From August 10-14,2026, all faculty and staff of Tsinghua International School gathered on campus for a week of professional development, team collaboration, and collective growth. New and returning teachers engaged in close communication and cooperation, fully preparing for a smooth start to the new school year and welcoming students back for a new journey.
01 Message from the Executive Principal,
Ms. Zhu Ying: Leading the New School Year with "Impact"
Ms. Zhu Ying kicked off the training week by welcoming all staff and expressing gratitude for the productive summer—from teachers leading three volunteer teaching projects with students, to campus facility upgrades, and the unwavering support of the administrative and leadership teams. She also reviewed the past year's achievements, noting how both students and teachers have grown tremendously across all areas through collective effort.
Ms. Zhu then unveiled this year's theme: "Impact" —embodied in the motto “Strive for Virtue, Impact Untamed”. Building on last year's theme of "Growing Dreams, Chasing Light," this new chapter calls us to push beyond limits—igniting the students' curiosity, broadening their horizons, and supporting them steadily as they grow. Admin or The school believes that when every teacher becomes a positive centre of influence, and when cross-disciplinary collaboration becomes second nature, the community will generate powerful momentum. One that ensures every child here is seen, valued, and empowered to shine.
School-Wide: Safety First, Community Together
The first two days focused on whole-school topics, including school culture, staff handbook updates, and logistics. All staff attended Safeguarding training by division to reinforce student protection and well-being.
The week also included WASC-related sessions, professional development meetings, CPR+AED certification, and team-building activities that strengthened cross-divisional cohesion.
Primary Division: Deepening Curriculum, Building Connections
From Sean Simkins：“My first week as the new Head of Primary at THIS has been extremely productive, and I would like to thank everyone across the community for such a warm welcome.
This week, our enthusiastic Primary staff have been working hard to prepare for a fun and purposeful year ahead. We have spent time exploring our Primary curriculum and considering how thoughtful planning and purposeful connections can have an even greater impact on student learning.
We have also worked together on how we can best to support every student to be the best they can be. Training sessions have supported teachers to further develop and enhance their ideas for our daily Morning Meetings, with a focus on establishing consistent routines, strengthening classroom communities and ensuring students begin each day feeling connected and ready to learn.
Our word for the year is impact, and I am excited to see the many ways we will bring this to life throughout the year—for our students, our colleagues and our wider community.”
Secondary Division: Research-Informed Teaching, Individualized Support
From Vice Principal and Head of Secondary Weiky Liu：
“With the new semester just around the corner, our secondary school faculty has just wrapped up an intensive and highly rewarding week of professional development. We came together as subject teams, grade-level groups, and as a whole division—refining our teaching strategies, reviewing each student's learning profile, and engaging in cross-grade, cross-subject conversations. Every meeting sparked fresh ideas; every case discussion brought us closer to truly personalized education. All of this groundwork is aimed at one thing: giving our students more precise, more caring support from day one.
Professional development included AI technology training, PBL sharing sessions, and targeted meetings for middle and high school teams.
We are also delighted to welcome a number of outstanding new teachers to our secondary school family. They have hit the ground running, quickly embracing the ethos of our school and connecting meaningfully with colleagues, students, and parents. In these early exchanges, they have already experienced the warmth and strong sense of belonging that makes THIS such a special community.”
Strive for Virtue, Impact Untamed.
This is not just our theme;
it is our daily commitment.
We are ready.
