What are the impacts that MSB has on you?

MSB is extremely important to me because joining MSB was a big step of being comfortable in a new city when my family moved to Beijing in 2001 and I made my first friends here at MSB. I maintain close contact with them even today. Montessori philosophy enables children to be more hands-on in their learning rather than purely sitting there and listening to your teacher. We were engaged in a lot of teamwork. Meanwhile, we learned how to be independent and responsible for our work at a very young age. That really impacted me a lot throughout my life. Developing those skills at a young age allows you to consistently work on it as you grow up.

Could you share one of your beautiful memories of MSB?

The best words to describe MSB memories is “a lot of fun”. It was really enjoyable for me to take part in the exciting winter shows and competitions. I remember a dodge ball competition at the Japanese international school is one of the first competitions I attended representing MSB. Being able to represent my school and fight with my classmates for something is important. And we ended up winning the competition!

Who is your favorite teacher?

Along with those memories, Charles Dujat has been my favorite teacher. We had a lof of interaction as he taught us PE, music, Judo, and directing our winter shows. He is our mentor, a figure we respect and learn a lot from. I had a bunch of amazing teachers at MSB who made my school experience much better.

What do you love about MSB?

Apart from the skills I developed at MSB, the community we were able to build is super important to me. MSB is a family!

Stephen developed a lot of skills during his time at MSB, and the ones that he believes impacted him the most were self-regulation and caring. “MSB made me more outgoing, energetic and confident.”
He enjoys being able to learn loads of things during school time with measured amount of homework. “This allows us to do more activities out of school with less stress.”
He still reminisces about the days when he ran 5km every morning with Elaine, who was his teacher for 3 years. “My friends and I would meet in our classroom at 7 and ran back at 7:30 to have breakfast together in the classroom where we could talk and watch our classmates continuously come in.”
Stephen misses Helen Gao, his Chinese teacher for Grade 5/6. “She was just really nice and taught us in an creative and inspiring way. One specific thing I remember about her was that whenever we learned about Chinese culture or there was a Chinese festival, she would always bring food or help us cook, which were very fun experiences.”

What Catherine loves most about MSB is that every one is nice to each other and we are all friends. She remembers every winter show she participated in. From the rehearsal to the actual show, there was a lot of fun. “I was very nervous before the show but relaxed the moment I started singing or acting.”
She said at MSB everyone is so kind and helpful to each other. “I believe the virtues developed from the days at MSB will shine through my life, like being helpful, thoughtful and thankful to the world.”

Doria loves all the teachers at MSB because “they are so kind and took good care of me.”
“No matter what happens to your life, you would always feel safe and comfortable thanks to teacher’s support,” she said. “MSB is a school of friendship, love and full of fun.”
One of her beautiful memories of MSB is that every holiday the school is decked out with festive colors. Her favorite celebration is the Chinese New Year fair.
She said she learned to keep her life organized among other skills in the Early Childhood. “Always solve your big problems first, then the small ones will work out themselves.”

Hugo joined MSB when he was 3 years old. “I learned A, B，C，1，2，3 and Three Character Classic as well as making Laba garlic, sweet dumplings… all from MSB.”
One of his beautiful memories was the sleeping over at the playground with his friends. “I love MSB. I hope MSB will continue to do well and have an even better next 30 years,” said Hugo.