Shanghai Community International School & Hangzhou International School May 2014

“Green” Community

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Jeffry R. StubbsSuperintendent of Schools

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATURESSuperintendent’s LetterAdministrator’s LetterHost Culture Curriculum: Performing ArtTheme: Living Green

03040506-0922-25

COMMUNITYCoach CornerStudent SpotlightAlumni SpotlightPartnerEducational InsightsPAFACommunity Teacher SpotlightThe Librarians Corner

13 2930-313233-353637-394042Communitas is the official magazine for the Shanghai Community International School

and Hangzhou International School. Please contact us at: jpaulson@scischina.org

SUPERINTENDENT ‘S LETTER

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTSHangzhouPudongHongqiao

10-1214-1617-21 26-28

Dear SCIS-HIS Community and Friends,

It has been another wonderful year within our sisterhood of schools. As we head into the final stretch of the 2013-14 school year, we wish to reflect on the many ways in which our schools are giving students opportunities to become environmental ambassadors, becoming leaders of today by taking action that will contribute to a cleaner and greener tomorrow. This is our “green” edition of Communitas Magazine, which shares some of the many endeavors and experiences at our SCIS-HIS schools that demonstrate our respect for and conservation of our environment.

Over the years, SCIS-HIS has engaged several organizations that will allow our schools to better conserve our resources and produce less waste. We continue to work with the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) to reduce our consumption of energy. We have also engaged PureLiving, GreenWaves, and OriginalLife to look at ways we can provide safer air, water, and surface environments and access to food products that provide the highest quality, healthy alternatives available in the region. While work is ongoing with these organizations, we are also pleased to see our new line of uniforms phasing into our schools. For blended cotton or non-cotton items, we now only use recycled plastic material that is more comfortable and durable than any polyesters used in our former line. As we phase in the new line produced by VisionTextiles, we can celebrate the interesting fact that some of our students will literally be wearing dozens of plastic bottles that have been carefully processed into wearable material. Our PE sets alone will recycle an average of 24 plastic 1-liter in their creation! To date we have “saved” millions of plastic PET bottles from being discarded into landfills or seas.

It is an exciting time to be a part of our community. However, it is also a bittersweet time for us as well. This is when we shake the hands and congratulate our graduating students knowing they will be leaving us for other great educational institutions. It is also a time when some families will be relocating to new posts or going back “home”. On behalf of our entire community, I wish you all good things and extend an open invitation to come back and visit what we all now call “home”.

Have a wonderful Summer Break and as always…. GoooOOO Dragons!

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ADMINISTRATOR’S LETTER HOST CULTURE

Do you know this type? The type of person who loves meeting new people and making connections? They thrive

on acquaintances and can be excellent networkers. What about the person who exudes positive enthusiasm and can easily get others excited about what they are doing, or the person who thrives on recognition, striving to be seen as important by others? Chances are that you have met or know of people with one or more of these qualities. They might have been successful sales representatives, charismatic politicians, or famous performers. Did their schooling help to prepare them for these types of careers? Were these strengths present in childhood or were they developed in adulthood?

Building from strengths is gaining popularity as an approach to self and organization development. Proponent Peter Drucker claimed, “A person can perform only from strength. You can’t build performances on weaknesses, let alone on something you can’t do.” The Gallup organization has conducted massive studies on engagement, leadership, and other such factors that contribute to successful careers and fulfilling lives. Tom Rath, former researcher and speaker for Gallup, said, “Although people can’t be anything that they want to be, they can be a lot more of who they already are.” He suggested, instead of spending 80% of our time and energy working weaknesses and 20% investing in strengths, perhaps this time and energy distribution should be reversed. The research supporting these perspectives is primarily research conducted on adults in business and other professional sectors. Does it apply to students? If so, beginning at what age?

Research at Gallup led to identification of 34 areas of strength. Some of the areas seem to have clear connections to success in school, such as Communicator: an ability to easily put thoughts to words; or Focus: an ability to take a direction, follow through and stay on task by prioritizing then taking action. Other strength areas are less clear. For example, the Learner has a desire to learn and continuously improve; however, he or she is excited by the process of learning and might not care about outcomes. As a teacher, I have seen this type of student often. They love to learn and are actively engaged in discussion and exploring the topic but fail to complete or turn in assignments. A person with strength towards Input craves knowing more, collecting and archiving all kinds of information. Again, this would seem to be highly beneficial in schooling, yet students with this inclination sometimes lack the productivity or stamina (characteristics of Achievers) to invest in a topic or skill sufficiently to be successful in school.

The strengths noted in the last paragraph seem to be directly related to the expectations of a subject based schooling in which subject knowledge and performance is the basis for evaluation. However, these are but a few of the 34 strengths. What about Individualization: a gift for figuring out each person’s unique qualities; Command: having a presence, taking control of a situation and being decisive; or Harmony: seeking areas of agreement and building consensus? Without a doubt, in the career world there are demands for these strengths; but in school, we do not evaluate and report on these possible strengths. Does this mean that they are not as important?

Of course, no one is soley defined by one attribute or another. We are each a blend of many different strengths, some discovered and others perhaps not yet realized. In a perfect world, every student would be recognized for his or her own unique blend of strengths across the full range of possibilities; they would know how to use their strengths as leverage in mitigating the effects of weaknesses while pursuing and achieving personal and academic excellence; they would have the confidence and self-assuredness that comes from knowing that their strengths of the present are only a fragment of the strengths they will have in the future, because the successes and failures of today are making them stronger for tomorrow. In the ideal school, this would be happening every day in every class for every child and be supported by every parent, in every home across our community. Here’s to striving towards the ideal, building on the strengths of our collective talents.

Onward

By TAMMY RODABOROGH

SCIS-HIS Currculum Director

References

Drucker, P. F. (2005). Peter F. drucker on self-leadership. Leadership Excellence, 22(6), 13-14.

Gallop Organization (nd). Strengths. Retrieved from Gallup web-site: http://strengths.gallup.com/help/general/125543/difference-talent-strength.aspx

Rath, T. (2011). Leading through engagement. Retrieved from Gallop Speaker’s Bureau website: http//www.gallup.com/speak-ersbureau

BUILDING ON STRENGTHS

In order to enhance students’ Mandarin learning, Hongqiao Lower School Mandarin department organized a storytelling

contest for students from Grade 2 and Grade 3 Experienced level on April 18th, 2014.

Before the contest, the students selected their stories from many sources such as parables, folk stories, fairy tales, fable stories and even personal experience. Some students also revised some of the original stories to fit their performance. These included:

To Wait for WindfallsThe Monkey King The Fox with a Tiger Following behindThe Race Between Tortoise And Rabbit The Wolf is ComingThree Little Rabbits

During the contest, all of the students from Grade 2 and 3 Experienced level learned how to tell and perform their stories for the audience. To make their stories more impressive, many of them used self-designed posters and props along with their storytelling.

It was also a great experience for me to help the students select stories, design posters and practice speech skills. To build up

their confidence, I brought my students to the playground and encouraged them to speak out their stories loudly. As a result of that, students became more interested in storytelling and more natural in expressing ideas with Mandarin.

For the Inexperienced level, I used a different approach: I read a chapter of a story in class twice a week. While listening to the story, the students learned to mimic my intonation, pace, body language, facial expression and other communication skills. Then students were asked questions like “Who’s the main character of the story? How do you describe his/her personality?” “What do you think will happen in the next?” “If you were the author, how would you design the ending of the story?” Sometimes the students were asked to read a short story to the whole class. I found all of my students had a great “story time” in the class.

Storytelling is a powerful and enduring means of communication. It crosses cultures and many of our earliest learning experiences are involved with it. Although it is not new to our students, all of them did a fantastic job. I truly feel proud of them and hope the activity will be a new momentum for every Mandarin learner in our school.

By JENNY ZHANGHongqiao Campus Lower School Mandarin teacher and coordinator

GRADE 2 AND 3 STUDENTS ENJOY STORYTELLING

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CURRICULUM FEATURE CURRICULUM FEATURE

What is Visual Art? Teaching art in the 21st century - what could be cooler, more

relevant and more important? SCIS Pudong with its big rooms, ample resources and dedicated art gallery is one of the best places on the planet to be teaching and learning in the visual arts!

Why are the arts important today? Stanford Professor of Education, Elliot Eisner argued that a curriculum that includes music, dance and art is essential in developing critical thinking skills in children. Professor Eisner made a list of 10 Lessons the Arts Teach, reprinted here.

1. The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.

2. The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.

3. The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.

4. The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds.

5. The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.

6. The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects. The arts traffic in subtleties.

7. The arts teach students to think through and within a material. All art forms employ some means through which images become real.

8. The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.

9. The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling.

10. The arts’ position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.

SOURCE: Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows. (pp. 70-92). Yale University Press

My upper school visual arts students are learning these lessons. In grade 9 & 10 students work through a range of skill sets that increase hand skills in a variety of media. They learn the vocabulary of art and it’s application in analysis of artworks. In the IB Diploma Visual Arts Program, the learning is exponential as students must pose and solve their own visual problems to produce a cohesive body of work for exhibition, with full documentation of its research and development. There is no better course to prepare any student for a life in this century, no matter what their chosen field in the future!

After school, the art continues. Our National Art Honor Society students contribute in many ways to bringing art to our community, most recently, through their work for the Annual Art Auction.

Please come by to see what our art students are doing!

By CHANDLER DAYTONPudong Campus High School and IB Visual Art Teacher

WHY IS ART IMPORTANT TODAY?

Every class and each student is always special to me; they know it’s true. Every student is full of dreams, hopes, fears, doubts, love, teen complaints, questions, and surprises. And all of them have those with a wonderful spirit! I feel really lucky helping them to communicate all that through their artwork.

As the end of the school year is approaching, I can’t avoid to feel nostalgic and at the same time happy to see one more of my IB Visual Arts Seniors, who I have seen grow, not just in an artistic way, but as young mature kids ready for the next step in their life.

Like I said before each class brings something special, and the IB Visual Arts Students, Class of 2014, weren’t the exception. This class really stood up for being a truly multicultural group. They all brought into their work their influences from their home country: Canada, France, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden and United States; and their influences from all the places they have lived in Europe, Africa and South Asia. But most importantly they created a great environment, where all differences were embraced in a positive way.

I am pleased to see that after all their work during almost two years in the IB programme, they showed in their final IB external assessment their development as an artist. In a video interview that an external IB examiner will watch to assess them against a specific rubric, they talk about their artwork with fluency and flair. It is always inspiring to learn where their initial ideas came from, how they started the research process, and the ways they had to solve any problems they found when using different materials and media. All hard and creative work!

Well done, IB Students!

By ANDREA STUBBSHongqiao Campus High School and IB Visual Art Teacher

CELEBRATING CULTURAL DIVERSITY THROUGH THE IB VISUAL ARTS OF 2014!

Seniors working on a new technique with artist Monika LinGrade 11 student working on a monotype

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CURRICULUM FEATURE CURRICULUM FEATURE

“The artist is a receptacle for the emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.” ~ Pablo Picasso

In art class, students have explored and engaged in various art activities. They have experimented with many techniques and

procedures. Painting, photography, printmaking and ceramics have been main focuses in art.

In Lower School art, students are provided with a large variety of learning opportunities to build an understanding of the part art plays in society. Whilst learning about good photocompositions in Photography, students have learned that art can be perceived anywhere and everywhere.

Art students have learned how to “see,” and how to look at things in a positive way, similarly to what artist Degas said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”

The fifth grade students focused on fashion in the past few weeks. Fashion is a way of celebrating the cultural diversity of the world in which we live. It should not be taken too seriously or else you lose the fun in it!

The SCIS Pudong fifth grade students sure had fun changing up some current fashion trends, and displaying their passion for fashion. As part of the Pudong Earth Week celebration, the fifth grade students designed their own fashionable dresses, pants, shirts and accessories using the variety of recyclable materials available. They created fashionable apparel by adding paint, glitter and colors to these materials. This art class activity provided an opportunity for all students to show off their creativity in combining challenging materials together.

Students then combined fashion and walking down the catwalk, to showcase their talent to the whole school in the Earth Day Assembly. Students moved down the catwalk “strutting their stuff” as the school had their final Earth week celebrations. The grand finale was celebrated in style and fashion and the fireworks raised the atmosphere to the roof!

Once again, the fifth grade students excelled and were the shining stars of the show. They displayed a high level of talent and commitment as they put together a fantastic SCIS Fashion Show that will be remembered!

The fifth grade Lower School art students can be very proud of their great achievements during the green week. I certainly am!

By MARJO RAUTAVUORIPudong Lower School Campus Art Teacher

RECYCLED FASHION CUPCAKES FOR ARTS’ SAKESIn an earlier issue of the Communitas, I was asked to define art.

The short answer was that there isn’t a one-fits-all definition for it. I stated that students’ true art is exhibited from lessons that focus on self-expression or making creative choices. These lessons can also occur outside the classroom and/or art studio. As I write this article, my students are creating art in the kitchen! That’s right, at HIS we are creating something tasty! Icing, food coloring, and cake are not the typical media found in an art lesson. The Middle School Art students are working in groups to design arrangements of cupcakes to display in an art show that will take place on May 23rd. It is a fun end-of-the-year project, but the learning objectives are quite meaningful. The novelty of this form of art has sparked excitement in the students and

has shed light on less conventional ways of creating art. When the students heard that we were decorating cupcakes, they immediately wanted to begin. However, the project was introduced as a creative process similar to what designers use.

Before the students were given the yummy ingredients, they were guided through a creative problem solving process where they brainstormed ideas for the cupcake designs and themes. Teamwork and effective communication were essential in this process, as they needed to discuss and agree on what the final arrangement of the cupcakes would look like. Group settings are often the best environments in the creative thinking process. Later while experimenting with the new artistic media, the students will learn how to manipulate the icing and fondant to create their intended designs.

The objectives of this lesson are to introduce a new art form and designing method. At the end of the project my hope is for my students to have a greater understanding of the art world and of the creative process as well as having fun.

By JAMIE SANCHEZHIS Lower and Upper School Art Teacher

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HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHTS HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHTS

AT HIS, WE CARE ABOUT THE EARTH

“Going green” is becoming a way of life at HIS. Not just because spring is finally here and the plants are pushing up through the soil, but because students are caring about our Earth. It’s evident when you walk around the campus.

Throughout the year, “Roots and Shoots” Club have been very busy. Upper School has worked hard to help raise money for the Million Tree Project and the Rainforest Action Network, which helps to save the orangutan habitat. Lower School class representatives keep the grade levels informed and have worked on such things as composting from the kitchen, a worm farm, and organic gardening. They are also collecting recyclable mate-rials for art projects. Upper School Roots and Shoots students help to mentor the Lower School class representatives, showing how a helping hand goes a long way.

It’s not just Roots and Shoots that have been as busy as bees. Kindergarten KF is diligently working on their class garden and learning about the natural world. They are learning how to plant, weed, dig, and about the animals that inhabit the garden. Kinder is also studying the effects of plastic on our waterways and have

decided to help clean up a local riverside park.

Grade 2 is learning about the air quality and population. They have discussed the Air Quality Index and are actively aware of the many factors that contribute to pollution. They’ve also played games exploring the possibility of a growing population and what that means to planet Earth. Third grade is learning about caring for animals and even have a class rabbit! Students have taken turns to bring in a pet for the day, comparing and contrasting how their needs are similar. They have also hung posters in the hallways reminding students to ‘Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle’. “Nude” Food is the word for Grade 4! Students are trying to eat healthy and not eat foods for snack time that come in packages.

It’s not just the school day that is concerned about the planet. ASA offerings are geared towards Mother Earth as well. Recycled Art is an in-demand ASA as is Fort Building in the garden. Students are working with bamboo and twine to make different types of forts. Mr. van der Eyken also led an ASA where students explored the outside world.

Here at HIS, our students and staff truly care about the environment!

By AMY DARDENHIS Grade 2 Teacher

GOING GREEN WITH ACADEMIC CHOICE

Academic Choice, part of the Responsive Classroom program, is a way to give children structured choices in their

learning so that they become invested, self-motivated learners. Academic Choice provides children with opportunities to make choices in their learning, preparing them to be stronger problem solvers and independent learners. There is a wealth of research that has proven the effectiveness, even when used independently from the other parts of the Responsive Classroom program.

This year students have come up with amazing projects during our Academic Choice time. Some examples have been a group project learning to code (the students went on to make a video game, then an iMovie telling how to play the game), biographies about famous women in history that were under appreciated, research projects relating to Gandhi by a group of students from India, data representation and analysis projects that surveyed our entire lower school, and many different fascinating science experiments.

Academic Choice is a time when students have taken the opportunity to learn more about their own culture, history, and other personal interests with great enthusiasm, initiative, and curiosity. These projects have also helped them gain exposure to many to many new topics, since students are excited about learning and sharing their knowledge.

Our class integrated Academic Choice with our schools Earth Day celebration this year. After some group discussions and many great ideas they made their final decisions. This is an example of how Academic Choice leads to students working together and being creative for a great cause. Students decided they wanted to plant a tree and raised the funds for our school to purchase the tree. After the school purchased the cherry tree, we found articles to read and ensure we planted it properly. Students also decided to make a poster to share how to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle with students passing by our classroom. Some students wrote about how they plan to help the Earth when they get older, some wrote fiction stories about themselves as characters doing brave things for the Earth, and some chose to write biographies about famous conservationists.

There were also several other wonderful ideas and projects. When students have choices in their learning, they become highly engaged and productive. They’re likely to think more deeply, creatively, and work with more persistence. Academic Choice has proven to be successful in this regard for our learners in 3F this year, especially for such an important theme as our recent Earth Day celebration.

By LANCE FLEENORHIS Grade 3 Teacher

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Enrolling students who have completed Nursery through Grade 5

Online application available here:

hz.scis-his.net/content/summer-kids-camp

Summer Kids CampFun doesn’t have to take a summer break!

Program dates: June 23 - July 18, with flexible weekly enrollment options

Registrationis now

open!

COACHES CORNER

MEET IAN NUGENT-HEAD: 3-SPORT STARHis name is Ian Nugent-Head. While he might look American from

the outside, he has spent the majority of his life in China. He was born in Dallas, Texas, but has spent more time in Hangzhou than Texas. This year he was involved in 3 Varsity sports: Soccer, Basketball and Volleyball. He has been going to HIS since 2011, and has enjoyed every last moment of it, with this last year being “the most memorable of the lot.”

In what sports have you been involved and which is your favorite?I eat, breathe, sleep, and dream of sports. I love playing and watching each and every one of them. Choosing a single sport as my favorite is hard. However, having played soccer every since I was a kid it has been instilled in my blood, until this year. My basketball coach and teammates changed my DNA and placed basketball in there. The contagious family feeling and team energy engulfed me. And from that point on I was eating, sleeping, breathing and thinking about the game of basketball.

What is the highlight of your years in high school sports?November 11, 2013. A day I will never forget. Our volleyball team came out of what started off to be a slow and unhopeful season to win our third successive ACAMIS volleyball title. Hosting ACAMIS was one thing, winning it for the third year in a row was the other. After being crushed in SISAC the team had low hopes for a chance at the ACAMIS title. Nonetheless, we walked away with a Gold and the finished our careers, of playing varsity volleyball, with a win.

What do sports mean to you?All sports have memorable moments, amazing goals, incredible spikes, game winning buzzer beaters, but that is not what sports is all about. The most important meaning about sports is teamwork. While the saying “There is no I in team” is over used, it’s true. Without a team there would be no memorable moments to hang on to, no hilarious moments after a game, in the locker rooms, no seemingly impossible come backs. So sports, to me, means being a part of a team and a family.

What do you think your future in sports will be?As a little boy I always dreamt of playing professional football for Everton, Arsenal, or Manchester United. When I realized that I was nowhere good enough I let that dream go. With the prospect of University sports around the corner the dream turned into a hope of playing for one of the Varsity sports. I was grateful to hear that even if I do not make the University team, I will be able to play intermural sports, allowing me to continue playing the sports I love.

By ERIC CHERNOFFHIS PE Teacher

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PUDONG HIGHLIGHTS

In celebration of Earth Day, teachers and students from Nursery to Grade 5 participated in an entire week of events

from April 21nd-25th. The Green Dragons at Shanghai Community International School know what it means to ‘go green.’ Each day of the week was dedicated to a school-wide activity. The activities included; making hats out of recycled materials, pledging to do ‘green acts’ to save the Earth, making planters out of recycled cans, going paperless, and turning off all lights for an energy-saving hour. Each grade level also worked hard inside their classrooms creating their own green initiatives.

Earth week’s activities also fostered leadership opportunities for our students. Reading buddy classes got together to create planters out of recycled materials. Students used stickers or paints to decorate their containers to make cute, functional planters. They then went outside to the planting station where older students helped younger to fill their containers with soil and plant a small flower. The students then took their flowers home to take care of them there. The 4th graders continue to compost to supply soil to our school gardens and the 5th graders made sure everyone knew the importance of reducing

the amount of paper towels we use when drying our hands. Students shared strategies with others through mini lessons as well as placed reminders around the school of ways to conserve energy.

The culminating event for the week was an all-school assembly where each grade level presented their Earth Day project. The assembly concluded with the highly popular “Recycle Idol” fashion show put on by the 5th graders. This group of students strutted their stuff down the catwalk to show off their creative and “green” fashion ensembles, made entirely of recycled materials. The SCIS Earth week is a collaborative effort organized by the Green Team and Earth Week Committee. Students sharing their ideas and practices about what it means to act in environmentally friendly ways is a giant step towards embracing a greener lifestyle and conserving our planet. Students and teachers work all year long to help keep SCIS Pudong green.

By JANE MACMILLANPudong Lower School Campus Principal

PUDONG HIGHLIGHTS

EARTH WEEK AT SCIS PUDONG

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HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHTS

“GREEN” AT THE HQ ECE

What does “being green” mean to you? Each of us has a different definition and varying degrees of commitment

to “being green.” Reusable water bottles and printing on both sides of the paper are enough for some, while others consider how every purchase and travel experience may impact the planet.

While ways to be kind to the planet are always topics of ongoing conversation in early childhood classrooms, Earth Day always brings additional focus to this important topic. This year was no exception, and Earth Day at the ECE campus was greeted with great enthusiasm. Upon the suggestion of one or our kindergarten students, everyone arrived wearing blue and green, representing the colors of the Earth.

For weeks prior to the event, students had been collecting items destined for the trash that could be reused. This collection of reusable materials sparked creativity at all age levels. Students designed a variety of items from these materials ranging from musical instruments to rocket ships. These works of art were displayed in a slideshow presented at an assembly later in the week.

Students at the ECE were inspired to think more carefully about how their actions effect their environment. As parents and

teachers, we can take advantage of this enthusiasm and continue to support our students’ interest in “being green.” The Kids Health website offers numerous suggestions for how to incorporate “green living” into your family’s lifestyle.

A few ideas include:• Turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth.

• Unplug the chargers for your phone and MP3 player when you’re not using them.

• Take your own bags — preferably reusable ones — when you go to the grocery store.

• Organize a swap among your friends. What can you swap? Books, toys, even clothes. It’s a way for everyone to get some-thing new without spending any money and without throwing a bunch of stuff away. Set aside some items for your swap when you’re cleaning your room!

More ideas can be found at www.kidshealth.org. How is your family “green”?

By HEATHER KNIGHTHongqiao ECE Campus Vice Principal

Enrolling students who have completed Nursery through Grade 5

Online application available here:www.scisdragons.net/form/pd-summer-activities

Registrationis now

open!

Summer Kids CampFun doesn’t have to take a summer break!

Program dates: June 23 - July 18, with flexible weekly enrollment options

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HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHTS HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHTS

ECE Campus

The major beneficiary of the ECE Art Auction is Heart to Heart Shanghai, a locally based non-profit community outreach organization supporting children who are undergoing heart surgery at the various Shanghai hospitals.

Supporting Heart to Heart

Shanghai

ECE Art Auction

Second Annual

Celebration of Art and Community

baby boutiques 婴幼儿精品店

ECE SUMMER KIDS CAMP

Title: External Logo

Dimensions: as per DWG xx.07.00 drawing series.

Scale: Resize as per dimensions

PANTONE199C

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Raffle/Auction Donors

Gold Level Sponsors

Thank you for your support and dedication to community service

We would like to thank all of our generous community sponsors and donors

Silver Level Sponsors

Bronze Level Sponsors

ECE art auction communitas ad.indd 1 5/12/14 10:13 AM

On Saturday, May 10th the ECE Campus held their second annual charity art auction in support of Heart to Heart

Shanghai. This annual event was held in part as a celebration of our school community of over 300 families, an opportunity for all our parents from Nursery to Grade 1 to get to know each other better, but first and foremost in support of our continued efforts related to community service projects. Each and every student put his or her personal touch on one of the 22 master-pieces that was auctioned to the highest bidder throughout the evening. The elegant evening was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the artistic talents of the school community, celebrate the school year, bring together parents, teachers and friends in a fun social setting, all while supporting the efforts of this worthy local charity. Heart to Heart is a Shanghai-based non-profit community outreach organization. They started in 2003 by conducting hospital play sessions one day a week in one hospital, but have grown greatly in scope. They now conduct hospital play sessions seven days a week in two local Shanghai hospitals (Yodak Cardio Thoracic Hospital in Puxi and Shanghai Children’s Medical Center in Pudong). The majority of their outreach projects have stemmed from their close involvement with hospitalized children receiving remedial heart surgery. The average cost of a child’s surgery to repair a congenital heart defect at the hospitals is 25,000 RMB. This amount is very modest in comparison to the cost of similar operations in many other countries. However, many families in China (particularly those living in rural communities) are not fully covered by medical benefits and are unable to raise the money to pay for the operation their child needs. In fact, the families Heart to Heart supports generally make 3,000 – 6,000 RMB annually (combined family income). This year’s charity art auction was a massive success! The ECE Campus, with the help of our school community, was able

to raise well over 100,000 RMB in support of Heart to Heart Shanghai! In more meaningful terms, this donation will provide at least four children with the heart surgeries that they so desperately need. With additional funds, the ECE Campus will support the continued efforts of our high school student volunteers who already work closely with the charity. For nearly two years a varied group of Upper School students have committed to clean the playroom sponsored by Heart to Heart at Yodak Hospital. Additionally, students from the different music ensembles have visited to perform pieces for the kids at the hospital. To add to the generosity of the families and faculty members in attendance, many community partners and vendors generously donated items for the silent auction and raffle draw. Through the efforts of community groups such as AEG China, Coca-Cola, Farm House Juice, Golf Gathering, Renaud Air, Heguru, Golden Gloves, Jaguar Land Rover, Naked Retreats, Insight ACM, Yuan Zhong Chinese Martial Arts School, and Hyatt on the Bund the support provided to this worthy charity was possible. The dedication to community service in the Shanghai community is truly inspirational. To see a full listing of our 50+ sponsors, please visit: https://hq.scis-his.net/content/ece-art-auction-communitas-ad, or check out: https://hq.scis-his.net/content/second-annual-ece-art-auction, for more information.

By the end of the night one thing was apparent, SCIS’ family and friends are truly dedicated to community service. Through the laughter and fun of this evening, the support given by all involved was truly inspirational. On the heels of now two successful years of charity art auctions, the ECE Campus is buzzing with anticipation and new ideas for next year!

By JEFFREY GINTERHongqiao ECE Campus Kindergarten Teacher

SECOND ANNUAL ECE ART AUCTIONIN SUPPORT OF HEART TO HEART SHANGHAI

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HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHTS

Only a few kilometers separate grade 1 at the ECE Campus and Grade 2 at the HQ Lower School Campus, but when

you are 6 years of age, moving to a new campus with big kids can seem rather daunting. Enter the transition program and things start to look a lot easier.

Early in the year Ms Pendleton, the Vice Principal in the Lower School came to each of the grade 1 classes and taught a lesson that had students dressing up and acting out a fun yet somewhat scary story. Next, students became pen pals with a grade 2 class exchanging letters, telling each other a little about themselves.

Recently, grade 2 Student Council Representatives, who of course are officially experts on everything that happens in grade 2, came over to visit each grade 1 class. They showed a video that had been made just for grade 1, highlighting all the exciting things that happened in grade 2. Fortunately lots of things were the same as grade 1. But there were new things too, like going to the cafeteria and getting your own lunch including a dessert! The grade 1 students had many questions they wanted to ask the Student Council reps, revealing the concerns that were in the mind’s of some students.

“How much homework will I get and is it hard?”“Are the teachers nice or really strict?”“Where do I find my bus?” “How many books can I borrow from the library?”“How do I get to ASA’s?”

Luckily the grade 2 students knew all the answers and shared that they too had worries when they had been in grade 1, but the teachers were lovely and helped with everything.

Parents then visited the Lower School campus and were able

to find out what goes on at the school from the Lower School Administration. Mrs. Klump, the Grade 2 Level Leader, and Mrs. Lucy Jones, who has a son in grade 2, both talked to incoming parents. Mr. Powell, the Lower School Principal, took the parents on a tour of the school, and dropped into many classes where exciting student learning was happening.

Then towards the end of April, a special visit to watch the dress rehearsal of the grade 2/3 production I Have Got No String, meant grade 1’s were able to try out first hand getting their lunch on trays from the cafeteria. However, they had no problems because grade 5 students had volunteered to be their buddies and show them the ropes. The older students were fantastic helpers, eating lunch with their younger friends and reading stories in the library. Afterwards, grade 1 went to watch the magical production.

Currently another visit is being made to the Lower School to attend swimming lessons and then to visit grade 2 buddy classes, as well undertake another short tour of the campus.

To ensure staff of grade 2 are well prepared for the student’s next school year, some of the Administrative team and the ESOL teachers will visit with the grade 1 teachers and Tina Nakova, the Student Counselor, to facilitate a handover of information.

The transition program ensures our grade 1 students and families are well prepared and make the move to their new campus with little stress and hopefully a lot of positive anticipation. It’s amazing to see them a few weeks into the school year, confident and looking like old hands, ready to support and help the new grade 1’s at the ECE.

By LYNN PENDLETONHongqiao Campus Lower School Vice Principal

GRADE 1 TO GRADE 2 TRANSITION PROGRAM

HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHTS

Moving from one school division to another can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. Some students will be

excited about the prospect of a new experience while others will be nervous or anxious about what lies ahead. Over the past few years a comprehensive transitions program has been developed at Hongqiao for students moving to and from the Elementary School, which has been made possible through the collaboration of divisional principals, counselors, and teachers. The aim of our transition program is to ensure that students and their parents feel good about their upcoming move and that sufficient groundwork is laid for a successful new adventure, whether that is at the Elementary or Middle School level.

A key feature of the program is that it recognizes the importance of involving all stakeholders in the process, which includes students, parents, and faculty members. Here are some of the features of our program that we believe help students to develop positive yet realistic expectations of their move to a new division:

General Student Information SessionsThroughout the second semester students have been provided with a variety of information sessions aimed at helping them to visualize day-to-day life in the Elementary and Middle Schools. Information has touched on the social, academic and logistical features that are specific to the campus or division. A movie was made for the Grade One students, which gave them a great insight into Grade Two and prompted some insightful questions.

Guest Student SpeakersOne of the most successful aspects of our program has been to invite student leaders in Grade Two and Grade Six to speak to students in the grade below them. This has helped to reassure students that the move is manageable and provide them with the opportunity to have their own questions answered by someone that has recently been through the experience.

Orientation to Classrooms and Divisional FacilitiesFor the Grade One students moving to the Hongqiao campus can be intimidating so we have built a process into their visits for swimming and use of the theatre so that they can experience lunch in the cafeteria, tour the school and sit it on Grade Two classes. The Grade Fives, while familiar with the campus visit classrooms and other school facilities that will be utilized in the following year. As part of this process Grade Five students observe Middle School specialists in action, which has helped them to be better informed when making course selections for the year ahead.

Buddy SystemBuddy systems have been set up at the respective divisional levels that help students to receive a warm and inviting message about their transition. Grade One students receive letters of encouragement and explanation from their Grade Two peers, while Grade Five students are assigned a buddy as they experience being a Sixth Grader for a day.

Teachers Talking to TeachersAs a school we provide opportunities for teachers to meet with teachers in various divisions so that our curriculum and experiences are both vertically and horizontally aligned. We also encourage teachers to observe each other in the classroom, which certainly helps to develop a better understanding of what students will be expected to do at the various divisions.

Parent Information SessionsIt’s not only students that have concerns or anxiety about moving divisions. We recognize that parents do too. The school has developed structured information sessions for parents of children moving to the Elementary and Middle School. During these sessions parents have been able to listen to school leaders, teachers and current parents talk about respective divisions and answer questions that parents may have.

Meet Your MacWith the one-to-one laptop program in place at the Middle School teachers in Grade Five have made a concerted effort to integrate the use of laptops into their programs in order to scaffold and extend students’ digital literacy. Parents have also had the opportunity to be introduced to their students Mac with our Technology Coordinator facilitating parent sessions.

ConclusionMaking a positive transition to a new division is a significant step to ensuring a successful school experience and is one that deserves considerable time and attention. We believe that we have developed a program that provides the necessary ground-work for this to happen and trust that it provides students and parents with confidence in the move ahead. Of course a successful transition program extends into the new school year and events such as Open House and Back to School Night continue to offer support for families.

By ANDREW POWELLHongiqiao Campus Lower School Principal

TRANSITIONS MATTER

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THEME FEATURE THEME FEATURE

LIVING GREEN

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Ever since the movement began during the 1970s people across the globe have recognized April 22nd as Earth Day. The purpose of this day is to bring awareness to envi-ronmental concerns for twenty-four hours. These days it seems as though Earth is screaming for help more often, and here in Shanghai we certainly have some days that are more alarming than others.

Recently scholars at SCIS Pudong Lower School recognized more than just a day of eco-conscious activities; they ac-knowledged an entire week full of events. Throughout the fourth week in April different activities took place serving as reminders to live a greener lifestyle. The entire campus went without electricity during a “Power Hour,” and every-one went paperless for an entire day. At recess during the week children used chalk to write their own environmental pledges on the playground. Scholars also paired up to decorate tin cans and fill them with soil and seeds before watering them to take home as new plants.

Everyone on campus took part in collecting used crayons so that Grade 1 could create decorative shaped recycled crayons. Earth Week was also celebrated with a recycled hat day. The week culminated with an Earth Day themed assembly highlighted by Grade 5 scholars putting on a fashion show. All of the outfits modeled down the runway were student-created pieces constructed from recycled materials.

In addition to a week long series of green events in April, SCIS Pudong Lower School also attempts to maintain a green lifestyle throughout the year. All official uniform components are comprised of recycled fabrics. Walking around SCIS Pudong one might notice that all the Green Dragons in our community have their own reusable water bottles. This is because at SCIS Pudong there are no paper cups. This initiative prevents the consumption and waste of approximately 180,000 paper cups per school year. Scholars on the Lower School campus in Pudong also demonstrate being resourceful by composting food waste from the cafeteria daily. Upper elementary aged children take the remnants of lunch from the kitchen to a tumbler in the back of the campus. After it is mixed with water and allowed to aerate the waste become usable fertilizer.

Scholars at SCIS Pudong Lower School are exposed to many reminders about living a green lifestyle. We may only highlight eco-friendly actions for one week in April but we’re constantly instilling values to preserve Earth through-out the year. Who knows, maybe the world’s next great scientist will come from SCIS Pudong with a new inven-tion for making the entire planet a more environmentally conscious place.

By BRIAN BRYNEPudong Lower School Campus Vice Principal

THEME FEATURE THEME FEATURE

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HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHTSHONGQIAO HIGHLIGHTS

This year’s Grade 11 class traveled to the southwestern province of Guizhou. Known for its mountainous terrain

and breathtaking waterfalls, Guizhou is also home to a large population of the Miao ethnic minority group. The trip featured a three night, service-based homestay in a typical Miao village. After a comfortable night in a five star hotel, the group is ready to accept any challenge of living amongst the people. They were also eager to begin the service project.

Victor Feng, recently elected Vice President of the National Honour Soceity, remarked, “After our luggage arrived by horse and donkey, we were really tired from our three hour hike. We all just wanted to shower and game plan for the next day’s work in the fields.”

The students’ service work was to build rice terraces. They were given tools and gear, and then were sent out to the fields with a local Miao farmer to learn specific farming techniques. “Basically we had four groups,” says Sara Terasvasara. “We had a shovel crew, a pick ax crew, cement mixers, and a group to apply the cement to the walls with trowels.”

Shortly after arriving at the work site, the skies opened and made progress quite slow. Several students had to change gear and clothes to maneuver around better in the muddy field. Some decided to simply go bare foot after watching

how fast the local Miao farmers could work without shoes. Work continued and eventually the rain halted long enough to cement the newly dug out walls of the rice paddy. Mahout trainee Daniel Huang commented on finalising the project. “Cementing the wall as hard at first. But, I got the hang of it eventually. The key really was having good cement that was mixed properly with the soil.”

The next day found the students hand fishing with only the help of a small woven basket. “I did not have a clue that they use the rice paddies to raise fish!” exclaimed Halley Gribble. “It’s pretty cool that they are able to use the land for two sustainable activities at once.” The small fish were caught by using the basket. Essentially, a team of three students worked together to corral a fish into a small area. Then, the student with the basket plunged it into the water in hopes of trapping the fish. “Fishing was my favourite part” said Jordan Bose. “It’s so much harder than it looks.”

Other activities included plowing the fields with a water buffalo and a bull, and a quick visit to a hot spring after a delicious buffet lunch. Like I said, “Welcome to Guizhou.”

By MICHAEL LAMBHongqiao Campus Upper School IB English Language and Literature Teacher

11TH GRADE HQ CHINA TRIP – WELCOME TO GUIZHOU!!!

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“On Belay!” “Belay on!” “Climbing!”“Climb on!”

These are the climbing commands one would hear every Wednesday and Friday after school, coming out from the

climbing wall area, also known as Hongqiao Crag, on the Upper School’s fifth floor gym on the Hongqiao campus. Grades 2 to 5 students have been learning basic rock climbing and rope handling skills from Ms Shannon and Mr. Fred.

Rock climbing is a very exciting activity. Not only is it thrilling to be hanging on the wall and relying on a thin climbing rope for safety, but it is also very satisfying to overcome the challenges of a route—especially the crux—and then reach the top of the climb to ring the bell that is anchored there.

Some climbers think of each climb as a puzzle to solve, using the various hand and foot holds in a certain sequence in order

to reach the top. Other climbers think climbing is like ballet, a graceful dance on a vertical surface. Some climbers just like to boulder on the lower part of the wall and challenge themselves with very difficult moves.

This is such a popular activity, Mr. Reimer, Hongqiao campus Athletic and Activities Director, reports that the rock climbing session’s fill up immediately upon opening registration for each session.

From “The Nose” on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley in the USA, to “Hillary’s Step” high up on Mount Everest on the border between China and Nepal, to the “Hinterstoisser Traverse” on the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland, rock climbing excites the imagination with adventure. “Hongqiao Crag” in our fifth floor gym is no exception as enthusiastic climbers from our Lower School challenge their limits to achieve greater heights.

By FREDERICK MONDINHongqiao Campus Lower school Tech Integration Specialist

ON BELAY

HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHTS

Born and raised in Colorado, Josephine relocated to Shanghai in September 2013. At SCIS, she participates in the dance

company and formerly sang in choir. Even though she is getting ready to graduate and in the middle of exams, I got her to sit down with me...

Serious question: is dance a sport? Dance is absolutely a sport! Dance is an extremely difficult discipline to master. Being a great dancer takes a tremendous amount of endurance, strength, flexibility, balance, and control (mentally and physically). A truly excellent dancer can very well have more athleticism than a superb football, basketball, or hockey player, while also looking pretty while they’re doing what would be considered to be intense, difficult, and rigorous workouts to some athletes. It’s definitely a sport; it’s not even an argument!

And one thing you do with your dance is a Aerial Acrobats. Do you think traditional athletes appreciate how much body control/strength/ coordination that takes? I think it kind of depends. A lot of athletes don’t really seem to be fully aware of it. Everybody’s understanding varies a lot from person to person. However, even if people have trouble understanding how much athleticism is required of us, I never really feel like it’s under-appreciated. We definitely get a lot of respect for our disciplines.

How did you even get started into that? I started to do circus work in primary school. During that time my specialties were wheels and spheres, so I learned how to globe-walk and unicycle. I actually still unicycle and it’s one of my favourite ways to get around my hometown. As I started to explore more, I started to become interested in manipulation acts, or juggling, but that didn’t quite satisfy me completely. Then I started thinking about aerial acrobatics and really felt like it would suit me well, so about three years ago I found a place to train where I specialized in aerial fabric, and worked in a handful of small shows in an acrobatic troupe before moving here. I also did a little work on both static and low-flying trapeze, rope, net and hoop. I’ve tried most of it, but my love is definitely fabric. I love how expressive it is. I love that in circus there is always a balance between being artistic, being athletic, being ridiculously weird, and doing the impossible.

Rumor has it you are also quite musical. You play the piano and sing. You even had a performance. Tell me about your musical side. I play piano, sing, and also play guitar. I just grew up in a very musical family. My relatives all have absolutely tremendous amounts of musical talent and so I was raised to love it and explore it along with the rest of them. I do music for almost the exact same reasons that I do circus. Music is a great artistic and

emotional outlet. I do feel like music is a language that is worth mastering because people will always understand it- it evokes feelings, it can communicate messages, and tell stories. I love music and hope to study some theory and composition in University.

So...what’s the future looking like? Do you have a university in mind? And on a scale of 1-10...how terrified is your dad you might run off and join a circus with your interests and skill set? The future is looking really good! The university that I’ve selected for this coming fall is Biola University in La Miranda, CA. I plan to study there for a year and just refresh after a year spent in China. During that year I will also be training very hard on my acrobatic work, so by the end of that year, my hope is to get into Le Cen-tre National des Arts du Cirque in France where I can earn my BA in Circus Arts with a concentration in Aerial Fabric. As for my dad, as fun as it would be to say that I’m being rebellious and going against his will, my dad has actually been very supportive, and he is the one who suggested to me that I get my BA in Circus Arts somewhere. So I’m really grateful for that.

5 Years from now, where do you see yourself? I’m hoping that in 5 years I’ll just be graduating with my BA in Circus Arts. At that point I hope to do work for a larger circus company. My favourite circus is Cirque Eloize, so it would be a dream to get to work there straight out of circus school. That’s my goal! But basically I plan to just do what I have to do until my body is shot and can’t do acrobatics anymore, then I’ll just go back to university and work more on music!

Thinking back to before you began at SCIS, did you think you would have the type of experience you actually had? I really had no idea! I always thought that I would just be graduating from high school in my hometown, and upon finding out that I would be taking my senior year here, I didn’t know what to expect at all! I knew that it was going to be an adventure, but even my wildest dreams didn’t quite match the life that I’ve found myself living right now. It really just goes to show how quickly plans can change and how sometimes expectations don’t meet reality, and that’s a good thing.

So what has your experience at SCIS been like coming in just for your final, senior, year?Answer: It’s been pretty crazy! There’s been a lot of stress and it’s been a lot of work, but I really enjoyed the friends I’ve made, the experience I’ve had, and the reward of just getting to learn in such a cool place, so I think it’s absolutely worth it to have been here.

By JONATHAN PAULSONSCIS-HIS Communications Officer

Josephine Geisler

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Kolina Kretzschmar graduated from SCIS Hongqiao in 2010 and has been studying at the University of

British Columbia. She is currently entering the final year of her degree in Political Science and Cultural Anthropology. Kolina recently sat down with me to reminisce about the past and talk about the future.

First question: how many of your SCIS friends to you see at UBC on a regular basis? It seems to me that UBC is one of the most popular schools amongst our graduates.I guess it depends on the day. UBC has a huge student body and campus so one day I could stumble upon a group of SCIS grads and not see any for weeks. We try to get together for dinner or drinks a few times a year to catch up, which is great!

What drew you to UBC instead of another one of the top universities in the world?My older brother was attending UBC at the time and raved about its high academics, community atmosphere, outdoor lifestyle, and amazing opportunities to develop professional skills alongside studying. It was really the package deal that led me to decide on UBC.

I know you were a multi-sport athlete in high school, have you continued that athletic side at University or not?One of the things (if not the thing) I miss most about high school is athletics. SCIS in particular had a small enough community that almost everyone was involved to some degree. It is easy to get lost in the large crowds that Universities boast. The opportunities are everywhere but becoming involved in them is another story. In my first year I played and refereed in the dorm’s flag football league, and played soccer with UBC REC Leagues [UBC student sports and recreation]. Over the past few years I continued with flag football every year and have participated in events that UBC REC facilitates including Storm the Wall, which is the largest single-day intramural event in North America.

Talk to me about your summer now. What are your plans? Internship? Travel? Relax? All of the above???This past year has been one of the most hectic of my life. Balancing two jobs and full time upper year University courses was definitely a challenge. I decided to take this summer – my last as an undergraduate student – to travel to Mumbai, Shanghai and Melbourne, then return to Vancouver in August to prepare for the upcoming year.

So we’re going to see you in Shanghai for the Alumni Reunion again. It’s at Brownstone on June 20th from 6pm-8pm. Did I mention it’s at Brownstone? Did I mention you would be letting all of SCIS, not to mention the world down if you didn’t come?Unfortunately I leave Shanghai on the 16th of June so I just miss out on it! Will have to see about next year!

Okay. On a serious note now. Your education was at SCIS and now it’s at UBC. I’d like to hear your thoughts on the two. How do they compare? SCIS provided a small community with a higher teacher to student ratio then I had ever had. SCIS was a small

KolinaKretzschmarFinishing Up at University of British Columbia

community in a big city. UBC on the other hand is the exact opposite. A big community in a relatively smaller city.

Tell me what was the most difficult part of going from Shanghai to Vancouver?Shanghai is home, it always will be. There is something about the city and the people Despite being born in Canada there is not much true ‘Canadian’ in me and I found this out when moving to Vancouver. The most difficult part is the transition from the faced-paced Asian lifestyle to the more laid-back lifestyle of North America.

And the easiest?Moving into a new city is always hard, but going into University, everyone is experiencing something new. Whether or not you are from Shanghai or live 3 blocks from campus, everyone is on the same boat.

I know you’ve spent a lot of time in Europe lately. You went to American Embassy School in India before coming to SCIS in Shanghai. Now you’re just spent four years in Canada. On a scale of 1-10, how international do you feel?I think its hard to put it on a scale of 1-10. Feeling international has different meanings depending on who you ask. Many of my friends would consider themselves to be internationally-minded despite not having lived outside of North America.

I guess I would have to say that its not about ‘being’ or ‘feeling’ international, its about thinking international. Taking a global lens to your own life and what is happening around you is the most important measure of internationalism.

So where do you see your future going? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?Ahhh, I knew this one was coming [chuckling]. In 5 years I would love to have my life a bit more sorted then I do right now, hopefully at the beginning stages of a career. That being said, I am still young and if in 5 years I am not one step closer to figuring out what I want to do with my life and am just exploring what the world has to offer, I just want to be enjoying every moment of it.

Last one: tell me your favorite SCIS story. There are so many…I remember the first pep rally we had for basketball in my senior year, they had a competition between the basketball team and seniors. I had to choose a side. Since I was the captain of the basketball team I choose to be on that team. It was a McDonalds hamburger eating relay competition. It got down to the seniors about to win with Ludvig picking up the last hamburger. Then the basketball team caught up with my little brother, Austin, as the team anchor. He engulfed that hamburger in one breathe and ended up beating Ludvig!...someone who at the time was probably triple the size of little freshman Austin. The sports director at the time questioned whether or not I was feeding my little brother at home in front of the whole school! I will never forget how shocked everyone was. As for me I was just standing there with absolutely no surprise because I had seen him eat at home.

By JONATHAN PAULSONSCIS-HIS Communications Officer

THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Alumni Mission: The SCIS-HIS Alumni Association has been established in order to foster the continued cordial relations of the SCIS-HIS community. The Alumni Association seeks to generate and maintain the active interest of all SCIS-HIS alumni in its regular business. It will provide the alumni with regular opportunities to assemble and maintain valued relationships through the promotion of alumni events and communications.

Alumni Contact: Jonathan Paulson jpaulson@scischina.org

Alumni Requirements:1. Graduated from a SCIS-HIS school

OR

2. Went to school here for at least one year AND be over 18

Social Media facebook site: www.facebook.com/ SCISandHISalumni

Linkedin site: www.linkedin.com/groups/ SCISHIS-Alumni-4757677

Upcoming EventsJune 2014 in Shanghai

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In September, 2013 SCIS-HIS was the first school in China to fully commit to green textiles by choosing eco-friendly uniforms

made from Waste2Wear® recycled fabrics. Today SCIS-HIS school uniforms help to educate our students about how plastic waste isn’t sim¬ply garbage but a viable resource that can be transformed into valuable products if we save them from the landfills and oceans.

We use a lot of plastic bottles, for soda, juice, water and almost any drink we buy at the store. In fact, we use more than a hundred million bottles EVERY DAY. If we line them up length-wise, in one and a half days we would have enough bottles to go around the world, and in less than 2 weeks we would have enough to reach the moon!

The big problem with this is that many of them will end up in landfills or even worse, in our rivers and oceans. That’s a terrible thing because fish and birds eat the plastic thinking its food and they get very sick and die.

How are Waste2Wear fabrics made? Fortunately, all these bottles can be recycled, and one of the things that can be made with recycled bottles is yarn. This yarn can then be used to make fabrics for clothes. Can you believe that even your school uniform can be made from used plastic bottles? This is how we do it:

Because of using Waste2Wear® recycled fabrics SCIS-HIS has saved the exact amount of 118,125 plastic bottles during school year 2013-2014.

How to calculate the amount of bottles? The answer to this question is a simple calculation. We take a SCIS-HIS polo shirt as an example:

SCIS short sleeve polo• The Waste2Wear® SCIS-HIS polo shirts are made from 60% eco-friendly cotton and 40% recycled polyester (RPET). • The weight of this fabric is 235 grams per square meter.• The average fabric consumption for a shirt is 1.2 meter.

• SCIS-HIS purchased a total of 4101 short sleeve polo shirts for school year 2013-2014.• The weight of a common 0.5L CocaCola bottle is 18.66 gram

The calculation here is: 235*0.4*1.2/18.66=6.6*4101= 24,790 bottles

Waste2Wear®: The new standard in the textile industryBesides saving a lot of plastic bottles, SCIS-HIS recycled uniforms are fully certified, and all dyestuffs and treatments that are used to make Waste2Wear® fabrics are 100% safe for our students and the environment.

Waste2Wear® always makes sure that the uniforms are made by workers who are paid fair wages and have a safe and healthy BCSI-approved workplace.

Monique Maissan, owner and founder of Waste2Wear®: “Changing the mindset of future genera-tions is an integral part of our oper¬ating procedures because we firmly believe that this is the most effective way to make a positive impact in our environ-ment”.

You can help us to make an even bigger impact. Next time you finish a juice or a soda look for a recycling bin. You now know about all the cool stuff that can be done with old bottles when you recycle them!

On the SCIS-HIS YouTube Channel you can see a video about Waste2Wear® and for more information you can also go to www.waste2wear.com.

EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS

If you are the parent of an adolescent, you likely have scratched your head at their peculiar behavior or rapid change in demeanor

and grumbled accusingly under your breath, “Hormones…” Though hormones do play a role in the significant physical changes that preteens and teens experience during puberty and into later adolescents, they are often the scapegoat of the real mischief-maker, the developing brain.

During adolescence, which can begin as early as age 9 and extend as late as age 25 depending on the individual, the brain is at its full size, but not its fullest maturity. It is at this time when a period that neuroscientists have labeled as “reconstruction” begins. With the exception of infancy, there is no other time in our lives when our brains develop as dramatically as during reconstruction. The vast majority of these changes happen in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) at the very front of our brains. This area is often referred to as the CEO of the brain as it is in charge of executive thinking. Just as the remodeling of a company may disrupt day-to-day business, reconstruction disturbs the PFC’s ability to make sensible decisions. Though operations still continue, they aren’t always as efficient as one would hope.

When the CEO isn’t at work, duties must be relegated to others that are generally not as highly qualified to handle the responsibility. The same goes for the adolescent brain. While the PFC is busy dealing with its restructuring, decisions are often left to be made by other parts of the brain. These areas are use to working instinctually and with emotions. That is why adolescents often make poor impulsive decisions, yet can tell you exactly why it was ill-advised when they have a moment to stop and think. This is also the reason behind frequent mood shifts or lack of empathy. Kids at this age are relying more on survival instincts than reason. Even risk taking behaviors can be attributed to the PFC being out of the office and letting the subordinates take over the ship.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for adolescence. Even if there were, the symptoms vary in each individual. Some seem to be hit harder than others. Some parents are lucky enough to see little of these strange behaviors in their young adults while others are left pulling their hair out in frustration. Regardless of which category you may fall in, some of the suggested strategies below are helpful to all teens and preteens:

• Sleep – If you think it is more important for your child to stay up late to finish homework or to give them the freedom to decide when they should sleep, you are wrong. Plain and simple. This may seem bold for me to say, but there is a mountain of research for me to stand upon. For some reason,

that message is not getting through to the parents across the globe. Sleep may be the most essential element to a child’s success during adolescence. Nine hours per night should be the minimum.

• Clear expectations – Your kids need boundaries and these must be clearly communicated to them. They will want to push the boundaries and insist that they are a grown up. However, until reconstruction is complete, they are anything but adults. Established rules help students to frame their world and reduces the unpredictability they already experience through puberty and brain development.

• Use repetition – Adolescents should not only have routine in their academic behaviors (such as a set study time after school) but also in family rules. The more repletion, without overkill, the more likely these values become intrinsic and instinctual.

• Get involved – Reconstruction is the time of use it or lose it. Get your child involved in a variety of activities and expose them to the variety of life. Also, limit the amount of time they spend on the computer (if they aren’t learning a skill) and television. Now is the time that their habits become solidified.

• Organization – An unorganized environment compounds the issues of an unorganized brain. Help your child arrange organizational systems that can simplify their lives.

• Understand your child – Seek resources that will help you understand your child’s behavior from a neurological point of view. They have not purposefully transformed into a snarling ogre that closely resembles your former son or daughter.

• Have a sense of humor – Whether you are the perfect parent or are more in the lines of Homer Simpson, your child will have adolescent moments. It is unavoidable. And, believe it or not, you went through the same things. Your kids need to hear this, and you needn’t glamourize your past good behaviors. Adolescence catches everyone at some point so have a laugh about it when your child isn’t looking.

Though one could create a reasonable argument just by watching a group of teenagers interact, there really is nothing wrong with your kids. What they are experiencing and how they are reacting is completely normal. So, the next time your child lashes out unexpectedly, give the hormones a break and grumble, “Prefrontal cortex reconstruction…”

By TY SMEINSPudong Upper School Campus Middles School Principal

SHIFTING THE BLAME FOR ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR

PARTNER

SCIS-HIS SAVED ALMOST 119,000 PLASTIC BOTTLES BY CHOOSING WASTE2WEAR®

RECYCLED SCHOOL UNIFORMS

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EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS

As they head towards summer break, our graduating seniors have a lot to be proud of. Our students have

been accepted by elite institutions all over the world. Equally important, they have shown that we are not only a high school where academic students can get into the top tier universities of the world, but that we are also a high school where students with talents and interests that lie outside of school curriculum are also well prepared to take the next step in their lives. The flexibility of the IB diploma is quite impressive!

The class of 2014 has students who have been accepted to London School of Economics, New York University and McGill, as well the world’s top Hotel Management school in the world, Switzerland’s Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, (which gave offers to two of our students). This eclectic and interesting group of 12th graders has never been averse to trying new things. For the first time, we had a student apply to the very competitive Beijing Film Academy. He was accepted. We better keep an eye out for him as he plies his talents in China’s burgeoning film industry.

The scholarship offers, now topping $400,000 are another testament to the desirability of our SCIS graduates. I used to tell families that public universities seldom give students scholarship

money, especially international students. For the second year in a row, I have been proven wrong. Offers of between $5,000 and $20,000 have not been unusual this year.

As I go into my 3rd year working with students in our IB program, I continue to be impressed by what a flexible and beneficial diploma it is for students to earn. It is widely regarded by universities around the world as the most challenging and most impressive credential a high school student can earn. What can be overlooked about the diploma is how useful it is for students who have interests they want to pursue after high school that might not include applying to Oxford or Harvard. For example, the IB Visual Arts program is ideal for students who want to go to art and design colleges. It helps them create a portfolio that will set them apart from other students. I have already mentioned our IB Theater student who got into the Beijing Film Academy. The depth of IB’s two-year courses allows students to reach a level of knowledge and expertise that sets them apart from high school students in other programs.

By RAFAEL KATZHongqiao Campus High School College Counselor

THE IB GETS THE CLASS OF 2014 WHERE THEY WANT TO GO!

• Baylor University• Beijing Film Academy (China)• Berkeley College• California Polytechnic State University• Capilano (Canada)• City College of London (Europe)• Concordia Univeristy (Canada)• Depaul University • Drexel University• Ecole Hoteliere de Laussane (Europe)• George Mason University• George Washington University• Goucher College• Hofstra University• Kent State University• Kings College (Europe)• Kingston University• Lancaster University• London School of Economics, Sociology & Political Science (Europe)• Long Island University Brooklyn Campus• Manhattan College• Manhattanville College• Marist College • Mary Washington College• Marymount College• McGill University (Canada)• Northeastern University• NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering• Oxford Brooks (Europe)• Parsons The New School for Design• Pennsylvania State University• Purdue University• Queen Mary College (Europe)• Rochester Institute of Technology • Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology • Royal Halloway,University of London (Europe)• San Jose State • Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)• Simon Fraser University (Canada)

• St. Mary’s College (Canada)• The University of Hong Kong (HKU)• The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST)• University College London (Europe)• Université de Sherbrooke (Canada)• University of Alberta (Canada)• University of Bath (Europe)• University of Brighton (Europe)• University of Bristol (Europe)• University of British Columbia (Canada)• University of California, Davis• University of California, Irvine• University of California, Riverside• University of California, Santa Clara• University of California, Santa Cruz• University of California, Santa Diego• University of Cape Breton (Canada) • University of Cincinnati• University of Colorado, Boulder• University of Connecticut• University of Edinburgh (Europe)• University of Glasgow (Europe)• University of Hartford, Barney School of Business / Accounting• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champlain• University of Liverpool (Europe)• University of Maine• University of Manchester (Europe)• University of Massachussets Amherst• University of Massachusetts System, Boston• University of Miami• University of Nevada, Las Vegas• University of Nottingham (Europe)• University of Ottawa (Canada)• University of Pittsburgh • University of St. Andrews (Europe)• University of Toronto (Canada)• University of Victoria (Canada)• University of Washington

2014 UNIVERSITY OFFERS AND ACCEPTANCES

Continue on page 35…

EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS

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COMMUNITY FEATUREPAFA

In early October 2010 a group of fourteen kids from SCIS PD showed up at Century Park in Pudong with guitars, trumpets,

trombones and saxophones in hand. They were playing right inside the entrance gate on the opening day of the biggest Jazz Festival in China, and after weeks of hard work they were ready to play precisely one and a half songs! The flute players, only two weeks prior had their flutes pried from their hands and instead found sliding trombones in their arms, and bass clefs on their music. A jazz band must have a low brass section after all! With a hard rockin’ “Louie Louie” and some swingin’ “Saints” they all left the festival that day feeling like rock stars, and the SCIS Pudong Jazz Bands were born.

Our jazz band began small. The first group that met at lunch times in 2009 was a ragtag gathering of students, some of whom did not know how to play any instrument at all. We had 4 piano players, a violist, a flute and maybe a trumpet. Raising this band was going to be a challenge, but if there is one thing that SCIS students have always had, it is a willingness to learn and the determination to succeed.

With the first JZ Jazz Festival behind us we slowly built up our group to include all of the sections needed to make great music. We built our repertoire and even learned how to improvise. Within two years we had so many student in our jazz band, we divided into two groups, middle school and high school. Now, five JZ Jazz Festivals later, we have over sixty students in our jazz program.

This past year, we added a new director, Mark Miller, to the middle school jazz band and he brought a wealth of skills and knowledge to the students. Patiently training a drummer and a bass player, he not only solidified the group, but brought them together to perform at the Disneyland in Hong Kong for the second year in a row.

In the next few weeks, my high school jazz band will be preparing music for our upcoming SCIS Vivace Music Festival. They will be directed by our guest, Jason Crafton, professor of trumpet and jazz band director from Virginia Tech, who will lead them through the most challenging music they have encountered to date.

Six years into working with our amazing SCIS students finds me moving on to new adventures. I feel a great sense of pride and satisfaction in knowing that not only are these students in good hands and that their love of jazz and playing music will be nurtured, but also that I’ve worked with amazingly talented, fun and dedicated students. These Green Dragons will always hold a place in my heart, and I truly hope they continue to make music wherever they find themselves in life!

By TRACEY RAMSEYPudong High School Campus Intrumental Music and Choir Teacher

BUILDING A JAZZ PROGRAM

This afternoon, building up the slip and slide for the 5K Dragon Run, I was looking at the smiles on the kids’ faces.

They were standing behind the rope waiting and knowing that tomorrow, they would have so much fun. Never mind that the weather forecast says rain and a chilly 21 degrees. The kids will still go for it. It is one of the highlights of the school year for the PAFA team. Before we get ready for the summer holidays, we enjoy the 5K Weekend so much as our HIS community gets together with the local community in an active and relaxed way.

How can I best show this community feeling when I had to give in the PAFA pictures for the yearbook? With only two pages available I had to make choices. Do I put more Halloween pictures in there, showing the parents playing playing in the haunted house with the little ones? Or shall I go for the Winter Holiday Celebration that had so many highlights on a day that the air pollution decided to hit (and go over) 500!

In every picture I ended up sending a parent is showing a passion for assisting the children—to dress up when asked and to act crazy when the time is right for that. Isn’t that a great reflection of PAFA’s involvement in school this past year?

Later this month our PAFA elections take place and I sincerely hope that new parents will step up and take over from the parents that are leaving our school, moving on to new destinations or simply making room for new parents. Every year the dynamics change in a community when a big group moves on again and a new group enters our school. Will it affect the involvement of parents in a school or not? Can we continue the Passport Club (totally PAFA driven) with new parents who are willing to take on the challenge and go for it? Yes, of course it will change things in school, but isn’t that one of the advantages of being in an international school? Not one year is the same, simply because the demographics change every year. What is cool one year is totally out the year after. And that’s how we learn from each others’ cultures and customs.

So even though you might hesitate to raise your hand at the General Meeting to volunteer for a PAFA team position, think of that wonderful smile on the kid’s face when you are preparing an activity and do it!

By FRANCIS SPIEKERMANHIS Upper School PAFA President

REFLECTIONS OF ANOTHER PAFA YEAR AT HIS

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COMMUNITY FEATURECOMMUNITY FEATURE

Outwardly, the Invention Convention held at Shanghai Community International School (Hongqiao Campus)

is a fabulous showcase of interesting and often unique contraptions. It is a colorful, vibrant event held every year, presented by Grade 5 students across the SCIS campuses in Hongqiao, Pudong and Hangzhou. However, the quality of learning in the three-month build up to the event is probably the most important aspect of this process with the outcome being reflective of some serious background research, problem solving, development and design in the Grade 5 classroom and at home.

Grade 5 students at SCIS are encouraged to be independent learners with an ability to think creatively and the Invention Convention certainly inspired many of the participants in this direction. The variance and imagination involved in the production of the inventions was tremendous.

Not only do students get to design and create these wonderful inventions but they were also exposed to the real world of evaluation and critical appraisals by a “team” of volunteer parent and faculty judges. Presenting and answering questions on their creations was a demanding task, but each

and every one of the students was able to communicate their ideas well and leave lasting impressions on the judges. Many judges were amazed at the quality and thinking behind the products overall.

Prizes were given for -• Best overall inventions • Most creative inventions.• Most patentable inventions and • Inventions chosen by students’ peers (in the Student Choice awards).

The competition was close and all budding inventors should be congratulated on their efforts.The Invention Convention at SCIS is a worthy, motivational and educationally valuable experience which moves from strength to strength each year as a highlight of the Grade 5 and entire school calendar. Look out for some extremely marketable products from the minds of SCIS Grade 5 shortly! (Written by Gregory Watt, Grade 5 Teacher SCIS Hongqiao)

Student Choice AwardsDiego Cano HQ (iDoor), Nikki Kobrick HQ (Stay Still Ruler),

11TH ANNUAL SCIS-HIS INVENTION CONVENTION

Yosei Fuji HQ (Bathroom Friend), Amit Rubel HQ (Big Pourer), Frederik Lang HQ (Electric Toilet), Sevillana Ettinger HQ (The Kitchen Wheel It), Jacky Lim HZ (Instant Watering Plant), Tobias Birtner PD (The Macbook Charger), Joshua Sahgal PD (Ultimate Travel Box), Kyoka Oshima PD (Umbrella Clip).

Most CreativeLisa Jesudas HZ (Cozy Up), Ela Samataci HQ (QM Travel Pillow), Harry Song HQ (Belongings Rain Safer), Annabelle Richert PD (Snow Melting Paint), Barak Rozenblat HQ (App For School).

Most PatentableKeegan Algstam HQ (Lunex), Ester Taws HQ (Swim N Go), Sam Park HQ (Umbrella Tornado), Fabian Emilson HQ (The Lazy Remote), Amy Phelps HZ (Head Book).

Best OverallMillie Fang HQ (Happy and Angry Tin Can Lid), Zoe Fowler HQ (Zoe’s Husk Eliminator), Anderson Chou HQ (Hang O Bag), Jarul Khurana HZ (Automatic Tray), Adrien Laurent HQ (Magnet Wheel Electricity).

By DIANNE WATTHongqiao Campus Grade 5 Teacher

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SUMMER KIDS CAMPFUN doesn’t need to take a summer break!

Program dates: June 23 - July 18, with flexible weekly enrollment options

ECE Campus

Registration open

while seats are available

For all Summer Kids Camp inquiries, please contact summeractivities.ece@scischina.org

https://hq.scis-his.net/content/summer-kids-camp

YES! Now enrolling students through

Grade Two!

NICOLA FADER “MS NICKY”

After graduating with a dual major in Chinese

and Music from Leeds in England, Ms Nicky has been teaching in Shanghai for the past 7 years. She started her own music academy here, and she also brought expats and Chinese together to form an informal Chamber Music group. Even though she is

busy with the final preparations of the K-1 concert, I was able to get her to sit down with me…

First question: how did you pick the flute? I do get parents asking me what instrument they should get for their child. It can be a bit of a conundrum? Are they ready to start an instrument and if so what instrument? For me, I asked to learn the flute, but it picked me. Plus, not only was the flute silver and pretty, it was also portable.

But you play other instruments too. How many do you play? Are you a one-woman-walking-orchestra?I wish. But I only play piano and flute. And I do sing, although I’m not vocally trained.

Sounds like you intended to live and work in China all the way back in University. What led you to choose this path?Actually I totally did fall in love with the idea of living in Shanghai when I was about 17. That’s before I really knew anything about the place or history, so it’s a bit inexplicable. Luckily everything I learned of China at university and during my travels was so absorbing that I never regretted my instincts.

You have worked at your own music academy, and now you teach at a traditional school. What are some of the key differences between the two?The main difference is whilst before I was handling marketing, finance, management and program design, I now get to focus solely on the students. Hallelujah!

Talk to me about preparing kids for their concert performances. How do you choose the music? Well, for this concert it all started last Winter with a student saying “I know this really cool song”. He then gave a very impassioned delivery of ‘We Are the Champions’ which received a standing ovation from fellow kindergarteners and voila, our next concert theme was set. Then a couple of months ago a Grade 1 student gave me a copy of the lyrics of ‘Weekend Whip’, saying it fit the show’s theme and that everyone would love it. He was very persuasive. And he was right.

When students aren’t pioneering song choices, I try to get a rounded collection of pieces that will also challenge the students

musically. Above all, I look for songs that I believe the students will interact with on a personal and genuine level. It might be a melody, beat, or lyrics that resonates with an individual; it’s this inner emotional connection that is so important to develop in youngsters as well as what is so interesting to see as an audience.

So if I randomly chanced upon your iPod would I think, “I never knew 5 year olds have their own Ipods.”My personal collection is pretty spread. There isn’t any Wiggles there. However I do think it’s great for children (everyone, really) to gain exposure to a wide range of modes, meters and genres. There are plenty music educationalists arguing the benefits of incorporating different music styles earlier, rather than later, so from that perspective, my selection certainly couldn’t hurt.

Back to the concerts, do you also choreograph the dance moves?Yes, ECE kids have buckets of energy and love movement—woe betide the music teacher who doesn’t give it to them. There are also plenty of opportunities for students to work on making their own choreography too. One of the most special moments of the last show was when the children sat down in small groups and touched toes together to make a star. That was a formation those children had created on their own during class.

Have you ever come up with something that you thought would be amazing, and then for whatever reason it just completely fails and you have to scrap it?Once a program for a concert has been made I nurse that creature to the closing of the curtains. I haven’t yet pulled anything from a show.

Is it nerve racking for you to be directing the shows?In all honesty, yes. I shouldn’t really admit that, eh? What I’d really love is to be able to sit back and just watch the children do the show. After all this is what they’ve been working for and I want to see how much they enjoy being on stage. Surprisingly some people really come out of themselves when they’ve got loved-ones to impress. I’m pretty keen for that moment when the concert DVD comes out and I can finally watch what happened.

What are some other things that people might not know about you? When I was a kid I volunteered at London Zoo as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award program.

What is the “Secret Life of Ms Nicky?” You can tell me. I promise not to tell anyone who doesn’t read this.” If I told you it wouldn’t be a secret.

Lastly, what are your plans for the future? How many more shows by Ms Nicky can SCIS look forward to?One billion shows. (Pinky to corner of mouth).

By JONATHAN PAULSONSCIS-HIS Communications Officer

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT

Enrolling students who have completed Nursery through Grade Two

(Date of birth ranging from

Nov. 1, 2005 through Nov. 1, 2011)

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THE LIBRARIANS CORNER

Patrick’s Dinosaurs By: Carole CarrickFor ECE

Synopsis: One of the best things about being a librarian is introducing books to students that I remember loving as a child. It ensures that a classic book is enjoyed by future generations. A perfect example of this is Patrick’s Dinosaurs by Carol

Carrick. In this book Patrick, a curious young boy is visiting the zoo with his older brother, Hank, when Hank tells him that to-day’s animals are small and tame compared to the dinosaurs.

Mr Bali’s Take: Patrick’s imagination starts running wild and he starts to imagine how scary dinosaurs would be if they were still walking the earth today. This book is a perfect combination of fantastic storytelling and beautiful illustrations and can also be used as a learning guide to certain dinosaurs. I remember my parents reading this book to me over and over and I hope that your child can enjoy it too! Other books by Carole Carrick I recommend are Whatever Happened to Patrick’s Dinosaurs? and Patrick’s Dinosaurs on the internet.

Fire Storm (Young Sherlock Holmes #4)by Andrew LaneFor Middle School

Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Sherlock has come up against some challenges in his time, but what confronts him now is completely baffling. His tutor, Crowe, and Crowe’s daughter, Ginny, have vanished. Their house looks as if nobody

has ever lived there. Neighbours claim never to have heard of them. Sherlock begins to doubt his sanity, until a chance clue points him to Scotland.

Ms. Carole’s Take: If you love mysteries and want to learn how to be a detective, this series is for you! Learn how to disguise not only your physical self but how to become the part. The series is full of suspense and excitement. Recommended for grade 5 and up.

Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene YelchinFor Upper School

Synopsis: It’s best to start Breaking Stalin’s Nose quick but powerful read by with the author’s note at the back. Eugene Yelchin grew up in Soviet Russia and explains his motivation for writing Breaking Stalin’s Nose. The book opens with Sasha Zaichick writing a letter of praise and a pledge of allegiance to J Stalin. Sasha will have the great honor of being inducted into the Young Pioneers the very next day at school. His dad, who works in State Security, will be the guest of honor at the ceremony. That night Sasha’s father is arrested and his world begins to change. The next day Sasha makes his way to school and a series of events leave him questioning the very society that he was so dedicated to to just a few hours before.

Mr Stone’s Take: The charcoal drawings interspersed in the book make the story come alive. Recommended for advanced middle school students and up.

The Sweet SummerBy William KelleyFor Upper School

Synopsis: Starting off a military career as a cryptographer and ending up as a boxer? How could that happen? “Well sir, it sort of mushroomed. But in the beginning it was because I like to read books.” By bringing James Joyce’s Ulysses to boot camp (it was the first book he could grab when heading out the door) Cully Madden finds himself constantly challenged to fights. But he always wins, and that just brings more challengers. After 14 fistfights and on the verge of court-martial, Cully discovers another calling…

Mr Stone’s Take: Written in a quick witted style, and using chal-lenging vocabulary, this page turner tells the entertaining story of a young man’s journey through the world of the “Sweet Science” of boxing. Recommended for ages 16+, bring your dictionary!

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALL AGES

Hongqiao PAFA President:HQ PAFA Co-President: Mun Chang roymun5@gmail.com

Event Coordinator: Donna Bose events.scispafahq@gmail.cominformation.scispafahq@gmail.com

PAFA NEWS

Hangzhou PAFA President: LS co-Presidents: Miranda Kwan & Jerry JosephUS President: Francis SpiekermanUS Vice-President: Amy NashInformation about our activities: https://hz.scis-his.net/Pafa.Contact us at: pafa_hz@scischina.org

Pudong PAFA Chairs:Lower School: Lauren Pitts, laurenupitts@yahoo.comKatie Berkaw, katieberkaw@yahoo.comUpper School: Sandra Machan, sandramachan@yahoo.com Weili Vlas, vlasliu@yahoo.com

SCIS-HIS has parent organizations called the Parents and Friends Association (PAFA) on each campus. PAFA serves as a way that parents can communicate ideas for the betterment of the school to the administration and Board. SCIS and HIS are proud of the high level of parents participation in their

schools and value their partnership with the parent community. PAFA conducts various activities, from community events to charity fundraisers to volunteer support for teachers and students. Each campus has a PAFA board who works closely with each campus’ administrations to plan events that help to make SCIS-HIS schools a unique experience for families, faculty, and students alike. We are always welcoming new members! For more information about PAFA, please contact us at:

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PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIESTHAT ARE JUST RIGHT…

Tour our state-of-the-art facilities by calling 86-571-8669-0045www.scis-his.org

NURSERY – GRADE 12 The International School of Choice

Ian, Grade 12Varsity Volleyball Member of MUN and OutreachAspiring business major