This is why I like to talk about what good communication is and how to facilitate and develop good communication. As the Head of School at AISB-Hope International, I can be quoted as saying “My office door is always open to you.” But then I think, who really desires to visit the office of the Head of School? I have a wonderful Chinese tea set in my office so I can serve and drink tea with parents, teachers, and students. This is one way that I try to facilitate good communication to invite people to come and drink tea with me. Yet sometimes, there are parents who wait until the middle of May to come to my office to share some of the difficulties that their children have faced all year long. And this is when I wished that more people enjoyed meetings as much as I do. My desire is to solve problems that arise from time to time in the life of a student. Why? I do not want anything to get in the way of our student’s learning process. If there is a problem, I want to solve it. If something is wrong, it is my desire to do everything that I can to clear the problem so we can get back to the main reason our children are in school.?

One of my favorite quotes is from Stephen R. Covey who says “Seek first to Understand; then to be Understood.” I like this quote because many people put themselves first and want everyone to understand their situation first. The idea behind this quote is for a person to place themselves into somebody else’s shoes. In other words, the first thing you should do is to look at the situation from the other person’s perspective to see how the other person might see it. This is especially challenging in the relationship of the student and the teacher. One idea that I have heard is that the teacher is always correct. Yet, as professional teachers we should always seek first to understand our students and see where they are coming from. When we do that, we show great respect to our students and we foster and facilitate a type of communication that is lasting and that not only promotes but opens the door to teaching and learning for the student.  This is why communication really is a wonderful thing. The absence of good communication in school between the teacher and the student robs the student as well as the teacher of the opportunity for success. In my next blog post, I will continue to explore the concept of good communication and how it can be achieved.  

Sincerely,?
Randal L. Eplin
Head of School?

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I would like you to know that we are planning to reopen school from June 8^th until June 11^th from 8:05 until 12:00 for grades 6 through 12. And we are inviting our grade 4 and 5 students on June 11^th, the final day of school for the 2019-20 school year. As I shared in the previous townhall meetings on Thursday, if the government allowed for more grade levels to return to our school, we would consider reopening our school. Our goal in reopening the school is to give our students that are in Beijing a chance to come together in order to finish strong in the 2019-20 school year.?

We look forward to continuing to communicate with you about the reopening of our school. Our Principal, Mrs. Johnson, will be contacting you with information about how we plan to keep your daughter/son safe as they return to school, and she will also share what the schedule will look like for the half day of school throughout the week. The bus service will run for that week, and we will share with you what your child should bring for a snack for the mid morning at our school. There will be no lunch served for students on these days coming back to school. It is also important to note that parents and visitors will not be allowed on campus and that this will be strictly enforced. 

Finally, we look forward to seeing your child back in our hallways. Below is a overview and snapshot of our plans with your child(ren) during this week. 

Very Sincerely, Mr. Eplin
Head of School, AISB-Hope International

Overview

• The HIS online program will remain in place for all students, and students returning to campus will have lessons tailored to meet their social/emotional needs.
• Students will be supervised by an HIS teacher, and maybe not by their regular subject teacher.
• The school day begins as normal at 8:05 and students will report directly to the lunchroom upon arrival. (per inspection requirements…this could be submitted to change)?
• The school day will be shortened with the dismissal of students at 12:00, (noon) and students will continue learning from home in the afternoon.
• Students who are able to return to school will be able to receive support, re-connect with peers, and engage in a recreation/physical activity with peers every day for this week.?
• Support for students who are unable to return for various reasons will continue through our HIS online learning platform for the remainder of the school year.
• If students are returning to campus, the school will collect information on travel history and health. We will ask our parents to partner with us to make sure that information sent home and requested from home is swiftly responded to for our planning purposes.?

Senior School Provision from 8^th of?June

Monday June 8th

• Grade 6, Grade 7, and grade 8 invited back to school.
  Start June 8th and finish June 11th
• Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11 invited back to school
  Finish the school year with the final day of school on June 11th.

Thursday, June 11th

• ?Grade 4, grade 5
  Return and finish school on June 11th

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