"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."
她是一位毕业于华东师范大学的德国人，她在中国生活学习了17年，深谙“东西方融合”的课程理念。她说着一口流利的中文，她与孩子们亲切如伙伴。她就是今天合肥新华公学师说的主人翁——Vanessa Pfoehler，让我们一起来品读这封“来自德国”的书信吧...
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
译：
亲爱的家长们：
你们好
我很高兴在新华公学担任IB PYP协调员。较近几周我们一直在为2020-2021学年开学做的准备。培训和课程工作已经展开，我期待着在美好的9月与同学们再次相见。
我在中国生活了17年，在这里的学习和工作使我大开眼界，也收获了更加多样化的见解与理念。新华公学是IB PYP的候选学校，中国国家课程内容嵌入到PYP框架中为家长们提供了真正的国际教育，同时我们尊重中国传统文化与智慧。
我一直在中国的教育体系中工作，我自信对“中西融合”的概念十分了解，并期待将这一概念应用到新华公学。
IB PYP不遵循传统的学习方法。PYP旨在建立联系、链接思想、理解概念并培养处理复杂问题的能力。在每个单元中，我们都采用探究式教学，并鼓励培养学生的思考能力;协作、关爱、批判和创造性思维是21世纪所需的重要能力。
在每个探究单元中，学生将来自不同学科领域的知识结合起来并应用于实践。 以下的示例来自有关地球变化的学习单元，在整个学习过程中，学生们研究地球的缓慢变化和快速变化对人们生活的影响。
在较后的成果展示中，学生通过海报、游戏、电影和PPT向同学和老师们展示了他们的探究过程以及探究结果。学生们必须利用他们在不同学科领域所学习到的知识来完成这个项目。
他们的演讲彰显了他们的语言能力;制作图表是他们学习数学的一部分;他们对地球变化(包括地层和自然灾害)的了解是他们科学研究的一部分。这样的一个学习单元可以看作是一种整体的学习方法。
由此可以看出，在IB理念中，学生是“终身学习者”，我期待着与新华公学的学生们一起学习，共同进步。
新华公学PYP协调员 Vanessa Pfoehler
2020.7.31
