On October 30th, the Grade 3 Parent Night was successfully held at the Hongkou Campus. The theme of Parent Night was "Home-School Partnership: Empowering Future Competitiveness". The goal of this Parent Night was to help parents gain a deeper understanding of the developmental characteristics and educational priorities of third graders. It provided a platform to discuss how to cultivate students' future-oriented core competencies in the age of artificial intelligence and to build a collaborative home-school support system.

Parents completed registration, collected handouts, and entered the venue in an orderly manner. A highlight reel played on the large screen, showcasing moments from classroom interactions, club activities, and introductions to music, PE, and art courses. These visuals vividly captured the students' engaging learning experiences and diverse growth journeys at school, creating a warm and focused atmosphere for the evening's discussions.

The event commenced with a presentation by Grade 3 Supervisor Ms. Mo, who focused on three core areas: "Curriculum Expansion, Academic Deepening, and Character Development." She emphasized that Grade 3 is a critical stage where students transition from "learning knowledge" to "applying knowledge." She explained thatthe school fosters this through enriched elective courses, club activities, enhanced academic skill development, and the "HEROES+" core values program. The "HEROES+" program systematically builds leadership, responsibility, and social-emotional skills. Ms. Mo stressed the need for a collaborative home-school effort, shifting support from "guiding" to "empowering." This involves creating independent spaces, changing parental roles from managers to consultants, and providing appropriate guidance to nurture students into becoming autonomous, resilient, lifelong learners.

Subject teachers then took the stage to elaborate on the learning objectives, competency expectations, and course highlights for the semester, tailored to the Grade 3 curriculum. Addressing this pivotal transition phase, teachers focused on core issues such as "how to guide children in handling multi-step complex tasks" and "cultivating habits of independent thinking and precise expression." They provided systematic and practical strategies for family support. The teaching team unanimously emphasized the indispensable role of the home-school partnership in helping children build a solid academic foundation, autonomous learning capabilities, and resilient character.

Then Ms. Zhu Dan, Director of Hongkou Campus, shared insights on the overarching theme, "Home-School Partnership: Empowering Future Competitiveness." She pointed out that in today's world, profoundly shaped by AI, education must focus on developing core competencies that are hard for AI to replicate. Core competencies include critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. Director Zhu detailed the school's initiatives, including project-based learning, exposure to AI tools, and a systematic character education program. She called on parents to collaborate by encouraging questioning, creating exploration opportunities, and granting age-appropriate autonomy. She particularly highlighted Grade 3 as a crucial bridge year, requiring concerted efforts from home and school to lay a solid foundation for the children's future growth and to develop them into confident and resilient lifelong learners.

During subsequent class-specific sessions, homeroom teachers and parents reviewed the class's overall performance this semester. Using the dual perspective of "Glows and Grows," they acknowledged the children's positive developments in autonomous learning, class participation, and peer collaboration, while also honestly identifying areas for continued guidance, such as time management and internalizing responsibility. The parent night also featured diverse home-school workshops designed to explore support pathways for student development, from character building to study skills.

In the Grade 3-1 parent workshop, parents divided into six small groups for lively discussions on key student growth topics. The groups focused respectively on "Encouraging Respect and Positive Behavior," "Managing Emotions and Solving Conflicts," "Building Independence and Organization," "Supporting Good Study Habits," "Encouraging English Use," and "Using AI and Technology Responsibly." Through collaborative poster creation and experience sharing, parents explored effective strategies for home-school collaboration in a warm and inspiring atmosphere.

The Grade 3-2 workshop innovatively adopted the "Jigsaw" method. Parents first formed four reading groups to delve into specific topics: "Self-Calming Skills," "Time Management Skills," "Parenting Styles," and "Routines: Positive Behavior Strategy." Subsequently, the groups reconfigured, forming new discussion circles where each parent acted as an "expert" on their original topic, sharing key insights and strategies. This structure efficiently facilitated the sharing of diverse parenting wisdom within a limited time, resulting in vibrant interaction and a dynamic exchange of ideas.

Through systematic presentations, subject-specific breakdowns, class dialogues, and practical workshops, this parent night comprehensively demonstrated the school's thoughtful approach to curriculum design, character development, and fostering future-ready competencies. The candid exchange helped consolidate consensus between home and school, while the sharing of experiences sparked fresh educational inspiration. The event laid a solid foundation for building a collaborative support system for student growth, which will continue to empower children to become confident, autonomous, and future-ready lifelong learners.

(Written by Nina Kang

Pictures by Elaine Zhu

Reviewed by Ms. Zhu Dan, Shiyu Wu, Louie Paker)