Puxi Campus Newsletter

On Friday the 26^th April we held the Sports Awards evening for all those students who represented the school is SISAC and ACAMIS sports from years 10-13. There were several main awards handed out to individuals during the evening as well as some video footage of the various sports played and some team games to make the night memorable. It has been an unforgettable year for sports at YCIS and all students deserve praise for their efforts at training and during games over the various sport seasons.

Junior Female Athlete of the year
This award went to Vivian Chen who has had an outstanding year at YCIS in three different sports. Vivian was the schools’ most valuable player (MVP) in both volleyball and basketball at our ACAMIS events and she was also a key member of the touch rugby team that came third in the Shanghai International Touch Tournament (SITT).

Junior male Athlete of the year
This award went to Edouard Li for his contribution to the touch rugby and basketball D1 teams in the first semester. Edouard was also a key player in the schools D2 football team and a contender for the most improved player award as well.

Senior Female Athlete of the year
This award went to Yulia Kirina who has been an outstanding sportsperson for several years now. Yulia was a member of the touch rugby team for the last three years that has taken third place in the ACAMIS competition. She also has been a key player in the school’s football team during this time. Yulia’s excellent athleticism and speed has also enabled her to represent the school at cross country.

Senior male Athlete of the year
Kevin Tsao was the winner of this award by a huge margin. Kevin is an outstanding table tennis player and has won numerous singles, doubles and team table tennis events in both Shanghai and ACAMIS competitions over the last four years. Winning the award after his brother won the award last year, Kevin was yet again the SISAC table tennis champion this year. Kevin was also captain and MVP of the touch rugby and basketball teams in an excellent overall year of sport.

Most improved Athlete of the year
The most improved award went to Forest Yuen although there were many contenders for this important award. Forest made the most improvement in football where he became a key player and MVP of a team that took second place in the ACAMIS competition at Dulwich Suzhou. Forest’s superb dribbling skills and long range shooting helped the team into the final and Forest was also part of the touch rugby team that took third place in Hong Kong.

Best individual performance of the year
Although there were several contenders for this award and many fantastic performances over the course of the year, Say Wayne Foo won the trophy for his superb ACAMIS win in the table tennis singles. Wayne was part of the team that also took the SISAC team event victory held at YCIS. Say Wayne Foo is also the only trophy winner who participated in four sports at D1 level, touch rugby, table tennis, basketball and badminton.

Congratulations to all those students who participated for the school and good luck next year in your various teams. We will miss our Year 13 leavers who have represented the school so well for the last few years and we welcome the new talented Year 9’s who will be part of our teams next year.

Geoffrey Slade – Head of Physical Education & Upper School Sports Coordinator

The 30th day of April was the day our Chinese teacher took us to Guyi Garden. It was the perfect season to see the flowers bloom, and I was excited to see the gorgeous landscapes, the various types of pavilions and the famous Chinese bridges look even more magical than before.

Just by entering the front gate was already enough to steal our breath away. The tips of the gate curved upwards traditionally, and patterns where carved into the strong wood. Inside was just as magnificent. Trees of every type stretched to the sky, some where familiar to me and some not. The grass and flowers where adorned with beautiful glass like water droplets, from the earlier rain. Lakes occupied almost every view with delicate water lilies and lily pads resting above. Every now and then a flock of ducks would waddle up to greet us with their grace. Willow trees cascaded down it’s long graceful branches, causing ripples to form on the waters surface. The shrubs where reflected into the clear water, making it look like a under water fairy tale.

Coming here and taking in all these remarkable sights was exciting, but we came here with a job to do. With one hand holding an electronic device, we went around taking pictures of the different pavilions that we had learnt in our very own Chinese studies class. Pavilions from all shapes to all heights where perched around the garden. Some where concealed behind the evergreens, some where stationed above the water and some where seated on the top of rock formations. Bridges of all types twined though the lakes and streams.

After walking around and marveling at the sights, our teacher called us back and we played some games near the river.

It was the perfect way to end the trip.

Without doubt, yesterday we had experienced ancient China.

Overall, I think this field trip was a wonderful experience. I have learnt a lot about the choice of structure and form when designing gardens, and the pavilions of generations past. It was almost like everything we have learnt in our Chinese Studies classes had come to life.

En Sze – Y8D

At the Shanghai Zoo we walked around looking at animals such as pandas and lions.  We also took pictures of all the animals and talked about them. The thing we liked most about the trip was looking at the baby kangaroo in the pouch because many of us had never seen one before. Another thing we really enjoyed was seeing the sea turtles because they looked really amazing and beautiful. Something that some of us disliked was looking at the birds because they are very noisy. In conclusion we loved the Shanghai zoo and we had lots of fun looking at all the animals.

Jasmine MAIMOUNI – Y7D

The Spring Violin Assembly was held on April 24, 2019, 1:00pm at the Multi-function Room of YCIS Puxi ECE (Ronghua Campus), which was presented by all Year 2 students. Students from all six classes stepped onto the stage orderly and briskly. Amid warm applause they brought the opening performance “Song of The Violin”. The two parts played alternately made the song warm and melodious.

Following were the class performances, 2A, 2C and 2D students played “Action Movie”. With Ms Lu, the piano teacher’s accompaniment, the students’ playing really brought us into the scene of an action movie, which was touching everyone’s heart. While we were still immersed in the classic melodies, 2B, 2E and 2F students brought the next performance “Humoresque”. This composition required high level playing skills. The smooth cooperation between two parts was not easy for Year 2 students. We believe this was owing to their hard work, and we were proud of them.

Then came the violin solo, Y2E Aimee dressed in black floor-length gown and walked on stage confidently. She played “Concerto No. 3 in B Minor” which was composed by Rieding. Her fingers were running at the fingerboard, the precise collision between the bows and strings created such a splendid music. Her performance was impeccable, which could only be achieved by her hard work. After Aimee’s performance, Year 3 String Ensemble played “Mazurka”. The triple-beat music seemed to invite the audience to dance together. They played powerful and smoothly which made the music become energetic. The second item they played was “Spring”. The violin’s tone was magnificent and rich, and the melody jumped happily between their fingers. They looked like the spirits who were running to embrace spring.

At last, all Year 2 students brought us the Chinese song “Jasmine Flower”. The familiar melody started to play and each student’s face was filled with a smile. Sweet singing and beautiful music were touching every audience’s heart, which burst into long applause and brought the concert to climax.

A hard, a harvest. I believe every student learned this truth from this concert. The rainbow after the rain.

Along with music, we laugh all the way to embrace spring.

Violin Teacher – Michelle CHEN

Y6 went to Anji for our Adventure Trip this year. During these four-days and three-night trip, students were divided into eight groups and led by a coach and teachers. Students tried kayaking, rock climbing, archery and hiking. They  really enjoyed all the activities and they also had the opportunity to be close to nature and challenge themselves.

Year 5 headed to NanBeiHu, excited but nervous at the prospect of several nights away from home (for many of them this was the first time). During our three days, we had a go at a range of new activities including the High Ropes course (also known as the Leap of Faith and Broken Bridge), raft building, kayaking, hiking and catapult building. One of the other highlights came on Thursday night when the students were given responsibility to cook their own food over a BBQ!

These trips are always a memorable experience for our students, with the children forming closer friendship bonds, developing team work and communication skills and a greater sense of personal responsibility. They experience challenges that they never dreamed of facing and achieve goals that give them a huge sense of accomplishment.

Y5 Leader & Y5D Co-Teacher – Victoria HARRISON
Y6 Leader & Y6A Co-Teacher – Ruth FERGUSON

Fengshui is a metaphysics of the Chinese people with a quite long history. It studies the philosophy of the environment and the universe. Human beings are part of the nature while the nature is also part of human beings. It has created the unity between human and the nature.

The ancient Chinese people has already put the rule of nature into practice when building  dwellings. As part of the Chinese Studies classes, Year 4 students took a field trip to the Grand View Garden and had experienced the application of Fengshui theory in the traditional dwellings.

When we approached the main entrance, what first came into our view was a screen wall. When being asked of its function, the students answered with preventing the evil and gathering the fortune. Then we walked along the main road and passed through the pavilions, bridges and streams. Among all the scenes in the Garden, the best was the flow of a running water. The Master expected his fortune could flow like the water and the active fish in it. When we got to the Grandview Building, we saw the decorations in the living room were in good order with strict symmetry and magnificence. “What would you add to the decorations if you were the designer?” After consideration, the students put forward their ideas. “I could put some plants in the room to add to its vitality.” “A charcoal brazier will be needed in winter for warming purpose. ““What about adding a censer? The one I saw in Qiushuang Room was pretty good.” The children were quite devoted to the observation with their eyes, listening with their ears and thinking with their hearts. We took a tour around Hengwu Court, Xiaoxiang Pavilion, the Grand View Building, Lixiang Garden, Yihong Garden, etc. The design of these scenes has reflected the Chinese people’s expectation towards completeness.

On that day, Year 4 students appreciated the beautiful scenery in spring as well as experienced the application of Fengshui in dwellings. The visit has brought a perfect ending to our topic study.

 

Y4C Co-Teacher – Susan YUE

For the remainder of Year 2, the children will be taking it in turns to select their own food from the cafeteria. This is part of the transition process for Year 3, where they will do this every lunchtime at YCIS Puxi Primary (Hongqiao Campus). Lunchtimes at YCIS Puxi ECE (Ronghua Campus)  have also become a more calm, relaxed event. Children are spending the first half of the eating time quietly talking to their friends while eating. For the remainder of the time they are eating while listening to tranquil music. We have seen an increase in amount of food being eaten and a more peaceful atmosphere for the children.

As part of the current Year 2 homework, children are being encouraged to be more independent, both at home and at school. As well as the independent food selection, teachers are delighted to see the photographs of children independently packing bags and preparing their books and clothes for school. Further to this, children are helping to set the table, wash the dishes and feed the family pets. Great work Year 2!

Y2 Leader & Y2E Co-Teacher – Michelle COOPER

In K3A, the children were interested in exploring small spaces. To support their interest, we attached together a couple of cardboard boxes, to see how the children might use them. Within a short amount of time, the interest grew quickly and a tunnel system took over a large portion of the classroom. The children enjoyed interacting with each other and their peers from the other K3 classes when using the tunnel system during Exploratory Play.

Building upon the children’s interest and extending their learning further, we posed a question to the children, “How many children do you think can fit inside the tunnel?” The responses from the children varied and we found that no-one was close to the actual number. The whole of K3A were able to fit inside with plenty of room to spare. We asked our neighbors K3B to help us out. We were surprised to find that we could fit 36 children inside the tunnels!

K3A Co-Teachers – Doug ARNOLD & Liangqun KANG

YCIS Puxi Secondary was represented at the annual World Scholars Cup (Maths) tournament, hosted at both the Gold Apple Bilingual School and The Great Theatre of China. 3 students, Kehan Ji and Julia Giuntoli of Year 8, and Evelyn Cha of Year 10 competed in the senior division. Despite all of our participants being relatively new to the program and competing against older and more experienced students, YCIS Puxi put up a formidable challenge against numerous schools across the region, making sound and well presented arguments in the team debate rounds, working collaboratively and strategically in the Scholar’s Bowl as well as demonstrating their excellent persuasive arguments in the Scholar’s Challenge. The students were awarded gold and silver medals across numerous categories recognising their obvious talents in public speaking, with Kehan Ji being awarded a gold medal for stand out performance as the top YCIS student. The team successfully qualified to participate at one of the next global round competitions, competing against students from across the world and potentially leading to a tournament of champions at Yale University.

Michael Herd
Puxi Secondary Teacher

On Monday, selected students from Years 8 and 9, and from Years 10 and 12 were invited to join in a special workshop with our TEDx speaker, Dr. Clarence Tan.  Speaking about technological development happening around the global, Dr. Tan shared with students how many successful organisations are developing exponentially and identified what that means for them.  This development is redefining what we know as traditional work and the workplace.

With the increasing role that computers and artificial intelligence (AI) are playing in our lives and workplaces, many students expressed concern about the future viability of specific jobs and career paths.  However, Dr. Tan’s perspective on this was that AI is transforming the workplace; rather than replacing jobs, AI has transformed the nature of jobs.  AI has largely replaced the need for humans to be doing more mundane and repetitive tasks, and allowed us to focus more on becoming more creative, innovative and abstract in our thinking and work.

Students worked in groups to identify the main traits of successful companies that are expanding using an exponential growth model.  Using a framework from OpenExo, students identified the massive transformative purpose (MTP) of these organisations and found key components of exponential function that they utilized to make them so successful.

The workshops provided students with both insight into the current nature of business and organization strategy as well as how these companies are navigating their way into the future.  Dr. Tan engaged students in debate and discussion regarding the role that work is playing in our lives, but more importantly, how we can connect with the innovative developments that are occurring around the globe.

Dr. Christopher Hurley
Innovation Coordinator