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It’s great to be back. The school is starting to feel like the BISS Puxi of August 2019, before all of the quarantine and supervision rules and staggered leaving times. It has been a long summer with many people working hard to ensure the school has taken all of the necessary steps to ensure we were able to open again safely.
By Paul Kelly, Head of Secondary
Being in the school last week has reminded me of just why I wanted to teach in the first place. Welcoming the students back to school, seeing them with their friends for the first time in a long while and watching them start to get to grips with learning again have been just a few of the highlights of having everyone back on site. I honestly believe that being back on site is very important for both our teachers and our students (and perhaps our parents most of all). Although I am very confident that the online provision provided to students over the shutdown period was of good quality, it is not the same as having face-to-face interactions with teachers and students in classrooms every day. It is these interactions which enable students to build curiosity and a desire to learn more. That is what I have missed over the summer.
I know my colleagues feel the same and as we welcome new staff to BISS for the first time and welcome colleagues who have been unable to return to China for many months, I am filled with confidence that this year will be another great year at BISS Puxi. We have managed to achieve another set of outstanding IB results and IGCSE results at years 11 and 13 whilst also seeing a significant number of our Key Stage 2 and 3 students achieving top grades in EAL exams. These continued successes help maintain the momentum the school has been steadily building over recent years.
Now we are back and the restrictions have been changed, it is down to the serious business of learning and supporting our students to do the best they can in every lesson and in every social interaction they have. This is going to be more challenging this year as so many of us were starved of human contact for such a long time, resulting in many people becoming more reliant on their electronic devices than is probably healthy. However, as we have done every year in my memory, we will support our students to ensure they are able to see the benefits of focus on their studies and building strong bonds with their friends.
As I have said above, I am very pleased to be back and I am looking forward to seeing what this year has to offer. Like Hogwarts, it seems there is never a dull year at BISS Puxi, and although we are unlikely to be fighting Death Eaters, although you never know considering how last year went, I am expecting a little bit of magic from each and every one of our students and staff.
I look forward to seeing you all in the coming weeks and months.