Enjoying fitness and creativity over summer break

Date:July 13,2020

Author:包玉刚实验学校

This summer, Pao School has been excited to welcome its Primary School students back onto campus to enjoy a programme of sports and creative classes.

Over the last school semester, in light of the remote learning process, Pao School's leadership has been carefully and regularly reviewing the learning progress of all students across the school. From the offset, they were pleased with the teachers concentrated efforts in targeting the core subjects – Chinese, mathematics, English and EU – and how the faculty ensured that the course content and skill-learning was as close to normal classroom teaching as possible. However, due to the need to maintain epidemic prevention measures, both at home and at school, the opportunities for students to go outside, train for sports, practice music and other exercises have been limited for the past semester.

Despite these challenges, Pao School remains steadfast in its dedication to whole-person education. Therefore, the school decided to provide a free of charge voluntary ten-day summer outreach programme to primary students. Participation in the programme was voluntary and focused on specialist subjects and other courses heavily affected by the pandemic.

The programme consisted a total of eight courses that allowed students to cultivate their creativity as well as get plenty of exercise. The five "Great Creative" courses included music, visual arts, English storytelling, science and artificial intelligence (AI). The three "Get Active" courses included Kung Fu, yoga and sports. The courses were taught in classes composed of students from different age groups, encouraging the children to step out of their comfort zone and make new friends.

Music

In music class, the students made stellar progress over summer enrichment programme – in only 10 days the students mastered a medley from Les Miserables and an arrangement of Coldplay’s Viva la Vida. Dominic Murtagh, Head of the Primary School Music Department, said: "Our students are hardworking and extremely talented. It's impressive that they could learn these two creative pieces of music so well in just 10 days."

Visual Arts

Amanda Casares, Head of the Primary School Art Department, designed the visual arts course, which was made up of four different components: Textile & Fiber Arts, Wooden Birdhouse Craft, Animal Mixed Media and Origami Explosion. During this 10-day workshop, students used their imagination to explore these different art forms and enrich their portfolio of exposure.

English Storytelling

In the English storytelling classes, students read different texts and created performances based upon what they read. Alongside this, the younger students enjoyed making sock puppets, shadow puppets and stop motion movies. The older students made popsicle puppets, stop motion videos, and short skits.

AI Racer (Self-driving Car)

In AI Racer, students learned about the principles of an automobile's powertrain and mechanical structures, explored the Micro:bit* development board and managed to use MakeCode programming language. The students also developed basic skills in programming electronic control, industrial design, joint debugging, and other technical solutions. Throughout the ten-day course, they showed a keen interest for the subject matter and displayed creativity as they learned about different technical solutions.

*Micro:bit is a microcomputer development board designed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for youth programming education.

Science

The science course was designed to stimulate students' curiosity. It allowed younger students to explore the symbiotic relationship of marine life. Students in the upper years spent the tme making a variety of novel hand-made works using everyday materials. The teacher guided the students to both appreciate the wonders of science and technology, while also solving problems through their own observation, exploration and analytical reasoning.

Yoga

In yoga class, students made significant strides learning the principles of good posture and the techniques that enable them to stand, move and sit properly. They had lots of fun playing games and learning the fundamentals of yoga. In the future, if student continue to regularly practice yoga, they will receive benefits to their physical fitness, strengthen their concentration and improve their emotional management skills.

Kung Fu

A few moments of meditation time in each Kung Fu class allowed students to better focus, improve their posture and also relax. When they learned different Kung Fu moves, the children’s spirits were boosted.

Active Athletes

The students especially enjoyed the sports class and it was one of the most anticipated classes of the programme. Whether it was in sports practice or through fun individual and group games, the students all had a great time.

The students thoroughly enjoyed all of the courses over the 10-day summer enrichment programme, it’s been truly unforgettable. Our teachers were pleased to see the smiles on all of the children's faces. During the activities, the students were able to have a good time, and also improve their physical fitness levels and cultivate their creativity. The enrichment programme offered an ideal balance of creative and athletic activities and has helped create happy memories for both student and teacher alike.