Y7 Online Ensemble: Heal the World
As the Chinese Lunar New Year approached, Year 7 students were busy rehearsing for the concert to be performed at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center. However, the pandemic soon struck, as it became more severe, the concert was postponed, and winter of home quarantine began. As classes resumed online instead of in the physical classroom, the possibility of performing the concert seemed far away indeed.
At the initiative of the orchestra teacher, the students picked up their instruments at home and played a virtual concert in an orchestral "cloud" ensemble that spanned time and space - "Heal the World." This successful exercise that showed the beauty in musical expression can shine through even when it is done virtually instead of in front of a live audience.
The teacher assigned music scores and explained requirements for the performance in the WeChat group, and quickly received positive feedback from students. Everyone practiced diligently for the performance, just as they would prepare to play in front of a live audience. To ensure that their playing was top-notch, the students regularly sent practice videos to the teacher via the cloud, where it was easy for them to receive the teacher's feedback. In this manner, students were able to hone their musical skills effectively, leading to a more seamless process than expected. The teacher's message to the students was, "May love allow us all to continue growing."
*Content sourced by Y7 Ethan | Ariel | Raina
Facing the colorful and rapidly changing world and a universe full of mysteries as
yet unsolved by mankind, each child will have his/her own pursuits and dreams.
The key to success for each child depends on instilling the right education
concept in the child's mind. It is often said that music is the most beautiful
language of mankind, and music plays an integral role in whole-person
education at YK Pao School, where we strive to develop children's singing in an
innovative manner. In 2020, on a special Children's Day, children from our
Hongqiao campus used music to inspire people to prevail decisively in the battle
against the COVID-19 pandemic in China. At the same time, through music,
they sent their best wishes to people worldwide.
——President Wu Zijian
6D Charity Auction
During the online learning period, Year 6 students learned about former Lei Feng, renowned for his selfless behavior. Inspired by his willingness to help others, the students launched an online "Charity Auction" and donated the proceeds to three charities.
"The students planned and organized this charity auction from soup to nuts. They thought carefully about which items to auction, choosing from the most suitable items in their homes, and they were generous when bidding. It was very touching."
——Ms. Chen,
Y6D Homeroom Teacher
Class 6D student Taylor wrote in the event summary: "The charity sale collected a total of 2146.4 yuan, which is a pretty big sum of money as far the students are concerned. This was really a busy week. Organizing this online charity auction was by no means easy, and even a bit tiring, but all of the hard work was worthwhile. Not only did we raise money for an important cause (children with autism), but we also learned a lot. Even small charity donations can make big differences in the lives of those in need, and when we think about it that way, we feel happy."
Pao Unified Organization: Coffee on the house for frontline anti-epidemic workers
YK Pao High School students set up the Pao Unified Organization, an organization that supports people with mental disabilities, helping them to better communicate with others and thus better integrate with the rest of society.
One of the Pao Unified Organization's partners is the Shanghai Dream Workshop Cafe, where the employees all have mental disabilities. At the beginning of the year, as the pandemic hit, Pao School's cooperation with the Dream Workshop Cafe had to be suspended. However, to everyone's surprise, shortly after the cafe closed normal business operations, it suddenly reopened in order to provide free coffee to staff members working on the frontline of epidemic prevention as a way of thanking them for their contributions to society.
Employees of Dream Workshop Cafe making free coffee for community members
"It was quite remarkable how these mentally disabled workers, who usually need others to care for them, suddenly stepped into the role of caretakers themselves, providing support to those on the frontline of epidemic prevention. We at the YK Pao School Unified Organization were really moved by their efforts."
——Y11 Helen
On the second day that work resumed at the Dream Workshop Cafe, Pao School students quickly sent information out on social media, including a promotional poster for the charity drive, described as the "YK Pao School Unified Organization Coffee Charity Drive." Students hoped that by promoting the charity fundraising event that they could raise awareness of this special group of workers at the Dream Workshop Cafe.
In the end, the Pao Unified Organization raised a donation of RMB 3,000, which allowed the Dream Workshop Cafe to provide 108 cups of coffee free of charge to the community workers. The students said, "Although total sum raised was modest, it nonetheless reflects the comprehensive efforts of everyone in our group and the empathy they have for others."
The Smart Society supports students in impoverished areas to continue online studies
The Smart Society is a science and technology club founded by High School students Charlie, David, Steven, Moses, Peter and William. As schools across the county were affected by the pandemic and began online teaching in March, these tech-savvy Pao School students turned their attention to helping students in impoverished areas acquire tablet computers they which they were able to use for remote learning.
The Pao School students' diligent efforts bore fruit. Together with the Hunan Xiangtan City Social Organization Cultivation and Development Center and Xiangtan City Runxiang Social Work Service Center, they called on people to donate their spare tablet computers to students in impoverished areas so that they could continue their studies online, and thus be able to "stop attending classes on campus but not stop learning."
Over a seven-day period, the Smart Society collected 35 second-hand tablets, and with the help of parents, used the collected funds to purchase 55 new mobile phones at a discounted price, and sent them to the students at Xiangtan middle schools. The organization assisted the students in acquiring and installing special SIM cards for impoverished users sponsored by the local telecommunications operator.
After the electronic devices were donated to the Xiangtan schools, the Smart Society received many thank-you notes from Xiangtan teachers and students. Among them, Teacher Hou of the Youth League Committee of Xiangtan No.1 School wrote in the thank-you letter: "10 students in particular need received the devices. These students faced especially tough circumstances. For instance, Mao was unable to attend class due to the loss of his parents; Huang, who was separated from his parents because of movement restrictions during the pandemic, and Qin, who lived in a remote rural area without a stable internet connection. All I can say is thank you and thank you again!
In response to these sincere words of thanks, the students of the Smart Society said, "We are deeply touched by the gratitude of the teacher and students. We will keep striving together to help impoverished children live better lives."
Awards
Norman (Y9) achieved a prestigious Gold Award in the Senior Physics challenge of the British Physics Olympiad;
Max (Y10) won a gold medal in the British Physics Olympiad (Intermediate) challenge and a gold medal in the USA Computing Olympiad;
Irene (Y12) was recently awarded third place in the 2020 Educational Theatre Association China Young Thespian Festival Playwriting Competition;
Koda and Jack (both Y10) both reached the finals of the 6th Annual International Mathematical Modeling challenge.
In the Real World Design Competition:
The YK Pao team finished third in the whole of China. Many congratulations to Lily, Norman, Cynthia, Eva, William, Diego (all Y9), Happy (Y11) and Wilson (Y 12), who acted as team consultant.
In the USAD 2020 competition:
Aaron (Year 11) won three bronze medals in Mathematics, Science and Social Science;
Miller (Year 10) won a gold medal in the ‘Interview’ category;
Congratulations to all those who took part: Aaron, Titi (Year 11), Miller, Jonathan, Koda, Grace, Zoey, Heather, Alisa, Arwen (Year 10), Victoria, Clare, and Sylvia (Year 9).
A number of Pao School students have performed particularly well in the 2019-2020 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) China Final.
Cici, John and Becky all achieved a top 10 award in Marketing;
John also received other top 10 awards in Organizational Leadership and Personal Finance;
Becky also earned a top 10 award in Insurance and Risk Management;
Yvette achieved top 10 awards in Introduction to Business and in Advertising.
In the NSDA competition:
Xiamen Regional Tournament
Diego (Y9) became the champion;
Henry (Y11) and Ray (Y11) were both placed second;
Melody (Y11) achieved third place;
Shanghai Regional Tournament
Richard (Y11) became the champion;
Diego won third place in the Extemporaneous Speech competition.
Four of our students attended the three-day International Regional Circuit of Fencing over the holidays and came back with one silver and 4 bronze medals.
Jimmy and Tiffany both won a bronze in the Sabre;
Angel won a bronze in the Foil;
Sissi won a silver and bronze in two Epee competitions.
In China Thinks Big Competition:
32 of our students achieved National Awards and some 18 qualified for the Global Finals that will be held at Harvard University in October.
In Y10 Yolanda (who came in the top 5% of China), Angela, Sophia, Yilin, Steven, Joey, David, Joey, Andy, Steve and Yina. In Y11 Alex, Jenny, Lisa, William, Rachel, Jennifer and Aaron.
Y11 students have been taking part in the Model Entrepreneur competition that is hosted annually by Columbia Business School.
YK Pao team consisting of Nora, Happy, Cici, Aries and Eric have qualified for the Final Round of the Asia Edition which will be hosted here in Shanghai later this spring in front of a judging panel of Columbia Business School team of professors and alumni.
