This Week at NAIS Pudong

Following on from our outstanding 100% A*/A grades in the Additional Maths IGCSEs this year, it’s worth remembering that critical to our students continually developing skills in secondary school, is an outstanding preliminary understanding of maths in primary school, and this week our young learners have been working incredibly hard to build some of those core areas.

Year 2 – Confident Maths Learners (Numbers and Place Value)  

In Year 2A, children confidently learned to compare and order numbers from 1 to 100. They recognised the place value of two-digit numbers and used this to solve problems. They incorporated number lines and used these symbols to compare numbers:  less than (<), more than (>), and equals (=) symbols. Children used pictorials to show understanding and problem-solving skills.  

Children learned:  

·       The value of two-digit numbers.  

·       To identify, represent and estimate numbers.  

·       To compare numbers 0-100.  

·       Read and write numbers up to at least 100.  

·       To use place value and number facts to solve problems.  

Year 2B have been confident learners this week too, exploring concepts with base 10. Students who are exposed to concrete resources and have a solid foundation of understanding are able to transfer this to pictorial and abstract situations. By using the table to draw our part-whole models, students are able to quickly interact with the learning environment and explore the resources in a way that suits their mathematical thinking. In turn, they can create links and deepen their understanding as they naturally progress through the unit of learning. If students encounter some obstacles in their learning journey, they are confident enough to explore the problems they are faced with by way of concrete resources first. 

Secondary Academics

Confident Speakers: A Student Perspective

At NAIS Pudong, our students have the opportunity to learn multiple languages. Polyglots – those who know or use several languages - are not only appreciated but cherished in society, and are often given a huge additional range of opportunities in life as a result of this incredible ability.  This is the perspective of our Year 11 students who are taking languages seriously. 

Lwiza:  Spanish, French, Portuguese, Mandarin and English

“Already from a very young age, I was introduced to several languages, the first of which - believe it or not -was Polish, as the first two years of my life were spent in Poland. My family has always been one to move a lot so with relocations to new countries, the languages taught in those schools would vary. Nevertheless, at home, Portuguese, French, and English were always heard from all corners of the house.”

Beatrice: Italian, Spanish, Mandarin and English

“For a large part of my life, I always spoke one language, but had an opportunity to change country and understand how important language is for everything in life and for your culture. Now that I’m in an international school in China, I can understand how much language can help with everything, from making new friends to travelling the world.  Perhaps the most important thing though, is for yourself because you increase your perspective.  This year I’ve met people from every part of the world, and I was so curious to learn new words that can be used in my daily life. I think this is one step closer to understanding how languages shape the way you think. 

My classmates also appreciate that I am making an attempt to learn and communicate in their native tongue. Speaking more languages is a major advantage in the workforce and I think that is a fantastic skill for everyone.  “

Max: Spanish, English and Mandarin 

“In my experience, learning different languages has given me the opportunity to learn from different sources, but also the opportunity to study here in NAIS Pudong. I am also learning Chinese and I would really like to speak it fluently; my dad thinks it’ll be the language that everyone will be speaking in future because of China’s fast growing economy, so I think I will have a competitive advantage in future.  I would like to learn additional languages in the future as it will not only give me a distinctive trait but I could also show it off to my friends as a cool “trick” that many others don’t have.”

Nina: English, Mandarin, Croatian and French

“Learning a foreign language has many benefits to an individual and it opens opportunities for one to discover the different cultures and literatures unique to individual countries. In my experience, foreign languages have helped me to explore the differences between lifestyles, thoughts, beliefs and even foods from different places. Foreign languages also open one’s view of the world to develop an open mind and an unbiased way of looking at new things.  It makes us respect thoughts and ideas that may have been previously deemed unacceptable, and it turns our view of the world from domestic to international without traveling or talking with an individual from the area. Hooray for foreign languages!”