The College Term 1 2014-15 by Dulwich College Suzhou

The

COLLEGE

Term 1 2014-15

Building Learning Power Class of 2014 Shelf for Hope Lowering Carbon Emissions Dulwich Connections No. 360 Gang Tian Road, SIP, Suzhou, 215021, China 360 T/

(86512) 6295 9500

info@dulwich-suzhou.cn www.dulwich-suzhou.cn

215021 (86512) 6295 7540

College Guiding Statements DEVELOPED BY OUR STAFF TO GUIDE EVERYTHING WE DO

Motto:

Vision:

CONTENTS 02

From the Headmaster

Chen Yi Family

Detur Pons Mundo

Building Learning Power in DUCKS

– Building bridges to the world

Junior School Adventures

通向世界的桥梁

Building Learning Power in Senior School

Dulwich College Suzhou aspires to be respected internationally as a community committed to developing individuals who seize and act ethically upon the breadth of opportunity the world presents.

Class of 2014

Year 7 Art Day

Driving Towards a Lower Carbon Furture

Shelf for Hope

Art & Design

Music @ Dulwich

Physical Education and Sport

Mandarin

Oranje Draak

Friends of Dulwich

Dulwich Connections

Children come first when: 1. The College educates the whole child 2. The College provides a safe, secure and stimulating environment 3. The College recognises that we gain knowledge and understanding of the world by questioning and actively solving problems

12 Junior School Adventures

4. The College emphasises the benefits and responsibilities of working collaboratively together 5. The College values awareness of the natural world and its resources 6. The College prepares children to live their lives honestly with a spirit of respect for themselves and others 7. The College understands that meaningful, life long learning involves taking risks 8. The College challenges each child to be the best that they can be and supports them in this Definition of Learning: Good learning is a meaningful experience where students enjoy making connections between new and existing knowledge, skills and understanding. Students are engaged, challenged and are able to reflect independently and collaboratively on their progress.

04 Building Learning Power

24 Shelf for Hope

22 Lowering Carbon Emissions

28 Music @ Dulwich

College Guiding Statements DEVELOPED BY OUR STAFF TO GUIDE EVERYTHING WE DO

Motto:

Vision:

CONTENTS 02

From the Headmaster

Chen Yi Family

Detur Pons Mundo

Building Learning Power in DUCKS

– Building bridges to the world

Junior School Adventures

通向世界的桥梁

Building Learning Power in Senior School

Dulwich College Suzhou aspires to be respected internationally as a community committed to developing individuals who seize and act ethically upon the breadth of opportunity the world presents.

Class of 2014

Year 7 Art Day

Driving Towards a Lower Carbon Furture

Shelf for Hope

Art & Design

Music @ Dulwich

Physical Education and Sport

Mandarin

Oranje Draak

Friends of Dulwich

Dulwich Connections

12 Junior School Adventures

04 Building Learning Power

24 Shelf for Hope

22 Lowering Carbon Emissions

28 Music @ Dulwich

FROM THE HEADMASTER Once again our IGCSE students have given us cause for celebration. We received news of three special awards for our Year 11 students who sat their examinations in May 2014:

Yu Jin Choi Highest mark in China for Cambridge IGCSE First Language Korean

Gillian Chu Highest mark in China for Cambridge IGCSE Literature (English)

Sunniva Hartung Highest mark in China for Cambridge IGCSE First Language German

I am delighted for these students, for their families and for their teachers. It shows a real strength in depth for our language teaching. It is notable that this is the third year in a row that we have received an award for IGCSE First Language Korean and my congratulations go to Mi Jung Song for another amazing result. We were delighted with the continued improvement in both IGCSE and IBDP scores this year and I know that students and teachers will be very pleased with the progress made and the excellent grades achieved. My sincere thanks to the staff across The College who work so hard to ensure that our students achieve the success they so richly deserve. Music has been a key component of our programme and we have been privileged to host a number of world class performers this term. October’s Diversity programme featured four concerts at DCSZ as part of 30 concerts across the Dulwich Group. We enjoyed amazing contrasts from the smooth tones of Roy McGrath Jazz Combo, the enthusiasm and energy of the Kliptown Dancers, the powerful beat of the Mals Totem Rock Band and the classical elegance of Alexander Suleiman and Paul Jarman. Our musical extravaganza continued more recently when we hosted students from across the Dulwich Colleges for the Dulwich Festival of Music. It’s been an amazing term so far and with the Christmas Season still to come, we have more exciting musical and performance opportunities for our students.

John Todd Headmaster

The Chen Family Thank the Dulwich College Suzhou Community

We were delighted to welcome back the Chen family to Dulwich College Suzhou this term. In June 2013 our community, represented by Friends of Dulwich (FoD), donated 150,000RMB to help the family pay medical bills for their daughter, Chen Yi, who had been diagnosed with leukemia. She last visited The College when she was undergoing chemotherapy. Despite the treatment she impressed all of us with her positive and happy attitude. We were thrilled to see her and her family again fully recovered and doing so well. The family met Mr Duncan Grice, Deputy Head of College, together with representatives of FoD, to present a banner expressing their gratitude. The banners message was "love has no borders”. Chen Yi, born in 2004, is a student from Anhu Experimental School. She was diagnosed with leukemia M2a in February 2013 and was treated at the Soochow University Affiliated Children’s Hospital. At the time her family were making desperate appeals to help pay for the costs of all the treatment she needed. After hearing about the family’s difficulties the parent group from Dulwich College Suzhou were determined to do what they could to support them. The great fundraising efforts of our community at the 2013 International Day meant we were able to make a significant donation. It was a very special day for everyone to see Chen Yi and her parents looking so happy and healthy.

The College Term 1 2014-15

The College Term 1

FROM THE HEADMASTER Once again our IGCSE students have given us cause for celebration. We received news of three special awards for our Year 11 students who sat their examinations in May 2014:

Yu Jin Choi Highest mark in China for Cambridge IGCSE First Language Korean

Gillian Chu Highest mark in China for Cambridge IGCSE Literature (English)

Sunniva Hartung Highest mark in China for Cambridge IGCSE First Language German

John Todd Headmaster

The Chen Family Thank the Dulwich College Suzhou Community

The College Term 1 2014-15

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BUILDING

Learning POWER ‘Do we want to help children to learn better or to become better learners?’ was an opening question posed by Guy Claxton to a group of enthusiastic but slightly reticent teachers, including myself, over a year ago. Having experienced a somewhat clumsy implementation of Building Learning Power (BLP) at my previous school in the UK, I wondered if BLP was ‘just another bolt on’ and ’yet another box to tick’. However, over the next two days, Guy Claxton’s compelling reasoning and evidence certainly turned heads. By the end, my colleagues and I not only felt convinced by the importance and potential of BLP but also that it would hugely benefit the learners within Dulwich College Suzhou (DCSZ).

DUCKS Based on studies of lifelong learning and industry-based research, BLP proposes four domains of learning or dispositions (‘the 4Rs’), containing 16 learning capacities. Resilience relates to emotional and experiential aspects, Resourcefulness to cognitive skills and dispositions, Relating to social and interpersonal aspects and Reflection covers the strategic and self-managing sides of learning.

Resilience

Inquisitive I have a questioning and positive attitude to learning

Persistent I stay determined, positive and patient in the face of difficulty or mistakes

Over the following pages I would like to share with you some background to the BLP approach – including the philosophy, basic principles and vocabulary. Also, I will explain how it has progressed so far in DUCKS.

Adventurous

“Intelligence is the sum total of your habits of mind” Lauren Resnick

I am willing to risk and 'have a go'; I am up for a new challenge

A key BLP belief is that the main goal of schools should be to offer an ‘epistemic apprenticeship’, in other words a long process of mental fitness training. The main aim is to move the language of Teachers and learners from focusing on skills to ‘habits’. After all, skills can be a case of ‘I can but I don’t’, but habits of mind are created when learning has turned into a learning disposition. This is the ‘power’ of BLP. Focused

‘The skills that you can learn when you’re at school will be obsolete by the time you get into the workplace – except one: the skill of making the right response to situations for which you have not been specifically prepared.’

I am observant, concentrate well, ignore distractions, and become engrossed

Resourcefulness

Reflection

Relating

Imaginative

Methodical

Collaborative

I come up with creative ideas and possibilities; I visualize

I am well-organised; I think things through carefully

I am a good teamplayer; I help groups to work well together

Connecting I look for links and relationships; I like to 'hook things up'; I use metaphor

Crafting I am keen to work on improving products; I practise and develop skills

Capitalising I make good use of resources, tools and materials

Self-evaluative

Open-minded

I make honest and accurate judgements about 'how it is going'

I ask for, listen to and make good use of information, feedback and advice

Self-aware

Independent

I know my own strengths, styles and interests as a learner

I am able to 'stand my ground'; I show initiative

Transferring

Empathic

I look for other applications and lessons for the future

I understand others; I offer helpful feedback and suggestions; I am receptive and imitative

- Prof Seymour Paper, Co-Founder, MIT Robotics Lab, 2008 The current Nursery aged children of DCSZ will leave higher education in 2033. With the frantic pace of technology and ever developing industry sectors, it is little wonder that we have a moral imperative to prepare our students for an uncertain future. With a focus on developing habits of mind, BLP attempts to offer a ‘vaccine’ against some of this uncertainty.

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BUILDING

Resilience

Inquisitive I have a questioning and positive attitude to learning

Persistent I stay determined, positive and patient in the face of difficulty or mistakes

Adventurous

“Intelligence is the sum total of your habits of mind” Lauren Resnick

I am willing to risk and 'have a go'; I am up for a new challenge

I am observant, concentrate well, ignore distractions, and become engrossed

Resourcefulness

Reflection

Relating

Imaginative

Methodical

Collaborative

I come up with creative ideas and possibilities; I visualize

I am well-organised; I think things through carefully

I am a good teamplayer; I help groups to work well together

Connecting I look for links and relationships; I like to 'hook things up'; I use metaphor

Crafting I am keen to work on improving products; I practise and develop skills

Capitalising I make good use of resources, tools and materials

Self-evaluative

Open-minded

I make honest and accurate judgements about 'how it is going'

I ask for, listen to and make good use of information, feedback and advice

Self-aware

Independent

I know my own strengths, styles and interests as a learner

I am able to 'stand my ground'; I show initiative

Transferring

Empathic

I look for other applications and lessons for the future

I understand others; I offer helpful feedback and suggestions; I am receptive and imitative

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The College Term 1

BLP in Action Although both students found this a challenging task they demonstrated the Resilience to 'have a go' and persist with the clay sculpture until completed.

Wise Owl

Filippo was very Reflective whilst creating a Mexican sugar skull, he was well organised and planned carefully what he wanted to do.

Tough Tortoise

Students in Year 2 Related well to each other whilst making bright coloured clothing and masks during Art day. Jack was very Resourceful whilst creating a Newfoundland star lantern, he made great use of resources, tools and materials.

Creative Unicorn

Team Ant 06

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05 07

BLP in Action Although both students found this a challenging task they demonstrated the Resilience to 'have a go' and persist with the clay sculpture until completed.

Wise Owl

Filippo was very Reflective whilst creating a Mexican sugar skull, he was well organised and planned carefully what he wanted to do.

Tough Tortoise

Creative Unicorn

Team Ant 06

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05 07

Meeting with the ‘BLP Team’ of John Baker representing Junior School and Kate Ramsden representing Senior School, it became apparent that we had quite a challenge on our hands. We had not even a fraction of the knowledge or presentation skills of Guy Claxton, yet we had been tasked with engaging and potentially converting over 150 colleagues to believe in BLP over a two day Professional Learning Programme during August of this year. We had already lightly piloted BLP in our own classrooms and concluded that the ‘long game’ approach would be vital and that successful implementation of BLP would need to involve a series of small, subtle and significant habit shifts by teachers and school leaders, beginning with such things as how we talk and think about students and

what we model about learning. Our initial priority would be to familiarise staff with the language of BLP, or ‘learnish’ as Claxton prefers to call it, and to help them feel comfortable to start using the vocabulary during learning time. Of course, Early Years pedagogy has long focused on learning dispositions. BLP simply promotes these further and gives teachers throughout Early Years and KS1 a common framework from which to develop children as learners. In DUCKS, the use of the BLP language has been carefully scaffolded by linking the Golden Child awards to a particular disposition and learning capacity on a three weekly cycle, greatly helping to guide and support staff at this early stage.

Chloe was well organized and thought through using a plando-review approach to her learning.

Annie used her imagination to great effect to create a winter’s night sky.

06 08

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Chloe was well organized and thought through using a plando-review approach to her learning.

Annie used her imagination to great effect to create a winter’s night sky.

06 08

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An example of a BLP information leaflet shared with parents to help them support their child at home. It is too early to attempt to measure impact on learning within The College, however feedback on the effects of BLP have been very positive. A recent Survey Monkey sent to DUCKS staff showed that a majority felt that BLP was having a positive effect in their classrooms and that both themselves and the students were starting to use the vocabulary when talking about their learning. Staff have commented on the fact that children are talking about their learning more regularly and in more depth. Requests for more practical ideas and extension of the visuals with use of puppets and ways to keep BLP fun and alive have been added to the action plan. A recent parent workshop in DUCKS had a high turnout and yielded similar levels of positivity, with many enthused parents coming to tell me how beneficial they thought BLP would be for their children, some even requesting copies of the visuals for use at home. So what next for BLP in DUCKS? The embedding of BLP vocabulary within the fabric of DUCKS culture is the long term goal. This will need time and of course attention to feedback from staff. After all, without respecting the importance of staff ‘buy in’, BLP would not progress very far. Pupil conferencing at various

points throughout the year should hopefully reveal insights into uptake of vocabulary and impact upon learning. Parents will also become a vital cog in the wheel of BLP at Dulwich College Suzhou. Many have requested more workshops and practical activities to help them see the power of BLP for themselves. We are privileged to have the opportunity of a visit by Guy Claxton himself, during September 2015, when he will be providing further training for staff and advice and feedback on our plan and vision for BLP at DCSZ. In conclusion, it feels exciting and relevant to be on the ‘BLP journey’. There are no step-by-step guides to tell us exactly how to roll it out or even how to begin, we have instead tailored ‘BLP @ Dulwich College Suzhou’ to the ethos and needs of the College. We are also trying our best to be reflective and self-evaluate with many ‘How is it going?’ opportunities for all involved. Unsurprisingly, this long road contains some bumps and twists and turns, but ultimately the destination is one that we all want to reach, which is our vision of children becoming better learners and better prepared for a future within this complex world.

Through use of the BLP vocabulary during class discussions students have greatly developed their collaboration skills and awareness of themselves as learners.

Let’s talk about RESILIENCE! Would you like your child to become more persistent with their learning? Over the next fortnight in DUCKS, we will be focusing on persistence and how this relates to learning. To help the children to understand this concept, we will be regularly referring to our Learning Friend called:

Tough Tortoise It would be really helpful if you could talk to your child about Tough Tortoise by using some of the phrases below. You could talk to them about times that they have been like Tough Tortoise. We have just composed our first Trying Tortoise song, if you would like to hear this then please come to next week’s DUCKS assembly where it will be showcased for the first time!

Try, try and you ge try until t it rig ht!

e v i g on’t

ke a em ! s i t t c Pra erfec p

Just g

ive it a try.

up!

At Dulwich College Suzhou, we are focusing on developing four key learning dispositions in our students: Resilience, Reflection, Relating and Resourcefulness. You can find out more information about these in your child’s home-school diary. Parent Workshops Coming Soon!

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Through use of the BLP vocabulary during class discussions students have greatly developed their collaboration skills and awareness of themselves as learners.

Try, try and you ge try until t it rig ht!

e v i g on’t

ke a em ! s i t t c Pra erfec p

Just g

ive it a try.

up!

The College Term 1 2014-15

The College Term 1

Sleepover Year 3 were lucky enough to have a sleepover during China Week! During the day, we had to be collaborative as we wrestled with the tents to put them up so we could have a good night’s sleep! After school was when the real fun began. We were able to play outside, have a treasure hunt, eat pizza and watch a movie. For many of the brave children, this was their first night away from home. It was a little hot and sticky but we did eventually manage to slip into slumber.

On 24th September, children from Year 4 took part in an exciting adventure as they went to SanShan Island in the middle of Lake Tai. Fears about the weather quickly dissipated as the sun shone on the ferry over the still, calm waters of the third largest lake in China.

The next morning, Bruce cooked a feast for breakfast! We had bacon, eggs, toast and (best of all) were the chocolate rolls! Although some of us didn’t sleep very well, we still had to tidy up and take the tents down. After the experience, we all relate much better with each other and are more self aware.

Activities on the trip included investigations of the local wildlife, in which we caught fish and underwater creepy crawlies, spotted snakes and rescued frogs from getting run over by the local rickshaws. We also explored the historical sights on the island, like the family home with features still remaining from the time of Emperor Qian Long. Evening entertainment included bonfires and a movie night. The walk up the prestigiously steep ‘Buddha Trail’, got the heart pumping due to the exertion as well as the fear of the fall; however, the ice cream and views at the top made up for all of the discomfort. We all enjoyed picking green oranges in the hotel owner’s orangery, and were fascinated by the descriptions of the bonsai trees in a local resident’s garden. The speedboat ride at the end of the trip was a fitting climax to a trip that was action packed, exhausting and fun filled in equal measure. It was great to see the pupils trying new things, asking questions to understand their world and learning from everything that they did. All pupils made new friends and developed their independence.

MAKING MOONCAKES During China Week Hannah’s Mum came and taught 3D how to make mooncakes! When we heard that it was going to happen we all cheered, “Yay!” And it was worth it! It was really fun. We went to the kitchen and Hannah’s Mum helped us to make mooncakes. The things we needed were: pastry, red beans (mushed), pattern maker and an oven. So the first thing you do is to flatten the pastry (like pizza). The next thing you do is put the mushed read bean in the middle of the pastry like a ball. Next we rolled it all up. You fold the pastry over the red bean and use the pattern maker to squeeze a pattern onto it. We had a press that we squished and it shaped the cake properly. Then you bake it. It was good! When we were doing that Mr. Kohll took our class (except Hannah and her Mum) to the art room and then showed us a broken trumpet! When we went back we made our second mooncake! The “proper way”. By that I mean we have the exact weighing of the red bean and pastry. At the end we cooked those ones and took out the ready ones. We came back later and got two mooncakes each. That was the most exciting day ever! They were so good! By Lucas Yiu and Liam Wilkinson-Smith 12

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SANSHAN ISLAND

Junior School Adventures

Aquarium in Puxi The Year 4s took part in a very special trip early in Michaelmas term, as they visited ChangFeng Ocean World in Shanghai. This served as an opportunity to build up the excitement and interest for our Habitats topic. The children were taken ‘behind the curtain’ and had the chance to see the amazing work being done in the sea horse breeding centre. Displays around the area explained about the dangers to these charming animal’s habitats. All of the children were also able to ride a glassbottomed boat over the huge main tank. Sharks and large turtles glided majestically under the boat and the pupils were thrilled by this close encounter with the apex predators of the deep. Some of the children were lucky enough to feel some of the sea organisms; for example, unusual crabs and crustaceans. The Beluga whale and sea lion show was also well received by the children and sparked debate when back in school about the ethics of performing animals. This trip provided a stimulus for developing interest and discussion, as well an opportunity to study marine organisms in the flesh. We had a whale of a time! The College Term 1 2

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SANSHAN ISLAND

Junior School Adventures

11 13

Nanbei Hu

Birds, twittering in the trees, the gentle trickle of the stream, the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees. Majestic, pine covered mountains rise from the serene

Year 6

Yaolin beauty of peaceful lakes – it sounds like something out of a travel brochure! But this picture of splendor is where Year 6 spent their China Week trip. Nestled in the hills of Zhejiang province is Yaolin, where Year 6 would head on a voyage of self-discovery, personal development and test their physical and mental stamina.

Year 5

China Week was a survival success. Activities included raft building, sensory trail, first aid, low ropes, constructing catapults, shelter building, laser tag, hiking, barbecue and the famous ‘leap of faith’. Children learnt many teambuilding skills as they had to work collaboratively to compete for points for their teams. Some children learnt lots of lifebuilding skills including self-awareness, persistence, empathy and resourcefulness. A survival theme permeated the whole week as children had to encourage each other and challenge themselves to overcome their own fears and

expectations. We had many animated discussions where children got to put their own theories to the test. It was a great experience and taught all the children to listen to each other and share their ideas. They were challenged, physically, mentally and ............. vertically! They scaled new heights and relished getting mucky and muddy. A hush descended on the dining room at dinner times and bed times, as you can imagine, were very quiet. What more could a Year 5 'Nanbeihu Survivor' want!

Scintillating Science This term, Year 5 has embraced the Science topics of ‘Keeping Healthy’ and ‘Changing Sound’. Both of these topics lend themselves to a wealth of practical Science experiments and investigations, which bring Science alive in the classroom. In ‘Keeping Healthy’, we examined healthy ………….. (and not so healthy!) diets and explored what each food group ‘brings to the table’ in providing us with the nutrition we need to exercise and be healthy every day. As part of this topic, we donned lab coats and safety glasses and headed to the science lab to fire up the Bunsen burners. We carried out an experiment using Benedict’s solution, to test for the presence of sugar in some mystery solutions. We also had the opportunity to study the heart and the effect of exercise on our pulse rate and respiration. The classrooms have been a cacophony of noise as we investigated the wonders of ‘Sound’ all around us. Through experiments and investigations, we have explored: how sound is made; how we can change the pitch and volume of sound; how sound travels through solid materials; how we can insulate to exclude sound. Our investigations have included fair testing, where the students constructed a string telephone to assess the effect of using different types of cup or different lengths of string on the transmission of sound. We may not be able to compete with China Telecom, but the string telephones were very effective! Science is alive and well in Year 5! 14

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The week started with a series of team building games, designed to extend everyone’s communication skills. These already tricky puzzles were made even harder by the incessant rain that drenched us on the first day! Luckily the rain cleared up, and the next day we were bathed in sunlight. Our nerves were put to the test with the vertical challenges - this year the leap of faith challenged even the most confident of climbers, and the encouragement many of the students showed towards their fellow teammates was a delight to see. In a day not for the faint-hearted, climbing was next on the itinerary. An added level of challenge was added this year with the children climbing 20m or so on real rock. Some children even made it up to the overhang! A particularly challenging part of the trip for many was a night of camping. With many of the group never having camped before, this was a new and valuable experience. Other activities included a half-day hike in the mountains, archery and the ever-popular laser tag. Here, the teams had to complete a series of challenges which everyone thoroughly enjoyed, none more so than Mr Malik, who I think must have been a commando in a previous life! Having been back in the comfort of Suzhou for a few weeks now, everyone can look back and reflect on a truly unforgettable week, where we tried new things, challenged ourselves beyond our comfort zones and made new friends along the way. Now the questions have already begun as what China Week will be in Year 7!

The Ancient Greeks Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to have lived over 2500 years ago in Ancient Greece? Over the last term in Humanities, the children in Y6 have been finding out about the how the Greeks lived, and have been quite surprised about some of the things they discovered! Everyone was in costume and looked fantastic! There were soldiers, philosophers, gods & goddesses to name just a few. The day started with a message written in the Greek alphabet. Having discovered what sound each of the characters represented, the children were able to decode the message and follow the instructions. Next, everybody learnt about Greek pottery, and how they were decorated with repeating patterns and scenes of daily life. The children then had a go at recreating this with their own pots! The next activity was learning about Athenian theatres. Greek actors & actresses used to wear masks to depict the character they were playing – it only seemed right that we made some of our own! Once the masks had been made, we put them to the test by acting out some famous Greek myths. To end the day our wonderful parents had prepared a selection of Greek cuisine for everyone to try. Delicious Mediterranean smells filled the classrooms as we delved into the humus, olives, pita bread to expand our culinary horizons. To bring the curtain down on a thoroughly enjoyable topic, we created a table-top presentation of an aspect of the Ancient Greeks that they wanted to find out about. Research skills were developed and used to collect the information they needed, and then thought of a wide variety of ways of presenting their information. This has been a topic to remember! The College Term 1

Nanbei Hu

Birds, twittering in the trees, the gentle trickle of the stream, the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees. Majestic, pine covered mountains rise from the serene

Year 6

Year 5

The College Term 1 2014-15

Building Learning Power in the Senior School This is for all those students, Working until midnight to catch up on homework. This is for those workers, Working their hearts out to make others happy. We all have to work for what we want, In other words: SUCCESS

Throughout The College, students have been learning how to stretch their learning muscles and build their learning power. A learning muscle is a term given to 16 attributes that we would like our students to develop into habits. These 16 muscles are grouped into 4 dispositions Resilience, Resourcefulness, Relating and

Myrthe is pictured here holding the BLP chart that is on display in all classrooms:

Having success isn't easy And it isn't success if you haven't worked for it. It might not come in one bit, However, success will come when the time is fit. Persistence is what we need, In order to get it right and to succeed.

Reflection. Building Learning Power, or BLP, is an approach that we think will help our students to become not just better learners, but life long learners. BLP is not a separate course, but it is an approach to learning that we are building into all lessons. All students are being introduced to each learning muscle during registration, where we are having fortnightly learning muscle themes. Staff are then building the learning muscles into their lessons to support the learning taking place in their classrooms through both the language used and resources given.

As part of the recent poetry week, Myrthe Miedema from Year 7 used the persistence learning muscle as her inspiration for her poem ‘Success’.

In this picture, Year 7 students are stretching their collaborative and empathic muscles whilst reviewing and helping each other to correct their assessments.

So whatever you do, Try your best, So that you can succeed in the rest. This is for all those students, Working until midnight to catch up on homework. This is for those workers, Working their hearts out to make others happy.

I asked students from Ms Wilson’s tutor group, 10/11Z, to write about their experiences so far of BLP and Marisa Yang had the following to say: ‘I was first introduced to the concept of Building Learning Power this year and gradually I’ve

realized that these are often characteristics found in successful individuals in society. Different traits can be attributed to certain careers and subjects in the province of education. For example, being methodical is found in teachers, scientists, financial organisers etc. Being inquisitive is found in writers, explorers, scientists, art expressionists etc. Being imaginative is found in design, art, language, literature etc. However, the more I have speculated these terms, the more I’ve realized these words can often compliment one another in ourselves, making us more rounded and multi-talented individuals. I am also fully aware that merely talking and writing about these terms is deplorably insufficient; it is the implementation of these traits that are of the most important. Thus, I have set for myself goals pertaining to such learning muscles that are practical, tangible and realistic to put into action’.

The next stage of BLP is to explore how it can further support the IB Learner Profile and bridge the gaps between the two. I will also be inviting parents in after the Christmas holidays to learn more and have the opportunity to stretch their learning muscles.

‘Term on term, year on year, a BLP school breeds young people who are more curious, more willing to take a risk and give it a go, more imaginative, more creative, more thoughtful, more ready, willing and able to learn with and through others. It’s developing this adventurous spirit that counts’ Professor Guy Claxton, author of The Learning Powered School.

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Myrthe is pictured here holding the BLP chart that is on display in all classrooms:

As part of the recent poetry week, Myrthe Miedema from Year 7 used the persistence learning muscle as her inspiration for her poem ‘Success’.

In this picture, Year 7 students are stretching their collaborative and empathic muscles whilst reviewing and helping each other to correct their assessments.

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The College Term 1

Our students are now studying in universities across the world...

Class of 2014 This year our International Baccalaureate Diploma students achieved a 100% pass rate for the first time. The average points score increased by an impressive 1.4 to 33.6, compared to the world average of 29.8. Head of Senior School, Mr Stuart Bridge, was delighted, “I am especially pleased to see such impressive improvement in the average scores, with so many students significantly surpassing their predicted grades. Our headline points and value added scores are the best ever!” Importantly the percentage of students gaining 38+ points and 40+ points has also significantly increased. Together with the excellent IB results from Dulwich College Beijing and Shanghai this puts the Dulwich group amongst the top performing IB schools in the world.

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Amongst the many individual achievements congratulations go to Karen Yip who attained 40 points and is going on to read Economics at the University of California (Los Angeles). Other notable successes are Chloe Lee who attained 39 points and is going on to read Economics at Hong Kong University, Michelle Zheng who attained 39 points and is going on to read Interdisciplinary Studies at UC Berkeley and Venus Cheung who attained 38 points and is going on to read Medicinal Chemistry at University College London. Other International Old Alleynians – the vast majority of whom have won places at their first-choice university – are moving on to study degrees ranging from Engineering to Architecture, International Business to Politics, and Hotel Management to Public Health.

The College Term 1

Our students are now studying in universities across the world...

The College Term 1 2014-15

The College Term 1

YEAR 7 ART DAY

The Prefect Team has organized and participated in many events for the school but the Year 7 Arts day has been by far the greatest success. The purpose of organizing an Arts Day was because the Prefect Team wanted to raise awareness of the Arts for Year 7 students. During the Year 7 Arts day, all the Prefects had a part to play. There were two sessions each lasting for two hours during when the Year 7s participated in Drama, Art, Music or Dance sessions. The aim was for the Year 7s to be exposed to the different types of Art, and to get to know us a little better. We believe that being exposed to the Arts at an early age allows them to be better prepared for the outside world. Overall, the Year 7 Arts day has been a success. Some of the Year 7 comments were “The arts day was an amazing day for those who love art and action. It was good for every one of the students” and “It was a fun, learning day. I think the students were very good teachers!” We hope that the future Prefect Team will continue the Year 7 Arts day.

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YEAR 7 ART DAY

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Driving Towards a Lower Carbon Future

“What would future generations want us to do today if they could speak to and advise us?” John Elkington, Author and Environmental Expert

Our place in a wider World

Setting an example

If we were in need of reminding of the serious risks that Climate Change poses to our planet, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report (available here: http://ipcc.ch/) has brought the scale and urgency of the challenge back into sharp focus. With half of all man-made carbon emissions from 1750-2011 occurring in the last 40 years, the continued growth in emissions is leading to higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is in turn leading to global warming. The IPCC’s report states unequivocally that reductions of emissions of 40% and 70% are necessary by 2050 if we are to have any chance of keeping planetary warming within 2 degrees. This is the challenge our nations face on the run up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in Nov/Dec 2015.

At DCSZ, we believe that we have a unique responsibility to educate our students and our community about caring for the planet on which we all rely and that their children will inherit. The College’s relationship with the natural world not only sets an important example for our students but it also reflects our core values. The message is that we can all do something. Just one small action such as switching off lights, closing doors, and reducing printing, if repeated by many people can have an enormous impact. We want our students and staff to believe that they can make a difference and encourage them to take action. Looking ahead to Paris in Nov

Leading the Way Faced with a problem of such enormous scale, it can be easy to feel powerless, a very small cog in a much larger wheel. Here at DCSZ, we believe that we have a social responsibility to act and that every little bit helps. We believe in setting an example for others to follow.

Through the power of education, we believe we will help the students shape a future that is ever more respectful of the environment (College Guiding Statement 5: The College values awareness of the natural world and its resources). By providing feedback on electricity and paper usage, we believe we can help change our own attitude to waste, and in turn lower emissions and paper wastage – since the start of the year, we have already seen a reduction of around 10% in our energy consumption and reduced our paper consumption by 30 000 pages in one month alone. By actively exploring the use of electric vehicles, we are looking to see what we can do to decarbonise our vehicle fleet and also improve local air quality. (We already have an electric car, which is used by our Boarding Parents for local trips in Suzhou.) In hosting members of the wider community, such as when we shared our work on improving indoor air quality while also saving energy with the DUSA Sustainability Circle, we hope to accelerate the improvement in air quality and reduction in energy usage.

The College Term 1 2014-15

The College Term 1

Driving Towards a Lower Carbon Future

“What would future generations want us to do today if they could speak to and advise us?” John Elkington, Author and Environmental Expert

Our place in a wider World

Setting an example

The College Term 1 2014-15

The College Term 1

SHELF FOR HOPE After our flight to Luoyang on Monday morning, we visited the Longmen Caves. There, we learned some interesting facts about the caves and their Buddha. We had lunch, and then directly started on our CAS project on helping the Luoyang school. On the afternoon, we went to the supermarket to buy supplies for our future lunches that we had to cook, and also to buy books and games for the children. Tuesday was the first day at the school where we met the children. We were exciting about it, and were greatly surprised by the amazing welcome that the children had prepared for us. To see all these wonderful smiles on their faces was special, we all felt very pleased to be here to have some fun with them, and to give a new look to their school library. During these three days at the school, we played some games and taught them a little bit of English, such as seasons, food, body parts, colours and animals. Also, we taught them songs, “heads, shoulders, knees and toes” but also dances “Gangnam style”. It was an interesting experience as the children were very opened and happy about all the activities with us.

The College Term 1 2014-15

We also had a fantastic time working on the library. We have been very efficient, because it took us the first day to clean the library and build the shelves, the second day to get the art supplies and paint the first layer on the walls, and the third day to finish painting themes and arrange all the books in their new library. Then the children saw their new library and after all their “wows” and “thank you”, we had to say goodbye to them. To finish our week, we watched a Kung Fu performance at Martial Arts School; then we had lessons by groups with a Master. Before taking our flight back to Shanghai, we went to the cinema to watch “Guardians of the Galaxy”, to finish our week with a nice movie. Overall, this week has been an interesting experience for the children at Luoyang School, but also for us whom were always amazed by their performances, and their honest wonderful smiles. By Clémence Muller

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Gimin Nam Y12

Eileen Kim 8S

Sarugi Magandran Y12

Paul Yau Y12

Soo Ji En IGCSE

Taku Ri Y12

Denise Bender Y12

ART & DESIGN Nozomi Masugata IGCSE

Janani Ramesh IGCSE

Su Youn Lee IGCSE

Anis Yeganeh Zanuzi Y12

Soo Ji En 12/13C

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Hyeon Ung Hwang 9C

Bethan Chadwick 8C

Austin Lu 9C

Seoyun Kim 8S

Janani Ramesh 12/13D

Amy Lee 7S

Celmence Muller 12/13D

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Gimin Nam Y12

Eileen Kim 8S

Sarugi Magandran Y12

Paul Yau Y12

Soo Ji En IGCSE

Taku Ri Y12

Denise Bender Y12

ART & DESIGN Nozomi Masugata IGCSE

Janani Ramesh IGCSE

Su Youn Lee IGCSE

Anis Yeganeh Zanuzi Y12

Soo Ji En 12/13C

The College Term 1 2014-15

Hyeon Ung Hwang 9C

Bethan Chadwick 8C

Austin Lu 9C

Seoyun Kim 8S

Janani Ramesh 12/13D

Amy Lee 7S

Celmence Muller 12/13D

The College Term 1

MUSIC @ Dulwich With Diversity followed by the Dulwich Music Festival it has been non-stop music this term.

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MUSIC @ Dulwich With Diversity followed by the Dulwich Music Festival it has been non-stop music this term.

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Physical Education & Sport 30

Senior School Sports Day

Swimming

As ever the event was fiercely contested, with students from all houses cheering and supporting members of their house across a number of athletic events on the day. After a long day of competitive action, Shackleton were eventually crowned winners, helped by some impressive performances in the 4x100m relay events.

Our three swim teams have been busy this term, training hard and performing well at both the NIS and SCIS Invitational swim meets. With personal bests consistently improving and the medal haul slowly rising, all of our swimmers can be proud of the progress they are making under the guidance of Head of Swimming Mrs Franklin and Coach Shine.

Junior School Sports Day Students turned out in their house colours, intent on doing everything possible to roar their house to victory. Shackleton were again crowned champions, completing a fantastic Junior-Senior Sports Day Double.

Cross Country The recent Cross-River Cross Country event proved to be a highly successful event for our Cross Country team both on an individual and team front. Johan Dale (Junior Boys) and Nikolei Hoeglinger (High School Boys) took gold in their respective age categories, with other members of the team also achieving creditable positions in their races.

Junior School Football Tournament The 8th annual DCSZ Junior School Football Tournament took place in October, with approximately 400 students representing 8 international and local Chinese schools for the event. The tournament provided a highly entertaining morning of football for spectators and parents, with many of the DCSZ Tiger teams performing exceptionally on the day. Particular mention must be given to our U9 Boys ‘A’ team led by eight goal hero Mauricio Zermeno, who won every game on their way to winning their respective U9 Boys Cup Competition.

GCSE Shanghai Tennis Tournament Trip Year 10 and 11 GCSE groups paid a visit to Shanghai to watch the Shanghai Masters Tennis 2014. This visit gave the students an opportunity to watch top class tennis, with some of the world’s best individuals on show. The Tennis was a great opportunity to utilise world-class athletes, such as Thomas Berdych and Gilles Simon to complete some performance analysis. It was safe to say however, that the ‘spectator experience’ was the highlight. A fabulous day had by all! ACAMIS Volleyball

CISSA Football The CISSA Football season is currently in full flow, with 6 DCSZ squads competing in fixtures across Suzhou and Shanghai each week. Results have been extremely positive, with each team putting in some notable performances and picking up some memorable victories along the way. With many goals scored by our young tigers each week, Junior Girls striker Jenna Bonner is on her way to being the top DCSZ CISSA goal scorer ever with 15 goals to her name already this season!

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The ACAMIS Volleyball was a great success with both boys & girls finishing in 2nd place, the best year for Volleyball in DCSZ Tigers history! Under 15 FOBISIA There are so many highlights and memories for all the coaches, players and supporters to cherish. It really was a perfect team performance: every basketball player scored; the boys were undefeated throughout; we gained the highest ever medal haul in the pool and athletics; and three team gold medals. All in all a truly outstanding tournament. St Andrews Bangkok produced a superb tournament and the DCSZ tigers produced an incredible performance, well done everyone! The College Term 1

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Senior School Sports Day

Swimming

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Mandarin 32

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Vicky An 6Z Sarah Kim 6S Minji Lee 6Z Joanne Baek 6Z Level: MFL4

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The College Term 1

Mandarin 32

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Vicky An 6Z Sarah Kim 6S Minji Lee 6Z Joanne Baek 6Z Level: MFL4

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The College Term 1

De Oranje Draak

Friends of Dulwich

School voor Nederlandse taal en cultuur

A Festive Cultural Day The Orange Dragon is a school for Dutch language and for Dutch and Belgium cultural education.

sweet the Dutch eat on this evening. But the recipe was a little awkward, the backing became a mess and the oliebollen a disaster.

Dulwich College Suzhou’s Parents Organization

After this play the tone was set for a day full of fun and learning. Soon the classrooms were filled with activities like games, puppet plays, video’s, writing and music and dancing.

Each school year we celebrate our cultural heritage through different events like Kings day or the celebration of Saint Nicolaas. Saturday October 18th we focused on celebrations that are not that well At the end of the day we all went known with our students like Saint Maarten; Liberation home with a lot of cultural knowledge day and Fools day. but most important with a strong sense of belonging. During the opening meester Tom from The Netherlands tried to teach Juf Hilde from Belgium how to make oliebollen for New Years Eve. A typical

Christa Sterk

Family Fun D

Quiz Nigh

Cooking Cla

Otherwise known as FoD… Parents are an important part of the Dulwich College Suzhou community. Through Friends of Dulwich parents can connect with the school and with each other. FoD organizes numerous events each year such as International and Founders Day, the Charity Ball, Family Fun Day, Quiz Nights, cooking classes, shopping trips, coffee mornings and more. Friends of Dulwich also provides a way for parents and the school to “give back” to the Greater Suzhou community through its fundraising activities. Over the past few years, FoD has given away hundreds of thousand yuan. Recipients include migrant schools, orphanages, scholarship funds, and a local animal shelter. In addition, FoD has provided much needed funds to cover medical expenses for local children in need.

Donating funds for Jiajia’s cancer treatment

The FoD Executive Committee is the elected group of parents responsible for organizing FoD activities and events but relies heavily on parent volunteers to help run them. There are many ways to get involved with FoD all year long, either as a member of the Executive Committee, an event volunteer or country ambassador. Check out the Friends of Dulwich page on the school website for more information.

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De Oranje Draak

Friends of Dulwich

School voor Nederlandse taal en cultuur

A Festive Cultural Day The Orange Dragon is a school for Dutch language and for Dutch and Belgium cultural education.

sweet the Dutch eat on this evening. But the recipe was a little awkward, the backing became a mess and the oliebollen a disaster.

Dulwich College Suzhou’s Parents Organization

After this play the tone was set for a day full of fun and learning. Soon the classrooms were filled with activities like games, puppet plays, video’s, writing and music and dancing.

Christa Sterk

Family Fun D

Quiz Nigh

Cooking Cla

Donating funds for Jiajia’s cancer treatment

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<< DULWICH CONNECTIONS >>

Dulwich College Beijing Practice Makes Perfect!

Mr McNamara appeared and set off with the children to look for the possible pilot. The children searched the playground and field, but they could not find anything. Mr Sherwood and then Mr Orchard also appeared to investigate what had happened and were greeted by very excited children who were busy speculating about how to answer all their questions.

Tony competed in the "15 & under professional” category, where all participants underwent several very intense and competitive elimination rounds. All of this was in front of a live TV audience, eleven judges from across China, one from France and one from the UK.

Some of them tried saying hello in as many languages as they knew; some made up languages to try and communicate; one child drew a picture to reassure the alien that they would help them; another quickly rushed into the Creative Area to make a replacement rocket. The whole of Reception is abuzz with excitement as to what will be happening next...

Tony was the youngest of the three finalists who made it through to perform live on national television last week. His final-round piece was Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor (3rd Movement), which he played with the China Philharmonic Orchestra. Tony gave an electrifying performance, full of technical diligence combined with Chopin’s trademark Polish exuberance – and his ability to communicate with the conductor and orchestra was a joy to watch. For his amazing achievement, Tony has earned contracts with top orchestras in China: the China Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He will also have opportunities to perform in concert halls in Paris and London including Salle Cortot Concert Hall, Paris. At his tender age, Tony has already performed in concert halls in China, Italy, Germany and Ukraine. In 2013 he won second place in an international competition for young pianists in memory of Vladimir Horowitz in Ukraine. On 14th November, he was invited to play with the China Philharmonic Orchestra and top Polish musicians at the 3rd Polish Cultural Festival. So what does it take to be a concert pianist? Practice, practice and practice make perfect. Tony started playing the piano at four and while he does not remember practising very much then he recalls with fondness how his mother bought him stickers to encourage him and he still treasures several of the sticker books he collected for the time he spent playing the piano. You can hear Tony’s beautiful music from the Wodehouse Theatre before the end of school or in the evenings as he puts in 3 hours of practice per day during the week and another 5-6 hours during the weekends. When he is not practising he enjoys a game of tennis and travelling.

Tony loves to perform on stage and he expresses appreciation for the opportunities Mr O’Shea and Dulwich have given him to perform. His sister, Amy, plays the violin and they have performed together in several concerts. Tony is grateful to all his teachers who have been so helpful and supportive and especially to Ms Sue Orr whom he misses a lot. What is Tony’s advice for parents who would want their children to play as well as he does? Very thoughtfully, he emphasizes, “I think every child has their own interest and talent in different areas. The important thing is to find out what you are really interested in and then work hard for it. You will face many unpredicted difficulties. But whatever in any situation, remember your goal, focus on your goal. I’ll always remember Ms Orr telling me, ‘Be strong and brave.’” So let’s start practising….. The College Term 1 2014-15

There was great excitement in the EYFS playground. The children were busy in the classroom when they heard a loud noise. A shout was heard from Ms Ji and all the children rushed outside to find that a space rocket had crash landed in the hedge. At first the children were a little wary of approaching the rocket and there were lots of worried little faces to be seen, however their natural curiosity took over and they started to ask a millions questions and to speculate where it had come from. They noticed that the door of the rocket was open and they concluded that someone or something had possibly come out from the rocket.

In October, Tony Yun, Year 8 student at Dulwich College Beijing, was awarded First Prize in the prestigious CCTV 2014 Piano Competition. Held every three years, the competition attracts a large number of highly talented participants mostly from music conservatories all over China.

With reference to the role his parents play, Tony adds,” My parents believe life is imperfect without the accompaniment of music. They always support me, trust me and make me feel safe and happy. They encourage me to have my dream, and to work hard for the dream.”

Dulwich College Seoul Space Rocket Crash Lands on DUCKS EYFS

Dulwich College Shanghai shines in the 2014 The World Scholar’s Cup. The World Scholar’s Cup (WSC) is a global competition consisting of four main events: collaborative writing, team debating, Scholar’s Challenge and the Scholar’s Bowl. The format is in three stages with winning teams from each round progressing into the next round. There is the regional round, followed by a global round and a final champions round. This year, the global round was held at Singapore and almost 2400 students participated - the highest attendance since the competition’s inception. DCS has been a regular participant and this summer our contingent was 12 members’ strong, split into four teams. This year’s theme was the “World Within” and the six subjects explored were fascinating and ranged from the Science of Decision-Making to the History of Espionage. Other than the four competitive events, there were social events too, such as the Scavenger Hunt in Sentosa, a disco in Zouk, a night safari and talent shows. The World Scholars’ Cup is more than just a competition; it’s the celebration of learning. The DCS team performed well in their individual and collective efforts. Apart from the medals we received, we also gained experience, friendships and the self-confidence to face challenges with humility and inner strength. In terms of medals and trophies, DCS exceeded our success last year, with both 1st place and 2nd place overall being won by DCS teams. Tara Parekh, Claudia Meng and Priyanka Iyer (all Y9, Team 124) emerged the overall winners of the competition in the Junior Division, while Angela Lin, Romain Speciel and Yifeng Dong earned 2 nd place. In addition, Priyanka, Tara and Claudia also were 1st place winners in the debate. (Written by Priyanka Iyer)

The College Term 1

<< DULWICH CONNECTIONS >>

Dulwich College Beijing Practice Makes Perfect!

Dulwich College Seoul Space Rocket Crash Lands on DUCKS EYFS

The College Term 1

The

COLLEGE

Term 1 2014-15

Building Learning Power Class of 2014 Shelf for Hope Lowering Carbon Emissions Dulwich Connections No. 360 Gang Tian Road, SIP, Suzhou, 215021, China 360 T/

(86512) 6295 9500

info@dulwich-suzhou.cn www.dulwich-suzhou.cn

215021 (86512) 6295 7540