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A Remarkable Journey: YCIS Shanghai’s 20th anniversary and charity gala concert
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ON the 20th anniversary of Yew Chung International School of Shanghai, we did an interview with Dr. Betty Chan Po-king, Director of Yew Chung international schools, including Kindergarten, Primary, and Secondary sections.
Tell us about “Seeds of Hope:” It’s a Charity initiative YCIS created after the Sichuan Earthquake?
Yes, Seeds of Hope was created as a result of the devastating earthquake that shook Sichuan Province in May 2008, and has since developed into a full-fledged charity movement. Sponsored by Yew Chung International Schools (YCIS) around the world, the Seeds of Hope charity helps build, remodel, and supply schools for local children in need in China’s mainland.
The annual YCIS Seeds of Hope Concert puts a spotlight on the charity. This year’s concert was held last Saturday night in Shanghai, and featured more than 370 student, parent and faculty performers from all YCIS schools around the world. YCIS also announced the next school to benefit: Xiuning County Weiqiao Elementary and Primary School in Anhui Province.
Can you tell us more about the aim of Seeds of Hope?
This charity was created not only to advance education to disadvantaged children in rural or remote areas of China, but also to remind our students, teachers, parents, and colleagues of the importance of gratitude and giving. Seeds of Hope schools serve to meet China’s targets to raise the quality of education, and to help fulfill the United Nations’ goals for education for all.
The true meaning of education is to nurture children to become global citizens in a diversified 21st century world community, children who will care for the environment, society, and all species on earth. This is fundamental to the YCIS philosophy and reflects our motto that we will align with science and technology, with culture and arts, with love and charity.
With hundreds of student and faculty performers involved in the Seeds of Hope Concert, music is obviously an important part of your educational philosophy?
Our schools aim is to help children develop holistically, and by that, I mean that they experience learning in such a way that they develop academically, athletically, artistically, and spiritually — with a focus on the positive values that permeate our school.
Our music program, which starts with our youngest students, helps students develop appreciation for the arts, and also helps them achieve a balanced perspective and skill set, preparing them for success in the increasingly globalized future.
YCIS was the earliest international school in Shanghai. What is your best memory of YCIS Shanghai thus far?
As you know, this year is our schools’ 20th Anniversary in Shanghai, which is a huge milestone for YCIS, and for me, personally. I vividly recall standing with my dear, late mother in front of what would be our future schools’ campus (now the YCIS Shanghai Hongqiao Campus), with such excitement that our dream was becoming a reality — that YCIS would be able to provide a true international school for foreign children in a city that was on such an amazing development trajectory.
Shanghai was the first city in Chinese mainland to invite us to introduce our unique bilingual and co-cultural international education model, and to expand our vision and mission beyond Hong Kong. We were the very first independent international school in Shanghai, and right up until the day before our official opening, we were still busy readying the school! I will never forget welcoming our very first YCIS Shanghai students the next day — I can imagine that moment like it was yesterday; it is a precious memory.
What are you most proud of?
I’m always most proud of the unique qualities of our students and alumni — their broad knowledge of the world around us, their multicultural understanding and environmental awareness, their bilingual language skills and academic excellence, and their diverse talents and achievements in various fields.
I am also very proud of the fact that we are widely recognized and respected around the world. 100% of our students gain acceptance into top, prestigious universities around the world, often with scholarships, year after year. Apart from university admissions, our alumni also lead fascinating and successful careers in a wide range of professions, not just in the typical fields of law, medicine, and finance, but also in environmental conservation, and the visual and performing arts. It is always heartwarming to hear from our graduates, who readily attribute their success to the education they had received at YCIS, which gave them a great competitive edge.
As an organization, we are also proud to be the first international school in China to be awarded by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) with the “Cambridge Award for Excellence in Education” in 2012. I must attribute our success to the tremendously dedicated and passionate team of colleagues I have the pleasure of working with — none of this would have been possible without their hard work, creativity, and commitment. And needless to say, I am also equally grateful for the trust and support from our parents too.
We’re pleased that this year’s Seeds of Hope benefit concert proceeds will be used to build a three-story school for the new “Hope” School in Anhui, complete with modern classrooms and educational tools. Teachers and students from YCIS will have opportunities to teach and learn together through school visits, with YCIS bringing ongoing “hope” and support to the school.
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