亲爱的FLIS大家庭：

Dear FLIS Family members,

两周春节假期过后，欢迎大家重返校园！希望各位都有机会与亲友共享美好时光，并得到充分的休息和放松。

Welcome back to school after having a well-earned two weeks of vacation for the Chinese New Year. I hope everyone had an opportunity to share their vacations with friends and family, as well as at least a little bit of time to rest and relax. 

新学期伊始，正是规划本学年下学期目标的绝佳时机。对高年级学生而言，这意味着要着手提交高中及大学申请材料（或为我校高中课程项目做准备），通过增加社区服务或课外实践丰富技能储备，并专注提升学业水平。对低年级学生而言，则需完成当前学业挑战，展望新学年的学习目标，持续拓展朋友圈，并为暑假做好准备。为新学期设定明智的、既具挑战性又切实可行的目标，将助你充分把握在FLIS的学习时光。

The start of a new semester is a great time for setting your goals for what you want to achieve during the last half of the school year. For our older students, it means getting your application letters out to high schools and colleges (or getting ready for our High School program), getting a bit more community service or extra-curricular experience to fill out your skills sets, and focusing on sharpening your academics. For younger students it means wrapping up your current challenges and looking ahead at the next grade’s expectations, continuing to build friendships, and looking ahead to summer vacation. Setting smart, challenging yet achievable goals for the new semester will really help you to get the most out of your time with FLIS.

请花些时间回顾上学期取得的成就。找出你希望（或需要）进一步发展的领域。这不仅指那些真正困难且具有挑战性的领域——那些你尚未理解或掌握的部分，还包括那些你可能新发现并乐于探索的学习领域。你也可以为这些领域设定目标，继续精进。

Take some time to reflect on what you accomplished during first semester. Identify some of the areas you’d like to (or need to) develop further. This doesn’t mean just the areas that were really hard and challenging, the ones that you didn’t understand or mastered. This also means thinking about the new areas that you may have discovered that you enjoy learning about. You can set goals to further those areas, as well.

今年是马年，我们可以培养两种非常积极的品质：像群居的马儿那样善于社交、懂得倚靠同伴；同时保持独立自主，正如马匹既能群居也能独当一面。在设定目标时，请牢记这两种品质：哪些目标需要借助他人的帮助来实现？哪些目标可以独立完成？保持良好的平衡会让你的进步更加高效、愉快。

As this is the Year of the Horse, there are two very positive traits that we can develop within ourselves. Being social and relying on others, like horses do when they live in herds; also being self-reliant, as horses can take care of themselves as individuals as well. When you set your goals, keep both traits in mind. Which goals can you rely on others to help you achieve, and which goals can you work on independently? Having a good balance will make your progress much more efficient and pleasant.

我希望新学期能带给大家精彩而富有挑战性的经历，在FLIS的支持下，凭借你们自身的努力和实力，充分释放成长潜能。

I hope that the 2nd semester brings you all wonderful and challenging experiences and that you grow to your potential with FLIS’ support and through your own strength and effort.

谨代表学校，

Sincerely on behalf of FLIS, 

Coyne先生

Mr. Coyne

福州西湖国际学校IB项目学术校长

FLIS IB Programs Academic Principal