Welcome
From the Elementary Administrative Team
Welcome to the Elementary School at the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB).
The Elementary years at WAB are a special time in a child’s life. Students from all around the world come together to make friends and learn that people have different needs, abilities, values, cultures and beliefs. Most importantly, they learn to respect these differences. We are confident that WAB’s international community and its setting here in Beijing, China, will provide unique opportunities for students to gain the knowledge, skills and understanding to contribute positively within their own communities and, ultimately, to the world, both as children and as adults.
Our programming at WAB begins in our Early Childhood Center (ECC) where our Early Years are housed. Junior Grade 1 through Grade 5 classes are located in our main ES building. Many of our valuable ES resources are shared across all levels, such as the Sabina Brady Library, the gymnasium and the aquatics center; additional WAB resources, such as Tiger Field, Tiger L’Air, the Peace Park and the Chinese Garden are also utilized by all.
Our teaching programs and curriculum at WAB give our students the chance to build upon their own prior experiences and to make new discoveries through further investigation. Through the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP), student learning takes place in relevant contexts where clear goals and expectations are discussed and negotiated in order to engage and guide students as active participants in the learning process. Learning through meaningful and connected engagements using an inquiry-based approach requires our students to think, apply, analyze, problem solve, evaluate and reflect. These processes all require higher-order thinking skills that allow for application of learned concepts, the necessary tools for life-long learning.
Our teachers at WAB “Make a Difference” every day. They make special contributions to each child’s education and to their unique understanding of the world in which they live. We hire teachers who are experienced, dedicated, professional, and committed to student-centered learning opportunities. WAB teachers are constantly striving to learn and grow professionally to incorporate the best strategies for the effective engagement of all learners.
Families are an important part of our program. We value your input and support. Our door is always open, as it is our goal to create strong bonds between home and school. This handbook provides useful information for both students and parents. Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time should you need any additional information.
Best Regards,
Catherine Pierre-Louis
Principal
Principal
Yvonne Featherer
Vice-Principal
Jenny Jin
Curriculum Coach & PYP Coordinator
“We value your input and support. Our door is always open, as it is our goal to create strong bonds between home and school.”
Mission
Connect, Inspire, Challenge:
Make a Difference
Philosophy
The Western Academy of Beijing offers a challenging and caring, community-based educational environment in which students are active participants in the learning process. WAB fosters critical thinking and inquiry-based skills to ensure its students achieve their full potential as individuals and as members of the global community. In this setting, students, staff, and parents co-operate in the educational process guided by the following principles:
The Western Academy Educates the Whole Child
The Western Academy of Beijing seeks to develop the intellectual, social and emotional, physical and aesthetic potential of each child along with moral sensitivity. WAB children will learn how to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate new situations, knowledge, and rapidly changing technology with ease, confidence and creativity. WAB’s educational program provides its students with a fundamental respect for the beliefs and values of other peoples and will take full advantage of the culture of its host country, China.
The Western Academy Champions its Staff
The staff teaches with an international perspective. They are selected for their professionalism, high qualifications, skills, and creativity. Individual professional development is both supported and expected, while WAB creates an atmosphere in which the staff’s expertise and talents enrich the school community as a whole.
The Western Academy Involves the Parents
Parents are encouraged to participate as partners in the education of their children and in the continuing development of the school. WAB supports, respects and desires such an active role for parents. The Western Academy of Beijing, a community of students, staff, and parents, is committed to the creation and support of a dynamic model school with high academic, social, and ethical standards.
Values
Learner-Centered
Where all decisions are made and actions taken to enhance the life-long learning process so that each member of the WAB Family is an inquiring, critical, and purposeful Learner.
China Global Coherence
Where we strive to nurture socially responsive global citizens bound together by China – the common thread woven throughout our diverse Family Mosaic.
Mosaic of Diversity
Where each makes unique and irreplaceable contributions that, when combined, create the WAB Family.
Caring
Where by valuing and respecting our environment, we sustain and nurture healthy relationships with, and life-long responsibilities, to self, family, and the world.
WAB Spirit (Gong He)
Where with a spirit of commitment, enthusiasm, and shared purpose, each member of the WAB Family contributes to the whole.
IB Learner Profile
The aim of all IB Programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.
IB Learners strive to be:
Inquirers
They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.
Knowledgeable
They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
Thinkers
They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicators
They understand and express ideas and information, confidently and creatively, in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
Principled
They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect.