DULWICH Colleges across China unite to form the Dulwich China Combined Orchestra. The orchestra is unique in that it is composed of students, staff and parents spanning the three campuses ?? Shanghai, Beijing and Suzhou.

The combined orchestra, which unites for a concert once a year, allows students from all campuses to rehearse and perform together providing great team spirit and a sense of something greater.

The involvement of teachers and parents is not only inspirational; it provides a forum for musically talented parents to be involved in an orchestra, a rare opportunity for most. Internationally experienced and emerging conductors and composers are also given a forum to develop and hone their skills.

Music is a very important part of the culture at Dulwich College Shanghai. Rehearsing daily, the 21 ensembles comprise of more than 200 students and involve classical, jazz, rock, world music and choir.

Junior students in particular are given the opportunity to play different string, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments provided by the college before embarking on a musical path of their choosing.

Many of the ensembles benefit from the junior students playing alongside their senior classmates, fostering enthusiasm and a real fervor for the music.American School

On January 8, Grade 8 students opened their "Reinventing History Art Show." Each student selected a pre-20th century painting and gathered information about it and the artist.

From Degas to van Gogh, different paintings were recreated into a modern portrayal of the original artwork. These reinventions are a product of each student's reaction to the world through several mediums, including acrylic paint, chalk pastels, and oil pastels. The results focus on issues such as war, global warming, and other major concerns.

It took weeks of hard effort to "reinvent history," a project that involved innovation and vision; students had to see beyond the canvas in front of them, and think carefully about every step. Grade 8 student, Keith Yeo, said,

"The best part was learning about art mediums that artists used in the pre-20th century. It was really interesting to learn more about how the artist's life affected their art, and how that might affect me."

Concordia

Concordia is the place to be every Friday night as the community comes together to support high school basketball while enjoying homemade hotdogs and popcorn from?Concordia's fantastic Parent Support Organization.

With our own pep band and cheerleaders - the only squad in Shanghai - always in full form, come ready to rock?and roll and cheer on our teams.

Concordia's high school cheerleading squad was formed two years ago. From October until the end of the basketball season in February, the seven-member squad practices every Monday and Thursday under the guidance of coaches and teachers Jennifer Reed and Jennifer Bowen.

Friday, November 14, 2008, marked the opening of Friday night basketball games in the main gymnasium at Concordia International School Shanghai. The cheer squad turned timeouts and halftime into something akin to those Friday night games in America.

Cheers range from Concordia's school "fight song" to Phoenix cheers (the Phoenix is the Concordia school mascot - "you wish you were a Phoenix!") to dance routines at school pep rallies. The squad also hosts an annual Cheer Clinic for Concordia's Elementary School girls.

"Playing at away games just isn't the same because we're so used to hearing the girls cheer for us!" said Varsity basketball player Eric Hyde, a 11th-grader.

The cheerleading squad includes senior Genevieve Chong and Amanda Gnaedinger, juniors Tabitha Ankoviak and Celine McNamara, sophomore Isabel Ho, and freshmen Monica Hsiao and Alex Woods.SCIS

Shanghai Community International School fosters within its program a true connection to community spirit, service and outreach.

No better example can be found than that of a group of 8th-grade girls who were recently inspired to take action and reach out beyond their classroom walls.

These students from the Hongqiao campus teamed together to raise funds for children suffering from the rare disease Progeria. This genetic disorder, which makes cells grow eight times faster than normal, leads to premature and rapid aging. It affects one out of four million newborn babies worldwide.

"I was moved to tears when we learned about the disease and we knew we had to do something to help," said Erica So.

So, with the help of their biology teacher, Izumi Tsurumi, and some of her classmates took it on themselves to get involved. They have dedicated their personal time at lunch and after school to organize a number of fundraising events.

Two of the main events are a school dance (including games, competitions and a raffle) and a bake sale. All proceeds will be donated to the Progeria Research Foundation. Through their selfless efforts these students embody the community spirit that SCIS teaches and values. ?YCIS

YCIS Pudong Century Park is going green! Since its inception, a group of dedicated students and teachers has been working hard to make this new campus the greenest.

In August 2007, the Ecology Action Team sprang into action, organizing a recycling program for the school's waste paper and has now expanded their program to include plastic bottles and aluminum cans.

Last spring they challenged YCIS students and the wider community to sign up and participate in Earth Hour - a simple action of turning off the lights for one hour, delivering a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

Last June, when the government initiated policies reducing the use of plastic bags, the team designed 100-percent cotton, reusable bags with the slogan "Educating the Global Child for a GREENER GLOBE."

Buoyed by the success of the bags, the team expanded its "GREENER GLOBE" line and introduced reusable, aluminum drink bottles. All proceeds support the Roots and Shoots Million-Tree Project in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Daniel D'Andrea, EAL teacher, and Jodie Chambers, secondary science and mathematics teacher

BISS

Will he be a future star?"

"Why not?" replies Conrad Singh, director of the Shanghai Elite Training Academy and head tennis professional at the Shanghai Racquet Club and Apartments.

It is early morning and a number of young players are already on the court, vigorously hitting backhands, and unleashing powerful forehands across the nets. Singh is crouched in front of a laptop, his star pupil, Pedro Ferrez, attentive beside him.

Talented athletes start from an early age, and it was no different with Pedro. At the age of seven he was already boldly swinging a racquet, showing the confidence and determination that has clearly played a great part in his success. Pedro is a top player in his age range, and is now the junior No. 1 in Portugal, and was National Champion in 2007.

Coach and head pro of SETA, Shanghai Elite Training Academy, Singh from Australia is helping in all possible ways to make Pedro's dream come true.

"I practice more hours than in Portugal, with more intensity, and I feel that my technique has improved a lot since three and a half months ago," he says. Rego

On January 9-10, 24 members of the Rego swim squad bravely embarked upon a 24-hour charity swim. We were divided into four teams of six students, and every member of the team swam for one hour every 6 hours (4 hours per person) to help raise money for poor children in Cambodia.

The Shanghai Rego rugby team is going to play the PSE School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The children who attend that school live on a landfill site and many cannot even afford food.

We attempted to raise money to buy rugby kits for the PSE School so that when the Shanghai Rego team plays them, the PSE school kids would also have a kit. We also wanted to pay for the team to attend school for one more year. It only costs US$46 per month to send a child to school.

In total we swam 245.83 kilometers. The Spirit of the Rego swimming squad endured after swimming, resting and sharing the highs and lows of the event.

Melissa Jones, Club Captain