Parent's Talk | Growing up with My Children

First of all, it was because we have been here for a few years and we think the Nest is good. We can also see how April has developed the traits that our family also appreciates. For example, she has her own ideas. We also think her development on independence is really good. The most important reason was that Wellington also has Junior and Senior schools. This meant that April could continue to benefit from the good learning habits she developed in the Nest. We think for the children, the transition from nursery to primary school is very important. We believe, and still do, that Wellington was the best choice for April because she didn’t have to go through any big changes. Her learning journey is consistent here.

Here at the Nest, the school offers a bilingual differentiated curriculum for the children. I never thought that one set of standards could work for all the children. Take my children as an example. April is a little bit younger than other children in her year group because she was born in the first few months of the year. A child who is a few months younger might have different needs. Our teachers always focus on each child individually to make assessments for them. Including our ethos, I think it’s very reasonable.

When April was in Reception, her teacher at that time, Ms Jordan, posted a report of her observations of April on Tapestry. She mentioned to us that she had taught April a song which she couldn’t completely sing like the other children at that time. However, a long time after, when April was playing, she suddenly sang that song completely. Ms Jordan captured the moment and posted it on Tapestry for us to see. I felt so impressed because according to the theory that we learned when we were little, we only focused on how well we did in our exams.  But the feedback from the Nest team truly made us feel that the teachers carefully observe the children and they really care how the children learn and take in information. Ms Jordan is so patient. It had been a long time, but she still remembered. It was really impressive for me. After April went to the Junior School, I realized that she picked up slower than others. She is not as fast as other children, but after learning for a while, she can really master the information. I think this also inspired us as parents about how to look at the children’s academic performance: to not spend too much attention on grades or performance all of the time.

To be honest, all parents get anxious and worried now and then, including us, but the school can always give us support and confidence, especially now as we know the school and the teachers really well. For example, Ms Nini gave a presentation at a parent’s briefing about growth mindset this year. She had just returned to work after giving birth and while she was away, she had studied and researched intensely about growth mindsets and shared this information with us. I think you can tell that a teacher who has been with Wellington for such a long time like, Ms Nini has a huge passion for education. We can see how she has developed over these years. The teachers are dedicated to their roles and we can see how they and the Nest has developed over time. That’s why we became more and more secure and happy about the Nest.

The Nest keeps developing. It grows and changes every year and all the changes are positive ones. It’s becoming better and better. The first year when April came here, the Nest became bilingual. In this bilingual environment, the Nest developed to suit the pupils and the latest educational theories. It combines the best of Chinese and Western education, which I think is very precious. It never stops when it does a good job. It keeps developing. We think this is really good. We can feel the changes because our children are here. After April graduated from the Nest and now Abby is here, the Nest is still providing new ideas and new knowledge to us. Abby is in the Nest now and we think she will learn even better than her sister because the Nest is always developing according to the children's needs. We think it’s important that the Nest keeps making progress.

For example, for native Chinese speakers, we let them learn knowledge to a greater extent with Chinese, and the expatriate teachers explain certain terms. I think such a teaching method works really well for children in their early years especially when they haven’t established their understanding of the world yet. They need their mother tongue to establish that so that they can develop in both languages in the future. If we only teach in English, for some children, they can’t even understand what the teachers teach. So, I think that’s a good change and important for the children.

The parent’s briefings were the most impressive for me. I think those are very important for the parents. Perhaps there is no mother in the world who is not worried about her child. More or less, we are all worried about our children. But when you sit together, and talk about what you are worried about, and hear that others have a solution to your problem, you feel it so much, because our children are in the same environment, the experience of those parents is even more worthy to learn from. Recently the school restarted events with the “Friends of Wellington”, this means more choices of colourful events for the parents. We are very happy to take part in those events. Whenever there are events offered to the parents at school, we always try our best to participate.

I feel we are closer with our children through these events. You know what they are doing, or when you talk about something new at school, they also know. For the children, they spend more time at school than at home. The time you spend with your children at home is actually quite limited. But in an environment that both you and the children are familiar with, you can have so much more to discuss. I think it helps parents a great deal to communicate with their children. Such kind of communication is more efficient and meaningful.