Message for the New School Year
Dear Students and Staff,
As the new academic year begins, I’d like to extend a warm welcome back to everyone, and a special welcome to all the new members of the Pao School community.
In this remarkable era of AI-driven transformation across all sectors, we face global challenges that require both the courage to ride the waves of change and the steadfast commitment to preserve our fundamental educational values. Therefore, my message for this year is: Stay true to our aspirations, uphold our values while embracing change, and, like a steadfast ship, sail steadily toward excellence.
Students, to prepare for your return, our teachers gathered early for orientation focused on fostering excellence in thinking and learning. Every ‘navigator’ aboard this ship on the journey of educational excellence is now fully prepared to guide you forward.
The orientation, spanning all year levels and campuses, has included both general and tailored components. The general sessions engaged all teachers in meaningful discussions about integrating social-emotional education and well-being into daily instruction—an essential aspect of teaching that has become even more important in today’s AI-driven world. For year level-specific development, primary teachers focused on nurturing discipline through care, cultivating habits that influence life, fostering self-awareness, and encouraging curiosity through joyful pedagogy, all while preserving the wonder of childhood. Middle School sessions centered on adolescent identity formation, life exploration, helping students understand themselves, embracing change, and mastering independent learning. At the high school level, teachers focused on balancing the depth and breadth of subjects, fostering students' capacity for self-reflection and growing awareness of students’ learning journey. They also focused on empowering students with a strong academic foundation and the resilience to confidently navigate future challenges and choices.
I trust that over the summer, as with the teachers, students have continued their learning journeys to get closer to the nature, as well as obtaining real life experiences. Whether through travel, personal hobbies, or family time, our students have gathered experiences that will enrich our classrooms.
At Pao School, everything we do stems from our unwavering commitment to truly see and value each unique individual. We firmly believe that only when teachers are intellectually inspired and pedagogically innovative, they will innovate, while hold student-centered values steadfast with agility, guiding students confidently through every challenge on their growth journey. This is the essence of our responsibility— like an ark carrying the future —as we solemnly embrace our duty to nurture what lies ahead. Through continuous learning and reflection, we ensure that the Pao School ship sails steadily forward, providing students with a solid and reliable platform for growth.
Let’s wish our teachers and students a great new semester of a wonderful journey of learning together!
——President Xu Yongchu
The leadership teams and teachers from each campus warmly welcomed the students back to school. The elementary school organized activities such as getting to know Q Bear and campus tours to help Year 1 newcomers quickly adapt to primary school life. Meanwhile, the middle and high school campuses held their first whole school assembly of the new academic year, expressing their earnest expectations for the students' learning and life in the coming year. As Executive Headmaster Iain Kilpatrick stated: “This is the start of a new school term, where we've got the whole year stretching out about before us. Maybe think about what your worth is. But more importantly, thinking where your value lies and how you're going to add and contribute to that over the course of this academic year.”
Primary School
Swipe right to see more.
Middle School
Swipe right to see more.
High School
Swipe right to see more.
