Welcome! Sabaidee!

We are very excited about moving to our new, purpose built campus for the 2008-2009 school year. This project began several years ago through the vision and hard work of our School Board and School Staff. We broke ground just 20 months ago and have now fully occupied our wonderful new campus.

Our school has separate primary and secondary buildings and a very spacious two floor library. There are 33 classrooms, purpose built Science Labs, Computer Labs, Art and Music rooms. The new campus has excellent sports facilities including two full size covered basketball/volleyball courts and a full size football pitch.

Along with this physical change we are also beginning this year with our first official International Baccalaureate Diploma class in grade 11. Many of these students will graduate next year with the prestigious IB Diploma.

We are growing rapidly. Our enrollment has increased 20% since the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year. In all grades we have seen enrollment increases and have now over 300 students at VIS.

This year the major goal of our community will be to develop a 5 year Strategic Plan for the future of VIS. This will be a community project that will involve the school board, staff, parents and students working together to visualize what VIS will be in 5 years.

Vientiane is a growing community in a beautiful country. VIS will continue to provide outstanding educational opportunities for students to reach their potential and become international citizens who will make a positive effect on the future of our world.

Steve Alexander, Director

It cannot be underestimated the influence that children’s ability to read has on their experience of school. Children’s success in reading positively influences all other aspects of the curriculum as it is the basis of many other curricular areas.

It is natural for parents to be enthusiastic about children’s reading as they make the first tentative steps to master the printed word. In general, parents of children in junior classes tend to read more to their children and listen more to their children’s reading. However, the need to listen to children reading does not diminish as the child advances through the school. Just because a child “can” read does not mean that every opportunity should not be taken to allow the child to read aloud. Reading to an adult at home allows the child to consolidate what the child is practising at school. It also allows the child to consolidate the key reading skills of fluency, clarity and reading with meaning. Reading a little , but often, is much more beneficial than reading a lot, but rarely. Children should develop the habit of reading aloud to an adult at home each night for 8-10 minutes whether reading homework is given or not.

Approaches to Reading at Home 

· Read little and often—don’t overdo it

· Find a quiet place—away from distractions like TV, computer

· Make sure the table/chair are comfortable

· Be enthusiastic and interested

· Be patient

· Make the reading session fun and enjoyable

· Talk together about the book

· Talk before you start, while reading and at the end

· Ask some pertinent questions to aid comprehension skills

· Avoid criticising, telling off or threats

· Praise success—say “Well Understood!” or “Great expression!” regularly (and sound as if you mean it!)

· Stop and encourage prediction skills by asking “What do you think will happen next?”

· Always end the reading session on a positive note

· Encourage your child to read ahead quietly in their spare time

Parents as Role Models

Children, need as much positive interest and encouragement as possible from parents in regard to reading. The teacher develops the necessary reading skills at school. However, the love of reading is developed through a partnership between home and school. The reading climate in the home is crucial. Parents are role models. If children see parents enjoying books, they will want to explore books themselves. It is widely acknowledged that the single most important factor in determining the child’s success in reading is parental attitude. If parents provide suitable reading material, if they encourage children to choose books from the library, if they listen with enthusiasm to their child’s reading, if they buy books as presents, they are supplementing the work of the teacher in the area of reading development in a real and meaningful way. A happy and secure reading environment in the home will give the child a positive attitude towards reading.

THE SCULPTORS

I dreamed I stood in a studio

And watched two sculptors there,

The clay they used was a young child’s mind

And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher, the tools he used

Were books and music and art,

One was a parent with a guiding hand

And a gentle loving heart.

Day after day the teacher toiled

With touch that was deft and sure,

While the parent laboured by his side

And polished and smoothed it o’er.

And when at last their task was done,

They were proud of what they had wrought,

For the things they had moulded into a child,

Could neither be sold nor bought.

And each agreed they would have failed

If they had worked alone,

For behind the parents stood the school,

And behind the teacher, the home.

(Anonymous)