Thinking back on the last year regarding my daughter’s experience as a freshman at College, I reflect upon what a rollercoaster ride it has been. Mind you, it turned out to be a great year for her, and academically it was her best year ever. However it is the rollercoaster ride that bears talking about.

Every student who has gone through a college admission process, and sets his or her sights on a coveted place at their dream school, enters the process with a bit of trepidation. Once they have secured a place at their chosen destination, a whole new set of anxieties sets in. “Will I make friends?” and “Will I be academically successful?” are a few that come to mind. However these kinds of doubts are normal and expected, but sometimes, what needs more attention are the more difficult aspects that need to be dealt with during the challenging pre-transitional period.

While she was very excited about the courses she had been enrolled on, she was unaware of the different types of professors she would come across: full-time, part-time, and adjunct professors, not to mention tenured professors who struggled with their hearing and sight. One of her professors was teaching part-time at several different universities in the area. Communicating with him and arranging office appointments was a challenge.

Coming from a high school where teachers were easily accessible made the adjustment period harder. Furthermore, as a new member of the student body, getting to grips with the names and whereabouts of members of faculty can make the beginning phase of college life much more daunting.

Another issue for newly enrolled students at college is the expectations of their professors, many of whom will have differing approaches to their teaching role. Some of what they expect will differ significantly from what students are used to in high school. Attending more classes, having to write papers using a blue fountain pen, grammar dictators, deadlines with no exceptions, and adjusting to more free time are just some of the concerns students will have to deal with. In addition to a new and what may be a grueling schedule, students will also have to contend with a number of different teaching styles and execution of academic programs. For example, how might a fresher deal with a professor who decides to change the direction of a course in the middle of a semester?

On one occasion my daughter was sick and asked if she should get a doctor’s note for missing class. But things became more complicated when my brother in-law passed away and we planned to attend the funeral. Having notified all of her teachers in advance, everything seemed set.  But while she was away, one of her professors assigned students a major group project, leaving her out of the mix. She had to plead or do the project on her own.

My daughter’s school has a Winterim period during January. There are fewer classes and many students study abroad during this time. My daughter decided to stay and take a language class. With fewer students on campus, a cold winter season and the reality that she had chosen a school in the middle of nowhere hit her hard. That mingled with unexpectedly having to “rush” for a sorority, led to more anxiety, (“Rush” is a time for potential new members, usually referred to as “rushees”, to go through a recruitment process to secure membership at their chosen sorority house – if you think applying to university is hard, wait until you rush. Brutal!).

Anyway, what I refer to as the ‘Freshman Blues’ hit like a hurricane in October. The Blues came from the overwhelming feelings that typically hit sometime around late January or February. Finally settled in, she thought she had everything figured out. However when she came home for the winter break, seeing all her old classmates resurfaced her feelings of wanting to be close to what was familiar and loved, “Dad, why did I choose this school?” “I have nothing in common with the other students.” All led to the dreaded – “I think I want to transfer.”

A perfect storm of events, loneliness, isolation, and being an international American are just a few of the things that added to the struggle. It is not unusual for students to go through this kind psychological pattern. While other students may want to transfer to trade up, my daughters’ emotional thread of consciousness may be more common in some ways. As a father and a college counselor, I turned to my college-counseling hat: “Go talk to someone!” Schools have loads of support services that many students are either unaware of, or feel ashamed to use. My daughter was neither, thankfully. Talking to someone can be the catalyst to preventing depression and other psychological issues, which many young people and students suffer from when under mounting stress, pressure, and isolation.

I tell all of my students, take a year to transition. There is so much to learn, to experience, to adjust to and be aware of in the first year. Let it all sink in before making a decision. There is no perfect school, but usually a student ends where they belong, it just may take some time to understand that. I will say that my daughter is bolder, more mature, and confident now that the year is over and thankfully she took all the right steps to successfully complete the year. With a sigh of relief, I know she is looking forward to taking on the next set of challenges in life.

Freshman Blues, be gone!

Photos: Pixabay

CISB Annual Chinese Family Fun Night
Canadian International School of Beijing’s (CISB’s) annual Chinese New Year Family Fun Night was held on February 6, in which students, parents, guardians and staff joined together as one big family to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year. Students participated in a variety of traditional Chinese games, arts, and crafts, as well as dragon and lion dance performances.

Keystone Antarctica Exhibit Draws Crowds
In early February, Keystone Academy’s The Last Pure Wilderness on the Planet exhibition attracted visitors from near and far. The exhibition showcased images curated by the student-faculty delegation which recently traveled to the remote continent of Antarctica. All proceeds from the sale of postcard sets featuring voyage highlights have been donated towards the protection of Antarctic species.

YCIS Beijing’s Winter Warmer Concert
As a part of the Winter Concert Series at Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing), secondary students recently treated their families and the greater YCIS Beijing community to a showcase of the performing arts. Choral selections, instrumental soloists, orchestral arrangements, rock band rock-outs, and interpretive dances made up a diverse selection of performances during the concert held on February 7.

BSB, Sanlitun Chinese New Year Temple Fair
The British School of Beijing, Sanlitun hosted its Chunjie Temple Fair on February 4: a wonderful experience for everyone, with various Chinese-themed activities and demonstrations including candy blowing, a kung fu show, a traditional opera performance, and much more. The main attraction of the day once again was the Lion & Dragon Dance.

Juilliard Artist Erin Wight visits BSB, Shunyi
Juilliard artist Erin Wight visited The British School of Beijing, Shunyi (BSB Shunyi), and interacted with students and teachers in January. BSB Shunyi’s music curriculum was designed in collaboration with the world-renowned Juilliard School. It gives students a unique opportunity to connect regularly with Juilliard practicing musicians.

WAB Rings in the Year of the Dog
Students of Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) celebrated the coming Year of the Dog in temple fairs on campus, leading up to Chinese New Year. With the help of volunteer parents and the China Studies Department, students enjoyed traditional craft making and learned to make snacks as part of the cultural celebrations for the Spring Festival.

Dulwich Technology Expo 2018
Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) held the inaugural Dulwich Technology Expo on January 25-26. Teams of 9- to 11-year-old students from seven Dulwich Colleges collaborated in fun competitions linking to entrepreneurship and real-world STEAM challenges.

MSB Comes Alive with Chinese New Year Festivities
The International Montessori School of Beijing‘s (MSB’s) students had two weeks of engaging and interactive Spring Festival activities from egg painting, writing couplets, dumpling making, and more. The students’ art work, such as lanterns made from red envelopes, Chinese scripts, and others, adorned the hallways to make the entire environment more festive.

BWYA Evening of Arts
The depth of Beijing World Youth Academy’s (BWYA’s) artistic talent was on display once again on February 2 at the latest BWYA Evening of Arts event. The Evening of Arts takes place every semester and gives BWYA’s artists, performers, and musicians the opportunity to showcase their latest work to the School community.

Daystar Robotics Team at First Lego League Competition
Daystar Academy’s Cosmobots team has prepared since September to participate in the robot design competition held in Shanghai on January 27-28. Teams from international schools throughout China gathered to demonstrate their programming skills and understanding of core values. The Daystar team competed for the first time and enjoyed the entire experience.

Harrow Beijing Folklore Experience Week
Spring Festival was in full swing at Harrow Beijing. Students participated in a range of traditional Chinese cultural activities on February 5 to celebrate the Year of the Dog

Tribe’s Top of the Morning!
On February 3, TRIBE Solana celebrated its first birthday by going “Top of the Morning!” with an early morning kids’ dance party, DJ set, organic breakfast buffet, face-painting, crafts corner, glowstick gear corner, photo-booth and lots and lots of fun for the entire family.

APAC Basketball at ISB
Broadcasted by ISB Live, The International School of Beijing proudly hosted this year’s APAC Basketball from February 1st – February 3rd.

3e Grade 1 and 2 Author Celebration
In December, 3e International School’s Grade 1 and 2 students invited their families to attend an Author Celebration event at their new Elementary campus in December. Students’ hard work over the past several months, writing and reviewing their English and Chinese stories and drawing accompanying pictures, were shared with the audience.

AnRic LMR Hosts Annual New Year Party and Art Auction
On January 21, AnRic Little Montessori Room families and friends got together for AnRic’s Annual New Year Party. Adults and children enjoyed a scrumptious dinner, joined in for some song and dance, and children’s individual and class artworks were put up for auction. All proceeds went to AnRic’s Financial Aid Fund.

Third Annual Chinese Calligraphy Competition at BCIS
Beijing City International School held its third annual student-led Chinese calligraphy competition in the campus gym on February 1. Students and staff members set off on the numerous tables to create their masterpieces and submit them after completion. Participants were allowed to write whatever they desired on their canvases.

Eduwings German Carnival Party
On January 26, Eduwings Kindergarten celebrated a German tradition called Fasching. Children dressed up and spent a fun day doing interesting crafts and taking part in exciting games, including the classic “Hit the Pot” and “Candy Snatching.”

Chinese New Year Celebration at HoK
To celebrate the Spring Festival, House of Knowledge Schools and Kindergartens held a Chinese New Year celebration in their Chaoyang Park and Shunyi campuses with student presentations, traditional temple fair festivities, and lion dance performances.

Chinese Culture Celebrations at JOY EL
JOY EL International Academy students enjoyed the school’s first Chinese New Year celebrations with a great demonstration of energy, creativity, traditions, and fun!

Photos: YCIS; BSB, Sanlitun; CISB; Keystone Academy; BSB, Shunyi; WAB; DCB; MSB;  BWYA; Daystar Academy; Harrow Beijing; Uni You

This article appeared on p58-63 of beijingkids March 2018 issue.

Beijing No. 55 High School Christmas and New Year Party
Students and teachers from Beijing No. 55 High School International Department had a wonderful get-together in a party to celebrate Christmas and the New Year on December 23. The performances showed the talents of students.

YCIS Beijing Christmas Concerts
Yew Chung International School of Beijing ECE Kindergarten and Primary students joined in Nativity-themed Christmas Concerts on December 12, celebrating the meaning of holiday through a mixture of singing, dancing, acting, and instrumental performances.

SE21 in Dulwich College Beijing
A large group of DCB Year 5 and Year 6 students joined in the first Hackathon held in the school’s brand new and new state-of-the-art STEAM center, known as ‘SE21,’ last December 13.

Keystone Winter Celebration Honors Global Citizenship
International-Mindedness was this year’s theme at Keystone Academy’s Winter Celebration, held on December 15. Being internationally-minded is a value that Keystone aims to foster in our children through our curriculum.

Preschool and Elementary Winter Concerts at CISB
The annual preschool and elementary winter concerts at Canadian International School of Beijing were a great success. Classes sang lovely holiday and pop songs, danced to inspiring music and presented several student-written plays. They were so pleased to be able to share them with their families and friends.

WAB Elementary Students Write, Perform Original Musical
Elementary students at Western Academy of Beijing took active roles in creating their original production, Come Fly with Me, presented last December 13. Rather than just finding a part, memorizing the lines and performing, all 39 of them were integral in every step of the process, including story development, script-writing, set design, costumes, music, choreography, stage direction and beyond.

ISB’s Compass Quest Series Explores Northern Yunnan
International School of Beijing’s middle school students opted to spend their first week of winter break discovering northern Yunnan as part of ISB’s Compass Quest Series.

BSB Sanlitun Reception Christmas Production
On December 7, all of the hard work of students from The British School of Beijing, Sanlitun paid off when Reception performed the Christmas Extravaganza to their family and friends. From Santas, to Reindeers, from Toys to Snowflakes, they sang and danced their way to the top of Santa’s good list!

Canadian Government Officials Visit BCIS
On November 16, Beijing City International School hosted a delegation from the Canadian government, including Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and Dr. Harpreet Kochhar, Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations. Mr. Hussen addressed Grade 11 and 12 students at the secondary school library.

BWYA fINe Arts Festival
The student council at Beijing World Youth Academy’s IN campus in Lido organized a special evening of performing and creative arts on December 15, inviting the school community to celebrate the artistic talent of its students. Called the fINe Arts Festival, the event showcased everything from music to dance, painting and sculpture.

HoK Christmas Celebration
Students and teachers of House of Knowledge Schools and Kindergartens assembled together on December 15 to celebrate Christmas. The festivities kicked off with a special performance for parents as the students sang and danced on stage. Santa Claus also joined us and brought lots of gifts!

Thousands of Families Gather at beijingkids and JingKids School Fair
The 10th Beijing International School Expo, which took place on January 13-14, looked to the future, as schools showcased cutting-edge ideas in education. Around 3,000 families gathered at Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel to meet and talk to representatives from 67 schools and 32 other education providers. CCTV 2’s Global Financial Report broadcast live and reported about the growing importance of the bilingual and international education sector in Beijing.

Lighting of the Tree at Harrow Beijing
All students from the Lower School of Harrow Beijing, together with parents and teachers, gathered to celebrate the holiday season in the Lower School’s annual Lighting of the Tree production on December 8. The pupils performed festive holiday songs and musical instruments for the audience and each class produced a wish to hang on the tree. It was a very sweet and charming concert full of festive cheer and a wonderful way to kick-start the holiday season!

Ivy Bilingual School Kicks Off Spring Festival Celebration
Ivy Bilingual School Orchid Garden Campus began a grand celebration for the Spring Festival on February 2. The school helps revive the traditional Chinese cultural legacies for the children to experience such as traditional lantern making and lantern riddles, all designed to leave kids and parents with sweet memories.

3e Elementary School Winter Recital
3e Elementary School students held their first Winter Recital in the new campus’ theater on December 19. The program included choral performances, piano, and violin solos and was a wonderful way to celebrate the end of the first semester in the new campus and the festive season with their parents.

Photos: Courtesy of Schools; Uni You
This article appeared on p58-63 of beijingkids February 2018 issue.