在我們的學(xué)校里，有這樣一群初中生，他們來自不同的背景：從公立出走，從體制外轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)，與狄邦華曜在創(chuàng)校之初牽手，或中途加入相伴至今。

(相關(guān)資料圖)

這些學(xué)者與他們的家長選擇這里，究竟是看中了什么？期待著什么？懷抱著這樣的期待，孩子學(xué)習(xí)生活下來，又是否收獲了一份滿意的答卷呢？

我們采訪了Yolanda、Eline兩位7年級(jí)學(xué)者的家長。她們的孩子曾經(jīng)是同班同學(xué)，在小升初的階段，先后進(jìn)入狄邦華曜。轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)適應(yīng)的這段時(shí)期，面對(duì)孩子的變化，她們有很多話想說……

In our school, there is a group of Middle Grades scholars who come from different backgrounds: those who left public schools, those who transferred from bilingual school, those who joined hands with Dipont Huayao Collegiate School at the beginning of the school"s establishment, or those who joined halfway and have been accompanying us until now.

What did these scholars and their parents see and expect when they chose this school? With such expectations, did their children"s learning and life yield a satisfactory answer?

We interviewed the parents of Yolanda and Eline, two Grade 7 scholars who were once classmates and entered HC successively in the transition to Middle Grades. In this period of adaptation to the transfer, faced with their children"s changes, they had a lot to say...

分層激勵(lì)

學(xué)習(xí)自主性的養(yǎng)成

Yolanda進(jìn)入到小學(xué)高年級(jí)時(shí)，媽媽帶她去參加了課外純美式教學(xué)的英語培訓(xùn)。晚間3個(gè)小時(shí)的學(xué)習(xí)，課程內(nèi)容豐富且充滿趣味性，讓她每次都覺得意猶未盡，也變得更加敢于開口用英文去表達(dá)和交流了。

這一發(fā)現(xiàn)牽動(dòng)了Yolanda媽媽的心：如果把孩子送到環(huán)境和培訓(xùn)班一樣的學(xué)校里，身邊圍繞著類似配置的老師，學(xué)習(xí)正有點(diǎn)泄勁的孩子會(huì)不會(huì)更愿意去努力？

作為體制內(nèi)教育出身的人，Yolanda媽媽在向往著西方教育模式的同時(shí)，也對(duì)打好基礎(chǔ)這件事非常看重。她很早就認(rèn)識(shí)到，所謂的精英教育，并不是讓孩子在條件優(yōu)渥的學(xué)校里被放養(yǎng)，而是能夠利用資源，接受較為全面的訓(xùn)練。

她立刻想到了曾經(jīng)參訪過的狄邦華曜學(xué)校，和自己對(duì)于理想中的學(xué)校的想象十分吻合。盡管當(dāng)時(shí)已經(jīng)拿下了其他離家更近的學(xué)校的Offer，Yolanda一家還是決定選擇昆山，開啟新生活。

學(xué)校針對(duì)來自不同背景的學(xué)者，會(huì)進(jìn)行學(xué)術(shù)能力評(píng)估，采取靈活的分層制指導(dǎo)教學(xué)，分層的學(xué)科不僅有常見的數(shù)學(xué)、英語，還包括語文、科學(xué)。

初中分為CP、CP-A、ECP、ECP-I四個(gè)層級(jí)，剛剛轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)過來的孩子因?yàn)闆]有參加學(xué)校的測驗(yàn)，是從最基礎(chǔ)的層級(jí)開始上課。在好勝心的驅(qū)動(dòng)下，Yolanda通過不到一個(gè)月的努力，不斷調(diào)整自己的層級(jí)，目前已經(jīng)基本都升入了最高的ECP-I。

Y同學(xué)課表：英語CP-A，物理ECP-I，數(shù)學(xué)ECP-I，語文ECP，化學(xué)ECP

這樣的進(jìn)步并不是個(gè)例，在入學(xué)一段時(shí)間后，Yolanda發(fā)覺盡管學(xué)習(xí)氛圍寬松，身邊的同學(xué)卻沒有一個(gè)人是不在乎成績的。大家為了更好的個(gè)人表現(xiàn)、更高層級(jí)知識(shí)的掌握、為班級(jí)做出更多的貢獻(xiàn)，持續(xù)地提升著自我。

也正因如此，浸潤于良性競爭的氛圍里，同學(xué)之間互相影響、互相促進(jìn)。

Yolanda媽媽明顯地感受到了孩子身上發(fā)生的變化：

“以前孩子的作業(yè)我都是要檢查的，也會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)很多錯(cuò)誤，但現(xiàn)在我已經(jīng)不怎么去關(guān)心她的作業(yè)了。一方面是制度給予的便利，很多作業(yè)通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)提交，家長可以使用IntSchool隨時(shí)查看反饋；另一方面她確實(shí)變得主動(dòng)在意起作業(yè)的質(zhì)量，老師的意見或是鼓勵(lì)，都會(huì)吸收成為下一次改正和提高的動(dòng)力。”

不僅是文字類的作業(yè)，很多個(gè)性化的Project，Yolanda和小伙伴也從不會(huì)把它當(dāng)成差事去應(yīng)付。任務(wù)布置下來后，需要準(zhǔn)備的設(shè)備或材料，她都會(huì)主動(dòng)請(qǐng)家長幫忙，約同學(xué)一起商討、互相督促著完成各自負(fù)責(zé)的部分。幾次的項(xiàng)目在最終評(píng)分上，Yolanda的小組都拿到了滿分的好成績。

Eline媽媽對(duì)于學(xué)習(xí)主動(dòng)性這件事也抱有同感。

小升初這一時(shí)期，在她看來正值孩子自我意識(shí)萌芽的階段。不少初中生在這個(gè)年齡愛玩，愛打游戲，也會(huì)對(duì)家長敦促學(xué)習(xí)產(chǎn)生抵觸情緒。

但通過Eline的表現(xiàn)，她發(fā)現(xiàn)孩子身邊的同學(xué)們，會(huì)有學(xué)業(yè)上的比拼。分班層級(jí)制度的存在，讓大家對(duì)于自己的成績有所要求，主動(dòng)報(bào)名不同的課程，從旁觀者角度來看甚至有些“內(nèi)卷”。這種“內(nèi)卷”并非負(fù)面意義的，而是在適當(dāng)?shù)膲毫χ拢瑢で筇嵘谋憩F(xiàn)。

學(xué)校老師定期輸出針對(duì)每個(gè)學(xué)生的個(gè)性化成長報(bào)告，根據(jù)評(píng)估體系做出哪些方面表現(xiàn)優(yōu)異、哪些方便仍待加強(qiáng)的反饋。當(dāng)Eline在轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)初的適應(yīng)期發(fā)現(xiàn)自己英語還不夠好的時(shí)候，除了平時(shí)在學(xué)校多抓住機(jī)會(huì)練習(xí)，年級(jí)尚低的她還開始思考：是不是可以參加例如托福一類的英語測試，嘗試看看自己的水平在哪里。

狄邦華曜的教學(xué)及評(píng)價(jià)設(shè)置，正是這樣能從根源激發(fā)孩子們的學(xué)習(xí)動(dòng)力，進(jìn)而在初中階段打好學(xué)習(xí)習(xí)慣及思維習(xí)慣的基礎(chǔ)，幫助學(xué)者們運(yùn)用到更多的學(xué)習(xí)場景之中。

學(xué)生活動(dòng)

音體美精彩不斷，沉浸式英語氛圍

Eline和Yolanda在轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)過來之后，快速地融入了這里。豐富的Life-Block課程以及各類社團(tuán)活動(dòng)讓她們感受到了不同于往的校園生活，也在各類極具特色的實(shí)踐中，找到了自己的價(jià)值及熱情所在。

一直以來，Eline媽媽都認(rèn)為她是個(gè)比較內(nèi)秀、不愛表達(dá)的孩子。但在一次好友家庭聚會(huì)上，面對(duì)其他家長對(duì)于Eline轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)后的體驗(yàn)的提問，她侃侃而談，說出了很多學(xué)校的優(yōu)點(diǎn)和自己的真實(shí)感受。

這一刻Eline媽媽發(fā)現(xiàn)也許孩子并非性格膽怯，而是有表達(dá)的意愿和想法，卻缺乏鼓勵(lì)和機(jī)會(huì)。在狄邦華曜的歷練，讓她在語言或是個(gè)人的表達(dá)上都實(shí)現(xiàn)了量變到質(zhì)變的進(jìn)化。

在最近學(xué)校主辦的反霸凌展演上，Eline擔(dān)任了戲劇演出的主角之一。整出作品是戲劇老師Matt帶領(lǐng)學(xué)生們?cè)趦芍軆?nèi)排出來的。牽動(dòng)人心的劇情和飽滿的情緒表演感染了現(xiàn)場的許多人，Eline媽媽在被女兒的表現(xiàn)驚艷之余，也深深帶入了角色之中而感動(dòng)落淚。首次扛起主角大旗，收獲如此的贊譽(yù)，也讓她對(duì)于戲劇表演產(chǎn)生濃厚的興趣。

Eline去年加入了學(xué)生會(huì)，加入之初，面臨諸多需要對(duì)外溝通的工作，顯得有些退縮。十分關(guān)注個(gè)人狀態(tài)的導(dǎo)師并沒有放過這個(gè)細(xì)節(jié)，她認(rèn)為Eline有能力、也有資格去完成學(xué)生會(huì)的工作，于是一步又一步推動(dòng)并肯定著Eline的表現(xiàn)。

“自信和經(jīng)驗(yàn)是共同體，沒有自信是因?yàn)闆]有經(jīng)驗(yàn)，積累了足夠的經(jīng)驗(yàn)之后會(huì)變得更加自信。學(xué)生會(huì)的主持工作Eline輪到過兩次，老師反饋她可能還是會(huì)怯場，但在鼓勵(lì)和支持之下，能看得到孩子的進(jìn)步是很快的。有進(jìn)步的趨勢，我相信她的表達(dá)能力就會(huì)越來越好。”

Yolanda也充分地利用著校內(nèi)的條件，拓展自己的興趣愛好。上學(xué)期她加入了游泳社，享受著運(yùn)動(dòng)帶來的暢快；這學(xué)期則報(bào)名了延展課，跟著老師學(xué)習(xí)直播相關(guān)的知識(shí)和技術(shù)，在學(xué)校的大型音樂會(huì)、體育賽事時(shí)，完成整個(gè)現(xiàn)場的直播。

她作為攝影，參加了學(xué)校籃球比賽的全程直播。活動(dòng)當(dāng)天持續(xù)到很晚，回家后的Yolanda難掩激動(dòng)之情，和家人分享了許多現(xiàn)場的細(xì)節(jié)，拍攝了哪些畫面，在什么平臺(tái)發(fā)布。言語中的自豪與熱切讓Yolanda媽媽十分觸動(dòng)。

“她可能只是一個(gè)初學(xué)者，拍攝出來的東西不一定是最精美的。但完全由學(xué)生主導(dǎo)的事務(wù)，讓她其中發(fā)揮了屬于自己的作用，收獲了經(jīng)驗(yàn)和積極的能量，我覺得這是特別有意義的。”

直播的成就感，讓Yolanda對(duì)攝影越發(fā)感興趣，主動(dòng)申請(qǐng)?jiān)诖河蔚然顒?dòng)中擔(dān)當(dāng)記錄者。她還進(jìn)一步考慮，是不是可以將這一愛好深入地探索下去，作為未來可能的發(fā)展方向之一。

演講課也幫助Yolanda向自信邁步。她學(xué)會(huì)了怎么樣富有邏輯地闡述觀點(diǎn)，怎樣自如大方地表達(dá)自我。演講課的助益延展到之后每一次的Presentation上，她的語言梳理更具條理，與臺(tái)下觀眾的交流和互動(dòng)也顯得成熟流暢。

狄邦華曜的延展課程和課外活動(dòng)多至上百項(xiàng)，涵蓋了音樂、體育、美術(shù)、戲劇等多元豐富的內(nèi)容。在學(xué)校中，活動(dòng)均有外教教學(xué)，在學(xué)科教育之余，持續(xù)性地提供著沉浸式的語言環(huán)境。

與學(xué)科教育相輔相成的活動(dòng)，所承載的意義不單單是為學(xué)生們拓展興趣愛好，更是為初中生提供一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)，讓他們能夠看到自己日常生活以外的世界。投身其中用自己的行動(dòng)贏得成就感，進(jìn)而深挖發(fā)現(xiàn)更多、更大的可能性。

享受資源

在競賽經(jīng)歷中快速成長

除了課程的廣度，狄邦華曜在學(xué)術(shù)的深度挖掘上也處于高水準(zhǔn)。這就不可不提競賽培養(yǎng)了。

我們自創(chuàng)校起便開始組織學(xué)生參加競賽，至今也進(jìn)入體系越加完善的第三年，以往以高中為重點(diǎn)的競賽相關(guān)安排，開始逐漸向初中部滲透。可參加的競賽不僅包含了廣為人知的各類數(shù)學(xué)大賽，也有人文、科學(xué)等其他領(lǐng)域的項(xiàng)目。

Yolanda曾參加過地理競賽。在賽前準(zhǔn)備的一兩周，她幾乎每天都和家人一起，圍繞地理相關(guān)主題展開討論。地貌的特征、地形圖的解讀、地理現(xiàn)象發(fā)生的原因……隨著學(xué)習(xí)得愈多，她愈加發(fā)現(xiàn)知識(shí)如黑洞一般，每一個(gè)知識(shí)點(diǎn)都連結(jié)著更多的知識(shí)面。

準(zhǔn)備的時(shí)間緊張，訓(xùn)練不夠充足，Yolanda首次參賽并沒有入圍。但探索帶來的興奮感，讓她深感不滿足，積極地表示希望做更全面的準(zhǔn)備，能再參加一次。

“在此之前，我們得不到競賽相關(guān)的信息，孩子也好家長也好，都對(duì)競賽的方式、內(nèi)容、過程沒什么了解。而現(xiàn)在學(xué)校這個(gè)平臺(tái)，給孩子提供了信息和眼界，讓她可以嘗試參加，在備賽中習(xí)得相關(guān)的知識(shí)和能力，也可以測試看看自己的水平在哪里。”

學(xué)校并不僅僅是一個(gè)平臺(tái)或活動(dòng)的組織者，針對(duì)競賽，也不斷在完善相應(yīng)的配套體系。

以數(shù)學(xué)競賽為例，學(xué)校開設(shè)了專門的Life block課程，根據(jù)賽程的不同，在不同學(xué)期有針對(duì)性地設(shè)置相應(yīng)培訓(xùn)。課上會(huì)講解真題，按照比賽要求實(shí)際操練，讓學(xué)生提前適應(yīng)和感受真實(shí)的賽制；

除此之外，每周一、三、五老師也會(huì)利用額外的時(shí)間進(jìn)行競賽答疑，為有需要的學(xué)生們隨時(shí)提供輔導(dǎo)。競賽協(xié)同工作的不斷精進(jìn)，讓狄邦華曜也收獲了一年比一年更好的成績。

在今年，為了鼓勵(lì)和支持孩子們通過競賽挑戰(zhàn)自我，正式推出了學(xué)科競賽獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金，凡是G7及以上的學(xué)者，在教育部門組織的學(xué)科競賽中獲得二等獎(jiǎng)以上，或是在國際權(quán)威競賽中拿下重要獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)的均可以申請(qǐng)，最高獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金金額可達(dá)50,000元。

學(xué)校時(shí)不時(shí)還會(huì)舉辦相關(guān)活動(dòng)，在類似競賽的比拼里，讓學(xué)生們于趣味中感受學(xué)科的魅力。

像是中學(xué)部數(shù)學(xué)周的“數(shù)學(xué)尋寶”活動(dòng)，孩子們先要找到圖片上指定的位置，再開始做題。活動(dòng)一邊加深著學(xué)者對(duì)校園的了解，一邊激發(fā)起他們對(duì)數(shù)學(xué)的興趣和用數(shù)學(xué)解決實(shí)際問題的能力。

Yolanda也參與到了其中，發(fā)揮著主導(dǎo)作用，她和同組的伙伴們分工協(xié)作，忙忙碌碌，最終拿到了獎(jiǎng)牌。為小組爭取到榮譽(yù)的成就感，推動(dòng)著她也對(duì)數(shù)學(xué)的興趣更大了。

“我們看到的僅僅是結(jié)果，但我相信背后整個(gè)教學(xué)團(tuán)隊(duì)在活動(dòng)內(nèi)容、日程安排的組織中付出了很多心血。這份用心以及孩子經(jīng)歷之后所表現(xiàn)出來的狀態(tài)，都是讓我覺得受益匪淺的。”

作為一所美式寄宿學(xué)校，寄宿生活同樣是全人教育的重要部分。一方面，學(xué)術(shù)輔助到位，每天的晚自習(xí)都有資深學(xué)科老師值班，以確保學(xué)者的疑問能夠被及時(shí)解答，幫助同學(xué)們查缺補(bǔ)漏； 另一方面，小到鋪床疊被、大到如何理財(cái)，寄宿學(xué)者需要完成49項(xiàng)重要生活技能的必修和考核。在生活自理、社交能力、時(shí)間規(guī)劃等方面給予指導(dǎo)和助力。

一點(diǎn)一滴的集體生活體驗(yàn)，讓步入青春期的孩子們?cè)诘玫阶杂煽臻g的同時(shí)，逐步學(xué)會(huì)如何與他人相處，如何處理好自己的時(shí)間行程。

盡管對(duì)于7年級(jí)的學(xué)者來說，留學(xué)申請(qǐng)規(guī)劃看起來時(shí)間尚早，但包括Yolanda媽媽和Eline媽媽在內(nèi)的家長們，希望能夠得到個(gè)人成長和未來規(guī)劃上的專業(yè)交流。

我們從7年級(jí)便開啟職業(yè)初期探索，家長可以預(yù)約富有經(jīng)驗(yàn)、且了解每名學(xué)生個(gè)體的升學(xué)指導(dǎo)，進(jìn)行一對(duì)一的溝通。到了更高的年級(jí)，我們將為每一位學(xué)者配備升學(xué)指導(dǎo)，協(xié)助他們認(rèn)識(shí)自己、找到適合自己專業(yè)和大學(xué)。

轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)適應(yīng)+青春期教育的雙重挑戰(zhàn)，在狄邦華曜這里被潤物細(xì)無聲地化解了。老師們對(duì)每個(gè)學(xué)者個(gè)性的關(guān)注和把握，給諸如Yolanda媽媽、Eline媽媽這樣的家長打了一劑強(qiáng)心針。很多細(xì)小到家人可能忽略了的問題，老師也會(huì)不吝反饋。家長會(huì)上針對(duì)孩子本身實(shí)際情況所做的對(duì)談，能讓爸爸媽媽們感受到學(xué)校的專業(yè)性和認(rèn)真負(fù)責(zé)的態(tài)度。

學(xué)校以學(xué)生為中心，學(xué)生積極的反饋?zhàn)尲议L們對(duì)學(xué)校更加放心。在這樣的良性循環(huán)下，只需要放手讓孩子們自由、茁壯地成長就好。

Layered Incentives:

Fostering Learning Autonomy

When Yolanda entered the upper grades of elementary school, her mother took her to participate in extracurricular American-style English training. The three-hour evening study was rich and interesting, making her always feel unsatisfied and more willing to speak and communicate in English.

This discovery touched Yolanda"s mother"s heart: if she sent her child to a school with an environment and training class similar to this one, with teachers surrounded by a similar configuration, would the child who is currently feeling a bit lackluster be more willing to work hard?

As someone with an education background from the public school, Yolanda"s mother longed for Western education models while also attaching great importance to laying a good foundation. She realized early on that so-called elite education is not about letting children run wild in well-equipped schools but about utilizing resources and receiving more comprehensive training.

She immediately thought of Dipont Huayao Collegiate school she had visited before, which perfectly matched her ideal school vision. Although she had already received offers from other schools closer to home, the Yolanda family still decided to choose Kunshan and start a new life.

The school conducts academic ability assessments for scholars from different backgrounds and adopts flexible layered teaching guidance, with layered subjects not only in common subjects such as Mathematics and English but also in Chinese and science.

Middle Grads is divided into four levels: CP, CP-A, ECP, and ECP-I. Children who have just transferred to the school and did not participate in the school"s assessment start from the most basic level. Driven by the desire to win, Yolanda continuously adjusted her level in less than a month and has now basically moved up to the highest level, ECP-I.

This kind of progress is not exceptional. After a period of enrollment, Yolanda realized that even though the learning atmosphere was relaxed, none of her classmates did not care about their grades. Everyone continues to improve themselves for better personal performance, mastery of higher-level knowledge, and making more contributions to the class.

Therefore, immersed in a benign competitive atmosphere, classmates influence and promote each other.

Yolanda"s mother clearly felt the changes in her child:

"I used to check my child"s homework and often found mistakes, but now I don"t pay as much attention to it. On the one hand, the system provides convenience, as many assignments are submitted online and parents can use IntSchool to check feedback at any time. On the other hand, she has become more proactive in caring about the quality of her homework. She absorbs feedback from teachers or encouragement as motivation for improvement in the next round.

Not only with written assignments, but also with many personalized projects, my child and her friends never treated them as chores to be dealt with. After the task is assigned, she takes the initiative to ask her parents for help with the equipment or materials needed, and collaborates with classmates to discuss and encourage each other to complete their respective parts. In several projects, Yolanda"s group received full marks in the final evaluation.

Eline"s mother also shares the same feeling about learning initiative. In her opinion, the period of entering middle school is a stage of children"s self-awareness. Many middle school students at this age love to play games and may have resistance to their parents urging them to study.

However, through Eline"s performance, she found that her child"s classmates also have academic competition. The existence of the class level system makes everyone have certain requirements for their own grades and voluntarily sign up for different courses, which may even seem somewhat "competitive" from a bystander"s perspective. This "competition" is not a negative connotation, but rather seeking improvement under appropriate pressure.

School teachers regularly output personalized growth reports for each student, providing feedback on which areas of performance are excellent and which areas still need improvement based on the evaluation system. When Eline realized during her adaptation period after transferring schools that her English was not good enough, she not only took the opportunity to practice more in school but also started thinking about whether she could take an English test like TOEFL to see where her level was.

HC"s teaching and evaluation system can inspire children"s learning motivation from the root, and lay the foundation for good study habits and thinking habits in middle school, helping scholars apply them to more learning scenarios."

Student Activities

Exciting experiences in physical education, arts, and immersive English environment

After transferring to this school, Eline and Yolanda quickly integrated into the school community. The rich Life-Block courses and various club activities allowed them to experience a different kind of campus life, and they found their own value and passion in various distinctive practices.

Eline"s mother had always thought of her as a relatively introverted child who didn"t like to express herself. But at a friend"s family gathering, facing questions from other parents about Eline"s experience after transferring, she spoke eloquently, sharing many of the school"s advantages and her own true feelings.

At that moment, Eline"s mother realized that perhaps her child was not timid in personality, but had the willingness and ideas to express herself, but lacked encouragement and opportunities. Through Diligent and Brilliant"s training, Eline has achieved a qualitative transformation in both language and personal expression.

At a recent school anti-bullying exhibition, Eline played one of the lead roles in the drama. The play was created by drama teacher Matt and the students in just two weeks. The touching plot and full emotional performances infected many people in the audience. Eline"s mother was deeply moved and shed tears as she was amazed by her daughter"s performance. Carrying the banner of the lead role for the first time and receiving such praise, she also developed a strong interest in drama performance.

Last year, Eline joined the Student Council. At the beginning of her membership, she faced many tasks that required communication with the outside world, and she seemed a bit hesitant. However, her adviser, who was very concerned about her personal state, did not miss this detail. She believed that Eline was capable and qualified to complete the work of the Student Council, and she pushed and affirmed Eline"s performance step by step.

"Confidence and experience are a community. Lack of confidence is due to lack of experience. After accumulating enough experience, confidence will increase. Eline has hosted the Student Council"s work twice, and the teacher feedback was that she may still be nervous on stage, but with encouragement and support, the progress of the child can be seen to be very fast. With the trend of improvement, I believe her expression ability will get better and better."

Yolanda also fully utilizes the school"s conditions to expand her interests and hobbies. Last semester, she joined the swimming club and enjoyed the pleasure of sports. This semester, she enrolled in an extension course and learned live streaming-related knowledge and techniques from the teacher. During the school"s large-scale music concerts and sports events, she completed the live broadcasting of the entire event.

As a photographer, she participated in the full live broadcast of the school basketball game. The activity lasted until very late on the day, and Yolanda couldn"t conceal her excitement when she got home. She shared many details of the scene with her family, such as which scenes she had captured and on which platform she had published them. Yolanda"s mother was deeply touched by her pride and enthusiasm in her words.

"She may only be a beginner, and what she captures may not be the most beautiful. But the completely student-led affairs have allowed her to play her own role, gain experience and positive energy, which I think is particularly meaningful."

The sense of accomplishment from live streaming has made Yolanda even more interested in photography, and she took the initiative to apply to be the recorder in activities such as spring outings. She also further considered whether she could explore this hobby in-depth as one of the possible directions for future development.

The public speaking class also helped Yolanda take confident steps forward. She learned how to logically articulate her viewpoints and express herself freely and confidently. The benefits of the public speaking class extended to every subsequent presentation. Her language organization became more structured, and her communication and interaction with the audience became more mature and fluent.

Deerfield Academy"s extended curriculum and extracurricular activities include hundreds of diverse and rich contents, covering music, sports, art, drama, and more. In the school, activities are taught by foreign teachers, and in addition to subject education, they provide a continuous immersive language environment.

The meaning carried by activities that complement subject education is not only to expand scholars" interests but also to provide an opportunity for middle grades scholars to see the world beyond their daily lives. By immersing themselves in activities and gaining a sense of accomplishment through their actions, they can further dig deeper and discover more significant possibilities.

Enjoying resources

Rapid growth in competition experience

In addition to the breadth of the curriculum, HC also excels in academic depth exploration. This is largely due to the school"s emphasis on competition training.

Since its establishment, the school has been organizing students to participate in competitions. Now in its third year, the system has become more and more perfect, and competitions are no longer just for high school students, but have begun to penetrate the middle grade div. The competitions available include not only well-known math competitions, but also projects in humanities, sciences, and other fields.

Yolanda participated in a geography competition. For one or two weeks before the competition, she and her family would discuss geography-related topics almost every day. The features of landforms, the interpretation of topographic maps, the causes of geographical phenomena...the more she learned, the more she realized that knowledge is like a black hole, with each knowledge point connected to more knowledge.

Although Yolanda did not qualify in her first competition due to a lack of preparation time and training, the excitement of exploration made her unsatisfied and eager to make more comprehensive preparations and participate again.

"Before this, we could not obtain information about competitions. Both children and parents were not familiar with the methods, content, and process of competitions. Now the school platform provides information and perspectives for children to participate and gain relevant knowledge and skills through preparation, and they can also test their own level."

The school is not only a platform or organizer of activities but also continuously improves the corresponding supporting system for competitions. For example, in math competitions, the school has established a dedicated Life Block course and provides targeted training in different semesters according to different schedules. During class, real questions are explained, and actual practice is done according to the requirements of the competition, allowing students to adapt and experience the real competition in advance.

In addition, teachers also use extra time on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to provide competition counseling for students in need. The continuous improvement of competition cooperation work has also brought better results for HC year by year.

This year, to encourage and support students to challenge themselves through competitions, the school officially launched academic competition scholarships. Scholars in G7 and above who win second place or above in subject competitions organized by the education department or win important awards in international authoritative competitions can apply, with the highest scholarship amounting to 50,000 yuan.

The school also occasionally organizes related activities, allowing students to experience the charm of subjects in fun competition-like contests. For example, the "Math Treasure Hunt" activity during Middle School Math Week requires students to first find the specified locations in the pictures before starting to solve problems. The activity deepens students" understanding of the campus and inspires their interest in and ability to solve practical problems with math.

Yolanda also participated, playing a leading role. She and her teammates worked together, busy and productive, and ultimately won a medal for their group. The achievement of obtaining honor for the group pushed her to become more interested in math.

"What we see is just the result, but I believe that the entire teaching team has put in a lot of effort in organizing the activities and schedule behind the scenes. The dedication and the state exhibited by the children after the experience have greatly benefited me."

As an American boarding school, boarding life is also an important part of holistic education. On the one hand, academic assistance is in place, with senior subject teachers on duty during evening self-study every day to ensure that scholars" questions can be answered in a timely manner and help classmates fill in gaps in their knowledge. On the other hand, from making beds to managing finances, boarding scholars need to complete 49 essential life skills as a compulsory and assessed course. Guidance and assistance are provided in self-care, social skills, time management, and more.

The collective living experience bit by bit allows children who have entered adolescence to gradually learn how to get along with others and how to manage their own time schedule while gaining freedom.

Although it may seem early for G7 scholars to plan for studying abroad, parents including Yolanda"s and Eline"s hope to have personal growth and professional communication in future planning.

We begin exploring early career development from G7. Parents can make appointments for experienced college counseling that understands each student individually and have a communication. In higher grades, we will provide college counseling for each scholar to assist them in understanding themselves and finding suitable majors and universities.

The dual challenges of transferring and adapting to a new environment and adolescent education have been quietly resolved at HC. Teachers" attention and grasp of each scholar"s personality have given a boost to parents like Yolanda"s and Eline"s. Teachers will not hesitate to provide feedback on many issues that may be overlooked by family members. Dialogues based on the actual situation of the child during parent meetings can make parents feel the professionalism and responsible attitude of the school.

The school centers around the scholars, and the positive feedback from the scholars reassures parents about the school. In this virtuous cycle, all that is needed is to let the children grow freely and healthily.

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昆山狄邦華曜學(xué)校

原(昆山市上海華二學(xué)校)

2023-2024學(xué)年 招生計(jì)劃

幼兒園至高一 (10年級(jí))

5年級(jí)開始提供住宿

2-16歲中外籍學(xué)生

由狄邦教育集團(tuán)與華東師范大學(xué)第二附屬中學(xué)共同創(chuàng)辦

以”勇于探索、追求卓越”為使命

融匯中西、著眼未來的創(chuàng)新型、雙語學(xué)校