Click the link to view the full version: WASCZ | Unlocking the new semester! Growing with WASCZ
As September blows around, autumn is in the air, while the chapters of our new semester are waiting for us to draft.
WASCZ welcomes the start of the new school year again, and we are ready to provide a dynamic and challenging learning environment for our students. In WASCZ, new stories will be written, new dreams will be ignited, and new friendships will be treasured.
Arriving at WASCZ to start an exceptional journey
After bidding farewell to the summer vacation, WASCZ students arrived at the campus entrance with their luggage and brand-new school uniforms, where the heads and teachers of the various departments were waiting to greet them. For the old students, it was a heartwarming reunion after a long break, and for our new students, it was a warm welcome into our close-knit community, full of new encounters and endless possibilities.
The kindergarten children, held by their parents, stepped into our school’s wonderous, magical paradise. The entrance echoed with young children’s voices reading the colourful “–W-E-L-C-O-M-E” welcome sign, while the patter of their excited little steps could be heard as they curiously ran up to many new places. For them, a new school year means new discoveries, friends, and adventures.
The lower school students have become “little adults”. Carrying their small school bags, they return to classrooms full of knowledge and creativity, greeting their familiar teachers and busily sharing their summer vacation adventures with their old classmates. The new school year is an excellent opportunity to accumulate new knowledge and expand their horizons. Every class is a flight to the beautiful stars and the sea.
Our upper school students are at the intersection of academia and life, making the new school year meaningful. They are ready to step into the new semester with great vigour. Whether to prepare for the various examinations in the future or apply to prestigious universities, every choice in the new school year will pave the way to their dreams.
(Re-) Joining WASCZ life and growing with the new semester
The cosy kindergarten classroom was ready with children’s favourite toys and brushes. They played games under the teacher’s guidance, enjoying the fun of sharing and cooperation. Our magical forest of a kindergarten hides many surprises, while the first block being built and the first colourful picture drawn are children’s next steps towards growth.
House dormitories are full of laughter and busy once again, with students organising their closets, cleaning up their beds, and storing and arranging their personal belongings, ready to say goodbye to their parents and start their independent lives in WASCZ’s big family. The housemasters and housemistress provide meticulous care for their students, creating a nurturing environment further bolstered by living in and around their tutors and teachers. The exceptional international scholars from the United Kingdom are also adapting to life at WASCZ with the help of their teachers and integrating with their new friends, feeling secure and cared for in our school.
Our Extra-curricular Extension exhibition programme is a highlight of the new semester, offering a wide range of activities to help our students explore their interests and potential. From chess and ball games to art, musical instruments, and science classes, there’s something for everyone. The rowing machine, a WAS speciality, is also a popular choice among students.
The spacious and bright new canteen enticingly displays nutritionally balanced food as students queue to take their meals – a beautiful sight for the new semester. The school canteen’s upgrade now brings new capacity, decoration and style. The dining area has been expanded to accommodate 660 students. Using environmentally friendly and healthy materials, the sound-proofed cotton design provides students with a quiet dining environment. Bright floor-to-ceiling windows extend a translucent view, and the modern, simple and atmospheric style shows natural shades of blue, white and yellow running through it, with overhead light strips projecting soft light and vibrant potted plants everywhere. The fruit bar, Chinese and Western dining areas, and tableware transfer stations are identified, making students’ mealtimes more convenient. Food committee members choose special weekly dishes, and fresh food is picked in all seasons to ensure that students of WASCZ can eat the most healthy and nutritious food. In WASCZ, every little bit shows our care for students.
Our holistic education ethos fosters growth and development
At the beginning of the new school year, the headmasters and teachers send their best wishes to all our latest and old students. They continue to support our students on their way to success in the new school year while attending to each student’s growth through holistic education and pastoral care, ensuring their well-being and fostering their confidence and resilience.
At the first parent meeting, the executive headmaster David Aitchison detailed WACSZ’s vision of education to students and parents: “In addition to academics, we are also concerned with holistic education, helping students to complete the definition and realisation of their self-worth …… Beyond confidence, they will develop empathy, compassion, patience and resilience.” Nigel Schofield, the Head of Upper School, compared our students to water lilies, believing that our joint efforts with parents will provide a stable educational, ecological environment for our students to grow and blossom like water lilies. As the newborn sun and the youngest hope, lower school and Kindergarten children will gain the new experience of learning through play in our WASCZ family.
The arrival of the new school year brings new opportunities and challenges for all of us. At WASCZ, we will face difficulties and embrace happiness together. Whether from parents, students, or teachers, our joint efforts will significantly promote the school’s progress. We wish the students of WASCZ all the best in this new school year, riding on our boat of dreams that is sailing into the bright, broad sea.