February 1, 2026 – The BNDS Review marks its first anniversary this month and extends heartfelt thanks to all teachers and students for their continued support. As the winter break and Lunar New Year approach, the editorial team wishes everyone a joyful holiday season.

International Department students are invited to pick up free printed copies from the black newspaper racks located near the elevators on floors 3–6 of the Aspiration Building. Additionally, new dedicated newspaper racks will soon be installed in the High School Building and Rongguang Building, expanding access to the publication across campus.

Introduction to The BNDS Review​

The BNDS Review, established in 2024, is the first and only school-wide print literary journal at BNDS. Over the past year, it has published six issues, distributing more than 6,000 copies in total. These include five regular editions and one special "Application Season" issue featuring exclusive interviews with the school principal and outstanding alumni. The journal uses eye-friendly professional printing paper, available in both standard and deluxe editions. Supported by the school and a printing partner, the publication has gained recognition through awards such as the Honors Club, Ideas into Practice Scholarship, and outstanding media center member accolades. Under the guidance of faculty advisor Mr. Mark Davis and founding editor-in-chief Xiyuan Feng (Aelen), the journal also contributed to the launch of the Creative Writing course in the AP program, starting in 2025.

The BNDS Review primarily publishes submissions from students and teachers, with diverse sections including literature, academic essays, book recommendations, event coverage, and popular entertainment features. It welcomes works in multiple languages (e.g., Chinese, English, French) and formats such as short stories, essays, poetry, reviews, and visual art. The journal collaborates with various clubs and teachers and has organized events like interdisciplinary exhibitions, crossword puzzle tournaments, and cross-school writing competitions. In late 2025, the team released its first merchandise—a poker card set themed around the application season—with involvement from over 40 teachers.

The BNDS Review's key accomplishments from 2024 to 2025 include publishing four regular editions—Literary Fragments(January), A Poet’s Insight(April), Fantastical Façade(June), and Subway Sonata(September)—alongside one special Application Season edition featuring principal and alumni interviews, a collaboration with Mr. MacKeigan, and themed merchandise. Each edition had a print run of approximately 1,000 copies, split evenly between beige and white paper. The publication also organized several events in the past year. Additionally, the team was recognized with awards, including the BNDS Honors Club and Ideas into Practice Scholarship. A new edition, Breathing Elsewhere, was projected for release in January 2026.

Faculty Advisor Overview (Mr. Davis)

The newspaper as a whole is a rare case of a successful student-generated and managed creative project that has minimal faculty involvement. As advisor to the BNDS Review, my role has been one of overall process and publication guidance, but I think it is crucial to the success of this group that teacher involvement be kept at its current level. Having worked with students in the former Media Literacy course on a school newspaper, this project has been both better supported by the school and more enthusiastically performed by the students, so it is encouraging to see it continue in the future beyond what it has done.

My overall evaluation of the students is high-level performance, especially by the editorial team. One critique I would assign is that the group could be more involved as a whole in interacting with me as an advisor. As it is, my work was limited to conferences with the Managing Editor, but I would like to be involved in more regular planning meetings (as an observer). Other than that, I think a tremendous amount of credit should be given to all members of the newspaper team (listed below) for delivering an engaging and well-written product. I look forward to working with the new team and continuing that quality in the future.

Student Overview (Aelen Feng)

The BNDS Review newspaper is a student-run high school publication designed to serve as a literary platform within BNDS to empower students' and teachers’ voices. It primarily consists of reader submissions as well as editor selections, with content ranging from creative writing to academic essays. We publish around three times per semester, and while each editorial’s sections are flexibly adjusted, some of the constant ones are “Literature”, “Academics”, “Quote of the Month”, “Entertainment”, etc. Our digital platform is on the WeChat official account.

Current Managing Team

Editor-in-Chief: Hannah Yunjia Wang

Designer-in-Chief: Anna Sihan Fu

Other Managers: Hazel Chuanqi Wei, Lucinda Yuge Zhao, Aurora Xiaoqi Zhu, Alex Changliang Ren, Sophia Yufei Zou

Editors & Layout Designers: 20 people

Teacher Instructor: Mr. Davis