At 6 p.m. on September 28 and 29, the fourth and fifth grades of SHSID Puxi Campus held online parents’ meetings for this semester respectively. In the 90 minutes, under the topic of cultivating independent learners, teachers introduced the school curriculum, the educational goals, and the school activities of the grade.

Grade 4: Understanding Independence, Moving Towards Self-Reliance

Fourth grade is a crucial time to develop students’ independent ability. Therefore, the keyword of grade four parents’ meeting is “independence.”

Ms. Lu, the supervisor of the Puxi Campus fourth grade, introduced to the parents the basic information of the fourth grade, especially the Chinese and foreign teachers of the eight administrative classes, the characteristics of the classes, and some new changes. Ms. Lu mentioned that students will face changes from the third grade to fourth grade, including class length, homework completion time, topic selection, and ASB campaign. As an upper grade of elementary school, fourth-grade students enter a new building, their homeroom teachers no longer stay in the classes all day, they enjoy more freedom and at the same time, responsibility and self-discipline need to grow urgently. Many settings in fourth grade are slowly moving closer to fifth grade to help students better adapt to the fifth-grade walk-in system. Mr. Lu also highlighted the class collaboration rules for 4th grade, which are designed to foster a sense of community and the need for students to learn to work together and take responsibility in a community of learners.

The fourth and fifth grades pay close attention to the mental health of each student, which were also emphasized in the parent meeting. During lunchtime, students can voluntarily sign up for a fun and colorful psychology club. The purpose of this program is to help students positively embrace the changes in their bodies, minds, and environments. In addition, the fourth and fifth grade sections have a conversation room called the “Little Treehouse” where students can make appointments with a professional psychologist to communicate their concerns and thoughts through their homeroom teachers.

During the meeting, five subject head teachers introduced the fourth-grade core values GROW to the parents. Next, the heads of English, Math, and Chinese introduced the curriculum, topics, and expectations of the students for the school year.

Finally, Ms. Zhu Dan, the director of Puxi Campus grades 4 and 5, advocated “Creating a Learning Community, Empowering Children Together.” Ms. Zhu proposed three specific and important milestones for fourth grade students and parents, emphasizing respect for the laws of student growth, the healthy and comprehensive development of human beings, and the need to focus on improving students’ core literacy. The three milestones include developing good physical fitness, a balanced diet, and reasonable exercise; improving students' cognitive literacy, developing independent learners, and learning to think independently; and enhancing students' social and psychological qualities, becoming shapers of their sound personalities and leaders in the formation of their children’s correct values. Students, teachers, and parents need to work together in this learning community to form a synergy and empower each other.

Grade 5: Becoming Excellent Graduates

Fifth grade students are going to graduate after this academic year and they are facing plenty of changes and challenges. Thus, fifth grade teachers communicated with parents under the theme of “Becoming Excellent Graduates.”

First of all, Ms. Zhuo, the supervisor of Puxi Campus fifth grade, and Mr. Patrick, the liaison of grades 4-5 had a brief introduction of the grade. The two teachers explained the biggest change in the daily routine —the class shift— and how it works. Shifting class also requires a higher demand to the students on homework management, personal belonging management, and learning ability. Teachers also gave targeted suggestions to the potential management problems which help students to improve their self-management skills and sense of responsibility.

Besides academics, SHSID also puts a lot of effort in developing whole students who have good mental health. In the meeting, parents were also informed of various school activities in the semester, the core value of the fifth grade, the various lunch club, safety education, and the new Associated Students Board.

Afterward, subject heads of Math, Chinese, English, Geography, and Science provided more detailed introductions about the main subject contents and the learning objectives. Teachers presented excellent student works to clarify the specific requirements of the subject and share learning methods for reference. Parents also took a look at how teachers incorporated team activities into daily teaching, improving students’ overall academic abilities and learning abilities through pictures.

At last, Ms. Chris, the director of Puxi Campus grades 4 and 5, recognized the progress fifth grade students made in the past year. Teachers are glad to witness the growth of students in independence, openness, and confidence. Under the guideline of “Cultivating Independent Learners and Responsible Global Citizens,” Ms. Chris suggested teachers and parents work together to nurture children with good physical and mental health, upright values, and good habits. Ms. Chris also emphasized that the right values of a person are what eventually push kids to grow in the long run. Parents can help build positive values by modeling good behavior, building family values, and sharing different perspectives. Meanwhile, Ms. Chris also encouraged parents follow the educational pattern of students’ growth and actively cultivate children’s habits, including learning habits, the habit of doing housework, and the habit of participating the family decisions. Over time, children will be able to transfer from heteronomy to autonomy in behaviors.

The process of education is nurturing rather than machining. The growth of a child is similar to that of a plant. What teachers and parents need to do is to trust the inner power of children and work together to optimize the outer environment so that the kids have the space to elevate the level of their lives and achieve the mutual goal of cultivating independent learners.

(Written by Chen Qinli, Wu Yin Pictures by Nina Edited by Huang Shiyuan, Brie Polette)