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WAB's incoming Director Robert Landau shares a message with the WAB community: "To those families and staff leaving Beijing, please accept my best wishes for continued success. To those of you returning to WAB, I look forward to seeing you soon as we celebrate the beginning of the 2008/2009 school year."

As a Beijing 2008 Olympic Education Model School, WAB has been celebrating the Olympics with a wide variety of academic, cultural, service and sporting pursuits. The extraordinary quality of WAB's focus on Olympic education was awarded this past week as an "Excellent Example of Beijing 2008 Olympic Education Model Schools." Out of the 500 schools from across China who were awarded by BOCOG as an Olympic Educational Model School, WAB was one of the 120 schools awarded as an Excellent Example.

With the end of the 2007/2008 school year, WAB wishes farewells and best wishes to all leaving families, teachers and staff. WAB wishes a special farewell to David Randall, Interim Director, who steered WAB through the school year with integrity and grace. We look forward to welcoming Robert Landau as Director in early August.

Congratulations to the Class of 2008! WAB's second class of Grade 12 students graduated from the WAB High School on Saturday May 31, with a ceremony at the Confucius Temple.

WAB's second class of Grade 12 students will graduate on Saturday, May 31, with a ceremony at the historic Confucius Temple on the tree-lined street of Guo Zi Jian, near the Lama Temple. The WAB community is invited to join Grade 12 students and their families on this very special occasion.

As the school year winds down, and end-of-year activities increase, so does our excitement, and, in some cases, apprehension, for the coming year. Some of us are preparing to transition to other regions and schools, including all leaving families, teachers and staff, as well as our Grade 12 students. Others of us, including Pre-K, Grade 5 and Grade 8 students and their parents, are entering a period of transition from one school section to the next. All of us, however, are entering a period of transition as we acknowledge the end of another school year.

Sadly, this time of year entails farewells, including saying goodbye to WAB staff who are continuing on with their journeys. The following WAB staff members have made significant contributions to the quality of learning and school environment at WAB, and their presence and enthusiasm will be missed.

Nearly two weeks have passed since the earthquake devastated communities, families and schools in Sichuan province. For those of us here in Beijing, with friends and family in the affected areas, the past days have been especially trying. And for all of us, the countless stories of losses, rescues and sacrifices have been intensely moving. The WAB community's response to the earthquake in Sichuan province has been overwhelming, with students, staff and family members giving generously to relief efforts. As of yesterday, over 100,000 RMB has been collected through cash alone. This amount does not include the scores of blankets, tracksuits and diapers collected by the PTA Charity Committee, or the materials and cash collected by student groups.

The thoughts of the whole WAB community are with the people of Sichuan province who are suffering the devastation of the May 12 earthquake. We especially think of WAB families and staff members with relatives and friends in the affected areas. We extend our support to those WAB families who have family members and friends currently in Sichuan working with relief agencies in providing support to the victims of this terrible disaster.

Over 270 parents, teachers and friends of the WAB community and other International Schools attended this week's ES Library workshops with Diane Frankenstein, ES Children's Literature expert. One parent admitted, "I'd forgotten how much fun it is being read to!" Another inspired parent beamed, "My husband came home from one workshop with four biographies of famous scientists. I picked up loads of other books for the boys the next day, including '100 Dresses.' After hearing the way Diane described the friendships of the female characters in the book, I thought it was a perfect story for helping my boys understand the ways girls interact with one another."