"When I arrived in China in 2003, my first goal was to learn Chinese. I went on to study at East China Normal University and graduated in 2010. The next 10 years, I spent working at Shanghai United International School to experience different curricula as well as the philosophy of ‘East Meets West’. Six years of my stay at SUIS, I spent in the IB PYP section as teacher and coordinator. I am very passionate about the PYP and its philosophy, which shows in my daily life."

　　她是一位畢業于華東師范大學的德國人，她在中國生活學習了17年，深諳“東西方融合”的課程理念。她說著一口流利的中文，她與孩子們親切如伙伴。她就是今天合肥新華公學師說的主人翁——Vanessa Pfoehler，讓我們一起來品讀這封“來自德國”的書信吧...

　　Dear parents,

　　It is my great pleasure to join Xinhua Academy as PYP coordinator. The last couple of weeks have been filled with preparations for the start of the academic year 2020-2021. Lots of training and curriculum work have been taking place and we are all very excited to see the students coming back on September 1st.

　　Living, studying and working in China has opened up my eyes to a wide range of thoughts and ideas. After 17 years in China, I am looking forward to work at Xinhua Academy who embrace and cherish the Chinese National curriculum combined with the IB PYP as a framework.

　　We are now a PYP candidate school and are working towards authorization. The implementation of the PYP framework along with the content of the Chinese National Curriculum provide a true international education with the rigour and appreciation of Chinese wisdom and culture.

　　Through my time in the Chinese education system, I am confident to say that I have gained a good understanding of the idea of ‘East meets West’ and am looking forward to apply this concept at Xinhua.

　　PYP does not follow the traditional approaches to learning. PYP is about making connections, linking ideas, conceptual understandings and developing skills to deal with complex ideas. During each unit we use an inquiry-based approach to learning and supports the development of students’ thinking skills; collaborative, caring, critical and creative thinking are some of the top 21st century skills needed.

　　During a unit of inquiry, the students combine the knowledge from different subject areas and put it into practice. The following example is from a unit about changes to Earth. Throughout the unit, the students inquired into slow changes, fast changes and the impact on people’s lives. In their final project, students presented their learning to other students through posters, games, movies, and ppts. The students had to use their knowledge from different subject areas to put this final project together. Their speaking showed off their language skills; their graphs were part of their learning in maths; and their knowledge about Earth’s changes, including the layers of the Earth and natural disasters, were part of their science studies. One unit can be seen as a holistic approach to learning.

　　IB students are ‘life-long learners’ and I am looking forward to more learning happening together with the whole community at Xinhua.

　　Vanessa Pfoehler

　　2020.7.31

　　譯：

　　親愛的家長們：

　　你們好

　　我很高興在新華公學擔任IB PYP協調員。較近幾周我們一直在為2020-2021學年開學做的準備。培訓和課程工作已經展開，我期待著在美好的9月與同學們再次相見。

　　我在中國生活了17年，在這里的學習和工作使我大開眼界，也收獲了更加多樣化的見解與理念。新華公學是IB PYP的候選學校，中國國家課程內容嵌入到PYP框架中為家長們提供了真正的國際教育，同時我們尊重中國傳統文化與智慧。

　　我一直在中國的教育體系中工作，我自信對“中西融合”的概念十分了解，并期待將這一概念應用到新華公學。

　　IB PYP不遵循傳統的學習方法。PYP旨在建立聯系、鏈接思想、理解概念并培養處理復雜問題的能力。在每個單元中，我們都采用探究式教學，并鼓勵培養學生的思考能力;協作、關愛、批判和創造性思維是21世紀所需的重要能力。

　　在每個探究單元中，學生將來自不同學科領域的知識結合起來并應用于實踐。 以下的示例來自有關地球變化的學習單元，在整個學習過程中，學生們研究地球的緩慢變化和快速變化對人們生活的影響。

　　在較后的成果展示中，學生通過海報、游戲、電影和PPT向同學和老師們展示了他們的探究過程以及探究結果。學生們必須利用他們在不同學科領域所學習到的知識來完成這個項目。

　　他們的演講彰顯了他們的語言能力;制作圖表是他們學習數學的一部分;他們對地球變化(包括地層和自然災害)的了解是他們科學研究的一部分。這樣的一個學習單元可以看作是一種整體的學習方法。

　　由此可以看出，在IB理念中，學生是“終身學習者”，我期待著與新華公學的學生們一起學習，共同進步。

　　新華公學PYP協調員 Vanessa Pfoehler

　　2020.7.31