The K3A children have spent their first few weeks exploring their new campus surroundings and becoming familiar with the many wonderful new resources we have for them to explore in the classroom, the K3/2 Learning Community and the Outdoor Area. We have been making lots of new friends by interacting with the other K2/3 classes. The K3 children are enjoying being ‘little teachers’ to the K2 children.

K3A Co-teachers – Kirstin EASTON & Lihong YU

These first few weeks at the new Ronghua campus have been an exciting and promising experience. The children arrived in their new rooms and learning spaces and have been actively engaged and eager to explore the campus. Already children are feeling comfortable and confident here. The year 1 learning space has been set with multiple stations for active learning and exploration. The children are able to create performances with the dress-up clothes available, explore geographic interests, identifying different parts of the world. There are opportunities for construction, mathematics tasks and an array of materials for further learning. The Year 1 students and teachers are often seen engaging in the learning space and on Monday mornings in particular, all come together as a Year level and take time to discuss the week and any events that may be taking place.

In the Year 2 space, consideration has been given to providing multiple spaces for individual, small and larger group working spaces. Teachers and children can utilise these areas, adjusting furniture and materials to best suit the requirements at the moment. Making use of the class iPads for literacy and Mathematics classes, or working collaboratively on projects. The children are being given great opportunities to work with a range of children and teachers from different classes and are already expressing their enjoyment of these surroundings.

It has been tremendous to see the different ways each of these year levels have worked to create and develop their spaces. The ability and the willingness of the teachers to determine what is best for the children and their learning is what makes the learning community spaces so meaningful. Where classes at Ronghua still maintain their traditional co-teacher class model, the stretching out into the shared space is what ultimately leads to a greater community and sense of belonging. Over the next few months as teachers and children become more familiar with the spaces and the different ways they can be used, it will be exciting to hear the children’s opinions and views of the Ronghua campus, and their new learning environment.

Lower Primary Coordinator – David BURTON

 

China is a united country with 56 ethnic groups. In recent Chinese Studies Classes, Year 1 children learned the topic of Diversity of Ethnic Minorities. Through study, they got to know about the features and cultures of different ethnic groups including Mongol, Uygur, Tibetan, etc.

Children got so interested in Mongol, the ‘People on the horse back’, they couldn’t help cheering and shouting when watching the exciting video of Mongols riding the horses. The students were able to satisfying their whims by learning the moves of horse riding in a Mongol dance.

Children were also fascinated by the colourful Tibetan costumes. Holding the pure white Hada, they learned the traditional ways of Tibetans greeting prestigious guests coming from faraway, in an honored way. A lot of students expressed their wishes to visit Tibet and look at the magnificent Potala Palace and taste the savory buttered tea.

Moreover, students were even more attracted by the singing and dancing of the Uygurs. Who said dancing is just a girl’s talent? In class, boys took their initiative to join the dance with the girls, holding the tambourine and wearing their handmade Xinjiang hats.

Through studying the diversity of ethnic minorities, children got to learn the diverse Chinese cultures and peoples. The sense of “Ethnic is international” is etched in their hearts.

Y1D Co-eacher – Sherry WEI

3.14 is of course PI, an important mathematical constant, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. And it is also March 14, so around the world on this day, mathematicians celebrate Pi Day, and we also did at Hongqiao Campus.  Our Maths/Pi(e) Day featured a variety of fun Maths activities. Year 3 played with die games, multiplication bingo and tessellations. Year 4 children had fun searching for a range of questions spread across their area, from calculations to brain teasers and word problems. Year 5 students puzzled their way through a Maths treasure hunt outdoors and deduced a mystery shape in the end, based on the coordinates they followed. Year 6 rotated between their 4 classes, investigating trees using Maths, solving a Maths ‘whodunit’, drawing mandalas, and playing a Who Wants to be a Billionaire quiz. And, of course, in the cafeteria, we had pies!

 

Upper Primary Coordinator – Jim WILCOX

Where are you from?

I am from Brisbane in Australia.

How long have you been at YCIS HQ?

I have been here for 4 years.

What do you enjoy most about learning here?

I really love ICT lessons and PE and playtime with my friends.

Tell us an interesting fact about you?

I do weightlifting on the weekends at a Chinese weightlifting club and I could one day compete for China.

Can you share a favourite book?

The Dork Diaries because there are so many funny situations.

 

Interviewed by:

School Captains –  Owen Tianmiao BANKS & Qing Levona SHU

Where are you from?

I am from Shanghai – I’m Shanghainese.

How long have you been teaching?

I have been a teacher for 14 years and I have been at YCIS the whole time.

What do you enjoy most about teaching at YCIS?

Working with very creative children which helps me to improve my teaching skills. I have also had some wonderful co-teachers.

Tell us an interesting fact about you?

I spent my childhood in North of China and made a lot of friends there.

Can you share a favourite quote/saying?

Enjoy your life now and Be Yourself.

 

Interviewed by:

School Captains –  Owen Tianmiao BANKS & Qing Levona SHU

 As part of the ongoing drive to increase the standard of music across all of our YCIS & YWIES schools, a music competition was launched at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year to find our most accomplished students in the field of music performance.  The competition was designed to give all of our musically inclined students the opportunity to gain experience in music performance and thus help to encourage further musical excellence within the Foundation.

After half a year’s competition, 2 Hongqiao students finally came to the fore in the February finals. Congratulations to them on winning：

String Category B （Age 9-11）: 1st Prize – Zhixian Xu (Y6B)

Piano Category A （Age 6-8） : 2nd Prize – Guo Zhen Jacob Liu (Y4B)

 

Music Education Coordinator – Cherry CHEN

 

The children have settled-in to their new environment and have had the opportunity to explore our new spaces. The children happily interact with the other K2 and K3 children. When playing in the big playground some children like to take off their shoes while playing in the sand pit. They like to slide down the slide and they have also been learning how to ride the big tricycles and scooters. Everyday the children continue building new friendships, developing responsibility and enjoying rich experiences. Our K2B children have been interested in painting, role-playing, reading stories and using tools to fix different equipment.

 

K2B Co-teachers – Teresa LARA & Limei SUN

Seeds of Hope recently partnered with Mifan Mama and optometrists from the He Fei Pu Rui Eye Hospital to do eye tests for all the students at the Xiuning Seeds of Hope School in Anhui Province.

The school was abuzz with nervous excitement on the day as students (with their parents at hand) waited to be tested, uncertain of the procedures and possible outcomes.

The day started with examinations for students with known eye problems, followed by the rest of the students who had various tests done, with many needing further examination and testing and a handful were referred to the Eye Hospital for further examination.

103 students were tested, 43 had further testing and 28 will receive spectacles.

Seeds of Hope thanks all students, staff and parents who make events like this possible with their generous donations and support.

 

Christian and Community Development Division – Christopher PERKS

 

On Friday 9th February YCIS celebrated Chinese New Year in style! Beginning with a range of activities in the Year 4 classrooms, the children were given the opportunity to choose which activity they were most interested in and were then allowed to head to that classroom. With many parents also attending, the children enjoyed a wide range of interesting cultural activities, including riddle guessing, flower-making crafts, paint scratching, painting a New Year scroll and making New Year dogs out of clay.

Later on, Year 4 were invited to attend another traditional Chinese New Year event; The Lion and Dragon dance. In fine winter weather on the field, the children watched excitedly as dragons and lions marched and danced to a drummer’s beat.

Finally, we witnessed several exciting displays in the gym including the great face-changing act, the spectacular tea-pouring ceremony as well as kung-fu masters and Chinese dance performers. All-in-all it was a fascinating day from which the children learned a great deal about Chinese New Year.

 

Year 4 Leader & Y4C Co-teacher – Paul HYDE