Dear parents, We shared at the start that we would keep you updated on the learning and teaching taking place on our UWCSEA 9-10 programme. And here we are! Like last year, the High School leadership team (Damian, Ted and Kate), along with Ben Clapp, our Director of Teaching and Learning, have been visiting classes to observe and participate in lessons, and speak with students and teachers. The students’ appreciation for the variety of IB-aligned learning engagements and assessment methods and for the real-world relevance of their studies, as well as their pride in their own creativity and conceptual connection-making, continue to be the main findings of our learning surveys. Our students continue to speak to us, of course, about how things might be improved and enhanced - feedback which is directly shaping their classroom experiences, as well as informing future refinements to each course. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued trust in and support for our programme - your feedback too is enhancing what we do - and we’d like to thank our teachers for their sustained commitment to developing and delivering such academically vigorous and meaningful courses. The UWCSEA 9 and 10 teaching teams would like to share with you some of the powerful learning experiences your children have had during their first term. As we have seen for ourselves, the students have responded to such opportunities with high levels of personal interest, intellectual engagement and independent thinking. What follows are some snapshots and highlights from the year so far. We hope you enjoy them and we wish you all the best for the December break!
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Contents Page Core Courses Physical and Wellness Education Critical Perspectives Languages English Literature and Language Enrichment English: Critical & Creative Literacies English as an Additional Language School Supported Literature and Language (SSL) Chinese Literature and Language Japanese Literature and Language Chinese Acquisition Advanced Chinese Acquisition Continuation French Acquisition Beginners French Acquisition Continuation Spanish Acquisition Beginners Spanish Acquisition Continuation Humanities Economics for Social Change Geography History Social Entrepreneurship Psychology Science Integrated Science Computer Science Maths Essential Mathematics Enrichment Mathematics Arts and Design Dance Drama Processes, Design and Performance Film Food Science and Nutrition Graphic Design Innovation Engineering Music Product Design Visual Arts Further courses The UWC Project
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Physical and Wellness Education G10 PWE High ropes in action!
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Critical Perspectives G9 Critical Perspectives Students in Grade 9 Critical Perspectives have explored their identity in our first unit called ‘Influences.’ They have explored the most powerful influences that helped shape their identity through a visual mandala, utilising symbols, and a written reflection. Many students have discussed and depicted being a Third Culture Kid, the influence of family and parenting styles, and explored cultural dimensions such as collectivism. Our second unit, “Knowing Right from Wrong”, focuses on a variety of ethical belief systems such as altruism, virtue ethics, ethical egos and others. Students are applying these moral systems to themselves, well-known individuals and scenarios throughout the unit. We will be investigating contemporary, controversial issues and analysing them through the lenses mentioned. We also explore how religion can influence moral reasoning and discuss and present to the class on topics such as Seattle’s banning of the caste system, protests against Coldplay in Jakarta, and cow vigilantes in India.
G10 Critical Perspectives Students in Grade 10 Critical Perspectives have learned about human rights as a concept and have investigated examples of 1st generation and 2nd generation human rights. We have learned about the development of the UDHR and used our Global Concerns at UWC as examples of NGOs that address human right violations throughout South East Asia. We have watched the documentary “A Girl In The River: The Price of Forgiveness” and learned about cultural relativism through honour killings. Students have reflected in a personal video on statements such as Human rights need protections and monitoring to be enhanced and fully developed, People's perspectives on universal human rights depend on context, Human rights are 'ideals' that may be challenging to implement. Back to Subject Menu
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English Literature and Language G9 Essential English We began this term with a focus on the elements of narrative in our first module: Cultural Kaleidoscopes: How Do We Tell Stories, And Why? We began by sharing a story we all have in common: the story of our name, and we discussed the ways in which names can have a symbolic significance as expressions of family lineage, culture, heritage and language. For the rest of the module, we examined how writers from different time periods, contexts and cultures have used the short story form to write creatively and inventively about the world.
We read work by writers such as George Saunders, Charles Dickens, Angie Thomas, Guy de Maupassant, Meg Rosoff, William Trevor and Kate Dicamillo, examining the foundational elements of narrative, and exploring the ways in which these writers use such elements to entertain and engage their readers. Currently, we are applying this learning to a longer fictional narrative – the novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which is the final narrative in this module. Assessment: Students have focused on discussion, both in small and whole class groups, annotating and mapping their ideas and interpretations. They have had regular shorter written assignments, both creative and interpretative/analytical. The final longer assessed outcomes are in the form of a 1000-word creative short story (with an accompanying 250-word rationale) and a 1000-1200-word academic essay on the novel Purple Hibiscus.
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English Literature and Language G10 Essential English This term opened with the module: Pardonable Plagiarism – The Art of Transformation, focusing on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. While the focus was on exploring a Shakespearean play in detail and depth, the conceptual focus was on how adaptation is a form of interpretation. Students, therefore, watched different film/stage directors’ interpretations of key scenes from the original play, discussing how directorial choices emphasise specific readings of the play, an approach known as ‘performance criticism’. We also considered the fact that Shakespeare’s play, first performed in 1597, is an adaptation of an English poem, translated from a French poem, which was originally written in Italian! In addition, we read and discussed different academic and theoretical approaches to the play, for example, considering the ways in which the play was originally understood in relation to the classical Greek tragic model, and how late 19th Century/early 20th Century critics focused more on romance and characterisation, with later 20th Century and contemporary approaches emphasising social and political interpretations of the work. We also went to watch a touring British stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Victoria Theatre (and some also went to see the musical ‘& Juliet’ at Marina Bay Sands). Assessment: Throughout, students have focused on discussion, translation and annotation of ideas and understanding of scenes and acts in the play. There were shorter written analyses of some of Shakespeare’s sonnets and soliloquies/duologues and a 1000-1200 word academic essay writing as a final assessed outcome.
In the latter part of Term 1, we began Module 2: The Versatility of Verse. This is an eight-week study of the verse form throughout time, beginning with the Ancient Greek lyric and epic, moving through to the Renaissance and Romantic eras, and finally into the contemporary world of digital verse and performance. In our study, we will read poets and lyricists from different times and contexts, such as Sappho, Homer, Marvell, Donne, Rosetti, Bishop, Heaney and Dylan, connecting their work through how they express their connection with the inner self and the outer world, considering how poetry can express a universal humanity which reflects our human condition. Back to Subject Menu
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Enrichment English: Critical & Creative Literacies G9 Critical and Creative Literacies The G9 students have been exploring how the language we use in our daily lives and interactions - in all its forms and varieties - is both unique and shared, and how it underpins our very sense of self and belonging. They have examined how language changes and evolves (even to the point of endangerment and extinction), and how it can both represent and misrepresent, include and exclude, empower and disempower people, socially and culturally, as reflected in a range of real-world experiences across the globe and in the fictional worlds of the literature we’ve studied. These include the play Pigeon English and the novel Things Fall Apart. With so much focus on speech, it was only fitting that the unit culminated in the students interviewing two people from different contexts about their own languages and experiences. Parents, teachers, family abroad, fellow students and best friends, all became sources of some really insightful discussion and some pretty sophisticated socio-linguistic analysis and evaluation. Absolutely fascinating to watch and listen to!
Now onwards and upwards, as the students apply what they have learned about voice to the distinctive narrative style and heteroglossic characterisation of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. This literary unit - Polyperspectivity and the Art of Balanced Representation - is developing the students’ understanding of the different ways in which perspective can be used to create complex representations of characters and events. It will culminate in an essay focus of the students’ own choice. (Meanwhile, some gripping speculative fiction lurks just round the corner…) Back to Subject Menu
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Enrichment English: Critical & Creative Literacies G10 Critical and Creative Literacies Enrichment English is a ‘deep dive’ into language and literature, and the opening module – (Re)Telling Tales: The Evolution of Foundational Stories – was an exploration of what makes certain stories foundational to cultures across time and space. We examined how stories have been re-told, adapted and re-visioned over thousands of years, considering the ways in which the re-purposing of narratives can serve different purposes for changing times, contexts and audiences. We began by considering discourses around popular culture narratives (the recent re-making of the Barbie movie, and the controversy around Snow White and The Little Mermaid). Then we looked back to Ovid’s Metamorphoses and the contemporary work of the novelist Madeline Miller (students read either Circe or The Song of Achilles as extended reads), the poet Carol Ann Duffy, representations by visual artists from the Renaissance period onwards, as well as advertising and political campaigns which re-purpose and re-invent well-known stories. Finally, we explored George Bernard Shaw’s famous play, Pygmalion, a re-telling of Ovid’s two-thousand-year-old version of the myth, exploring how the playwright re-visioned the original to create a sociopolitical critique of language, class and gender in early 20th Century England. Throughout the module, students have read extensively, both original texts and writing about the texts they have studied. Assessment has come in various forms: a detailed oral and visual presentation on the evolution of foundational narratives over time (see examples below), a recorded thirty-minute small group guided discussion of their extended read (assigned novel), individual written short form responses to literary texts, and language study and, finally, a longer written essay on how socio-political, cultural and historical knowledge of Shaw’s era has helped to sharpen and refine an understanding of the play, in addition to a written film treatment (1000 words) on adapting and contemporising the play for a modern audience.
We are now just beginning the second module, which will last eight weeks: The Power of Poetry. This is an extended study of two major poets - Imtiaz Dharker and William Blake (both of whom are/were also visual artists). We will explore a collection of work from both poets - the contemporary Dharker, who writes across cultural and geographical contexts, and the late 18th/early 19th Century Blake, whose work was seminal in the early Romantic movement. Both poets are connected, not just in terms of their artistry, but in their concern for observing the external world around them in their work, as well as the inner world of feeling and visionary imagination. Back to Subject Menu
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English as an Additional Language G9 EAL In the first term of this language acquisition course, students are working towards mastering receptive and productive skills in English and deepening their understanding of linguistic concepts that support language learning. These skills are integrated into two units. The first, ‘My World, Your World’ has explored what it means to belong. Using the novel ‘Long Way Down’ as an anchor text, students were asked to think about what identity formation means and what experiences help form an individual’s and a community’s identity. Students have practised their receptive skills through reading and listening tasks connected to the novel, newspaper articles, news stories, and author interviews, which explore the big ideas of identity and belonging. The second unit, ‘What Does it Mean to be a Teen?’, unpacks the ‘teen’ experience through explorations of the challenges and opportunities that young people are faced with today. We learn about text types including blogs, feature articles, and speeches to develop the knowledge needed to engage in both spoken and written expressions of the students’ passions and the issues affecting them and their world. The students are developing their ability to communicate in more real-life contexts and for a wider variety of purposes, along with the communicative competence needed to interact with others in both familiar and less predictable situations. This is intended to not only help them in the EAL classroom but other classes and aspects of their academic and social lives.
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School Supported Literature and Language (SSL) G9 SSL As part of a unit entitled “From Page to Stage”, G9 students have been looking at how film directors make choices to adapt prose to the screen. In French specifically, after studying Marcel Pagnol’s autobiographical work La gloire de mon père (My Father’s Glory in English, a classic text published in 1959), they studied the film by Yves Robert (1990) so that they could compare and contrast the portrayal of setting, characters and action across both media. This case study helped them understand that the interplay between different elements in both text and film create meaning, while both media present, explore and reflect the human experience in different ways.
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Chinese Literature and Language G10 Chinese Literature and Language In this unit, students demonstrated their appreciation for Chinese poems and modern Chinese song lyrics while developing their understanding of how rhythmical language enhances communication between authors and audiences. Students created their own poems or advertisements using the concepts they had learned.
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Japanese Literature and Language G9 Japanese Literature and Language During Unit 1: Culture and Context, we explored the culture and values in Japan that have shaped folktales as we know them today. The students made a presentation about one folktale and also rewrote the story.
By studying the folktale-based short story “Rashomon”, examining characterisation and the use of psychological and scenic descriptions, they deepened their understanding of how such tales can be creatively revisioned and recontextualised, as well as practising their analysis and interpretation of literary techniques. As a summative assessment, the students wrote a scene to be situated before or after the story, using their imagination and creative skills.
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Japanese Literature and Language G10 Japanese Literature and Language As part of the Identity unit, we read ‘I am Yellow, White, and a little bit Blue’, an essay about the journey of a mixed race junior high school boy from the perspective of his Japanese mother. We examined where the story takes place, the incidents that occur at school, and the identity issues the boy experiences, and through this glimpsed the various social problems that the UK and other countries face. We also focused on the author’s use of literary expressions, devices, and techniques, and the effects they create.
The students also reflected on Japan, our own environment at school and at home, and wondered what shapes our current identities. As a summative assessment, the students wrote an essay in which they reflected on their own educational journey so far and the experiences that have made them the person they are today. Currently, they are working on a collage to celebrate who they are at the end of the semester.
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Chinese Acquisition Advanced G9 Chinese Advanced Students have been learning about family relationships in contemporary Chinese society, and exploring different text types, including letters, essays, short stories and video clips to enhance their comprehension skills and presentation skills.
G10 Chinese Advanced Grade 10 students have been exploring how science and technology impact people’s leisure lives, affecting the sense of community belonging. Students have had the opportunity to introduce some traditional leisure activities from their own culture. They also engaged in a vigorous discussion on the pros and cons of city life versus rural life.
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Chinese Acquisition Continuation G9 Chinese Continuation In G9 Chinese Continuation class, students have been learning about school-related topics. Students had the chance to compare the school life of Chinese students and themselves. To showcase their understanding of the topic, students made a role-play. They had an interview role-play and discussed the similarities and differences between UWCSEA and high schools in China.
G10 Chinese Continuation As we near the conclusion of Unit 3, focusing on festival celebrations and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, an exciting opportunity awaits our students. In the upcoming unit project, students will showcase their creativity, adept time management, collaborative spirit, and evolving proficiency in the Chinese language. The challenge at hand involves designing a compelling 5-day cruise experience tailored for Chinese families spanning three generations, set against the backdrop of the vibrant Chinese New Year holiday. This project serves as a distinctive platform for students to not only immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of Chinese customs and traditions, particularly during the pivotal Spring Festival but also to actively infuse innovative elements. Examples include the reimagining of the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner menu and the introduction of fresh celebration activities. By engaging with this millennia-old festival, students not only honour its historical significance but also contribute to its evolution, bringing forth a fusion of the old and the new in a celebration of cultural dynamism. Click here to see more details
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French Acquisition Beginners G9 French Beginners In our previous module, novice French students in Grade 10 explored discussing their preferred day and gained skills in crafting and refining birthday party invitations. They acquired the essential vocabulary for both spoken and written arrangements necessary for planning a birthday celebration. Engaging in a scenario where they had to orchestrate and arrange their own event, students were tasked with visiting a pastry shop to select and order a birthday cake, procuring main dishes from the market, and composing invitations for their friends. (sample 1, sample 2, sample 3, sample 4)
They documented their experiences through videos, role-playing "A la patisserie" and showcasing their cake selection process within groups. Recently, students have demonstrated their ability to improvise and enact scenarios without relying on a script, particularly within this familiar context. They are also proficient in presenting and discussing their favourite day in front of an audience, relying minimally on notes (see a student’s screencast here). To accomplish these tasks, they enhanced their understanding and usage of pronominal verbs within more intricate sentence structures. Parfait ! You can watch some videos here: Group1 Group2 Group3.
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French Acquisition Continuation G10 French Continuation In our last unit, students had the opportunity to communicate about world exploration. We talked about different ways to discover our planet and the people, from holidays, exchange programs, volunteering and literature, to geography and statistics. We developed our language skills by revising and practising key tenses to recall past events and to make projects for the future. We explored dream holidays while learning how to use and conjugate the conditional. Towards the end of the unit, we reflected on the importance of traditions and discovered why the Unesco protects them with the Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The students shared their favourite traditions with a presentation in front of the whole class, working on their speaking skills but also on how to manage their stress while talking in front of their peers with no written notes.
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Spanish Acquisition Beginners G10 Spanish Beginners In G10 UWCSEA Spanish Beginners, the students have completed their end-of-unit 4 Reading assessment by following a recipe and preparing Guacamole!
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Spanish Acquisition Continuation G10 Spanish Continuation In our first unit we talked about our well-being (Mi bienestar), having healthy habits and diet. We started by putting our ideas together, discussed healthy/unhealthy habits and shared typical meals from our home countries. Students planned meals for a house party with friends, along with a shopping list for their family weekly shopping, using a Spanish supermarket website.
For their final oral project, students will be cooking a traditional dish from a Spanish speaking country, explaining the whole process from the shopping to the recipe in a video.
Students also took part in a role-play where they had a medical emergency and they had to find a solution and give
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Economics for Social Change G9 Economics for Social Change The G9’s start the year by exploring how we need to redesign cities and economies based on new economic thinking, such as Doughnut Economics and the Circular Economy. This unit gave students the opportunity to research the problems that cities are facing and then present potential solutions to these problems. See example.
Unit 2 has started with the introduction to demand and supply before moving onto the negative externalities that have been created in society due to the overproduction and consumption of goods & services. After the December break students will delve deeper into government policies and ethical consumption as a way to reduce negative externalities we have created in society. Back to Subject Menu
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Economics for Social Change G10 Economics for Social Change The G10 students have completed their first unit of the year, Engineering Economic Growth. The unit explores how governments use a variety of policies to create economic growth. We have also looked at how countries such as Costa Rica and Sweden are focusing on environmental and economic sustainability as a focus of growth in the 21st-century. Their assessment - an economic commentary - is focused on the analysis and evaluation of real-world policies.
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Geography G9 and G10 Geography
Geography Term 1 newsletter Back to Subject Menu
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History G9 History Our grade 9 History students have engaged in some experiential learning during their Unit ‘From forest to fire: Why did the Second World War happen?’ when studying one of the causes: the First World War. Students were put into two teams, representing the forces of the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. Each team had to elect a general who would lead the discussion on military strategies and the use of economic (trench material such as the table, chairs and paper bullets) and human (students) resources. All lights were turned down and the students got ready for their battle. At the beginning of the activity, most students were excited. They were ready to beat the other team. A few minutes into the simulation students realised how draining the constant fear of being attacked could be. How difficult it was to cross no man's land alive. How boring it was to wait and how difficult it was to actually win this battle. They were experiencing themselves that in trench warfare it was easier to defend instead of attack, leading to a stalemate. After this simulation we talked about the general mood at the beginning of the war in most countries: ‘The war will be over by Christmas’, comparable to their own enthusiasm at the start of the activity. We discussed the experiences of the soldiers: their daily lives in the trenches, the shell shock some soldiers suffered from due to their experiences at the front and the feeling of indifference to war events portrayed in novels like ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. We discussed military strategies such as ‘going over the top’ and the human costs of these types of battles. We looked at a timelapse of the Western Front from 1914-1918 and discussed how life must have been for soldiers fighting in those trenches in those years. By taking part in this experience and the reflection thereafter, students were able to understand the different phases of the war as well as the gruesome experiences of the soldiers in the trenches a bit better. Teaching about wars and conflicts in the past like we do in this unit is closely connected to our mission: to make education a force for a more peaceful and sustainable world. Units on the causes, course and consequences of wars offer students the opportunity to make connections between conflicts in different places, different times and different spaces. By doing so, they gain insights into patterns throughout history which helps them better understand essential elements of peaceful coexistence.
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Social Entrepreneurship G9 Social Entrepreneurship Early on in the term we got to know each other to start developing our teamwork and creative problem solving skills. The Egg Drop Challenge is always a student highlight and we have the perfect launch site at the 3 storey high bridge from D block to the sports field.
Exploring ideas and solutions to Sustainable Development Goals has been a focus as we move towards working in project groups for the rest of the academic year.
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Social Entrepreneurship G10 Social Entrepreneurship As students come to the end of our Human Resource unit, they have started to develop their business plans for their Exhibition Week in March. Continuing to develop their business ideas from last year they have now put together a human resource plan for their businesses. Our next unit focuses on finance, where students will first have the chance to explore different options for raising finance for their start-ups. Before researching and projecting their costing and revenue figures. It has been amazing to see the amazing collaboration and teamwork taking place with such a focus on the social aspects of the enterprises. An example project: Mission Statement: At CutiePOPS!, our mission is to ignite awareness about endangered animals by pioneering a unique approach by crafting popsicles that not only capture the essence of threatened species because of their shape but also serve as a catalyst for change. With each treat, we contribute a large portion of our sales to organisations dedicated to safeguarding endangered wildlife. Driven by our commitment to sustainability, we strive to create popsicles that not only satisfy taste buds but also tread lightly on the planet. By embracing eco-friendly practices and sourcing responsibly, we aim to set the standard for a delicious and sustainable indulgence.
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Psychology G9 / 10 Performance Psychology Students in Grades 9 and 10 Performance Psychology have recently completed their first competency-based assessment. Using a scaffolded planner the task allowed them to more deeply explore concepts related to Happiness (our Unit 1 focus) and demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, and critical thinking in the medium of their choice. Work submitted ranged from podcast scripts, short graphic novels, to a three-song hip-hop mixed tape. One of the most memorable was a series of interviews related to happiness and miswanting with our school community.
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Integrated Science G9 Integrated Science Grade 9 students have been engaging in the classification of stars through the Hertzsprung Russell diagram - organising stellar bodies based on luminosity and mass to better understand the evolution of different size stars. This developed into investigations to address how we know so much information about bodies that are so far away from us. Students explored the information carried by light through absorption spectra, intensity distance relationships and blackbody emission to understand how Astrophysicists apply the scientific method to draw conclusions.
In the Biology unit “The Living World’, students have been developing an understanding of the characteristics of living things, whilst exploring the specific cellular adaptations, the processes and the role of water in the survival of organisms.
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Computer Science G9 Computer Science Students began the Term by learning how to program in Python, starting from absolute beginner and arriving at intermediate level intermediate level coding before the half term. Students quickly progressed from solving simple puzzles to creating reasonably complex code that uses logic to create algorithmic art.
More recently students have been learning how to use Pygame along with Python to create 2D games such as amusing variations of Flappy Bird, scrolling platformers, and top down shooters. We concluded that most games share common algorithms, such as keyboard controls, directional movement, and shooting, while also adding different features such as gravity, zoom, and NPC movement.
Next term, students will learn about hardware, including not only how a computer works, but also the effect that hardware has on the environment and economy. They will also create real logic circuits using gates and breadboards to solve actual problems. After that students look forward to learning about networking, cybersecurity, data science, and finally get to create a real application with a Graphical User Interface which they will invent and design and program themselves.
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Computer Science G10 Computer Science In the first term students have been learning to program in Javascript. They carried out several mini projects which have included making environmental simulations, headline generators and games. They also learned to make web applications by mixing together HTML, CSS and Javascript to make interactive web pages, before creating two web-based video games, dino run and whack a mole.
In the next two terms, students will be creating decision-making tools based on simulations, and applying AI to streamline the creation of images and animations which will help them to present data in the future. Finally, at the end of Grade 10, students will work on an individual project which will showcase the skills they have developed over the course. This may be a fully functional application, a website with embedded original graphics and code, or detailed research into a topic they have studied.
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Essential Mathematics G9 Essential Mathematics
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Essential Mathematics G10 Essential Mathematics
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Enrichment Mathematics G10 Enrichment Mathematics
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Dance G9 Dance Our Grade 9 UWCSEA class have been working on understanding Safe Dance Practices and Dance Technique through the unit “The Dancer in Training”. We have been exploring relevant strength and technique exercises that work on developing their body awareness and increasing their understanding of personal anatomical structure. After digging deeper into training types, we put this into practice in creating dance works in the styles of Jazz and Contemporary, reflecting a concept and intent that maximise student potential.
G10 Dance Our Grade 10 UWCSEA Dance class had the pleasure of hosting one of our Infant Ballet classes for an exploration into composition. Our Grade 10 dancers have been working on developing a duet based on a concept/intent. They transferred the skills they had learnt to work with our infant ballerinas on creating a dance based around the idea of Fairies. The Grade 10s had a valuable experience leading our younger students and synthesising their knowledge to teach the compositional process. Our infants loved working with the “big girls” and they were impressed with their beautiful dance skills.
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Drama Processes, Design and Performance G9 Drama Processes, Design and Performance The grade 9 students have been working closely with artist-in-residence Red Leap theatre company over two weeks, and learning about generating material in innovative ways, using physical imagery and focusing on journeys for their upcoming devised performance about Global Displacement.
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Drama Processes, Design and Performance G10 Drama Processes, Design and Performance We were very excited to see the students deep dive into the theatre tradition of their choice: puppetry and masks. They researched the theory and enjoyed physical exploration, before presenting and teaching a parent what they had learned. This is the final task of a unit that has allowed students to engage with masks on a sophisticated level, opening them to the power of puppetry and the impact they can have through performance across the world. Students are reflecting on how their performance skills have developed using masks and puppets as well as the way that breath, focus and weight enable more effective communication of meaning.
The learning for the students went way beyond our aims, but it was the parents' engagement and comments that blew us away. They made connections with their own cultures and traditions as well as showing their appreciation of the importance of the arts in that society. The community building that came from this learning exchange was valuable too.
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Film G9 Film: Filmmaking and Analysis G9 Film students have explored practical filmmaking, using audio recorders for sound design, and cameras and lights to explore cinematography and high-key lighting and low-key lighting. These practical filmmaking exercises will provide them with the foundational knowledge needed to operate a camera, light a scene, and record high-quality audio that they will then use to create their own short films.
G10 Film: Directing the Frame and Creating the Storyworld In Grade 10 film, students have been exploring how genres serve to both categorise films and cultural memories of the times in which they were created. G10 students have started pre-production on their 3-minute Genre film. To the right is a student creating character plots as she and her team brainstorm ideas for their film. Here is a 3-minute excerpt from Kate Hames- Navarro’s Film Analysis essay exploring the male gaze and the portrayal of women in the films of Jean Luc Besson, specifically Leon the Professional.
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Food Science and Nutrition G9 Food Science and Nutrition G9 students are developing skills relating to foods that are transferable to other settings. They are developing the capability and competence to experiment with and prepare food as well as design, implement and evaluate solutions to a range of food situations. More importantly, students are learning how to maintain a balanced diet by creating the correct combinations and modifications of food.
G10 Food Science and Nutrition G10 Food Science & Technology students are testing and discovering new food innovations to improve on existing inventions and challenge their thinking around food education, food resourcing and more. Students are learning how innovation has changed the food industry, the way we shop and how we manage the global issue of food waste. Students are learning the nutritional, physical, chemical, sensory properties of food, and how diseases and illnesses are caused by poor dietary choices, malnutrition and food allergies. Their hands-on lessons are challenging and stimulating to foster enjoyment and satisfaction.
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Graphic Design G9 Graphic Design: Foundations This term, our students have been fully immersed in the captivating and ever-evolving world of Typography. They have been thoroughly exploring the intricate art of letterforms, drawing inspiration from the diverse environment that surrounds them. They have been diligently refining their skills in crafting mesmerising lettering designs, utilising a wide range of powerful tools, including Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Fresco, and Procreate on iPad.
Throughout the duration of the programme, students have been actively encouraged to venture into uncharted territories, experimenting with a myriad of styles, techniques, and cutting-edge digital tools, all to breathe life into their typographic designs. From found letterforms to meticulously crafted digital compositions, they have been pushing the boundaries of their creativity, fearlessly diving into the vast expanse of possibilities that the realm of typography offers.
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Graphic Design G10 Graphic Design: Advanced Practices “Welcome to the Grade 10 UWC Graphic Design ACTIVIST Exhibition, where student activism and artistic expression unite to make a powerful statement on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Drawing inspiration from the iconic activist art of Shepard Fairey, our project is a creative endeavour aimed at raising awareness, fostering dialogue, and driving positive change through Graphic Design practices. In a world filled with complex global challenges, our young designers are stepping up to create a fairer and more sustainable future. Through the lens of digital art and graphic design, they have created thought-provoking, visually alluring, and carefully crafted works that centre around the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the Service learning opportunities at the UWCSEA East campus. ACTIVIST serves as a platform for the voices of the future to be heard, echoing the ideals of social justice, environmental responsibility, and equality. Like Shepard Fairey's captivating art, this exhibition strives to use graphic design as a catalyst for activism. Our goal is to inspire, challenge, and motivate viewers to take a closer look at the issues that matter most to us as a global community and for our students to develop the creative knowledge and skills set to deliver that message.
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Innovation Engineering G10 Innovation Engineering Year 2 Innovation Engineering students have now embarked on their own ‘big project’. Using knowledge and understanding constructed through the various self-directed units over the past 18 months, we have Reyhean repairing and rebuilding his 2-stroke Go Kart, to be ready for compression racing in Malaysia.
Oliver, meanwhile, is working on redesigning and converting a quad bike into an electric quad ready for pace-keeping at a future event, possibly running in June.
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Music G10 Music Grade 10 music students have been in workshops with a professional string quartet this term. Each student has made a string arrangement of a piece of music that is important to them, and we have had the string quartet come in to create live recordings of the student's work. The students have had to lead the quartet in rehearsal, answer questions and make decisions about their arrangements on the spot. Highly demanding, at times probably a little intimidating, but most of all a rich and authentic learning experience where personal expression is at the centre.
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Product Design G9 Product Design Grade 9 Product Designers are working with Bernina, the sewing and embroidery machine manufacturers. Our students have participated in workshops led by members of the Bernina team to experiment with upcycled materials, functional embroidery, e-textiles, conductive thread and electroluminescent wires to create a series of samples to inform their final lighting solutions.
Pictured here are the students in the prototyping stages. This unit of work offers students the opportunity to play and to experiment with a variety of materials and lighting sources.
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Product Design G10 Product Design To develop an understanding of how designers use models to communicate ideas, G10 designers developed a folio of work to explore futuristic health wearables. Students considered recent trends in biomedical monitoring and exercise tracking to design an aesthetic model. Integral to the process was the examination of biomorphic forms that would see a device in the future give the user greater freedom in the way it interacts with the body while providing health monitoring.
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Visual Arts G9 Visual Arts Learners are rediscovering the beauty of watercolour through underpainting. It is a captivating dance of tones and highlights, an exploration that breathes life into their artwork - like crafting a hidden story beneath the visible artwork, and adding a rich dimension to their creative expression.
G10 Visual Arts We look forward to welcoming artist and photographer Damian Siqueiros to our school in January to provide valuable professional, technical and conceptual expertise for our Grade 10 Visual Art students. Siqueiros’ artwork is steeped in sustainability, equality and empathy, and he will work closely with our learners to show them how to convey this within their own artmaking practice. The visit will involve a workshop where students will work with Siqueiros to learn technical photographic points alongside conceptual and thematic considerations. In addition to this, we will be visiting galleries and exploring the city through a sustainable lens which will help support our upcoming Visual Art projects.
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The UWC Project G10 UWC Project In Term 1, we focused on building a solid foundation of research skills, developing a conceptual understanding of secondary v. primary research and how to critically evaluate the credibility and validity of research. We met with our HS librarian, Mr. Phillip Williams, to develop an understanding of the extent to which AI can serve as a partner in the research process, exploring tools such as scite.ai and ChatGPT. At the beginning of the research process, students chose a topic from a long list of options that ranged from censorship to mobile phone usage, and then formulated a research question that links to one of our UWC Mission competencies. To gather research, students explored our extensive library catalogue and premium subscriptions, narrowing their research question along the way as they learned more about their topic. We learned the Zettelkasten method of notetaking using the online tool Noodletools, where students learned how to keep track of sources, take notes, conceptually organise those notes, and then sequence their “piles” into a cohesive outline. The culminating assessment was a short research paper in MLA format, where students had the opportunity to submit an initial draft and then make revisions to correct MLA citation formatting errors and include a more critical analysis of the research presented in their essay. While researching, we heard from several people who live out elements of the UWC mission in their work. Activists such as Gay Gordon-Byrne, Mundano, and Dr. Phillip Goff have served as inspirations of how to use your passions, skills, and unique talents to instigate social change. As we begin to think about our own UWC Projects, we are seeking inspiration closer to home: so far, we have heard from our facilities manager, Gowtham Kanagaraj, about the work our East Campus team does to lead sustainable practices in Singapore, and PACE co-chair Neha Patel shared with us her phenomenal journey from lawyer to entrepreneur to UWCSEA community leader where she connects UWCSEA parents to organisations in our network who are seeking additional support. As part of this work, she has initiated an annual fundraising event that has raised over S$200,000 dollars for Cahaya Surya Bakti (CSB), a school in Johor, Malaysia that educates Rohingya refugee children. As the end of term approaches, students are putting their newly minted research skills in action to learn more about an issue in our Singaporean community that they connect to and care about. In Term 2, we will start our action planning phase of the project, taking what we’ve learned from our mentor activists and meeting new ones who will serve as critical friends to give us feedback, perspectives, and insight to consider as we move ahead in this important work.
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