Reading books is important not just for studying, but also for cultivating one's character and enriching one's knowledge of the world. With its mission of whole-person education, Pao School encourages students to read books for all of the aforementioned reasons. Recently, Pao School's Secondary Division held a successful Book Week in the school library.
TED Talks
During the first half of Book Week, Pao students (supervised by teachers) gave presentations about various works of literature at lunch time. The students' knowledge of the material impressed their audience. In particular, Year 7 student Maggie Miao gave an outstanding presentation about the literary character Liu Siye, known for his fortitude and integrity. The old Chinese maxim still holds true today: 'You can always benefit from opening a book'.
Book Week also featured some distinct Chinese cultural activities in line with Pao School's mission of carrying on Chinese cultural traditions. There were performances by members of the Hanfu Club, English Drama Club, Modern Poetry Club, Chinese Chess Club and Gu Qin Club. One of the highlights was when students dressed in period costumes (Tang dynasty), held paper fans, and spoke in the Middle Chinese that was used in the Tang dynasty. The audience cheered at the students' entertaining and creative performances.
Pao School is an entirely bilingual environment, so Book Week also featured English-language performances. While the venue and props were simple, a large audience nonetheless filled the Great Room in the library to capacity. They rose to their feet on several occasions to applaud the students' exceptional performances.
Pao school was honored to invite Harvest magazine editor in chief and language education pioneer Ye Kai to participate in Book Week. During the seminar he led, Ye Kai talked to students about how to select the most worthwhile books to read. He also discussed some lighter-hearted topics, telling students, like Harry Potter, they could learn to defeat 'the giant monster in life'.
At the end of the discussion, Ye offered some wise words for students to ponder: 'When you read, you search for another existence that which is depicted in the stories; when you write, you try to find another side of yourself'.
Foreign literary luminaries attended Book Week as well. Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger, American authors of poetry books for children and adults, led a seminar focused on short stories and poetry. Their seminar was lively and fun, especially the highly interactive Q&A session.
To conclude Book Week, students dressed up like some of their favorite literary characters from both Chinese and Western works of literature, such as 'Harry Potter', 'Alice in Wonderland', 'Dream of the Red Chamber', and 'The Handmaid's Tale'.
From left to right:
Linda Zhou Y11 、Clare Huang Y6、
TiTi Zhang Y8 、Selina Gong Y11
In the Create-a-Bookmark Competition, students showed off their creativity in a hands-on exercise. Two students each from the Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary won prizes. Some of the entries to the competition will be made into real bookmarks, while the winners' bookmarks will be made into posters that will be given to the creators.
（5 Minutes Reading During Classes）
Evan Yu, a teacher in the Secondary Division's Chinese Department, says that Book Week can help Pao students develop the good habit of reading. Meanwhile, fun activities increase students' interest in reading, he explains, adding: 'Reading can help students broaden their horizons. Reading a good book is like a making a good friend. Reading can even help you solve some of the difficulties you face in life'. Yu suggests that students try doing some writing of their own too. （5 Minutes Reading During Classes）Evan Yu, a teacher in the Secondary Division's Chinese Department, says that Book Week can help Pao students develop the good habit of reading. Meanwhile, fun activities increase students' interest in reading, he explains, adding: 'Reading can help students broaden their horizons. Reading a good book is like a making a good friend. Reading can even help you solve some of the difficulties you face in life'. Yu suggests that students try doing some writing of their own too.
Reading is a process of searching for knowledge. It's an important type of learning, and it's a chance to see the creativity of others and stimulate our own creativity. It's great that Pao School encourages us all to read books.
Student Reporter: Chloe Yang (Y11)
