《声音》启明星专刊 VOICES for Daystar Academy VOICES Fall/Winter Edition 2018 | Page 3

EDITOR'S NOTE
Dear Daystar Community,
W
elcome to our first, dedicated edition of
VOICES for Daystar Academy! As you may
recall, VOICES used to be one publication,
featuring news from all of the various schools and
programs under Ivy Education Group, including Daystar.
However, with so much happening at Daystar alone, we
have made the decision to split the publication into two
dedicated editions, one for Daystar Academy, and one
for Ivy Schools. The two editions will still mirror one
another. Both feature the same theme “Empowering
Our Students”, because although we may be different
schools, we are under one group, and share the same
core beliefs, principles and goals. On a personal note, it’s hard to believe that after four
years, my two girls are now both in Elementary school at
Daystar. As a native English-speaking family, every day
I am in awe at their level of Chinese and Math (which
is also taught in Chinese), how they fluidly go back and
forth between the two languages of English and Chinese,
and how they are excited with any opportunity they may
have to engage, learn, and share. My older daughter
has volunteered to be one of the “Leaders in Training”,
and both girls have had a chance to participate in our
weekly Volunteer Reading Program, as well as joined
our recent community initiative to help paint a migrant
school.
It took a while for us to come up with the theme for this
first issue, but when it finally dawned on us, it couldn’t
have been more perfect. That’s because “Empowering
Our Students” is such a fundamental goal for us here at
Daystar. We want our students to believe in themselves,
to have the courage to make positive changes in the
world. And we believe that it’s our role as educators to
help guide them in that journey; to provide a nurturing
and safe environment where they can develop those
skills, feel empowered to make decisions, create
change, but also have a safety net should certain
decisions or attempts not quite work out. Nurturing a child to feel empowered is a joint
collaboration between the school and parents, and
does not happen overnight. It’s a long journey. But if
the intent is there, it’s already a great start.
Our first three months at Daystar have been jam-packed
with initiatives which support our theme: from learning
about the importance of Human Rights, to developing
leadership skills through our “Leaders in Training”
program, to simple acts of making a difference as part
of our annual Week for Change.
Please know we have that intent, and promise to be
your partner, every step of the way.
With warm regards,
Ja Wuttithamrong
Chief Editor of VOICES &
Director of Community Advancement,
Daystar Academy
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