My next destination awaited me and I took the train from Kunshan to Hefei on May 28th. Just before my departure, after the evaluation at Liren, I was able to spend some time with some incredible people I met during the six years I lived in Kunshan, who I am still very close to now to catch up. What a lovely weekend!

The kindness and care that I was shown by the GIA team at Hefei Ivy Experimental Academy was incredible. Cici Shen, the GIA Program Coordinator, could not do enough for me. She drove me everywhere I needed to go, ordered food to my lovely hotel when I was too tired to go out, and ensured I was supplied with an iced coffee each day. She also arranged my schedule and kept me informed of any changes so I knew exactly what was going on.

The students worked incredibly hard to answer questions during their lessons. The teachers I observed, Lilian, Isaac, and Tim truly understand lesson structure and delivery and engaged the students in excellent questioning to check for understanding. The teachers also engaged with the differentiation workshop that I have been running and provided some great insights into their understanding of differentiation and an appreciation that they do more than they think. Running this workshop during all evaluations has been very insightful and I am very grateful to all teachers for their engagement.

Celine Shi, the Principal of the international department of the school, was also incredibly welcoming. Like many schools, positive changes are happening for Ivy and Celine was very busy. However, she found any spare time she had to chat with me and also took myself, Cici, and Foreign Principal Tim Williams out for a fantastic Japanese meal. I was truly spoiled by the staff at Ivy.

It was fantastic to finally meet this group of individuals in person and to share stories over dinner. I will be sad to leave but I hope we can see each other again soon.