Although the past year has been full of challenges, the students at Pao School have constantly demonstrated their intellectual curiosity and willingness to expand their horizons. At the end of the school year, let us take a look at those wonderful moments that we have not had a chance to share.
Drama
On Wednesday the Black Box held "immersive theatre experience" entitled "Hotel." This unique experimental event was put on by six of our Year 11 students: Amelie, Chet, Happy, Julia, Krystal and Nina. The students' creative risk-taking was deeply impressive. Rather than "acting," this short but evocative event relied on the audience to interpret for themselves what was happening in four separate rooms which the students had set up with an array of carefully placed objects and writing.
The second event was the two evening performances by our drama group SIX:45 entitled "Stay with Love." Many of the original cast of SIX:45 were in Y12 and have now left so this was the first set of performances for a largely new cast led by director Richard Liu and including Krystal, Viola, Daisy, Lily, Eason, Helen, Lisa, Petunia and Anna.
My online course of Go
During the special three-month period, besides attending online classes, I used my spare time to develop my own Go online learning courses for beginners. In the courses I designed, I combined what I learned in the classroom at Pao School with my own experience playing Go. I wanted to create a unique Go beginner study program that helps educate people about the game and how it is part of Chinese culture. In total, I have made video recordings of 15 Go learning courses and more than 10 students have signed up for them.
In my three months recording instructional videos, I made a lot of unexpected progress. In addition to making my basic Go skills more solid, I developed an understanding of what it means to learn and share, as well as a better understanding of Chinese culture.
——Y5D Chris
After the start of the holiday, Chris began to work on his own philanthropic projects, such as making his Go beginner courses and game kits (board and Go pieces) available to schools in remote areas. As a result of his efforts, two schools have decided to launch a class for students interested in Go.
"I will continue to hone my Go skills with these children so that we can improve together," Chris says.
Exploring Nature: Inside the Shanghai Meteorological Service
This nature exploration tour included two main parts. At the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau's Observation and Forecast Center, the head meteorologist introduced to students the weather forecasting process, including for inclement weather such as typhoons. His detailed explanation allowed the students to grasp key meteorological concepts and be able to understand and analyze related weather problems.
Further, students enjoyed a fascinating tour of the Shanghai Meteorological Museum, which is filled with an impressive selection of visual guides and displays, including a wide variety of instruments used for meteorological observation going back many years. At the museum, the students learned about the rich history of meteorology in Shanghai.
TedX Youth evening
Recently at Songjiang, the students self-organised a TedX Youth evening based on the famous Ted talks. A student team led by Danny (Y11) and Dino (Y11) carried out the project from beginning to end. They chose the title of the evening “Why not," completed the application to TedX, organised the contracts with suppliers, and then met with the school to negotiate the level of the school’s financial support. Additionally, they selected and contacted the six speakers and persuaded them to accept the invitation as well as organising the technical support, poster design, marketing, staging, lighting and socially distanced seating in the auditorium.
This is precisely the sort of event that I am so delighted to see happening at YK Pao School.
My aim is to ensure that Pao students can not only succeed at getting accepted into universities but also have the independence and self-discipline to then succeed at university. However, the impact of a Pao education should not end there because I also want our students to have the entrepreneurial and business skills needed to be successful beyond university in what is an increasingly competitive employment landscape. So many congratulations to all the students involved in putting on this really successful evening.
——Mark Bishop
High School Principal
and Head of Songjiang Campus
Sports
Swimming has always been one of the sports that Pao School values and excels at. In national competitions - the Suzhou Dulwich International School Invitational and the Nanjing International School Invitational - held by the Shanghai Swimming League at the end of last year, our school's swimming team results averaged at first place.
Students: Ken Y8, Willie Y8, Allen Y9, Anna Y9, Antony Y9, Sean Y9, William Y9,
Yoyo Y9, Emily Y10, Jacquline Y10, Neo Y10, Samson Y10, Yina Y10, Janice Y12
A few weeks after restarting campus life, we spoke with the students, who shared the joy of returning to campus and reflected on what they had learned during the pandemic.
Y2D Russell
Y3D Tyson
