Opening Ceremony

On the afternoon of August 25, Wuxi United International School held its 2026–2027 International High School Opening Ceremony in the school theatre. Students and parents from Grades 9 to 12, together with all faculty members, gathered to mark the beginning of a new academic year. Familiar faces met again, while new faces joined the community for the first time. Some were beginning their high school journey, some were stepping into the crucial final year, and others were continuing along a path they had already come to know.

And so, amid applause, sharing, anticipation and warm wishes, a new academic year began.

Meet the Faculty

As the familiar beat of We Will Rock You filled the theatre, the ceremony officially began.

Teachers stepped onto the stage one after another, greeted by waves of applause. There were no lengthy introductions. Instead, this first gathering of the year gave students a chance to see the people who would accompany them through another year of learning, discussion, exploration and growth.

Education begins with encounters between people. New courses, new challenges and new goals all begin with moments like this—when we meet one another again.

Co-Principal Dr. Max Caruso then offered his first words of welcome for the new academic year.

He began with a simple and heartfelt message:

“Welcome back. And to our new Grade 9 students—welcome home.”

Beginning with his summer travels through Xiamen and Guizhou, Dr. Max turned to the idea of a much longer human journey. He spoke of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey, transformed through years of wandering and challenge, and of Xuanzang’s journey in the Chinese classic Journey to the West. For Dr. Max, a meaningful journey is one that leaves us changed by what we have experienced.

High school, too, is such a journey.

For Grade 9 students standing at its beginning, he encouraged curiosity, courage and the willingness to ask questions, make mistakes and learn from them. Grade 10 and 11 students have already crossed some bridges and travelled through some tunnels; the year ahead will ask them to deepen their understanding and further discover what matters to them. Grade 12 students are entering the final stage of their high school journey, with IB or A-Level examinations, university applications and graduation ahead. Yet the friendships they have built, the knowledge they have gained, the resilience they have developed and the character they have formed will become a “home” they can carry with them wherever they go.

Dr. Max also returned to a philosophy deeply valued by the school: Io Imparo — “I Learn”—the joy of learning itself, the joy of discovery, and the joy of learning and working together. We may think independently, but we are always part of a community in which people influence, support and grow alongside one another.

He therefore shared the Ubuntu idea, “I am because we are,” and reminded students:

“Io Imparo. I learn. We learn. Together.”

The new academic year thus began from a place of warmth: exploring outward while growing inward, travelling farther while understanding more clearly where we come from and who walks beside us.

High school learning requires effort, but it also requires finding methods that genuinely work for you.

Angel Li, Ella Dong, Engel She and Mark Ma began their sharing on effective learning with an invitation to better understand oneself. Through eight questions drawn from everyday life, they helped students reflect on their learning habits and introduced four broad learner profiles: the Stable and Efficient Type, the Easygoing Type, the Anxious Doer Type and the Emotionally Avoidant Type.

Different patterns call for different strategies: reducing mechanical repetition, simplifying task lists, setting clear time boundaries for study, or simply using a “five-minute start” to take the first step.

Good learning also begins with knowing yourself better.

Growing up also means becoming willing to take responsibility for the people around us and for the community we share.

The new Student Council was officially inaugurated.

For the 2026–2027 academic year, Bella Xie and Joseph Mu will serve as Head Students, with Yoyo Cai and Bonnie Hu serving as Deputy Head Students. The new team of Prefects was also formally announced.

Student leadership is about far more than holding a title. From modelling excellence and communication to event planning, conflict resolution, peer support and teamwork, every responsibility asks students to step forward, listen, serve and connect with others. As each name was announced, a new responsibility began.

We look forward to seeing the new Student Council turn ideas into action and enthusiasm into service, allowing student voices to be heard and student creativity to become part of the everyday life of the school.

Another dimension of growth is learning to step beyond what feels familiar.

During the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award presentation, G10 Lucy Xu received the Bronze Award, while G11 Engel She received the Silver Award.

These awards represent far more than the completion of a journey. They record a series of choices sustained over time: developing a skill, engaging in service, staying physically active, venturing outdoors, and learning how to cooperate, make decisions and take responsibility in unfamiliar situations.

In the new academic year, the school will continue to offer the DofE programme. The Bronze Award is open to students in Grade 8 and above; the Silver Award is open to first-time participants in Grade 10 and above as well as Bronze Award holders; and the Gold Award is available to Silver Award holders. New expeditions and new challenges are waiting for more students to take part.

Co-Principal Meng Xiaodong addressed the students under the theme “Flowers Bloom in Their Season; Growth Happens in Its Own Time.” He spoke about the growth of the school, the growth of former students, and the growth taking place within every student sitting in the theatre.

Looking back on the school’s journey, change can be seen not only across the campus, but also in the paths taken by generations of graduates.

Across ten graduating cohorts, WUIS students have gone on to universities in 14 countries and regions, receiving more than 1,000 university offers and over RMB 25 million in scholarships. The Class of 2026 alone, consisting of 34 students, received 170 offers—an average of five per student—with a 100% university admission rate. Behind every number is a path once walked by a student. For those sitting in the theatre today, the seats once occupied by their seniors are connected to a much wider world.

Yet what a school ultimately leaves with its students extends far beyond an academic transcript.

Principal Meng began with Mao Yisheng and the Tangshan College of Mining and Railways, referring to Feng Youlan’s idea that a school leaves a distinctive “badge” on its graduates. He then spoke of Zhang Boling and Nankai’s famous “Forty-Character Mirror Motto,” reflecting on appearance, habits and bearing; of the sense of duty embodied by Eton graduates; and of the late-night libraries of Harvard and Cambridge as symbols of scholarship, diligence and intellectual pursuit.

“Education is a kind of growth.”

Students are still unfinished, and precisely for that reason, they carry possibility, creativity and uniqueness.

Looking ahead to the new academic year, Principal Meng encouraged students to become positive participants in life, to make reading a habit while learning through real experience, to cherish truth, goodness, beauty and genuine human relationships, to remain physically active and build strong bodies for the journeys ahead, and to take responsibility for today—because doing today’s work well is the best preparation for tomorrow.

Flowers have their seasons, and people have their own rhythms of growth.

What a school can do is provide time, space and nourishment, while continuing to believe that every young person is gradually becoming someone uniquely their own.

To conclude the ceremony, Deputy Head of High School Fanny Yu invited everyone to turn the page to the “new calendar” of the 2026–2027 academic year.

From the Grade 12 flag-raising ceremony themed around “Caring,” the Flamingo Logo Design Competition and the Mid-Autumn Festival Concert, to the DofE Bronze Adventurous Journey; from the Visual Arts field trip to Shanghai, the UN World Intangible Heritage Day & Math Fair, the Parent Coffee Afternoon and the autumn field trip, to the AMC 10/12A competition, Moon Harvest Festival, Book Costume Day and WUIS Poet Laureate Ceremony—a rich and vibrant year is already beginning to unfold.

Academics, the arts, sport, service, challenge and creativity will continue to weave together through the everyday life of the International High School.

Some growth begins with a question asked in class. Some happens during a long trek outdoors. Some comes from finding the courage to step onto a stage. And some reveals itself only after the quiet persistence of time.

May every experience of learning bring something new, every attempt receive an echo, and every step bring us closer to the person we are becoming.

Welcome back to 2026–2027.

A new academic year begins. Let us keep moving forward.