IT'S not only traditional subjects being taught at international schools in Shanghai, many pupils are also learning ways in which they can help those less fortunate than themselves. Fei Lai finds out about the contributions being made by some students to society.

Knowing that making a difference in the lives of others can be rewarding, students from international schools in Shanghai are lending their hands to communities. However, big or small their contribution is, they endeavor to build a better place and give back to society as much as possible.

Meanwhile, they find themselves growing with more understanding of the real world.

Rego

Shanghai Rego International School has been involved with the Stepping Stones organization this term, which has helped the school form a partnership with a local migrant school.

During Wednesday afternoon activities, the migrant school has been sending 30 of their students to enjoy Rego's facilities.

Each week 20 students from Rego have prepared science, art and PE lessons to teach the migrant children.

Whether it was a new experiment, a basketball game or painting, the event was a great experience for all students.

It has been a very successful program, which Rego hopes will be beneficial to the migrant school. The Rego students went to see the migrant school for themselves and for many it was a reminder not to take everything for granted. They were shocked at how many students there are in such a small space and what little facilities they have.

Again, this has been a real eye-opening experience and one that has been of great value tothe students.

YCIS

Hui Hua Lim, a Year 12 student from Yew Chung International School of Shanghai, is part of a team of students and teachers raising awareness of worldwide slavery through Auction of Promises. In the campaign, students, teachers and parents can volunteer services available to them.

"Say you work at a hotel, you can ask the management to donate a one-night stay, or you can just volunteer to walk someone's dog for three days, which people then bid for," Lim said.

"The highest bidder gets the service and the money goes to charity."

Volunteering is something that Lim has grown up with.

"This (Auction of Promises) project in itself teaches me administrative lessons and a lot about human nature, but the main thing is realizing my ability to make a change in the world," Lim said.

"Helping someone isn't about giving them what's left; it's purposefully reaching out to them. I struggle with this, because it can be time consuming and distract me from my study. But a large part of charity actually goes hand-in-hand with everything else, you could say it's a sort of lifestyle."

BISS

At the beginning of this year, four students from the British International School Shanghai's Pudong campus spent three days with buddies from the Tibetan Flowers Charity School in Yunnan Province. The Yunnan students attended class, toured Shanghai, visited the World Expo and experienced family life with the Shanghai students.

The project, run by The Hope Foundation Shanghai, gave 60 young people from Yunnan, each known as an "Expo Sunshine Child," the chance of realizing their dream of visiting Shanghai and the Expo.

Staff from the school's PE department also organized an afternoon of both British and Chinese games for the 60 students from Yunnan and their 60 Shanghainese host buddies. This was followed by an evening event in the theater for around 900 members involved with this project.

"It has been a great experience for all of us. We enjoyed seeing the buddies participate in our family life: having breakfast together, playing cards, looking at photo albums, skateboarding, talking about school, food and habits," said Andrea Mariani, one of the BISS host students.

"We believe they really enjoyed this period in Shanghai and we hope to keep in contact with them."

SSIS

Hansika Jethnani, an Indian student from Shanghai Singapore International School, has been endeavoring to help the Kliptown Youth Program for a long time.

The program's mission is to eradicate poverty and to fight against the disadvantages imposed on the children of Kliptown in Africa. They seek to develop young and dynamic individuals who are willing to contribute effectively for the betterment of their communities.

According to Jethnani, one problem that the children in KYP face is that they have very limited access to proper schooling. Moreover, the cost of the school fees, uniforms, books, lunch and basically everything is too expensive for the people there.

After the Gumboot dancers from the KYP came to the school for a performance, the students were interested to raise fund for them.

So far, Jethnani, together with his school team, has raised 5,000 yuan by selling cookies, brownies, muffins and postcards that were designed by students for the children in Kliptown.

"We hope to continue this project even further by maybe even going there and helping them out rather than sending stuff," Jethnani said. "We also hope to get in touch with the kids there and maybe have a pen pal system so we can all learn more about each other."



SCIS

Shanghai Community International School's Hongqiao campus held a Community Show recently, which raised nearly 20,000 (US$3,016) yuan for the Starfish Foster Home Foundation.

Last Spring, the "visions of sugar plums" started in the minds of the Fine Arts Department and "Vaudeville Vinter Vonduhrland" was created. The show was directed by Alyssa Allgaier, Sarah Bailey, MeLinda Tatem Kaiser and Angela McKeown and involved more than 150 students, parents and teachers acting, singing and dancing on stage. The Hongqiao Community Choir, with more than 40 members, also joined in, singing "Home on the Range" in Chinese.

Vaudeville, which means "the voice of the city," was all about tradition. SCIS is rich with different cultures and traditions, and this was a show to celebrate them all.

"The overall objective was to create a show that would bring the community closer together," said Alyssa Allgaier, and it clearly did. The end result was a variety show full of incredible dancing, merry singing and traditional one-act plays.

SAS

Being an expat in Shanghai makes it easy to indulge in the many privileges that come with living in one of the world's most rapidly developing cities. However, it is essential not to lose sight of what is important - giving back to society.

Alexandra Fong, an 11th grader from Shanghai American School's Puxi campus, has been given ample opportunities to fulfill this duty, whether it is through teaching the school security guards English for community service or holding letter writing campaigns for Amnesty International.

But out of all the clubs and activities available in the school, the Philippines Habitat for Humanity trip was by far the most gratifying experience for Fong. For almost a week, the trip required students to leave their comfortable and pampered lives behind and experience what the real world is like.

"There were bricks piled all over the worksite, metal rods scattered on the ground, and the churning sound of the concrete machine filled the air," Fong said.

"Everyone was drenched in sweat as the blistering sun shone brightly in the sky. But the heat didn't slow us down. Little by little, the walls of the homes began to rise, and by the end of the trip, we had come close to finishing 10 units."

Fong said she was proud to be among the volunteers, which was a reward to her.

SUIS

It is a tradition for Shanghai United International School to hold a Winter Festival each December.

This year, the festival drew a large crowd of students and their parents as expected, making the venue a sea of joy.

From the school canteen to the playground, from its concert hall to classrooms decorated with a Christmas theme, a harmonious atmosphere prevailed.

The day featured concerts performed by a teachers' choir and students' choir from each grade, a charity bazaar, a lucky draw and an appearance by Santa Claus who gave out candies to all.

Classic Christmas songs such as "Jingle Bells" and "Silent Night" got the most applause at the concerts.

Most products at the bazaar were handmade by students, including earrings, Christmas cards, dolls and paper-cut items. Each class appointed sellers for their own booth and the young vendors excitedly promoted and sold their products to students, teachers and parents.

All money collected from the bazaar went to the Sunshine Foundation, a charity which supports children's education.

The school's PE team also ran some games on the day. If the kids wanted to play, they had to pay 2 yuan (3 US cents) to charity.