上海耀中国际学校转变学习环境 - 2014年08月26日

SHANGHAI is a city of transitions. New restaurants appear overnight, construction rattles along seemingly everywhere, and friends and classmates come and go as families move in and out of the city. In this constantly evolving community, both children and parents need a reliable support network to guide them through new environments and schedules, especially with the new school year starting.

At Yew Chung International School of Shanghai (YCIS), there are a number of ways the staff and faculty provide support to the entire school community. The school ensures all types of transitions go smoothly for families, starting with children’s first transition into school life.

Veronica Martin, the Early Childhood Education (ECE) coordinator at YCIS’s Regency Park campus, helps guide parents and students through this phase. She says, “Starting Kindergarten is a huge adjustment, and is often the first time families are introduced to school life. To make sure families adjust successfully, we spend time with each family, and all families go through a process at YCIS such that parents are able to see firsthand how teachers will interact with and take care of their child at school, and children have the opportunity to get a feel for the school’s environment. By helping both the parents and children feel comfortable, we are able to ease into this important change successfully.”

YCIS also recognizes the importance of preparing children as they transition from Kindergarten to Primary, and from Primary to Secondary. Starting with the move into Primary, YCIS begins holding transition classes in the spring for Kindergarten (K4) students. The students become familiar with all of the new classes that they will experience the following year, ranging from participating in the unique YCIS violin program, to studying Information & Communication Technology (ICT). Additionally, the school starts introducing students to new teachers, new classrooms, and even new cafeteria processes to help them settle in smoothly in the fall.

In the transition from Primary to Secondary, YCIS arranges for Primary students to visit and experience Secondary classes during an “induction day.” The students have the chance to see what it will be like in the higher-level classes, and to meet some of their future teachers.

Robert Watson, Primary vice principal at YCIS’s Regency Park and Century Park campuses, helps oversee these internal transitions at the school. He says, “We work hard to ensure all transitions for students moving from one section to another are as smooth as possible. This includes preparing not only the students for what lies ahead, but also their parents and our teachers.”

In fact, YCIS parents and teachers are actively involved in every transition. The school arranges parent information sessions, where new programs are explained in detail and parents learn how to best support their child in the next stage. YCIS also sets up cross-phase meetings for teachers in the transition years, where curricula, programs, goals, and targets for students are discussed.

Notably, another big change occurs when a child moves to a completely new school or to a new city, like Shanghai. Terence Dayes, vice principal at YCIS Shanghai’s Gubei campus, helps lead orientation sessions for new students. During this process, students and their families are introduced to the campus, the teachers, and the school’s culture, philosophy, and objectives.

He notes, “During orientation, we highlight how involved our families are at YCIS. It’s important for children to take part in school activities, and when a student feels included in a community, they feel confident to grow and try new things. We ask our parents to help create these involvement opportunities, too.” After orientation, when every new student officially starts at YCIS, one or more “buddies” (fellow classmates) help the student quickly settle in and become part of their new social community. The school’s Parent Organizations also plan events to welcome all new families, including the annual, traditional “YCIS New Families Barbecue.”

For families, often the most difficult transition of all is when they must return to their home country. To help with this transition, YCIS offers emotional as well as procedural support, such as sending references. Although it’s never easy to see students repatriate, the school helps prepare students and families well for their next step.

Transitions are an important part of the school life cycle. By offering support to students and their parents, YCIS helps the entire community find their niche and settle well within the school environment, so students can find their pathway to success at school and beyond.