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DEARDEARCIS,CIS,

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Ihope you are as excited as I am about the school year 2022-2023! We have face-to-face learning, community days, Year 10 students in Hangzhou, Interschool sports competitions, assemblies, day trips, CCAs, concerts and a school Drama Production. It is as if we are finally back to normal!

Three years ago, school as we knew it stopped. Covid had appeared, and with it, our lives changed dramatically. Suddenly we had to teach and learn online, found ourselves working in solitude, and faced a lack of community connection. Forced into this new situation, we had to slow down, we had to take each step at a time, we had to think carefully about what we were doing, why we were doing it and how we were doing it. Our experience reinforced the need to slow down, live in the present, and be grateful for what we have. Human nature has a tendency always to want to be looking for the next big thing to happen, the next experience in life, the next opportunity.

We could learn from Simon and Garfunkel's famous lyrics: “Slow down, you move too fast, You got to make the morning last”. Lao Tzu, a Chinese Philosopher, had a similar message when he said, “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” Why then do humans feel the need to rush? We obviously miss out on so much as we charge ahead on the next task. New parents are a good example of this. They can’t help but look towards milestones, the first tooth, the first step, the first word, the first day of school, then, suddenly, it is High School graduation, and they wonder how that happened so quickly; where did the time go?

The Xiao Hua team has recognised this by selecting the theme, Slow Down. What a reminder to all of us! We are all being challenged to slow down, to take our time, to enjoy where we are and what we are doing, and not constantly to look to the next challenge, the next new thing. Xiao Hua is asking each reader to stop, reflect and contemplate what it means to slow down. Surely the last three years have taught us this.

Ask yourself, how will you meet their challenge? I plan on prioritising my days; I can have fewer meetings, spend more time connecting with people, disconnect from technology more often so I can communicate with others in person, and learn to be comfortable doing nothing and not rushing about. These are my plans; they seem quite simple, but I believe they will impact my well-being. What will you do to slow down? What action will you take to ensure your well-being?

Thank you to Xiao Hua, for giving us this challenge. For forcing us to slow down and think about this topic. I am honored that Xiao Hua asked me to write these introductory words for the latest issue of Xiao Hua and I know that readers will join me in congratulating the Xiao Hua team for continually ensuring the high quality of this amazing publication. The Xiao Hua team is a group of dedicated, extraordinary students who write about so many important issues for us to consider, and I know you will enjoy reading this magazine as much as I will. Thank you to the Xiao Hua Team!

Now, slow down, curl up, and spend the next hour reading this phenomenal publication.

34 | The Ivy League, 985, and 996: Recognizing Involution and Taking Steps for the Better

37 | Heart or Height? Let's Think Critically About Community Service