Welcome

Kindergarten
8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. (Full Day)

8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Half Day) 

Primary Division 
8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. every Wednesday)

Secondary Division 
8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. every Wednesday)

Communications and Systems

Avenues is committed to quality and timely communications that ensure every member of our community is well informed and engaged in campus life. We will be using a few different tools to communicate with families. In the upcoming weeks, you will soon be receiving user account information to access important forms and resources to complete your checklist.

WeChat & Parent Portal

Avenues utilizes WeCom as our primary communication tool. Parents can use WeChat to receive school notifications, submit forms, view the school calendar, and connect to our parent portal. Please expect an invitation to join the Avenues School on your WeChat in August.

Digital Portfolio

• Seesaw Learning–Kindergarten

Each week, your child’s teachers will post regular updates within our digital portfolio tool. Seesaw is a platform for teachers to share photos and information about what students are learning, the projects they are working on and other relevant classroom information. As a tool for student engagement, it’s simple to get student work in one place to share with families so we strongly advise installing the Seesaw app on your mobile device so you can receive this important information.

How to Download the APP

Open the links below directly in your phone browser:

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seesaw-learning/id930565184

Android: https://www.avenueschina.cn/zh/temp/seesaw1764241.apk

More information about accessing Seesaw will be shared at orientation.

• Seesaw Learning–Primary Division

Seesaw for primary division is used mainly for students to manage their own learning at school and for teachers to monitor their progress.

• ManageBac–Middle Grades Program

For the middle grades Program, we utilize ManageBac as our learning management system where collaborations, resources sharing, curriculum planning and other functions will be available on this unified platform.

• Canvas–Upper Grades Program

For the upper grades program, we utilize Canvas as a learning management system. Most student work will be assigned on Canvas and students can receive feedback and assessment outcomes. Parents will be able to view student work and progress in real time.

Families can expect to receive log in instructions before your first day.

For support, please send an email to: tech-sz@avenues.org.

Weekly Bulletins

The division will send out a weekly bulletin, typically each Sunday evening. Please be sure to read them for important information for the week ahead.

You will receive weekly bulletins, letters from the head of school, faculty messages, and other important information.

Monthly Curriculum Highlights

For Kindergarten and Primary Division, you can expect a monthly newsletter from your associate division head which will focus on grade level curriculum highlights.

For the Secondary Division, teachers will send a curriculum introduction prior to each unit.

Text Messages

In the event of an emergency or other urgent announcement, text messages may be used to contact parents. Be sure that we have your updated emergency contact information that was completed in the checklist.

If you have any questions or feel you may be missing communications, please contact communications-sz@avenueschina.cn.

Avenues Health Policy

Health Forms

Avenues uses OpenApply to manage student health information. All health forms and documents must be scanned and uploaded into OpenApply. Please do not email or send forms to Avenues, as we cannot accept health forms directly.

HEALTH CHECK FORM  学生（入园/入学）健康体检卡

For Chinese nationals, the Health Check Form can be completed at any public Women and Children’s Hospital in Shenzhen. We encourage you to make an appointment as lines can be long. Here is a list of medical and health institutions in Shenzhen (114 in total) that undertake kindergarten children’s physical examinations. School enrollment physical examinations for primary and secondary students can be completed through Shenzhen public hospitals that have the qualifications for enrollment physical examinations. Unfortunately, we are not able to accept health checks forms completed outside of Shenzhen. When complete, please upload a scanned copy of the physical health check form to OpenApply. In addition to the scanned copies of this form, we are also required to maintain an original copy of the Health Check Form. Please bring this with you on the first day of school.

For non-Chinese students, we are able to accept alternative forms of a recent physical health check conducted within the past year. Please upload a scanned copy of this document to OpenApply.

IMMUNIZATION HISTORY (预防接种证)

For Chinese nationals, Avenues is required to keep a scanned copy of your student’s immunization history. Please upload this copy to OpenApply.

For non-Chinese students, we are able to accept alternative forms of your students’ immunization history. Please note, immunization exemptions are generally not accepted.

PROOF OF IMMUNIZATION (儿童入托、入学预防接种证查验报告)

For Chinese nationals, the Proof of Immunization may be obtained online by following the Shenzhen CDC on WeChat (深圳疾控) and following the instructions provided. For Chinese nationals who are new to Shenzhen, you will need to take your child’s Immunization History 预防接种证, to your local community health center to have the information entered into the system. Please upload your student’s electronic proof of immunization to OpenApply.

Alternatively, you may take your child’s immunization history to your local community health center to receive a paper copy of the proof of immunization. If submitting a paper copy, we ask that you upload a copy to OpenApply and then submit the original version on the first day of school.

If your child is not a Chinese national and the vaccine was not vaccinated in Shenzhen, please bring your child’s vaccination certificate to the nearest social health service center to have a doctor enter the record into the Shenzhen immunization system, and then print the proof report.

Contagious Illnesses

Parents are reminded that the control of contagious illnesses in school depends on cooperation from home. Inform the health office (nurse-sz@avenueschina.cn) of any contagious or potentially contagious illnesses. Sharing this information allows us to notify our faculty and families of a possible exposure. Information about individual children will be kept confidential; our privacy protocol is to disclose the illness and possible exposure to those who may have been affected. We do not share the particular name of the Avenues community member. Please do not send your child to school if he or she is not feeling well. If your child shows any of the symptoms below, we ask you to keep the child home.

• Fever above 38 in the previous 24 hours
• Diarrhea or vomiting
• Seems very tired and needs bed rest
• Heavy nasal discharge from a cold
• Persistent cough
• Becomes short of breath or wheezing
• Has distracting pain from earache, headache, sore throat or recent injury
• Has yellow or green drainage from eye(s)
• Breaks out in a rash; not all rashes require that a child stay home from school so check with your child’s doctor
• Cranky or atypical behavior
• Reddened eyes with discharge and/ or crusty lashes

Parents are asked to keep their child home until they have been symptom-free for 24 hours from any of these symptoms, without the aid of fever-reducing medications:

Examples:

1. Symptom Monday → home Tuesday → return Wednesday
2. Symptom Monday and Tuesday → home Wednesday → return Thursday
3. Symptom Sunday → home Monday → return Tuesday

Children returning to school after an illness should be well enough to participate in all activities. Children too sick to go outside should not be in school. If there are any special conditions for a student’s return to school after an illness, please notify the health office, teacher and division office and provide any appropriate doctor’s notes. A student who does not feel well during the day must see the nurse. Students are not permitted to leave the school for any health-related reason without being seen by the school nurse.

Daily Temperature Check

Each day, students will be given a temperature check and an oral examination as they enter the building. Any student who has a fever above 37.3 or exhibits signs of throat infection will be sent to the nurse’s office where they will wait until a caregiver is able to pick them up for the day. The decision to send a student home will be at the sole discretion of the school nurse.

Doctors' Notes

Doctors’ notes are required for the following situations:

• Any student who has an assistive device such as crutches, a cane or a walker must send a notification to the school nurse either as a doctor’s note or a message from the parent. This allows us to make proper accommodations during emergency drills and evacuations.
• A student who has been treated by a doctor for an injury, has been hospitalized, had surgery, or has visited the emergency room must bring a doctor’s note stating he/she may return to school. The note must include restrictions, recommendations and when a return to full activity is recommended.
• A student who has been diagnosed with a concussion must bring a doctor’s note with restrictions and recommendations, including a date to return to full cognitive and physical activity.

Medications

If a student requires a prescription medication other than antibiotics, the school nurse will be responsible for administering the medication. Prior to the administration of any medication at school, families must submit all appropriate forms and documentation signed and stamped by the child’s healthcare provider. Please understand that the health office does not accept over-the-counter medications. In special circumstances where the child needs to take OTC medication, parents may bring the medication to the school entrance and administer the medication while the child is accompanied by a nurse.

Please deliver all medications personally to the health office - do not send medications to school through your child. All medications must be given to the health office in its original packaging and labeled with the student's name and directions for administration.

Allergies

If a student has a documented allergy, parents must note this on the Health Form signed by parents/guardians. It must indicate the allergens, signs and symptoms of the reaction and the treatment needed.

Emergency Information 

Please ensure that your emergency information is up to date in OpenApply at all times. This is very important for the safety of your children so we are able to quickly contact you and respond in case of an emergency. If your emergency contact changes during the school year, please contact the division office to notify the school of the change. 

Please Note

The Avenues health office is not a substitute for medical diagnostics. The nurses cannot diagnose any illness or conditions. If your child is not feeling well or has sustained an injury, it is important that you follow up with your healthcare provider for further evaluation and treatment recommendations.

At Avenues, the meals we serve each day are nutrient-rich, delicious and culturally diverse. We want all students to develop agency in their meal decisions while developing a positive relationship with food. We create balanced menus that are low in added sugars, preservative-free, and meet the unique needs of students ranging from age two to 18.

Safety is always our top priority and our food program has been developed to ensure that our students get nutritious and safe foods. All of our food served on Tanglang campus is prepared from scratch on site using ingredients that have been carefully sourced. Our supply chain is transparent and traceable, which means that we understand where all of our food has come from and we can be certain that it was handled correctly on delivery. At this time, all of our food with the exception of oat milk is provided by Metro. At the Avenues Shenzhen Learning Innovation Center, we maintain the same standards for ingredients and sourcing although the food is prepared offsite and delivered daily. 

As one school with many campuses, we strive to expose students to global cuisine. We serve a variety of international dishes using culturally appropriate ingredients and techniques which honor those traditions. We also aim to minimize our ecological impact and carbon footprint by choosing local and seasonal produce, where feasible.  

Lunch

Each day, students and colleagues are offered a protein-based entrée with a minimum of two coordinating side dishes, one of which is a starch and the other a vegetable. Vegetarian options, as well as vegan, gluten-free, and more are available daily and additional options include a sandwich, grain/pasta side and fresh fruit. 

Snack

Each student from Kindergarten through 5th grade receives two snacks per day—one hand fruit and one other option, such as homemade cranberry bread. Students in grades 6–11 receive one snack per day, and students have a choice between a hand fruit or another option.

Allergies

Our food program seeks to minimize the risk of allergic reaction by avoiding some ingredients and clearly communicating when others are used. We prepare individually wrapped plates for students in the Kindergarten who have documented food allergies.

In order to provide the safest possible environment for students with severe allergies, we do not allow outside food on campus. Please ensure that you have provided a complete record of any allergies that your student may have in the Student Health Information form in OpenApply. If you have any questions about allergies, please contact the school nurse.

Sustainability

Our program is designed to minimize ecological impact and to support Avenues’ Zero Waste initiative. Leftover food is re-used or donated to local partners. Where possible, foods will be local, seasonal and organic. Our flatware, bowls, plates and containers are either biodegradable or recyclable. We also encourage students and employees to bring in their own reusable water bottle.

Avenues is committed to fostering a positive and inclusive school environment in which everyone embraces and models our community values of welcome, safety and respect. School leadership, faculty, staff, parents, students and partners are all essential parts of a safe community.

More detailed information about our protocols and procedures will be shared with families closer to the start of the school year.

Access to the Building

All main exterior doors will be locked and secure at all times, except during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal. At this time, only students, faculty and staff are permitted on campus. When health and safety conditions allow and visitors are permitted on campus again, all visitors will be screened and identified while on campus. Each faculty, staff member (whether campus employee or partner organization), parent and Upper Division student is required to wear a lanyard with their ID badge while on the school property at all times. Wearing the lanyard will ensure that all students and colleagues on campus know that you are a safe adult and are part of our Avenues community.

School employees and partner staff will have black lanyards, parents will have green lanyards and when permissible, visitors will have a different colored lanyard for the day. Please note that all students in the Upper Division will need to carry their Avenues ID at all times, and are expected to badge in and out of the building.

The foundation of our safety is ensuring that only authorized people are able to access the campus.

Authorized Persons

As part of the enrollment process, you will be asked to register all persons authorized to pick up your student, including parents, grandparents, relatives, caregivers, drivers, and anyone else who will visit, drop off or pick up your children. All of these people will need to obtain Avenues ID badges.

Anyone who is not authorized will not be allowed on campus.

While on campus, parents and caregivers are required to wear their electronic ID badge at all times. Those without badges will be stopped by the security team at the main entrance at the gate house.

Each badge needs to be associated with a photo of its holder before it is active. There is a station in the lobby of the A12 welcome center where you may obtain your badge and get your photo taken. Badges may be obtained by providing a government issued ID to the security team. Because a photo is required to activate a badge, every person must come in person to pick up their badge. Unfortunately, we cannot give badges to parents to distribute to other family members and caregivers.

If there is a change in your household and a person must be unauthorized (i.e. a driver that no longer works for your family) or a new person added, please notify the division office.

Finally, if you lose your badge, please notify the security team as soon as possible. We will disable your badge and issue you a new one.

Drop-off/Pick-up Procedures

All arriving students will be received and greeted during drop-off by Avenues staff and dismissed by Avenues staff in an organized process. Students who are picked up from campus will only be dismissed to a parent or authorized caregiver or pick-up person. Due to COVID-19, pick-up and drop-off procedures occur at designated entrances of the school building and at staggered arrival and dismissal times. All areas related to drop-off and pick-up will be staffed for student safety as well as for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Specific procedures will be developed for each type of vehicular drop-off—private vehicle or bus.

Emergency Planning/Response

Avenues Shenzhen will organize and maintain an incident management team led by the director of security and consisting of up to ten people employed by the school. Avenues Shenzhen will conduct safety training for all teachers and staff before the school year begins as required by Education Bureau. In addition, we will conduct safety drills as directed by the primary incident commander throughout the school year, including but not limited to fire and lockdown drills.

Communication

In the event of an emergency, Avenues Shenzhen will proactively communicate before, during and after with local and regional emergency personnel. Internal communication will occur through WeCom, text message, email, as well as through two-way radios and over the emergency public address system; external communication to our families and caregivers will occur via WeChat, texts, email, and phone calls.

Students are required to follow our style guide which is detailed below.

Avenues Shenzhen has partnered with Untold Horizons, our New York-based school-style partner, to develop a set of school uniforms for our campus. We’ve followed the same styles and colors that we offer students in New York but have selected lighter fabrics for Shenzhen. We will still offer a selection of warmer clothing for the cooler months.

Uniforms are available at the Untold Horizons WeChat store. Orders will be shipped directly to your home. Untold Horizons will be on site to sell uniforms during our drop-in days before school starts. They will have a full range of sizes on hand for your child to try on.

Students are expected to be in uniform every day. All other clothing must conform to our style guide including:

• Clothing must be solid-colored white, gray or black
• Only the Avenues logo is allowed.
• White items of clothing should be true white: not cream, beige, silver
• Clothing must not be overly-embellished: no patterns, stripes, glitter, sequins, etc.
• Clothing should not be ripped or torn
• Shoes must not have wheels or lights
• Shoes must fasten around the heel. Flip flops are not allowed

Our style guide builds a sense of belonging by making our students easily recognizable to each other and other members of our community. It also reinforces that school is a place for purposeful, active, and collaborative endeavor, and our students pledge to dress in accordance with these goals. Accordingly, students should not wear clothes that are excessively short, sheer or ripped. We also encourage students to avoid wearing excessively expensive items, which are not conducive to an inclusive and welcoming environment. We ask students to take pride in their appearance as representatives of the Avenues community. School administration, including deans, will address students, and their parents as necessary, when student clothing choices show a pattern of running counter to these guidelines.

Avenues students faculty and staff will enforce the following style guide expectations:

Avenues Shenzhen is pleased to offer a bus transportation option to students in nursery through 9th grade. Busing is the safest and most environmentally conscious way for children to travel to and from school. As our Shenzhen campus grows, we look forward to being able to expand our bus routes and to serve more families. 

For school bus routes and stops, you can refer to the school bus information for the 2021–22 school year as a reference: 

Click Here to Review Routes & Timetables

Sign Up

The updated bus route information will be sent out to all of the families by mid-August and you can determine the needs of your family by then.

Contacts

Please email: transportation-sz@avenueschina.cn for school bus related inquiries.

Avenues recognizes the power of technology in the learning experience. We want technology to facilitate creativity, innovation, collaboration and communication among all our students, faculty and staff across the globe.

The technology team works in partnership with our entire community to ensure the success of the technology program. We value the leadership potential of all of our students. As we know, with leadership comes responsibility. Below we have summarized some key points in our technology program.

Classroom Technology Integration

• The technology team collaborates with classroom teachers and students to integrate the use of innovative technology into curriculum to enhance learning and teaching.
• Students in grades K–5 are issued an iPad with all necessary accessories and AppleCare Protection.
• Students in grades K–5 have access to shared MacBook Air computers.
• Students in grades 6–11 receive a MacBook Air with all necessary accessories and AppleCare Protection.
• Students in grades 6–11 have access to shared iPad tablets.
• The Apple Classroom App will be installed on iPads in grades K–5 to allow teachers to manage students’ iPads and guide learning.

File Storage and Backup

• All students receive an Office365 account which allows them to conveniently store documents and files in the cloud. No additional backup is needed.
• If files or documents are stored on a local drive instead of OneDrive, the school’s responsibility for lost files is limited to reloading the school’s standard software suite on the equipment.

Handling of Equipment

• All school-issued equipment should be used in a careful and proper manner. Students need to keep their equipment in good operating condition.
• No personal stickers or writing are allowed on the equipment.
• All MacBook Airs and iPads must have a protective case at all times. A protective case is provided when the equipment is issued to the student.
• On school days all school-issued equipment must be on campus. When it is not being used, the equipment must be secured in a locker, backpack or other locked and secure location. Equipment should not be stored on the floor or in places where it may be easily damaged or broken.
• Students are responsible for keeping their equipment charged and it is recommended that they bring their charger with them to school as needed. If equipment is taken home, students are responsible for charging the equipment at home before it is brought back to school.

Damaged/Lost/Stolen Equipment

• The student should immediately notify the technology department if the equipment is not in good operating condition, is determined to be lost or is in need of repair.
• Parents/guardians will be responsible for paying any fees related to the loss of or damage to the iPad and MacBook Air, chargers, cords and/or cases.
• Minor repairs for the iPad that are covered with AppleCare+ will be charged at the current AppleCare+ deductible rate.
• MacBook Air repairs that are not covered by AppleCare and/or warranty will be charged at the current Apple repair rates.

Please Note: In cases of misuse, abuse/loss of the iPad/MacBook, the parents/guardians will be financially responsible for the full cost of repair or replacement of the iPad/MacBook.

Use of Equipment: The primary use of the equipment by the student is for the student’s educational programs. The student/parent shall abide by the school’s Acceptable Use and Responsible Use policies.

Digital Citizenship

• The tech team collaborates with classroom teachers and students to integrate technology topics into curriculum to develop students’ digital literacy and computational thinking skills. The topics include creative computing, multimedia learning and digital citizenship.
• Avenues has partnered with Common Sense Media as a part of their Supporter School Program.
• Throughout the school year, students will participate in digital citizenship activities and discussions. Our curriculum is based on the Common Sense Media curriculum and complemented by other professional resources. We encourage you to explore the Common Sense Media website, which contains a wealth of resources on the use of media and technology: Family Tips on Digital Life from Common Sense Media.
• Parents should discuss individual family values and expectations regarding technology use at home.

App/Software

• All students will be issued an Apple ID for the purposes of app deployment for school use only.
• Students, parents and guardians should not associate or link any credit card or gift cards to the school-issued Apple ID. The Apple ID is managed by the technology department.
• Software that was not issued by the technology department but is found on a device will be removed.
• Personal, non-school-issued Apple IDs should not be applied to Avenues-owned equipment.

Email

• Avenues Shenzhen is a Microsoft 365 institution. Microsoft 365 is a suite of tools used to communicate and collaborate among students and faculty.
• All students will be issued a school Microsoft 365 account limited to instructional and school-related activities only.

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out to us at tech-sz@avenues.org. We look forward to a wonderful year facilitating creativity, innovation, collaboration and communication at Avenues.