Successful Summers: How Pupils Prepared for the New School Year
Summer has ended in the blink of an eye. After nearly two months of upgrades and maintenance, all campuses in Tianjin, Shanghai and Hangzhou are ready to welcome our pupils back for a fresh start to another exciting academic year.
Smiles and laughter have filled the hallways as young Wellingtonians settled into school again. Our pupils have been so well-prepared ahead of the new school year that we’ve begun to wonder… How have our pupils spent their summer? What have they been doing to prepare themselves for the new year?
During the first few days of the new term we spoke to two Huili School Hangzhou parents and their children about what they got up to over summer. We hope that through these interviews our readers will share in the joy and anticipation emanating from these families and be inspired to excel in the new school year.
Gladys’ summer
Winning first place at two provincial English speaking competitions
As a strong advocate for lifelong learning and continued cultural exposure, Gladys’ father has, in the past, arranged for Gladys to spend time away at summer camps both in and outside of China during her mid-year break. This year, due to an unfortunate change in circumstances that shut down the possibility of international travel, Gladys’ father had to look for alternative activities she could enjoy over summer.
Visiting museums
“We didn’t get to travel abroad this summer, but this gave us the perfect opportunity to slow down and appreciate more of our local Chinese culture. I took Gladys to many museums and exhibitions, such as the China Silk Museum and the Mogao Grottoes Restoration Exhibition, and we even got to see some historical sites in Hangzhou. Gladys was glad that she could see the changes and development of the history of Chinese civilisation in close distance,” said Gladys’ father.
Reading
In addition to visiting museums and exhibitions, Gladys also enjoys reading. Throughout her summer, Gladys made sure to reserve time for reading every day. In fact, this is how a typical summer’s day in Gladys’ life would look:
After waking up at 8 o’clock and getting ready for the day ahead, Gladys sits down to read one of her favourite books while waiting for breakfast to be served. After breakfast, she spends some time previewing class content ahead of the new school year and completing summer assignments or solving maths problems. In the afternoon, Gladys will often go for a swim. For the rest of the day, she will ‘indulge’ herself with even more reading.
What did Gladys read?
“She read news and popular science books, mostly. Lately, she has developed an interest in geography and has been reading a lot of the National Geographic magazines – in their original language. Gladys has always had a habit of reading books in English, so it was a gradual progression,” said her father.
Teachers at Huili School Hangzhou frequently encourage children to read in English. “The teachers will often exchange tips with parents about how to encourage their children to read and develop a good reading habit,” said Gladys’ father. “This summer, the school library launched a ‘Million Minute Marathon’ to encourage the school community to read more during the summer. The goal was for all pupils, parents and teachers to collectively spend up to one million minutes reading by the end of the summer.” Both Gladys and her father found this challenge highly motivating.
Provincial English speaking competitions
One of Gladys’ biggest personal achievements over summer came when she won first place at two provincial English speaking competitions – the Zhejiang regional final of the 21st Century VIPKID Cup National Primary School English Speaking Competition and the 2020 Outlook Superstars English Talent Competition. Gladys’ success was particularly impressive as it was her first time taking part in English speaking competitions and she wrote all of her speeches by herself – with no professional training!
“Gladys has been a Huili School Hangzhou pupil since its establishment. When she was in Grade 2, she and another classmate participated in a school drama performance as the narrators. The performance was very successful, and Gladys was able to realise her talent and potential for public speaking. Since then, she has not feared nor worried about performing on stage,” said Gladys’ father.
“Stratified teaching and the way English is taught at the school has been very helpful for me to improve my English skills,” said Gladys. At Huili School Hangzhou, the school assigns pupils to classes based on their English skills. Pupils like Gladys, whose English skills surpass what is expected of her for her grade, receive extra guidance from the teachers and the language support department to join classes that better suit their level. “Our English teacher has a very interesting approach to his classes. As a biology enthusiast, he will often take us on ‘field trips’ to find and observe bugs on the campus. He will then teach the class based on our ‘findings’ from the field trip. Everyone participates in his classes with great enthusiasm. Thanks to this immersive experience, our English skills have improved a lot. Everyone loves his English classes.”
Gladys is a very talented Grade 4 pupil. After winning in the provincial competitions, she went on to compete in the national final of the 21st Century VIPKID Cup National Primary School English Speaking Competition on behalf of the Zhejiang province. In her speech, Gladys wrote:
“I am a star, a star that shines day and night,
but the light reveals only in the darkness.
Like a gem in the vast universe,
I am Gladys, a 10-year-old girl who likes the brightness to light up others.”
Ellie’s summer
Making great achievements in arts
and sports
Ellie and her brother have been Huili pupils since the school was established two years ago. At that time, Ellie’s parents – originally from Shanxi – had visited a number of bilingual schools across China in their search for place that could provide their children with an excellent education. Huili School Hangzhou was their first choice. Ellie’s mother now lives in Hangzhou with Ellie and her brother, while Ellie’s father remains in Shanxi to work and support the children’s education.
Ellie has made some great achievements this past summer:
Fashion designing
Ellie has been interested in fashion designing since she was young. It all started when she was in Grade 1, when she watched a video of a fashion designer who was creating and displaying a collection of their designs. Naturally, Ellie watched the video closely while making some doodles and sketches of her own. “I saw the doodles and I thought Ellie had done quite a good job. As I could not find fashion design courses for children, I enrolled her in some classes online,” said Ellie’s mother.
When summer first began, Ellie wanted to know more about fashion designing. Ellie’s mother decided to enrol her in a week-long fashion design workshop, during which Ellie was able to spend a day visiting and learning at a garment factory. “I saw how a shirt was made from the design stage through to completion. I even got to make a shirt for my mum. I drew the design, cut the fabric and sewed the shirt all by myself. It was my first time making a shirt, so I felt emotional when my mum said the shirt looked good,” added Ellie.
Synchronised swimming and ballet
Ellie is also a talented synchronised swimmer and ballet dancer.
When Ellie was Grade 1, Huili School Hangzhou began recruiting for its synchronised swimming team. Ellie was invited to join the team as the coach thought she would be a great fit for the sport. “When I saw the performance of the synchronised swimmers, I was amazed, and I wanted to try it myself,” said Ellie.
In addition to their regular swimming classes, Ellie’s synchronised swimming team trains for an extra two hours once or twice a week. “These young synchronised swimmers are incredible,” said Ellie’s mother. “The school does a good job of conducting the sport safely and seriously. At the beginning, Ellie did not even know how to swim. After a year of practice and hard work, she can now swim very well, and she can even do a number of different spins and tricks in the water.” Even though summer is a great time to take a step back and rest, Ellie has not slowed down and has managed to train twice weekly.
Ballet is another sport that requires hard work and consistent practice. “Ellie has been in love with ballet lately,” said Ellie’s mother. “She habitually points her toes when sitting, and she once did a middle split while sleeping!” Ellie considers herself an artistic individual, and she makes frequent appearances in dance performances at school. “The school gave me many opportunities to perform,” said Ellie. “Not just ballet, but folk dances or even Dunhuang dance sometimes.”
Self-motivation
Ellie is a diligent and self-motivated learner. Throughout the summer, she maintained a routine of getting up at 7 o’clock every day. This is how a typical summer’s day in Ellie’s life would look:
After having breakfast, Ellie runs through some English and maths exercises. Later, after lunch, she will often head out to a mall where she jots down the English vocabulary she sees in the names of fashion brands or cosmetic products, as well as anything else that catches her eye. In the afternoon, Ellie will attend her synchronised swimming and/or ballet classes. Whatever time she has left at the end of the day will be spent reading and completing her summer assignments.
Ellie designed a full schedule for herself over summer, and did not require any help from others to keep her plans in check. “Both Ellie and her brother are very self-motivated,” said Ellie’s mother. “They learned and completed their assignments all by themselves. Maybe it’s Ellie’s influence – every time Ellie worked on her assignments, her brother would ask Ellie to challenge him with school-related questions.”
Ellie plans to volunteer at a primary school in a mountain village this coming autumn, together with her brother (under the guardianship of their mother). “I am fortunate that I can attend a privileged school such as Huili,” she says. “It is likely that there are many gifted children in the mountain village, but they remain unnoticed because they don’t have access to the means or resources that will help them realise their potential. So hopefully, by volunteering, I can share with them the things that I have learned, and teach them while I consolidate my own knowledge.”
Ellie is only 10 years old, but the compassion and commitment she has demonstrated is like no other. We are proud to have her as a Huili pupil.
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Gladys’ father and Ellie’s mother are both very pleased about their children’s self-motivation and time management abilities, and we are glad that our Huili pupils were able to enjoy this summer at their own pace while they seek to prepare themselves for the new school year ahead.
We are dedicated to helping our children develop into well-rounded, lifelong learners, and we hope to cultivate their independent learning skills throughout their time at our schools. Once our pupils acquire the skills to support and further their own learning – as Gladys and Ellie have – their potential for knowledge acquisition is limitless; it can happen anytime, anywhere, both in and out of the classroom.
For our young Wellington and Huili pupils, summer is by no means a ‘pause’ in their education; they can explore the world and extend their learning in a number of different ways by themselves. The beginning of another school year signals that our pupils will be embarking on a new learning journey along with their teachers and friends – that must be exciting.
Welcome back, everyone.
We hope you all have
a wonderful year!
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