Biography:

1. Nguyen Bang Thanh Lam – 10 Chemistry 1

Achievements: First prize District round, Second prize City round Competition for gifted 9-graders

Hobbies: Conducting experiments

Zodiac sign: Leo

                    Thanh Lam loves to carry out experiments in Chemistry

2. Mai Dang Quan Anh – 10 Math 1

Nickname: Monkey

Achievements: First prize District round, First prize City round Competition for gifted 9-graders

Hobbies: Reading books, sleeping

                       Quan Anh is a stylish guy with his unique personality

3. Nguyen Duc Quang- 10 Physics 1

Hobbies: FIFA, badminton

Zodiac sign: Libra

                       Quang, the conscientious student

4. Dinh Anh Dung- 10 Physics 1

Achievements: Second prize District round Competition for gifted 9-graders

Hobbies: Observing chemical reactions

Zodiac sign: Libra

                           Dung always has an adorable smile

5. Nguyen Minh Chinh – 10 Physics 1

Achievements: First prize District round, Second prize City round Competition for gifted 9-graders

Hobbies: Playing sports

Zodiac sign: Pisces

                           He is very manly indeed!

Hello! You must have had memorable experiences during the time you studied to prepare for the competition. Could you share some of the happy memories you cherish the most back then?

Chinh: On the first days studying there, we we’re really impressed with the service our team got: being provided with delicious food, sleeping in air-conditioned rooms, and being properly taken care of.  Once we got used to it, we also realized that along with those incentives came a great responsibility for our school and our country. In class, the teachers often tried to make us laugh so that we would be in high spirits as well.

Did the activity of revising and preparing for such an important event occupy most of your time? How were you able to find the balance between studying and having fun?

Lam: Of course, in order to be ready for a competition on the international scale like IJSO, I did have to spend a relatively large amount of time on studying. Nevertheless, my lifestyle hadn’t changed much since we were allowed to cut down on formal classes ! (He laughs)

Chinh: Ngay Hoi Anh Tai’s final was held on the night just before the selection exam for our team, we studied until 5 p.m and stayed at school afterwards to participate in the final with our crew. It was 11 o’clock when we came home. I’m still playing around a lot, only Duc Quang has the determination to study for 6 hours a day !

Quang: Honestly, I considered myself not as good as my friends so I put aside a lot of time to prepare for the competition. I had erased all of the video games on my computer, the rest of my spare time was spent on sleeping!

 So, while you were working with the team, did you encounter any difficulties and how did you manage to overcome them?

Lam: Well, probably the biggest obstacle was to learn things that were supposed to be taught in grade 11 and 12, which means we had to accumulate a huge amount of knowledge in a short period of time. In addition, we also had to brush up on our English. The teachers were always enthusiastic in helping us, from reminding us to have meals and rest when we had to stay overnight at school to study, to the times when they translated old examination papers for us so that we could get used to the format and develop exam skills.

Quan Anh: In order to acquire this enormous amount of information effectively, you should go to bed at 10:30 to maintain a good health, and read a lot of books!

Chinh: We were snowed under with studies while preparing; therefore, a lot of assistance was needed from our teachers. They were always passionate: giving us their email address, telephone number and even their Facebook so that we could contact them whenever we encountered difficult exercises.

Quang: I mostly struggled with Math as there were so many things I hadn’t learned before, thus applying those theories to practical exercises was no picnic. To cope with it, I occasionally revised my notebook and asked Monkey for advice!

Not only concentrating on theories, the IJSO team also focused on carrying out experiments

Could you share with us some advice on studying effectively, especially natural science subjects?

Lam: As far as I’m concerned, natural science subjects, especially Biology, need to be thoroughly understood, rather than learnt by heart like many people think.

Chinh: You must read, and read with methods; reading a lot isn’t always good! Then you’ve got to have a specific study method that suits yourself, such as drawing mind maps or charts to summarize lessons.

Quang: In Physics you have to imagine and be quick witted, and in Chemistry you need to learn the basics well, as a miss is as good as a mile.

After rounds of fierce competition, what shortcomings do you think you had and how did you overcome those shortcomings?

Lam: A major shortcoming is that we are not bad at any subject in particular, but all the subjects.

Quan Anh: Each of us has a different way to overcome our shortcomings. To me, it’s always trying my best, staying healthy, eating moderately and never studying all night. (Laugh)

Chinh: I realized that my knowledge, of Biology especially, was superficial comparing to others in the team. So I tried to read the textbooks beforehand everyday in order to understand what the teachers said in classes. Thanks to that my ability to self-learn improved dramatically.

Quang: My shortcoming lied in the calculation. I could only work harder and do more exercises to get used to the techniques! 

What are your goals in this competition?

Lam: First we’ve got to maintain last year’s

achievement, which is 1 Gold Medal and 5 Silver

Medals. In addition to that we will try to gain 1

more Gold Medal.

Chinh: My goal is simply overcoming myself and trying to do my best to bring glory to our country.

Quang: To me, earning a medal is pleasing enough. (Laugh)

Thanh Lam and Quan Anh visit the Temple of Literature together before the important competition

Thank you very much! Wish you all the best in the competition!

The IJSO team has been achieving a lot of success, bringing glory to Hanoi and Vietnam. In 2013, the Vietnam IJSO team achieved 1 Gold medal and 5 Silver medals; the Gold medal belonged to Le Manh Tuan – a Hanoi-Amsterdam student. In order to achieve such success, besides the effort of individuals was the thoughtfulness of the School managing board, especially Mr. Ho Quoc Viet – Vice principal, as well as the zeal of the teachers. Let us all hope that the 2014 IJSO team will maintain previous years’ achievement and change the color of the medals to reach the highest goal!

Reporter: Phương Linh Văn 14-17

Translator: Hoang Trung A1 14-17