Primary School students wearing
their Xueyuan house t-shirts
At Pao School, the feeling of community and unity is tangible across all campuses. One of the ways this closeness has been nurtured is through the Xueyuan system, which encompasses four different houses: Autumn, Spring, Summer and Winter. From Primary to the High School, students are part of a Xueyuan that includes students and staff and competes in regular competitions. As each Xueyuan has students of all different ages, it gives students the chance to develop a feeling of family and develop sibling-like relationships - further cultivating the school's close-knit community.
Braden Betts, Head of Outdoor Education at Songjiang, explains that Xueyuan competitions encompass a wide variety of activities at the High School. This year the students took part in sports such as frisbee, table tennis and football, alongside other activities such as baking and photography. Next year, the plans are even grander, as the team hopes to expand the diversity of the competitions through adding more artistic and performing arts challenges.
Xueyuan ping pong competition at the High School
Alongside encouraging sporting and creative competition, the activities also support other initiatives. This year the students took part in a clean plate competition, which promoted awareness about food waste and environmental sustainability. Additionally, in response to the pandemic, the students also participated in a ‘Steps for Solidarity’ competition, which encouraged them to tally their daily steps and gather funds for global COVID-19 relief. Through such challenges, the students are encouraged to develop an awareness of global issues and galvanised to take collective action.
As some of the competitions are unconventional, the activities also provide a way for students to express themselves if they have an interest that they cannot pursue elsewhere. Braden often uses suggestions from students and teachers to choose what competitions to do next. The activities also play an essential part in promoting the students’ healthy development of social skills and their individual identity. Through using the medium of friendly competition, the students can also improve their confidence in new activities, whilst making sure they do not add pressure to their busy academic life.
Xueyuan junk craft competition at the High School
“Only the varsity or the JB teams can participate in most competitions, but with Xueyuan you can sign up with no pre-knowledge required. It can involve everybody,” Says Grace (Y11), who has served as a Xueyuan Captain in previous years and runner up in this year’s 2020 Xueyuan Photo Competition. She explained that, as the competitions are low-pressure and everyone can get involved, they promote inclusivity and participation for all on campus – further building a strong sense of community and pride at the school.
The Xueyuan system is just one part of the mosaic that forms Songjiang’s close-knit campus; from teachers and students living side-by-side in the dorms to everyone sharing each meal together, the campus is truly a community. The students, through being part of Pao School’s caring community, are able to put the school's core values of compassion, integrity and balance into daily practice.
One such Xueyuan activity was the 2020 Xueyuan Photo Competition, which invited students and teachers to submit photos in three categories: Black and White, Best Meme and an open category. Taking place in February, over 150 photos flooded in, making the decision for the judges extremely difficult. As normal with Xueyuan competitions, the winners would win points for their Xueyuan houses and contribute to the race to become this year’s winning house.
The photos showed an impressive range of talent and subjects, such as travel photos, astrophotography and images of life in Shanghai. Though competition was tough, there were some stand out entries that resonated with the judges. For the Black and White category Albert (Y10) came in first place, followed by Grace (Y11) in the runner up position. In the Open Category, Justin (Y12) won with a thoughtful photo of his trip to St. Petersburg, and the runner up position went to an anonymous submission. Finally, for the Best Memes, Dino (Y12) and Arwen (Y9) fell respectively as winner and runner up.
Many of the photos held interesting stories behind them, please read on for a selection of some of the best – including some of the winners – and reflections on what the photographers were thinking ‘behind the camera lens’:
Albert Y10
Black and White Category | Winner
This photograph was taken on the East Nanjing road pedestrian street. I was walking down the
street with tons of people around me. I suddenly realized how uncanny life is, as you encounter
so many people in life with the same onus or purpose, but the person who always keeps you
company is yourself. So, I took this photo using the long exposure to show an epitome of a
certain moment or the whole life.
Grace Y11
Black and White Category | Runner Up
This photo was taken at one of Pao School’s volunteering trips to Jinzhai School on New Year's Eve of 2020. The boy in the photo was one of the students who can only spend the New Year with their schoolmates in the orphanage they called home. Despite the unfavorable conditions, the huge smile on the boy's face has the power to reach the deepest part of all human hearts.
Justin Y12
Open Category | Winner
I captured the photo in Saint-Petersburg in 2018, I witnessed a Russian father taking his son’s hand going across a group of Chinese visitors. Seeing the puddle in front of me, I was inspired, seizing the opportunity to generate the reflective photo. Though wearing a T-shirt in Saint-Petersburg’s summer might still make you feel cold, such a heart-warming landscape can dispel all coldness. It is the power of paternal love.
Julia Y12
Black and White Category
The art in the photo is the “The Starry Night” by Van Gogh. I took this picture in New York MoMA. It was so popular that endless people kept gushing towards the artwork and my movements were limited. So, I started to examine the view in front of me. It was a thought-provoking moment. It made me wonder if it is the artwork itself that is valuable, or given value by the audience? This idea triggered me to use the contrast of colour to show the connection between the artwork and the audience.
Thomas Y12
Black and White Category
This is my Zhejiang hometown under the Lan-ke ("Rotten-Axe”) Mountain. There’s a folk myth behind "Rotten-Axe": a lumberjack, after witnessing an epic chess game between the gods, discovered that after many centuries passed his axe had become rotten. I always feel that time is frozen here—my ancestors sailed through the same serene waters as I did; the trees die and grow cyclically every year. This unchanging river under the Lan-ke Mountain gives me infinite strength to face the fast-changing metropolitan life in Shanghai.
Alex Y12
Open Category
This is a scene I saw one afternoon when I was working on my artwork in the Pao School art classroom. The sunset shone through the gap of the curtain on a mannequin. In that moment, the mannequin was given life by light and shadow, rich in dynamic beauty; therefore, I recorded this moment with my camera. From this moment I realized the importance of light and shadow and the infinite possibility of creating beauty with them.
“Xueyuan Competitions are a way to let all students demonstrate their talents, to get a moment in the spotlight and to shine, whilst also allowing them to compete. It helps them to have more comradery, more house pride and more school spirit.”
— Braden Betts
Head of Outdoor Education at Songjiang
