Contributed by:
Julie Cheng, Alumni Parent (Yichen and Yici’s mother, respectively enrolled in 2011, 2012, left
Pao School in 2013, 2019, the children are currently at: SenseTime (Shanghai), Concord College (UK))
At Pao School, I’ve always felt a strong atmosphere of mutual respect among everyone in the community. You can see it in the way people interact with each other: Principals, teachers, parents, children, and every staff member, including security guards and cleaning staff, always treat others kindly and as equals.
"After School", a non-profit organisation for the first class of
Pao School students, which assists students in rural areas
As for the campuses of Pao School, the Wuding campus is an oasis of greenery in the heart of downtown Shanghai. As soon as you enter the school, you are at ease and cannot help but smile in contentment. The Songjiang campus is located in a more suburban part of Shanghai and many of us must drive more than one hour to get there.
Students enjoying the lovely Songjiang campus
I often feel like visiting Pao School is like visiting relatives. This feeling of emotional richness is the foundation of the core values of compassion, integrity, and balance that Pao School has always advocated.
I remember the first time I went to the Primary School to buy school uniforms. Since I arrived too early and the gate was not yet open, I was mulling around outside the campus. Fortunately, a tall elderly gentleman saw me and asked me why I was wandering about. I told him I intended to buy school uniforms. He immediately helped me find the teacher in charge of school uniform distribution. It was only later that I learned that gentleman was none other than President Wu Zijian. Since then, I have been in contact with President Wu many times, and always find him to be warm and kind.
Crick Chen, the Primary School Deputy Principal, is another able leader I admire. Since the email and phone contact information for Pao School principals and teachers is public, I have called or emailed Principal Chen many times. She, or her secretary, always answers promptly. It must be a challenge for her to keep track of everyone’s name given the many parents she meets.
Here, I would like to add an excerpt from a speech made by my daughter on behalf of the graduates at the graduation ceremony of the Primary School, in which she wrote: "I was chosen as the flag-bearer in Year 2 but I was very timid and shy, so to carry out this task felt like ‘mission impossible.’ At that time, my class teacher was Ms. Mohoney. She thought of a way to help me by asking my classmates to say some encouraging words. Thanks to their kindness, I felt invigorated and stepped onto the stage to raise the flag. I was also nervous before the speech I am giving now. Through this speech, Ms. Eva, Ms. Lorna, Mrs. Lin and Ms. Mandy gave me another chance to practice overcoming my shyness, and though I still feel nervous, at least at this point I can pretend otherwise. Pao School is truly a unique place, principal and teachers included. Just now, when I felt nervous outside the conference room before the speech, Principal Mike Spencer happened to see me. When he learned I was anxious about giving this speech, he spontaneously broke out into a ballet dance, which made me laugh and forget about my anxiety. Principal Spencer, we love you so much!”
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