Parents' Q & A
Parents' Questions & Answers
Q: How much is the tuition fee?
A: Two semesters are set for a year in our school. The tuition fee per semester is forty-eight thousand(48,000) yuan RMB (The transportation fee for school bus, and the expense for school uniforms and weekend stay at school are excluded). The yearly expense is about one hundred and twenty thousand(120,000) yuan RMB.
Q: Could my child be demoted so that he/she would have more time to learn the traditional Chinese classics?
A: No.he/she can not be demoted since our school is a normal international school instead of a private school. The traditional Chinese classics is a unique course but not the only one. Moreover, nine-year compulsory schooling is a must required by the Ministry of Education. Demoted schooling is not allowed.
Q: How can the students finish their remaining schooling after they graduate in six years?
A: The students will have three choices to continue their education as follows:
1. They can go to other international schools;
2.They can return to their hometowns and take part in the examinations to go from primary school to junior secondary school;
3.They can study abroad.
Q: What difference is there between the lessons in Wujiang Taihu International School(hereinafter called as WTIS) and that of the normal primary schools?
A: Besides the common subjects, the students are provided with other multiple courses such as medical courses, martial art,meditation,Chinese classics,calligraphy and outdoor courses etc. At the same time, we also attach importance to training students' practical abilities and daily manners.
Q: What differences are there between the students that graduate from the WTIS?
A: The students that graduate from WTIS are more independent, more capable to take on leadership, more adaptive and more helpful to others.
Q: How can the students adapt to the boarding school life since they are still too young?
A: It takes a certain period of time for each new student to adapt to the boarding school life. Not only their homeroom teachers but all other teachers at school as well as all the students in upper grades will care for the new students and help them adapt to the boarding school life. The key point is the attitude of the parents. The students will not stay at ease if their parents can not take it easy and worry about their kids. The kids can feel it.
Q: How will the sick students be looked after?
A: Professional traditional Chinese physicians will take care of the sick students and give proper treatment accordingly. The physicians give the students health courses and traditional Chinese medical courses regularly.
Q: How is the food and drink of the students?
A: A central kitchen is specially equipped for supplying food and drink for the students. Besides three normal meals a day, the central kitchen also provides fruit at 10am,and snacks at 3:30pm everyday. Soy bean milk for breakfast is prepared by the center kitchen with the soybean planted inside the school. And most vegetables used for each meal are organic ones planted inside the school.
Q: Would the parents be allowed to visit their kids at usual time?
A: No, the parents are not allowed to do so regularly for the sake of the study and calmness of the students. Your understanding will be expected.
Q: What time do the students go to bed?
A: The students return their dormitories at about 8:00pm after dinner everyday and go to bed at 9:00pm.
Q: How are the students arranged for lodging and do they need to do washing by themselves?
A: There are five or six students with mixed ages for each dormitory and one life teacher and dormitory leader appointed to the dormitory to help and direct the other students for housekeeping. The students are trained to wash their socks and underwear for improving their life skills. Other clothes will be sent to the laundry center.
Q: How are the students' weekend home visits arranged?
A: The parents can decide to meet & send the students off by themselves or allow the students to take the school bus. The school buses take the kids to Dongyin Square at the set time. School will be over at 4：00pm on Friday and the students must return to school before 6:00pm on Sundays.
Q: Will junior high school be set at the WTIS?
A: The WTIS has no plan for junior high school at present. The school focuses on life skills and bettering memorization of traditional Chinese classics
Q: How are student weekend stays arranged?
A: Students in first and second grades can return home every weekend while students from grade 3 to 6 can go home once every two weeks on the weekends. The courses taught on weekends mainly include life skill courses, arts, outdoor activities and external studies.
Q: Which textbooks are adopted for English courses and how many periods are
set in each week?
A: The English textbooks are compiled and edited both by the professors of the WTIS and Columbia University in the USA. They mainly focus on individual cultivation and world outlook. Ten English periods are set in a week, including outdoor courses on Fridays, reciting English classics after dinner and intensive learning after class.
Q: What do classics courses consist of?
A: The classics courses consist of both Chinese and Western classics, including ten Chinese classics books and sixty pieces of English classics. The students in Grade 1 & 2 learn the One Thousand Character Primer, the students in Grade 3 & 4 learn You Xue Qiong Lin while the students in Grade 5 & 6 learn Gu Wen Guan Zhi.
Q: Where are the teachers from?
A: The teachers are from the mainland, Taiwan, and foreign countries.
Q: Are there any special teachers for directing students with musical and artistic talents？Can they practice everyday?
A: No special teachers are arranged for directing students with special talents. But students can practice those talents during their free time or in the evening.
Q: Are there any training courses for adults?
A: There are regular training courses for parents at present, and there will be some training courses for other adults in future.
Q: What will students do if they do not know how to keep warm when as it gradually becomes cold?
A: In the winter, the school is equipped with ground heating facilities. Students are directed to put on their high collar underclothes, blue long sleeve shirts, and waistcoats accordingly. If it is quite cold, they are told to put on their sweaters or coats lined with fleece. They are asked to put on their thick coats with hats when leaving the classrooms, and they are directed to put on down coats on snowy days. The students are asked to put on school uniforms since the school uniforms stand for the spirit and discipline of the school.
Q: Will the teachers direct the students to take their medicine accordingly if they need to take some medicine to the school?
A: Yes, the teachers will urge the students to take medicine during their free time everyday.
Q: Can the students ask for leave on account of travel or other things during school time?
A: No, the students are not allowed to ask for leave because of travel or other studies during school time. Regular study means a lot. The students should focus on the regular study at school. Other studies can be arranged during holidays.
Q: When can we make phone calls?
A: Students in Grade 1 & 2 staying at the school during the weekend make phone calls to their parents only on those weekends. The students from Grade 3 to 6 staying at school on weekends can make phone calls on even weekends instead of odd weekends or weekdays.
Q: How will the students travelling by air be met or sent off?
A: 1. Except for the school start day and long holidays, parents can meet or send off their kids at Dongyin square on weekends.
2. Extra fees should be paid if the students are met or sent off at Pudong Airport since Pudong Airport is farther away and a special bus and teachers are needed to accompany the student.