Aileen Alfeche, 教师（英文部助理主任）Teacher (Assistant Head of the English Department)
Business Name – 汇景新城国际幼儿园 Favourview Palace International Kindergarten

  1. 您在汇景新城国际幼儿园工作了多久？是什么启发您成为一名教师？How long have you been teaching at the Favourview Kindergarten? What inspired you to become a teacher?
    I have been teaching at the Favourview Palace International Kindergarten for 8 years now and I have definitely enjoyed my time with this school so far. I first began teaching 17 years ago and I have never taught in one place for this long, which I believe truly represents my level of appreciation for this particular school. With regards to my inspiration behind becoming a teacher, both my parents are teachers and so this career choice has always been prevalent within my household growing up. Additionally, I have always looked up to my teachers as I appreciate that teaching is not an easy job. Teachers are one of the greatest resources in society and have a significant impact on the next generation’s future. In fact, my first students were my nieces and nephews, I have always loved teaching.

2. 汇景新城国际幼儿园以什么方式容纳其学生？这里与其他幼儿园有什么不同？In what way does the Favourview Palace International Kindergarten accommodate its students? What attributes make this kindergarten different from others?
The Favourview Palace International Kindergarten accommodates its students in a multitude of ways. The very first thing a student will do at our Kindergarten is eat breakfast – a prime example ofhow we do not purely focus on academics, but also teach our students the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, we have different areas in our classrooms and each area offers a different activity. These activities range from puzzle solving to arts and crafts, exemplifying the diversity within the classrooms at our Kindergarten. Not only does this show how we accommodate our students but it is also what makes our school truly unique. We are very much student orientated. We try to create lessons based on what students like to do most in order for them to truly enjoy their learning experience. It is not common to place such importance on Kindergarten but as both a parent and teacher, I understand the importance of one’s foundation and Kindergarten is the foundation to every child’s education. It definitely shapes what your child’s’ attitude towards learning will be in the future.

3. 您能简要介绍一下幼儿园的发展历程么？Could you briefly describe how the Kindergarten has become what it is today?
The Favourview Palace International Kindergarten is a well established Kindergarten, as it has been running for more than 8 years now. We are located in and owned by Favourview Palace so our students typically come from the Favourview community due to the location being a great convenience for parents living in the area. In previous years we had a great number of foreign students, however, as the number of foreigners living in Favourview decreased, our Kindergarten’s foreign population followed that trend. Nonetheless, we still have a very mixed student population. While our Kindergarten faces a great amount of competition, we still continue to grow and I believe that this is because of the Chinese and English programs we offer. For the foreign children in particular, it is highly important for them to learn the Chinese language, especially if they will be living in China for a long time. If not, the Chinese language is a globally recognised language, which is why this would be beneficial for them in the future.

4. 作为一所国际化的幼儿园，您如何迎合国际学生？是否有国际课程？Being an International Kindergarten, how do you cater to International students? Is there an International curriculum?
I think that we are more of a bilingual school than anything else. The Kindergarten is labelled as ‘International’ firstly due to our student population being a complete mix of different nationalities. Our Kindergarten also has a mix of both foreign and local staff, which is typical in International Schools. In addition to that, our curriculum can be defined as an international curriculum in some aspects, as the students learn in both Chinese and English during one school day, which is special for a Kindergarten to offer.

5. 作为教师，您将如何进一步丰富幼儿园的学习环境？As a teacher, what would you do to further enrich the learning environment at the Kindergarten?
Personally, I believe that as technology has advanced, the appreciation for nature has decreased immensely, especially amongst the younger generations. Most students would much rather play on their IPad’s or other technological devices instead of going outside and interacting with one another.This is a great flaw within our society today because if students isolate themselves at such a young age, they are likely to grow up highly introverted which will be a great disadvantage for them in the future. As a teacher I am slowly implementing more activities that involve interactions with nature. I believe that more arranged field trips to nature sites or the establishment of a small botanical garden could also help with this dilemma.

6. 我们能从什么渠道了解更多‘汇景新城国际幼儿园’？Where can we find more information about this Kindergarten?
Website: www.hj-bb.com