On the evening of April 9th, the Grade 3 Parent Night was held as scheduled at the Hongkou Campus. The event focused on the critical transition from Grade 3 to Grade 4, aiming to lay a solid foundation for children's smooth progression and confident growth. Before the session began, parents arrived one after another, completed signing in, and picked up the handout. Outside each classroom, student work was neatly displayed, documenting their learning journey and growth across various subjects. Inside the classrooms, a video showcasing memorable moments of the children's campus life played on loop, while heartwarming notes from the children to their parents were placed on the desks.

 Session 1: Homeroom Connection – Semester Highlights and Curriculum Overview

Parents entered their children's classrooms and engaged in conversations with homeroom teachers. The teachers first outlined the overall direction and developmental goals for the second semester of Grade 3, highlighting the school's specific efforts to enhance students' self-discipline, time management, and independent learning skills. Subsequently, teachers introduced the teaching plans, semester highlights, and competency-building objectives for Chinese, Mathematics, English, Science, and Social Studies. Practical and actionable home guidance was provided for each subject. Through this session, both the school and parents reached a clear consensus on the learning path and growth goals for the second semester, laying a solid foundation for the children's continued learning.

Session 2: Parent Education Lecture – Unlocking Children's Inner Motivation

After a short tea break, all parents gathered in the lecture hall. The Parent Night specially invited Dr. Fang Shixin, Assistant Research Fellow at Fudan University, Master's Supervisor, and Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Higher Education Society, to deliver a lecture titled "From 'I Have to Learn' to 'I Want to Learn' –Cultivating Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Control."

Dr. Fang shared insights from a psychological perspective, focusing on how children gradually develop self-management skills and intrinsic motivation for learning. Her opening questions struck a chord with parents: "Why do children procrastinate on homework?" "Why do reminders seem to have no effect?" She pointed out that self-control relies not on willpower but on motivation, and that children are not lacking focus—rather, learning itself often fails to capture their interest. Through the classic "Drawing Experiment" and the "Candle Problem," Dr. Fang demonstrated how external rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation and how high-pressure incentives can inhibit creativity. At the neuroscience level, she corrected a common misconception: dopamine is not about pleasure itself, but about the anticipation of the unknown.

Dr. Fang then introduced Self-Determination Theory, emphasizing that the cultivation of intrinsic motivation relies on three core pillars: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Regarding autonomy, she advised parents to offer "limited choices," allowing children to feel respected and to experience natural consequences—a key step in helping children internalize rules. Regarding competence, she suggested setting tasks within the "zone of proximal development" and praised the process rather than innate talent. Regarding relatedness, she highlighted that joint exploration activities and emotional resonance are the foundation for building secure connections. Dr. Fang also noted that many parents focus only on "cold self-control" while overlooking "hot self-control" in the face of setbacks. The lecture provided both theoretical support and practical advice, offering parents clear direction in preparing their children for future learning. During the Q&A session that followed, parents actively asked questions, and Dr. Fang responded with thoughtful, case-based guidance. The interaction was lively, and parents expressed that they had gained valuable insights.

Session 3: Parent Sharing – Finding Practical Approaches Through Genuine Companionship

Following the lecture, Alexander's mother from Class 3-1 shared her authentic parenting journey, offering heartfelt and practical experience. She spoke openly from three dimensions: time planning and intrinsic motivation, emotional internalization and resilience building, and home-school collaboration. On time management, she admitted that she had once fallen into the trap of "arranging everything for her child." Inspired by the school's Personal Growth curriculum, she learned to let go, allowing her child to create his own schedule and even fail in its execution. Through trial, reflection, and adjustment, his time management skills "grew on their own," and learning gradually transformed from an "external requirement" into an "internal responsibility." When faced with setbacks such as fluctuating grades or careless mistakes, she chose not to blame but to sit with her child, analyze the errors, and trace the root causes—turning failures into opportunities for growth and cultivating his ability to face and solve problems. She emphasized that family education and school education complement and reinforce each other. Families can continue practicing habits such as time planning, self-checking, and resilience-building in everyday settings, helping children truly internalize what they learn at school.

Closing: Walking Together in the Same Direction, Growing Together

Finally, Ms. Zhu Dan, Director of the Hongkou Campus, delivered the closing remarks. She first reviewed the core theme of the second semester of Grade 3—preparing for the structural and academic leap into Grade 4—and made it clear that the ultimate goal is for children to enter Grade 4 with confidence, organization, adaptability, and greater independence. At this critical stage, collaboration between the school and family is especially important. Ms. Zhu thanked Dr. Fang for her insightful lecture and Alexander's mother for her sincere sharing. She then introduced several major upcoming events, including the Open Day, the Charity Fair, and the "HK Young Voices" in June. It is worth noting that “HK Young Voices" is a newly launched signature activity of the Hongkou Campus, designed to provide a regular platform for children to express themselves and develop their public speaking skills. She encouraged families to continue walking hand in hand with the school, replacing pressure with empowerment and supporting growth with trust, as they accompany their children through this important transition from Grade 3 to Grade 4.

Through classroom dialogue, expert lectures, and parent sharing, the Parent Night systematically addressed the developmental positioning, academic expectations, and key competency-building focus of Grade 3 as a bridging year. Both the school and parents reached a consensus through in-depth dialogue, clarifying the specific directions for family support—from fostering autonomous planning to cultivating independent learning habits. This Parent Night not only laid a solid foundation for children's smooth transition but also infused confidence and strength into the upcoming upper-grade learning journey, truly achieving a shared commitment to walk hand in hand and support children's growth together.

(Written by Nina Kang

Pictures by Elaine Zhu

Reviewed by Ms. Zhu Dan, Shiyu Wu, Hannah Kloeber)