After the Cold Dew, it has been a month since the start of school at Yew Chung Yew Wah Beijing Yizhuang. The campus at the start of the new school year is filled with the excitement and excitement of old students, as well as the tension and restraint of new students to varying degrees. New school year, new environment, new teachers and classmates, adults would be nervous, let alone children.

Therefore, just after the National Holiday, we focused on the new students. Have they adapted to the new campus life? How does the school help new students adapt to new classes, new teachers and classmates? What changes do parents of new students feel their children have made since coming to Yew Chung Yew Wah?

New Student Adjustment Month

Grace, the Whole School Coordinator, at Yew Chung Yew Wah, shared: "At Yew Chung Yew Wah, there is a ‘New Student Adjustment Plan’ in the first month of each semester. During this month, teachers will arrange interesting activities to help enhance emotional communication with new students, enhance communication between children, and communicate frequently with parents to help new students adapt to the new environment."

ECE - Entering Collective Life

Lydia, the ECE Coordinator, said: "For the new ECE students in the Yew Chung Yew Wah, the main issue in the first month of school is to help children 'painlessly' separate from their parents. Although it's not really painless, we have a very complete system to help children learn to separate from their parents and transition from small family life to orderly collective life.

The first month of school is very critical, and we have specifically developed a clear schedule. The general content of this schedule is how long the child comes to school each day, whether there is parental accompaniment, how long the accompaniment lasts, what the child and parents need to do, etc. Of course, at different stages of school entry, the degree of adaptation will be different, so the schedule will also be different.

For example: In the first three days of school, parents need to accompany their children until11 am, allowing the children to gradually become familiar and trustful with the environment, rather than pulling them into a strange environment all at once. Starting from the fourth day, the children start to leave their parents and enter the class on their own. Children who are willing to be alone can be alone, those who want to make friends can make friends, and they can even go to other classes to choose activities they like. After the first week, our goal is to let the children be able to stay in the class for a whole morning without the care of their parents. In the second week, we will start exploring the campus with the children, such as where is the library, what does the library teacher look like... gradually expanding to explore in a larger world.

Primary and Secondary - Saying Hello to the New Campus

The students in Primary and Secondary are quite different from the ECE children. If the main issue for new ECE students is separation, then for children in Primary and Secondary, the main issue is integration. How to help them adapt to the classroom rhythm in a new environment, adapt to the multi-person teaching method of Chinese and foreign teachers, and adapt to new partners... are their tasks in the first month.

Grace shared with us: "On the first day of school, we are not in a hurry to let the new students enter the hardcore teaching mode, but let the teachers and classmates break the ice first, get familiar with the new environment, new teachers, and new companions in the game. We divide the first month into three stages, giving children a challenge at each stage, step by step. In the process of completing the challenges, children gradually have a deeper understanding of the school and gradually adapt to the new environment."

The 1st Stage: Understanding

Firstly, we will take the new students on a tour of the entire campus, letting them learn about the school's history, as well as the locations of classrooms, violin rooms, libraries, dining halls, swimming pools, gymnasiums, piano rooms, medical rooms, restrooms, and so on, so that the children can familiarize themselves with various functional areas of the school.

The 2nd Stage: Communication

Starting from the second stage, we will launch small challenges for the new students. We ask the child to freely choose three people in the school, try to chat with them, and try to make friends. These three people can be students, teachers, or school staff. We ask the new students to try exchanging names, classes, or departments with the other party, understand what they usually do, and what their hobbies are. At the end of the challenge, the new students fill out a “Friend Information Card”, and the teacher helps the new students share the three new friends they have met at school.

The 3rd Stage: Leadership

As new students become more and more familiar with the school and their peers, teachers will launch another challenge - in daily class management activities, each time a new student is asked to be the group leader. For example, the line-up team leader, homework collection team leader, etc. In this way, new students can gradually develop a sense of ownership in the new environment.

When it comes to the adaptation month for new students, teachers have a lot to share. During this month of adjustment, children may experience all sorts of situations - they may be full of surprises, or they may be silent... But aren't these the most genuine and valuable experiences in growth?

Michael, a K3 student, had never been away from his family before school started. In the second week after starting school, he still couldn't separate from his parents. Considering his individual differences, the teacher first communicated with Michael's parents to see if his schedule and arrangements could be adjusted: first let the parents and child participate in school activities together to experience the fun of school activities; then tell Michael that his parents will leave for a while and come back in the afternoon... Gradually separating, Michael knew when his parents would pick him up, and slowly established trust with the teacher, finding a sense of belonging in the new environment. Finally, he completely separated from his parents in the first month and began to enjoy the fun of collective life. Even in the last week of September, he became the door-opening team leader in his class. Every time the class lined up to go out, he helped everyone open the door, fulfilling his responsibilities dutifully.

Bella, a Primary teacher, couldn't help but share with us about the adaptation situation of the new students: "As soon as the school started, we conducted ice-breaking activities in the class for the new students. We asked the children to find 3 new friends within 10-15 minutes, ask them about their situation and note down the details: such as whether they are boys or girls, how old they are, what they like, and then they can make new friends. In the ice-breaking session, we first let the more outgoing children start the conversation and make friends. Some outgoing children can take the initiative on their own, quickly find friends and even exceed the task. Some introverted and shy children don't dare to initiate conversations on their own, so we would have those more outgoing children take them along to find friends, bringing them closer to each other."

Bella also mentioned “Leadership”: "How to motivate children to exercise their deficiencies and cultivate their various abilities? Cultivating leadership can help children. At the beginning of the school, children often forget to bring homework, water bottles, and other things. A student named Xiao Cui tends to forget to bring everything. When we were electing the daily affairs team leader, we encouraged Xiao Cui to become the group leader for managing water bottles. This leadership role immediately gave Xiao Cui a sense of mission. After school, he no longer dawdled, he quickly packed his backpack first, then pointed at the water bottle on the table and asked everyone, 'Whose water bottle is this? Don't forget to take it home...' In just a few minutes, he had clearly arranged for everyone what they needed to take home when leaving school."

Seeing these details of progress, it's clear that after a month, the new students at Yew Chung Yew Wah Beijing Yizhuang Campus have integrated into campus life. They come to school every day full of energy and with a thirst for knowledge and new life. This month, they not only adapted to the new learning environment but also made many new friends. Whether in the classroom or in extracurricular activities, they all show a positive attitude and curiosity about new things. Their laughter and active figures have become the most beautiful scenery on campus.

Under the careful guidance and help of the teachers, the academic studies of the new students are gradually on track. In addition to the main courses, they are also learning violin, orchestra, drama, swimming, badminton, etc. These activities not only enrich their spare time but also improve their comprehensive qualities. This is also the hope of the teachers at Yew Chung Yew Wah. We hope our children can not only learn rich knowledge but also gain a positive mindset and a friendly and helpful circle of friends at school.