As we enter a new semester, students in grades 4 and 5 face a whole new set of transitions and challenges. As the saying goes, a good start is half the battle. To help students become more independent learners and thinkers, the school has launched a series of habilitation and safety education for children.

Safety is the cornerstone of all activities at school. To ensure school safety, a series of safety education sessions have been conducted during morning assemblies and personal growth classes. To demonstrate their understanding, the 4th and 5th graders also recorded a safety video of what they learned and felt to remind more students about campus safety.

This year, the building and location of the 4th and 5th grades have undergone changes. At the Back-to-School Day on August 31, teachers took the students through the new building and showed them where the library, water fountain, teachers’ offices, and restrooms are located and the easiest way to get to the classrooms from the front door. The students were excited to see the brand-new library at the Zhongxing Building. During the lunch break, they can bring their library cards to enter the library to check out books and enjoy a quiet reading time.

Emergency drills play a crucial role in school safety education. On September 23, the children were familiarized with the location of the emergency escape doors, escape routes, and escape precautions during the personal growth class, so that they could leave the building in a safe, orderly, and quick manner during the official drill. After arriving at the gathering place, each homeroom teacher immediately counted the number of people and reported to the principal. Through this drill, the students once again consolidated their escape skills and methods and reflected after the drill for better performance. The school will continue to conduct emergency drills to ensure that all students and staff can safely evacuate the buildings and protect themselves and others when disasters really strike!

To enrich the students’ school life, the teachers of the 4th and 5th grades use the lunch break to conduct various interesting lunch clubs. The lunchtime clubs comprise a beautiful a cappella group, a challenging English Club, and a relaxing Psychology Club. These club activities help the children to combine work and play, to better enjoy their daily school life.

Each classroom has its unique ideas for building the environment in the classroom, and as a large group, students in grades 4 and 5 have been working together to build a learning community. At the beginning of the new school year, teachers and children discussed six small things that students could accomplish in their daily school life, such as organizing the things on their desks and in their lockers, keeping their classrooms tidy, and having a leader in each class to ensure the task is carried out. This initiative allows students to take ownership of classroom management and subtly develops their independent learning skills.

Sow a seed, keep watering it, and it will slowly sprout and grow into a big tree. A child’s dream is like a little seed, which needs to be taken care of carefully. At the beginning of the new semester, we encourage our students to set short-term goals for themselves, to help them have a clearer direction to work towards and become the best version of themselves. During the personal growth class in the second week, the teachers led the children to set goals for the new semester using the “SMART” principle in different, interesting ways. Some students set goals for learning, others set goals for self-growth, and some were thinking about how they could contribute to the learning community. The teachers were pleased to see that each child had “customized” some goals for themselves that they could achieve through their own efforts. In the days to come, the teachers will continue to help the children work together towards their goals so that the seeds in their hearts will grow into a big tree soon.

We hope that the fourth and fifth graders will become more independent learners by taking responsibility and actively participating in activities.

(Written by Wu Yin, Chen Qinli Pictures by Puxi Campus Grades 4-5 Teachers Edited by Huang Shiyuan, Brie Polette）