If your children are thinking of studying languages oversees, The Learning Center is hosting a presentation from the International Language Academy of Canada. This weekend sees two of our International Schools hosting their annual dinner and dance events. The International Montessori School of Beijing is celebrating their 25 years in Beijing with a gala fundraiser, and for Dulwich College it’s a fiesta themed evening to celebrate their 10 years in Beijing. Join the Heyrobics team for an extra special workout, as they bid farewell to two of their instructors.

Studying in Canada
International Language Academy of Canada (ILAC) will be giving a presentation at The Learning Center on Thursday, November 27 from 2.30-3.30pm. Penny Huang ILAC CFO and COO will provide information about studying in Canada, including the application requirements, ILAC programs, and the benefits of studying in Toronto. Huang will also give a brief description of what Canada has to offer, such as its world-class educational experience, cultural diversity, economic vibrancy, environmental splendor, and urban and rural safety. At the end, will be a Q&A session, during which Huang will answer any questions that the audience may have about ILAC and its programs. To book a place contact The Learning Center (8046-3886, registration@hyde-education.com)

MSB Gala
The International Montessori School of Beijing (MSB) will be hosting their fundraising gala on Saturday, November 22 from 7pm at the Four Seasons. To celebrate 25 years of MSB, the event will see current and former MSB families and staff coming together. Guests will have the chance to win great raffle and auction prizes. All proceeds from the evening will go towards local charities, as chosen by the students and parent body.

Dulwich Dinner Dance
This years’ Dulwich Dinner Dance is celebrating 10 years of Dulwich College in Beijing. The event takes place on Saturday, November 22 from 6pm until late, at Hilton Beijing Capital Airport Hotel. Open to all parents, teachers, and the wider community, the Dinner Dance is a fun and relaxed evening. The theme this year is Viva la Fiesta – Long Live the Party! Live entertainment will be provided by Casa Flamenco, Salsation Founder Alejandro Angulo, and Dulwich Student Drummers. The evening will include a four course dinner with wine, a silent auction, and some top raffle prizes. Tickets are still available, to book contact anjanakainikkara@gmail.com. All profits will go to Stars and Rain Autism Project, a Beijing based charity providing educational support for children with autism. Find out more about the charity at www.guduzh.org.cn  

Farewell Workout
Two well-known instructors from Heyrobics are bidding Beijing farewell – Suzanne and Amaya. By way of a farewell party, they will be running an intense 90 minute workout on Friday, December 5 from 8.45am-10.15am, at the Swedish School of Beijing. Also taking part will be Chiara, the new Head of Hey, who will lead part of the session. The price for this extended workout will be the same as normal workouts. For more information and to book your place email info@heyrobics.com or visit www.heyrobics.com

beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.

Photos: courtesy of TLC and Heyrobics

Tell us about yourself.
I come from a multicultural family. I was born in South America to Czech and Spanish parents, but I hold both Spanish and American citizenships. I am married and I am the proud father of a beautiful 3 year old daughter who is part Chinese from my wife’s side.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Who was your childhood hero?
Until I was about 10 years old, my dream was to be a pilot. After that, my dream changed and I dreamt about becoming a doctor and I did. My childhood hero was and still is my younger brother. I don’t know of anyone who has succeeded in life the way he has while having to overcome so many obstacles.

What kind of student were you as a child?
Up until high school, I guess you could say I was the teacher’s pet and then things changed and I became a bit of a troublemaker in high school. I changed schools a lot while growing up so in a way I think I tried my best to adapt to new environments, new friends, new teachers and tried to fit in the best I could.

What was your image of the school principal when you were a student? How do you describe your image now? I grew up in a traditional way with regards to schooling, in which the school principal was someone to fear and someone whom you only ever visited if you had gotten into trouble. Times have changed since then, ideas have changed and so has my image on what a school principal should be. I believe the image of a principal is someone who is very playful and loving, yet strict, someone who is very knowledgeable and wise though all the while, just a normal human being.

Did you ever get sent to the principal’s office? Yes I did, several times because I gave my teachers too much trouble. But, during my junior and senior years in high school, I was Vice-President of the Student Council, thus having to be in contact quite a lot with the principal of my school.

What kind of jobs did you have before becoming a principal?
I was always taught from a young age that I must work to make my own living. I’ve never been afraid of a challenge and have had so many different jobs in very different fields. I’ve been a teacher, a translator, a doctor, an operator, I’ve worked at McDonald’s, I’ve volunteered, and my job for life is to be a student. There is not a day in my life in which I don’t learn something new. Life in itself is the most amazing experience/job there is.

How do most people respond when they find out you are a school principal? How do your kids or your spouse introduce you to their friends?  
Obviously in China there is a lot of respect towards teachers and even more if they know that you are the school principal, but I am a very simple and humble person. I am introduced as a caring husband and father by my daughter and spouse to their friends.

What job would you want to do if you were not a principal? I would definitely want to be an educator. I have found no greater happiness in life and no bigger satisfaction as a human being than being able to educate our future generations and pass on knowledge to our youth in order to make this world a better place and form global citizens of tomorrow.  

In all your time as an educator, what is the most important lesson you’ve learned?
I think that the most important lesson I have learned is that this is a profession in which you have to love what you are doing and you have to do everything with love and dedication. If you show love, if you show dedication, if you show passion, and if you have patience, then the outcome will be positive and every activity in your everyday life will become an anecdote to remember.

Meet the Principal/Headmaster is a new beijingkids blog series designed to give the Beijing community a better understanding of who our education leaders are in our city. If your school is interested in being featured in our Meet the Principal/Headmaster blog series, please contact the School Editor, yvetteferrari@truerun.com.

Tell us about yourself.
I arrived from the UK in August 2013. My two children, a son and daughter, are now grown up and working in the UK. The both went to schools and universities in the UK.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Who was your childhood hero?
When I was a child I really wanted to be a doctor until I was about 16! Childhood heroes were particular teachers I admired but also the scientist Marie Curie.

What kind of student were you as a child (e.g. the troublemaker, teacher’s pet, class clown, etc)?
The sort of student I was depended to a certain extent on whether I really enjoyed the subject and whether I liked the teacher. In general though, I behaved well at school and was so involved in sports, drama, etc that I held positions of responsibility!

What was your image of the school headmaster when you were a student? How do you describe your image now?
The headmistress was always very remote and someone we hardly ever saw and she certainly did not know many students. We usually only saw the headmistress at daily assemblies. I don’t really know what my image is today. I would hope that students do not see me as I saw my old headmistress.

Did you ever get sent to the headmaster’s office?
I did get sent to the headmistress’ office on a few occasions but it was because I had gained a certain number of merit marks or was being awarded prizes in speech day.

What kind of jobs did you have before becoming a headmistress?
When I was a student I worked in a few different jobs ranging from a bakery, a bar, and for Royal Doulton. On leaving university I trained as a chartered accountant and so was involved in a range of businesses.

What is a typical day like in the life of a headmaster?
I don’t think there is a typical day for me at Harrow. The best days are when I get to meet and work with students. Every day is different. I work with and meet so many different people and that is what makes it interesting.

How do most people respond when they find out you are a school headmistress? How do your kids or your spouse introduce you to their friends?
Here in Beijing, reactions are quite different than they are in the UK. In the UK people often think that leading a school is a very hard and demanding position whereas in Beijing people seem to view the position more positively. My children have seen me working in education for so many years now that they are quite used to it. When they were younger they used to get me to help their friends in all sorts of ways such as with university applications or to give them advice.

What job would you want to do if you were not a headmistress? Why?
If I was not a headmistress I would like to go back to university and also to write some more history books which is something I have done in the past and really enjoyed as I still love history.

In all your time as an educator, what is the most important lesson you’ve learned? Tell us an anecdote to illustrate this lesson.
The most important lesson I have learned is that I never stop learning. Learning new things still excites me and I still get amazed by what I learn from students. Since coming to Beijing I have learned so much about Chinese culture from students! They have introduced me to new customs and even new food.

Meet the Principal/Headmaster is a new beijingkids blog series designed to give the Beijing community a better understanding of who our education leaders are in our city. If your school is interested in being featured in our Meet the Principal/Headmaster blog series, please contact the School Editor, yvetteferrari@truerun.com

Photo courtesy of Harrow

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We all know about the wonderful work Roundabout does; the organization will be attending several community events over the coming months, so go along to support them or consider volunteering. If you’d like to get involved, join their upcoming training morning. If you love classical music, book your tickets now for the International Festival Chorus concert with performances of works by Mozart and Gershwin. As the holidays approach, it’s time for summer fairs. The British School of Beijing will be hosting theirs towards the end of May, a fun-packed day of fabulous food, activities, and prizes. If you have a budding musician in your household who loves nothing more than making a noise, channel their energy into O’le Music’s Trash Bash sessions.

Roundabout Events and Volunteering
Roundabout will be taking part in several community events that are coming up across Shunyi. Be sure to come along and look for their booths and the pink apron folks at the following fun-filled events:

•    May 10: International School of Beijing‘s Spring Fair (Roundabout will be running the Book Nook)
•    May 11: Spring Bazaar at Beijing Riviera
•    May 17: Family Day at BIBA

Thinking about volunteering? Put on a pink apron at Roundabout! The organization will host training mornings for new volunteers in a friendly environment. The next training morning will be on Thursday May 22 from 10am to noon at the Roundabout warehouse in Shunyi. The session will be capped at six volunteers; all ages and abilities are welcome to join. To sign up, email amyroundabout@gmail.com.

IFC Spring Concert: Mozart’s Requiem and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
This Saturday, May 10 from 7pm to 9:30pm, The International Festival Chorus celebrates spring with a concert at the International School of Beijing. Acclaimed Canadian pianist David Braid will perform a specially-composed piece that explores the links between the two composers. Tickets cost RMB 200 for stalls and RMB 150 for the balcony. Click here to purchase them online, call 185 1178 6680, or email hcmowbray@gmail.com.

The British School of Beijing Summer Fayre
On Sunday, May 25 from 10.30am to 3pm at The British School of Beijing (BSB) Shunyi, there will be more than 100 stalls of food, drinks, games, arts and crafts and souvenirs. The Summer Fayre will be held on the sports field and inside the main foyer of the school. The Grand Raffle and Tombola will raise money for charity, with hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and other companies sponsoring and providing prizes. Food and drink stalls will include barbecue, Indian food, pizza making, fresh salads, sandwiches, English afternoon tea, popcorn, candy floss, and ice cream. There will also be musical performances, martial arts demonstrations, circus performers, bouncy castles, face painting and games. Entrance is free. To find out more, click here.

O’le Trash Bash
Have fun making music with objects with O’le Music. For ages 7-16, the sessions are open to both residents and non-residents of Beijing Riviera. Every Tuesday 4.30pm-5.30pm, RMB 150 per session. Sign up at the Beijing Riviera Clubhouse or email bookings@ole-music.com.

TLC Summer Camps
The Learning Center (TLC) is running academic summer camps for both native and non-native English speakers. For Grades 1-10; choose from half days or full days, for one or two weeks. Monday July 14-Friday August 25 (every weekday) 9am-4pm. Prices start from RMB 2,250 (half-day for one-week). Sibling and group discounts available. For more information, call 8046 3886/8036 7085. Email registration@hyde-education.com.

beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.

Photo courtesy of BSB Shunyi