The Weekly Howl
(UISG NEWS Dec 08-12, 2025)
01 Spotlight on Early Years
02 Primary School Overview
03 Secondary School Updates
Dr. Daniel Mullen
Head of School
December 12, 2025: A Week of Light, Celebration, and Achievement
Dear UISG Community,
As we approach the shortest day of the year and the final full week of 2025, we look forward to celebrating together with a blend of community celebration, academic reflection, and artistic expression. It is a wonderful opportunity to come together, reflect on a remarkable year, and share in the light before our well-earned winter break.
We launch the week with our radiant International Festival of Light (IFOL) this Sunday, 14th December (11 AM – 4 PM). This event embodies our community’s warmth and cultural diversity. All UISZ and UISG families are warmly invited to join this special day of shared light.
Academically, we celebrate major milestones. Our Grade 10 students will present their Personal Project exhibitions on the 16th and 17th, showcasing months of passion and rigorous inquiry. Please visit to be inspired by their impressive work.
Seasonal cheer will fill our common spaces with the Winter Crafts at lunch in the atrium all week, and our youngest learners will share their joy at the EY Winter Celebration on Wednesday the 18th (1:30 PM).
This week truly reflects who we are: a community that values intellectual growth, artistic expression, and joyful togetherness. Join us, and our entire UISG and UISZ Communities this Sunday at IFOL from 11 am to 4:00 pm!
Dr. Daniel Mullen
Head of School
Utahloy International School Guangzhou
2025 ACAMIS VEX CIS Guangzhou
Winter Scrimmage
– A Day of Grit & Teamwork!
– Dec. 11, 2025
01 Early Years ▼
K1 Learning Celebration: A Symphony of a Hundred Voices!
What does communication look like through the eyes of a child?
Our K1 learners have been joyfully exploring this very idea through their Unit of Inquiry: We communicate through the 100 languages of a child.
At the heart of our IB PYP framework, this unit celebrates every child as a unique individual—each with their own voice, identity, and story to tell. Our Learning Celebration was a vibrant showcase of just that!
Our classroom became a gallery of unique learner portfolios. Every artwork, handwritten storybook, painting, collage, and clay creation on display was a true reflection of each child’s personal inquiry and expression—a beautiful collection of original voices.
The excitement continued with a delightful student-led performance, where our young learners, as agents of their own learning, chose what to sing and how to dance, sharing their collaborative spirit with our smiling parent community.
Throughout this unit, we’ve also nurtured empathy—exploring why people find new ways to express themselves, and how artists like Henri Matisse adapted their methods with creativity and courage. Families joined in this spirit during a special collaborative challenge, creating ‘foot drawings’ together and discovering that expression always finds a way.
We wrapped up our celebration with a cherished shared community lunch, a sweet moment for our K1 family to connect, laugh, and simply be together.
Nurturing Inquirers. Celebrating Voices. Building Community.
02Primary ▼
Igniting Writing Passion : Teacher Growth & Student Celebrations
On December 10th, Primary teachers had their second online professional development session with literacy expert Matthew Glover. Having implemented the Writer’s Workshop Model from the beginning of this academic year we are seeing a marked increase in student engagement with writing. Today, Matt worked with teachers on finding mentor texts to aid in teaching points and how to structure mini lessons so that students have more time writing! We will continue to work together with Matt later this year and hopefully next academic year he will join us here at UISG for 2 different weeks for some more hands on training.
Last week, Primary students celebrated and shared their writing journey in a ‘Writing Celebration Assembly’, were students had the opportunity to join a mixed grade level group and discuss and share their writing. It was great to see Grade 1 and Grade 5 students sitting together to enjoy and feel proud of their writing. We hope to have more of these celebrations next year too!
03 Secondary ▼
Unlocking Creative Worlds : An Inspiring Visit from University of the Arts London
A huge thank you to Phil Scurrah, international academic faculty member, and Monique Wu and Jamie, our Guangzhou-based representatives from the University of the Arts London (UAL), for an unforgettable session with our art and design students on December 9th!
The visit was a profound exploration of creativity at the world’s premier arts university (#1 & #2 globally for Art & Design). While UAL’s impressive 1,000+ industry partnerships and outstanding 95% graduate employment rate set the stage, the true heart of the afternoon was a deep dive into the creative process itself.
The session’s core was an inspiring presentation of over 50 real student works, curated by Phil. This showcase wasn’t just about finished pieces; it was a masterclass in the creative journey, perfectly illustrating UAL’s powerful ethos: “At UAL, we love mistakes.“
Phil guided our students through the essential elements of an outstanding portfolio, which he described as “a window into your own unique world.” He shared invaluable, practical tips on research, mood boards, storytelling through slides, mark-making, and the crucial steps of development. This hands-on, work-centric approach gave our students a clear, tangible vision of what excellence looks like.
He concluded with a powerful message on originality in the age of AI, encouraging our young creators to lean into their unique ideas and confidence.
Thank you to the UAL team for a morning that didn’t just talk about outcomes, but passionately celebrated the creative journey that leads to them.
A Triumph of Minds: Celebrating Success at the World Scholars’ Cup
Our students had an enjoyable and successful World Scholars’ Cup event in Shenzhen last weekend. They were awarded 8 Trophies, 130 gold and 80 silver medals from the 10 teams of UISG students who participated. All 10 teams qualified for the Global round which takes place in 2026. And, Team Avery, Evelyn and Margo won the regional championship. Congratulations to all the students who took part.
Exclusive Consultations: Crafting Personalized Strategies for Korean University Admissions
Understanding the specific challenges of the Korean admissions system, the UISG and UISZ College Counselling department organized exclusive one-on-one consultations for our Grade 12 Korean community at UISG and UISZ this week.
We invited a renowned Korean admissions expert, Mr Kim, who gives expert advice to Korean returnee students at top international schools around the world.
Mr Kim and our Director of College Counselling, Ms Yein, met with each family to analyze their situation and develop individualized application strategies.
This initiative underscores our commitment to providing targeted, expert support for all our students’ post-secondary plans.
The Weekly Howl
(UISG NEWS Dec 08-12, 2025)
Dr. Daniel Mullen
Daniel Mullen
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Korean 
Japanese