Mission Statement

In an ever-changing world where individuals are daily faced with unpredictable situations, the word connect (融合 róng hé) has a special significance.  The ability to make connections with people, with communities, with technology, with values and beliefs, with ideas, is the single most important skill any member of our global society can have.  At WAB we require all members of our community to connect.

Inspired people are motivated, enthusiastic and exciting to be around. Educational organizations have a duty to inspire (激发 jī fā), to be places where people dream and are transformed by their dreams and aspirations.  At WAB we require all members of our community to inspire and be inspired

Places of learning must be challenging (挑战 tiăo zhàn).  They must require all members of the learning community to challenge themselves to higher levels, to challenge their received knowledge, to be fearless and bold in their thinking and in their actions.  At WAB we require all members of our community to challenge and be challenged.

This final phrase (贡献 gòng xiàn) is the call to action for all our community. Connected, inspired people who challenge themselves and others will inevitably make a difference to our world. While our global society develops and new opportunities appear, we also face new difficulties and problems. We cannot prescribe or predict the difference that each individual or group of individuals makes, but we know that each member of WAB’s community is a key part of our mission to make a real difference.

Chinese Character:  The character ‘xué 学’ is translated as study or learning.  The etymology of the character is: a child (zi) under a roof with head that is full of learning.  The character is used in countless Chinese idioms. Its place in the centre of the visual represents the central place that learning has in an educational setting. The Chinese character indicates our central platform for learning, our host country China.  This character forms the context for the rest of the elements, just as China is the context in which our community lives and learns.

These two figures represent the learner/mentor relationship, with the mentor figure holding the learner up, encouraging him/her to reach for dreams.  The learner’s raised arms represent both the celebratory nature of learning, and the need to reach beyond immediate surroundings to grow as a learner.  These figures represent one of the most important relationships in our school, that of mentor and learner.  This relationship appears in our daily life in a myriad of ways: between teachers and students; between colleagues; between students themselves and one another; between parents and staff… at any one time any of us can be mentor or learner.

These three figures represent our learning community.  They are joined together but each has his/her own individual identity.  They tell us that our mission is not just for those of us in the learner/mentor relationship but for all of us; that every student, teacher, staff member, parent or friend of WAB is part of our learning community.  Like the learner/mentor figures, the arms of these community figures are visually connected to the central Chinese character, representing how intertwined we are with China. 

The circular shape of the design unifies all the different elements in a never-ending cycle of renewal.  Chinese and English language connect to one another and embrace the figures with powerful words.

All the figures  are joyful, are diverse and are working together.   This connects us to our Core Value of  WAB Spirit ‘gong he 工合’ (work hard, work together’), telling us that great things happen when individuals combine their energies into a creative effort for the common good.  Mosaic of Diversity, another of our Core Values, is represented by the five colours, referring to the five continents; at least one of these colours appears in the flag of every country in the world.   There are five figures, just as there are five Core Values at WAB.