Yolanda进入到小学高年级时，妈妈带她去参加了课外纯美式教学的英语培训。晚间3个小时的学习，课程内容丰富且充满趣味性，让她每次都觉得意犹未尽，也变得更加敢于开口用英文去表达和交流了。

这一发现牵动了Yolanda妈妈的心：如果把孩子送到环境和培训班一样的学校里，身边围绕着类似配置的老师，学习正有点泄劲的孩子会不会更愿意去努力？

作为体制内教育出身的人，Yolanda妈妈在向往着西方教育模式的同时，也对打好基础这件事非常看重。她很早就认识到，所谓的精英教育，并不是让孩子在条件优渥的学校里被放养，而是能够利用资源，接受较为全面的训练。

她立刻想到了曾经参访过的狄邦华曜学校，和自己对于理想中的学校的想象十分吻合。尽管当时已经拿下了其他离家更近的学校的Offer，Yolanda一家还是决定选择昆山，开启新生活。

学校针对来自不同背景的学者，会进行学术能力评估，采取灵活的分层制指导教学，分层的学科不仅有常见的数学、英语，还包括语文、科学。

初中分为CP、CP-A、ECP、ECP-I四个层级，刚刚转学过来的孩子因为没有参加学校的测验，是从最基础的层级开始上课。在好胜心的驱动下，Yolanda通过不到一个月的努力，不断调整自己的层级，目前已经基本都升入了最高的ECP-I。

Y同学课表：英语CP-A，物理ECP-I，数学ECP-I，语文ECP，化学ECP

这样的进步并不是个例，在入学一段时间后，Yolanda发觉尽管学习氛围宽松，身边的同学却没有一个人是不在乎成绩的。大家为了更好的个人表现、更高层级知识的掌握、为班级做出更多的贡献，持续地提升着自我。

也正因如此，浸润于良性竞争的氛围里，同学之间互相影响、互相促进。

Yolanda妈妈明显地感受到了孩子身上发生的变化：

“以前孩子的作业我都是要检查的，也会发现很多错误，但现在我已经不怎么去关心她的作业了。一方面是制度给予的便利，很多作业通过网络提交，家长可以使用IntSchool随时查看反馈；另一方面她确实变得主动在意起作业的质量，老师的意见或是鼓励，都会吸收成为下一次改正和提高的动力。”

不仅是文字类的作业，很多个性化的Project，Yolanda和小伙伴也从不会把它当成差事去应付。任务布置下来后，需要准备的设备或材料，她都会主动请家长帮忙，约同学一起商讨、互相督促着完成各自负责的部分。几次的项目在最终评分上，Yolanda的小组都拿到了满分的好成绩。

Eline妈妈对于学习主动性这件事也抱有同感。

小升初这一时期，在她看来正值孩子自我意识萌芽的阶段。不少初中生在这个年龄爱玩，爱打游戏，也会对家长敦促学习产生抵触情绪。

但通过Eline的表现，她发现孩子身边的同学们，会有学业上的比拼。分班层级制度的存在，让大家对于自己的成绩有所要求，主动报名不同的课程，从旁观者角度来看甚至有些“内卷”。这种“内卷”并非负面意义的，而是在适当的压力之下，寻求提升的表现。

学校老师定期输出针对每个学生的个性化成长报告，根据评估体系做出哪些方面表现优异、哪些方便仍待加强的反馈。当Eline在转学初的适应期发现自己英语还不够好的时候，除了平时在学校多抓住机会练习，年级尚低的她还开始思考：是不是可以参加例如托福一类的英语测试，尝试看看自己的水平在哪里。

狄邦华曜的教学及评价设置，正是这样能从根源激发孩子们的学习动力，进而在初中阶段打好学习习惯及思维习惯的基础，帮助学者们运用到更多的学习场景之中。

Eline和Yolanda在转学过来之后，快速地融入了这里。丰富的Life-Block课程以及各类社团活动让她们感受到了不同于往的校园生活，也在各类极具特色的实践中，找到了自己的价值及热情所在。

一直以来，Eline妈妈都认为她是个比较内秀、不爱表达的孩子。但在一次好友家庭聚会上，面对其他家长对于Eline转学后的体验的提问，她侃侃而谈，说出了很多学校的优点和自己的真实感受。

这一刻Eline妈妈发现也许孩子并非性格胆怯，而是有表达的意愿和想法，却缺乏鼓励和机会。在狄邦华曜的历练，让她在语言或是个人的表达上都实现了量变到质变的进化。

在最近学校主办的反霸凌展演上，Eline担任了戏剧演出的主角之一。整出作品是戏剧老师Matt带领学生们在两周内排出来的。牵动人心的剧情和饱满的情绪表演感染了现场的许多人，Eline妈妈在被女儿的表现惊艳之余，也深深带入了角色之中而感动落泪。首次扛起主角大旗，收获如此的赞誉，也让她对于戏剧表演产生浓厚的兴趣。

Eline去年加入了学生会，加入之初，面临诸多需要对外沟通的工作，显得有些退缩。十分关注个人状态的导师并没有放过这个细节，她认为Eline有能力、也有资格去完成学生会的工作，于是一步又一步推动并肯定着Eline的表现。

“自信和经验是共同体，没有自信是因为没有经验，积累了足够的经验之后会变得更加自信。学生会的主持工作Eline轮到过两次，老师反馈她可能还是会怯场，但在鼓励和支持之下，能看得到孩子的进步是很快的。有进步的趋势，我相信她的表达能力就会越来越好。”

Yolanda也充分地利用着校内的条件，拓展自己的兴趣爱好。上学期她加入了游泳社，享受着运动带来的畅快；这学期则报名了延展课，跟着老师学习直播相关的知识和技术，在学校的大型音乐会、体育赛事时，完成整个现场的直播。

她作为摄影，参加了学校篮球比赛的全程直播。活动当天持续到很晚，回家后的Yolanda难掩激动之情，和家人分享了许多现场的细节，拍摄了哪些画面，在什么平台发布。言语中的自豪与热切让Yolanda妈妈十分触动。

“她可能只是一个初学者，拍摄出来的东西不一定是最精美的。但完全由学生主导的事务，让她其中发挥了属于自己的作用，收获了经验和积极的能量，我觉得这是特别有意义的。”

直播的成就感，让Yolanda对摄影越发感兴趣，主动申请在春游等活动中担当记录者。她还进一步考虑，是不是可以将这一爱好深入地探索下去，作为未来可能的发展方向之一。

演讲课也帮助Yolanda向自信迈步。她学会了怎么样富有逻辑地阐述观点，怎样自如大方地表达自我。演讲课的助益延展到之后每一次的Presentation上，她的语言梳理更具条理，与台下观众的交流和互动也显得成熟流畅。

狄邦华曜的延展课程和课外活动多至上百项，涵盖了音乐、体育、美术、戏剧等多元丰富的内容。在学校中，活动均有外教教学，在学科教育之余，持续性地提供着沉浸式的语言环境。

与学科教育相辅相成的活动，所承载的意义不单单是为学生们拓展兴趣爱好，更是为初中生提供一个机会，让他们能够看到自己日常生活以外的世界。投身其中用自己的行动赢得成就感，进而深挖发现更多、更大的可能性。

除了课程的广度，狄邦华曜在学术的深度挖掘上也处于高水准。这就不可不提竞赛培养了。

我们自创校起便开始组织学生参加竞赛，至今也进入体系越加完善的第三年，以往以高中为重点的竞赛相关安排，开始逐渐向初中部渗透。可参加的竞赛不仅包含了广为人知的各类数学大赛，也有人文、科学等其他领域的项目。

Yolanda曾参加过地理竞赛。在赛前准备的一两周，她几乎每天都和家人一起，围绕地理相关主题展开讨论。地貌的特征、地形图的解读、地理现象发生的原因……随着学习得愈多，她愈加发现知识如黑洞一般，每一个知识点都连结着更多的知识面。

准备的时间紧张，训练不够充足，Yolanda首次参赛并没有入围。但探索带来的兴奋感，让她深感不满足，积极地表示希望做更全面的准备，能再参加一次。

“在此之前，我们得不到竞赛相关的信息，孩子也好家长也好，都对竞赛的方式、内容、过程没什么了解。而现在学校这个平台，给孩子提供了信息和眼界，让她可以尝试参加，在备赛中习得相关的知识和能力，也可以测试看看自己的水平在哪里。”

学校并不仅仅是一个平台或活动的组织者，针对竞赛，也不断在完善相应的配套体系。

以数学竞赛为例，学校开设了专门的Life block课程，根据赛程的不同，在不同学期有针对性地设置相应培训。课上会讲解真题，按照比赛要求实际操练，让学生提前适应和感受真实的赛制；

除此之外，每周一、三、五老师也会利用额外的时间进行竞赛答疑，为有需要的学生们随时提供辅导。竞赛协同工作的不断精进，让狄邦华曜也收获了一年比一年更好的成绩。

在今年，为了鼓励和支持孩子们通过竞赛挑战自我，正式推出了学科竞赛奖学金，凡是G7及以上的学者，在教育部门组织的学科竞赛中获得二等奖以上，或是在国际权威竞赛中拿下重要奖项的均可以申请，最高奖学金金额可达50,000元。

学校时不时还会举办相关活动，在类似竞赛的比拼里，让学生们于趣味中感受学科的魅力。

像是中学部数学周的“数学寻宝”活动，孩子们先要找到图片上指定的位置，再开始做题。活动一边加深着学者对校园的了解，一边激发起他们对数学的兴趣和用数学解决实际问题的能力。

Yolanda也参与到了其中，发挥着主导作用，她和同组的伙伴们分工协作，忙忙碌碌，最终拿到了奖牌。为小组争取到荣誉的成就感，推动着她也对数学的兴趣更大了。

“我们看到的仅仅是结果，但我相信背后整个教学团队在活动内容、日程安排的组织中付出了很多心血。这份用心以及孩子经历之后所表现出来的状态，都是让我觉得受益匪浅的。”

作为一所美式寄宿学校，寄宿生活同样是全人教育的重要部分。一方面，学术辅助到位，每天的晚自习都有资深学科老师值班，以确保学者的疑问能够被及时解答，帮助同学们查缺补漏； 另一方面，小到铺床叠被、大到如何理财，寄宿学者需要完成49项重要生活技能的必修和考核。在生活自理、社交能力、时间规划等方面给予指导和助力。

一点一滴的集体生活体验，让步入青春期的孩子们在得到自由空间的同时，逐步学会如何与他人相处，如何处理好自己的时间行程。

尽管对于7年级的学者来说，留学申请规划看起来时间尚早，但包括Yolanda妈妈和Eline妈妈在内的家长们，希望能够得到个人成长和未来规划上的专业交流。

我们从7年级便开启职业初期探索，家长可以预约富有经验、且了解每名学生个体的升学指导，进行一对一的沟通。到了更高的年级，我们将为每一位学者配备升学指导，协助他们认识自己、找到适合自己专业和大学。

转学适应+青春期教育的双重挑战，在狄邦华曜这里被润物细无声地化解了。老师们对每个学者个性的关注和把握，给诸如Yolanda妈妈、Eline妈妈这样的家长打了一剂强心针。很多细小到家人可能忽略了的问题，老师也会不吝反馈。家长会上针对孩子本身实际情况所做的对谈，能让爸爸妈妈们感受到学校的专业性和认真负责的态度。

学校以学生为中心，学生积极的反馈让家长们对学校更加放心。在这样的良性循环下，只需要放手让孩子们自由、茁壮地成长就好。

When Yolanda entered the upper grades of elementary school, her mother took her to participate in extracurricular American-style English training. The three-hour evening study was rich and interesting, making her always feel unsatisfied and more willing to speak and communicate in English.

This discovery touched Yolanda's mother's heart: if she sent her child to a school with an environment and training class similar to this one, with teachers surrounded by a similar configuration, would the child who is currently feeling a bit lackluster be more willing to work hard?

As someone with an education background from the public school, Yolanda's mother longed for Western education models while also attaching great importance to laying a good foundation. She realized early on that so-called elite education is not about letting children run wild in well-equipped schools but about utilizing resources and receiving more comprehensive training.

She immediately thought of Dipont Huayao Collegiate school she had visited before, which perfectly matched her ideal school vision. Although she had already received offers from other schools closer to home, the Yolanda family still decided to choose Kunshan and start a new life.

The school conducts academic ability assessments for scholars from different backgrounds and adopts flexible layered teaching guidance, with layered subjects not only in common subjects such as Mathematics and English but also in Chinese and science.

Middle Grads is divided into four levels: CP, CP-A, ECP, and ECP-I. Children who have just transferred to the school and did not participate in the school's assessment start from the most basic level. Driven by the desire to win, Yolanda continuously adjusted her level in less than a month and has now basically moved up to the highest level, ECP-I.

This kind of progress is not exceptional. After a period of enrollment, Yolanda realized that even though the learning atmosphere was relaxed, none of her classmates did not care about their grades. Everyone continues to improve themselves for better personal performance, mastery of higher-level knowledge, and making more contributions to the class.

Therefore, immersed in a benign competitive atmosphere, classmates influence and promote each other.

Yolanda's mother clearly felt the changes in her child:

"I used to check my child's homework and often found mistakes, but now I don't pay as much attention to it. On the one hand, the system provides convenience, as many assignments are submitted online and parents can use IntSchool to check feedback at any time. On the other hand, she has become more proactive in caring about the quality of her homework. She absorbs feedback from teachers or encouragement as motivation for improvement in the next round.

Not only with written assignments, but also with many personalized projects, my child and her friends never treated them as chores to be dealt with. After the task is assigned, she takes the initiative to ask her parents for help with the equipment or materials needed, and collaborates with classmates to discuss and encourage each other to complete their respective parts. In several projects, Yolanda's group received full marks in the final evaluation.

Eline's mother also shares the same feeling about learning initiative. In her opinion, the period of entering middle school is a stage of children's self-awareness. Many middle school students at this age love to play games and may have resistance to their parents urging them to study.

However, through Eline's performance, she found that her child's classmates also have academic competition. The existence of the class level system makes everyone have certain requirements for their own grades and voluntarily sign up for different courses, which may even seem somewhat "competitive" from a bystander's perspective. This "competition" is not a negative connotation, but rather seeking improvement under appropriate pressure.

School teachers regularly output personalized growth reports for each student, providing feedback on which areas of performance are excellent and which areas still need improvement based on the evaluation system. When Eline realized during her adaptation period after transferring schools that her English was not good enough, she not only took the opportunity to practice more in school but also started thinking about whether she could take an English test like TOEFL to see where her level was.

HC's teaching and evaluation system can inspire children's learning motivation from the root, and lay the foundation for good study habits and thinking habits in middle school, helping scholars apply them to more learning scenarios."

After transferring to this school, Eline and Yolanda quickly integrated into the school community. The rich Life-Block courses and various club activities allowed them to experience a different kind of campus life, and they found their own value and passion in various distinctive practices.

Eline's mother had always thought of her as a relatively introverted child who didn't like to express herself. But at a friend's family gathering, facing questions from other parents about Eline's experience after transferring, she spoke eloquently, sharing many of the school's advantages and her own true feelings.

At that moment, Eline's mother realized that perhaps her child was not timid in personality, but had the willingness and ideas to express herself, but lacked encouragement and opportunities. Through Diligent and Brilliant's training, Eline has achieved a qualitative transformation in both language and personal expression.

At a recent school anti-bullying exhibition, Eline played one of the lead roles in the drama. The play was created by drama teacher Matt and the students in just two weeks. The touching plot and full emotional performances infected many people in the audience. Eline's mother was deeply moved and shed tears as she was amazed by her daughter's performance. Carrying the banner of the lead role for the first time and receiving such praise, she also developed a strong interest in drama performance.

Last year, Eline joined the Student Council. At the beginning of her membership, she faced many tasks that required communication with the outside world, and she seemed a bit hesitant. However, her adviser, who was very concerned about her personal state, did not miss this detail. She believed that Eline was capable and qualified to complete the work of the Student Council, and she pushed and affirmed Eline's performance step by step.

"Confidence and experience are a community. Lack of confidence is due to lack of experience. After accumulating enough experience, confidence will increase. Eline has hosted the Student Council's work twice, and the teacher feedback was that she may still be nervous on stage, but with encouragement and support, the progress of the child can be seen to be very fast. With the trend of improvement, I believe her expression ability will get better and better."

Yolanda also fully utilizes the school's conditions to expand her interests and hobbies. Last semester, she joined the swimming club and enjoyed the pleasure of sports. This semester, she enrolled in an extension course and learned live streaming-related knowledge and techniques from the teacher. During the school's large-scale music concerts and sports events, she completed the live broadcasting of the entire event.

As a photographer, she participated in the full live broadcast of the school basketball game. The activity lasted until very late on the day, and Yolanda couldn't conceal her excitement when she got home. She shared many details of the scene with her family, such as which scenes she had captured and on which platform she had published them. Yolanda's mother was deeply touched by her pride and enthusiasm in her words.

"She may only be a beginner, and what she captures may not be the most beautiful. But the completely student-led affairs have allowed her to play her own role, gain experience and positive energy, which I think is particularly meaningful."

The sense of accomplishment from live streaming has made Yolanda even more interested in photography, and she took the initiative to apply to be the recorder in activities such as spring outings. She also further considered whether she could explore this hobby in-depth as one of the possible directions for future development.

The public speaking class also helped Yolanda take confident steps forward. She learned how to logically articulate her viewpoints and express herself freely and confidently. The benefits of the public speaking class extended to every subsequent presentation. Her language organization became more structured, and her communication and interaction with the audience became more mature and fluent.

Deerfield Academy's extended curriculum and extracurricular activities include hundreds of diverse and rich contents, covering music, sports, art, drama, and more. In the school, activities are taught by foreign teachers, and in addition to subject education, they provide a continuous immersive language environment.

The meaning carried by activities that complement subject education is not only to expand scholars' interests but also to provide an opportunity for middle grades scholars to see the world beyond their daily lives. By immersing themselves in activities and gaining a sense of accomplishment through their actions, they can further dig deeper and discover more significant possibilities.

In addition to the breadth of the curriculum, HC also excels in academic depth exploration. This is largely due to the school's emphasis on competition training.

Since its establishment, the school has been organizing students to participate in competitions. Now in its third year, the system has become more and more perfect, and competitions are no longer just for high school students, but have begun to penetrate the middle grade div. The competitions available include not only well-known math competitions, but also projects in humanities, sciences, and other fields.

Yolanda participated in a geography competition. For one or two weeks before the competition, she and her family would discuss geography-related topics almost every day. The features of landforms, the interpretation of topographic maps, the causes of geographical phenomena...the more she learned, the more she realized that knowledge is like a black hole, with each knowledge point connected to more knowledge.

Although Yolanda did not qualify in her first competition due to a lack of preparation time and training, the excitement of exploration made her unsatisfied and eager to make more comprehensive preparations and participate again.

"Before this, we could not obtain information about competitions. Both children and parents were not familiar with the methods, content, and process of competitions. Now the school platform provides information and perspectives for children to participate and gain relevant knowledge and skills through preparation, and they can also test their own level."

The school is not only a platform or organizer of activities but also continuously improves the corresponding supporting system for competitions. For example, in math competitions, the school has established a dedicated Life Block course and provides targeted training in different semesters according to different schedules. During class, real questions are explained, and actual practice is done according to the requirements of the competition, allowing students to adapt and experience the real competition in advance.

In addition, teachers also use extra time on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to provide competition counseling for students in need. The continuous improvement of competition cooperation work has also brought better results for HC year by year.

This year, to encourage and support students to challenge themselves through competitions, the school officially launched academic competition scholarships. Scholars in G7 and above who win second place or above in subject competitions organized by the education department or win important awards in international authoritative competitions can apply, with the highest scholarship amounting to 50,000 yuan.

The school also occasionally organizes related activities, allowing students to experience the charm of subjects in fun competition-like contests. For example, the "Math Treasure Hunt" activity during Middle School Math Week requires students to first find the specified locations in the pictures before starting to solve problems. The activity deepens students' understanding of the campus and inspires their interest in and ability to solve practical problems with math.

Yolanda also participated, playing a leading role. She and her teammates worked together, busy and productive, and ultimately won a medal for their group. The achievement of obtaining honor for the group pushed her to become more interested in math.

"What we see is just the result, but I believe that the entire teaching team has put in a lot of effort in organizing the activities and schedule behind the scenes. The dedication and the state exhibited by the children after the experience have greatly benefited me."

As an American boarding school, boarding life is also an important part of holistic education. On the one hand, academic assistance is in place, with senior subject teachers on duty during evening self-study every day to ensure that scholars' questions can be answered in a timely manner and help classmates fill in gaps in their knowledge. On the other hand, from making beds to managing finances, boarding scholars need to complete 49 essential life skills as a compulsory and assessed course. Guidance and assistance are provided in self-care, social skills, time management, and more.

The collective living experience bit by bit allows children who have entered adolescence to gradually learn how to get along with others and how to manage their own time schedule while gaining freedom.

Although it may seem early for G7 scholars to plan for studying abroad, parents including Yolanda's and Eline's hope to have personal growth and professional communication in future planning.

We begin exploring early career development from G7. Parents can make appointments for experienced college counseling that understands each student individually and have a communication. In higher grades, we will provide college counseling for each scholar to assist them in understanding themselves and finding suitable majors and universities.

The dual challenges of transferring and adapting to a new environment and adolescent education have been quietly resolved at HC. Teachers' attention and grasp of each scholar's personality have given a boost to parents like Yolanda's and Eline's. Teachers will not hesitate to provide feedback on many issues that may be overlooked by family members. Dialogues based on the actual situation of the child during parent meetings can make parents feel the professionalism and responsible attitude of the school.

The school centers around the scholars, and the positive feedback from the scholars reassures parents about the school. In this virtuous cycle, all that is needed is to let the children grow freely and healthily.