We had a fun time at JISE yesterday; booths buzzing with questions, kids enjoying activities while parents chatted with teachers, Raffles Medical Beijing (北京莱佛士诊所) showing children how to properly bandage themselves, and more. You can still join us today for free! Just head over to Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel (directions below) and take the right escalator to the 3rd floor for all the sights you need to make the best school choice for your family!

Don’t miss your chance to meet Beijing’s top international schools, all in one place! JISE is from 10am – 4.30pm today.

BY CAR: Type “Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel parking lot” into your navigation app. Parking is RMB 6/hour during the day. If the hotel parking is full, you can consider R&F Plaza Shopping Center basement (RMB 3/30 minutes during the day). You can scan the QR code to pay the fare when you leave.

BY TRAIN: Metro Line 10 to Shuangjing Station, Exit A. Reach the 1st floor through B1 of R&F Plaza Shopping Center, walk to the conference site within 5 minutes. Don’t forget your cup of coffee at the mall on your way!

REMINDER: Visitors need to scan the QR code at the entrance to register their health code. Then take the right-hand escalator up to the 3rd floor of the conference hall.

This year’s event is sponsored by the Pacific Overseas Group (太平洋出国 ) and our special Medical Supporter is Raffles Medical Beijing (北京莱佛士诊所). Our Official Photo Studio Partner is Dave’s Studio (大卫摄影).

KEEP READING: Why Should Parents Attend JISE? We Have 5 Great Reasons!

Photos: Uni You

We’ve been saying for weeks how the Jingkids International School Expo (JISE) 2020 is something you can’t miss this coming October 24-25 at Beijing Renaissance Capital Hotel. If the extracurriculars or the chance to cheer on your nominated educator aren’t enough, what about these incredible reasons why you should join the schools and experts at JISE this year?

1: It’s the Most Efficient Way To Choose the Best Fit for Your Family From Over 70 Schools

Important decisions like school choice can’t be rushed. Or rather, they shouldn’t be, especially when a quality education can cost as much as an entire Nova Scotia island. But who has time to research all your options in the School Choice Guide, then call or email for an appointment, never mind tour all of your possibilities? By attending JISE for free and meeting with school staff face to face, you’re giving yourself and your kids the best chances possible to sniff out a new potential school, maybe even one that was never on your radar!

2: It’s an Easy Way To Share Info/Feedback With and From Other Parents

With over 70 schools in attendance at this year’s JISE, though, how can one parent possibly see everything? That’s why it’s so great that JISE is free for parents to attend; you can come with a friend, divide, and conquer your list of prospects! Figure out what your family’s top priorities for the right school fit are, and share notes over a wonderful coffee or happy hour at the end of your JISE day!

3: At JISE, You Can Ask Your Tough Questions in Person

If we learned anything from e-learning, it’s that nothing beats the special connection you can make in the flesh. Even on a tour of a school, your mind is often taking in so many different stimuli that important questions might be lost. But the ability to go from table to table, checklist in hand, asking each educator the same questions and delving deeper as needed – that is an experience you can only find at JISE.

4: You Can Get the Spirit, or Vibe, of the Schools

We already wrote about how important the vibe of a school can be, but it bears repeating. Do you want them to feel like the world is their oyster or like they’ve arrived at a second home? Is an international or more Chinese vibe what you’re after? Do you want to stay on top of your child’s progress or only hear if there is a problem? Remember that what works for you may be different than your friend’s vibes, so trust your instincts and ask the questions you want to ask.

5: Listen To Education Forums and Learn More About the Trends of International Education

We’ll publish more information on our expert panels this week, but where else can you hear directly from leading educators in their fields, from Early Childhood Education (ECE) all the way through to high schools? Here you’ll have a chance to hear straight from teachers themselves what is on the uppermost of their minds, and where they see concerns as well as breaking developments in international schools as a whole.

Come for all these reasons and more at this year’s JISE. Attendance is free for all prospective parents, family members, and students. It’s the perfect opportunity to really get to know schools on a one-on-one basis before making decisions on your child’s education. Click here to register in advance to attend this year’s JISE.

Sponsorship 合作赞助商: 太平洋出国 PACIFIC OVERSEAS GROUP
Medical Support 独家医疗赞助: Raffles Medical Beijing Clinic 北京莱佛士诊所

KEEP READING: School Choice Is So Much About the Vibe: Why Attend JISE Oct 24-25

Photos: Unsplash, beijingkids

School Choice in many parts of the world has more to do with your location and which schools you are allowed to attend, or otherwise which schools you can afford, both financially and in the time it takes to chauffeur your kids back and forth. It’s a little different in Beijing, especially if you choose your school and living space at the same time. beijingkids Editor Mina Yan outlined the key points for parents to consider when choosing a school in Beijing, but to me, it ultimately came down to the vibe.

As my family got settled into the city last year, we met so many new families with kids of varying ages, and I started to see patterns: older kids tended towards one school, most people liked one or two schools but ultimately the choice was made based on location, and others weren’t so sure in their decision so just made the best possible guess and hoped for the best. Nearly everyone felt sure that their school choice was the best one, and in most cases, they did make the choice that made the most sense for their family. As people unpacked why they chose their schools, I could see others questioning their decision, and that’s when I realized just how much of our own school choice came down to a vibe.

Whether or not you can take a bus can also be a deciding factor

Now, we’re lucky in that our kids are young, so to us, the most important part of their education is that they continue to love to learn. My husband had visited a few schools while business tripping before we moved, so he held every school up to the standard of the one he liked the best. When we saw one together that he hadn’t visited and liked very much, still one intangible thing stuck out to him on our top choice: “I don’t know what it is; but when you get there, you’ll either get the vibe or you won’t. If you don’t, let’s talk about it. If you do, secure their spots that day.”

Happily, I got the vibe and we’ve never looked back. But what is that? By definition, a vibe in intangible and cannot be explained. The vibe is what I felt the minute I walked onto the campus of the school we chose and have felt ever since. We felt comfortable, we felt the school was both playful and serious about academics and the love of learning. For others, it’s academics first and extracurriculars second. Some families want an international experience and others are happy being one of a handful of Westerners in the classroom. Some want language immersion and some want Chinese to simply be another subject taught. Within those options are nuances and feelings that can’t be quantified, but you just know it upon seeing the campus or meeting the educators.

Imagine the possibilities if we had been able to attend  Jingkids International School Expo (JISE) and meet all of our prospective schools in person, as well as see the ones who didn’t get onto our radar for some reason. My family is one of the lucky ones who were relocated by a company, which obviously has a lot of perks, but there were scores of schools we didn’t see because of time limitations. I would have loved to explore more ECE options, and although we’re very happy where both our kids are now, it’s possible that meeting more ECE school representatives face to face would have made a difference. If we’d been able to attend JISE, we may have just gotten that right vibe to choose another school for our youngest.

If you are here and haven’t chosen a school yet, or if you just want to see more of what’s out there, join us! With over 80 international schools in attendance, educational forums given by both parents and experts, activities for bourgeoning student entrepreneurs, and much much more, the Jingkids International School Expo (JISE) 2020 is something you can’t miss this coming October 24-25 at Beijing Renaissance Capital Hotel.

Attendance is free for all prospective parents, family members, and students. It’s the perfect opportunity to really get to know schools on a one-on-one basis before making decisions on your child’s education. Click here to register in advance to attend this year’s JISE.

KEEP READING: 5,000+ Families Search for the Perfect School at JISE, Oct 24 – 25

Photos: Unsplash, Pexels

One of our favorite issues of the year is finally here! The annual beijingkids Teen Takeover issue has been a part of the city’s international school community since 2017. What makes this issue extra special is that it’s completely created by Beijing teenagers. We recruited eager young writers to take on the topic of Cultural Diversity and I’m thrilled to say that we’re thoroughly impressed by the maturity of this group of teens.

In this issue, you can find Beijing’s best vegan restaurants for every budget and a great list of summer reading recommendations for kids by kids that you can bring along with you when you visit them. And it’s true what they say about food bringing people together. One student compares classic Chinese dishes with authentic Indian cuisine, and the similarities are shockingly delicious! While most of us won’t be exploring the world this summer, there are a number of fantastic activities Beijing teens love that bridge the gap between cultures. So instead of exploring an exotic new country, you can make some friends from exotic countries right here in Beijing through team sports. A few students voice their opinions on topics that grown-ups are eager to learn more about, like when it comes to parenting, are we actually doing it right? One student spills the beans on parenting techniques that work and others that are counterproductive to Beijing’s Gen Z kids . And for teachers, another student polls Beijing’s teens on just what distinguishes a good teacher from an extraordinary one that they’ll never forget.

Lastly, we need to make one correction in our July issue’s Blank Canvas column. The artworks created by Year 9 student Jenny S and Year 10 student Lina P from British School of Beijing (BSB) Shunyi were misattributed. We sincerely apologize for the misprint of these students’ names.

Thank you so much to all our Teen Takeover writers and our 2020 summer interns! You guys really outdid yourselves and we’re thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with you on this issue!

Photo: Uni You

This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 August issue

American not-for-profit College Board, which develops and administers college-entrance tests like the SAT and AP has been suffering from heavy criticism of late, mostly in light of its Mar 20 decision to move all AP tests online in response to the COVID-19. Apparently, in an attempt to counter possible cheating, they also announced that the usual 3-hour examination – which is usually split into 4 sections depending on the subject – would now be reduced to a single 45-minute exam. They further announced that most tests would also be ‘open book’, with the exception of language subjects. For most students, this meant that their entire school year of hard work and preparation would ultimately depend on just one or two questions.

This is not the first time that the 120-year-old institution has been involved in controversy. College Board has been heavily criticized since at least the ’70s for its high costs, opaque test design and scoring practices, selling student data, and discriminatory policies. One important criticism is that the SAT often underestimates the aptitude of African-American students and other minorities.

In a bizarre turn, many suspect that College Board may have also created a fake Reddit account encouraging students to cheat and share 2020 AP test answers, perhaps in an attempt to identify cheaters. This alleged move has been thoroughly ridiculed, with memes appearing on Reddit and other social media platforms.

Many Reddit users were quick to meme the suspicious “boomer” speech of user u/dinosauce313, who they suspect to be a College Board employee

As if their decision to cut down the length of the AP and move it online wasn’t controversial enough, they also announced that international students would have to take it the same time as American students, forcing students in Asia and Australia to flip their sleep schedule, and take the tests at 12, 2, 4, or 6 AM. Local schools such as International School of Beijing, Keystone Academy, Tsinghua International School, Hope International School, and Beijing Royal School were all affected by the decision.

College Board’s decision for forcing students in Asia to take the test at the same time as Americans has been described as inexcusable, as they accommodated European students to a separate testing time, and also released multiple questions for the same test, which would have made it highly difficult for students to cheat.

On the day of the test, many students failed to finish on time, and thousands more were forced to retake it due to College Board’s platform crashing, or files failing to upload. A class-action lawsuit has since been filed on behalf of Californian students against College Board for more than $500 million.

Test scores release dates were set from the Jul 15-17, but many students were able to access their scores using the unaffiliated EarlyScores website. Thousands of others flooded Twitter to complain that they were unable to access their scores, as College Board’s servers were again crashing. Despite knowing that there would be huge demand, with most students wanting to see their scores as soon as they were available, it seems that College Board took few measures to improve their server.

Disappointed students were quick to jump to Twitter and post their fresh meme

An ugly hashtag #APScores, along with the hashtag #CollegeBoard started trending online soon after the release of test scores, and meme after meme has been created due to the farcical situation. To add insult to injury, most scores have also been also dramatically lower than expected, with some students predicting 4s or 5s receiving 1 instead, and many realized that their low scores were actually due to technical problems. While the servers certainly did not see the failure coming, students should have braced for the disappointment that is College Board.

KEEP READING: First Group of International Teachers Allowed to Return to Beijing

Photos: JESHOOTS.COM (via Unsplash), jonboeckenstedt (via Twitter), adelinezylla (via Twitter)

The beijingkids team started the Updates: The Latest in Beijing School News blog back in early February during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to give the Beijing expat community a go-to source for all its education-related news.

Over the past few months, we’ve covered news of schools officially making the announcement to switch to e-learning, SATs and IB exams being canceled, translated school re-opening regulations, provided overviews of education press conferences, shut down rumors surrounding the education community, and kept a running log of schools opening across all provinces in China.

Yesterday was supposed to be the return to campus date for students in Grades 1-3 in Beijing, making them the last grades to return to school. But due to the latest COVID-19 cases reported in Fengtai District on Friday, Jun 12, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission has made the decision to put an indefinite hold on plans to return for Grades 1-3 students as well as after school training programs. Students in the remaining grades can continue to attend classes on campus, but the decision is completely voluntary.

Beijingkids will continue to monitor all local news channels to provide you with the latest education and school-related information, but as students say goodbye to their friends and start their summer holiday plans, it’s time for our Updates: The Latest in Beijing School News blog to come to an end. Thank you for reading, and we hope that this resource has been valuable to you and your family throughout this difficult time.

Visit our website www.beijing-kids.com for the latest Beijing family-related news and resources and be sure to follow us on WeChat.

KEEP READING: The Latest in Beijing School News 

Photos: Unsplash