Yangshuo CWWP Trip - 2024
Yangshuo at this time of year is the perfect time to get out into the great outdoors and experience how much fun this beautiful planet can provide. Have a watch of the video below to see exactly what the G10s got up to this year!
Camping, cycling, climbing, caving, cooking, orienteering, playing games around the campfire – all within 4 days! This years Yangshuo trip was fully packed as usual with many students pushing themselves physically and mentally outside of their comfort zones.
The incredible wolf spirit was in full force all week, and all participants gained fierce support from their peers when they needed it most. So well done to all of those involved for creating such an inspirational trip!
Waste Magicians - Sustainability Finalists
The Waste Magician Club have got to the Zayed Sustainability Prize finals in Abu Dhabi! This is a quite remarkable story so please watch the video to see what it’s all about.
What a fantastic project and a fantastic cause.
The team are now through to the final 3 schools for the grand prize which will be awarded in Abu Dhabi at a live ceremony. However, victory or no victory, this is a momentous achievement and has taken a phenomenal amount of work to reach this stage.
If you see any of the students in the community, make sure to wish them the best and congratulate them on their success so far.
Good luck Waste Magicians!?
Middle School Musical - 2024
This was the first year that the middle school has ever put on a musical and they hit a home run with their adaptation of ‘All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten’. Have a watch of the video below to meet some of the people involved in producing such an outstanding performance!
The stories, seemingly independent at first, slowly began to paint a picture and the overall message of the musical which concluded with the heartwarming and beautiful message of spreading kindness wherever you can.
The nuances of the message were brilliantly captured by the performers and they deserve all of our congratulations. We also cannot forget the incredible performance of the pit band and the behind-the-scenes personnel which also helped make the musical as good as it was. Well done to everyone involved!
The BWYA May Fair - 2024
Thousands of students, parents, families, and members of the public descended onto our grounds to enjoy another spectacular May Fair with huge numbers of stalls, performances, and so much more! Check out the video below to see the many highlights from a fantastic day!
The charities involved in this year’s May Fair were Roundabout and Chunhui Children’s Foundation.
Roundabout works with families with terminally ill children to help support them and their treatment. This support goes a long way to alleviate some of the stress that conditions like this can cause.?
Chunhui Children’s Foundation works with orphanages all over China, helping with anything from specialist help for children with disabilities to caring staff during hospital trips and recovery periods.?
Both of these incredible charities have causes that are deep in our hearts and we thank everyone who came and supported them on the day.
We have tallied up the numbers and we have raised an incredible 284000RMB which is a new record for the BWYA May Fair!
Spirit Week & The Wolf Cup
Wow, the last couple of weeks have been jam-packed fun for the whole school! It all started with the Wolf Cup to crown the best of the school in football, volleyball, badminton, and basketball and then moved into an incredible spirit week to allow all of us to express ourselves, try new things, and really come together as a whole school community. Have a look at some of the incredible highlights from the video below!
A massive well done to all who participated in the Wolf Cup! The level of competition was awesome from all involved and you all treated the spectators to a brilliant display.
We had five fantastic days for Spirit Week including; Be Who You Are Not Day, Career Day Swap, Wacky Wednesday, Minion Day, and Be Who You Are Day. We also had two pep rallies to really get the mood in full swing!
As you can see from the pictures, Minion Day had the most participation by far. The whole school turned yellow and blue for the whole of Thursday! Well done to everyone for getting truly into the school spirit!
G5 National History Day Competition Champions!
Recently, Max (G5S) and Ryan (G5P) competed in the National History Day competition in Shanghai. They were in different teams but we are incredibly proud to report that they came 1st and 2nd in the junior bracket! Listen to their story below!
Because of their success, they have now qualified for the international championship being held in Washington DC. They do not know if they will be attending yet but we have no doubt that they would do brilliantly if they do.
They got very high praise from the judges with one stating that they performed better than some of the senior bracket entries! This is an incredible achievement for both of the young historians so make sure to congratulate them if you see them around campus!
There are simply too many to list all of them here but walking around the stalls and seeing everything from card magic to underwater robotics to model united nations to soap making. It makes you realise how diverse and varied these clubs are!
Now the trial week begins where all students can go to any club they want and try out all sorts of different activities to see if they want to continue for the rest of the semester.
Remember students, if you haven’t signed up at the club fair, all of the information for the various activities will be on ManageBac where you can sign up now!
The BWYA Concert
This BWYA concert combined three entire concerts all into one, creating an absolutely jam packed music extravaganza! The audience was treated to three times more super talented students than ever before!
We were fortunate to meet our Head of Arts, Mr Rues, and some of the soloists before the event. They offered some insight into what it is like preparing for a concert like this and their feelings about their musical journey so far.
Ian, one of our incredibly talented pianists, offered some advice for young and aspiring musicians to be as successful as they can be.
The most important thing is to be really interested in music, not just your parents or teaches wanting you to perform. Actually finding the passion for music is so important. It will give you support when you are practicing or composing and when you are facing problems you can use these passions to overcome them.
In total there was 21 performances by 16 different acts over the two hour concert. There may never been another BWYA concert quite as full as this one but we can only hope that future concerts will be quite as memorable.
Well done to all involved for creating such a special evening, especially the students that had to overcome fear and anxiety to perform to such a large crowd!
International Day at the Primary School
As an international school, we take very seriously our duty to promote cross-cultural exchanges and learning opportunities.?In an era when isolationism appears to be taking hold globally, we want our students to be those who will reach out and?themselves?be the?bridge across?the waters of?disdain and insensitivity.??
As Chinese President Xi Jinping stated only earlier this week,?it is?vitally important?globally that?countries increase their friendship circles, making every effort to?develop?international communication channels.
As such, the BWYA primary school was delighted to?host?International Day events last Friday, jointly organised by the Enrichment and Publications?Office and the Parent Teacher Association. We celebrated 13 countries’ cultures?and history, and in particular were?honoured to welcome Mr.?Nugrahadi?H.?Yuwono?from the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing (Information and Socio-Cultural Affairs Officer) and Ms. Miranda Herbert from the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing?(Counsellor for Education) to?further share the countries with our students.
Every Day is Earth Day
The 22nd April was the 51st Earth Day. This year, the theme was ‘Treasure the earth, people and nature living in harmony’. As we continue facing the worldwide impact of an epidemic, it was a great opportunity to think about our relationship with nature, and how we can help. In this case, BWYA students’ answers came in the form of action.
Student Personal Project, Helping the Environment
For her personal project this year, Grade 10 Melinda Xu created her own environment protection bag to help the marine ecological environment. This project was inspired by a video she saw, showing the effect of human waste on the maritime environment. Through further research, she learned how plastic waste takes a long time to degrade in the ocean, and as such poses a great threat to sea creatures. In time, waste consumed by sea creatures can then circle back to humans on the dinner table.
“We know the severity of the environmental issues nowadays, however we don’t know what we can do for these marine animals.” Melinda’s first idea was to raise awareness by making and sharing videos about the harm caused by plastic waste. However, after more communication and under the guidance of her supervisor, she moved on from her initial vision to making something more environmentally friendly herself, thereby reducing the creation of plastic waste. “Many times we’re in a hurry and we don’t have time to buy reusable bags, so we prefer to use the plastic bags provided in the shops. What I want to do is to help more people know how to make reusable bags on their own, so they don’t need to buy them. People can make their own reusable bags out of old t-shirts in their home. Also, they don’t need to buy any other materials, so in this way more and more people will be willing to make reusable bags and they can gain a sense of accomplishment by making these. I sincerely hope these bags can change people’s lifestyles and reduce their use of plastic bags, and I’m also very proud of my courage to make some contribution to sustainable development.”
Video created and shared by Melinda
How to make an environment protection bag from an old t-shirt
Environment protection bags by Melinda
With various logos and text designs
Melinda’s personal project supervisor, Mr. Sam Rajesh commented, “Melinda was passionate about plastic pollution solutions and wants to address this phenomenon through her personal project. Her project showcased the role of plastics in our society and its impact on the ecosystem. I am glad that Melinda developed her academic understanding, empathy, and confidence to take action on global issues coming of age at a time of daunting challenges in the environment, including climate change and ice-melt. Melinda’s project to design and make reusable bags will create awareness, bring a positive difference, and can address the issue by reducing the number of single-use plastic bags manufactured and discarded every day. One of the positives from the MYP personal project is it opens the door for students to engage in global challenges outside the curriculum.”
Hope Field, Closer to nature with plants
Known to the students as the Cultivation Contribution Charitable Field Process, or its Chinese name, 世青希望田地 (BWYA Hope Field), Grade 7 Amy Zhao and Daniel Liu started the BWYA Hope Field project to get a little closer to nature. Their original idea was to recycle old clothes, but the sudden virus outbreak made this difficult to carry out, so instead the new idea of Hope Field was born. After preliminary communication with middle school SA coordinator, Ms. Loredana Giovanelli, and after solving a number of financial and longevity problems, with the support of their parents, they rented a small plot of land on the outskirts of Beijing, and have sown many vegetables and fruits, including radishes, lettuce, purple cabbage, celery, cabbage, and melon. Four weeks after planting, this small vegetable garden has started to grow with small shoots appearing.
Students learn about nature planting crops
“Our parents are all very supportive of our work; we always go to the field twice per week, and we are going to work harder. We are all working hard. Most of the organization is done by Daniel Liu. I am only responsible for the task of communicating with teachers and posters. He is the one with super organization ability”, Amy wrote in her most recent feedback. Amy and Daniel have been working together to organise and arrange all of the activities in the Hope Field. At the suggestion of their teachers, the students are also committed to turning the BWYA Hope Field activity into a long-term sustainable project. Selling the produce planted in their plot along with other activities to support different charities, they hope the Hope Field project will continue into the future.
Ms. Giovanelli shared, “I am really happy that this project can develop into a long-term project to provide students with even more opportunities for growth. Many Grade 7 students have participated and are still fully involved in this long-term project and, in so doing they have not only completed their SA requirements, but also learned new skills like collaboration, organization, and of course horticulture.
Waste Separation, Protecting the environment in our daily life
Sustainable green development has always been a topic of concern to BWYA. Whether it is the Roots and Shoots club that has been running for many years, the annual Earth Day event, hosting the “Green Future” environment themed postcard design competition, organising a visit to the Beijing World Expo, a “Recycled Fashion” project organized by students, or many more projects organised each year, we have always been keen to incorporate sustainability into our learning.
Yet environmental protection is not only limited to one off events, and should be incorporated into our everyday life. As such, we are actively responding to the implementation of the ‘Beijing Municipal Waste Management Regulations’, and are adopting a series of waste classification measures on campus, along with the production of information posters, to integrate environmental protection education with our daily lives. Additionally, we trust this will raise the environmental awareness and literacy of our young students even further, enabling them to see the world from a sustainability perspective, and see their own tomorrow.
