Message from the Principal

Dear Parents,
家长们，

This week we have held a series of online webinars to replace our face-to-face Meet the Teacher event held in previous years.  The teachers have all been very excited and pleased by the opportunity to talk with parents and to showcase the learning for the upcoming academic year.  There have been a number of curricular changes and educational improvements this year and I hope you had the chance to hear more about which will benefit your child.  These events do not, and were not intended to, replace an individual conversation between parents and teacher.  We know how invaluable these are, and how much we all look forward to meeting and talking about our main focus — how to help your child be successful, to achieve more than they thought possible and to realise their dreams.  Last week we published the reporting schedule and you will have noticed in October we have scheduled dates to allow for individual parent-teacher meetings.  This is the time to really talk about your child, their strengths and areas for development, and how they are dealing with school life socially and emotionally.  By then the majority of our teachers will be back in Chengdu and had time in school teaching classes directly again — something which they may not have done for more than six months.  For our experienced team of dedicated, highly qualified teachers though it’s just like riding a bike — you never forget how!  As we always say though, if you have a pressing concern, issue to discuss or question, don’t wait until those dates — please do get in touch before and we can help.
本周，我们举办了一系列在线视频会议，以取代往年举办的“与教师见面”活动。老师们都非常兴奋和高兴有机会与家长们交谈，并展示本学年的学习内容。今年有很多课程的变化以及教学的改进，我希望您有机会听到更多对您的孩子相关的有利信息。这些在线视频会议并不会取代任何家长与教师之间的单独沟通。我们知道沟通是多么的无价，我们都很期待与大家见面，讨论我们的主要关注点——如何帮助您的孩子取得成功，取得比他们想象的更多的成就，实现他们的梦想。上周，我们公布了学生报告时间表，您会注意到，我们已经在10月份安排了一对一的家长和教师会议。现在是时候真正谈谈您的孩子，他们的优势和发展领域，以及他们如何在社会和情感上应对学校生活。到那时，我们的大多数教师将回到成都到学校上课-这可能是他们六个多月没有做过的事情。对于我们经验丰富、敬业、高素质的教师团队来说，这就像骑自行车一样-你永远不会忘记怎么做的！不过，正如我们常说的，如果您有紧迫的问题要讨论或询问，不必等到设定的日期-请务必提前联系我们，我们可以提供帮助。
 
I know many parents are asking as well about the class lists after October when the classes are split and our teachers have returned.  Now we have completed the Meet the Teacher events, our teachers are currently working on creating the very best mix of children, to promote academic achievement, personal growth and development, whilst taking care to consider friendships and an even balance of first languages spoken, among a range of other factors.  This is not a task we take lightly, and as a result we spend time to get it right.  We hope to publish these lists next week if possible, to allow you all time to prepare.
我知道很多家长也在问10月份教师返校后的分班名单。我们已经完成了“与教师会面”的活动，目前，我们的老师们正在努力创造一个最佳的学生调配，以促进学业成就、个人成长和发展，同时考虑到友谊和母语的平衡，以及其他一系列因素。我们很重视这个任务，因此我们要花时间把它做好。如果可能的话，我们希望下周公布名单，以便你们有时间准备。
 
Upper Primary had a very informative assembly this morning capably led by the pupils from Year 5. They spoke about the very relevant topic of bullying, and how to act in difficult situations. The dramatic skills of the pupils from Year 5 was a highlight of the assembly. This is key for our school and we take the well-being and happiness of our students very seriously. They also had Upper Primary's first “Star of the Week” presentations. Congratulations to Leo and Hannah from Year 6, Milana and Christopher from Year 5 and  Crius from Year 4. Well done to all of our students for a super effort and I look forward to our next assembly in 2 weeks time, where we should have Ms. Tessa Butler back to help Year 6 with their production. 
 小学高年级学生今天上午举行了5年级以上学生主导的非正式集会。他们谈到了欺凌相关的话题，以及在困境时做出相应的反应。五年级学生的戏剧技巧是集会中的一大亮点。这是我们学校的教学关键，我们非常重视学生的幸福与快乐。他们还举行了小学高年级的第一届“本周最佳明星”评选。祝贺六年级的Leo和Hannah，五年级的Milana和Christopher，四年级的Crius。所有学生的努力都值得肯定，我期待着两周后我们的下一次集会，到那时Tessa Butler老师将回归帮助六年级学生完成他们的作品。
 
I finish this week by sharing the success of one of our Year 10 students, Sheryl Zha, who recently finished in first place in the  8^th National Speech & Debate Tournament.  This is a fantastic achievement by Sheryl, and one in which we are all incredibly proud — well done!  Read more about Sheryl’s amazing experience, from her own point of view here.
最后，我要和大家分享一下我们十年级学生Sheryl Zha取得的成功，她最近在第八届全国演讲和辩论赛中获得第一名。这是Sheryl的一个了不起的成就，也是我们所有人都感到无比自豪——干的太棒了！请从Sheryl自己的角度，了解更多关于她的惊人经历。
 
Have a great weekend,
祝您周末愉快.


Tom Ferguson
校长Principal