Message from the Middle School Principal – 22 October 2026

Dear ISHCMC Middle School Community,

Welcome Back to Term 2!

I hope you and your families had a relaxing and enjoyable break. A new term is a chance to reconnect with friends, return to familiar routines, and look forward to new experiences. It has been most rewarding to see the growth and sense of ISHCMC spirit developed  in Term 1. Thank you to all the families who joined us for the PTSC meetings, and for making the time to learn more about how we can support students’ learning and well-being across the subjects.

As Term 2 begins, we look forward to the renewed sense of energy and opportunity to inspire our Middle Schoolers even more as we progress through the year.

Staff Professional Development: Belonging

This week, our teachers and staff across both campuses came together for two days of professional learning focused on Belonging. Strong relationships and a sense of  community are the foundations to any great school. At ISHCMC, we value that sense of community and belonging as One ISHCMC represented by over 60 nationalities. Our staff invested two days to collaborate and better understand how to enhance our collective sense of Belonging for all students, staff, and families.

These moments matter enormously in Middle School, when friendships can change, social dynamics can feel complicated, and students are still learning how to express themselves and establish their own sense of identity with the community. As adolescents today are facing growing challenges around loneliness and connection, our vision that every child is known, cared for, and makes progress echoed throughout the training and drove the spirit of enhancing our Community of Care.

During our learning sessions, staff explored how to resolve types of conflict, how to address and prevent bullying and harassment, how to shape a culture of understanding and respect so that students can repair relationships and lead with kindness. This Belonging training recentered our commitment to being a school that leads with empathy, teaches responsibility, and seeks to help make the community a safer, happier place to learn.

Parent Workshop: Raising Kind and Resilient Children in the Digital Age

As adults, we also have a responsibility to model these behaviors. When students, staff, and families share this commitment, we create a community where kindness and respect are more than just words. On Wednesday, we were pleased to welcome parents to the workshop, “Raising Kind and Resilient Children in the Digital Age,” building on the conversations our staff began earlier in the week.

For Middle School students, friendships increasingly extend into online spaces, where gaming, social media, and AI influence how they communicate, form relationships, and see themselves. Helping young people navigate the digital dynamics of being a teenager takes ongoing education, support, encouragement, and trust between children and the adults who support them.

We hope the workshop helped strengthen the partnership between home and school as we support our students through both the opportunities and challenges of growing up in a digital world.

A Great Term Starts with Connection

As we begin Term 2, I encourage our students to make new connections, to challenge themselves, to try new things, and to establish new connections with classmates and staff members alike so we can enhance our sense of belonging, care, and holistic success. 

Thank you to our families for being part of this journey with us.

Warm regards,

Anthony Mulson

Middle School Principal

International School Ho Chi Minh City