Pao Press Spring 2018 by YK Pao School

Wuding Campus

CONTENT FOUNDER'S MESSAGE

The Journey Continues

HEADMASTER'S MESSAGE

The Heart of a Great School Helping Teachers to Improve

PAO STUDENTS

18 20

Peter Dream Big, Think Beyond

22 24

Pao students raise environmental awareness through art

HONGQIAO CAMPUS

The Hongqiao campus An ideal middle school environment

Lori Marek brings a global perspective to YK Pao School's new Hongqiao campus

A Pao School teacher's journey from Harvard to Hongqiao

14 16

Professional conductor joins the faculty at new Hongqiao campus

Pao School's literary stars shine

The Shakespeare Festival An exultant finale

Pao students participate in leading North American robot competition

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS IN THE NEWS

Designing the ideal city

of the future

Baba Zhen Bang Pao School is known for its excellent primary education Its secondary education is equally superb Jing Kids YK Pao School For Chinese students, the best international education is that which passes on traditions of Chinese culture

FOUNDER'S MESSAGE

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES P

ao School has evolved over the last eleven years into a wonderful expression of the Founders’ Intentions. We were delighted to be recognized by the Hurun Report in their ranking as the number one international school in China. Although rankings can never capture the whole picture, this was an affirmation of our commitment to create a school that is unique and distinctive. The fact that many others are now seeking to replicate the Pao recipe of bilingual international Chinese schools across China is also a reflection of our achievements. The vision of Pao School was from the start to ‘build a school for tomorrow’s China, educating future leaders on a foundation of academic excellence, firm values, and strong character’. We saw then and see even more now that education holds the key to China’s future. Nothing is more meaningful or more able to shape future decision-making than effective, values-driven education. As Founders we built on Sir YK Pao’s long tradition of charitable giving to educational causes and have always had the consistent aim of improving student’s life chances and enhancing their quality of learning. But beyond that is the greater aim of developing young Chinese men and women who will possess the breadth of cultural experience, values and skills to have an impact in China and on the world. As we have grown and matured as a School we continue to implement Pao School’s vision of ‘building a School for Tomorrow’s China’. Part of our Mission is to extend the global reach and understanding of all our students. We do this by welcoming international passport holders into our School, and by actively seeking to recruit international

students throughout the School. Many of our students travel widely and a number leave to attend some the top western secondary schools in America and the UK. Almost all will seek to attend universities overseas, and our record of getting students into world-class colleges is building year on year.

in the light of direction from the Shanghai Education Committee as well as international best practice. Our pedagogy has been captured and defined in our SiMian BaFang programmes which are in turn supported by courses written by staff from all campuses in the Professional Learning Centre.

In the next few years we will extend further our offer to our students to help them experience the world of the international marketplace where they will live, study and work. We will adapt our curriculum offer to provide more flexibility and opportunities for learning in and out of classroom. We already have a range of excellent exchanges and partnerships which take our students to the US, UK, Australia and Canada. This will be enhanced and personalised to provide students with the opportunity to study outside of China whilst remaining at Pao School. We want to increase the breadth and depth of our offer, especially in our High School programme to encourage more students to remain with us for the whole of their school career, and to attract in the very best students from around Shanghai, China and the world.

The School has come a long way but it has much further to travel. We are seeking to enrich our student experience all the time. The new HongQiao campus will be a major focus for development both of a state-of-the art campus and also curricular programme. In Songjiang we are continuing to enhance our provision, offering our EP programmes, developing sports, as well as planning to expand our Outdoor programme and our House competitions. We are also beginning to plan for the future renovation of the Songjiang and Wuding campuses.

In 2017 we introduced our third Five Year Strategic Plan which had at its heart a commitment to enhancing classroom teaching and learning quality. As a result, the Professional Learning Centre, which we will open this month, was established. The Data Centre was created to track student progress in academics and character traits in line with the School’s mission. Quality and Performance Management systems are being reworked, and our teacher allocation, compensation and workload re-aligned. Our curriculum has been and will continue to be enhanced and shaped

We continue to hold an ambition of becoming a World Leading School as we move into the 2020s. We want Pao School to be uttered in the same breath as some of the leading schools in the world. We have a long way to go, but the Founders, the Governors and the Leadership of the School are committed to this journey. We are delighted to be welcoming wonderful new leaders this year who will be joining us to build this vision. We are assembling the team, resource base and common vision that will make this good school even greater and begin to fulfil those intentions to which we, as Founders, aspired back in 2007.

PHILIP SOHMEN Co-Founder, Deputy Chairman

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

HEADMASTER'S MESSAGE

ver the last thirty or so years, hundreds of educational researchers around the world have been striving to discover the best way of improving schools. Lots of different strategies have been recommended and tested by academics – class size, support systems like tutoring and homework clubs, classroom design, classroom assistants, use of technology. All provide marginal improvement, but, as every parent will intuitively know, the real improvements are in much more obvious areas. School improvement, according to researchers like John Hattie, a professor at Melbourne University and world-renowned author of a seminal book that summarizes the impact of various teaching strategies, comes best when the quality of teaching improves. This hardly sounds revolutionary, but there is a lot a school can do to help improve teaching quality. Improving teaching takes time and consistent effort from all in the School. It stems from great preparation, normally done collaboratively so best ideas can be shared. It is followed up with a rich range of strategies in the classroom which get the students actively engaged with their learning but which also ensure that key knowledge and understanding are deeply embedded in their long-term memories. It continues with effective and timely assessment of the students’ work in and out of class, to identify misunderstandings that will inform the next lessons that are taught. Finally, good teaching requires a full reflection on the learning process, taking into account the views of students and other professionals, to help a teacher continuously improve in their practice to meet student needs more effectively. At Pao School, these process have been brought together into a set of approaches to teaching which we call SiMian BaFang - literally Four Pillars or Principles (Plan, Teach, Assess, Reflect) and Eight Aspects, which include enhancing classroom culture, use of language, and applying technology to aid learning. Overall it describes our holistic understanding of good teaching. SiMianBaFang provides a common

understanding of teaching at Pao School, which we can then use as the basis for our staff development training programmes, and our performance and quality management. In March this year we launch our Professional Learning Centre. This will function on all three campuses, and its primary aim will be to support all our staff in becoming better teachers. We can all improve if we have the right support, right coaching, mentoring and input. Caroline Xu will be the first Director of the PLC and with her team she will oversee the provision of a range of courses. The main thrust of the PLC will be the delivery of SiMian BaFang to all colleagues. Caroline summarizes the aim of the Centre: ‘We want to create ways to support the improvement of every member of staff, by developing high quality teaching, great leadership and management, and by inducting new staff through our Pao101 course. We will add courses to support our residential programmes, our Child Protection, our approach to bilingualism, especially teaching English in the mainstream classroom. Over time the PLC will be a major hub for supporting excellence at Pao School. And we also hope to share some courses with colleagues from other schools.’ Recently appointed Manager of the Professional Learning Centre is Sara Roesler. With a Masters in Education from Harvard University, Sara was a coach at the US National Center for Teacher Effectiveness and will bring her experience and knowledge to the PLC to help all staff to develop into being the best teachers they can be. A core part of the PLC will be to work with teachers in the classroom to help them make the small changes that can make all the difference to student learning. The Centre will work in a five-stage learning cycle. Trainees will study some prereading and watch some videos, then this material will be discussed and processed using case studies, data analysis and lesson observations to challenge existing understanding. The trainee will then seek to apply the learning in their own classroom, and be coached and mentored by one of our Master Teachers who will be appointed over the next year to support the PLC. Finally,

trainees will write up their learning in a piece of action research which will be held centrally and used to support future learners. We hope that for each of our courses, practical application will accompany new knowledge and understanding and so transform teaching across the school. Acting Primary Principal, Crick Chen, argues classroom teaching is the key focus of all we do at Pao School. ‘Making sure the quality of instruction is the best it can be is the key to all our planning and preparation.’ She along with all at Pao School will benefit from the work of the PLC as it systematically seeks to enhance the classroom experience for all our students. As mentioned earlier, the Professional Learning Centre will be officially opened on March 30th 2018 as part of our two-day inaugural Global Education Forum. This will be part of our continuing celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Pao School. In those 10 years the School has become a pathfinder in developing a new form of bilingual education, bringing together the best of East and West and preparing students as global citizens as well as potential leaders of the next stage of the China success story. We will welcome speakers from the UK, Hong Kong, Australia and China to contribute to our discussion on the future of education and to provide professional learning to both our own staff and those invited from local public and private schools. The Forum marks the beginning of our PLC, but is also a continuation of Pao School’s commitment as a not-for-profit school to make a real contribution to the improvement of education not just within our own walls but for whomever wishes to share in the work of our Centre. It is the beginning of a long journey but one which will see many teachers experience the exhilaration of honing their performance, and developing their practice.

DAVID MANSFIELD Executive Headmaster

THE HEART OF A GREAT SCHOOL HELPING TEACHERS TO IMPROVE

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

HONGQIAO CAMPUS

THE HONGQIAO CAMPUS AN IDEAL MIDDLE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT A

t 2206 Hongqiao Road stands an idyllic middle school campus covered in luxuriant foliage. With its red brick buildings and well-pruned lawns, the Pao School Hongqiao campus has a scholarly air. At the same time, the youthful energy of the Hongqiao campus is palpable. In short, it is an ideal place for middle school students in Shanghai to study.

A DEDICATED CAMPUS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS Pao School celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2017. As part of this milestone, the school embarked on a new stage of expansion, establishing a middle school campus in Shanghai’s Hongqiao district to accommodate its growing student body. The Hongqiao campus is a day school specifically designed to meet the learning needs of middle school students.

The Changning district local government provided important support to Pao School throughout the selection process for the campus site. Pao School chose the Changning district for the site of the Hongqiao campus following an invitation from the Changning local government.

The Hongqiao campus is ideally situated west of downtown Shanghai in the Changning district. Hongqiao is one of Shanghai’s fastest growing areas, and is known as both a business hub and desirable residential neighbourhood. Further, Pao School’s campus in Hongqiao is conveniently located within walking distance of the Longxi Road subway station (Line 10), making it easy for students to commute to and from school. In early September 2017, Year 6 students moved to the Hongqiao campus. In the near future, Pao School will gradually move other middle school students to Hongqiao as the campus grows.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

HONGQIAO CAMPUS

THE RIGHT DESIGN To ensure an optimal learning environment at Hongqiao, Pao School hired a global design firm experienced in working with the education sector to design the Hongqiao campus. Under the guidance of Pao School founder Anna Pao Sohmen, the Hongqiao campus design is being designed in a simple, cheerful and lively way. To ensure the learning experience at Hongqiao is excellent for students, Pao School has undertaken an extensive renovation process. Classrooms, air conditioning, water pressure, and

bathrooms have all been upgraded. Classrooms are now bright and clean, and labs for science classes have been fitted with state-of-the-art equipment. In the future, Pao School will continue to upgrade the Hongqiao campus. Further, the new campus will have an advanced STEM centre, a special music and performing arts centre, an inspiring arts centre, and many different common spaces for flexible learning and collaboration. The future of the Hongqiao campus looks bright indeed.

TALENTED TEACHERS WHO WORK IN TEAMS CONSISTENCY IN CURRICULUM DESIGN The Hongqiao campus curriculum design will be consistent with the curriculum used at the Songjiang campus. The ‘Shanghai Plus’ curriculum will be maintained, which will be combined with elements of international curricula. The objective will be to ensure that students smoothly transition to Hongqiao, study an optimal balance of Chinese and Western subjects, develop critical thinking and self-study skills, and ultimately be well prepared for IGCSE and IB. The Hongqiao curriculum (taught bilingually) has the following eight subject groups: Language and Literature, Language Acquisition, Mathematics, Individual & Societies, Natural Sciences, ICT, Arts, Physical & Health Education. Each subject is a combination of basics, knowledge extension and research-based elements.

Ⅹ Ⅹ A graphic rendering of the Hongqiao campus

As a core part of Pao School’s mission, whole-person education is integral to the Hongqiao campus. There are numerous extracurricular activities for students, while the Hongqiao area offers numerous resources (cultural, technological and more) that can help students pursue their interests.

The Hongqiao faculty is talented, passionate and diverse. Half of the teachers hold master degrees, and the Chinese to foreign teacher ratio is 4:6. It is essential that the Hongqiao campus fit seamlessly into Pao School’s educational system. Thus, when establishing the Hongqiao faculty, Pao School recruited numerous teachers from the Songjiang campus who are familiar with the school’s pedagogies and student body. These teachers played a vital role in designing the Hongqiao curriculum. Besides Chinese and English, the other six subjects taught at Hongqiao have Chinese and foreign teachers. The establishment of the Hongqiao campus, a dedicated middle school, marks an exciting new beginning for Pao School. It is a major milestone on the road to building a school for tomorrow’s China.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

HONGQIAO CAMPUS

LORI MAREK BRINGS A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE TO YK PAO SCHOOL’S NEW HONGQIAO CAMPUS BUILDING ENDURING CONNECTIONS ‘I was originally drawn to Pao School because of its commitment to excellence and forwardthinking outlook’, she says. ‘I also was looking for the opportunity to take a year off from school administration and re-energize by working in the classroom again’. Lori and the students

ori Marek has long been a world traveller. Her grandparents instilled in her a global perspective from a young age, and she became a person who sought out new experiences to broaden her horizons. This interest in the wider world prepared Lori well for a career in international education. Before joining Pao School, she served as principal of the International School Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and principal in Texas’s Devine Independent School District,

as well as assistant principal at the American International School in Kuwait. Lori joined Pao School in August of 2016 as an English language teacher for Years 9 and 10 and an English literature teacher for Year 9. She also worked with the whole-school annual musical theater production from August 2016 to February 2017. Currently, Lori serves as the Deputy Head of the Hongqiao campus. From August 2018, she will take on the role of Principal and Head of the Hongqiao campus.

Returning to the classroom has helped Lori in leadership roles as it puts her in touch with the environment where teachers work on a daily basis. 'I hope it makes me a more empathetic and understanding teacher leader, and of course it really helps me improve my own craft as a teacher and connect with students in much more meaningful ways', she says. At the core of Lori's educational philosophy is the idea of 'connections'. In the classroom, she believes teachers must first connect with their students on a personal level, demonstrating their care and commitment to each child, in order for a true learning journey

to take place. Further, teachers should plan 'intentional opportunities' for students to connect learning to prior knowledge, to connect to other academic disciplines, and to connect to real-world applications, both known and unknown. At the middle school level in particular, Lori values being able to connect students to a purpose beyond themselves, explore ways to serve others, and learn how they can affect positive change in the world. Being in international school settings allows students and staff many opportunities to make global connections to different cultures and discover that, as the IB puts it, ' 'other people, with their differences, can also be right', 'she says. As a teacher leader, Lori strives to connect colleagues with one another and build enduring ties between them. In two previous schools, she played a leading role managing orientation and induction programmes which help foreign teachers settle in to their new lives and school setting. That experience was 'particularly rewarding and strengthened my belief in the importance of building cultural connections', she says.

DRAWING ON RICH EXPERIENCE As deputy head of the Pao School Hongqiao campus, Lori will draw on more than 16 years of educational leadership experience. Pao School has a different demographic than the schools where she previously worked, ‘but much of what we do requires innovative thinking and focused goaloriented development in order to realize our vision of becoming a world-class school’, she explains. Under Lori’s leadership, a Texas school where over 80% of students were considered to be living in poverty and around 30% were studying English as a second language achieved the highest level of recognition in the state for academic achievement and attendance. In both Kuwait and Trinidad, Lori chaired committees for school re-accreditation visits and was invited to serve on accreditation committees for other international schools. ‘Some of the best learning happens in this process—as a school being visited, it’s all about reflecting on why we

do things the way we do, examining our data, and planning for improvement’, she says. ‘Then, when visiting schools, it’s all about getting to learn how others tackle similar challenges and have differing perspectives and approaches. I find myself drawing on these experiences constantly in developing the new campus and helping the whole team to realize our mission’.

A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE HONGQIAO CAMPUS Looking ahead, Lori is enthusiastic about the prospects for the Hongqiao campus. She notes that Pao School is fortunate to already have a strong curriculum in place at Hongqiao and a talented staff to deliver it. ‘We never could have successfully opened the new campus in such a tight timeframe if it were not for these two things’, she observes. For Pao Year 6 students, Hongqiao represents a change from the previous Year 6 campus, Songjiang, which is a boarding school. Hongqiao is a day campus. ‘This allows students more time at home with parental support during these crucial years of early adolescence, and it brings the potential for a much greater degree of parental involvement in our programme due to the convenience of our location’, Lori explains. Being in Hongqiao, which is close to downtown Shanghai, also affords abundant opportunities for connecting students with cultural and educational programmes within the city, as

well as partnering with local businesses which can provide a variety of enrichment offerings for Pao students. At the same time, ‘being a stand-alone middle school campus allows us to shift our philosophy and practices ever so slightly to focus specifically on the unique nature and needs of early adolescence and not have to concern ourselves as much with how they fit within the broader scope of a junior high school housed alongside high schoolers’, Lori observes. ‘As the school in the middle, we become the transitional bridge between elementary and high school, choosing the best of what is offered on both campuses and blending those into a distinct middle school experience’. In the long term, Lori aims to help Hongqiao develop into an equally successful Pao School campus as the existing primary and secondary schools (the Wuding and Songjiang campuses respectively). With that in mind, she points out that in 2018, a number of exceptional teachers will join Hongqiao from the Songjiang campus. Additionally, Lori has already begun to recruit some strong international candidates for new openings. To be sure, ongoing renovations at Hongqiao for the next few years will bring logistical challenges, but Pao School’s strong foundation of core values and excellent model for education will remain constant. Lori looks forward to supporting the expansion of the Hongqiao campus: ‘I recognize how blessed we are with visionary school leaders who have a master plan—and a dedicated and knowledgeable team who can be trusted to make it a reality’, she says.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

HONGQIAO CAMPUS

A PAO SCHOOL TEACHER’S JOURNEY FROM HARVARD TO HONGQIAO

EDUCATION TEACHES STUDENTS HOW TO BE A GOOD PERSON What is the purpose of education? What do we want education to provide to our children? In Dr Weng’s view, education not only teaches children how to learn. It also has a fundamentally humanistic quality: Education teaches children how to be productive members of society. Talking about her own teaching career, Dr Weng says that she hopes to serve as a good example for students by continuously improving herself and being a proactive member of society.

r Weng Meiqian has had an illustrious career. She holds a PhD from Shanghai Jiaotong University and has served as a lecturer at Harvard Medical School and research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital. She joined Pao School’s Hongqiao campus in June 2017 to fulfil her dream of being a science teacher.

Throughout her teaching career, from Harvard to Pao School’s Hongqiao campus, Dr Weng has stayed true to her teaching principles and goals. She is committed to the idea of continuous self-improvement.

After obtaining her PhD in paediatrics, Dr Weng worked at Shanghai Xinhua Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. During her stay in the United States, she taught both undergraduate and graduate medical students, guiding them in their research work.

PAO SCHOOL MAKES A DEEP IMPRESSION ON DR WENG Dr Weng is well aware of the differences between the Chinese and American education systems, particularly in the field of science. In this field, China still has a long way to go. Thus, when Dr Weng returned to China from the U.S., she decided to be a middle school science teacher. Using her rich experience to boost the development of science education in China is quite meaningful for Dr Weng. Yet Dr Weng has not joined Pao School by chance. In fact, she has been familiar with the school for many years. She became acquainted with Pao School during a visit to China years ago (when she was still based in the U.S.) and was impressed by the founders’ ideas, especially the core values of compassion, integrity and balance and the focus on whole-person education. She also appreciated the school’s integration of Chinese and Western pedagogies, as well as the urbane atmosphere on campus. Dr Weng believes that the purpose of education is to teach students how to be a good person, so Pao School is a perfect fit for her. In 2015, she joined Pao School as the Songjiang campus’s resident scientist.

HELPING STUDENTS GET THE MOST OUT OF SCIENCE CLASS In early 2017, Dr Weng transferred to the Hongqiao campus to teach Year 6 students science. She focuses on inspiring students’ interest in learning. She hopes that in her classes, students not only enhance their understanding of science but also develop good learning habits. This will be beneficial for them throughout their lives. Thus, she endeavours to make her classes lively, including ample discussion time and activities that build teamwork skills. In this manner, students can learn from each other. Dr Weng believes a multifaceted approach to education can deliver better results than lectures alone.

Dr. Weng guiding students

Since Pao School is an IB school, Dr Weng and her colleagues must incorporate IB science Year 6 requirements into their daily teaching, connecting the middle and high school curricula. This ensures that students will excel in IB later on, per forming well on their essays in Years 11 and 12.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

HONGQIAO CAMPUS

HE SAYS

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCTOR JOINS THE FACULTY AT NEW HONGQIAO CAMPUS P

ao School’s Secondary Division resident artist Barnaby Palmer has joined the Hongqiao campus as a music teacher. Barnaby brings a wealth of musical talent and teaching experience to Pao School’s newest campus. He has received critical acclaim both as an orchestral and operatic conductor, having served as Artistic Director of San Francisco Lyric Opera, Assistant Conductor for the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, and Music Director of the Sichuan

Symphony Orchestra. Barnaby has guest conducted the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Orquestra Sinfonica de Barcelona, Szegedi Szabadteri and many others. In recent years, Barnaby has been increasingly active in China. He received a Certificate of Professorship from the Wuhan University of Technology for his work as a lecturer, conductor, and teacher. Earlier this year, he began working with the Shanghai Orchestral Academy and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

I think it’s important to link music with emotion, to help students connect the physical and mental activity of playing an instrument to the mood the composer was trying to achieve,

Barnaby praises Pao students’ musicianship: “They always rise to the occasion and deliver beautiful performances. For our more experienced musicians, I set a ver y high standard and don’t allow them to play in a passive way. I don’t mind if they fall short on occasion because no matter how good the performance is, the audience can feel when a musician is really going for it.” The Pao School orchestra’s performance of a Brandenburg concerto at the 10th anniversar y celebration was particularly outstanding. Written by J.S. Bach, the Brandenburg Concertos are considered some of the finest orchestral compositions of the Baroque era. The Brandenburg concerto demanded awareness of form, the versatility of technique, the sensitivity of balance, and tremendous energy and vigor. ‘Our young musicians came onstage and delivered at the ver y end of a long performance’, Barnaby says. ‘I was proud of their maturity, professionalism and self-imposed high standard of excellence. This spoke both to their musical abilities and as well their maturity as young men and women’. Looking ahead, Barnaby intends to channel his positive experience learning music from a young age in Pao School’s music curriculum: ‘I was most fortunate to be taught from an early age by excellent musicians who were also wonderful people. I became interested in music because I liked my teachers and wanted to understand what moved them. I hope to be that for our students’, he says. Barnaby adds: ‘I want my students to see and hear me practicing and as well to observe my efforts in making artistic musical decisions during rehearsal. If they cultivate a sense of musical curiosity that extends to other disciplines then this will be a tool of great value for the rest of their lives’.

HONGQIAO CAMPUS

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

If you could design a city of the future, how would you do it? What type of challenges will city life face in the future, in terms of the environment, technology, transportation and energy? How would you apply the knowledge you have learned to solve the problems facing future cities?

DESIGNING THE IDEAL CITY OF THE FUTURE R

PRESENTATION OUR CITY OF THE FUTURE

ecently, Pao students at our Hongqiao campus participated in the FabLab, a workshop focused on urban planning for the future organised by Pao School and Tongji University.

URBAN PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE At the event, students were divided into small teams of urban planners. Each team had an ‘architect’, ‘designer’ and ‘coordinator’. The teams were randomly assigned to one district of Shanghai and were required to build a prototype of what that district would look like in the future. With the help of mentors, students set out to build the ideal urban district of the future, including a draft design that incorporated 3D printing, 3D scanning, virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printing, 3D scanning, VR and AR, model construction, electronic circuits and other new technologies. The activity was a valuable experience for students. The FABO mentor explained: “This activity makes students aware of the creativity of their peers and the value of teamwork. By putting the students into different teams, we can develop a number of different ideas, and then select the best elements of each team’s proposal for the final prototype. Students appreciate the opportunity to work on a real-life problem at school, and enjoy facing a modest challenge too.”

After spending some time to refine their proposals, the teams each did a presentation, explaining their design concepts and giving ever yone a chance to evaluate the models. Let’s have a look at the different cities of the future: With recent technological advances, notably the rise of the Internet of Things and ar tificial intelligence, it is essential to cultivate innovative ability. Pao School’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programme offers an activity-based educational approach, helping students to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world situations, which boosts their creativity and critical thinking as well as problem-solving and decision-making ability.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

PAO STUDENTS

In May 2017, Pao student Peter (Year 12) won a special award in the category of System Software from the Association for Computing Machinery at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Peter has a vivid memory of the event that he shares in the following essay.

PETER DREAM BIG THINK BEYOND T

he Air China plane bearing the national flag made a smooth landing in Beijing, but my mind was still in Los Angeles, where I had attended the 67th Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). It was a truly unforgettable experience.

A DREAM TAKES ROOT In Year 4, I started to become interested in home entertainment systems, including televisions, DVD players, amplifiers and stereos. Over time, these things became an increasingly more important part of my life: first buildings blocks, then simple electronic gadgets for children, later small video game systems and computer games. As I grew older, I became more interested in the theories behind electronic gadgets and how they functioned, as opposed to just focusing on the devices themselves. I began to disassemble newly purchased electronic devices and then figure out how to put them back together. I was fortunate during the celebrations of Pao School’s fifth anniversary to be chosen as student representative for Science class. I introduced our Science classroom and curriculum to Nobel Prize Winner, Professor Yang Zhenning. He praised me during our meeting and this inspired me to enter into the science field. During Year 8, I heard by chance that the Shanghai Science Association for Young

Talents offered opportunities to do many hands-on experiments so I enrolled as a member in their STEM Club. Every weekend, I travelled from the Songjiang campus to the club, a distance of more than 10 kilometres, in order to learn how to conduct science experiments. It was at the STEM Club that I learned about some global forums and competitions for young scientists. I soon began to dream about participating in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the largest pre-college scientific research event in the world. One year later, I completed my STEM programme, passed the required exams and evaluations, and enrolled in the Middle School Talent Plan Programme organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education. I also became a student at Information Science and Technology School of Fudan University- the first student from Pao School to do so. Later, Pao School organised a group of students to participate in the 30th annual Talents

Peter, a participant in the Talent Plan Programme

Technology Competition organised by Shanghai Science Association and our team won first prize in the middle school category. We were thrilled. Following this success, I became more determined to participate in ISEF. This is what Pao School gives me: fertile soil in which the seeds of my dreams can grow.

A DREAM COMES TRUE Peter & Ivan Sutherland, 'the father of virtual reality', Turing Award winner

Peter & Daniel Mac Leon, ICT teacher at Pao School

PURSUING A DREAM In the talent-training programme, I had new opportunities to pursue my interests and improve my abilities. For instance, I participated in special programmes such as National Tsinghua University’s ‘Entering the World of Computing’ winter camp. I also had a chance to meet some top talents in the ‘Tomorrow’s Stars’ event in the field of computer science theory as well as Mr. Yao Qizhi and Mr. Ivan Sutherland at the Turing Award Ceremonies held by the Association for Computer Machinery. Under the leadership of my mentor, I learned how to do scientific research and strengthened my innovation ability. In the summer following Year 9 at Pao School, I served as the China representative on a delegation to participate in the Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Programme in Science. During the closing ceremony, I gave a speech in English. I received applause from not only the China Science Association team leader but also all of the other Asian student representatives and their delegation heads. This brought some positive attention to Pao School and gave me more courage to pursue my dream. It wasn’t easy to get to ISEF. Even choosing the topic was a challenge. But I was determined, and in May 2015, I applied (with Pao School’s approval) to be a volunteer interpreter on the ISEF Committee. As a result, I had the chance to experience ISEF in Pittsburgh, a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Serving as an interpreter for the China team during the finals, I became enamoured with the competition. Looking at the ISEF interpreter name card on my chest, I made up my mind: One day I would be an ISEF finalist with the goal of winning an award in the field of computer science for Pao School, Shanghai and all Chinese students. I knew that the road to ISEF would be tortuous. More than 10,000 outstanding secondary school students participate in the young talent programmes and compete in regional

and national competitions in China every year. It is only after clearing all these hurdles that one can reach ISEF, which has just 20 finalists. Among those finalists, just 1 to 2 comes from the computer science field. I knew that my chance of success was slim, but because this was my dream, I would do my utmost to realize it. Upon returning to China from Pittsburgh, I was more devoted than ever to computer science research and sought to focus on an original subject in which I could make an innovative breakthrough. As I studied current domain name system (DNS) servers, I discovered bugs in them. On the Internet, a DNS server translates common hostnames you type into your browser to an actual numerical IP address. Then I began to think about how to create an optimized DNS solution for Internet server providers: build a smart DNS cloud server and combine it with a smart router to create a smart DNS system. I worked diligently to develop my project. There were numerous steps to take from the standpoint of both hardware and software. I did everything myself, from acquiring the various hardware components and using them to assemble the smart DNS system, to writing the software programmes the system would run on, to connecting the system to the internet, to working with my computer science teacher. I also had to prepare an extensive presentation in both Chinese and English. In December 2016, I was recognized as an outstanding member in the Science Talent Forum and my name was put on a candidate list

On May 14th we arrived in Los Angeles for the ISEF Finals. I felt really proud when we took the group photo in front of China’s national flag. I felt I had not only succeeded for myself personally, but also for my country. I found the entire experience at ISEF to be fruitful. During the opening ceremony, when the ISEF 2017 theme ‘Think Beyond’ was displayed on the huge screen, the representatives of each country ran onto the stage with posters representing their respective countries. The Chinese phrase displayed on the screen, which described the importance of persevering in the face of challenges while staying focused on one’s goals, touched me deeply. The judges were quite professional. A team of judges from the Association for Computing Machinery asked me probing and thoughtful questions after I introduced my product. They wanted to know how my product could offer more benefits to users than current similar systems. Overall, there were 14 teams of judges who each worked for 15 minutes. I felt this wasn’t just a chance to receive recognition for my work, but also a good opportunity to learn from world-class professionals. On May 18th, the ISEF awards were announced. As the judges went on stage, I learned that I had won a special award in the category of System Software from the Association for Computing Machinery. I was thrilled - my dream had come true at last. I am the first student from Pao School to receive this type of international award from a global academic association. I am very grateful for the support of Pao School, the STEM Club, and the Shanghai Science Association and the Talent Programme. I am honoured to receive this award, and my determination to make breakthroughs in the fields of science and technology is stronger than ever.

for various international exchange programmes for secondary students. In early January 2017, I participated in the final Q&A session to aspire to be an ISEF contestant. Finally, on January 23th, a day I will never forget, I learned that I had been chosen to participate in the international finals in Los Angeles.

China team ISEF group

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

PAO STUDENTS

PAO SCHOOL’S LITERARY STARS SHINE P

During the event, Professor Sun had cordial exchanges with many young writers. He was particularly impressed with Farewell to My Green Years. ‘The book features very few typical impressions of school that Chinese students have, which often focus on test-taking. Instead, in fresh and natural language, Chris describes why literature is meaningful to her and how she feels about life. She does not lecture to readers or pretend to lecture’. Prior to the publication of a book, Chris’s work had previously been featured in Youth Literature, Guangming Daily and the Qianjiang Evening Post. Chris is also interested in cinema. While attending summer courses in the United States, she wrote and directed the short films Siri and Dear Katherine.

assing on traditions of Chinese culture is an integral part of Pao School’s mission. The school emphasizes the importance of students learning the Chinese language and becoming familiar with Chinese culture through reading and writing.

Pao School’s Chinese classes incorporate both Chinese and Western pedagogies, emphasizing the development of critical reading skills. The courses include compulsor y reading, a pool of works for selective reading and students also can choose some books to read based on their personal interests. Among the works Pao students read are China’s Four Great Classical Novels, Call to Arms & Wandering, Thunderstorm, Resurrection and To Live. At Pao School, Chinese writing class focuses on both creative and critical writing to ensure students’ balanced development. Students read a wide variety of works, including poems novels, essays and plays. Due to their enjoyment of writing class, an increasing number of Pao students are beginning to write original works. Some of these have been published.

FAREWELL TO MY GREEN YEARS Year 12 student Chris published a novel in June, Farewell to My Green Years, which was highlighted at an event in Hangzhou. There, Chris met with Professor Sun Jianjiang, head of the Zhejiang Children’s Literature Committee; Sun Changjiang, a poet and Vice Chairman of the Hangzhou Writing Association; and the contemporary writer Dong Xiao. Farewell to My Green Years tells the story of Wang Wenwen, focusing on her experiences as a transfer student at a middle school. Talking about the initial idea for publishing the book, Chris said she wanted to put her secondary school memories into writing before graduating. Since Chris was quite busy in the lead-up to graduation, she only had time to work on the book between classes, on the weekend and during school holidays. The book evolved from the short pieces she wrote in her free time.

GUGUO DE CHENG GUCHENG DE GUO Pao School Year 11 student Wang Yunning is passionate about writing. He has written the essay series Nian Lun Ji Si as well as the novel Xicheng, which was published as a Tencent’s e-book and on the Chinese website kanshu.com. He has also written the novel Guguo de Cheng, Gucheng de Guo (published in January 2016). This book tells the story of a 14-year-old boy walking and observing the world around him, looking critically at contemporary society. The dismay he feels is conveyed through different writing forms, including notes, essays and a travel diary. Yunning and his friends also manage a public WeChat account called ‘Time Machine’, which provides reviews and general commentary of essays, novels and poems. Since the group’s founding, it has featured more than 100 posts expressing young people’s understanding of themselves, nature and society. To Yuning, the name of the WeChat account represents him and his friends writing (producing words) in the ‘river of time’. David Xiong, Head of the Senior Secondary Chinese Department says: ‘Given Pao School’s focus on reading and creative writing, Pao students’ literary acumen is growing. The school offers many co-curricular platforms to facilitate literary activity, such as various writing and poetry clubs. Increasingly, literary luminaries are lauding the works of Pao students’. As bilingual education has become increasingly widespread, Pao School has always stayed to true to its mission of passing on traditions of Chinese culture. The school ensures that its students gain a rich understanding and appreciation of the Chinese language and Chinese literature.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

PAO STUDENTS

PAO STUDENTS RAISE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS THROUGH ART W

hen humanity destroys the environment, we ruin the beauty of natural sights, the beauty of natural motion and the beauty of natural sounds. ——Norman Cousins

Recently, Pao students from the Primary School attended an event organised by the television station Shanghai Education and the Shanghai Environmental Protection Information Center. The event focused on raising environmental awareness through

art; students from Shanghai’s primary and middle schools drew colourful sketches of the natural world. Ding She, a famous painter and chairman of the Shanghai Young Artists Association, was present at the event to carefully guide the students.

DREAMS COME TO LIFE THROUGH ART Year 3B student Shen Hancheng drew a lovely picture of the ocean, showcasing its pristine water. In Hancheng’s drawing, which is entitled ‘Ocean’, many people are enjoying spending time at the beach, and one person is surfing. Hancheng intends for his picture to illustrate the importance of protecting our environment. ‘Only when we improve the condition of the environment can the ocean be bluer’, he says, adding that it’s imperative to use less plastic in the products we manufacture. Hancheng enjoys recycling plastic materials to make useful everyday items like slippers, or even a toy boat. He learned how to do this during Year 2 at Pao School, not only improving his hands-on ability, but also becoming familiar with basic environmental protection concepts. ‘I like rainbows, so I drew many rainbows’, say Year 3B students Xu Jinjia, Tan Xinlu and Zhu Yuhan in unison. Indeed, against the backdrop of a clear blue sky, a rainbow appears even more resplendent than usual. The girls say that a rainbow is like a dream that appears out of thin air on a rainy day. Walking through the forest after the rain, the sky clears and a rainbow is formed. We never know when we will see a rainbow - it’s one of life’s little surprises. Given that environmental degradation is worsening, we need to do our part to be eco-friendly, such as making sure we dispose of trash properly.

WE NEVER DEVIATE FROM THE GREEN ROAD Published in 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring was instrumental in raising awareness of the dangers posed by environmental degradation. Today, all of humanity is aware of this problem, and it is a key theme in Pao School’s educational program. Crick Chen, Deputy E xecutive Principal of Pao School’s Primar y School, told the audience at the event that Pao School has several student organisations that focus on environmental protection: the Student Council and Green Student Council. Each year, these organisations focus on different themes; anything related to environmental protection is encouraged. Last school year, the Green Student Council had the idea to recycle old clothing. They called this campaign ‘RE: FORM’ as the clothing was either modified or donated to needy children. Overall, the RE: FORM campaign was ver y well received. This event not only cultivated environmental awareness in students, it also helped stimulate their creativity, said Pao School President Wu Zijian, adding that these themes are in line with Pao School’s established educational philosophy and practices.

During the event, a boy was concentrating on drawing, when he suddenly stopped and said, ‘No’! It was clear what the child meant: that humanity cannot continue to abuse the environment. In the eye of a child, the earth is a living being. It has mountains, rivers, forests and jungles, all of which are alive. Children have great appreciation for nature and they can help us to see the beauty in all living things.

Pao School believes that drawing is an impor tant means by which students can learn to think creatively, he explained. Teachers at the school don’t just teach the technical aspects of drawing, such as which colours should be used for par ticular subjects, but also how to use the sketch to express the thoughts in one’s mind.

After seeing the event hosts show a video of Shanghai’s Pearl Oriental Tower shrouded in fog, several girls drew a colourful sketch of the building. In their picture, the tower shines with colourful light

Let us appreciate nature’s bountiful gifts, such as the feeling of a gentle breeze, and the soft patter of raindrops. Ever y green leaf is a gift from nature. We should do our utmost to protect the environment: It deser ves our care.

and is surrounded by green trees and flying birds.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

PAO STUDENTS

THE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL AN EXULTANT FINALE T

he second semester of 2016-17 at Pao School ended triumphantly in the Drama Department with imaginative interpretations of the Shakespearean plays Macbeth directed by James Richardson, and Much Ado about Nothing directed by Peter Rotundo and Joe Caruso.

Per for ming in Pao S c hool’s outdoor a m phit heatre, student s brought S h akespeare’s lively language to life. S and y, playing L ad y Mac bet h, s aid t he role was c h allenging: ‘Ever y bod y in t he Mac bet h group im proved a lot over t he per iod of our rehear s al s. Most of us were ver y shy at f ir st and unwilling to ac t dr a m atic ally and openly. However, af ter mont hs of pr ac ticing, ever y bod y m anaged to step out of t heir comfor t zones to ac t conf idently, m anaging to create a sense of intim ac y bet ween us w hen it c a me to t he ac tual per for m ance’. Irene had her unique achievement as well: ‘As witches, we really need to not worr y about others laughing at us. By practicing the creepy and strange movements and voice, we got into the character. It was a special experience’. Irene was also more than happy to work backstage on props, costumes and prompts. ‘Mr. Richard and the cast often needed my help with costumes or props, which made me feel like I had an important job to do’.

Bill, another student who was involved with the Shakespeare plays, said: ‘I think it was a real challenge for our secondary students to handle a Shakespearean play, especially acting outside. The sets were all on stage and the transitions were only made by characters moving back and forth on the stage, which could be confusing. I wasn’t always sure where to position myself on the stage or how to exit. However, overall, I enjoyed the experience very much’. After watching the plays, Peter said he was proud of these students: ‘A talented group of Year 7, 8, and 9 students recently performed Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. These extraordinary students devoted many extra hours of their time to developing and rehearsing the play. The students successfully brought the comedy to life for their audience with emotionally powerful and extremely funny acting’. Irene was also deeply touched by her classmates’ efforts: ‘Once, while I was watching Sandy and Horace rehearsing the ‘Sleep Mo More’ scene, the intensity of their acting really moved me, even bringing me to tears. How fortunate we are to have this kind of acting here, in our school. I enjoy acting, and am looking forward to playing new characters and working with new club members’.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

PAO STUDENTS

PAO STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN LEADING NORTH AMERICAN ROBOT COMPETITION T

en Pao students who love technology established a team to participate in the 2018 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Tech Challenge, North America’s largest robot competition.

ABOUT FIRST TECH CHALLENGE Organised by the non-profit organisation FIRST, FTC is North America’s top robot competition for middle school students aged 14-18. The competition aims to

inspire young people to become future leaders in science and technology. The competition design is based on skills needed to solve problems in real time.

It encourages students to think in a creative and open-minded way, which cultivates their innovation ability.

THE TEAM Each member of Pao School’s team has a unique key strength and field of specialisation. Charlie is a winner of the Hackathon’s ‘Best Hardware’, ‘Best Design’ and ‘Best Management’ awards. Kevin was a member of the VEX Robotics champion team. Ben participated in the First Robotics Competition and went to the finals in Houston. Yvonne earned an outstanding score on the Grade 8 British Royal Piano exam. Ashley loves economics and history. David, Michael and Daniel are all photography and sports enthusiasts. Olivia excels in baking. They decided to call themselves the ‘Treeman team’ and hope to compete in the finals in Houston. The Treeman team trains daily and engage in numerous events in the local community. They teach children coding in the Coding Club, hold a Robotics Accelerator camp and generally promote technology education for all ages on and off campus.

HAPPY TO RECEIVE STRONG SUPPORT

STORY OF THE LOGO The Treeman team strives for excellence. They put a great deal of effort into developing their name, logo and uniform. The team name was inspired in part by a science-fiction novel, and also by a Chinese proverb: ‘It takes ten years to nurture a tree, but 100 years to train a person’, meaning that it takes a long time to develop a good education programme. Thus, the name ‘Treeman team’ expresses the students’ intention to build something enduring. The logo took a long time to design. The team wanted to create something that would highlight Pao School, so they based it on the school’s logo - with some key changes, of course. In the Treeman team logo, robots represent the tree’s fruit, expressing the fruitful benefits that technology brings to humanity.

Inspired by the logo design, the students prepared their uniforms. They went to school expecting to be praised by their classmates and teachers. However, they quickly learned that the school logo is intellectual property: it can’t just be altered for the purpose of a competition. So the students bid farewell to the original team logo. To create the new version of their logo, the team brainstormed. They finally decided to use a circuit as the centrepiece (like the tree in the Pao School logo), with chips and wheels as design elements. The logo is green to emphasize the importance of environmental protection, and it also showcases the team’s ambitions in technology. They were pleased with this new logo, which blended many different elements together to express their ideas.

China’s Mobike, a bicycle-sharing firm, is sponsoring the Treeman team. The team is very pleased about this, given Mobike’s strong technology and innovative ability. Mobike is supporting the Pao students with technology, community events and its brand. This is the first time that Mobike has sponsored a team of middle school students participating in a technology competition. Pao School emphasizes the importance of whole-person education and comprehensive development. Zhang Ying, mentor of the Treeman team and president of the Shanghai Harvard Business School Alumni Association, said: ‘We hope the Treeman team performs well in the FIRST competition. This can inspire more young Chinese to become interested in technology and robots. Learning to create and control robots with advanced functions will help us get ready for the coming era of artificial intelligence’.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS Pao School announced it had been accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

November 2017: This year’s annual piano concert featured the theme ‘Musical Pictures at An Exhibition’. Nearly 80 students performed brilliantly.

December 2017: Tennis champion Michael Chang visited Pao School to speak to students about his passion for tennis and inspire their interest in the game. After his presentation, he provided some practical tennis instruction to students.

January 2018: Pao School organised a special performance that gives students a chance to showcase all they have learned during the semester’s Extension Programme courses.

Pao School was ranked first in The Hurun Report's 2017 Top 100 Chinese International Schools rankings.

August 2017: As the only Shanghai student representatives, Pao School’s musicians shined at the Hong Kong handover anniversary gala.

January 2018: Pao School celebrated 10 marvellous years with a charity gala.

December 2017: More than 60 Pao School alumni visited their alma mater during the Christmas holidays. Alumni took the opportunity to catch up with their mentors and teachers as they recalled the happy years they spent at Pao School.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

IN THE NEWS

Recently, Caroline Xu, Director of Curriculum Development at Pao School, and Shang Zhili, Director of Teaching at Pao's High School, did an interview with a journalist from the publication Baba Zhen Bang. They discussed the curriculum system for secondary education at Pao School as well as campus life for Pao's middle school students.

PAO SCHOOL IS KNOWN FOR ITS EXCELLENT PRIMARY EDUCATION ITS SECONDARY EDUCATION IS EQUALLY SUPERB P

ao School’s top ranking in the recent Hurun list of Shanghai international schools has created quite a buzz. In the spring 2017 rankings of international schools published by Baba Zhen Bang, Pao School also was No. 1.

The statue at the entrance to the Songjiang campus ‘Time is precious＂.

Pao School continues to attract positive attention following its tenth anniversary celebration and the graduation of its first cohort of Year 12 students. Additionally, 49 students in the first cohort of graduates had especially outstanding grades. Pao School’s first cohort of graduates were accepted into some of the world’s top universities, including Ivy League schools like Brown, Columbia and Dartmouth, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Chicago and the University of Oxford. These outstanding results are proof of the success of Pao School’s philosophy of wholeperson education. It is interesting that Pao School is mainly known for

its primary school. We believe that this is related to the emphasis placed in China on the transition between kindergarten and primary school. As such, not everyone remembers that Pao School’s Songjiang campus is home to High School, which is where students spend their formative years in the Pao system.

To alleviate space issues at the Wuding campus, Pao School launched the Hongqiao campus last year. Initially, Year 6 students will attend classes there, and after the summer of 2018, Year 7 students will also study at Hongqiao. Pao School is destined to continue growing. Some Pao students, after becoming comfortable with an international curriculum, transferred to schools in the U.S. and U.K. As a result, some spaces have opened up for students in traditional Chinese schools or other private school to transfer to Pao School.

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO TRANSFER TO YK PAO'S MIDDLE SCHOOL & HIGH SCHOOL? with international education models earlier rather than later. In this manner, they will be better prepared to spend their college years overseas.

An enjoyable geography lesson

For students currently in China's public school system who plan to attend university overseas, when is the best time to transfer into the international school system? Lee Sanders: Of course, the sooner the better. We have many students who after completing junior high school enrol in Pao School at Year 10. The school provides some courses to help them get up to speed in IGCSE as well as three core IB courses: TOK, EE, Creativity and CAS. All of this takes some time. The sooner someone coming from the Chinese public school system enters the international school system, the easier it is to adjust. A major benefit of global pedagogies is that they don’t tend to rely on rote memorization. Instead, they develop critical thinking and comprehensive analytical skills. These skills are essential for students who attend university overseas. Many parents have the mistaken impression that attending university is the end of the educational process. In fact, it is more like a beginning, especially for students from Chinese public schools, who encounter very different approaches to education overseas that what they are accustomed to back home. With that in mind, it’s an advantage for these students to become familiar

What suggestions do you have for students who want to transfer from public school to Pao School? Lee Sanders: To improve your English, you can read the news in English. Select some short articles in English-language newspapers like The New York Times. Look up the words you don’t know and be openminded. There is no right or wrong when it comes to culture; there are only cultural differences. Once you understand cultural differences, it is easy to adjust to life in many different settings - including in foreign countries. Caroline Xu: If a student is accustomed to learning in a passive way - always following direct instructions from teachers - it can be a challenge to adapt to Pao School’s approach to education, which emphasizes a more proactive way of learning. We have tutors in our High School who each are responsible for 5-6 students. The tutors help students to become successful active learners - to express themselves articulately and learn actively by making observations. So for those students the priority is to develop their own means of learning actively. They need to become independent learners. After all, we can’t always wait for others to give us fish. We need to go out and catch the fish ourselves.

How difficult is the entrance exam for transfer students?

According to students’ feedback, the Pao School English entrance exam is an essay. Students write an essay, choose one topic from a series of questions covering technology, society, humanity, government and economics. The range of questions is similar to that on the IELTS or TOEFL. To pass the exam successfully, students must have a vocabulary of 4,000 English words that they are able to apply in complex sentences. They should have a certain level of familiarity with the subject matter and be able to express their arguments clearly and logically. Pao School’s English proficiency requirement is relatively high compared to other bilingual schools. Pao School requires that students already have a basic command of international English when they apply.

CAROLINE XU

LEE SANDERS

The curriculum development director, Caroline Xu, has nearly 20 years of experience in international education and curriculum management. She previously worked at top bilingual schools in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Dean of secondar y academic affairs, 15 years of teaching experience in private schools and public schools in the U.K, assistant dean at the UK’s Whitstable College.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

IN THE NEWS

MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULA: REFLECTING THE CORE VALUES OF COMPASSION, INTEGRITY & BALANCE Can you please introduce the Pao School curricula used at the middle school and high school? For students with weak English, what support does the school provide? Lee Sanders: For the middle school, Pao School offers the Shanghai Plus Curriculum, which is mainly a combination of the Shanghai standard curriculum and selected

international curricula. At the high school, the International Plus Curriculum is used: a combination of IGCSE, IBDP and the standard Shanghai Curriculum. Before matriculating at Pao School, every student must take an English language proficiency exam. However, if a student’s English is lacking, there are many ways to manage the situation. We can provide ESL courses for students who need them, and we keep track of their progress

in the classes. If we find a student is stuck at any point, our language support team will help that student get back on track. Of course, for students who transfer in at Year 11 or 12, our English proficiency requirement is very high. This is the time for IB and students need to be prepared to handle the courseload. It’s best for students to come to Pao School earlier on so they have more time to adjust to our system.

As the school offers Year 1 to 12, what is the foundation of the Pao School curriculum? Caroline Xu: My job is to ensure the foundation of the Pao system is the same on all three campuses, including curriculum design, teaching methods, and the consistently of our evaluation process. Ever ything can be traced back to our core values of compassion, integrity and balance.

Compassion： We have to see if teachers are kind. Are they smiling in class? Are they willing to help out their students?

Integrity:

are different. IBDP focuses on improving how students think as well as their ability to express themselves verbally and in writing. The difference between IGCSE and IBDP is bigger than the difference between the Chinese curriculum and IGCSE. So we first analyse what’s missing in the transition from IGCSE to IBDP, and then our subject teachers and programme coordinator will sit with the student and talk about what’s missing and what’s good and find ways to make up the parts that need improvement. One option is to study off campus to bridge the gap between the two curricula.

We will see if our teachers are principled, if they have reasonable standards and if they treat different voices fairly.

How does international education in Hong Kong differ from that in Shanghai?

Balance：

Caroline Xu: I worked for the ISF Academy in Hong Kong for about 10 years. It is one of the most famous bilingual schools in Hong Kong. Another well-known bilingual school in Hong Kong is Chinese International School. Pao School is similar in many ways to ISF. Both schools emphasize fostering an international outlook in students as well as an understanding of Chinese culture. Both schools focus on improving student’s English and Chinese proficiency as well as understanding of different cultures.

Balance is very important. For example, we evaluate if teachers are allowing students to access equal amounts of Eastern and Western culture. Balance also includes balancing body and mind, the daily workload, and Chinese and English reading. We strive for all school decision making, judgments and interactions to always reflect these three core values. Once this is done, Pao School has a foundation.

Will it be difficult for students to adjust to Pao School if they have not previously studied IGCSE? Caroline Xu: IGCSE is actually about mastering knowledge of certain subjects, so it’s fairly straightfor ward. Pao School does IGCSE+ because IGCSE and IBDP

But since ISF is in Hong Kong, it has more freedom to design its own curriculum. ISF uses its own bilingual curriculum, IB Middle School Curriculum and IB PreCollege Curriculum. Besides Chinese language courses and courses in Chinese culture and Chinese civilization, all other subjects are taught in English at ISF. At the compulsory level of

education, Pao School now fully follows the Shanghai Curriculum. At the senior secondary level, although there are IGCSE and IB, Pao School also emphasizes Chinese language, culture, geography, history, and ethics and law management. All of this course material is integrated with Pao School’s own unique content, which forms the International Plus Curriculum. In Pao School we use two languages to reach the curriculum standards. This is very different from the practice in most schools. So both Chinese and foreign teachers have to sit down together and prep for class together.

We all know that now soft skills are essential to gain admission to universities overseas. How does Pao School help students develop soft skills? During admissions interviews, admissions officers observe students’ social skills and pay careful attention to how students respond to questions. It is up to students to convince the admissions officers that they are desirable candidates. At Pao School, we start developing soft skills in our students from Year 1 but it is not an easy thing to measure. We make sure to provide a good environment for students to grow and develop their own unique identities. For example, the school frequently organises hiking trips. During the hikes, some students may feel quite tired, but this is something that they need to experience: how to manage discomfort in a group setting like this, away from their comfort zone. For students who join Pao School in higher years, they need more time to cultivate strongsoft skills

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

IN THE NEWS

MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL LIFE PAO STUDENTS HAVE CHARISMA Is the high school exclusively a boarding school? Lee Sanders: We have 598 students this year and 500 are boarding, so about 90% are boarders. It is not mandatory to live on campus, but the boarding environment is very good and most parents are willing to send their kids to experience boarding life. Pao School has the Xueyuan system, in which students of different ages live together. This is also a tradition at UK boarding schools. Our school has spring, summer, fall and winter Xueyuans. Students compete fiercely in different co-curricular activities such as sports and drama competitions on behalf of their Xueyuan. This is another reason that boarding life is dynamic at Pao School. Of course, for only children boarding life can be a challenge. In Years 6-8, 4 students share a room. In Years 9-10, 3 students share a room. And in Years 11-12, two students share a room. Sharing a room helps students learn to cooperate with others and to build interpersonal relationships. It helps prepare them for university life.

At the high school level, students are very busy with IBDP and applying to college, how can the school ensure that they get enough rest?

Passing on traditions of Chinese culture is an integral part of Pao School’s mission. Recently, three Pao teachers from the Primary School were interviewed by Jing kids magazine and discussed Chinese cultural education

Lee Sanders: One of Pao School’s core values is balance. It’s something we emphasize consistently. High school students have a full day. They are in class beginning at 8am and their day finishes at 6pm, including co-curricular activities like sports and drama. They have dinner once their activities are finished, and usually go to bed around 9:30 or 10pm. Occasionally students burn the midnight lamp but we don’t encourage this behaviour. We do our best to ensure that they are sufficiently rested. Time management plays into this - if students can manage their time well, they are able to get enough sleep.

Is it true that classes in the middle school and high school are in different classrooms all the time? Caroline Xu: This is how we need to hold our classes. Students adapt faster than teachers, so sometimes teachers may have trouble finding the classroom, but it’s not a problem for students.

Ultimately, what are the key character traits of Pao school students? Elva, the reporter said: I added this question on my own. Allow me to answer my question. I recommend Pao School since I have long been familiar with it. The first reason is Students from Pao School have charisma

The confident scholar, twirling dancers, or the little girl who has been playing electric guitar since she was in primary school. Of course there are other types of bright kids too. There are outgoing and confident students who are different from the more timid ones, but are excellent test takers. Pao students: in their own words From the Zhihu website To be frank, I think Pao School’s greatest strength is the natural camaraderie between students. It’s a much more comfortable environment than the typical international school. Students at Pao School are accepting of all different types of people; they don’t discriminate based on family backgrounds or test scores. Attending school in this healthy environment is excellent for kids’ character development. Before I entered Pao School, I was a fairly shy person. The Pao School approach to education taught me to speak up, to be a doer, and to accept challenges. For instance, if there is a discussion in class to which I want to contribute, I will not simply repeat what others say, nor will I take information at face value, and I will present my own point of view carefully. Pao School valu hasis on character development - as well as the founders’ other ideas - that left the deepest impression on my family and me; it is the reason I transferred to Pao School.

YK PAO SCHOOL FOR CHINESE STUDENTS, THE BEST INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION IS THAT WHICH PASSES ON TRADITIONS OF CHINESE CULTURE W

hen many people think of an ‘international curriculum’, all-English instruction, studying overseas, and westernization immediately come to mind. Indeed, some parents choose international education for these reasons. Yet is it possible that international schools do not place sufficient emphasis on Chinese-language education? Will certain students in international schools lose their Chinese roots?

Pondering these questions, Jingkids inter viewed several teachers at YK Pao School: Sukie Sun, Head of Upper Primar y Chinese, Lily Jin, Head of Chinese as an Additional Language (CAL) and Shane Vey, Director of Pastoral Care. Jingkids sought to learn about life at an international school from a different perspective and how students immerse themselves in Chinese culture in their daily lives.

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IN THE NEWS

‘Learning a language is like doing a long-distance run. We use multi-faceted cultural events to enrich Chinese-language instruction.’

Some parents worr y that if they send their children to international school at a young age, that the kids will not develop strong Chinese reading and writing skills. When we ask Sukie about this, she says that it depends on the standard used to evaluate the students’ Chinese proficiency. Chinese proficiency cannot be measured simply by the number of words a Year 1 or Year 2 student can write. At Pao School, teachers consider the learning process to be like a long-distance run whether instruction is in Chinese or English. To ensure students develop strong Chinese literacy and literar y appreciation ability, the school blends the best of Chinese and international pedagogies. From Western pedagogy,

‘We are a Chinese and bilingual school with an international outlook.’ International schools have a variety of considerations and often aim to portray a western and globalised image. Yet Pao School takes a different approach. It has from its inception always been a Chinese school with an international outlook. It endeavours to pass on traditions of Chinese culture and build a school for tomorrow’s China. Pao School is at once a Chinese, bilingual and internationalized school. While Jingkids has considered Pao School to have the characteristics of an international school, Sukie points out that

the school has a strong grounding in Chinese traditions. Pao School is unique in how it blends both Chinese and Western elements, and has an international outlook. Shane points out that Pao School is a school for both Chinese and foreign students. Pao School endeavours to provide an optimal environment for learning about Chinese culture and studying the Chinese language. In this manner, it best prepares students for their future and helps them stay in touch with their roots - even when they venture far from China.

Pao School employs ‘Literature Circle’, encouraging students to use time both in and outside the classroom to read books in their entirety. Further, Pao School actively encourages students to pursue their literar y interests independently. Cultivating language ability is like learning to use highperformance machiner y. It takes time to master and maximize its utility. At Pao School, students learn languages through listening, speaking, reading and writing. Pao School language learning are also around listen, speaking, reading, and writing. The school offers many activities from calligraphy practice to ‘Chinese Culture Week’ that augment students’ language abilities and make learning fun.

PAOPRRESS / SPRING 2018

IN THE NEWS

Classes are made up of both Chinese and international students. International students naturally use Chinese to debate. Among schools with both Chinese and international students, Pao School is unique in how its classes are made up. Both Chinese and international students study together in the same courses. This is beneficial for everyone, and for international students, it’s a fantastic opportunity to develop advanced Chinese-language skills. Pao School prides itself on taking the responsibility to pass on traditions of Chinese culture. In each Pao School class, foreign students make up about 20% of students. In this immersive environment, foreign students have a unique chance to improve their Chinese ability. Pao School provides extensive support for students whose mother tongue is not Chinese to ensure they maximize their learning opportunities. Pao School emphasizes developing literacy in Chinese, but carefully balances the reading and writing workload for the benefit of students. International students are all involved in the school’s many Chineselanguage learning activities, such as performances, debates and speeches.

During Chinese Culture Week, all Year 4 students participated in the ‘Tea Expo’ event. For this event, the school invited tea masters, and prepared students by offering them course instruction about tea culture. After the tea expo ended, students had the opportunity to learn more about the tea business and tea appreciation through role-playing. They learned about the responsibilities of tea sellers, advertisers and masters. Through this type of projectbased learning, students enhanced both their understanding of tea culture and Chinese-language ability. Meanwhile, Pao teachers offered additional assistance for international students to ensure they got the most out of the activities. Lily notes that Pao School’s Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage event allows students to experience sugar painting, a traditional Chinese folk art in which hot liquid sugar is used to create two-dimensional objects. During the sugar painting process, the students argued whether to first heat

the pan and then put the sugar in it or to put the sugar in the pan before heating it. Interestingly, the international students spoke in Chinese as they argued - not their native languages. Often, when people get upset, they revert to their native language to express themselves, but we can see from this example the success of an immersive language environment. That type of environment is the most ideal for language learning. Of course, bilingual learning is more than just language instruction. It involves exposure to different cultures. Sometimes there are culture clashes that cannot be avoided. After all, Chinese and Westerners each have their own unique cultures. Westerners are more likely to drink water cold, while Chinese prefer it to be at room temperature or hot. In this type of scenario, the Chinese students are ambassadors for Chinese culture. It’s also an opportunity for them to see cultural differences that they might not be able to experience in their everyday lives.

Is Chinese culture more than just Beijing Opera, calligraphy and scrambled eggs with tomatoes? Western holidays like Christmas and Halloween are widely celebrated in China’s urban kindergartens and primary schools. The celebrations are largely symbolic. It’s fine to celebrate some Western holidays for fun. In contrast, passing on traditions of Chinese culture is an integral part of our mission at Pao School. We want to ensure our students understand the essence of Chinese culture. In addition to our Chinese language classes, we have a comprehensive Chinese culture curriculum covering Years 1-12. The curriculum includes language and literature, philosophy and religion, politics, history, geography and economics, art, sports, scenic spots, customs and other aspects of Chinese culture. These courses give students a firm grounding in the many aspects of Chinese culture. Learning in a bilingual environment means that when they reach later years, when more coursework is taught in English, the students will be able to better apply their English skills. They can switch seamlessly between Chinese and English depending on

course requirements; this reflects very well on them. Lily recalls an amusing story. During a course that focuses on Shanghai culture, she observed students eating traditional Shanghai snacks. She asked them how they felt about the class. After class ended, some students brought Shanghai’s famous rabbit milk candy (a local brand) to her and asked her to try it. They also asked her to speak in the Shanghai dialect. On 28 September, Pao School held a large banquet to thank its teachers and celebrate the birthday of Confucius. The banquet also celebrated the excellent relations between teachers and students at the school. The wide variety of dishes showcased the school’s diversity. While students and teachers are equals at Pao School, the school also places a great emphasis on the traditional Chinese practice of respecting teachers and the value of education. How does one define Chinese culture? Can

it be sufficiently defined with things like Beijing Opera, calligraphy and scrambled eggs with tomatoes? In Lily’s view, Chinese culture includes the beliefs, values and other characteristics of Chinese people. Without these elements, Chinese culture can only be composed of symbols. Lily believes that Pao School excels in passing on traditions of Chinese culture by applying it to many aspects of the educational experience, ensuring the culture remains vibrant and relevant to young people today. One day in the future, when Pao students have grown up and found their proper role on the world stage - perhaps overseas - what they will deeply contemplate is that they gained a great deal of knowledge at Pao School without even realizing it.