How does our ‘be ambitious’ philosophy help our students and our staff?
We are part of an International network of schools, with children from all over the world. That is the first step in ‘being ambitious’; stepping outside our comfort zone, exploring and seeing the world for all its beauty, different cultures and different experiences. It still amazes me when I talk to different parents and they tell me how far they have travelled, what they do and where their job takes them. When I speak to some of our students and hear that they are fluent in four or five languages at 8 years of age, I am in awe at what they have achieved and the dedication their parents put in to making them globally aware.
As a Head of Early Years, it is vital that our students are all confident global citizens prepared for the ever-changing learning environment. I am from a small county in Ireland and jobs are still very much vocational in nature and subjects can be limited. We have the world at our finger tips in China, with technology, language, culture and diversity. I think we are all ambitious in our outlook on life and what we want for our children and students. We realise how lucky we are to be here and we are happy. That is the definition of ‘ambitious’ to me.
What is the one lesson that you want your students to take away with them at the end of the academic year?
That one is easy – self motivation.
We teach the Core Values to our youngest learners; integrity, respect, commitment and responsibility. We share examples of when the children can show us these skills and we provide opportunities to ensure we know they can achieve them.
We encourage our students to be self-motivated and interested in learning and collaborating with others. We strive to influence, interest and create a love of learning through an exciting curriculum with wonderful topics that are interactive and multi-sensory.
These experiences need to be enjoyed and to become part of our children’s outlook for life – if they are self-motivated they will challenge themselves, be ambitious and also strive to be their best.
What do you do with your spare time in Guangzhou?
We have limited time at the weekends due to my children’s busy social life with activities and friend’s birthday parties – poor mum and dad have no time!
We enjoy staycations and there are some beautiful hotels in GZ that we will try during our time here. We recently visited Shenzhen and enjoyed walks along the promenade and of course the restaurants and book shops.
We try to do something new each weekend; visit the mountains, the temples, new streets and restaurants and of course squeeze in a tasty brunch somewhere or a good movie – I love the popcorn at IGC, a little too much though!