Ascent issue No.2 by Shanghai American School

ASCENT

The Magazine of Shanghai American School â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Issue No. 02

Chasing a Passion p.8

> G R A D E D ( P. 1 4 ) > G I R L S I N R O B O T I C S ( P. 3 0 ) > A R E W E A D D I C T E D T O T E C H ? ( P. 3 4 )

SHORTS

F E AT U R E S

Amidst the pressure of being Graded p.14

> H U M A N S O F S A S ( P. 1 2 ) > A L U M N A I N T E R V I E W ( P. 2 3 ) > H O R O S C O P E S ( P. 5 1 )

A S C E N T: T H E M AG A Z I N E O F S H A N G H A I A M E R I CA N S C H O O L

Editor in Chief Abigail Torres Managing Editor Kelsey Heeringa Art Director Lisa Knight Intern Amber Broekmans â&#x20AC;&#x2122;19

Ascent is a partnership between the students of Shanghai American School and the Marketing and Communications Office. We aim to give an authentic snapshot of life at SAS, always seeking perspectives from within our community that dig into the excitement, challenges, and real heartbeat of our school. Want to be part of it? Email us at: ascent@saschina.org P U D O N G C A M P U S : 1 6 0 0 L I N G B A I R O A D , P U D O N G D I S T R I C T, S H A N G H A I , C H I N A , 2 0 1 2 0 1 . T E L : 6 2 2 1 - 1 4 4 5 . P U X I C A M P U S : 2 5 8 J I N F E N G R O A D , M I N H A N G D I S T R I C T, S H A N G H A I , C H I N A , 2 0 1 1 0 7. T E L : 6 2 2 1 - 1 4 4 5 .

Cover Photo By Sebastian Charmot â&#x20AC;&#x2122;18

WRITE THE CAPTION

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KEVIN GAO â&#x20AC;&#x2122;19

Looking for your most creative captions to go with this artwork! Winning lines will be featured in the next issue. We are also taking photo/art submissions for the next round of Write the Caption. Send it all to: ascent@saschina.org

I S S U E N O. 0 2

Features 08

CHASING A PA S S I O N

GRADED

T H E I N N OVAT I O N GAME

GIRLS IN ROBOTICS

Seek and Find B Y M A C Y YA N G â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 2 3

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Can you find these objects hidden throughout Issue 2 of Ascent?

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ARE WE ADDICTED TO TECH?

In Each Issue Inside SAS

22 23 26

T I P S F O R S TA R T I N G MS & HS

HAIKUS

ALUMNA INTERVIEW

FAVO R I T E B O O K S

C U LT U R A L CHANGEMAKERS

POETRY WITH THE HEAD

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS OF HIGH SCHOOL

DEAR JUNO

A CLOSER LOOK

THE INTERVIEW: M R. C R A I G TA F E L

HOROSCOPES

N E W S + U P DAT E S

EAGLES IN FLIGHT

OF SCHOOL

P.46

P.12

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WRITE THE CAPTION

HUMANS OF SAS

STUDENT VOICES

Crash Course to Surviving Middle School BY MICHELLE HUANG ’22

1. BE A REALIST ABOUT P R O C R A S T I N AT I O N .

Here’s the thing—if you didn’t own up to your procrastination problem in fifth grade when you went onto YouTube for a music video and found yourself learning how to yodel in Dutch two hours later, you’re going to have to own up to it in sixth grade. Acknowledge your problem realistically and always allocate more time to work than expected. 2 . S E PA R AT E PA S S I O N F R O M G R A D E S .

Somewhere in your journey to self-discovery in middle school, chances are you’ll find one subject or extracurricular that will spark your fascination. When you do, seize that opportunity by its ideas and not by the grades that rank you in that classroom. Allow it to flourish into a passion rather than a burden. 3. THERE’S A GOOD KIND OF TIRED, AND A BAD KIND.

Work for the racing heartbeat as you beat your best mile time through gritted teeth. Work for the classes that leave you transfixed at a new concept. Find how to let yourself go from late night work and heavy mornings while you still can. 4 . P L AT E A U S A R E O K— B U T F I N D W H AT

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F I G H T S T H AT I N E R T I A .

There will be times where motivation slowly seeps out of you and you’ll be left confused or guilty or numb. Know that that’s OK. Regenerate, reflect, then slowly find the Oomph that will set you back on track again. 5 . S L E E P.

Please sleep.

Tips for Surviving High School BY MAGGIE CROOKSTON ’20

1. PACK FO O D

At first when I started high school, my mom would always nag at me to pack food in my schoolbag. I declined. What I didn’t realize is that break and lunch are also times when I could work on labs, catch up on schoolwork, or attend club meetings. There’s also no guarantee that you will like the food offered at school that day. To make your life easier, just pack food. 2. BUY A PLANNER

Buying a planner will allow you to get ahead on your schoolwork. It’s a simple way to record homework, due dates, and club meetings. 3 . TA K E A B R E A K W H E N T H E O P P O R T U N I T Y A R I S E S

High school is stressful, there’s no denying it, and it can also cause you to burn out really quickly if you don’t take a break once in a while. Take one night off per week to do something you enjoy, whether it’s catching up on your favorite TV show or playing Fortnite. Just don’t get too caught up in the moment and start procrastinating. 4 . R E M E M B E R, YO U R TE ACH E R I S A H U MAN TO O

Teachers aren’t the enemies, they are human, and they want us to succeed. They will highly appreciate it if you talk to them like any other regular person. Plus, keep in mind they write your recommendation letters too. 5 . P L E A S E D O N ’ T P R O C R A S T I N AT E

I can say that most of us have been in this scenario before: an essay is due tomorrow and you decide to start it the night before. Yes it sounds stupid, but it happens. Let me spare you the humility and cringyness of reading your essay the next day by telling you to not procrastinate! A simple solution is being organized with your schoolwork so you don’t fall behind.

There are also a thousand other things that make high school an overall great experience. Don’t be scared!

The more you sleep the better you function in the morning. Amidst all of the sleep jokes and memes regarding high school, try your hardest to sleep. I know it will get harder to achieve this luxury as the school years increase, so please try.

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6. TRY TO GET SOME SLEEP

CHASING A PA S S I O N

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The halls of SAS are packed with students at all stages of the journey to understand who they are and what they love. Here we highlight one student from each campus who discovered a unique passion early on, and then carved out ways to bring it to life in high school. I N T E R V I E W W I T H M O N I Q U E TA N ’ 2 0

When did you develop your passion for fashion, and how do you know you love it? I feel like I was always interested in fashion and makeup ever since I was in middle school. I would try to revolve my art projects around the theme of fashion as much as possible, and I would always find myself searching for trends on Pinterest and naturally doodling random outfits, accessories, and shoes. I didn’t know what I wanted to do next, until last year when I joined the Fashion Club. So far I’ve been enjoying it a lot! Ever since then, I’ve been doing more than I’ve ever done before; I’ve been getting a lot more inspiration, doing more designing, more creating, and just more of everything. Sometimes I’m not really aware in the moment of how much something means to me or how important it is going forward. But in the end it becomes clear, that everything I learned and worked on played a part in making me grow as a student designer. I believe that fashion is the quintessential passion for being able to express our aspiration to create. There’s a delight in designing, and the process of creating a clothing item is really enjoyable!

Does this passion fit into your life at SAS? Two years ago our FIDM Fashion Club, sponsored by FIDM University, was started at SAS Pudong campus. I immediately joined this club when I came in freshman year and it was at this moment I felt ready for a new challenge. I took on an executive role as Secretary, and now as President. Although we experienced some bumps throughout the year last year, we learned to be flexible. For example, when club members dropped out of our fashion show, we decided to have an exhibition instead. This new event concluded a successful year of fashion for the club, with four members completing outfits for our theme of Surrealism and Futurism. It also featured cultural outfits made out of recycled tissue paper in collaboration with Cultural Awareness Club. It was a fun and great year for our club, and we are looking forward to more exciting projects and collaborations this year.

How have you infused fashion into your education experience? For my most recent art project, I made a dress out

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of artificial flowers and leaves, using tissue paper as the base layer. I began the inspiration process by researching on different luxury brands such as Valentino, Christian Dior, and Gucci, and in the end I got most of my inspiration from Valentinoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Resort 2016 collection. After the inspiration process came the process of designing and choosing materials. I sketched out a variety of ideas and, in the end, chose to follow one specific design, which changed the project almost completely. I spent around 10 studio sessions creating my dress, and I feel like the best part of this process was the trial and error of having these crazy ideas. I would come in every single class and the direction would change; my initial idea was to make it long, elegant, and completely out of white roses to make it look sort of like a wedding dress, but I found myself deciding to add red roses, then pink flowers, and I would just build it from there. This process of creating went through pushes and pulls in many directions before it ended up on display. In the end, I made it shorter and asymmetrical which gave it a more sporty look, and the leaves and multicolored flowers gave it a more â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;jungle-lyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; vibe. However, I was rather pleased with how it turned out!

F E AT U R E

BY SEBASTIAN CHARMOT ’18

I honestly don’t think it would be worth my time. I’d rather be home watching a movie or playing soccer or swimming. Anything other than attending that meeting. The only reason I’d be doing this is to be able to put something on my resumé. Those were the thoughts of my freshman self.

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I was pessimistic about the benefits that engagement and extracurriculars would bring. Faced by a plethora of extracurricular activities, inspirational faculty, and passionate classmates, I chose to stand where I was, isolated from the opportunities. I was withdrawn from the possibilities of engagement in clubs, and reluctant to speak up about my passions. The fear that I would be instilling effort into things that would bring me no rewards caused me simply to remain stagnant. The irony of the matter is that I didn’t realize the repercussions of such until several years later, and that is one of the greatest regrets of my underclassman years.

PHOTO CREDITS SEBASTIAN CHARMOT ’18

which was only satisfied when I received my own SCUBA certification on my 11th birthday. From there my passion ignited. I purchased a camera, read books on marine organisms, and analyzed underwater documentaries. However, I kept all this new information to myself until I met Austin. Austin was my deskmate in my sophomore Photography class, and I knew that my underwater photos would take him by surprise. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Turns out he had many too, and he told me about his diving excursions to Hawaii and the marine biology research that he was planning to do over the summer under the guidance of a professor at Stanford. As we became great friends, he invited me to join him. Upon our return from the summer research, Austin and I set out on a quest to share our knowledge of not only the sea but also its implications for the greater world. Determined to accomplish this goal, the Marine

We are given choices to sculpt our paths, and SAS provides us with a safety net for us to fall but remain intact. Thus, you should not have a fear of trying but rather a fear of not knowing where the roads of opportunity could have taken you. The hardest step to take is the first one, but know that the doors will only open exponentially. Have the courage to embrace, share, and live your passions.

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I had always been fond of the ocean as a kid. I grew up watching my father scuba dive and had a burning eagerness to do the same,

Biology Club was born. In this journey we found Dr. Thomas Holden, Puxi campus AP biology teacher and avid scuba diver. He sat in during our club meetings, offered us much of his time to help us become better leaders, and has been such an integral part of the development of the club. I look to him not only as an instructor, but also as a fellow ocean enthusiast. It was at this point that I started realizing how a single conversation with my deskmate had evolved into the very opportunities and elements that make me who I am today. It was astonishing to see how much I had benefited from seizing and creating opportunity. Those opportunities have opened doors to even greater possibilities and knowledge in the marine sciences. I have procured a deeper understanding of marine life beyond the realm of textbook facts and found a community.

To me, one of SAS’ greatest strengths is the autonomy that it provides its students. However, this strength is a double-edged blade, as the only way for it to be wielded is by intrinsic action.

In 2004, my parents came to Shanghai to find a job, and so I came to go to middle school here. I was 13 at the time, and I didn’t stay in school long

HUMANS OF SAS HUMANS OF SAS, INSPIRED BY THE WORLD-RENOWNED PROJECT “HUMANS OF NEW YORK,” HAS THE AIM TO PHOTOGRAPH, I N DA I LY L I F E , A S A M P L I N G O F PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP OUR C O M M U N I T Y.

before I stopped. I wasn’t used to Shanghai at first. Everything at my village was familiar, comfortable, and in Shanghai, everyone’s doors are closed. Back in the village, I could run around anywhere. Here, I had to stay at home after school because my parents were working. But, it’s a lot easier to buy things here. Once I went back to visit my sister’s house, and it was hot, and there was only one store in the village that sold cold drinks, and

BY IRIS CHEN ’20

I’m sure that at some point we’ve all been told that we need to appreciate those

there weren’t any that I wanted. Now, they’ve started to develop and it’s more of a town.

who help us, whether that be the school support staff, or our own ayis. However, in the process of living our busy lives, we often lose sight of this necessity, and with it, we lose a part of our connection with the other people that make up our community. When I spend too much of my time doing my own things, I take little time to notice anything or anyone else. This is part of what makes us detached. Furthermore, I think that connecting is often seen as a burden, and that it requires big steps to reach out. Instead, by taking smaller steps, to even just become more thoughtfully aware of our surroundings, we are able to develop empathy, which naturally opens doors to conversation and connection. Here is what I found when I took a little

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extra time to notice others. I uncovered a world, which you might otherwise know as our community.

CH U N XIA

I came to Shanghai last year to work with my husband. My son stayed behind with his grandma, and I only see him once a year, during Chinese New Year. I video call him every day. He’s young, only two years old, so when I call him we only talk a little, and he doesn’t understand much. I ask him how old he is. I only just got here, so I haven’t had much time to explore. Every day I go to work, and go home, and we live in a small town, so there’s not a lot of places to go to. I do hope to get the chance to see more of Shanghai in the future.

LIU

DIA N

HONG My hometown is in Hei Long Jiang. I arrived here to work, and I wanted to live in a city because of its opportunities. My family stayed back in my hometown and I rarely return; often times they are the ones who come to visit me. At first, I wasn’t used to Shanghai. It’s quite busy here. But when I think about it, there isn’t anything that I don’t like about living here; if there was, I would’ve returned home sometime in these last ten years. I often like to go on small vacations. I never quite have a direct location in mind, I do things more on a whim. When I get the feeling that I want to go somewhere, I’ll go. Usually I end up near nature.

SHAO GUO XIN

I came to Shanghai with my husband. My kids are both here with me too, but because they don’t have the Shanghai Hukou, they can’t attend school here.

LA N

them in specific professions. Back at AnHui, everything was done slowly; the majority of people in our village were farmers, so when

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ZH A N

schools (Zhong Zhuan) that train

we came to Shanghai I had to get used to the fast pace. 13

XIE

Instead, they attend specialized

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F E AT U R E

DED BY LUCA LEE â&#x20AC;&#x2122;19

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THIS WAY IN

F E AT U R E

W H E N A N E X A M O R A T E S T I S C O M P L E T E D AT S A S , T H E S O U N D S T H AT F O L L O W A R E N O T T H O S E O F A C C O M P L I S H M E N T O R P R I D E . R AT H E R , T H E Y ARE TENSE RUMBLINGS OF ANSWERS SHARED, R U M B L I N G S T H AT I N T E N S I F Y I N T O H A R S H E C H O E S O F D I S A P P O I N T M E N T A N D R E L I E F. B E C A U S E R E A L LY, F O R M A N Y O F U S AT S A S , T H I S I S W H E R E T H E R E A L W A I T B E G I N S . A S I F G R A D E S W E R E O U R P R E Y, W E W A I T P AT I E N T LY B U T U N E A S I LY. A N D W H E N T E S T S A R E H A N D E D B AC K , M A N Y O F U S U N H I N G E , R AVAG I N G

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TH R O U G H TH E TE S T PA PE R R I G HT TO TH E S C O R E .

WE HAVE CREATED OURSELVES A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, AND ONE WHERE MANY OF US LOOK ONLY FOR ANSWERS, FORGETTING TO INDULGE OURSELVES IN THE

ly meaningless without the context of the student and their given strengths or interests. A good college to a student should have all the qualities that the student values – a student who may prefer smaller class sizes and a rural environment may enjoy a small liberal arts college. On the other hand, a student who prefers to live somewhere with snow may consider only colder regions as opposed to the south; a student who enjoys large classrooms and mixing in with the crowd may consider very popular and large colleges. This is hardly the case with what many of us at SAS have grown up believing. An SAS student will often find themselves searching for a college to mold themselves into, not a college that is tailored for them. I can guarantee you that when asked what a “good” college

is, an SAS student will not respond with a description, but a list of names. Harvard, MIT, Stanford, these are among a few of few colleges that would be considered “good” or “impressive.” And what’s more, an SAS student will do what it takes to fit into an Ivy League as long as they get in. Oftentimes, whispers reverberate throughout the hallways when an SAS senior gets accepted to one of the coveted Ivies, or to the other elite colleges of the U.S. We worship these students as gods, at a level we can’t reach. It is difficult to let go of the myth that these colleges provide a much better education than the rest. There are also prevalent institutional frameworks that enforce the norms of what a good and a bad college is. Universities fire Admissions Directors, for instance, when their school fails to maintain their famed selective standards. Such institutional frameworks maintain a constant paradigm of what defines of a good college. A major aspect of this is our mindset behind education and the way we approach it. SAS students, like millions throughout the world, value education as a pathway to jobs. We believe that companies look at job applicants and their qualifications based upon their alma

“Is there a curve?” you might hear immediately after, or “when can I retake?” Either way, those who feel defeated by the test pester their teachers, while those who triumphed a sufficient score hastily stuff their test in their bag with a slight smirk on their face, never looking at their test again until the final exams. Though it may be thought of as an exaggeration, this experience is one that is shared by many students and, for me, it is the embodiment of an experience as an SAS student. It is no surprise that there is a deep culture of high achievers and high grades at SAS. The GPA of the upper 20 percent of the Class of 2017 was above 3.88, the average being around 3.50-3.60; in the U.S., the average is around 3.10. No doubt, these high numbers are expected of a private school of such caliber, but in many cases, the true meaning behind these numbers remains unanswered and complicated. What does it even mean to have a high GPA? Why does it matter? To many students, the underlying purpose of maintaining a high GPA and “good grades” is to get into a “good college.” But what is “good”? Talking to our teachers and counselors, we are told that in regards to colleges, “good” is absolute-

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CHALLENGE.

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Pudong upperclassmen, tell us how grades are important (or not) in your life: • Recently I think about grades a lot. I don’t think they’re necessarily important for my life, but I need to go to university. (’19) • As a girl raised on the premise that my grades are supposed to be perfect, grades take up a large part of my school life. Even after watching those “Grades Don’t Matter” videos on YouTube, this mindset of trying to be “The Best” has been engrained in my daily life for a long time. But, as high school rolls on, I’m getting used to the fact that imperfection isn’t the end of the world, and the perfectionist in me can take a break sometimes. :) (’20) • I think grades are important because they keep you focused and motivated, and they also help you achieve what you want to do in the future in the long term. But if you overthink you can feel really stressed and study really inefficiently, which has negative impacts. (’19) • At the moment, grades feel like the forefront of my future because everything else about the future feels abstract and undefined. Despite logically understanding that my worth/understanding of a topic is defined by more than grades, they always feel important. (’20) • I think that grades are really important, both because in reality they’re like the “level one” you have to pass to be considered for college, and also because we’re a competitive school where a lot of people are implicitly judged based on their grades. (’19)

How often do you think about grades? • Rarely ever. (’19) • 40% of the time. I don’t want it to be 50%, because that would mean I think about grades half of the time and I don’t want that. (’19) • I think about them only really when I had/have a recent project or test. (’20) • Maybe everyday. (’19) • Only when I bomb a test. (’19) • I think a lot about grades, I’m a little grade obsessed. I get a little angry when some grades don’t turn out the way I want them...but happy when I get a good grade! (’20) • When someone mentions it, because I am miserable when I think about grades. (’19)

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• Less than the typical student at our school probably. Maybe only at key points in a semester, around finals season or maybe before unit tests, otherwise grades rarely cross my mind. (’19) • I try not to think about them—but I think about them about every time a test comes by. (’19) • I think about grades when I see how bad they are. (’19) • I think about grades quite often, and I think about them more and more as we get closer to senior year. (’20)

mater, regarding those with Ivy League educations as superior to others, thus reinforcing their coveted status. This deeply ingrained mindset behind education inhibits many of us from seeing education as a means of learning. Mr. Mark Moody, the SAS Puxi campus Director of College Counseling, has some perspective from the college admissions side of this topic. “There is not a ‘right formula’ for getting into a certain college, and approaching high school this way has two big downsides. First, it impacts students’ development. They may work themselves to exhaustion creating what they believe is an ‘ideal’ profile, yet at the end they don’t really know themselves, what really matters for them in their lives—and the college search can become a frustrating, anchorless conversation when you don’t know what you value for your continued growth. This path also tends to veer away from taking risks and experiencing failure; in that case students wind up lacking important life skills—and by staying ‘in the box’ they may have missed a chance to discover a genuine talent or interest. The other ironic downside is that by following a ‘recipe’ instead of one’s own curiosity, and by spending time doing something you think someone else thinks is important, rather than things you can speak meaningfully about, you are going to present an exceptionally flat and uninteresting application to colleges. Admission readers want to see authenticity, curiosity, risk-taking, and focused, purposeful use of time, not a list of accomplishments.” A lot of this also goes back to our parents. It may not be the case for everyone, but my personal battle with grades is deeply rooted with my parents. From when I was young, my parents pushed me to be better than I was, embedding within me the perspective that as long as I work hard enough, I could do anything. This meant that if I failed, it was due to my lack of effort. And so I believed; I worked to the best of my abilities, pushing myself to go further, to do better than I ever imagined that I could. Though I do admit that there was a definite improvement, I would be slowly but surely scarred by the experience. I sacrificed my happiness to be “better” than I was, lost confidence in myself, and constantly felt that I could be doing so much better. My worst experience was in the first semester of 10th grade, when I had

sure. It is a familiar experience to have parents know your grades before you do. Countless times I have had my mother call me at lunch time or immediately after school, telling me to check my grades because she was disappointed in a score. It’s tiresome. Numerous students find themselves hating work simply because they are being pushed by their parents, ironically often making them less successful with their learning. Parental pressure can be a factor that causes students to lose sight of the learning process, and look only at the results. To find out whether these factors were truly reflective of the pressure behind grades, I asked students around SAS why they valued grades. A large number of students recognized these two factors, but surprisingly, a notable body of students proclaimed that their own expectations of themselves pushed them for better grades. Students have identified a significant self-satisfaction when they perform well, the opposite for a bad performance. I found the perspective of these students interesting and different, because these pupils refused to identify parental pressures as having impact in

their lives. Those that are self-motivated find themselves pushed in part by the eminent college search and their own imbued expectations of themselves. In some cases, this is extremely motivating in many positive ways, and in other cases it can lead to unhealthy results. For some personalities, this builds in them a strong work ethic and sense of efficacy. Yet when some self-motivated students fail to consistently complete work to their caliber, this can undermine their selfworth, causing them to push harder while feeling worse. All these factors are the bedrock that builds the foundation of our brand of SAS peer pressure. Around us, we have our friends and peers, all of whom feel like competitors when we apply for colleges. We have created ourselves a competitive environment, and one where many of us look only for answers, forgetting to indulge ourselves into the challenge. We inadvertently create an environment where we place more value in the answers, because those count towards our GPA; our learning process does not. Despite underlying systematic complications, we can attempt to lessen

... TO MY PARENTS, SUCCESS MEANT A GOOD COLLEGE, AND THAT MEANT GOOD GRADES.

STUDENTS AT SAS SUFFER, TO SOME EXTENT, PARENTAL PRESSURE.

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a particularly hard time maintaining my grades to a sufficient standard. My grades were at a B+/A- range; my parents just could not believe I was doing “so badly.” Because to my parents, success meant a good college, and that meant good grades. Out of love, they prevented me from doing sports for two months, as well as banning me from other activities such as hanging out with friends. While my grades went up, my mental health deteriorated. Every day, I felt unhappy as I biked home ready to sit down from 3:1511:00pm, completing my schoolwork and studying ahead. Instead of sitting down at lunch, I seized every possible opportunity to go onto the field and play a bit of soccer before class. Calling to tell my parents that I was staying to see a teacher, I would again go to the field and secretly play soccer for 30 minutes before getting help. I watched as my friends hung out together while I went home, dejected. Every moment, I got more desperate for my own time, living two lives behind the façade of one. Parental pressure eventually wore me down. A substantial body of students at SAS suffer, to some extent, parental pres-

F E AT U R E

Although there is a strong culture of worrying about grades at SAS, there are also students that have forged a different relationship to these assessments, some right within Luca’s friend group. Here’s how his buddy Ken Jie Chee ’19 looks at things a little differently:

TELL US ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO GRADES. I guess I would say it’s pretty healthy? Not too overbearing. I understand that for the most part, my grades reflect the effort and passion I put into my subjects and can give my parents a rough estimate as to how I’m doing in my classes. However, there’s a lot more to my learning experience in school that I cherish and prioritize over my grades, so I don’t get too stressed out about them (much to the dismay of my parents). Just gotta keep them up so my mum and dad don’t get too worried, and I can have my pick of colleges in the future.

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HOW MUCH DO GRADES DEFINE YOUR SAS EXPERIENCE? Grades are definitely important but going so far as to say they “define” my experience at SAS would be a stretch. I’m not here just to grab my grades and get out. I want to do more than that. I love football, so I’m on the football team. I love music, so I’m in Amptone Records. The people I’ve met and the things I’ve learnt from each of them along this journey are what define my SAS experience. Honestly, I find that the toxic energy surrounding grades in our student population can kind of spoil SAS. We have all the facilities at our fingertips to achieve so many greater things, yet very rarely do people make use of them as a result of obsessing over a perfect GPA. I often fantasize about what our state-of-the-art facilities and connections could achieve if we had a student culture driven by a passion for things beyond grades, if we were interested foremost in growing as people.

student stress and revise our maligned values by starting a conversation on our SAS grade culture. It is important to have conversations about struggles in regards to grades. Classmates will refuse to talk about what is deemed as a “bad grade” because they are afraid to be judged by others. I think a key step to being less gradeconscious is to sever and dissociate the relation between good grades and self-worth. Our tendency to do so lowers student confidence and discourages learning for the sake of learning. We must start the conversation early, with students and parents, to reinforce the passion for learning and draw students away from the false pretense that high school is a checklist. Hopefully, this will foster a more explorative trait within students to find their passion and to develop them for who they are. As of now, my parents have allowed me more freedom

to take care of my grades, which took not one conversation, but many. Surprisingly, my grades have seen no difference to when my parents were micromanaging – the difference is that I’m happier. I get to do things I want to do; I’m allowed to manage my own time. Sure, I make occasional miscalculations of where to spend my time but who doesn’t? It’s all part of the learning process, one learned through resilience. And yes, occasionally I do slip away and play soccer for “just a few minutes” (if you know what I mean). At the end of the day, my parents wanted me to be happy, and I think they realized they couldn’t do that by micromanaging every minute of my time. I also find that SAS has started to encourage the process of learning a lot more than in the past. Programs such as Innovation Institute encourage students to think deeper than what is given to them, emphasizing the process of learning

A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, SUCH AS THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING GRADED, CAN HELP PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE.

Need a translation? Scan here to read “Graded” in Chinese.

Need a translation? Scan here to read “Graded” in Korean.

需要翻译？

한국어로 “Graded”를 읽고 싶으시다면, QR 코드를 스캔해주세요.

扫码阅读中文版“评分”。

COMICS CORNER

How students react to a B grade By Justin Miroslaw

How students in other schools react

How students in SAS react

WHAT!!? I GOT A B+!!!? THAT’S SO BAD, EVEN IF THE TEACHER WROTE “WELL DONE!”

Huh, thats nice, I got a B+.

FA L L 2 01 8

JUSTIN MIROSLAW ’20

W AY N E L U A N ’ 1 9

rather than the results. While today we have separate programs such as Innovation, the future of education will inevitably embrace the project-based style that Innovation Institute has provided. It is a great way to discourage fierce competition while fostering cooperation. In reality though, life will be filled with experiences of having one’s ability compared to others. Whether it’s in school, university, or in our future careers, competition exists. A competitive environment, such as the experience of being graded, can help prepare for the future. This does not mean we can’t find better ways to cope with the stress that comes with it. Students at SAS cope with grade culture through discussing grades, making memes out of grades, and embracing the integration of grades in our school. In a way, it brings us together. We laugh together, cry together, study together. It’s wonderful to have taken the little bits of our suffering and finding silver linings to them. We could also take a step further to not just live with the problem, but slowly eliminate it. According to Ms. Ann Ireland, an SAS Puxi High School Counselor, students should reflect on both “positive and negative results” of our grades or even life in general, which enforces the idea that “both [positive and negative results] are necessary in order to truly learn.” Furthermore, students should start “congratulating each other on successes and efforts instead of comparing and revering the highest achievers.” Even doing such small and simple things helps diminish the destructive aspects of this kind of culture. SAS has been my home for the past seven years. It has raised me as a child devoid of thoughts of grades to a teenager filled only with thoughts of grades. When I think SAS, I think grades – life at SAS would not be so without it. Now is a pivotal time to reflect upon how we raise future Eagles – by letting the current culture of enduring pressure continue to grow unfettered, or by fostering happiness and teaching skills to cope with pressure.

STUDENT VOICES

A Day in My Life at SAS Haikus from Ms. Herbert’s class

ERIKA HSU ’24

Running late to class I forgot my pencil case Mac on low percent CALISTA YEON ’24

Oh no today’s bad Kinda forgot my homework Please don’t give me more TIANA ADVANI ’24

Food in my locker My locker smells really bad I have to clean it ROWAN IRELAND ’24

New friends on WeChat Playing air hockey with Walt No money on card.

MS. LORA HERBERT

Coffee from Starbucks Did you submit your essay? My head exploding. THEO LAW-HO ’24

Just get a sandwich To have time for air hockey Now I’m late for class. JONATHAN JIN ’24

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Forgot French homework. I played soccer with my friends. No money for mall. EVAN TEOH ’24 Woke up late for school Biking to school eating bread Now writing haiku

GLOBAL FOODIE ’06 S U S A N H O ’ 0 6 (right), H E R B U S I N E S S J O U R N Y, AND HER TRAILBLAZING EXPERIENCES AS AN ENTREPRENEUR WOMAN IN TECH, H AV E B E E N F E AT U R E D B Y F O R B E S , A P P L E T V, F O R T U N E , C O S M O P O L I T A N , MASHABLE, VOGUE, CNN, BUSINESS INSIDER, AND MORE.

THE STORY GOES LIKE THIS: WHEN SUSAN HO ’06

(r i g h t )

WAS WORKING AS

A N E X E C U T I V E O F FA S T- G R O W I N G S TA R T U P FA B .C O M , S H E W E N T O N VACAT I O N

and get paired 1-on-1 with an expert to plan their trips for them. Since launching the company in June 2016, we were featured in Travel+Leisure as one of the best new travel apps of 2017, and have now planned over 4,000 trips.

As she told Electrify Magazine: “I felt like, why is it that I am an internet savvy person and I took the time to research, yet I couldn’t find the things that I was looking for? Something’s broken.” And the idea for her new business, Journy, was born.

What has been your trajectory since college? My first job was as an associate at the Boston Consulting Group. After two years, I had the opportunity to join one of NYC’s fastest growing startups, Fab.com. While there, the company grew from 100 to over 700 employees in under a year. I became the youngest executive in the company, managing a team of over 120 people across New York and Berlin as VP of Customer Service & Operations Strategy. After Fab, I consulted for a few other NYC startups including DigitalOcean (cloud hosting), Blue Apron (meal kits), and Learn Vest (financial planning) before starting Journy.

Susan, tell us what you are up to these days. I’m running my travel company, Journy (www. gojourny.com). We’re a mobile app and web platform that pairs travelers with their own personal travel designer. We take care of hotel, activity, and restaurant bookings for our travelers using recommendations from a network of over 300 top chefs, sommeliers, and local experts. Travelers come to our site, fill out a questionnaire,

She ended up spending over 10 hours of her vacation in her hotel Googling and sorting through TripAdvisor and Yelp reviews, only to still end up in a “local, authentic steakhouse” surrounded by tourists. It was far from the offbeat gem she was looking for.

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TO BUENOS AIRES AND ARRIVED WITH NO PLANS.

quite a few questions about our product. For our email onboarding, rather than have a short introductory email, we tested it against an email that included our entire FAQ that was more than 10x longer. To our surprise, the longer FAQ email resulted in 4x more purchases than our short email that adhered to more conventional “best practices.” It taught us that we shouldn’t just follow best business practices but should continually test and challenge the norm to succeed. What advice would you give to young people entering into today’s economy? Learn as much as you can. I’ve managed over 100 young people in their first, second, or third jobs out of school. The ones who succeed and are able to move to the next level are constantly learning and asking how they can do their jobs better. I also see a lot of young people who come into the workforce very entitled. They don’t want to take a customer service job, they want to work on strategy right away, they want to be a CEO right away. These are the people who don’t succeed because 1) they aren’t able to get their foot in the door by proving they're willing to do whatever it

PHOTO CREDIT (CLOCKWISE FROM BOT TOM RIGHT) ERICA CHOI, ERICA CHOI, EDWARD SCUDZLO, ALICA GAO.

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What are the biggest challenges and also the greatest satisfactions you find in running Journy? The biggest challenge in running and growing a startup is that there is no playbook to follow. In the past, when I was working as a consultant or on operations issues, there was a clear path to getting to the right answer to solve a problem — you just have to do the work to pull the right data, interview the right experts, or run the right analyses. With a startup, all of that goes out the window. I can work 100+ hours a week and still not be sure that I spent my time working on the right things. How do you market a product that never existed before that people didn’t necessarily know they wanted or needed? How do you do customer acquisition at scale in a space that’s incredibly expensive to do so, on a limited budget? Why aren’t travelers engaging with our site the way we expected them to? There are endless challenges that our team faces every day and there are no clear paths to the right answer. But, that’s also what makes it so much more rewarding when you figure out something that works. For instance, we realized that potential customers have

PHOTO CREDIT (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEF T) ERICA CHOI, ERICA CHOI, EDWARD SCUDZLO.

How many hours a week do you work? I used to work 90-100 hours a week, but I realized I wasn’t being productive the way I needed to be. Because I’m in a role that requires a combination of creativity, management and empathy, and strategy, I’m not my best when I’m sleep-deprived or tired. Nowadays I limit myself to 60 hours a week (and encourage my team to do the same). I also make time for things like going to the gym, doing yoga, going to the chiropractor, etc. and I’m not only much more productive, but also much happier.

Is Shanghai coming as a destination on Journy, and can we help contribute? Yes, soon! You can help by sharing introductions to serious local experts, food lovers, chefs, bartenders, and sommeliers to uncover the best of Shanghai!

FA L L 2 01 8

Best and worst part of being a grown-up? Best: living alone. Worst: paying your own bills.

takes for a shot, and 2) because they’re constantly focused on the next level instead of how to better do the job in front of them. My advice is to be humble and learn. For example, one woman working for me had a biochemistry degree from NYU, but she decided she didn’t want to be a doctor anymore. She started off in customer service and then we trusted her to manage customer fraud. She continually excelled and innovated and her work led her to collaborate with the company’s product management team. Eventually, she became a junior product manager and is now a senior product manager at Rent the Runway. I have multiple stories like this, including from people who quit careers in law and investment banking to join startups. They were humble enough to realize that their skills didn’t translate directly right away and they needed to learn how the companies worked first before being able to contribute more meaningfully. By taking an entry-level position and not complaining and doing the work, the showed they were team players, willing to roll-up-theirsleeves, and trusted in their own ability to provide value without needing the perfect role and title right away.

STUDENT VOICES

FAVO R I T E B O O K S

TONY GAO ’27

Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I love that the main character is just a normal kid and all of the stories are funny personal narratives.

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Harry Potter, although the narratives aren’t always funny. I prefer these narratives to solo books because the excitement and adventure can continue. That way, if you like a book in the series you can keep reading about the same adventure/ story, but if it’s just one novel the excitement starts and ends in that one book.

K AT H E R I N E C H U ’ 2 8

Magic Tree House. I like that all the stories tell us something about history and the way they describe history is really exciting.

HENIN CAO ’22

Throne of Glass. This series focuses on a young woman and her personal history growing up in a magical world fraught with competition. Each book captivates you and makes you want to read more. The last book of the series comes out this year and I cannot wait. All Quiet on the Western Front. This book is a classic and it focuses on a German soldier and his experiences throughout World War I. It was one of my favorite books last year because it helped me understand a part of history and the reasons why the war happened, how people took part in the war, and how they survived.

The Name of the Wind. This is the first book of a trilogy, but it came out over seven years ago, so I’ve been waiting for the second to come out for years now. What I like is that it’s not your typical fantasy book. Although there are classic fantasy elements, the focus of the book is not on the hero getting stronger and going on to defeat an enemy. This book focuses on the smaller things in life so it is easier to relate to. This book is filled with detail, and the author does a great job portraying all the characters, so much so at times it sounds like a character biography.

FA L L 2 01 8

KEVIN JIANG ’21

The Innovation Game

A P O I N T O F V I E W F R O M I N N OVAT I O N T E AC H E R S M S. T I F FA N Y K E L L E Y, M R. DAV I D G R A N , M R. TO M M U S K , M S. J U L A I N M O O N E Y, A N D M S. PAT R I C E PA R KS D E S I G N BY I N N OVAT I O N I N S T I T U T E A LU M N A M I R A N DA M O ’ 1 8

OKAY, WAIT. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN AGAIN WHAT THE HECK INNOVATION INSTITUTE EVEN 2 IS? WE HEAR YA. “INNO” OR “I ” IS A TWO-YEAR PROGRAM AT PUXI CAMPUS HIGH SCHOOL WHERE HALF A STUDENT’S ACADEMIC SCHEDULE REVOLVES AROUND OPEN-ENDED, COMPLEX QUESTIONS ON HUMANITY’S MOST PRESSING PROBLEMS. TEACHERS FROM FOUR DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES FUEL PROJECTBASED LEARNING AND THE STUDENTS BECOME DEEPLY CRITICAL THINKERS.

T H E M A K I N G O F T H E I N N O VAT I O N G A M E Watching the Innovation Institute teachers figure out how to tell the story of a day in their teaching lives was a fascinating social experiment in itself. Would they take up Ascent’s offer to simply collaborate on a basic timeline that would outline their average work day? No, no, no. A series of group meetings were scheduled, and what ensued there can only be described as a grown-up manifestation of the wildly creative, brainstorming, Project-and-Problem-Based explosion of ideas and connections that the Innovation Institute

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program and its students are known for. The dynamics of this group revealed a team that knew each other well, seamlessly embracing various learning styles and skills, while simultaneously poking fun at funny habits and finishing each other’s sentences. They drew on the walls, changed gears a hundred-and-one times, regularly called each other back to the driving question, and refused to settle for anything that felt too prescribed. More than anything else, even though no students were watching, it was clear that they were collaborating and working and grappling together in the same ways they ask their students to do. And while so many skills and minds caused sessions to race from cartoons to Native American mazes to QR code voiceovers, this committed group of educators, in 28

examining how to tell their story, found themselves walking a mile in their student’s shoes.

THE INNOVATION Sa cr

ISH

L ST

UDIE

her toget ing om the ’t c llow isn . Fo ct n ed k to c oje n a r b a P pl ine dl as ng. tte rm i do sto a in br

Realize that all your hard work has led to students who are incredibly well-prepared for a highly complex world.

Caffeine levels low. Go on a coffee run. TANGENT TRAP! Follow the path before moving forword.

START Everyone rolls a die, highest number starts. Just before the person who rolled the highest number advances their token, the shortest player needs to shout “I have an idea!” and then plays Reflection ‘rock-

Student idea changes the project. Move back to the last square that advances you the furthest.

paper-scissors’ with the person who rolled the highest number to determine who will actually start. A junior tells you he or she misses a program.

Skype call an expert; students ask intelligent questions! Move forward four spaces.

WeChat your teaching partners at 7:00 a.m. with change of plans. All players move forward one space except one player, who moves back one.

Student requests a lesson on a subject related to topic that is not a standard. Move forward three spaces.

Find no furniture in your teaching space because of previous meetings. Class sits on the floor.

Sick? No need to call a sub. Your team has your back. Choose one player to move forward one space.

C Realize the continuously collaborative work environment has led to strong teacher relationships.

Find a great Youtube video. TANGENT TRAP! Follow the path before moving forword.

Discover a new reading that could make a project better.

Realize you are part of something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

INTERACTIVE If you roll a 6, you must either tell a personal story or Find perfect fit in which curricula overlap. Must land on this square in order to advance to LAUNCH.

make somebody laugh. Ask yourself, “why do we do this?” Realize you have a better answer this time.

Wa 3: with ang in the Move ba

Your team is divided on the project. Take a detour.

Mobile walls backfire. Trapped in classroom until you roll a 5.

HOW TO WIN Complete the track. Together.

Watch as students are hightly engaged and work independently for hours during project time. All players move forward one space.

Watch students discover they can do things they thought were impossible.

Work with another teacher to give feedback from two different perspectives to a group. Choose one player to move forward one space.

Game play can last anywhere from 20 minutes to several years. Bring

LA U

a snack.

n do ase n b ws. e en th ces. a sp

humor to finish the game right by your side. (See note on potential

o w

Rewrite daily schedule to accomodate technology needs for teaching partner. Move back one space.

Have a really great small-group conversation with students.

commitment, stamina, patience, and, most importantly, the sense of

Schedule an assessment for all 48 students to take at the same time. Move forward three spaces.

a Clydesdale hang its head in shame. Confirm that each has the

pro je c t in cont em a po rar new Mov e fo y d rw iss u ar d t

passionate about the world, and have work ethics that would make

Write daily schedule on the board before school starts.

Take

ir e

Rewrite daily schedule to accomodate teaching partner’s last-minute idea.

and areas of expertise. Make sure they are curious, adaptable,

D U R AT I O N

CIA

i iv dr in Develop a new ga .A R ew r i t e a r u b r i c

First gather three friends of varying ages, genders, temperaments,

TURNS Play continues clockwise.

Start again tomorrow.

CHOOSE A TEAM

length of game.)

Plan content-area teaching. Choose a path to follow.

You are Spen giv d then 5 ho en u ret ur rs b n to

w i au ng e se out th e ct you it wo io ns can’ uld be . M t. K ee is s a tu p rn.

r to

Project is engaging but not authentic. Miss a turn.

AR T

o hr s t ec cus m b liz Dis a lu icu n re nne curr he f co T . r easie ing o k thin

on ve rsa w tion tio e n. can M is s a tu rn.

Now spin for yellow.

here first nd t la forward. us ve M mo o around again. to t, g no

game piece.

Spin your wheels until you land on green.

anning & grading , pl ch les for other lun artic .Go around ce d ifi rea lines again. to scip ircle i c If

ou e h ing Spend your on try . g t in plan ule ning mee ed sch create a

Find a die and pick somesmall token that represents you to be your

c g lon how t ea Hav abou uca d ee rov imp

H O W T O P L AY

Ema il te a bec aus mm a Cho e you tes ose re a f or a pl d w a ar

ay. gd nin ng, an rm i pl nsto e a. i al id ra igin or

y lida ho icle. on t art le a hi gre move o a rt . ye o n e d

Welcome to the game!

S T AR T HERE

Parent comes in to share expert advice or feedback.

Watch students use collaboration skills to solve group dynamic problems.

A parent tells you that students presented better than their own employees. All players move forward one space.

See students work in ways you dont get to in other classes. Understand them better. Build stronger relationships.

Spend 5 hour grading final projects as a team. Move back one space.

• There are many stages to completing a project. You will notice

THINGS TO NOTICE

Give students a great idea to improve work; watch them ignore your advice and do what they want. Move forward OR back one space.

that it starts with the brainstorming/planning stage, followed by the curriculum design, launch and implementation, project time, final response, and finally, the reflection.

back, because there are so many little challenges that can feel overwhelming; but the steps forward tend to be large, reflecting some of the truly rewarding experiences that come from this style of teaching.

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• You may also notice that the game has many small steps

• The game board is loosely based on the Innovation Institute space 29

and Makerspace, and was designed by an Innovation Institute alumna.

F E AT U R E

BUILDING ROBOTS

(AND EQUALITY)

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BY RACHEL HSIN â&#x20AC;&#x2122;19

When I started school this year, I immediately noticed something different about my classes.

Now, in junior year at SAS we start having

Nationals in Suzhou for the first time in school

more flexible choices in classes, and with that,

history. There, I attended the FIRST Ladies'

the gender imbalance in the high-level STEM

presentation by Luan Heimlich, who founded

courses became apparent. My IB Computer

the summit eight years ago. She said that when

Science class consisted of three girls out of

she first founded the summit, there were only a

fourteen, and my AP Physics 1 class consisted

handful of girls attending the presentation. But

of four girls out of seventeen students.

eight years later, after girls inspired by her had

But this wasn’t the first time I’ve seen

asked their friends to join, there were over 600

this imbalance. I was initially hesitant to join

girls attending the competition. She explained

Robotics in my freshman year because of the

that she was the coach for a team in Australia,

lack of girls in the club, compounded with my

and when girls joined the team, she always

lack of experience and a fear that no one would

asked them why they hadn't joined earlier.

The girls she worked with were slow to join FIRST not because they feared they weren't good enough, but mostly because they would be the only girl in the team. help me and teach me. I eventually joined the club as a sophomore, and immediately fell in love with it. I realized that many girls probably felt the same way I did, and I started encouraging the people around me to join Robotics. I took on coaching girls in math by tutoring them outside of class. I reached out to faculty and friends and convinced volunteers to check out competitions and meetings, all so they could see how fun, approachable, and exciting Robotics can be. I kept an eye on the girls who joined the club, and taught them the basics of programming and mechanics. She then echoed the thoughts I had two years ago—the girls she worked with were

small ways. For example, on my team's trip to

slow to join FIRST not because they feared

a competition in Zhengzhou this year, we had

they weren't good enough, but mostly because

to find chaperones on short notice and there

they would be the only girl in the team. I could

weren't any interested female staff willing to

see the idea resonating with the girls in the

chaperone. I asked around the whole school,

room, and during a later discussion, many

but eventually had to get special permission for

confirmed they felt the same way. Seeing so

my parent to chaperone in order not to be left

many people bond together and talking about

behind on the trip. Trivial-sounding experiences

the competition, our robots, and our lives

like this add up. In building a world of equality,

despite our opposing teams, I felt a sense of

moments like this add up into powerful

camaraderie and support. I couldn't help but

messages, and they matter.

wish that there were more of us in the room.

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This may not seems so significant, but quiet messages about gender affect girls in

This year, I led my team to FTC China

BY DR. JEFF DUNGAN E L E M E N TA R Y T E C H N O L O GY C OAC H + MS. JAMIE STEVENS E L E M E N TA R Y S T E A M C OAC H

F E AT U R E

PUTTING THE

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gâ&#x20AC;? IN

STEAM

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math education is making great headway in K-12 education. SAS is a leader in international schools in this regard as demonstrated by the continued development of learning spaces dedicated to and facilitating STEAM education, the hiring of teaching professionals with backgrounds in STEAM, and the continued investment SAS is making to ensure that all students have equitable and reliable access to STEAM-related learning experiences and resources. The trend in education is mirrored by growing statistical evidence in the STEAM job

market. In the U.S., STEAM employment is projected to grow nearly twice as fast as nonSTEAM employment by the end of this year. Similarly, in the EU, approximately 900,000 IT

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jobs will remain unfilled by 2020. Worldwide, women hold less than 30 percent of jobs in STEAM, which encompasses the fastest-growing and highest-paying professional fields. Closing the gender gap within STEAM education and STEAM career options could have significant impacts on innovation the world over. Women represent a largely untapped pool for STEAM employment. Interestingly, women in STEAM related fields earn 33% more than female counterparts in non-STEAM occupations and experience the lowest pay gap 32

to males when compared to non-STEAM fields.

At SAS we are working to level the playing

STEAM among young girls. Debbie Sterling is

field for girls, because studies have shown

an engineer and founder of GoldieBlox, a toy

that exposing kids to STEAM education and

company out to inspire the next generation of

building their confidence in the elementary

female engineers. Debbie’s TEDx talk is a great

grades translates into greater interest in STEAM

inspiration for getting girls interested in STEAM.

related subjects and activities throughout their

Stop by either of the SAS elementary libraries

educational journey. The Girls Only Coding

and librarians Beth Rohrbeck and Kimbra Power

after school activities came about two years

will be happy to show you the collection of

ago at both campuses, as a direct observation

books that are available. Stem Girls Books is

of the gender gap in STEAM interest in girls. At SAS Pudong campus, Elementary Technology Coach Amy Hossack also collaborated with the Girl Scout program to offer our students merit badges in Robotics and Programming. At Puxi elementary we have quickly realized that being social is an important part of girls’ development, and they gravitate to activities and spaces where they can be with other girls.

At Puxi Elementary we have quickly realized that being social is an important part of girls’ development, and they gravitate to activities and spaces where they can be with other girls.

Mannat ’25 has taken part in the co-ed EV3 Lego Mindstorm Club and also the girls-only offering this past spring. As Mannat relates, “the girls-only coding club is better because we get to talk about things in common, we have fun, we can sing, and we get to put fun music on while we code.” Iris ’25, who is in the same after school activity reports, “it is much quieter with just girls. When it is quiet I am able to think better.” Whether they are programming a rolling drone through a maze or programming a LEGO EV3 robot to water a row of fruit trees, learning through sequential programming apps on an iPad, or navigating through mazes with ultrasonic sensors, the aim is the same: to have fun, to solve problems, to become logical thinkers capable of designing solutions to complex problems. As Tiffany ’26 says, “It’s fun but we are still learning at the same time, and it is very exciting when you get it to work! It’s pretty cool to make a robot do what you want it to do.” Our goal with girl-specific robotics and computational thinking after school

STEAM themed activities. Recently, First Lego League Jr. was held at both SAS campuses for 3rd

another great site with many books related to

and 4th graders and was well attended by girls.

promoting girls' interest in STEAM. If we can

As a parent, you can help your daughters get

motivate girls to take an interest in STEAM

excited about STEAM related topics in a number

related activities and topics now, we may be

of ways. The websites Girls for Steam and Pretty

able to close the STEAM gender gap… one girl

Brainy are two great sites related to promoting

at a time. 33

encompasses to girls and to spark an interest in

SA F PR LL I N2G0 1280 1 8

activities is to promote the notion of what STEAM

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A R T B Y S O P H I A Z H A N G ’1 9

ADDICTED F E AT U R E

ARE WE

TO TECH?

B Y R YA N S T R O N G ’ 1 9

including the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities to suggest that we, the civilized world, are about to enter into an extended period of head chopping and violent revolution. Nay, I am merely suggesting that

perhaps our age has little bit of good and a little bit of bad. However, this all applies in particular to the relationship between humans and technology. One does not need to be convinced that the world is about to crash into Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (though I, for one, fervently believe it is) to be concerned about the absurd degree of time in which we all spend on our technology. Clearly, something serious must be done. Or should it? I’m honestly not sure it should. In fact, just ignore that entire introduction while you’re at it. You see, I just bought a new iPhone 20 and this has changed my views irreversibly. So what if we spend about 10 hours and 39 minutes a day on our devices? Wait, that’s just Americans. Never mind, where we were? Oh yes: who are we to tell responsible adults what they are to do with their lives? Yes, indeed what is this positively anti-modern notion that society has any claim on the way in which individuals behave in their personal lives? As long as they do not interfere with the consumption and hedonistic pleasure of other adults, what can we say to the contrary? After all, do we contend against other economic decisions that the rational consumer makes? Do we care if adults buy food that will lead to extreme obesity? No! Thus, why the hysterical drive to decrease the use of technology? Well, speaking of hedonistic pleasure, now is probably a good time to start talking about what moral theories we should employ in the analysis of these issues. Usually, these would be placed in the beginning in order to build the foundation of moral analysis, but I got a little bit carried away. The simple fact is that all serious moral analysis is based on utilitarianism. This moral theory of utilitarianism emphasizes the pursuit of pleasure. Thus, in order for an action to be moral, it must maximize pleasure. Luminaries such as John Stuart Mill and Peter Singer have written persuasively...well, I actually have never read them, but, well, you know, whatever. I was busy. It is just something that you, dear reader, must accept. One of the reasons that a variety of people continue to check their iPhones is because of dopamine. This chemical is known to make you happy, and whenever you check your device you get a burst of it. So, addiction is actually just a feeling of pleasure at a certain activity. Thus,

Last August, one of my high school teachers asked me to visit some of the senior classes to talk about college and things that I realized after leaving SAS. Among the things that I came up with was the realization that there were rarely any substantial opportunities to be quiet or alone in middle and high school. Back then, most of us would go from being surrounded by family members at home, to being surrounded by peers and teachers in class, to socializing in lounges and after school activities, to going back home where the cycle would begin again. I distinctly remember my high school self going to the library at lunch one day in search of some quiet, only to find people socializing chattily even there. The SAS community was boisterous and lively, but that very fact kept us distracted enough to rarely feel the need for prolonged reflection; and not only did we not feel the need for reflection, I think that we were also afraid of reflection, choosing instead to instant message our friends from the moment we got home up until bedtime. In retrospect, constant distractions ensured that I rarely got to feel emotions in full. Instead of grief, anger, or joy, I tended towards those same emotions in miniature: loneliness, irritation, excitement. One of the best gifts that I received in the last two years of high school was a small taste of regular stillness in the routine of spending a couple lunch hours a week in a quiet classroom, with some friends and a teacher, engaging in prolonged discussion about questions that may have otherwise felt too large or serious or “deep.” College has been so soulnourishing for me largely because I have been able to allocate generous swathes of time to being still and to being alone, while also being able to enter back into a lively community when I so wish.

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am actually not, to perhaps some of your considerable surprise,

BY DENISE XU ’15

It was the best of times, It was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, It was the age of foolishness. It was the epoch of belief, oh, well you get the point.

Alumna Corner

Reflection

F E AT U R E

if we are to maximize happiness, addiction to technology should actually be encouraged. Yes, indeed! This addiction is one of the greatest moral events to have occurred in the history of the human race. However, this is only a transient phase in the great moral progress that continues its steadfast march upward. Yes, indeed, one day we will all be hooked up to dopamine machines that inject dopamine into our brains to make us happy all the time. However, while this great new world order emerges, we will have to settle for the use of iPhones and other devices in order to increase our happiness and pleasure. However, some people- for reasons that are DAV I D Q I U ' 2 2

simply beyond my comprehension- seem to protest. They use strange words such as “social relationships” and “interacting with real human beings” in order to try to argue their case. This is nonsense. “Misery,” to paraphrase the famous Russian- or was he German? I know he definitely was not French or English as he did not speak these languages. Oh, well, maybe he was…. Actually, this is starting to turn

that attempt to argue against your opinion.

irrelevant. Back to the topic at hand!!! “Misery,”

Elaborate in excruciating detail on all the

(or maybe something worse) according to the

perceived stupidity and moral failings of the

great non-French/English chemist Jean Paul

person you are arguing against. The second,

Satre, “is other people.” So, why would anyone

of course, is to speak as much as you possibly

want to spend more time engaged in social

can in order to make everyone present forget what the original

...why the hysterical drive to decrease the use of technology?

argument was. Finally, if all other methods do not work, simply assert

relationships? Take your enviable columnist

you are right over and over again. Thus, you

for example. I spend almost no time with other

can win any argument.

people, as I have to make time for video games

Now, I hope it is clear to all of... You...

and other such serious matters. However, I

People that technology, technology,

am perfectly content and indeed joyful. Now,

technology… I mean addiction. No, I mean

these backward-looking obfuscations may

technological addiction. Well, it is just…

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merely retort with such slogans as “social animals,” “social scientific research,” and other

Editor's Note: The Editor would like to send

absurdist nonsense. Thus, reason and evidence

her sincerest condolences to the reader, as the

will have to be mustered in order to dismantle

column was never completed. This is due to

these reactionary, bourgeoisie views.

the fact that the writer eventually quit his

The main way in which this can be done

job in order to spend more time fulfilling his

is through the three main branches of logic

beautiful relationship with his new iPhone 22.

as demonstrated by Aristotle and A J Ayer.

We apologize for the inconvenience. We will

The first is to ridicule the character of those

do better next time.

Invisible BY ERIC CHEN ’26

I’m invisible.

his eyes used to be glued to books now they’re glued to his phone.

No one notices me no one knows me,

Just like everyone else

I’m alone I feel alone I’m in a world of my own.

I’ve nearly never seen his face after that, all I see is a phone.

A gloomy world of my own.

So just please,

An extra-gloomy world of my own.

not just my brother but everyone

Every week at least one time, I walk on the street, sit in the metro, and walk in my compound surrounded by people, their eyes glued to a screen, like a bug stuck on a spider web

Inside the trap, I’m not eating junk food, but I’m getting fatter than ever, I’m getting lazier than ever, My five senses are getting worse than ever. You may not notice it, but it’s happening right now to you and me We will be getting dumber if we don’t do something about it.

put down your phone to listen and see

The bigger problem is:

In a bread shop, put down your phone and smell the aroma of the freshly baked bread.

People walk while they use the phone. My cousin fell into a hole. Just because of that.

Even if someone suddenly screams at the top of their lungs no one will hear him.

On the metro, put down your phone and read and discover things around you.

Is it funny?

I have to use WeChat to communicate with others.

In a restaurant, put down your phone and have a conversation or just relax.

Listen to me closely. What did I say?

Using WeChat, I forget all my Chinese characters. Now I do Chinese homework, relying on my phone. We are one step closer to Albert Einstein’s fear. Remember what he said: “I fear the day technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of

Not just in a bread shop not just on a transportation not just in a restaurant! Anywhere anytime. The first second I see and touched the screen of an iPad, and boom!

Sure, It’s funny! Until one day maybe that will be you. So, just just just not just my brother, not just my cousin everyone including me.

Put down your phone and no one will be invisible.

Ever since my brother got WeChat, it’s like I have to ask him questions on WeChat.

Please. I tried to get out for 7 years, but it’s like I have a magnet on my back, and I keep getting pulled back.

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I’m inside the trap set by screens. idiots.”

F E AT U R E

Avoiding Social Media Stress T I P S F R O M S C H O O L C O U N S E L O R M S . S TA CY H A S S L E R Social media can be a great way to connect with friends: share humor, make plans, get support, and stay in touch. You also know the down sides of interacting digitally: constant interruption, overwhelming numbers of messages/posts, confusion over the meaning of something posted, and unkind words. Here are some tips on finding balance and reducing the negative effects:

FOMO

Let go of FOMO. Give “missing out” a try to see if it is worth the fear. Find the group that sends the most messages, or the most mean messages, and just leave the group or unfollow the person. Try it for two weeks and see if it matters. Look at what you lost, what you gained, and access other groups accordingly.

Stop

Set boundaries! Decide on what times of day you will interact with social media and stick to your schedule. Your tech schedule doesn’t have to be everyone else’s. Set 3–4 times a day to check feeds, post, and respond.

Break Time

Take some longer tech breaks. Sometimes you need to disconnect when other tasks and commitments require more of your attention: sports tournaments, holidays, exams. Sign out of social media or temporarily delete them from your phone.

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Thoughts

THINK before you post, send, share, or comment to prevent short-term and long-term stress on your life. It is: True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, and Kind?

Sleep

Operate on social media with a well-rested mind. As a developing teenager, you should be getting 7–8 solid hours of sleep every night. Put your phone on silent or out of your reach when it is not during one of your scheduled times.

Health

“You are what you eat” holds true for stress and social media. If you are consuming angry, hateful, drama-filled information on social media, it may leave you feeling that way. Consider the groups and posts that you follow. Keep the things that help you be the best you and leave the others behind.

Inform

Tell others your boundaries. If you plan to not look at your phone all weekend to prepare for a big exam, let your friends know so they don’t think you’re ignoring them.

FEELING LOST

Dear Feeling Lost, I had to start over in the friendship department in 7th grade (when my friend group kinda abandoned me) and then again in 8th grade (when I moved). I know this sucks, and I’m sorry. Looking back, it feels like I’ve had to start all over, in different ways, a lot. I hate it when I don’t just have that dependable person that already knows me, the friend that I can hang out with without worrying about what we’re going to talk about or do. What I have learned in the cycles of connection, loss, and restarting is that belonging is made up of lots of little pieces, Feeling Lost. Some of these pieces you don’t have much power over, like time. And people’s parent’s jobs. But big chunks of belonging aren’t tied to these circumstances. They grow from the energy we invest. And this means that if we really want it, we are going to have to do the work. As you know, a big part of this work is around friendship, and I don’t mean just being in the same WeChat groups as other people. In our generation, social media seems to be both our greatest tool and also some sort of bizarre overlord of our loneliness. We are super connected and simultaneously yearning for connection. I know it feels like life is hard and when you look around and on social media it seems like you are the only one sweating

that finding, knowing, and really being your authentic self is necessary if you want any piece of belonging to feel real. Maybe part of this era of your life is really getting to know the whole you. And in doing so, you’ll find new ways to relate to people here at SAS. I don’t think it matters if you were any good at this sport you tried, what I really wonder is did you like it? If so, do it again! If not, try something new! As you keep trying out more things you might love, you will find whole new pockets of peers with things in common that you never even knew before. And equally importantly, you’ll find you. I know that this journey is not comfortable, but take heart in knowing that lots of us are in this boat. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone sitting right next to you feels this same way. Heck, it’s a new school year, so guaranteed there’s a whole group of brand new students on the lookout for the potential of belonging right now too. This work is hard, so recharge yourself when you need to. Connect with your old friend, or talk to your dog or your parents or some awesome teacher. And when you are ready again, charge forth. There is belonging here for you, Feeling Lost, I know it. The pieces are all here waiting, and yours for the taking.

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S I N C E R E L Y,

YO U R S, JUNO 39

I’m having a hard time feeling like I fit in. This is my second year at SAS, and my best friend from last year moved. I have a few other friends, but it’s not the same, and we never really do anything together outside of school besides talk on WeChat. I am in a lot of chat groups with people at school, but no one feels like they are really close to me. I tried doing a sport, but I was not great at it and am not sure about doing it again this coming year. I feel like everyone else just finds belonging so easily. What do you think? Have you ever felt this way?

it. But here’s a secret: not even the most popular amongst us feels like they’ve got it all together. No one has this all figured out. I think it is time for you to pick a few potential new friends and invite them to do something outside of school and WeChat groups. Might it be awkward at first? Yes. I’m sorry— yes! Do it anyway. Be brave enough to live through some of those first hard steps so you can see what’s on the other side. You can’t expect any new friendship to feel like where your last old friendship left off. Each friendship must have its own individual beginning. Begin some. Every true friendship also takes time. Invest some. Another part of the work of belonging has to do with you, Feeling Lost. It turns out

DEAR JUNO

Dear Juno,

A CLOSER LOOK

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You can plan your life as much as you want, but in the end, it’s a series of improvised situations and circumstances. In Theatre and Drama at our Pudong campus we firmly believe in a skills-based program that prepares our learners for unknown, new, and changing situations. “Acting is daily,” Austin Eggett ’22 reflected on his last day of a three-year progression through middle school Drama. Our learners in grades 6-12 experience theatre as a director, performer, creator, designer, and spectator, developing and refining collaboration skills, critical thinking, effective communication, creative problem solving, and inquiry. Yet some of the most important learning at the heart of it all is the development of empathy, through theatre’s unique chance to really live in someone else’s shoes.

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Cultural Change

Making the Case and Space for Vulnerability

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BY Z H E N G H E X UA N ’ 1 9 + PAU L K I M ’ 1 9

“Hi, how are you?” “Fine, you?” Fine is a polite, sanitized word that could mean anything. Inside, I could be worrying about the math test next period, a frayed charging cable, the fight I had with my parents last night, or anything really. So am I really fine? I don’t think a few words could ever really answer that question sufficiently. At SAS Pudong, we had a problem, one that was deeply rooted in the culture, but one that was not talked about. We felt disillusioned by the lack of vulnerability, the facades that everyone seemed to adopt, and

the stress it was causing us. Almost all of us felt the need to find passion, to be a leader, and to succeed. We were partly driven by our parents, but mostly it came from ourselves. The pressure and the stress meant that we all needed some way to cope. Often though, we coped by saying, “I’m fine.” We kept our troubles to ourselves, worried that other people would judge us, think we were weak, and not care. Sometimes we wanted to be vulnerable to people we trusted, but often the other person was not ready. We were five teenage boys who agreed that this was a

problem, and we had many ideas about how to solve it. Stress Zero was born as a result. At its core, our club members form a support group. We build a space grounded in the values of trust, respect, and empathy. From this safe base, we help each other and organize activities to address the hidden stresses students feel. We meet every other week, and we always start by asking each other, “How have you been?” As our first mark on the school, we centered around the theme of starting a conversation about stress in a school culture where we felt it was often

makers Kindergarten Environment “No one person can change the world, but we can change our street. All of us can work together to do that.”

These tiny changemakers lined up one morning and followed their teachers out the gates to hang their 24 posters around the perimeter of the school. “We are putting up signs because we don’t see anybody cleaning up outside,” a student said as she tied a sign to the fence. “We need to change the world and save it from rubbish.” Anusha ’30 doesn’t feel like this effort is going to be enough. “We should make signs in Chinese too,” she said. “That is what my friend and I are doing around our neighborhood.”

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Some of our youngest Eagles (Class of ’30) recently noticed that there was a lot of trash on the streets that surround their school. “People are making bad choices and making the earth dirty,” they observed. Teachers helped coordinate a project to show our six-year-old students that their words and ideas matter and can bring actual change. They developed posters to highlight ways to solve the problems they saw.

neglected. We asked people to share what keeps them going on a big poster. We hoped the act of writing things down for the whole school to see could allow students to reflect on what they value in life. In addition, we organized a meme competition, where students create memes to share their frustrations and situations. The memes were funny, and Instagram pages have been created to host them. We also post monthly inspiration posters around the school, in hopes that they will help students stay optimistic even when they are down. However fun and successful the activities we offered seemed to be, what really tested our club was the death of a club member and friend. We tried to make sense of what happened. Students were sad, angry, and confused. With the help of the school counselors, the student body shared these emotions with each other, and we became closer as a result. Stress Zero has hoped to give others the same support that we gave each other. To this end, we have added another mark on the school with the creation of PALs (Peers-As-Listeners). We believe that just listening to someone is crucial to helping people solve their problems. Our program provides PALs, who are students trained in active listening and interpersonal skills. We build close relationships with each other because we recognize emotions are complex and take time to understand. We already have some PALs trained in active listening and peer-counselling skills, like how to guide tough conversations, and we are beginning to meet with students. However, we know it is difficult for students to trust us. We believe this will change. We are working hard to share our values and why we are prepared to meet them. Our original motto was “Students for Students,” but now, our club has expanded to encompass more than one simple sentence. One step at a time, we connect with each other and walk this high school journey together.

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Here’s How Happiness Happens BY A B BY L E U N G ’1 8 + J OY L I ’19

maintain an optimistic perspective even when we fall short. It’s also a mindset that prioritizes the celebration of achievement above achieving. Sometimes, we’re just too harsh on ourselves, and we need to give ourselves that breathing space. If not, we’ll never possess the drive to do better. Of course, with an ambition as big as changing school culture, it doesn’t come without challenges. Many of our events are researchproven to be beneficial for mental health and

happiness, but it takes careful planning to make sure that everyone can participate. A lot of interesting workshops that we want to do for the school, such as mindfulness sessions or seminars, may not be popular amongst the student body, as many still remain somewhat skeptical of the benefits of mindfulness. Therefore, such plans are saved for the club meetings. As we move into our third year of operation, The Happiness Project hopes to add a more educational approach to spreading positivity. It all seems like an impossible mission, but having staples such as Treat Yourself Week (where we hang up hammocks around campus) and the Teacher Gratitude Posters all pave the way to make the school a little happier. Though these successes are small, it’s still a success that should be celebrated. And that, to us, is enough.

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For a high-pressure environment like SAS, we have to learn to work hard, strive high, and maintain an optimistic perspective even when we fall short.

Some people say that high school should be the happiest time of your life. After all, it is a time and a place where we are still sheltered and protected, free to fall and find our footing before we set off to do adult things… like seeking employment and (dare I say it?) paying taxes. But looking around SAS, despite the laughs echoing in the student commons, it doesn’t always seem to be the case. For a while, the school seemed to be trapped under a layer of exhaustion and negativity. Was it always like this? Maybe. But as my peers started to think about college, everyone around me – all of whom are the smartest and most talented people I know – suddenly felt that they couldn’t match up to everyone else. As a result, people were becoming increasingly self-deprecating, to the point where it pervaded normal conversation. It’s almost heartbreaking to witness such scenarios. Hence, The Happiness Project was born. At its core, it seeks to spread positivity within the school community. With an emphasis on compliments and gratitude, it’s mission was to make sure that each individual knew that they were enough, and that they did not have to compete against others to feel valuable. However, to combat the problem at it’s root, The Happiness Project also encompasses stress-relieving. Simply put, The Happiness Project just wants to make the school happier. Thanks to the large collection of self-help books available, “happiness” is seen as a daunting goal to reach. It carries the connotation that it is something to be achieved, as if it were a physical thing to be acquired, and all other problems would cease to exist. But The Happiness Project wants to promote happiness as a state of mind – one where you adopt a more positive outlook on life. For a high-pressure environment like SAS, we have to learn to work hard, strive high, and

W E S AT D OW N W I T H M R. C R A I G TA F E L , DIRECTOR OF MENWAI PROGRAMMING, TO HEAR HIS THOUGHTS O N T R AV E L , S E R V I C E , A N D LEARNING OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF SAS.

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The Interview Tell us what you love about taking students outside of the classroom? My own experience growing up was “outside the classroom.” The world was my classroom. In my work with students at SAS for the past 17 years, I found all the things that we teachers love and appreciate about SAS students: curiosity, interest, engagement. But I’ve also watched them struggle when they do go outside the gates of our school, into the wider world that for me, is the place where I grew up learning life’s big lessons. The thing I really enjoy is working with students when they are out of their comfort zone, out of their usual routines, and watching the initial wonderment of it. Sometimes, though, this is where the experience ends, and we end up with a worldview that has that wonderment, but none of the real work, and sometimes the struggles, of interacting with the world outside of our bubbles. So for me, that is the ultimate joy: the pushing past the initial “ooh, ahh, a beautiful and interesting and new and exciting stage of discovery,” and going further, running up against the limits of our competence and our abilities, because that is where the real growth occurs. Getting to

have a front row seat to that experience is pretty remarkable, because to me that is “the classroom” in its purest form. What are some of the ways you think we can respectfully approach an experience of travelling if we want to engage authentically? Something I think we can all get better at, in travelling or even in exploring closer to home, is taking time to be still. To just observe. Many of us—and most of our students—find silence to be awkward instead of the opportunity and space to be human. I’ve spent a lot of time studying human populations, genetics, history, migration patterns, and I have learned that we as a species evolved experiencing the world as a very quiet place, with plenty of time to look around. To occasionally— perhaps often—be bored. To fill in time with interaction and engagement and observation. The absence of this time to be still (often because of the constant distractions of our smartphones) impacts student development of empathy, of integrity, of compassion. To learn and truly understand the world around us, we first have to approach experiences by

To learn and truly understand the world around us, we first have to approach experiences by learning to observe.

Voluntourism is becoming a more and more popular way to travel. What do you think of this? It is easy to throw out the idea that “SAS kids should do more service.” And I don’t disagree with that. But doing service in ways that look good on college applications is actually an incredibly complex endeavor, and it isn’t something to enter into casually. I think if we genuinely want to do more good in the world, if the goal is truly to have a net positive

I also think if we want to develop an authentic “outside the walls” experience, everyone involved has to approach it with a clear understanding of why they are doing it. We generally don’t learn a lot when our goal is just to have fun, and the kinds of experiences that are most powerful for us as

impact on the world, then acts of kindness 1. need to start very close to home (including on campus). And 2. if we do venture outside the gates of our school, we must first do our homework. This means we need to truly understand the ways that our efforts are part of a story that includes decades, centuries,

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people are rarely designed to be fun. Fun is temporary and unsustainable. We learn when we are interested in something. A program like Microcampus isn’t designed to be fun, it is designed to be interesting, challenging, and an experience that allows time for pause and reflecting and thinking and slowing down.

learning to observe. This is not wasted time; it is recaptured time. Time that is reconnecting us with the world, with history, with our humanity; I think we are losing the ability to observe and learn from the immediate world around us.

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worth of folks who go out to do good, and in hindsight, do not always necessarily do good. And in many cases unintentionally do some real long-term harm. As an educational institution, I think it is critical to establish amongst our community a mindset around doing good for the world that is accurate, and we have an obligation to our students as they finish their time at SAS to have a more nuanced view of service. If we are not comfortable asking questions like: Who exactly is being served in this process? What are the potential negative consequences in the long-term of our being here? What is the expiration date of the service we are performing? What will it look like after we stop? If we can’t answer these questions, then we are not ready to go down the road of service. This is not intended to take the wind out of people’s sails, but we can’t go out in the world and assume that because our intentions are good and because we are good people and because we are in positions of great advantage, that anytime we step outside the gates with the intention of helping people that it is doing good. We need to look beyond our immediate desire to serve, and look at it from the perspective of the folks on the receiving end, the folks we are partnering with, and understand that however we engage, service or otherwise, that that interaction is going to happen within a context of an existing community and story. We have to be aware of that; otherwise, we are really just serving ourselves. How have your ideas of service changed over the years based on your experiences? Looking back, there have been some mistakes. After leading trips for many, many years at SAS, I can look back on things I’ve

We start with awareness of our impact at our little pocket of the world, on campus. been part of and sometimes we were mostly doing service because it was one of the components we were “supposed” to do, say, on Day 3 of a trip. I’ve led groups to work with partners, built something, or donated things or money to those in need. Upon reflection, I now think of those experiences and think, “Wow, we really stepped on some toes there.” I grew up on the receiving end of efforts to serve, and understand some of the dynamics that are a part of that side of the process. And I think we as a school keep falling into the same trap based on what are, really, reasonable and good intentions: we are very fortunate to have the lives we have, and that this is not a typical experience for most of the world. We have this sense that because we are fortunate that we have a cosmic obligation to share our resources. And then we make a leap by thinking that if our intentions are good, the outcomes will be good. The problem is that this blinds us from seeing some of the real impacts. My ideas about this have developed from trying lots of

COMICS CORNER

TIPS FOR SURVIVING

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E L E M E N TA R Y S C H O O L

A N N YO U ’26

different things, and from watching, and having conversations with students over the years. I think that conversations at SAS about service should start with folks learning about an issue or a challenge, not by organizing bake sales or picking up our hammers right away. I approach discussions about service opportunities by asking questions like: How can an experience emphasize the connections and commonalities that we share rather than reinforce the differences? What are we learning from the people we are “serving?” The word “serving” itself has a tendency to separate the experience into two distinct groups: those who are doing the service and those being served. Then there’s a gap that needs to be bridged. The more and more I think about it, “service” is perhaps more a question of how we interact with the world. It is how we behave at the airport, how we walk down the street, how we treat the people who serve us food and clean up our messes and keep us safe. That is where “service” starts—though using the word “service” to describe those kinds of actions seems a bit odd to me. That is an important Step 1, with Step 15 takings us outside the gates of our school and connecting with people in powerful ways. We have to start with looking at what students are doing, other than showing up and going to class and doing their schoolwork, that makes SAS a better place? And when we have that awareness of impact of our behavior on our own community, then the natural next step is “let’s take this show on the road.” I aim to support our kids as students, but also as citizens, by not just jumping to Step 15, but looking at what is happening at the person-to-person level, small-scale, and what we are building as a culture of service right here within the four walls at SAS. We start with awareness of our impact at our little pocket of the world, on campus, and when we get those things right, that is how we show that we are a school that is ready to move beyond the gates and connect in positive, ways. Call it “service” if you wish, but to me it really means finding ways to relate to people whose lives and perspectives are different from ours.

MARCEL G. GAUTHIER

HEAD OF SCHOOL

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Poetry

INVENTOR OF THE PUZZLE

It was a joke, really. A conceit. My friend believed we could all achieve the ideal life, and I disagreed.

My wife tells me I don’t understand, holds a piece to my face: See? It’s the possibility, the chance it MIGHT fit.

Picked a rustic scene with polarized sky, scoops of cumulus, meadow grass, a giant freshly painted barn—suspiciously intact--

That what she gets at the finish, like watching her own child grow, surprises only because she knows it so well.

a patch of tiger lilies... and cut it with precision into a thousand, tiny interlocking pieces. Stuck the picture on the box...

Although I haven’t attempted even one of my puzzles, I have rescued from oblivion the arbitrary link (overshot by machine)

See how silly...? I meant to say. The mind-numbing labor, the little snaps of progress towards-what? It’s on the box.

on the factory floor. I save them in a box on my desk at home and pick through them, wondering: Which cloud? Which grass?

What I hadn’t considered (I have to laugh) was his desire—our desire— for self-deception, the need to assign doubt to a task,

What patch of tiger lilies? And in whose garden? Whose child I cannot see is hiding amidst the blossoms, the nodding

free will, some movement towards wonder. That he (and then others) would actually relish the chore, go at it with abandon—skipping

blades, squatting low, heart a grasshopper in his chest, listening to the searching voices, the buzzzz...stop of the cicadas

meals, postponing sleep—come back to it throughout the day over and over: If I could get one piece, just one stupid piece... And when the whole inevitably

in the elm, deciding how long he’ll stay invisible or if he even wishes to be found.

clicked together, express genuine surprise, a giddy satisfaction, as if the outcome might have been chaos.

HOROSCOPES FA L L 2 01 8

A R I E S : Feeling ambitious?

L E O : Hold onto your strong

S A G I T T A R I U S : Use your

Good. But you’re gonna need

personality and watch for new

strong will to stand up for

help from others this time. Drink

doors that are opening. Then get

yourself at school. Dream big

lots of bubble tea and go get ‘em.

yourself some new lucky shoes

about how you want to use your

Famous Aries’:

and walk on through.

energies now and in the future.

• Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man)

Famous Leos:

Famous Sagittarius’:

• Robert Frost (Two Roads Diverge… you don’t graduate SAS without knowing this poem.)

• J.K. Rowling (Author of the Harry Potter series)

• Brad Pitt (Fight Club…at this point, you don’t have a culture game if you don’t know this.)

• Emma Watson (Hermione Granger)

• Chris Hemsworth (Thor) • Leonardo DiCaprio (Clawed his way to the Oscar)

T A U R U S : Communication is

V I R G O : It is a good time to

key for you right now, especially

hold people to high standards,

at home. Try, I don’t know,

just don’t make them as

talking to your parents about

unrealistic as usual. Rebalance

something real, for starters.

that rational side of you with a

Famous Taurus’:

little heart. And eat long noodles.

• Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Big guy in Baywatch and Jumanji)

Famous Virgos:

• Adele (But I set fire to the rain...)

• Prince Harry (Megan Markle’s husband!)

• Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday… if you don’t know what this is, you need to step up your culture game)

• Zendaya (Trapeze artist in The Greatest Showman)

G E M I N I : Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed, but pause and focus on what direction you really want to move in this year. Seriously. Reign in your overcommitments before it’s too late. Famous Geminis: • Kendrick Lamar (Collab artist for the Black Panther movie soundtrack) • Natalie Portman (Thor’s girlfriend… sorta) • Angelina Jolie (Brad Pitt’s wife…for sure this time)

C A N C E R : It is not your nature to warm up to people quickly, but seize the start of the school year to make your social life more powerful than ever. Hang out in a new space on Friday mornings.

• Blake Lively (Ryan Reynolds’ wife)

L I B R A : A big time for potential

C A P R I C O R N : Don’t hold grudges, and focus on relationships. Really. Look away from the drive to achieve for a moment and tend to those around you. Famous Capricorns: • John Legend (“Cause all of me loves all of you”) • Bradley Cooper (Voices Rocket Raccoon in Marvel’s cinematic universe) • Michelle Obama (Former first lady)

A Q U A R I U S : Everyone knows

off and take care of yourself

you are an original, but don’t

while you explore this, and be

keep all of your great ideas to

extra nice to little kids.

yourself. Try starting a new

Famous Libras:

fashion trend.

• Matt Damon (Martian)

Famous Aquarius’:

• Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) • Bruno Mars (“You can count on me like…”)

S C O R P I O : You are powerful and independent this month. Read things you’re drawn to, they will bring great insights. (Read your homework too, for good measure.) Famous Scorpios: • Drake (God’s Plan) • Ryan Gosling (City of Stars)

• Lionel Messi (World’s greatest football player. Yeah, the one where you play with your foot and a ball… gee what a surprise)

• Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool)

• Selena Gomez (Justin Bieber’s…can’t remember by now)

• Miley Cyrus (“I came in like a wrecking ball…”)

transformation. Take the pressure

Famous Cancers:

• Kevin Hart (Smaller guy in Jumanji)

• Taylor Swift (That girl Kanye claims he made famous.)

• Christian Bale (The only Batman) • Cristiano Ronaldo (GOLAZO!) • Michael Jordan (Jump Man)

P I S C E S : In a rut? Don’t be afraid to take the ball into your own court. Take some time and find the right way, and then share your thoughts. Famous Pisces’: • Steph Curry (Splash, splash, splash) • Rihanna (We Found Love) • Daniel Craig (Bond…James Bond)

B Y T H E U N L I K E L Y A S T R O L O G E R S

FA L L 2 01 8

• Thomas Jefferson (Guy on the $2 bill)

• Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)

ANDERSON LUAN ’19 + A S C E N T S TA F F

• Leonardo Da Vinci (Mona Lisa)

NEWS + U P DAT E S

TheEleven Another amazing year at TheEleven! From rafting to meditation to the college essay, we welcome the Class of ’19 to Senior Year!

Nine

ASCENT

High School’s First Chapter

The driving question: How do we understand ourselves as a 9th grade class at SAS at this moment in the context of our host country? As the Pudong campus Class of ’22 begins to author the first chapter of their high school story, they will come together this fall in Wuyuan, China at TheNine. This new event is designed to cultivate relationships and a

grade-level identity in order to enrich the high school experience at SAS. As the new Pudong grade 9 manifestation of China Alive, we will not only explore China within an authentic cultural experience, but also engage in personal exploration and goal-setting, laying a strategic foundation for the high school experience ahead.

Welcome new Pudong Middle School Principal, Alan Phan! A highly regarded international school Principal, Mr. Phan hails most recently from serving as the Middle School Principal at the American International School Chennai. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am very excited to work with such a motivated, highly skilled, and collaborative community that embraces its Mission and Core Values and works with purpose and dedication. I am looking forward to working together to continue the excellent program that is already in place and exploring new innovations and possibilities.â&#x20AC;?

Bus Stories

Instead of merely putting our name on the side of our buses, we turned this normally passive medium into a memorable, interactive one. Creating unique graphics for each bus, accompanied by a unique QR code leading to pictures, stories, or videos about that particular graphic, our buses now share our history, our Signature Programs, our facilities, our cultural traditions, our favorite moments, our accomplishments.

Catch up on a video of Pudong middle school teachers showing their dance moves, the opening of The Hub on Puxi campus, summer successes for students in Math and Debate, the welcome of a second-generation Eagle, a new series called How We Learn, and more! New stories of life in our community come out all the time. SASEagles SASChina

FA L L 2 01 8

Our stories, of course.

With the largest bus fleet of any school in China (160+ buses), SAS has an unmatched opportunity to reach tens of thousands of people each school day, throughout neighborhoods in every part of the city. What would we want to tell these people?

Through the Looking Glass of High School BY ELIZABETH ZECK ’21

ASCENT

Most younger students wonder if they When you’re in 8th grade, you feel like you’re on top of the world. Everyone else is younger should be stressed or not, and if so, how to help calm themselves. I can offer you this: than you, you have power, you’re the kings high school is like any other new grade you’re and queens of middle school. When it occurred to me that I was going to be moving up entering. There’s stress with being in a new environment and new expectations, but don’t to high school, my initial reaction was: we’re underestimate yourself and build high school going to be the ‘babies of high school.’ Then there’s your parent messages of pressure and up to be this scary thing. Because once you get used to it, it’s a really enjoyable time. High performance, and of course all the movies school is more than just worrying about your telling you that high school could range from the deepest pits of drama all the way to danc- GPA, and when I was in middle school I wish I’d thought more about the clubs I would join, ing in the hallways to choreography. and asked questions about the opportunities. Should we be excited for high school or Fortunately, it’s never too late to ask. If I didn’t not? 8th graders I interviewed were both ask about new opportunities, I wouldn’t be excited and nervous for high school. A mahere writing this for you guys today. jority of people imagine that it’ll be stressful and competitive. They also think about the additional responsibiliDon’t underestimate yourself and build ties that comes with high school, high school up to be this scary thing, which sometimes makes them because once you get used to it, it’s a more nervous. 6th graders, on really enjoyable time. the other hand, seem to be mostly hopeful about high school life; Students at every grade level are excited they’re excited about the new food, clubs, for the new responsibilities that come with and different opportunities. high school, and getting treated more like Both grades here have a point: high school is can be stressful because this is when adults. High school is indeed like this; you have to learn how to be more independent we learn to be more independent. It is also a and how to organize your time and yourself time where you get to explore your interests in greater depth. In high school, you get to be in order to not feel overwhelmed. Some think that things matter more the closer you get a part of a bigger community. You join clubs and if you find things you're passionate about, to high school, some feel that they might not have enough time and management skills to the club members become part of your high balance all their activities. The truth is that school family. your high school experience is dependent Some students create perceptions about on yourself: you have to be on top of all your high school based on older siblings. One 6th assignments, but it’s the same for any othgrader said that because her brother was a er grade. There’s more responsibility every sophomore in high school, that she had a year. What students often forget is that each good idea about what it was like. (And she teacher before has prepared us. All in all, high was not stressed at all.) This concept of high school is an exciting period where you get to school is not universally accurate; for some there is indeed more stress, whether it’s from explore yourself and all the new opportunities that come your way; and the work is just one being a junior worried about college, or a freshman worried about their parents’ expec- part of the amazing experience. tations of them.

EAGLES IN FLIGHT

FROM IMMUNOBIOLOGY LABS

CHEERS TO SUMMER ADVENTURES TO

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THE ROCKIES

IN THE NEXT ISSUE

Favoritism: Real or Imagined? Fashion Statements

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