Get to Know the New 9s and 10s

A new year has begun, and we have several new students coming into Grades 9 and 10. Making the transition into a new school can be daunting, as many new students come from different backgrounds, cultures, and environments. This year, grade 9 has a total of 16 new students, while grade 10 has 8. I have interviewed some of the new students about their thoughts on AISG, and the changes from their previous schools.

Priena P, a new 10th grader, comes from ILTexas (International Leadership of Texas). She is originally from Frankfurt, Germany, and moved to Guangzhou two years ago. Priena has had a passion for horse-riding, triathlon, and figure skating ever since she was young. Sadly, she had to give up running triathlons. Back in Germany, Priena learned how to speak five different languages: German, English, Chinese, French, and Latin.

Moving to Guangzhou was a big change for Priena, since Guangzhou and Germany are very different places. She mentioned that “there are much more apartments here than Germany, and it’s not as quiet here in Guangzhou.” Although this has been a drastic change for Priena, she felt very welcomed by the school community and said she “never expected that the students are so open and welcoming.” Priena has been enjoying her time at AISG; she commented that “[she] really [likes] the clubs here in AISG, they have a teacher there to guide you and it is much more helpful than learning something on your own, which we had in most of our clubs in my old school.”

Maya T, another new 10th grade student, previously attended the American International School of Bucharest. She’s moved to many different cities throughout her life: Brooklyn, Seoul, Malaysia, Bucharest, and now, Guangzhou. Maya has a variety of different hobbies; she describes herself as someone who enjoys “reading, writing, and taekwondo,” as well as “singing, acting, and talking about all sorts of things.”

So far, Maya has been enjoying her time at AISG. “I feel like the students really respect the teachers and each other. And the school really supports the arts program, which is nice because my old school didn’t really do that a lot. I like the way AISG provides a lot of resources and freedom to the students, and yet it is used responsibly and the whole school community made me feel welcome,” she stated.

Meanwhile, new 9th grader Isadora B previously attended ISD (International School of Dongguan). To her, moving to Guangzhou wasn’t a big change, as Dongguan is relatively close to Guangzhou, and she is currently still living in Dongguan. “So far, I really like AISG. Some things I really like about it is how welcoming the people are: everyone was really nice to me on my first day. I also really like the wide range of activities; it’s as if there’s something for everyone,” she stated. Although Guangzhou and Dongguan have similar environments, school wise, ISD is very different from AISG. Isadora added, “There are way more people at AISG, and there is a wider range of activities and sports to do here compared to ISD. Also, the curriculum in AISG is a little different.”

Our new grade 9 and 10 students seem like they’re adapting quickly, and will bring a great new energy to our campus. Be sure to welcome them to AISG.