Dear Students,
Welcome to the new school year.
Though autumn has arrived, summer's warmth still hangs over campus and our pomelo trees are stubbornly ripening, reminding us that growth takes time.
Over the break, our operation team repaired classrooms and tended the grounds. The library, labs, and themed rooms received new books and equipment. Teachers returned early for multiple rounds of training, ranging from advanced bilingual instruction and cross-cultural classroom simulations to mental-health counselling and innovative Education + AI workshops. Like caretakers pruning the pomelo trees, our staff have refined every teaching detail to greet each returning student with their best.
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Here in the autumn of 2026, we face a turbulent world, of rising geopolitical tensions, a faltering global economic recovery, urgent climate warnings, the daily acceleration of AI, redefinitions of work, and an information flood in which truth and noise mix. These are not distant headlines. They are problems the coming decade will ask you to answer.
That is why our school remains steadfast in its mission: Rooted in China, connected with the world. Deep roots in our culture let you read the classics, appreciate the responsibilities of family and nation, and carry cultural confidence. At the same time, a global outlook helps you view issues from multiple perspectives, tell China's story fluently in two languages, and engage in cross-cultural dialogue with both confidence and humility.
This year we will deepen curriculum integration. By breaking down subject barriers and expanding project-based and interdisciplinary inquiry, you will be helped to develop problem-solving skills applicable to real, complex tasks.
Teacher development will grow in multiple dimensions. This will include collaborative research between Chinese and international teachers, with incentives for instructional innovation, ensuring teachers bring you the latest and most relevant guidance. Student support will improve through a stronger mentorship system and personalised student profiles that value academic progress, but also mental well-being, character, and career planning, because each one of you is like a pomelo on the pomelo tree: unique and deserving of patient, attentive care.
We will pursue an 'Education + AI' approach that makes technology a powerful tool for inquiry rather than a substitute for thinking. Remember: AI can answer quickly, but it cannot replace the courage to ask a great question. Algorithms can suggest directions, but they cannot substitute for the wisdom needed to make value-based choices at life's crossroads. In an era that sees machines increasingly resembling humans, curiosity, creativity, empathy, and the resilience to keep moving forward amid uncertainty remain irreplaceable virtues. Just as a pomelo must ripen through time and weather, growth cannot be rushed. Every step matters.
Dear students, the challenges of 2026 will not vanish on their own, but you will not face them alone. As our pomelo trees prepare for a new season of blossom and fruit, your youth will, too, mature into something richer and more full-flavored this year.
Warm wishes,
Xu Yongchu, President
