The safety and well-being of our community is Western Academy of Beijing’s top priority. 

While official community health guidelines may mean a spontaneous shift to off-campus learning, WAB’s flexible systems ensure the continuity of world-class learning for our students. 

Whether learning remotely or on campus, WAB students have unimpeded access to teacher support, learning resources, and the individualized support they are used to through Teams, MyTime, and other digital platforms.  

Through teams, students continue to have access to all learning and can reach out to teachers for individual support as needed. Students use MyTime for scheduling, as well as for recording learning progress, writing reflections, and receiving actionable feedback from their teachers and mentors. On WAB Learns, students, parents, and teachers have access to complete curriculums, resources, and learning goals for each unit. 

But it’s more than just online systems that facilitate WAB’s flexible and seamless transitions. 

“WAB teachers know and value setting the right conditions for learning,” WAB’s Diploma Programme Coordinator and Curriculum Coach Scott Lindner said. “Communication and relationship-building are hallmarks of learning at WAB and are essential to the feedback cycles that teachers and students rely on to share understandings and progress.” 

But how can learning continue in subjects that require laboratories or special equipment? 

In Grade 10 MYP Design, students are focused on reducing waste in the culinary arts by designing and cooking meals using leftover food ingredients and re-purposed materials for serving. In Grade 9 MYP, students designed a community for refugees from different countries and are prototyping their buildings using cardboard, a material many have at home. The next step would be building actual models out of wood and acrylic. 

“In both of these units, there are lots of possibilities of things students can do from home with limited access to tools and materials,” Design Teacher Rob Langlands said. “For example, since most students don't have access to the tools and materials to do woodworking at home, we would switch to a digital design where students build their houses using 3D modeling software like Fusion360.”