A new semester began at Pao School this week, with the returning students restoring hustle and bustle to a campus that had been still in the summertime.
Over the past two months, under the supervision of President Wu Zijian, Pao School completed all its planned renovation work across the three campuses this summer. During the renovations, a host of different people worked day and night to complete the large-scale renovation work on time, including the project team, general services, facility management department, contractors and supporting staff. These important renovation projects ensure that students will have the best learning experience possible.
Over the summer Pao School has continued work on its ongoing campus renovations. The school has heavily invested continuous renovation projects, especially on the Hongqiao campus. This shows Pao School's firm belief that campus facilities must be built in a way that adheres to the concept of whole person education. These facilities, for which the school's founder Mrs. Anna Pao Sohmen has served as chief designer, all have distinct characteristics reflecting Pao School's ethos. For instance, the "reading circle" in the Wuding campus's library resemble a ship's porthole, symbolizing the learning journey that students will set out on. These corners are popular with our students and are a unique feature of our school's design that stands out to visitors.
—— President Wu Zijian
In this new school year, Pao School has two main priorities: To steadily enhance the quality of education and teaching, and to further develop the holistic mission of the school by strengthening the physical and mental health of students and staff. To support these objectives and provide students with a better learning experience, Pao School has invested heavily in campus infrastructure and educational resources.
Wuding campus
Following a year of preparation, the Primary School Apple Classroom Programme was officially launched, which aims to enhance each child's learning with state-of-the-art technology solutions. As part of the programme, Pao School will introduce multiple data management platforms including PowerSchool Database and Apple School Manager, which will help teachers better understand students' learning dynamics in real time and adjust classroom management. At the online parent information meeting, Primary School Principal Siobhain Allum presented the summer renovation work in detail, highlighting that the main purpose of the campus upgrades is to provide students with a better and safer education environment.
At the same time, to ease the transition of students from primary to middle school, Pao School made some changes to the Year 5 classrooms. They are now located on the second floor of the East Building, and are equipped with desks, chairs and personal lockers that are ideal for upper primary students, helping them to better manage their personal belongings and prepare for middle school life.
Hongqiao campus
For the first time, the Hongqiao campus welcomes students from across three different year groups. One thing Year 6, 7 and 8 students have in common is that they are all eager to experience the new campus and curious about the changes that have been made. Special campus tours have been arranged so that students can rapidly familiarize themselves with the renovated campus.
Meanwhile, Principal Caroline Xu expressed her hopes that all Middle School students – whether they are recent arrivals in Year 6 or older students in Years 7 and 8 – will understand that "responsibility" does not mean just looking out for oneself and striving for self-improvement in academics or personal life. Rather, "responsibility" also means contributing to a warm and welcoming learning environment on campus.
Songjiang campus
On registration day, the High School was busy helping familiarize students with the campus, meeting their classmates and getting settled with a series of activities. On registration day, the new students were greeted by a group of students in the Pao School Peer Mentor Program. Under the guidance of the peer mentors, the new students moved into their dorms smoothly, completed the necessary registration procedures, toured campus and even participated in a challenging treasure hunt. After dinner, all the students participated in activities together. By the end of the day, the new students were feeling more comfortable in their new surroundings thanks to the support of the students in the Peer Mentor Programme.
The Songjiang campus is primarily a boarding campus and thus devotes considerable resources to residential life. In each residential building, there are two to three students serving as House Prefects, supporting the Housemaster or Mistress in the Boarding Houses regular operations. In the first week of the semester, House Mistress organized a Prefect Training Day with Dean of Student Life's support. Nearly all activities were planned and delivered by the Head Prefects of each house. The purpose of the training was to familiarize the House Prefects with their duties, also focusing on what to do in common scenarios that a prefect may encounter. It also helped them bond as a team of prefects, both as a whole and in their House teams.
On the first day of the new semester, epidemic prevention is still the top priority. Every detail was meticulously handled and strictly implemented per government regulations, from temperature checks at the entrance to the school and the disinfection of hands, to epidemic prevention knowledge teachers emphasize to their students in class, to the lunch meal preparation and dining arrangements, as well as multiple body temperature checks for teachers and students throughout the day.
To ensure that epidemic prevention was carried out in full, President Wu Zijian, Executive Headmaster Mark Bishop and the Principals of all three campuses were present, welcoming every Pao Student back to school. President Wu Zijian comments: "In this battle against the new coronavirus pandemic, we have showed Pao School's mettle, ensuring the health and wellness of students, teachers and staff. In the new semester, Pao School will continue to encourage our students to broaden their perspectives on the world while explore and develop their personal interests!"
Executive Headmaster Mark Bishop says, "I do want a school where of course students work hard but also where they become well rounded, well balanced, decent young people; students who have an inner confidence but an outward humility, students who have learnt to collaborate as well as compete; students who treat other people, not just their teachers and peers, but their Ayis, their bus drivers, those who serve their meals, with kindness, courtesy and respect."
*Some photos were provided by Sandy, graduate of YK Pao School
