. After that tragic event, she lived mostly by herself

with little help from neighbors. Although she gave birth to 8

children in her life, most of them settled down in the South

and rarely come back to their hometown Presently, she

receives a 180,000 VND ($8 USD) monthly subsidy for all her

living expenses.

MRS. CUC & HER HUSBAND

Mrs. Cuc is 73 years old. She has severe problem with her

spine and can barely move out of her bed. Her husband,

despite being 78 years old, takes care of Mrs. Cuc’s meals

and her health since most of their children moved to the

South.

They have a big front yard where they hope they can afford

to buy a couple of chickens to sustain their food supply.

MRS. NGHIA & FAMILY

Mrs. Nhia is in her thirties with six children between 3

months and 12 years of age. Three months ago, while she

and her husband went out to work, her 2 year old daughter

fell into a nearby pond and drowned. Two years ago, the

family borrowed 100 million VND ($4,500 USD) to invest in

farming shrimp. Unfortunately, it was not able to produce

enough to pay back the loan and they are burdened with

10% interest.

Presently, she and her husband work as laborers hoping

to earn enough to pay off the loan and invest in farming

shrimp so they can provide for their children.

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ALL-SCHOOLS SOCCER DAYSEVEN SCHOOLS FROM AROUND HANOI (GRADES 3-5)

Seven schools from around Hanoi joined us on the Concordia football

fields for a wonderful day of soccer. Students in Grade 3-5 from HIS,

BVIS, BIS, Olympia, St. Paul’s, and ISV joined in on the fun.

Since elementary students do not always have a chance to play in

league sports at the schools level, this soccer day is meant to be a way

for students to learn a little about the game as a class and learn that

sports can be fun. As they get older and move into middle school,

hopefully they would look at pursuing a place on their respective

school’s competition team.

Thanks to all the teachers, coaches, and students who participated!

Our Concordia admin team has been out to the Van Tri construction site on almost a daily basis and are excited to share the progress that the new campus is making. While it might not be easy to see the similarities, the school is slowly taking shape.

The picture to the left is the main campus construction and shows the first three out of four floors of Phase One of the school. Initially the entire Preschool- High School school population will be housed in this building that boasts a double gym, cafeteria, library, science lab, various classrooms and even a student cafe. The facility is scheduled to be completed June 2015 and the school will relocate to the Van Tri campus for the start of the 2016-2017 school year.

We’ll keep you updated as we get more pictures! More details will be released in Semester 2.

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NEW CAMPUS UPDATENEWS FROM CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION AT VAN TRI

DECEMBERTHIS MONTH AT CONCORDIA!

To share an event in the next newsletter, please contact Miss Lia Garcia at [email protected]

See concordiahanoi.org/community for more information on upcoming events

CHRISTMAS JOYBRING A PLATE OF COOKIES!

Families- Don’t forget to bring a plate of COOKIES

or another dessert to share at both the MS/HS and

Elementary Christmas concerts. There will be coffee

and fellowship in the Concordia Auditorium lobby

immediately following both concerts. We look forward

to seeing you there!

PARENT CHRISTMAS BRUNCH- DEC. 15DON’T FORGET TO REGISTER!

All Concordia parents are invited to a special Christmas

brunch on December 15 at 9:30am at The Winkelman’s

Residence. Please plan to bring a plate of food to share

with others and let us know you are coming by registering

via the link on the weekly update!

A bundance!Ephesians 3:14-21

Asia Lutheran Education Association invites you to join educators from around Asia and the world

to learn more about service learning, Christian education, personal wellness and more at the 2016 ALEA conference.

September 16-17, 2016 in Hanoi, Vietnam

Pre-conference service event at the Play! Café and dedication of Concordia International School Hanoi’s

new campus will take place on September 15.

Check www.asialutheraneducation.org/conference for more details.

Contact [email protected] with any questions.

Documents

Concordia News December 2015