Pao Highlights

Pao School was invited to participate in the Hong Kong-Shanghai Charity Walk, which took place at the end of November, starting at Hongqiao Sports Park. A Pao School team consisting of students, teachers, and parents joined 16 other teams for the event. The charity walk is hosted by the Hong Kong Administrative Region Government’s Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai in cooperation with the Shanghai-Hong Kong Association and the Changning Overseas Friendship Association.

A Special Olympics event was hosted at  Primary School, in collaboration with Changning Special Education School. The event aimed to promote social inclusivity, using sports to bring teenagers with intellectual disabilities together with their peers. It offered students the opportunity to forge new friendships, while enhancing their social and emotional skills. The event featured a special community activity in which firefighters demonstrated fire safety techniques. Students were able to engage with the firefighters, learning about their daily routines and training.

Over the months of November and December, Middle School Community Service students continued their elderly care project at a local nursing home, discussing history with the elders, organizing a photography exhibition, and setting up activity stalls for the new year. They also visited Fudan University Children’s Hospital to deliver handmade care packages to children with cancer, then spending time reading and playing games with them. Further community serve activities involved Changning Special Education School, Shanghai Luwan Special Learning School, and Lingjiang Kindergarten, teaching Pao students the importance of inclusivity. Finally, students made several trips to the Shanghai Zoo to raise awareness about orangutan conservation, sharing information with visitors.

High School students performed the annual Heart on Fire concert, consisting of 20 exhilarating pieces. The concert was organized by the student-led Field Study club, in collaboration with Heart to Heart, under the Ren De Foundation. Heart to Heart raises money for Chinese children with congenital heart disease whose families cannot afford surgery. The concert’s fundraising efforts included a charity sale featuring handmade drinks created by students, with all proceeds directed to support sick children.

Primary School celebrated Unity Week, which promotes kindness, inclusion, and acceptance. Among the festivities was Odd Socks Day, in which participants wear mismatched socks to honor their uniqueness. On Unity Day, everyone wore white to symbolize their collective stand against bullying. During CCA time, buddy classes paired upper and lower primary students to address bullying scenarios through drama-based activities.

Middle School’s Unity Week celebrations focused on kindness, acceptance, and bullying prevention under the theme ‘Be kind to yourself, be kind to others.’ Students received house-coloured wristbands and Acts of Kindness cards to be completed throughout the week. Activities included discussions on bullying, and reflections on kindness. A Kindness Wall was set up in the lobby to display students' contributions.

The Winter Festival is an annual tradition at Middle School, celebrated at the end of each year as students prepare for their winter festivities. This year’s festival involved dancing, special snacks, a house shop, game stations, and a board game area for student entertainment. Some additional activities were held in the school’s new Multifunctional Complex.

Swipe to view the photo of the winter festival

The High School library held an ‘International Library Week’ event from November 4th to 15th. The theme of the event was exploration. It included a total of 11 lectures and 4 workshops. Professor Christopher Linforth from the Michigan College of Shanghai Jiao Tong University taught students creative writing skills. Five international teaching fellows and seven students explained their favorite reading materials in public readings. Workshops explored Spanish literature, Japanese literature, and understanding poetry through speech.

Chenshan Botanical Garden recently delivered a giant pumpkin to High School, measuring over one meter in diameter and weighing more than 150 kilograms. Cultivated by the garden, this impressive pumpkin served as a focal point for botanical learning, about the diverse shapes, colors, and sizes of pumpkins in particular. Pumpkins are a symbol of harvest and abundance, so the gift resonated with the autumn season, inspiring hopes that students will also harvest knowledge and experience growth during this fruitful time.

November’s Humanities Lecture, organized by the High School, was hosted by Ms. Kong Mingzhu, who imbued the lecture with patriotism and a feminine perspective. Ms. Kong is the niece of Mrs. Kong Dezhi, the esteemed wife of Mr. Mao Dun, a renowned modern Chinese literary figure. Having deeply studied the modern literary works of her forebearers in recent years, Ms. Kong has gained a profound understanding of the tumultuous changes that have shaped China since the 1920s. In her lecture, she recounted the story of her aunt, an uneducated woman from a village in Wuzhen, who eventually grew into a true revolutionary inspired by the times.

Pao School is dedicated to preserving and promoting Chinese traditions, and its annual ‘Chinese Culture Week’ is designed to deepen the understanding of its teachers and staff about traditional Chinese culture, especially as it relates to course themes. This year, once again, the Chinese Department and the Chinese Cultural Committee hosted the event at the school, carefully exhibiting examples of the country’s rich cultural heritage for illumination and discussion.

The Primary School ‘Cultural Carnival’ nurtures teamwork and friendship, by encouraging students to explore and celebrate the world’s diverse cultural characteristics and folk customs. At the opening fashion show this year, students exhibited traditional costumes from countries including Greece, Japan, Colombia, Tanzania, and New Zealand. Afterward, they embarked on an imaginary global journey with their ‘travel passports,’ participating in unique games from different cultures, and sampling a variety of local delicacies.

The Drama Showcase was staged by Middle and High School students on December 14th and 15th at the Hongqiao campus. The show consisted of a medley of famous songs and scenes from musical theater, and was greeted with enormous enthusiasm. The Drama Showcase was the first fundraiser to support an upcoming drama production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest performing arts festival in the world.