3 Silver medals were earned by Luong Hien Nga – class 10 Chemistry 1 of Ha Noi – Amsterdam High school, Do Cao Minh Chau – class 10 Biology of Ha Noi – Amsterdam High school and Nguyen Trong Khai – class 10 Chemistry 1 of Nguyen Hue High school, and 3 Bronze medals by Nguyen Duc Hieu, Le Hoang Minh and Tran Khanh Vy of class 10 Chemistry 1 of Ha Noi – Amsterdam High School. Following is some sharing of teachers and students of Viet Nam’s 2017 IJSO team about the preparation and participation of this year’s Olympiad.

Viet Nam’s team in the Netherlands

The fruits of all the effort of the teachers

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, Chemistry teacher of Ha Noi – Amsterdam High school, was the one who instructed and accompanied the whole team throughout the 3 months of competition. She expressed her proudness and happiness to see all the effort of the teachers and students pay off. “That moment, the teachers in Viet Nam were also watching the team live on the organizer’s website. They sent their best wishes and congratulations to the team. That feeling was special and unforgettable for me,” Ms. Hong said. According to her, the fact that every single student in the team earned a prize in such a prestigious competition like IJSO is extremely valuable.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong also highly regarded the theme of this year’s contest. This is the first time ever IJSO has got a specific theme (Water and sustainability). Water is also the strength of our host country – the Netherlands, and it is a major factor influencing the sustainable development of the world. Through this competition, the teachers also had the opportunity to learn how to approach knowledge and how to evaluate their students. The professional attitudes of professors and teachers from all over the world were also something worth learning.

The priceless gift for tireless effort of the students

Hello. First of all, I would like to congratulate everyone on successfully completing the competition. Can you share some of your feelings on hearing the result?  

Hien Nga (10 Chemistry 1 – Ha Noi – Amsterdam High school): We were really proud and happy to know that all 6 members of the team got a prize. This result is definitely something that we all deserve for the effort of both the teachers and the students. We were relieved that we didn’t let the teachers down after 3 months of training.

During the preparation, did you encounter any difficulties? If you did, what did you do to overcome those difficulties?

Hoang Minh (10 Chemistry 1 – Ha Noi – Amsterdam High school): To get to this day, I fell countless times on my path. The knowledge range was wide, and the practice tasks were plenty and not easy at all. Nevertheless, we got to talk to our seniors and get valuable experience and advice from them. We could also ask our teachers directly anything we did not understand. 

The teachers and students in the commendation ceremony of Ha Noi Department of Education and Training

To us, your results are extremely admirable. Do you have any tips in study?

Duc Hieu (10 Chemistry 1 – Ha Noi – Amsterdam High school): Actually, I don’t have many tips to share. The most important thing is to prioritize self-study. Apart from learning in class, you should also read more documents to improve your knowledge of the main sections. Plus, sense of responsibility as a student is also very important.

After this year’s IJSO, do you have any plan with your life and your science study? 

Minh Chau (10 Biology – Ha Noi – Amsterdam High school): During this competition, I had the opportunity to meet students from different countries with different cultures. I was most impressed with students from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong as they were not only excellent scholars but they were also very friendly. For that reason, I would love to get a scholarship to study in China – a country with an innovative and unique education. In the future, I would also love to become an agricultural engineer to support Vietnamese farmers and elevate Vietnamese agriculture.

Ams wide web would like to congratulate the teachers who instructed our IJSO team for the last three months and our students in the IJSO team on the impressive performance. We hope that there will be even further achievements by our students in international competitions.

Reporter: Khanh Vi – Literature 1720

Photos: Mai Nhat Minh – History 1619 

Translator: Ha Phuong – English 1 1619