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SSIS harvesting the fruits of 10 years
By Zhao Wen |
June 26, 2013, Wednesday
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SHANGHAI Singapore International School (SSIS) celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Xuhui campus last Monday, with almost 1,000 international students, parents and guests attending.
Students in pirate outfits took to the stage to the theme of Hollywood blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean," representing a spirit of adventure to explore the world, at an outdoor concert in the campus playground.
Families were joined by other guests including Ong Siew Gay, consul general of Consulate General of Singapore in Shanghai, for the SSIS Xuhui Campus birthday bash.
The event took the theme "shaping a decade of dreams into a lifetime of harvest."
Celebrations started with a grand harvest parade showcasing the school's farm-to-school project which encourages students to get in touch with the natural world and better understand their coexistence with their surroundings.
"Students at SSIS are given a lot of opportunities. They can garden here and receive instruction from professors of agriculture from Mahota Farm, which provides us with vegetable seeds, soil, compost and expert advice as a partner," said Dr Claudia Berner, Senior Principal of SSIS.
From the project, students also learn about delayed gratification, sustaining long-term goals and understanding the intrinsic value of harvesting their hard work, Cheong Yi Teng, an program coordinator with Mahota Farm, told Shanghai Daily.
On Arbor Day, Italian lettuce, cherry radishes and mini-pumpkin seeks were planted at Mahota Farm, an environmentally friendly, organic, productive and scenic farm.
A month later, preschool and primary students transplanted seedlings from germination boxes to their own class plots and wooden planters.
Come anniversary day, the students had a grand harvest of the vegetables which were made into light refreshments to treat guests.
One mother, surnamed Leow, told Shanghai Daily that her 5th Grade son had been so excited about the project that he'd presented her on Mother's Day with Italian lettuce he'd grown.
Built in 2003, the SSIS Xuhui campus is located on Huajing Road as the SSIS second campus - the other being the Minhang Campus - educating preschoolers and primary students.
Over the past 10 years, the Xuhui Campus has seen an increase of students from 146 to 316 and is becoming more international in its intake.
"It used to be mostly Singaporean students but now we also have students from Spain, Bulgaria, South Korea and France," said Dr Berner.
"We are very proud of our Singaporean egos but are very also international in scope," she added.
Dr Berner, from Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States, was an administrator for over 20 years in the US before she moved to Shanghai to work for SSIS four years ago.
Speaking of the teaching philosophy, she said SSIS focuses on holistic education and is renowned among parents for high academic standards.
The SSIS Xuhui Campus is presently running a pilot project using iPad in class.
"The iPads are 21st-century tools and students have to be familiar with them," Dr Berner said. "To not have that will be denying an exposure,"
There is also an emphasis on music and physical education lessons to ensure a well-balanced education.
"We will continue to expand our after-school sports program to let more students play basketball and soccer," Dr Berner said.
And SSIS has a social skills program that arranges for international students to interact with Chinese students at local schools.
Students in pirate outfits took to the stage to the theme of Hollywood blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean," representing a spirit of adventure to explore the world, at an outdoor concert in the campus playground.
Families were joined by other guests including Ong Siew Gay, consul general of Consulate General of Singapore in Shanghai, for the SSIS Xuhui Campus birthday bash.
The event took the theme "shaping a decade of dreams into a lifetime of harvest."
Celebrations started with a grand harvest parade showcasing the school's farm-to-school project which encourages students to get in touch with the natural world and better understand their coexistence with their surroundings.
"Students at SSIS are given a lot of opportunities. They can garden here and receive instruction from professors of agriculture from Mahota Farm, which provides us with vegetable seeds, soil, compost and expert advice as a partner," said Dr Claudia Berner, Senior Principal of SSIS.
From the project, students also learn about delayed gratification, sustaining long-term goals and understanding the intrinsic value of harvesting their hard work, Cheong Yi Teng, an program coordinator with Mahota Farm, told Shanghai Daily.
On Arbor Day, Italian lettuce, cherry radishes and mini-pumpkin seeks were planted at Mahota Farm, an environmentally friendly, organic, productive and scenic farm.
A month later, preschool and primary students transplanted seedlings from germination boxes to their own class plots and wooden planters.
Come anniversary day, the students had a grand harvest of the vegetables which were made into light refreshments to treat guests.
One mother, surnamed Leow, told Shanghai Daily that her 5th Grade son had been so excited about the project that he'd presented her on Mother's Day with Italian lettuce he'd grown.
Built in 2003, the SSIS Xuhui campus is located on Huajing Road as the SSIS second campus - the other being the Minhang Campus - educating preschoolers and primary students.
Over the past 10 years, the Xuhui Campus has seen an increase of students from 146 to 316 and is becoming more international in its intake.
"It used to be mostly Singaporean students but now we also have students from Spain, Bulgaria, South Korea and France," said Dr Berner.
"We are very proud of our Singaporean egos but are very also international in scope," she added.
Dr Berner, from Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States, was an administrator for over 20 years in the US before she moved to Shanghai to work for SSIS four years ago.
Speaking of the teaching philosophy, she said SSIS focuses on holistic education and is renowned among parents for high academic standards.
The SSIS Xuhui Campus is presently running a pilot project using iPad in class.
"The iPads are 21st-century tools and students have to be familiar with them," Dr Berner said. "To not have that will be denying an exposure,"
There is also an emphasis on music and physical education lessons to ensure a well-balanced education.
"We will continue to expand our after-school sports program to let more students play basketball and soccer," Dr Berner said.
And SSIS has a social skills program that arranges for international students to interact with Chinese students at local schools.
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