Shanghai Community International School & Hangzhou International School
Spirit
Third Quar ter 2016
of the Game
TABLE OF CONTENTS Features
P. 22-23 // Theme Feature
Fostering Cooporation Amongst Children
P. 13 // Curriculum:
The Spirit of Togetherness P. 28-29 // Art Gallery
Pudong Campus
P. 30-31 // Principal’s Letter
Memoirs of a Middle School Principal P. 46-47 // Host Culture
P. 4 // Superintendent’s Letter P. 5 // Editor’s Letter P. 6-7 // Special Feature
West Lake MUN Conference
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A Taste of Chinese New Year
Campus Highlights P. 14-17 // Hangzhou
Team Teaching: When Two of a Good Thing is Better than One
P. 18-19 // Pudong
Pre-school, Laying the Foundation for Future Learning
Collaborative Learning is Team Learning Dragon Run
P. 24-27 // Hongqiao
Spirit of Game
Looking Forward P. 53 // Hongqiao ECE
Summer Camp
P. 8-11 // Educational Insights
P. 40-41 // Alumni Interview
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. – African Proverb
Andre Ong Transformational Transitions P. 42-43 // The Librarian Corner
Book Recommendations for All Ages
Synergy: More Than Just a 21st Century Buzzword
P. 48-49 // Family Spotlight
P.20-21// Teacher Spotlight
Golden Dragons: Meet the Beelen Family
Looking Back at Eight Years with SCIS Don and Jane macmillan P. 32 // Coach Corner
The Perfect Storm
P. 33 // Favourite Spot in the City
221B Baker St.
P. 34-35 // Technology
3O+ Inspiring and Useful Art Education Blogs
P. 36-37 // Student Spotlight
P. 50-51 // PAFA
P. 38-39 & 44-45 // Community Feature
P. 52-54 // Partner
Dragon Cup History
Nature’s Crew of Recyclers
Words of a Quintessential Team Player The Magnificent Seven: Maayke Vlas Lower School’s New IPads EnGINeering Our Future 2016 – GIN Conference at the Hongqiao Campus
Community
Having a Look in the Classroom of The Orange Dragon
Competition
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SUPERINTENDENT ‘S LETTER
Dear SCIS-HIS Community and Friends, The arrival of Spring has been most welcome in this Year of the Monkey, and the warmer temperatures and sunshine again lift the playful and creative spirits of our students. The change in season also matches a shift in afterschool program opportunities to include more outdoor sports and activities. Our schools provide students with robust extracurricular and co-curricular offerings that allow them to explore new skills and further develop talents. In this month’s edition of Communitas we explore “The Spirit of the Game” at SCIS-HIS schools. As is the case each Spring, hundreds of our students will be committed to our spring theatre productions, many of whom will finish rehearsals just in time to compete in basketball tournaments or step up on the blocks for a swim meet. There are over 60 afterschool activities for our students to choose from during the school year at our sister schools. With such a wide range of choice, we teach our students to weigh and consider their options and maintain a balanced approach in their commitments. We also ensure that our activities programs match the developmental needs of the student. As students move between the school divisions, the emphasis moves from opportunity, involvement and participation to options that allow for highest levels of competition. We like to remind ourselves that we are ‘providing opportunities that are just right’, encouraging students to engage in a new sport or activity, and ensuring students with a passion and commitment to something have the chance to take it to a higher level. The spirit of the game also applies well beyond our sports programs. During and after school, students will be challenged to pursue their creative and innovative talents and instincts. Whether trying to solve a robotics challenge, trying something new or challenging (‘making a game of it’), learning the rules and conventions, or showing honorable and fair conduct, the spirit of the game is ever present at SCIS-HIS schools. Coordinating all of these opportunities and advising students with care is a monumental task. To assist with this, each of our schools employs an Athletics and Activities Coordinator (AAC) whose specific responsibility is to ensure that students are provided with a well-organized slate of sports and creative activities. Our teaching staff also put in well over the minimum expectation of at least 40 hours of additional support for our afterschool activity programs. And while we specifically recruit teachers who have a passion for helping kids thrive beyond the regular school hours, once again I would like to take this opportunity to thank our faculty, parents and friends of the community who help build such a robust program and caring place for our students to explore, take risks, and strengthen talents. I hope you enjoy the colors and spirit of our great schools on the following pages. Have a very happy start to the Year of the Monkey and as always…. GOOOooo Dragons!
Jeffry R. Stubbs Superintendent of Schools
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EDITOR’S LETTER
Third Quarter 2016 Editor Mikael Masson Perez Art Director Mun Yee Choo ............................................... The Communitas Magazine is published four times per year catered primarily for the SCIS-HIS community and our friends, but also the larger Shanghai-Hangzhou community in general. Everyone involved in the making of the Communitas magazine work diligently to bring enlightening and interesting content to our readers, however we are always open to opinions and suggestions as we are constantly looking for ways in which we can improve. Moreover, we greatly welcome submissions to our magazine and we will willingly include contributions to future issues. Should you have any commentary, observations, wish to submit articles or inquire as to ways to collaborate, feel free to send all inquiries/correspondence to the Communitas editor via email at mmasson@scis-his.org.
From the Editor The Spirit of the Game
P
ersonally, one of the greatest joys of playing team sports comes from comradeship with others in the team. Knowing that being in the company and friendship of others striving towards the same goal, regardless of the score line once the clock runs out, is something worth being a part of. The same mentality can be said about countless of situations in everyday life where teamwork, more often than not, is an essential part of achieving success. Unless we work completely on our own, we will often be in situations that require collaboration with other individuals and knowing how to do so is a key skill to possess. “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” J.K. Rowling Teamwork is the ability to draw upon each other’s unique strengths to complete tasks, but more so, I believe it is the ability to adapt, collaborate and sometimes even compromise. Our third installment of the Communitas magazine aims to showcase such stories of solidarity within the SCIS community, both out on the playing fields and inside the classrooms, in the hopes to inspire personal reflection of one’s capacity to enact the spirit of the game. Our sincerest thanks goes out to all community members who contributed to the making of this edition and I wish you all a pleasant reading ahead. Sincerely,
Mikael Masson Perez Editor
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SPECIAL FEATURE
West Lake MUN Conference M
odel United Nations club here at Hangzhou international school has a history of nearly a decade, in which every year students have participated in multiple national and international conferences, as well as contributed in the planning of our very own West Lake MUN conference. The conference aims to help new delegates kick start their MUN career as well as maintaining the level of professionalism that is expected from HIS. The conference has been mainly student-directed for the 9 years that it has existed. Students take the initiative in planning and organizing the individual aspects of this event. When the club lost two wonderful directors and the two greatest senior members, we suffered a huge blow, but thanks to our president and our active club members, we managed to get back on our feet and host another successful simulation through cohesive teamwork and collaboration. 6
Sophie Chen, Grade 9: (President) MUN played one of the biggest role in my middle and high school career. The reason why I love MUN is because of the way it brings young student leaders together and creates the platform for these curious minds to speak out for the world. Being the Secretary General of West Lake MUN 2015 was one of the most remarkable experience and accomplishment so far in my Model UN career. It took a total of 6 months to plan and prepare, and there were many tough moments we had to pull through. One of the most difficult moment would be when we found out that our directors had to leave for some unexpected situations. At first, the startling and sudden change made me feel discouraged to continue and doubtful of how it will play out. However, as the semester went by, our new director and the students cooperated and worked cooperatively as a team in preparing for the conference. I was extremely impressed with
SPECIAL FEATURE
the amount of students and staff who stepped up when we needed assistance, and gave up their time on the weekend to help out before and during the event. Therefore, I would like to thank all of the people who supported our conference, West Lake MUN wouldn’t have been made possible without them. Prachi Sukhnani, Grade 10: (Active member) Nothing in the past 5 years has affected me the way that MUN has. In 2012, I started off in NISMUN with the topic of promoting world peace through sports, and now CISSMUN has me facing the biggest challenge: Coordinating international efforts to end in the war in Syria. In MUN, collaboration comes into play when we look at preparing for conferences like our own West Lake MUN and double delegations, which allow delegates
to work under the same delegations, split up the work, and cover more ground, giving us the chance to do more research and become more informed about our respective topics. For example, with Syria and CISSMUN, I was in a double delegation as the delegate of Jordan. As this topic is one of highest severity, it was crucial to not lean the workload on one single person. Saarthak (my partner) and I took up the opportunity to collaborate and put our minds together to help Syria (our neighboring nation). The result was spectacular. Countless defending during lobbying and merging and countless defending afterwards (for about 3 and a half hours) led to a surprising result of 13 for, 1 against, 1 abstention. I could not have asked for a better result to a phenomenal experience in a double delegation in the Security Council.
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EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. – African Proverb
I
n keeping with the “Spirit of the Game” theme of this issue, I would be remiss if I didn’t put in a few words on collaboration.
While we are still at the beginning stages of this process, collaboration is at the heart of the entire action plan that we developed in order to become an MYP Candidate school this past January. As we gradually roll out the MYP, the collaboration between the administration of the school, teachers, parents, and our most important stakeholders – students, will be vital to its success. Behind the scenes, extensive work has been done with teachers in implementing the MYP. Wherever possible our workshops and training sessions have been designed to be collaborative, to elicit feedback from teachers, and to have teachers working together with each other in grade level teams and departments to sort through challenges. Additionally, all of our teachers in the Middle and High School have completed, or are very close to wrapping up, online workshops through the IB Organization. These workshops are unique in that they bring together teachers from all over the world to work collaboratively on unit planning within their discipline. As such, a biology teacher from Lima can be commenting on the work of a chemistry teacher in Shanghai and borrowing some best practice advice from an Earth Sciences teacher in Dar es Salaam. What a unique opportunity to collaborate! Similarly, we have run a number of Dragon Time sessions and advisory periods, as well as day to day classroom time, to continue to work with students on a common understanding of the changes. These discussions and exercises are now coming to fruition as we pilot our first MYP units with students. They
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are learning with us as teachers and administrators, what assessment means, how inquiry drives conceptual and contextual understanding, and how reflection is essential for both parties to be successful. But the highlight for me by far, as part of the team responsible for trying to implement these changes, has been the response of the parent community of SCIS. As anyone tasked with managing change knows, so much of your energy and time can be potentially spent cajoling and converting and countervailing reluctant stakeholders. Having worked in a number of IB schools though, I am constantly amazed and appreciative of the support we have been receiving from you as we make these programmatic adjustments. You’ve probably heard the cliché “we couldn’t have done it without you” and this is unquestionably true of the collaborative partnership I believe we have successfully started to grow here at SCIS. There have been a number of key information sessions to date in both the middle and high school with parents and these have been overwhelmingly positive. The level of involvement, the depth and consideration of the comments and considerations put forth by parents, and the willingness to hear and embrace new ideas has been a constant source of inspiration to the team as we prepare to move from a candidate school to a fully accredited three programme IB school. This partnership will continue to develop and we’ll be asking some hard questions of each other moving forward, but as the proverb suggests, because going through this together, we are bound to go far. By Barclay Lelievre Hongqiao Campus High School Principal
EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS
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EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS
Synergy:
More Than Just a 21st Century Buzzword T
here are many professional buzzwords that are thrown around these days. Buzzwords like political capital, award-winning, and innovative, have been creeping into our lexicon over the years. The American television comedy series “The Office,” capitalized on this growing phenomenon in Corporate America, through the depiction of the hilarious caricature of Steve Carell’s character Michael Scott. Carell’s depiction of Scott as inept is often seen when Scott uses buzzwords, even if at times, he does not fully understand the full extent of their meaning. The buzzwords that were once, and are still often used by the general public, are becoming ever more specialized. It seems that every particular industry has their own unique set of buzzwords. In the business world you will hear words like leverage, ROI, and the bottom-line thrown around the office. In science and technology, words such as bandwidth, the cloud, and scalability tend to dominate conversation. Restaurateurs and foodies love to talk about fusion, all natural, and free range, while in the field of education, differentiation, synthesizing, and assessment are commonly used. Although all these buzzwords are pervasive in our respective industries, and society at large, the one buzzword that seems to be the most overused buzzwords today is “synergy.” In fact, if there was an Academy Award for the most overused buzzword of the 21st Century, the word “synergy” would surely receive a coveted nomination. Unlike many of us would have thought, the word synergy is anything but modern. Derived from the Greek word synergia, the word synergy literally means “to work together.” Like the ancient Greeks observed long ago, working together is not a new concept. Since the beginning of mankind, human beings have not only found it advantageous to work together, but necessary for man’s survival and reproduction. Even DNA, the basic molecule of life utilizes synergy. Each double-stranded DNA molecule hangs together, because of a coordinated combination of labour. In other words, for life to even be possible, synergy is required.
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Consider something far more simplistic, and more widely used. Let’s use the example of a car. According to StatisticBrain, there were over 85 million cars produced globally in 2014 alone. We love our cars. Names like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and BMW are not only familiar to most of us, they dominate the imaginations of young and old alike. Today, sports like Nascar, and Formula One racing, are some of the most widely viewed races around the world. Though these races are widely viewed, very rarely does one think of synergy when watching them. From the pit crews working together to make sure these cars
EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS
are running at the optimum performance, to the cars themselves team work is necessary. The high performance sports cars that make these races possible, like most of the other products we put to use today, would be non-existent without synergy. According to Paul Carter, a structural engineer, some 15-20,000 designed and manufactured parts, comprising of over 60 different materials, are needed to assemble a typical car on the road today. For a car to reach its final stage of production, numerous different technologies will need to be tapped. From metallurgy, to the latest electronics, to glass-making, hydraulics, paints and plastics, all important for a car to be properly assembled. Literally thousands of different processes, and human inventions are needed to produce a single car. For such a product to be conceived, designed, and manufactured, cooperation of various kinds is necessary on a massive scale. Synergy is not only efficient, or merely convenient, synergy is inescapable. Working together is in fact not only an important skill to have, but it is a vital skill to teach our kids. The ability to work together is not an optional skill, according to Harvard Educator, Tony Wagner, it is a survival skill for the 21st Century. In order for our students to be well equipped for the 21st Century, collaboration must be taught inside and outside of the classroom. Activities like team-sports, theatre, and band, can be an effective way for students to learn how to work together. Synergy can even be learned through a video game, or through play.
Finland, a global leader when it comes to K-12 education, has recognized the importance of teaching synergy in schools through play. Finland gives students 15 minute breaks for each hour of instruction. During this 15 minutes of unstructured time, students learn how to interact, socialize, and work together through the concept of free-play. Free-play provides students the opportunity to develop social competence that will be instrumental in their success of learning how to work with others. The emphasis with free-play is to teach students how to cooperate, communicate, and compromise, all skills they will need to succeed in school, and later in life. Here at SCIS, we are recognizing the importance of teaching synergy, and are encouraging students to learn how to work together inside, and outside the classroom. From transitioning to a PYP and MYP curriculum, to encouraging a student’s participation in extracurricular school activities, students are receiving the skills at SCIS that are both necessary and transferrable. So perhaps, there is good reason for the popularity of the word synergy. Maybe after all, the ancient Greeks foresaw the necessity for the word synergia, well before it became a 21st Century buzzword. By Steven Sgourdos Pudong Campus Middle School Social Studies Teacher 11
Admissions
It’s Time for Re-enrollment! SCIS-HIS Parents Just a reminder from the Admissions Office that re-enrollment for the 2016-2017 academic year is currently open and the 3% early payment discount deadline is April 17th, 2016. Re-enrollment can be done through PowerSchool, so if you are unsure of your username and/or password, please contact your campus secretary for assistance (see the list below for your reference). We anticipate full classes at many grade levels and wish to ensure that all of our current families have first priority. We look forward to your continued support and involvement in our school community and hope to welcome your family for yet another successful school year!
Hongqiao ECE Campus: (Nursery-Grade 1) Name
Job Title
Ext
Maggie Yang
School Secretary/Admissions
maggie.yang@scis-his.org
7004
Hongqiao Main Campus: (Grades 2-12) Name
Job Title
Ext
Alice Dai Miranda Chen
Lower School (Grade 2-Grade 5)
adai@scis-his.org mchen@scis-his.org
5131 5133
Sunny Jiang Lisa Ni
Middle School (Grade 6- Grade 8)
sjiang@scis-his.org lni@scis-his.org
3155 3153
Sarah Jin Elaine Lim
High School (Grade 9-Grade 12)
sarah_jin@scis-his.org elim@scis-his.org
3103 3115
Pudong Campus: (Nursery-Grade 12) Name
Job Title
Ext
Joanna Zhou
Lower School Secretary (Nursery-Grade 5)
jzhou@scis-his.org
6501
Jelly Ling
Upper School Secretary (Grade 6- Grade 12)
jling@scis-his.org
6015
Hangzhou International School: (Nursery-Grade 12)
12
Name
Job Title
Ext
Kerri Lang
School Secretary/Admissions
kliang@scis-his.org
86-571-8669-0045
CURRICULUM
The Spirit of Togetherness I
n one of his many famous speeches, Abraham Lincoln stated, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Though his thoughts were directed at the North and South on the eve of the Civil War, his words convey a meaning that holds true even today, even in a different setting…the classroom. Perhaps even teachers feel this way from time to time, but in my home away from home, the 5th grade hallway, my team and our classes have experienced a bustling past few months of collaborating, creating, and celebrating! In our units of study, our main focuses have been on Conflict and Government. Through intense provocation, our students experienced a level of understanding in areas such as stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. This allowed for them to connect on a deeper level when discussing current world events. Taking a step into the past, through the reading of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, students were given a unique but haunting perspective into the lives of two boys from different backgrounds who became best friends during the Holocaust. From creating new music videos teaching us about digestion and the circulatory system to breaking out their latest dance moves, Mr. Roma, Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Kirwin’s classes put on an unforgettable Assembly focused on the Human Body Systems and the Learner Profile Traits. The entire assembly was student led and student driven. They excelled in showing how teamwork, problem solving and collaboration (with a touch of humor) can put on a spectacular show-stopping performance. In August, each Grade 5 set out to read over 100 books. As a whole it was decided that all classes must reach this goal in order to receive a special day of celebration. They successfully reached their goal in January, and this past Friday the students held their much anticipated “Book Day”. Students dressed up in their favorite book character costume, and the morning and afternoon were filled with activities, movies and pizza! And now Spring is starting to make its way into our lives which will only bring a new wave of energy into our days. There’s no slowing down just yet. In just a few short weeks we will begin our first PYP Exhibition. This will be an exciting time for the students to put what they’ve learned into action and display it for the community to see. A final product of their learning before their transition into Middle School. The beauty of teamwork and the outcomes it produces are ones to celebrate and ones which bring its participants a sense of achievement and pride. It is evident that there is much of this happening in Grade 5, and it is wonderful to be a part of it all. Each day is special and brings new and exciting challenges for us all. At SCIS we learn together, we teach together, we celebrate growth together. In this, we are strong even when we are tired. Because there is a unique and extraordinary spirit in a team and in the classroom, and it can be said that “A class that stands together cannot be divided.” By Tara Morgan Lafferty Hongqiao Campus Middle School English Teacher
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HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHT
Team Teaching:
When Two of a Good Thing is Better than One about being open and willing to listen and share. This extends beyond the grade level teams and includes mileposts, specialist teachers, or our counselor, Linda [Sander]. They are a great attribute when planning or troubleshooting any issues that may arise. Different teachers come in with special skills, experiences and talents and it’s great when we, as a staff, feel comfortable to turn to each other for help and advice. Students benefit because they get the expertise of not just one teacher, but many teachers involved in the collaboration process.” Her fellow second grade teacher Aryanna Wetteland goes on to say, “When you team teach you build on each other’s strengths and minimize the weaknesses. We all have various experiences teaching so we can gather different ideas from it as well. Students benefit because they get to experience a different style of teaching which diversifies their learning and provides them with more opportunity.”
Every educator has had that feeling of being stretched thin at one time or another. We wish there was more time with our students or that we could magically duplicate ourselves and be with multiple students or groups at once! Luckily, here at HIS, teachers do have that opportunity through “team teaching”. Whether we are teaming up with teaching assistants or fellow teachers, there is a wonderful environment of cooperation and collaboration at our school. As a kindergarten teacher, I’ve seen just how beneficial being able to team teach with my fellow teachers and with my TA, Ms. Jenny Hong, is for me and for our students. Having Ms. Jenny in the classroom provides us the opportunities to differentiate instruction more frequently. As I teach a phonics mini lesson to a group of students, I visually check in with Ms. Jenny as she is working in another small group. I can see her encouraging and providing these students with a second layer of instruction and the opportunity to practice their growing blending skills. After school, we sit and talk about the progress of our students. She provides me with feedback about details that she notices and I share insights with her. Together, we are working to ensure the success of every student in our class. I see this type of collaboration and others throughout HIS everyday and so I decided to ask some of my fellow educators to share their experiences and thoughts about team teaching. “Team teaching is great because we can build on each other’s ideas,” says second grade teacher Julie Ly. “When we meet, one person may pitch an idea and the other can add to it or expand on it. This can’t be done when working alone. We are exposed to things that we may not come up with on our own. I’m always amazed by the perspectives other teachers can have and it’s 14
Fifth grade teacher Fiona McGuire agrees. “Two heads are better than one sometimes. Paul [Cheevers] and I have totally different skill sets. We pull on each other’s strengths. As educators, we are able to learn from one another. Team teaching is quite beneficial as professional development but it also requires compromise and the willingness to listen.” Her teaching partner, Paul Cheevers also points out additional benefits of team teaching for students. “When the classes are together the kids get more into the content or activity; they get more excited. Combining the classes presents students with more opportunities to share ideas and raises the energy and creativity.” Fourth grade teacher, Jeremy Maher, says that it has added a sense of comradery between students in his grade level. “They think less of themselves as separate classes and more of themselves as a grade level. They all know that we’re covering the same content in our classrooms and it provides a sense of continuity. Bringing the classes together also provides them with more flexibility as far as partnerships because they are frequently mixing.” As educators, one of our greatest resources for engaging students and ensuring their success is each other. Through team teaching, we provide our students with greater opportunities for collaboration, deeper understanding, and a vaster range of experiences. As the next unit of study approaches in kindergarten, I look forward to collaborations with my fellow team teachers and am excited to see what we will accomplish together. By Brianna Maxwell HIS Kindergarten Teacher
HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHT
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HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHT
Collaborative Learning is Team Learning A
s Helen Keller once said, “alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”. In that vein, Hangzhou International School, like all good schools, regularly uses group learning as a strategy for developing and consolidating the ongoing knowledge and skills students experience each day. These group-based educational experiences provide “team spirit” to engage and contribute to the learning. Having introduced the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) in lower school this year, use of this sound pedagogical approach has been able to increase in frequency. Students learn more, more deeply, and with more fun when they learn together as a team. The IPC uses themes (general topics, such as “Space Explorers” or “Here and Now, There and Then”) to help cover knowledge and the skills to apply or communicate this knowledge across all subject areas. To explore the science of dinosaurs is also to study the history of the planet. To demonstrate the importance of living a healthy lifestyle is also the need to compose public service announces or feature articles. Learning subjects in complete isolation wastes the regular opportunities to real world crossovers, and as such the IPC delivers learning experiences that constantly tie into the range of subject knowledge and skills that naturally connect to that topic.
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The IPC also uses regular group learning experiences; from the simple “as a group, brainstorm your prior knowledge about ‘Evolution’” to the more complex “you are hotel managers tasked with designing/ planning a new hotel”. As a team, students are able to share their ideas (testing and refining them by committing them to words) and have new ideas sprouted in their minds from their peers. Their knowledge of a topic swells. As a team, students completing a task and practising the skills to use or communicate their knowledge have constant feedback and support from their peers. Mistakes can be identified, their understanding of what is expected can be reinforced and strengthened
together, and the pride in their achievements increased. As well as getting experience to develop group learning skills itself, students get a richer experience learning about the given topic. This comprehensive learning approach adds more constant use of what the students have learnt, in an authentic and peer supported way, adding depth to their learning. And the learning is fun! As the students’ ideas and understandings are bounced back and forth, tested and consolidated outside of their own minds, they engage in much needed social interaction. They are also being team-active, in most cases using physical resources to provide hands-on learning. Healthy competition drives their team spirit to make the most of their collaborative learning. This may be in the form of competing again other teams of peers to produce a result, such as “show your prior knowledge about Space (and learning about Comics in our Reading Workshop) by creating a comic to show this current understanding”. It can also be committees as part of a larger class/ grade team, such as “the Parent Letter committee and Rubric committee need to produce these to support our grade competition, ‘Design a Flag for the Human Race’”. Both forms provide positive peer driven competition to strive as a team. And both provide a fun environment for quality learning experiences. Collaborative, group-based learning is team learning. Group-based learning helps give students a support-base to test and develop their understandings of topic knowledge and skills in communicating and organizing these understandings. The “team spirit” inherent in these learning experiences helps provide the drive for students to be committed members of their group, ensuring engagement in the learning. As we are seeing with our IPC topics at the Hangzhou International School, students learn more, more deeply, and with more fun when they learn together as a team. By Jeremy MAHER HIS Grade Four Teacher
HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHT
What You’ve Been Missing Out On:
The 5K Run in Hangzhou
H
angzhou is a vibrant city, abundant in culture, beautiful landscapes, and friendly people. Before my days of living and working in Hangzhou, I lived in Shanghai. And one beautiful weekend last May I ventured to Binjiang, Hangzhou, just an hour away from Shanghai by high-speed train. That weekend, I had the joy of attending my first Dragon Run at Hangzhou International School.
go.” This is certainly a belief that The Library Project holds to be true, and this year all donations from the event will go towards this incredible charity.
I showed up for the event just in time to see hundreds of eager people, geared up, excited, and ready to run. Runners, young and old, tied their laces, checked their timers, and put their game faces on. Then - ready, set, go! And off they ran to enjoy a beautiful 5k run along the Qiantang River with a view of the mountains.
The Library Project is a non-profit organization that places books in the hands of children attending migrant and rural schools. These schools have fewer than 7 age appropriate books for children to read and learn from. The Library Project also trains teachers how to properly use the books as a teaching tool, and how to take care of their new library once they receive it. From the words of educational activist Malala Yousafzai, “One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world”.
Not being a runner myself, I wandered inside to buy a few raffle tickets, drink some delicious coffee sold by local vendors, and eat some tasty snacks. I also had a chance to catch up on what the event was all about: The Carnations School. For the past three years, HIS has used the Dragon Run event to provide donations to Carnations, a non profit school in Hangzhou that educates and serves autistic children. Because of donations from this event, The Carnations School has been able to provide new classrooms for dozens of autistic children. Snacks and coffee satisfyingly tucked away in my stomach, I stepped back outside just in time to see the winners of the race bolt across the finish line. They were recognized for their achievements and awarded with trophies and prizes. This year’s HIS Charity Dragon Run 2016 is set to take place on May 21. The theme is: books, books, and more books! As Dr. Seuss so aptly put, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll
So come on over to HIS in Hangzhou and make a day, or a weekend of it. We’d love to have you here, helping us to make a difference, one child and one book at a time. For more information on the HIS Charity Dragon Run 2016, please scan the QR code or visit hz.scis-his.net. Events set to take place on May 21: • 5k Race • Massage and relaxation zone • Raffles and Silent Auction • Bouncy castle • Slip and slide • Local vendors • BBQ • Live music and performances • Book Character Themed Fun Run By Jennifer Jackson HIS Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
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PUDONG HIGHLIGHT
Pre-school, Laying the Foundation for Future Learning
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arly childhood education is a powerful kick-start to your child’s education; however, I don’t believe that a rigorous, academic preschool is the answer. There are many skills young children need to learn at school before strictly working on academics. Children who enter preschool prior to kindergarten are exposed to young children their own age where they begin to develop appropriate social skills, explore interactions with other children, take turns with toys/materials, wait their turn for attention or help, and work as a member of a group. Preschool also reinforces the skills of independence they are (hopefully) learning at home. Skills such as putting their coat or shoes on, getting a tissue for their nose, and other self-help tasks are skills all children need to practice. Educators notice which children haven’t attended school prior to their first day in class. These children are unsure what to expect, have difficulty sitting in a large group, and often may be unsure how to interact with others. In Kindergarten, to expect a 5 or 6-year-old who has never been in school before, to demonstrate appropriate social skills, act as a member of a group AND learn new skills in various subject areas seems unrealistic. Children need opportunities to be children. To ask them to read, write sentences and add/subtract numbers beyond their age level isn’t necessary. They are innately programmed to explore curiosities, ask questions, and figure out how things work. At a young age, the world is still so new to them; they are constantly 18
curious and want to know more about their surroundings. I encourage families to find a preschool that allows children to explore their interests, follow a daily schedule, develop social skills, and obtain exposure to a group of children their own age. Hopefully you have resources in your area in order to help your family find the best school for your child. By MEGHAN HINDS Pudong Campus Pre-School Teacher
PUDONG HIGHLIGHT
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TEACHER SPOTLIGHT
Looking back at EIGHT YEars with SCIS
DoN and Jane macmillan Can you share a little about your family and what everyone is up to now? We have a son and a daughter, each in their mid-twenties. Craig is living in Winnipeg, completing his degree and pondering next steps. Alina graduated from the University of Toronto and now lives with her husband a few hours east of Toronto on an acreage with two young children of her own and a menagerie of animals. How long have you been teaching & how many of those years were spent at SCIS? We have been in education since the mid-eighties and spent about 15 years working back home in Canada. This year we will have matched that time internationally with 7 years in Kuwait and now finishing 8 years here at SCIS. Wow that’s incredible! And how has your experience working and living in China been? It’s been fantastic! The students, teachers and staff make it a pleasure to arrive to school every morning and Shanghai is without question one of the great cities of the world. Travelling in China and in Asia have provided more lifetime experiences than we can count.
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ith 15 years teaching in Canada, and just as many internationally in Kuwait and China, Don and Jane Macmillan have plenty of experiences in the education realm around the world. Now wrapping up their final year in China, they have decided to heed the call to return home for a little while to ponder about plans for the future. I was able to conduct a short interview with both for this issue of the Communitas and here is what they had to share about their incredible journey: Where do the Macmillans hail from? Where has your journey taken you from to get you here? We are from a small town east of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada in an area along the Winnipeg river known as “cottage country”. Back in 2001, we left our 4 seasons playground and moved to Kuwait along with our two middle-years children. We lived the desert experience until both had graduated from the school there, then we moved to Shanghai, where we have been the past eight years.
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What kept you coming back year after year? We enjoy being in Shanghai for many reasons, including that we have yet to exhaust new things to do here, but the people we work with here in Pudong are the key to making us look forward to getting back to the city every year. Thoughts about what lays ahead? This is our final year in Shanghai. The pull back home has become too strong to ignore and so we are taking a year off to travel through Canada and re-acquaint ourselves with friends and family scattered across the country. The clincher, of course, is an opportunity to spend some quality time with the grandchildren! In a year or two, we’ll have to decide what the next step is and going back to international life is certainly high on the list of options. What motivated you to teach internationally? We have been travelers from way back and we both came to the conclusion at the same time that we needed to shake up our comfortable lives in Canada. We also felt the time was ripe for our children to really benefit from the international experience and there is no question that is what happened.
TEACHER SPOTLIGHT
Looking back at your time here, would you have done anything differently? We’ve always said that if we had been more aware of the opportunities, we would have gone international earlier than we did. Certainly no regrets about the path we’ve chosen. Favorite part about living/teaching in China? There are far too many to choose from, but if we had to identify the top three they would be the people we work with, life in Shanghai and travel in Asia.
Least favorite part? We are avid cyclists and hikers and love the outdoors in general, so, as it is for many other people, air pollution is the single biggest issue that detracts from living here. By Mikael Masson Perez Communitas Editor
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THEME FEATURE
Fostering Cooporation Amongst Children
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here are things that our children have to learn in their development, things that they are not born with an innate ability to perform. One of these abilities can be described as cooperation, collaboration and teamwork with others. The ability to function with others in a cooperative manner is one of the most important aspects to discover in life. Humans are “social animals”. We live in societies at various scales from classrooms right up to the collective human community that shares this planet. The fact is that people do not usually act in isolation. The more cooperation that exists means better performance for everyone. It is important for parents and teachers to help children learn to not focus on their own self-centeredness and want everything for themselves without thinking of others. But how do we do this? It’s not as difficult as one may think, although it does require patience, respect and generosity, virtues that are difficult to convey in our busy everyday lives. 22
One of the first things we should do is not pander too much to children’s perceived “wants” as opposed to being aware of and making sure we provide for children’s “needs”. If we allow children to “focus on themselves” too much it may lead to a more selfish stance. Confusing wants with needs may lead our loss of purpose, which it is to help others and learn to work freely and happily with others, without coercion. We should be teaching children to cooperate in chores from when they are toddlers. Do they help you, for example, set the table, make the bed, take the dog for a walk? In line with this it is also good to help teach the rest of the family, to realize what needs other members of the family may have and see if they can help create a vision of the family as a team. For example, a big brother or sister can help the child with homework. We can also teach them to help organize a birthday party for a sibling or other family member. It’s great to develop this altruistic and selfless vision of doing things. The end result is to help children learn the value and satisfaction of helping others.
THEME FEATURE
It is also good to teach them to ask for help when needed. Tell them that it is good to help others and that what they learn today from another person may one day result in being their turn to teach others, including their parents. Continuously communicate to them that people are made to work together, that is how we have survived as a species. Activities such as team sports, crafts and games played in groups, etc. may also help a lot in the development of this spirit of teamwork. Although sports teach the nature of competition they also teach how to function better with others. And, of course, as for almost everything, read stories and watch videos on cooperation. There are many children’s books that have cooperation as an underlying theme such as “Horsefly and Honeybee”, “Chloe and the Lion,” Ernest, the Moose Who Doesn’t Fit in”. If your family language is not English, there are undoubtedly as many titles in your language that also teach this universal theme. Most importantly as adults we need to lead and continuously be a positive example. Be grateful to your children when they help or assist you, even if it would actually be more efficient and fast to do the task without their help. Thanking them for their assistance also is a manner to teach them how to be grateful towards others. All these patterns of mutual assistance and appreciation at the household level will be progressively extrapolated at school and other areas of your child’s life. Cooperation and collaboration are not skills to be taught at school. Yes, they are useful tools that any good school or program will emphasize and put into play on a daily basis but they are truly values, values that are learned from infancy and learned at home. The most important teachers and classroom in a child’s life is the family room, dining room table, in the car, in the back yard with the family. One of our Expected School Wide Learning Results at SCIS-HIS is “Global and Community Appreciation. I can help my community become a better place. I understand that I can make a difference in the world”. Never underestimate the nature of a child to change the world, and that change starts at home. Plant the seeds of cooperation and teamwork at home and watch them blossom at school and beyond. By Robert Van Der Eyken HIS Head of School
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HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHT
Spirit of the Game
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inding the passion for the game and passion for being a part of a team can lead to finding the true “Spirit of the Game” – Coach Brewer As a part of a community school we pride ourselves on our school family and everyone feeling a part of SCIS. For me there is no better way to feel a part of that family than when I am part of a sports team. I was lucky to start playing soccer at a young age. My dad wanted me to meet friends and go out and have some fun. I don’t think he had any idea of how much soccer would change my life. Some of my very best friends are from that team that I joined when I was five years old. I have learned countless lessons from playing the beautiful game. One of the greatest of those is teamwork. I have learned how to be a good team member, how to lead, and how to follow others. So now whenever I have a chance to coach a group of athletes, I want them to feel a part of a family, that we are in this together, and that we have success together, and we have failures together. And that we learn and support our team so that we can all get better. Last year was my first year coaching the SCIS girls’ soccer team and I was thrilled with the excitement and energy the girls had
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for the game. We learned a lot together and found ourselves having a very successful year. We won every game that we played except one. It was a difficult loss in a shoot out in the SISAC tournament, but as a team we came together and learned from that loss. We returned in the next game with great energy and determination. That was my proudest moment of last year. “To me that is what a team is, teamwork, respect, and of course having fun with each other. without having fun, it isn’t soccer. I love our team, every single year is different but nothing change we are all a big family and I’m glad I’ve been part of this family since 6th grade”. – Julia Semente (Grade 10) Whether we are in the middle of a great game or joking on the bus on the way back to SCIS, we are building relationships. We are coming together as a team and as a family. Each year students come and students go and the team changes. Every year the returning players welcome new players to our team and we get to build on our team. I am very proud to still be learning life lessons from being a part of the beautiful game that is soccer. By Alan Brewer Hongqiao Campus Middle School PE Teacher Photography by Sophie de Bellescize
HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHT
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HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHT
Looking Forward have a child, the process has already begun. If your child is here at SCIS, you have already made a great first step. The conversations that your child is exposed to during the day present tremendous learning opportunities, as the above attributes are woven into all learning environments. I had the mind-blowing privilege last week of sitting and listening to four seven-year-old girls work through a social issue very politely and respectfully in three different languages with one girl interpreting for me! How quickly the adult with three university degrees became the lowest qualified person in the room to solve the problem! Perhaps, I had a brief look into the future of four international trade negotiators and lawyers.
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here has been some change in how we approach learning with your child. It is nothing to be alarmed about; in fact, it is something to embrace. Former United States President John F. Kennedy put it quite clearly, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” Our children will not make their living in the current economy or work environments when they are adults. Their work world will look different from today’s world. They will still have bills to pay and mouths to feed, but the manner in which they go about it may look vastly different, and the school has a large role to play in their preparation. The specific skills and knowledge the future global workforce will require is a guessing game. However, attributes the IB emphasizes, such as openmindedness, creativity and reflectiveness, will surely be desirable. Last year, I visited the iconic Dutch windmills in my mother’s native country of The Netherlands. Inside, I met a young man in his twenties tending a mill. Through a short conversation, I quickly came to see that even though his job was housed in a very traditional workplace, his job had evolved. He was crushing lime in the old mill and selling it online to markets overseas. He controlled the production, sales and even shipping through a computer in a back room. His creativity and risk-taking transformed a traditional role into a secure living for his family through modern business skills. At SCIS, our role is to develop adaptable global citizens who can grow and change with the needs of an ever-evolving workplace and society. It is not a process that has an ending. The IB programs provide an ideal vehicle for our role in creating these adaptable life-long learners. Where does the development of adaptability, open-mindedness, creativity and reflectiveness start for your child? Does it begin in Grade 10 or 11 as we prepare to depart for university? If you 26
SCIS’s decision to move towards the International Baccalaureate’s (IB’s) PYP, MYP and DP programs was a wise decision for your student. When we look at the ideal profile of an IB graduate, we will find most of the attributes we as parents want in our child. Look at the table below and see what learner profile attribute you value the most for your child. The learner profile attributes are human responsibilities that go beyond academic success. At SCIS, IB’s learner profiles attributes are taught explicitly as well as integrated in all learning throughout the school day.
As we continue to work intelligently together as a school community to move our International Baccalaureate programs forward, please ask us questions and attend the information meetings provided. You will become informed on the efforts that staff is putting forward for your child’s growth, and appreciate what a good decision you have made as a parent. I have a daughter here at the school and I am thrilled to see her learning in an MYP classroom. I also enjoy seeing her learn from your children in this truly international school community. By Kevin Haggith Hongqiao Campus Lower School Principal
HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHT
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PUDONG ARt Gallery
Se Yeon Kim, Grade 10
Naoya Nagata, Grade 10 28
Olivia Ebbing, Grade 9
PUDONG ARt Gallery
Abby Wong, Grade 9
Cande Palmier, Grade 10
Jina Moon, Grade 9
Min Jin Kwon, Grade 9
Meghan Shirley, Grade 10
Hye Seung Lee, Grade 9 29
PRINCIPAL’S LETTER
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Memoirs of a Middle School Principal
n late July 2009, my wife and I arrived in Shanghai knowing very little of what to suspect. Accepting an administrative position within SCIS was a leap of faith as is any time that one takes a new job, especially one overseas. I was quite green and had no idea what I was getting into. However, looking back on my last seven school years, I can truly count this time as having been a blessing. Working at SCIS Pudong has been an amazing experience. While it may sound like an advertising cliché when we laud praise upon our sense of community that is the foundation of our school, it is our community that makes the SCIS experience truly remarkable. We are fortunate to be part of a community
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that strives to be something special. Everyone looks out for each other while maintaining high standards. We have always been a team that works to find collaborative, positive solutions. What makes our community so extraordinary is its diversity and how we bring our perspectives together as a strength. It gives me great hope in the world when I look at a group of students, each one from a different nation, and they are enjoying each other’s similarities, not focusing on how everyone is different. Last year I coached a team that had eleven students from eleven nationalities. Each one was beautifully unique in his/her own way and each student respected that. Our parents and staff are the same way. I marvel at how people from so many different parts of the world with their own distinctive histories can come
PRINCIPAL’S LETTER
together to serve our students and our school. Some days I have to stop and remind myself that this is not the norm. It is exceptional. After I depart at the end of this year, individual memories will slowly fade. However, I will never lose the pride that we have taken in creating an education for our kids that goes far beyond curricular content and academic standards. All that students learn at SCIS could never be measured by a test. A few years back, the Pudong Middle School teachers accepted Improving the World by Being My Best as our motto for students and educators. Since that day, we have not been satisfied with building great students or being great teachers. We focused our efforts on becoming great all around people. That changed the culture of our school. We asked our community to be the best version of itself that it could be. We wanted everyone under the Pudong Middle School umbrella to be a positively contributing world citizen. That is something that makes me incredibly proud.
Finally, there is one word that can sum up my tenure at SCIS, and that is joy. I can’t imagine a happier work environment. I have heard the testimonies of many of our families. When they entered the building upon their initial look-and-see tour, they could feel the positive energy the moment they stepped foot in the door. Smiles and laughter are pervasive at our school. What children are more excited to go to school and get an education than ours? It is hard to imagine any school that is as loving, caring, and as full of joy as the one that I have experience right here at SCIS. When I walk out of the SCIS doorway for the last time come late June, it will be a very bittersweet moment. I will be sad to be leaving behind a one of a kind environment, job, and community. However, I will always have with me the pride and joy of my seven years working at SCIS Pudong. By Ty Smeins Pudong Campus Middle School Principal
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COACHES CORNER
The Perfect Storm Grade 12 Tri-Captains, Olivia Newcomb, Angela Liu, and Alissa Rei Johnson were integral members of this year’s basketball team which brought home the first place trophy at the ACAMIS tournament. All three seniors are set to graduate in June but before they set out to the next chapter in their lives, we decided to hear from them about their experiences as High School athletes and representing SCIS. Go Dragons!
What does the spirit of the game entail for you? Angela: Basketball is part of my daily life. I look forward to games and tournaments throughout the season, learning to play as a team, working with new people and continuously strive to improve my shots, dribbling and footwork. Olivia: When I think of the word ‘basketball’, I think about the rush of adrenaline before a championship game. I think of the endless practices, and the sprints that you wanted to give up on but continued anyway. I think of the sore muscles and countless bruises. Where all of these things come to mind, basketball forms friendships which are cherished for a lifetime and that is the most important to me. In order to succeed in basketball as a team, you have to know each player’s strengths and weaknesses in order to make the best decision out on the court. Alissa: Each player striving to achieve their individual best to the extent that it isn’t disadvantageous to the team. Any words of encouragement for younger athletes? 32
Angela: Work hard, stay humble and always have a goal for each season, whether it is scoring more than 10 points each game or making all of your foul shots in a game. Olivia: My words of encouragement for younger athletes would be to cherish the wins. Cherish the feeling you get after you steal the ball, or after you block someone’s shot. Cherish these moments because they don’t come by often. Alissa: Find a hero to emulate, a goal to strive for, and a play style fitted to your values. Take the advice of coaches and friends, but hold true to your own ideals, and make sure you never lose your love for the game. What will you miss most about being a dragon? Angela: Being a dragon athlete for 12 years and playing basketball since 6th grade has definitely made me love the games of volleyball and basketball in particular. I will miss the after school games, SISAC and ACAMIS tournaments the most, as well as the friendships and teammates I have made along the way.
The end of the basketball season pretty much sums up my athletic career at SCIS and it definitely feels out of place to go home once school ends rather than go change immediately to attend practices and games. It will be extremely hard to be part of competitive college teams in America for both basketball and volleyball, so I am extremely thankful for the opportunities that SCIS has provided for me as an athlete. Olivia: What I am going to miss the most about being a dragon would be ACAMIS. Some of my favorite memories in high school happened at ACAMIS and I know I will remember them forever. Believe it or not, I am going to miss knowing that we will never get the sportsmanship award after ACAMIS because we won the tournament, and none of the other teams particularly liked us. I am so thankful for all that basketball has taught me and I am truly going to miss putting on that red and white jersey before every game. Alissa: In my five years of SCIS basketball, I have learned the importance of team spirit and chemistry, and that the same team can, on different days, perform vastly differently. During SISAC of my senior year, our team truly realized the meaning of a “bad day,” wherein everything seemed to be going wrong: shots weren’t sinking, passes were inconsistent, and dribbles that would usually have been effortless were slipping on our fingertips. We lost our first game, and were crushed. But during the ACAMIS finals, we realized the flip side of lady luck’s caprices. Despite losing to RCHK in the round robin, a perfect storm led to our landslide victory. The parents who had come to see our game commented that they had never seen our team play this well. I’m going to miss the feeling of this “perfect storm”: the moment when all the gears finally click together, and the game becomes crystal clear. By Miro Bruan Hongqiao Campus High School PE Teacher
FAVOURITE SPOT IN THE CITY
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221B Baker St.
inning down a single favourite spot in this ‘megatropolis’ of a city that we call home is a near impossible task, as there are just too many to choose from. In light of this, I have recently come across an interesting little café that is sure to intrigue the most curious of crime-solvers.
“Wall of Detectives” showcases portraits of past mystery-solvers. Mr. Watson nor Mrs. Hudson made appearances when I visited, unfortunately, but there is a nod to both characters on the menu alongside their assigned teas (Sherlock is an English breakfast if you must know).
What probably spawned as a result of the trendy Sherlock Holmes detective frenzy a couple of years back, 221B Baker St. Café is a quirky little place located in the heart of the city, on No. 50 Ruijin Er Lu (瑞金二路). It is nested in the most unexpected of places, off one of the busiest shopping streets of Shanghai, Huaihai lu (淮海路). What isn’t a mystery thought, is the inspiration behind this café, with pictures of, actor, Benedict Cumberbatch from the BBC’s recent televised series, Sherlock, almost littering the entirety of the place alongside a platitude of paraphernalia worthy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous novels.
Their tea is quite good, although a little pricy, but then again all those trinkets and replicas aren’t going to pay for themselves. It is especially enjoyable while pitting your wits against a friend at a game of chess, sitting in comfy leather armchairs by the ‘fireplace’ in a room that closely resembles that of Sherlock’s’ flat in the series, complete with the giveaway yellow happy face.
Fans of the show will adore the décor and atmosphere that make up this museum-cum-café: quotes, postcards and merchandise of all sorts can be found lining the walls and a neat
Albeit a bit cheesy adorned with over-the-top artifacts that include magnifying glasses, pipes and wearable deerstalker hats, 221B Baker St. is a fun and affordable place where you can put your deductive reasoning to the test while enjoying a cup of tea and some sweets. By Mikael Masson Perez Communitas Editor
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TECHNOLOGY
3O+ Inspiring and Useful Art Education Blogs L
Here is a list of the best art education blogs. ike all lists, this one is only as comprehensive as my research and doesn’t take brand new blogs into account. Everything included here caters to everyone from educators to families. You’ll see that the list is light on middle school and high school blogs.
The Best General Art Education Blogs
School Arts Room Written by the editor of SchoolArts Magazine, this well-organized site offers timely art news; entertaining or thought-provoking artists, ideas, stories, and issues; professional opportunities for you; and project and lesson ideas and exhibition possibilities for your students.
Teaching for Artistic Behavior Also known as TAB, teaching for artistic behavior is a nationally recognized choicebased art education approach to teaching art. Choice-based art education regards students as artists and offers them real choices for responding to their own ideas and interests through the making of art. This site shows you how. Transition to Choice Based Art Education Clyde Gaw, author of the Indiana Art Education Advocacy Action Blog, also writes this reflective blog on the relevance of student-directed art education. Art Teachers Hate Glitter This is not your typical art teacher blog. This is a humor site.
The Art of Education Ridiculously Relevant Professional Development for Art Teachers 34
Preschool Art Education Blogs
Teach Preschool While not solely art-focused, this blog by Deborah Stewart holds art at the root of many of its lessons and provocations. One of my favorite sites, hands-down. The Artful Parent This blog is written with the parent in mind, but Jean Van’t Hul’s audience includes MANY educators. This blog is legendary, and the author has also written books on making art at home with kids. Tons of good ideas.
Meri Cherry Meri Cherry (that’s her name – so rad!) is a Reggio arts educator, and her blog focusses on the arts at the preschool and early elementary level. Art Bar Blog Written from the perspective of graphic designer and educator, Barbara Rucci, who teaches preschool and elementary children in her studio, this blog is absolutely gorgeous. Casa Maria’s Creative Learning Zone Maria Wynne’s fanciful site is full of inspiration. As she says it, “Open your eyes to all sorts of possibilities…Discover creative ways to reuse recycled and natural materials.” Her pre-school curriculum and environment is deeply inspired by The Reggio Approach to Early Childhood Education
TECHNOLOGY
Elementary Art Education Blogs
Art for Small Hands Julie Voigt has taught art for over twentyfive years in Montessori schools. Each lesson plan is self-contained with all the information needed to complete the project: the target age; the key concepts to be learned; the materials needed; helpful notes to avoid pitfalls; and some anticipated conversations you may have with your young artists as they are working.
Bonus! More Inspiring Art Education Blogs Ten more inspiring Art Education Blogs Art Education Outside the Lines Reflections on Art Education in the home environment
Elmwood Art This choice-based arts education blog (a.k.a. TAB, Teaching for Artistic Behavior) from Hopkinton, MA is delightful and smart! Art with Mr. E Ted Daniel Edinger is an elementary art teacher in Nashville. He was named the 2011-2012 Tennessee State Elementary Art Teacher of the Year. Deep Space Sparkle Founded by Patty Palmer of Goleta, CA, this beautifully designed site is a wealth of well-organized information. Thomas Elementary Art Take a peek at the projects that students in Dublin, OH are working on.
The Art of Apex High School Choice Based Education in the Art Room
Mrs. Knight’s Smartest Artists A peek into the busy art room of Hope Knight, art teacher and the K-5 artists at Dolvin Elementary School, Johns Creek, Georgia, USA
Wahoo for Art Art Projects from a K-5 Art Educator
Organized Chaos Creating and teaching art requires a sense of humor and an understanding of organized chaos – as there is no way to create something original without spreading out supplies and getting a little messy. Art Teacher Adventures Katie Morris is a K-6 Art Teacher in two public schools and is currently exploring choicebased art education. Polka Dot Spot Written by an art teacher in Green Bay, WI.
Middle School Art Education Blogs
Artful Artsy Amy Amy teaches art in a Title I middle school in Georgia. She’s written some great articles on classroom management. I get LOST in this site. It’s so well-written and heartfelt. You’ll love Amy and wish she taught your child. Studio Learning A blog by Nan Hathaway of Vermont, it chronicles choice-based projects such as sewing, painting, and felting. If you’re interested in choice-based art education, this site will inspire you.
High School Art Education Blogs
Panthers K-12 Well-organized lessons that includes a syllabus, curriculum map, lesson plans, Power Points, and rubrics. Julia Stubbs Julia is an art and design teacher at William de Ferrers School in Essex, UK. She shares beautifully photographed images of her student work.
Collingswood Middle and High School Visual Art Department Art endeavors from students in Collingswood, NJ Teach Kids Art A personal blog from Cheryl Trowbridge that’s packed with art lessons for kids of all ages Art is Basic Lots of art lesson ideas from a Marcia Beckett, a mom and elementary art teacher Art Teacher Directory Art is Basic (above) also has a comprehensive art teacher directory that you have to check out for a ton of art ed blogs Say Things with Color Elementary art teacher Alia Tahvildaran’s shares hands-on and digital projects, activities, and materials tested and recommended. Mini Matisse Loads of great lesson ideas and tips on how to organize an art room Deep Space Sparkle Art lessons from an elementary art educator By Anthony Pascoe Hongqiao Campus Tech Coordinator 35
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Words of a quintessential team player
Maayke Vlas M
aayke Vlas, an eleventh grade student at SCIS Pudong, has been a highly visible member of the student body here since she joined us as a Lower School student. How does she define what it takes to exemplify the “Spirit of the Game”? No need to ask her the question, as it’s clear from her actions, setting the example whether on the court, on the pitch, on stage or in the classroom. Consider athletics. Maayke is a three sport athlete, showing the way in the level of commitment and participation that is required for a small school as ours to field competitive teams in the major sports. She has always been a team player and now models that to the younger students on her teams as she competes in volleyball, basketball and soccer. What is it that SCIS wants to see from its student athletes? Look no further than Maayke as she competes in multiple sports, works hard at each, supports her team mates while respecting her opponents and does it all while keeping her teachers happy with her work in the classroom. It’s no surprise either that Maayke’s favourite of her three sports is volleyball. Why? She will tell you that she enjoys volleyball because of the degree to which each player has to rely on the others for success and the sense of togetherness she feels when it all works on the court. The words of the quintessential team player!
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The ability and desire to work well as a team member is of value in many areas other than sports, something that Maayke knows well. For example, collaborating effectively with her dance partners leads to a level of choreography and performance that keeps an audience entranced. For
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Maayke, it’s the creative process of working together with her partners that attracts her to dance as much as the actual end product. In the same vein, getting together with friends to write and rehearse songs to share with an audience at Java Jam enriches the experience for all, as does working together to put together the student newspaper. Maayke thrives on teamwork and understands that what each contributes to the group makes not only the team stronger, but each individual as well. Academically, Maayke excels in every respect. As with everything else, she accepts nothing but the best from herself in every class and raises everyone’s game with her cheerful, active participation. Maayke can usually be seen challenging the thinking of her classmates, her teachers and, ultimately, herself and, as is the case as an athlete, her respect for everyone around her always shines through. Maayke’s approach to life is to take advantage of every experience on offer, do it all with an infectious smile and lead those around her down the same path. She thrives on hard work and clearly aims to excel, but does so by lifting the spirits of her team mates and classmates with her positive approach to all she does. One might think that as an IB student, managing the multiple demands of her coursework would cause Maayke to rein in her participation in after school activities. However, she doesn’t see it that way. In her view, these provide balance, allow her to explore different ways of thinking and help reduce stress despite the time commitment. Words of wisdom for us all! By Don Macmillan Pudong Campus Upper School Principal
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COMMUNITY FEATURE
EnGINeering Our Future 2016 – GIN Conference at the Hongqiao Campus
create a better world for our future. The keynote speakers were Peggy Liu, Bunny Yan, Maciej Dudek, and Rob Han. These are all inspirational leaders in today’s society, all working towards the same goal; a sustainable world. They all talked about what they are doing for people and the environment, with the purpose of encouraging students to join them in the fight for a better world.
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n March 4th, 250 young masterminds arrived at the SCIS Hongqiao Campus. These passionate middle school students from international schools across Asia along with 50 GIN advisors and chaperones rolled their suitcases through the courtyard to the middle school, ready to change the world. Their destination was the 2016 “EnGINineering Our Future” Global Issues Network Conference. The purpose of this year’s GIN conference was to connect middle schoolers from all over Asia, to pass on knowledge through workshops and activities where students could socialize and share information, so that they can create a platform to work together towards engineering a future we are all proud of. This year’s participants had been eagerly working on projects in their own schools, all targeting different global issues. “Peer-toPeer” workshops were held on the the first day, where students presented their projects to each other. Notes and pictures were taken, a tremendous amount of questions were asked, and most importantly, students educated each other about problems happening today, and shared their solutions to these problems. Motivational keynote speakers form various nations were invited, and challenged both the students and GIN teachers to go beyond the obvious, to be innovative, and to help each other
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To teach students how they can actually use their newly gained skills in the real world, the conference highlighted the weekend with 5-hours of hands-on, “enGINeering” workshops, some in which students up-cycled everyday items that are usually thrown away, giving them a new use and purpose. Other students worked on hanging aquaponic gardens, bamboo construction, designing small scale energy efficient homes, and designing creative “viral” water awareness campaigns. Through these workshops, students experienced and understood the innovative design process - a process used by inventors and innovators, startups and kick starters around the world. The process included identifying a problem, brainstorming solutions, then finally building a testing and prototype. As a part of the conference’s zero waste theme, green accommodation was offered. Students and their chaperones slept in classrooms on campus, ate, showered, and networked in one location, reducing transportation emissions to and from the event. This way, they were emitting less waste and had a smaller impact on the environment. Also, fun activities such as a Swap Shop, Tee4Tee, Sustainability Fair, and the energized Social Networking Events were offered over the weekend. Throughout the social networking event, participants were asked to share their story as to why they became interested and passionate about global issues. It is their “story” that students realized was one of their most powerful tools to successfully motivate people into action. In the Swap Shop students exchanged two of their own belongings for somebody else’s, thereby giving something you probably
COMMUNITY FEATURE
would never use again a new purpose. In the T4T everyone donated a t-shirt of their own when receiving a GIN 2016 T-shirt. Putting together such a huge conference was a lot of work and took 7 months of planning, but in the end it’s all worth it as you cannot change the world on your own. Having 300 people together from different parts of the world with the same passion for global issues connected in one spot over a weekend was one of the greatest moments. We live in a world where phones and other devices control our lives, so why not use it for a good purpose? Bound together by Wechat, iMessage, and email, we can work together, do projects together, get help from each other, and most importantly, we can teach each other how to engineer our future together. “Thank you SCIS for all your hard work. Your attention to detail was impressive. I loved the local coffee in the morning, food was fantastic and the Wechat groups were a brilliant way to keep everyone connected. The kids had a great time and we all came away with so much! Whoever hosts next year has some big shoes to fill.” - Lauren Trimble, Hong Kong International School Teacher “Our group is back and sharing great memories from their time in Shanghai. Thank you to the entire SCIS community for your warm hospitality and also to your organizing crew for the wonderful planning and execution of this experience for our students. Congratulations and many thank again.” -Robert Switzer, American International School Dhaka Teacher “Thank you very much for all the effort SCIS put into creating such
an enjoyable experience for everyone at this year’s GIN Conference. I can’t imagine the effort and time it took to plan all the pieces for this wonderful event. The DIS students and I really appreciated your extreme efforts, and we are greatly looking forward to putting much of our learning into practice in our community. I look forward to seeing you next year.” -Scott Jolly, Daegu International School Teacher “We want to thank you guys so much for the amazing weekend. Our students are still buzzing from all of the excitement of the conference… it was extremely well organized from the get-go. Communication leading up to the event was EXCELLENT! The theme was incredible and of course so important. The support over the weekend was also outstanding. Most importantly the students were amazing. All of the helpers wearing the yellow T-shirts and the First Aid Crew Rocked the house. I’m sure they have received lots of great feed back but please relay our thanks.” -Ben Kronick, The Canadian International School of Vietnam Teacher “I have heard such glowing reports from all of our students and chaperones. They said they were truly inspired! Thank you and and please pass onto your team our appreciation of all the hard work and endless emails and reminders to keep us on track in making this a hugely successful and smooth running event.”-Sally Williams, Yew Chung International School Gubei, Head of Social Studies By Lisa Chui & Richard Forbes Honqqiao Middle School Teachers & Global Issues Advisors & Hilda Meijer Grade 8 GIN Student
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ALUMNI INTERVIEW
Andre Ong
Transformational Transitions
me and have never looked back since. After this, I moved back to Singapore, where I studied for a year in local school, from which I was really able to experience my hometown’s challenging educational culture. Subsequently came the big move to Shanghai! I went to another school in the city for a brief period before moving to SCIS in 2009, where I ended up graduating in. My school life wouldn’t be complete without mentioning swimming, which I remained passionate about ever since I started aged 8 years old. I absolutely adored the sport and found my core values and closest companions pursuing it. Being the swim team captain at SCIS helped me mature and gave me a meaningful purpose to strive for. My other interests include photography and gaming of all sorts. So there it is, my school life in a nutshell. How well prepared did you feel coming to SCIS? Was the transition hard, was it what you expected? Having moved schools more than a few times in the past, I was less nervous and mostly excited to meet a new community at SCIS. The transition went smoothly and quickly I found myself a close-knit community within the swim team, which lasted throughout my high school life. I made great friends in my lively grade and we all got through the academic ups and downs together.
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hroughout his five years at SCIS, alumnus and the valedictorian of Hongqiao’s class of 2014, Andre Ong recalls actively participating in a variety of extracurricular activities which he believes has helped him become a well-rounded individual. During his tenure at SCIS, he undertook roles which ranged from the Treasurer of National Honor Society (Grades 1012), Varsity Swimming Team Captain (Grades 8-12) to being a Model United Nations Representative (Grade 11). Andre is currently in the midst of national service in Singapore, but he managed to take some time out to have a chat with me: Can you tell us a little about yourself? My life so far has been truly multicultural, being around people of all walks of life. To begin, I am from Singapore, which is a multiracial country in itself! When I was 10 months old, I moved to Vietnam, which I called home for 9 years. There, I moved schools 3 times in 3 different cities. I am so grateful for the vivid childhood that the bustling streets of Vietnam gave
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You are currently in the midst of doing your army service correct? Can you tell a little bit about what that’s like? Yup, I am currently serving my National Service (NS) in Singapore. I was enlisted into the Singapore Police Force, which upholds the law and order of the country. My journey started with a 14-week basic police training course, which was highly regimental and physically demanding. We stayed in camp on weekdays and were only allowed to return home on weekends. At first, it was difficult to adapt to the sudden change in lifestyle, but since everyone in camp was undergoing the same struggle, we helped each other to persevere on. After graduating the basic course, I was allocated a place in the advanced training command to become a ground response officer. It was a long stretch, but upon successfully finishing this advanced course, I was finally a fully fledged police officer! As a ground response officer, my primary duties include responding to all crimes within my area and conducting frequent patrols to secure the safety of the country. And that’s where I’m at as of now.
ALUMNI INTERVIEW
Have you thought about what lays ahead once you complete your service? I plan to join my peers in university as soon as I finish my NS. I haven’t decided exactly where yet, but I will soon be applying to both Singapore and the U.S. I hope to major in Economics. Since I won’t really have the chance to enjoy a long holiday overseas during these 2 years, I’ll definitely seize the opportunity to take considerable time off just to relax and possibly meet friends around the world!
anybody that well. However, as soon as the racing started, it was as if our newly formed team transformed into one with a close connection, cheering each and every team mate on, and striving on for an ultimately successful meet. However, it was after the competition excitement dimmed and we made our way back to Shanghai that made this trip the most memorable. Upon arrival at Beijing International Airport, we received news that the snowfall made it dangerous to take off, and thus our flight would be delayed. We eventually waited for 13 hours. However, this would prove to be a blessing in disguise. The initial dread transformed into a spirit of animation, with warm laughter and enthusiasm filling the chilly airport air. We played board games on the floor as onlookers stared, watched TV shows on tiny iPod screens, and most importantly, forged a bond that would prove to last for years to come. It felt bittersweet hearing the announcement that it was time to board. Looking back now, it is undoubted that we as a team have accomplished so much. Apart from vastly improving to making the SCIS Swim Team a recognized contender in the swimming scene, we’ve also grown together as people. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Any advice to students who are currently preparing to go to university? Since I haven’t actually started university yet, I’m probably not the most knowledgeable source, but regarding the application process, I would certainly urge everyone to RESEARCH. Find out what the courses you are interested in entail and their requirements. I’ve had many friends who were unable to pursue their intended degrees solely because they did not take the correct subjects in high school. Good luck to everyone applying soon! Favorite part about going to SCIS? The size of the school. By that I mean the right-sized classes, the familiar community, and the cozy campus. Everyone was able to become acquainted with one another, even across grades. Clubs and activities worked hand in hand to give us a plethora of different experiences. This only made school life heaps of fun and productive at the same time. Teachers knew their students well and thus were able to aid them individually. I was able to dive into committed programs and explore both academics and sports perspectives in an engaging manner. This aspect itself created a school that was a joy to attend day in and day out. It was great.
That’s such a nice story! Funny how life has a way of working out sometimes. Cheeky question to finish it off: Where do you see yourself in 5yrs? Hmm, this one’s pretty open ended. I’ll probably have had just completed my fourth and final year of university (At least I hope to have graduated). Best case scenario is that I manage to secure a job position in one of the major cities in the world, that fulfils my predictably overwhelming curiosity and excitement, being a fresh graduate. I see myself surrounded by lively people, both colleagues and friends, who are fun to be with and can help me improve. Hopefully, with some coincidence, some of them will be high school friends! I’ll end this answer at this idealistic possibility.
If you had to pick your most memorable moment /story, what would it be? There are so, so many unforgettable endeavours that come to mind but I’ll have to settle with my first overseas swim meet to Beijing with the SCIS team in 2009. Since I had only been on the team a month when I traveled with the selected team to the annual Beijing Championships, I didn’t really know
Thanks so much for this interview Andre, and good luck with the rest of your NS! By Mikael Masson PEREZ Communitas Editor
The Alumni Association Alumni Mission: The SCIS-HIS Alumni Association has been established in order to foster the continued cordial relations of the SCIS-HIS community. It’s goal was, and continues to be, to link alumni with the School and with each other, and to support and maintain such forged relationships. It strives to provide ample avenues and opportunities to encourage alumni to participate actively in the SCIS-HIS community.
Alumni Contact: Mikael Masson Perez mmasson@scis-his.org Alumni Requirements: 1. Graduated from a SCIS-HIS school OR
Social Media facebook site: http://www.facebook. com/SCISandHIS-alumni Linkedin site: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/ SCISHIS-Alumni-4757677
2. Went to school here for at least one year AND be over 18 41
THE LIBRARIAN CORNER
Book Recommendations for All Ages In the Sea there are Crocodiles: The Story of Enaiatollah Akbari by Fabio Geda (memoir/non-fiction for ages 11 to Adult)
I thought I was adventurous until I read Enaiatollah Akbari’s story. Who knew that at age ten, abandoned by your mother, left to find your way without maps or a sense of time, you could survive on the streets of Quetta, Afghanistan in the year 2000? What makes this story so compelling is the way Enaiatollah finds fate at every turn, walks boldly through his fears, expresses kindness and appreciation amidst the harshest of life experiences. He survives and now thrives in Italy. How did he get there? What did he discover about himself, about those he met along the way, and about the road to freedom beyond imagination? Please, read this book and discover the courage and strength of the human spirit!
The Places In-Between by Rory Stewart (travelogue/adventure for ages 15 to Adult)
Rory Stewart’s journey shows a total regard for chance and fate. While he walks from village to village in the long journey from Herat to Kabul across treacherous snowy winter mountains in the years 2002, he meets ancient peoples, but he also meets evil men. A journey fraught with implicit hardship and endurance, Stewart shows that our lives are only self-important—reliant on position, rank, wealth—but stripped bare, we are all wanderers with nothing to rely upon but the goodness of others. That Stewart endures and finishes this walk is not surprising since he is audacious and determined, especially as he treks through perilous territory. An awesome read when wishing you could step away from your life and trek with him!
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (non-fiction for ages 12 to adult)
Do you feel your life is difficult? Each of us defines the word “difficult” according to what we can bear. Mostly, though, the lives of International expats are cocooned within a life of affluence. Difficult would be the daily carrying of water from a murky pond to your home five miles away—almost impossible. With terse but eloquent voice, Linda Sue Park tells two stories from the tribes of Sudan. Their abject poverty and illiterate worlds are filled with suffering and need, but comes to an end with hope—a clean well of water sitting in the middle of the village. Without the incredible life of one young Sundanese boy who loses all he loves to war, clean water wells would not have been built. Based on a true story, full of the determination to continue at the brink of hopelessness, this story encapsulates the triumph of the human spirit in the midst of a difficult world.
Thoreau at Walden by John Porcellino (from the writings of Henry David Thoreau) (non-fiction for ages 10 to 17)
A rustically illustrated book about Henry David Thoreau’s life at Walden, it tersely details the heart of Thoreau’s days in the late nineteenth century: his thoughts, feelings, and themes regarding sparse living. After a brief introduction by Porcellino of Thoreau’s inability to find himself after graduating from Harvard, Thoreau’s life takes on new meaning when he leaves the white noise of city life and begins simple living, recording his thoughts by writing about life on Walden pond. Using basic colors and drawings, Porcellino captures the essence of what Thoreau learns, how he discovers his life’s ambition, and what he gains by living in the woods. This briefly illustrated work only whets the appetite for more of what Thoreau gathers from nature and its nourishing wisdom. 42
THE LIBRARIAN CORNER
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (fiction for ages 15 to adult)
Only few books jump from the bookshelf into your hands, but this one did, and I’m glad! Winning two prestigious awards, Printz Honor Award and National Book Award Finalist, The Disreputable History of Frankie Laudau-Banks exceeds its reputation. This book contains a bit of a lesson on its last page (not telling). Hint though—If you want to lose your innocence, then do so by putting pride first. Sophomore Frankie Laudau-Banks, the protagonist, makes being a girl in a male dominated high-end prep school get the best of her, but not before she gets the best of an elite group of senior boys. They think Frankie adorable, but as a girl, she is not worth letting into their secret world of school pranks and club meetings. She does what any curious young person would do: she infiltrates the group by sleuthing around the fringe. A compelling story for any one of us who has ever felt the need to rebel against stereotypes and gender imbalance. A real page turner, a real catcher in the rye kind of a novel, this is entertaining, thought-provoking, and instructive all in one!
The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
(fiction for ages 14-18)
Globetrotting and living in mega-cities may sound exotic, but it can also become very lonely. Feelings of isolation due to frequent moving from cities and cultures can make even the most well-adjusted person feel melancholy about those we leave behind. Lucy and Owen know all about these feelings. They know about meeting someone you just “click” with and having to say goodbye when neither one of you has a choice or a say in the change of geography. A lovely story, a modern teenage love story, Lucy and Owen learn how to live apart but close at heart. Smith gives a peek into how it feels to miss someone and yet carry on, even learning to be happy with your new location. Told from both viewpoints, Lucy’s, then Owen’s, readers easily follow these young lives from the moment they meet in New York City to a week later when they separate, going from NYC to San Francisco, to Paris, to Rome, to London, to Scotland, to Seattle: well, you get the picture.
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (dystopia fiction for ages 13 to 18)
A Finalist of the National Book Award and 2011 Michael L. Printz Award, along with numerous other awards for Young Adult Fiction, Paolo Pacigalupi’s dystopian novel is certainly worth reading! Filled with raw, brutal human escapades, Nailer, the protagonist, sails through too many battles and illnesses to be a normal human being. He spends his days scavenging for copper and metals from decaying ships run ashore; even though he is poor, he is eager to live life with the dream of becoming a sailor. Through fate and harrowing survival skills, he earns the name Lucky Boy, meets a swank named Nita, whose privileged life leads them both on a riotous ride toward peril and rescue. Set in a grimy, futuristic world near the Gulf of Mexico, this young adult novel teaches the virtues of trusting one’s instinct, letting your heart guide you while using your head, and not being too tied down to tradition to embrace your fate. Great swashbuckling and daring adventure, along with gory and bloody descriptive scenes, Ship Breaker entertains with a satisfying look at how humankind might survive the ravaged ecological abuse that we all heap upon our planet!
By June Miles Pudong Campus Lower School Librarian
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Community Feature
Dragon Cup History I
t is one of the least attractive trophies in our respective cabinets; yet like clockwork come fall/winter and spring the 3 SCIS/HIS Dragon schools join together to compete for THE DRAGON CUP. In the four varsity sports of volleyball, basketball, swimming and soccer our schools spend one weekend a season competing against one another in an effort to make all of our teams and student athletes better. Like dragons of mythological lore – the Dragon Cup has had many incarnations throughout its history. At the beginning it was a tournament that was created to allow for positive interaction between students of our geographically diverse schools. In the early years “The Cup” itself was dominated by SCIS PD as HQ and HZ slowly built their student bodies and athletic prowess. At this time the event was seen as a training ground where PD was able to support and guide HQ and HZ as they developed their programs. As HQ grew in size their ability to compete increased as well and the cup became a highly charged tournament full of intense competition between the two evenly matched schools. The cup began residing on the Puxi side of the river more often during this era. HZ at this time was still growing, but used this tournament to augment its season schedule and get some competitive games against the J.V. squads from the Shanghai schools. In the recent past as transportation has improved and all of our schools are more active in each of their sports; HZ began winning against the other school’s varsity program and the cup truly became anyone’s to win.
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Recognizing this shift in ability and activity levels across all schools the Activity Coordinators from each school re-examined the objectives and purposes of the Dragon Cup. For a number of reasons, it was decided that DRAGON CUP needed to get back to its roots of being a training event where the focus was on team development as opposed to wins and losses. Now the Dragon Cup is not awarded based on wins and losses in a tournament. Instead each sport has a theme and the winner of the cup is the school that best exemplifies that theme on the day. During volleyball the theme was ‘spirit’ as embodied in school and team energy. For the basketball season the theme was ‘fair-play’ and the cup was decided based on cumulative sportsmanship rubric scores completed by opposing coaches and referees during the tournament. For the soccer and swim seasons…well those are surprises to come in the spring. If you’ve read any fantasy you know that Dragons never really die; and the Dragon Cup never will either. It will continue to change and adapt as the circumstances require. The main focus however will always remain the same; that we bring together the students from Hangzhou, Pudong and Hongqiao to celebrate the true community that we are. By MICHAEL DENEEF Pudong Campus Athletic Director
Community Feature
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HOST Culture
A Taste of Chinese New Year
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he SCIS lower school has the tradition of orchestrating a Chinese New Year assembly before the CNY holiday. This year, with the collective efforts of our students and teachers, we offered a truly international show of Chinese culture. During the initial 60-minute, our lower school performers used various artistic means to present a kaleidoscope of Chinese
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elements. They not only included our traditional singing, dancing, games, Kung Fu arts and ancient poem recitation, but also a creative drama from a Chinese classic love story, a Peking Opera mask show, a Chinese-history fashion show and a special bicycle performance. While the show was mostly performed by students, our teachers surprised everyone as the assembly approached the end. Five mandarin teachers,
HOST CulturE
along with eight specialist teachers, performed a Chinese folk handkerchief dance, which drew long applause from the audience. And the entire assembly ended with an exciting Acrobats show. Much to our delight, the whole 90-minute assembly was well recognized by teachers, students and parents. One of them said that the show truly showcased what the kids have learned and what teachers do in the classes. Another one labelled it a very creative, thoughtful, interesting and complex event. Those sweet words are the best prize for all those who made it happen. In fact, it took the students and teachers three weeks to get prepared for the show. Under a reasonable division of labor, the students spent two weeks learning to understand what they were going to present on the Assembly, while their Mandarin teachers ordered costumes and props, arranged rehearsal schedules and coordinated theater requirements. In order to achieve the best audio and visual effects, they had careful consideration of lights, sound, seating arrangements
and background slides. With all those inputs, we were able to transform the preparatory work into a vivid Mandarin class: we learned some of the Chinese martial arts although all our knowledge about it comes from action movies; we used a Chinese romance story to celebrate the Chinese New Year which turned out to be a very successful trial for the assembly; we learned Peking Opera through colorful masks and last but not least we brought bicycles -- a typical means of transport in China’s 1980s – to the stage because it is also the most popular means of transport in Netherlands. As known to all of us, interest is the best teacher for everyone. We hope that through this assembly, we will find a new engine to our future mandarin learning and teaching. Having that mind, let’s work together to embrace an even more prosperous Year of Monkey! By Jenny Zhang Hongqiao Campus Lower School Mandarin teacher
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FAMILY SPOTLIGHT
Golden Dragons Meet the
Beelen Family
(<50,000 people) called Weert in the south of the Netherlands. In this city Alessandra was born and raised until she was four years old and she even went for a short time to a kindergarten in Weert. (In the Netherlands, you have to be in the school system when you are 4 years old). What/Who made the decision to make the move to China? The decision to move to China was an easy one considering our background. Xiao Xia (Alessandra’s mom) was born in China and I worked more than two years in Shenzhen. Both of us had enough experience to make that choice. The timing of this opportunity was good as Alessandra was only four years old. In this age it’s much easier to adapt to a new environment, language and school. If she was older we might have made another decision. How was the transition process for everyone? As Xiao Xia and I had already a lot of China experience there was no “culture shock” and we adapted quickly to the new situation. For Alessandra it was a difficult process in the beginning at school as she had to learn English, but thanks to the great support in HIS this was quickly solved and she acquired a lovely Australian accent in the process!
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enri, Xiao Xia and Alessandra have been with us at Hangzhou International School for the past eleven years now and are one of the oldest families on campus! Not new to China and its culture, moving to Hangzhou was not a hugely problematic decision for everyone and all are glad to have been able to see and experience such changes over the past decade. I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to the Beelen family and have them give us their views on life in Hangzhou and at HIS. Tell us a little about yourself: Before Hangzhou, where did the Beelen family call home? Before moving to Hangzhou in 2005 we were living in a small city 48
Biggest difference between here and back home? Besides the food, there are a lot of other differences. For example, in the Netherlands most of the “family life” is at home but in China it’s more “on the street”. At 8:00 PM you will not find so many people outside on the road in Weert. Everybody will be at home by that time. Another big difference is that most people in Hangzhou live in so called “compounds” with fences and guards. This you will not be seen in the Netherlands, unless you are the King. Why did you choose HIS? That’s easy to answer! There was only one international school in Hangzhou in 2005, and so we did not have much of a choice. However, Alessandra grew up together with the school and up to now we do not regret the decision to enroll her. She enjoys going to school very much and she performs well. The school
FAMILY SPOTLIGHT
has also given Alessandra a lot of opportunities to express herself in different ways through many different ASAs including varsity sports, MUN, musicals, etc. In the first couple of years Alessandra found it quite hard to understand that being in an international school meant people were going to leave. She got very sad when her friends went back to their home countries and she stayed behind. Nowadays though, with all the social media, this is no longer an issue. She has a huge network all over the world with all her friends. Looking back at your time spent in Hangzhou, how has it been to be able to live through such a fast-paced city and to witness such changes over the years? Any regrets? We never regretted coming to Hangzhou. The advantage of this city is that it now has all the modern facilities but also the beautiful green scenery around it. Escaping the crowded city is easy. Hangzhou changed a lot over the last 10 years, it now not only has a lot more roads, subway system and higher buildings but somehow it matured. The idea of a foreigner living in Hangzhou doesn’t surprise anyone anymore. People have the choice to express themselves musically by singing along the wonderful West Lake. Although it is still behind a city like Shanghai, the gap has gotten smaller. If you are living in the city you do not see such big changes as much as they tend to happen gradually, but if you look back at movies and pictures, comparing then and now, the changes are quite impressive. Any advice to expats who are new to the city and to the international community? In June this year it will be our 11th year in Hangzhou and we have seen a lot of expats coming and going. It is not only the language that is difficult to learn, especially in Hangzhou where English is still not so common, but also the culture. You have to be open for it and adapt to it. Trying to push your way through using a “western” style of thinking will not bring you far. Like driving a car in Hangzhou “go with the flow” or else you will quickly have an accident. I still have some things I will never get used to in China but have learned to accept it. Lastly, what will you miss most about HIS? As succeeding in a “foreign” country is a matter of adapting to and understanding the local culture, I think that HIS plays a very important role in this. The mix of students from all over the world gave Alessandra the opportunity to get in touch with all kinds of cultures. This will give her a big advantage in her future career as she is a kind of “world citizen”. Also, the variety of activities that are available for each student at HIS is also very crucial and important, allowing it to provide both a proper education in all sorts of subjects that could be both physical and mental. Alessandra will certainly miss those ACAMIS trips where she got to travel around China and compete against other schools with her close teammates. By Mikael Masson PEREZ Communitas Editor 49
PAFA
The Magnificent Seven: Lower School’s New IPads
I
sat with Lower School Librarian Dan Zimmerman recently to hear about the library’s new iPads. As we relaxed on the red semi-circular sofa in his domain, he recounted his experiences to date with the seven iPads donated by PAFA, through funds raised during last year’s International Food Fair. The iPads arrived on campus at the beginning of this school year, and Mr. Zimmerman loaded them with freebies and apps based on teacher requests. “The teachers lit up when they first saw them,” Mr. Zimmerman recalls. “It took a while to build up the knowledge that they are available, but now, we can’t keep them in stock—they are reserved very frequently. We want them out —we’re happy when they’re not sitting in the cabinet,” he adds. The most popular uses of the iPads are related to improving literacy and organizing multi-media presentations. The Tellagami app, which helps students design animated presentations, is also used frequently, and the Lower School’s music teacher plans to add Garage Band to her repertoire. The iPads are easy for students to use for photography and video recording, and some of this material has already been incorporated into assemblies and unit projects. Plus, the Lower School Library has a small but growing collection of e-books, and students have been reading these straight off the iPads. 50
The seven iPads are often used as a set, according to Mr. Zimmerman, because teachers can break students into work groups, and each group can have an iPad. “One iPad for three kids is a nice ratio to work with,” he notes. In addition, some teachers borrow individual iPads to help students with specific needs. Third Grade teacher Anne Gribble uses one almost every day to assist ESOL students with basic beginning English.
PAFA
Word of the iPads has even spread through the Upper School. Earlier in the year, the Middle School’s Dungeons and Dragons Club borrowed the iPads in order to access special game dice. The High School IB Economics class made use of the iPads to create movies for their Economics presentations. These creative mini-movies can be seen on YouTube on the page entitled “Shanghai International IB Economics.”
“The whole school is using and benefiting from them,” Mr. Zimmerman proudly explains. “The Lower School is the only place on campus where you can come and get a set of iPads.” By Kristianna Foye Hongqiao Campus PAFA Secretary
PAFA NEWS SCIS-HIS has parent organizations called the Parents and Friends Association (PAFA) on each campus. PAFA serves as a way that parents can communicate ideas for the betterment of the school to the administration and Board. SCIS and HIS are proud of the high level of parents participation in their schools and value their partnership with the parent community. PAFA conducts various activities, from community events to charity fundraisers to volunteer support for teachers and students. Each campus has a PAFA board who works closely with each campus’ administrations to plan events that help to make SCIS-HIS schools a unique experience for families, faculty, and students alike. We are always welcoming new members! For more information about PAFA, please contact us at:
Hangzhou International School
Hongqiao Main & ECE Campuses
President Gretchen Montey gretchen1124@yahoo.com
President/Treasurer: Rhonda Mahs PAFA_hq_pres@scis-his.org PAFA_hq_tres@scis-his.org
Vice President Carmen Freissmuth carmenfreissmuth@hotmail.com
Event Coordinator: Nicole Newcomb PAFA_hq_events@scis-his.org
Secretary Crystal Wu jameswanshi@yahoo.com
Early Childhood Education (ECE): Ramya Rajagopal, PAFA_hq_ecerep1@scis-his.org Yvonne Yeung, PAFA_hq_ecerep2@scis-his.org
Treasurer Ting Jin jin_reader@hotmail.com Social Chairperson Cristina Chen ruaichen@hotmail.com Events Chairperson Anu Metha anu7720@gmail.com
Lower School (LS) Nina Han, PAFA_hq_lsrep1@scis-his.org Ellen Ho, PAFA_hq_lsrep2@scis-his.org Middle School (MS) Marga van Tiggelen, PAFA_hq_msrep1@scis-his.org Catrin Gustafsson, PAFA_hq_msrep2@scis-his.org High School (HS) Heidi Casey, PAFA_hq_hsrep1@scis-his.org Carol Clark, PAFA_hq_hsrep2@scis-his.org Secretary/Public Relations Kristianna Foye, PAFA_hq_sec@scis-his.org PAFA_hq_sec@scis-his.org
Pudong Campus Lower School President Jennifer Davy pdpafals.president@scis-his.org Secretary Lourdes Hernandez pdpafals.secretary@scis-his.org Treasurer Katie Berkaw pdpafals.treasurer@scis-his.org Event Coordinator Qing Gao, gaoqing_gq@126.com Star Chu, starchu5159@gmail.com Upper School President Weili Vlas, vlasliu@yahoo.com Treasurer (Main) Heike Walther, heike.walther@gmail.com Treasurer Nancy Yen, 26lvmom@gmail.com Event Coordinator Sandra Machan, sandramachan@yahoo.com
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PARTNER
De Oranje Draak
school voor Nederlandse taal en cultuur
Having a Look in the Classroom of The Orange Dragon
A
s you might know, we are proud to have been teaching Dutch for a couple of years now at the Hongqiao Main Campus and at the ECE at SCIS. I am sure you recognize us; you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss our Orange Dragon logo and the Orange colour near the classrooms. After our Chinese New Year show you might have also been able to see us riding our bicycles around Shanghai. Our population of kids consists mainly of Flemish and Dutch children and both cultures can be seen in our daily lessons. Last October the Dutch government inspection visited our school, and we our very proud to inform you that we received two beautiful reports from them for our primary as well as our secondary educational programmes!
Our main objective is that our students, busy with their daily lives, enjoy their visit to Dutch classes. We try to do so in a purposeful and creative way. That means that in our daily lessons there is space for the individual child by giving them time to work on their own as well as working together in a group. In our Dutch lessons, a variety of teaching methods will be used. Children will give presentations on the one hand and leave the classroom for cultural outings on the other hand. We also learn through movement or by playing games. Upcoming is the Kamishibai; an old Japanese way of storytelling by using a paper theater. Never a dull moment in our classes! Looking forward to welcoming you at our classrooms. By Mirjam van der Geijs - director The Orange Dragon www.deoranjedraak.com
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PARTNER
Nature’s Crew of Recyclers N
ature has its means of taking care of things, down to the tiniest detail, in ways we often do not notice. If we were to look for a dream team in which every member work in perfect unison, then we need not look further than our own environment. Take recycling, for instance: we definitely are rocking this technology which allows us to turn waste into other things we can use again, but nature has it’s own recycling crew too, and we have much still to learn of their efficient way of dealing with waste.
Seasons change—busy all day
We need not go far to fetch a good example of recycling in nature—just wait until a leaf drops from a tree. Falling leaves become a litter carpet on the forest floor, serving as a nutrientrich habitat for many creatures. If it wasn’t for these little workers, forests would quickly amass a giant mess and worse, they wouldn’t even exist to begin with. Thanks to nature’s recyclers, the decomposers, leaf litter is broken down into nutrient components like carbon and nitrogen which will return to the soil to be used again as fertilizer helping trees grow and eventually forming new leaves again, repeating the never-ending cycle. Smart plan, isn’t it? Nature gathered a team of recyclers that come in many forms: microbes, fungi, snails, beetles, earthworms—each has its own role in the decomposition process. Some help break down leaves, dead plants, branches and logs, others are scavengers or multi-taskers. Earthworms, for instance, not only break down organic materials and add nutrients to the soil, but also loosen the soil for better air circulation, which helps plants grow. Thousands of types of single-celled fungi and bacteria live in soil too, and once rotting starts more decomposers join in. The process may be icky and disgusting, but it’s a vital act of nature getting old materials for new uses.
One creature’s waste—another creature’s treasure
Most animals live in a delicate ecological balance with their surroundings, taking only what is needed and wasting as little as possible. Some of the animals don’t take part in the decomposition, but can still contribute to nature’s recycling. Species like birds or octopi, make their shelters upcycling whatever they find around. That’s how octopi end up repurposing debris—from abandoned seashells to glass containers and birds score high adapting to urban human environments, making nests out of anything. Speaking of sea creatures, corals are doing a great job repurposing shipwrecks, undersea pipelines, and even oil rigs. As they are remarkably adaptable turning wreckage into a habitat, they also provide a home for the countless other species that rely on the ecology of coral reefs for sustenance. Other species get the dirtiest job done—anything to keep the ecosystem balanced and
prevent resources going to waste. The existence of dung beetles tells us that each and every resource is valuable—these insects live to collect and repurpose feces. Dung is everything for these creatures: home constructing material, food and even a place where they lay their eggs. But most importantly, if not for dung beetles, who can bury 250 times its own weight in dung, instead of becoming a fertilizer, feces would turn into hazardous waste.
Why nature’s recycling superheroes can’t get rid of plastic
We know that natural waste doesn’t magically disappear—it’s a result of multiple organisms working hard day in, day out. The problem is, that waste transforming creatures simply won’t touch many man-made products, including plastic. It means, when out in the environment, plastic doesn’t degrade the same way that organic materials, such as leaves, food scraps or wood, do. So it’s time for us to join nature’s team, as recycling is one of the effective ways we can prevent plastic waste piling up on our planet. Putting plastic containers in the recycling bin is a good start, but using something made of recycled materials is an even better next step. The list of things we can make with recycled materials is endless but one of the most amazing ones is clothing. In fact, some of the SCIS uniforms have a special Waste2Wear label, showing that they are made from recycled plastic bottles. Just as nature efficiently recycles its natural resources, we too, can help keep our environment waste-free by making new from old. ___________________________________________________ Did you know that: • Polyester fabrics and plastic bottles are made with exactly the same materials. • Recycled polyester is an inert substance which makes it completely hypoallergenic. • Certifications from organizations help recycling companies to supervise safety and quality to make sure everything is super clean and healthy. • If you have any questions about the environment, recycling or about your uniforms you can ask: info@waste2wear.com. ___________________________________________________
If you want to learn more check out this cool video or go to www.waste2wear.com. 53
PARTNER
C
Competition
ompetition is inevitable. We all like to think that we have unique talents, ideas, and experiences, but in a world of six billion people (and growing), there’s no avoiding the fact that other people, with their unique talents, ideas, and experiences, are going to compare us with each other and find us wanting. Part of the reason for this is that however unique we each may be, no one else knows that as well as we ourselves do. When you turn in a paper to be graded by your teacher, your teacher doesn’t see the struggles and small triumphs that went into the writing process. All the teacher sees is that you, like however many other of the students, didn’t quite get this idea or didn’t quite remember to emphasize that point, and she groups you all together under the same “B” or “C”. Inevitably, then, you will be compared to other people, and sometimes found wanting. Surely this is unfair, not to mention discouraging. How can you deal with this problem?
One way of coping is to avoid competing. Instead of taking a more challenging class where she will get a lower grade, a student may opt for the easy “A”. A writer may keep his work to himself rather than trying to publish it, for fear of being rejected or, perhaps worse, accepted without applause. Similarly, a job-seeker may apply to less challenging or desirable positions she knows she can obtain rather than competing to be a manager or executive. People may even convince themselves that there is something noble in these refusals and accommodations: a superior person refuses to be measured by common standards and a pure heart does not crave to be recognized. This is called “being a big fish in a little pond”: as wonderful as we may think we are, that is only because we swim in shallow waters, and not in the ocean, where they are whales. The truth is, if we refuse to compete or only compete when we already know we will win, we risk forming an inadequate idea of our own self-worth. And if we don’t know what we are worth, how can we make the best choices about how and where to invest ourselves, the most precious resource we have? Take the example of one of our students here at PrepZone. Like all students, from a young age he was required to participate in sports. Admiring the players he saw on TV, he chose to take up ping pong, and after a few months of practice seemed to meet with great success, easily beating the other students in his class. Confident in his abilities, he signed up for a school-wide tournament, in which he was matched with players from classes at every level in every age-group. To his dismay, not only was he unable to match his past performance, but he didn’t even
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make it past the first round, barely scoring a couple of points. His first response to this setback, understandably, was frustration and rage. He threw down his racket, abandoned the field, and refused to play with any but himself. Eventually, however, he came around. Maybe it was seeing that even the best players sometimes lose a game (and how not? They compete against the best!) Maybe it was the encouragement of his coach, who far from advising him to go back to his familiar opponents and comfortable routines, even pushed him to join a more difficult class and play regularly against more challenging opponents. Whatever it was, he soon found himself matched routinely with those who had beat him. And perhaps he never again found himself the best in his class, but after awhile, you can be sure he didn’t lose as badly. So what did this student gain by opening himself up to competition? By being willing to lose? The answer is not just that he got better. When we face competition, we do so knowing that more often than not we will not take the crown. Being the best, almost by definition, is not in everyone’s reach. What then do we gain? As I said, something much more valuable – self-knowledge. And with self-knowledge come all the qualities that make us outstanding, not as competitors, but as people: humility, perseverance, and dignity. What our student learned from competition was not how to win, but how to compete. And how, in competing, to enjoy the game. In life we often will not get exactly what we want, and that we cannot change; what we can change, and what competition teaches us, is how to enjoy our attempts to get it. Prep Zone is your best choice for SAT/ACT preparation & Ivy League admission because: • 10 years of experience in SAT & ACT preparation and Ivy League admission consulting • Trainers from the top 25 US Universities (99th percentile scores) • Proven track record with an improvement of 400+ points in SAT & 7+ in ACT 400 820 3861 www.prep-zone.cn Room 1604, Tower 2, Hua Yi Plaza, 2020 Zhongshan (W) Road, Shanghai 200235, P. R. China
ECE Campus FUN doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to take a summer break!
Program Dates: June 20 - July 15, with flexible weekly enrollment options Registration available
March 15 through
May 15*
*while seats available
Enrolling students who have completed Preschool through Grade Two (Date of birth ranging from Nov. 1, 2007 through Nov. 1, 2012)
For all Summer Kids Camp inquiries, please contact summeractivities.ece@scis-his.org
YES! Now enrolling students through Grade Two!
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Attended University of British Columbia
Majored in Psychology & Economics
High School SAT Score
2280
High School Student Council High School Model United Nations and Interact Club Varsity Basketball and Volleyball Team
I am SCIS “I think this generation lacks the ability to be patient. We’re so eager to get to the destination that we forget the process. We stumble, and the journey becomes forgotten. Everything has steps. It’s impossible to cook before lighting some form of fire - I could go on and on about how great my teachers were, how breathtaking the campus is, or how global minded I became, but these are not the most important things. The greatest lesson SCIS taught me is to slow down. Appreciate the journey, and more importantly, the people. Despite everything, these you’ll hold close. They are forever.”
– Anna Yang SCIS Class of 2011 – attended SCIS for six years and is currently working as Associate Art Director at J. Walter Thompson
SCIS is a truly international school. Our rigorous IB curriculum and excellent co-curricular opportunities promote high achievement. Our diverse community of over 60 nationalities and our caring environment promote future success. Visit us to discover for yourself the amazing SCIS community. No school does it better. Tour our campuses by calling 86-21-6261-4338 ext.1
www.scis-his.org 56
The art and science of education since 1996
HONGQIAO • PUDONG NURSERY – GRADE 12