On October 24, SHSID Hongkou Campus held the Parent Night for second-grade families. The meetings focus was to strengthen the home-school connection and cooperation, and to work together to support the holistic development of second-grade students for a growth building environment.

The event was divided into two main segments. The first segment being educational insights of second grade, helping parents gain a comprehensive understanding of educational objectives, curriculum changes, and subject expectations. Before the meeting officially started, parents signed in and received handouts prepared for the evening. These handouts not only provided an outline of the agenda but also included practical parenting tips, offering valuable guidance to help parents support their children’s learning at home. After receiving the handouts and settling in, parents watched a highlights video showcasing the past school activities, reflecting students’ growth and achievements across various domains. Teachers of music, PE, and art also prepared subject-specific introduction videos, offering parents a more vivid understanding of their children’s learning experiences in these areas.

The meeting began with Ms. Sheng, who introduced the academic and behavioral expectations for the semester, along with upcoming major activities. She emphasized the evolution of the Personal Growth curriculum from "HERO" to "HEROES," symbolizing the school’s growing expectations for second-grade students' holistic development.

Continuing on from this, the four second-grade homeroom teachers each presented academic plans, course updates, and learning requirements for core subjects—Math, Chinese, English, Science & Social Studies. They also shared practical study techniques and home-support strategies, providing parents with a clearer picture of their child’s progress in school while equipping them with effective tools for home-based support.

Subsequently, Ms. Zhu Dan, Director of SHSID Hongkou Campus, discussed the school’s vision of “holistic education” and elaborated on several initiatives to enhance students’ academic performance and core values. She outlined innovations such as enriched curriculum content, diversified teaching methods, and personalized, open-ended formative assessments, all designed to stimulate students’ learning potential and creativity. Addressing specific topics raised in a pre-meeting questionnaire, Ms. Zhu responded thoughtfully to parent inquiries, showing the school’s commitment to addressing parent concerns.

Ms. Zhu also called for ongoing, close collaboration between home and school, emphasizing the importance of joint efforts to support the students' holistic growth. She highlighted the school’s goal for second-grade students to display strong responsibility both in and out of the classroom. Through gradually granting them more autonomy and choices, the school aims to cultivate qualities such as organization, independent learning skills, classroom responsibility, peer support, problem-solving, and reflective thinking.

In her closing remarks, Ms. Zhu praised the close home-school cooperation achieved in first grade, noting that it laid a strong foundation for the students’ well-rounded growth. She emphasized that a first-rate family environment significantly impacts children’s academic performance, lifelong positive habits, emotional resilience, and courage to face future challenges. She encouraged parents to “create a first-class family environment” by fostering supportive, structured home atmospheres that use positive reinforcement and consistent routines to help students build confidence and habits that support their future success.

After a short break, the meeting moved into the second segment—the class meetings. Parents entered their child’s respective classrooms for more conversations with the homeroom teachers. Both the Chinese and foreign homeroom teachers introduced new class routines and behavioral expectations for the semester, discussed challenges the students may face, and offered recommendations for home-school collaboration. The teachers also highlighted successful examples and notable moments of home-school cooperation since the start of the school year, expressing a desire to further strengthen these connections with parents.

The highlight of the class meeting was the “Sharing/Helping Session.” Based on questions collected before the meeting and topics parents expressed interest in, five themes were chosen for parent discussion: Patience and Perseverance, Independent Learning Skills, Time Management, Self-Motivation, and Emotional Regulation. In each class, one parent shared their experiences, success stories, or challenges related to each topic. Parents then divided into five groups according to the themes and engaged in lively and thoughtful discussions on fostering their children’s holistic skills and resilience. After the discussions, each group created a poster summarizing their ideas and shared it with the others, allowing for a tangible display of the wisdom and dedication of parents and the fruitful outcomes of home-school collaboration.

The successful completion of this Parent Night not only strengthened the communication and connection between home and school but also provided a solid foundation for the students' holistic growth. Together, we look forward to further empowering the students’ development journey through united efforts and shared purpose.

Written by Nina Kang

Pictures by Elaine Zhu

Reviewed by Dan Zhu, Chenli Shen, Cong Luo, Emma Hackett