With the gradual return to normal everyday life, Pao School invited the school’s students, parents and staff members to share memorable moments from the past few months. The school received many stories, sharing and spreading positivity for the entire community.
Little Moments
Y5C Allen & Y2A Eddie's Mother
After 72 days away from campus, Allen and Eddie rode 5km back to school on May 25th, 2022 – the first day we were able to enter and leave the community. Although we could not physically enter campus and could only gaze at the school’s entrance from a distance, Pao School was in our hearts.
Y2C Harry’s Mother
This is Y2C Harry pulling out his loose tooth one evening. He was so determined to pull it out that he even tried to chew on an apple and pork bones to loosen it up. That didn’t work. Then, he stood in front of the mirror for 10 mins working hard like this. We all had a good laugh and hope that this story can cheer up our dear friends and teachers. It was tough to be at home for almost an entire semester, but children are ultimately resilient. They are still happy, innocent and growing fast, and are still looking forward to a bright, exciting and fun future.
Y4A Bella's Mother
During her extended stay at home, Bella taught herself how to make cloud bread by watching instructional videos. She wore a pastry uniform and we made bread together to share with her relatives and friends. As a parent, I valued the chance to spend so much time at home with my daughter. Also, our different family members worked as a team to divide up the daily chores. We will always remember this interesting experience.
Victoria Liu, AAO Middle School
Before beginning remote learning, as I passed by a classroom in the teaching building, I happened to see Mr. Bryan patiently teaching a student to tie a tie in the classroom. At this time, the other students had already left the classroom. Mr. Bryan used his tie to demonstrate and patiently led the little boy to complete each part of the process step by step. Mr. Bryan and the students were so focused that they didn't notice anyone else passing by. I picked up the camera and captured this warm moment.
Moving Moments
Deputy Chairman Tan Fuyun
The outbreak in Shanghai has been a difficult time, but I made the best of the situation by studying at home. After watching TV shows such as "Final Battle”, “The Leaves of the Fragrant Hills Are Truly Red” and “Amnesty 1959,” I learned that the united front of the Communist Party of China went through five stages of transformation since the early days of the party and will continue to play an important role in the future. I also better understand what President Xi Jinping has pointed out, the United Front plays an integral role in bringing together Chinese at home and overseas for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Anna Sohmen Pao and Philip Sohmen, drawing upon the patriotism and passion for education in three generations of the Pao family, established Pao School in 2007. The school has since cultivated a group of students and teachers who are bilingual, multicultural, international and innovative, a united front that connects people across the border. I have been involved in the school since its foundation.
Education is paramount to the future development of the country and the Party. With that in mind, Pao School over the past 15 years has faithfully implemented its founding vision: a school for tomorrow’s China, an education for tomorrow’s world. I look forward to Pao School’s bright future in Shanghai, a city that has creates miracles!
President Xu Yongchu
Due to the outbreak in Shanghai, teaching has moved online and the time we formerly spent commuting to and from campus was free to be used differently. With this in mind, I took some time to listen to songs I wanted to hear, watch television dramas I had been meaning to see, and read books of interest. At age 60, I reread "Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” and felt what Lu Xun once said was true: "Everyone has a ‘Three Kingdoms’ in their hearts.”
Thinking back to when I first read the book in middle school, I reflected on how I could not fully appreciate it at that tender age. At the time, what impressed me the most about the book was the character of Zhuge Liang. He was elegant and handsome, projecting a sense of strength.
After rereading the book recently, I discovered it had a lot more to teach me, from the characters like Lv Bu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhou Yu, to the different storylines. The book contains important life lessons, and the sooner one understands them the better. So I would like to share here: In dealing with others, stay honest or you will eventually be condemned; stay humble and respectful or you will make big mistakes one day; stay reasonable and cool-headed, or disasters may in the horizon; Appreciate others or you will soon be at a dead end. Taking history as a mirror, I hope we can learn to be better people.
Y1E Nico's Mother
This past spring, we walked on a path covered in mud, but always kept our eyes on the sun. In the days away from the classroom, how can children look after their mental health and stay resilient? They can turn to their families as well as the compound they are living in and with which they are familiar. There are many things that we can neglect due to the quick pace of our normal everyday lives. Nature is something we can learn to better appreciate during this challenging time. In the case of my family, we spent time appreciating the sweetly blooming camellia, the green pomelos on the branches, the tadpoles swimming to and fro, the tortoises bathing lazily in the sun, the sly gait of the hedgehogs... these are among the fondest memories my son will have of this special time. As children learn to appreciate and respect nature, nature, in turn, nurtures the children.
Y3D Anna
My mother is one of the front-line workers. She has been working in the hospital for many, many days straight. I miss her very much. Whenever I think of her, I always say silently in my heart: “Mum, please stay safe!”
To avoid infection, doctors are not permitted to eat indoors
Y4A Chloe
One day in June, it started to rain.
After dinner, I suggested to my brother that we get some exercise by going for a bike ride,
Although it was raining outside, we did not hesitate,
We put on our raincoats and off we went.
Unexpectedly, during our ride,
The rain did not last long, and the sky slowly cleared.
There were even traces of the sunset peeking through the clouds,
Just as we looked up,
A perfect rainbow appeared across the sky,
At this moment we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the scenery.
Y4C Russell's Mother
Russell wrote a little poem for all the volunteers in the community, including his dad.
Cactus
On my windowsill,
There is a potted cactus,
It seems to be coated with a layer of green paint,
Put on a layer of armour.
Green branches,
Pink flowers blooming,
The arms are waving,
The stout body is handsome.
Amid a crisis,
Upright is this cactus,
In the golden sunshine,
It looks like a painting.
The cacti dance in the sunset,
The evening breeze blows,
It salutes the victorious volunteers,
As if painted with a layer of verdant brilliance.
Y6B Victoria
My parents often say that life throws us curveballs. The sudden outbreak in Shanghai prevented me from going to school or having sailing training. But, as long as we remain resilient and hard-working, we can still reap rich rewards in life.
During the lockdown, Victoria and her dad converted their bathroom into a home lab to study cells.
Moments Online
The Governor Wu Yun
"Teacher, I'm going to do a Covid test!"
“Teacher, I’m back from my Covid test!”
During online learning, our mentor group often heard such things from students. In retrospect, it was touching. In this time, the school's classroom teaching was transferred online, as were the mentor group’s lectures and research activities.
As of now, Hongqiao campus saw 5 mentors visit a total of 23 online classes. After each session, the subject teacher created a teaching reflection report. Some teachers used the topics they have covered with the mentors as part of their open class. For example, they considered topics such as Project-Based Learning (PBL), Cultivation of Mathematical Thinking, Interdisciplinary Teaching, and Experiments on Co-opted Readings in Humanities. At the same time, the mentor group and three junior teachers jointly undertook two projects, “Creating a New World of Art at Pao School” and the “One Lesson and One Reflection Experiment”, which remain in progress.
We sincerely thank the leaders and teachers of Hongqiao campus for the care and support they provided for us during this time. We will always strive to stay true to our original mission to prioritise “cultivating junior teachers and improving teaching quality.”
Jessica Cohen, C House Headmistress
At the start of the remote learning, as it became clear that we would not be returning to school anytime soon, one of my C House Prefects, Erica (Y11) emailed me with a question. What did I think, she asked, if our C House Prefects created a special Daily Bulletin just for our C House Family? What did I think about this idea? I thought it was fantastic! With no prodding on my end and the initiative all on hers, Erica rallied our C House Prefect Team to commence an initiative that is still up and running today. From inspiring quotes to hilarious memes to sudoku to fun facts, to exercise videos, recipes, and more, our Prefects have been inspiring our C House Family (some 70 young ladies) throughout the lockdown. Seeing our Prefects come together to support our entire House has been my inspiration every day of this lockdown. We all need a Daily Bulletin to warm our hearts, and how fortunate am I to be provided with one by our C House Prefects, every single day!
Active Moments
Video Collection
Y9 Ariel, Y2A Alex, Y3E Eric, Y3A Ivy, and Y2E Crystal shared videos of their dancing, basketball, football, cycling and everyday life.
Musical Moments
Carol Zhang, Primary Music Teacher
Ms. Zhang organised an online chorus for the Year 1 and Year 2 students, which was supported by Ms. Wang Ge, Director of Lower Primary. After a long selection process, Ms. Zhang settled on the fun, simple and ambitious song “Firefly” for Year 1 students. For Year 2 students, she chose “Together into the Future,” the theme song of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. As the online teaching of singing was efficient and the students practised diligently in their spare time, everyone involved in the assignment quickly recorded their part, and in the end the quality of singing was superb. Finally, with the technical support of Mr. Weng Xiaolong from the IT department, the chorus video was edited and completed. Ms. Zhang said with emotion: "I believe that the students who participated found it as rewarding as I did. The videos of these two songs will be something special and important for us all in the future. We will always have fond memories of this experience!”
Video Collection
Members of the community shared various musical performances, including Y4B Abbie and Y5D Dora, accompanied by their flute teacher; Folk Music Teacher Leef Liu shared a solo; Y9 Jeffery performed an original song; and, Y7D Bobby and Y1E Bonny created an original song.
David Xiong,
Director of High School Chinese Academy
During the online learning period, Year 10 Kitty made full use of her musical and organisation skills to plan an online concert for her compound, themed Voice under Quarantine. In addition, she also held a guitar performance for children in the neighbourhood. Shortly thereafter, it became a regular online youth concert. Musical performances, whether offline or online, have won wide acclaim from the compound residents and the community staff. Kitty’s parents say, "As parents, we are very grateful to Pao School for educating our children to be responsible members of the community.”
Shanghai Moments
Video Collection
Y7A Tom, Mendy and Danny, and
Ms. Lily Chen, Middle School Head of Year 7,
showed scenes of nature and Shanghai through photography.
