Lights, decorations, singing, games, cake, drinks, presents AND a personal visit from Santa- 15/5 students were in for a huge treat this year as 15/5 threw them a party to remember on Christmas Eve. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and the kind contributions of many individuals, we were able to host the biggest Christmas party at 15/5, ever!

After a week-long of preparations, the show was ready to begin, kicking off with students dividing into teams to compete in games for prizes. Games included an obstacle race, karaoke, pin-the tail-on-the-donkey and guessing the number of candy in a jar game. Each team won at least one prize and all children participated with great excitement and enthusiasm. After the winners were announced the children were then entertained with some singing and performances by members of the English Club.

It was then time to eat! The children were offered a light meal, soft drinks, cookies and cake whilst they enjoyed some free time. But then came the moment they’ve all been waiting for, the word had got out that Santa has arrived at the school gate and he has lots of presents!

Lights were dimmed, heads were turning and then all the children rushed to the gate screaming as Santa came in on his cyclo. Santa sang and danced with the children and volunteers until it was time to hand out presents. Each child walked away happily with a backpack full of goodies such as milk, chocolates, a school t-shirt and some items to take home to their families .

The Christmas party was a huge success and 15/5 would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous contributions ; Coca Cola, Nestle, Star Group Asia, and Unilever.

Also thank you to Amber, Matt, James, Sharon, Saskia, Andrew, Ryoko, Quyen, Lester, Alan and Lisette, Johanna, and all the members of the Planning Directorate at DCLG for their kind donations. Also many thanks to the staff and volunteers who gave up their time to organize this party. This event would not have happened without your support!

2007 Christmas Party Corporate Sponsors

15 May School put on a big celebration yesterday for the special occasion of Teacher’s Day-a day where teachers across the nation are acknowledged for their hard work and dedication and are shown appreciation by students, colleagues and the community. The celebration included the recognition of 5 outstanding teachers, performances by the children, and cooking and coloring-in contests.

Beside this celebration, 40
scholarships were awarded to students with difficult circumstances to encourage better education and marks the launch of the Scholarship Fund, supported by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). This is the first allocation of scholarships for 2007-2008 academic year and the total amount given out was VND 30,000,000. The next allocation of scholarships will be made in May next year. There are two rounds per year.

The students who have been awarded scholarships were recommended by teachers based on their circumstances and are spread out across 6 categories. These students will be monitored by the school in terms of their progress and will continue to help students who have shown their potentials.

The Scholarship Fund categories include talent development for elementary and secondary levels, vocational education, intermediate schools and university scholarships. Special presence included representatives from the People’s Committee of District 1, representatives from the Parents Committee, representatives from the Education Board and Mr James Okuley from SPE.

More about the scholarship Fund >>

For the past 2 weeks, there’s a buzz every Tuesday morning in the playground when students from grades 6-9 line up in their groups ready to start their English conversation classes. The sessions start with the volunteers and students singing and dancing along to the ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’ song and giggling and wriggling their bodies.

English Club is an interactive learning session which helps students to enhance their speaking, grammar and pronunciation skills as well as building self esteem through a range of interactive games and activities. Altogether there are about 40 students who participates, 15 dedicated volunteers who leads the sessions and the support of 3 staff members. Each session has a targeted vocabulary which is taken from the curriculum the students are currently studying in order to help students practice what they’ve learnt.

Each group of students are lead by a native English speaker and a bilingual volunteer and students are encourage to interact as much as they with the volunteers. So far there have been positive feedbacks from both students and volunteers of how much they enjoy these sessions. Ms Le and Ms Thanh (15 May school’s English teachers) have also commented on how the student’s pronunciation has improved although it has only been 2 weeks.

Most of the students are on a beginner level, however, with regular classes and practice, students will soon be able to have full English conversations with volunteers. Through the English Programme, 15 May School hopes that students will gain better self confidence and social skills and will have better employment prospects in the future.

If you would like to volunteer for English Club please register with John and Pene at info@15mayschool.org English Club is on every Tuesday mornings 9:30-10:30

The 5th of September marks the start of a brand new academic year for May 15 students. Over 20 guests were invited to attend the open ceremony and these included 12 government officials, a SAGA representative, representatives from Prudential Vietnam and International volunteers.

The special occasion was marked with; the Director's speech of the plans for the coming year, acknowledgement and rewards for teachers with outstanding achievements and the acknowledgments of the generous support that SAGA Charitable Trust and Atlas Industries has given the school.

The 6 students who will be leaving the school (as part of the Community Intergration Programme) were given some presents from the school and from the District, as tokens of encouragement and well wishes. All other students were given new books and stationery donated by Prudential Vietnam. The most special event of the ceremony however, was welcoming 11 sweetest fresh new faces who will start grade 1 this year with smiling faces and hopeful eyes.

We would like to thank the guests for sharing this occasion and for their generous gifts to the school and we wish all students a happy and fruitful academic year!

Photos from left-right: Welcoming new 1st graders, rewarding teachers for their efforts, 6 school leavers given presents, & children with their new school stationery for the year.

15 Mayschool Hip Hop performers were invited to Be Tho Orphanage in Dong Nai last Sunday (15th July) to share their dancing and circus skills with 70 + orphans of all ages.  This is a collaborative community service project initiated by SOZO volunteers with 15 Mayschool children and volunteers, and the aim is to jointly give back to the community and the less fortunate. Together, we took two bus loads out to the orphanage in Bien Hoa city, about an hour’s drive outside HCMC and despite the winding road and our busses getting stuck in the mud 100m from the orphanage, we made it there with excitement and anticipation. The children at the orphanage were thrilled as soon as they saw us and after a few performances, the Hip Hop and Circus workshops began.  

Be Tho Orphanage was set up in 1993 and is runned by Sister Vinh. The children at Be Tho were either orphaned at birth or are orphans who suffer from disabilities but despite this, the children showed great enthusiasm and participated as much as they could to all the activities and games. This included hip hop dancing, juggling, yoyo tricks and a giant tug-of-war. The children at the orphanage treated us with a highly entertaining fashion show and taught us simple sign language skills.

After having lunch with the children and showing a few more dance moves, we said goodbye and headed back for the city. 15/5 children enjoyed this experience just as much as the children at the orphanage and we would be happy to revisit in the future.

Many thanks to the SOZO organisation team!