■ Text by Reporter Gu Wu
There are more than 30 games and activities so that children have so much fun and do not want to go home; exciting sports, science, and art festivals make the school a lively and joyful place… Since the beginning of the new semester, primary and secondary schools across the district have been holding distinctive activities that allow students to freely and fully enjoy a colorful school life of sports, arts, science, and games.
Shanghai First Central Primary School of Jing'an District
A "Fashion Show" about Future Life
What will be the best spacesuit for future astronauts? What will the anti-exposure suit for future police be like? Recently, Shanghai First Central Primary School of Jing'an District lit up the after-school life of thousands of children with a large-scale professional "fashion show" activity of "Future, My Show".
The clothes that children showed on the red carpet were brilliant combinations of waste materials such as cardboard boxes, textile fabrics, and plastic foam. For example, the white gowns on "future doctors", stethoscopes on their chests, and medicine boxes and oxygen kits around their waists were made of old fabric, scrap metal, and plastic bags. The trendy helmets and clothes on "future astronauts" were made of foam and tinfoil. The colorful dresses and suits on "future artists and dancers" and the instruments in their hands were made of plastic bags, colored paper, and other environmentally friendly materials, but gave them an unexpected touch of stylishness like that on superstars.
"Future, I'm here to greet you in my policeman uniform." "Future, I am wearing a light spacesuit that will get me into a vaster sea of stars!" Greatly relieved of their homework, the children cheered with joy and beautiful visions for future life, in their future costumes.
Shanghai Zhabei Successful Education Experimental Primary School
School Fun Defeating the Desire of Going Home
In theory, 3 p.m. is the peak time for primary and secondary schools to leave school. However, few students or parents can be seen at this time at the gate of Shanghai Zhabei Successful Education Experimental Primary School.
"With dozens of interesting activities here, children are willing to stay at school." As Headmaster Chen Biqi put it, this is a veritably home-like school; since the implementation of the "double reduction" policy, more than 97% of the students choose to stay at school to receive "after-school services".
The after-school programs are customized based on extensive consultation with children and parents of different grades, integrating quality resources from the school, the Youth Center, and the Sports Bureau of Jing'an District. There are nearly 30 sports, arts, technology, and cultural activities such as baseball, volleyball, fancy rope skipping, drone operation, digital piano, robot programming, and boxing. Students can choose any of these activities according to their interests and talents. As the reporter can see, students go to the activity areas, like the playground and specific classrooms, after school, to participate in activities such as ball games, photography, dancing, and music.
Why don't they go home right away? The Children said, "It is so enjoyable to play volleyball, skip rope, or fly drones with schoolmates here." As for why parents pick up their children late, they explained, "My child used to procrastinate in doing homework at home, and when he went to bed, it was already 9 or 10 p.m., a sleepy point for everyone. Now, he finishes his homework at school every day. This not only allows him more time for sleep, but also has more opportunities for parent-child interaction."
The Primary School, Attached to Shanghai No.1 Normal School
School-Museum Cooperation to Enrich Students' After-school Life
Recently, students from the Primary School, Attached to Shanghai No.1 Normal School attended a wonderful astronomy science popularization lecture "So Beautiful the Outer Space – Follow Astronauts to Embrace the Stars". This is a science popularization activity jointly held by the school and the Shanghai Astronomy Museum to enrich the students' spiritual and cultural life after school.
The lecture was given by Shi Wei, director of the Network Science Popularization Department of the Museum's Exhibition and Education Center and Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Astronomical Society. In his lecture, Shi Wei taught astronomy knowledge, introduced the structure and history of China's Tiangong space station, and also outlined the future development of space science in China. The fascinating lecture stimulated the curiosity of the students about the universe and astronomy. In the Q&A session, many students raised their hands with great enthusiasm to ask questions.
In the future, the school will introduce more resources from museums into classrooms and create a platform for resource sharing between the school and museums, thus promoting children's understanding and achievement in scientific innovation, cultural and artistic qualities.
Shanghai Ling Nan Middle School
Four Festivals to Juice up School Life
Since late September, the playground of Shanghai Ling Nan Middle School has been bustling with excitement. The football match and tug of war are ongoing for all students. It is reported that to enrich the school life after the reduction of homework burden, the school has introduced four festivals that enable students to have fun, broaden their horizons, and develop interests.
They are sports festival, science festival, arts festival, and reading festival, each held in turn for about a month. Among them, the ongoing sports festival is the most popular among students, especially the competitive events such as tug of war, football, broadcast calisthenics, and martial arts, all of which are organized in classes with basically full participation. Likewise, the fun sports meeting involves all teachers and students. In mid-October, the school will hold a basketball match between teachers and students, so that they can share the joy of doing sports while enhancing communication and friendship.
The science festival, which features hands-on and brain-based activities, is also a hit among students. They can feel the charm of science in a series of interesting intellectual competitions such as rapid calculation, geometry puzzle, Chinese administrative region puzzle, and wind-powered vehicle racing. In addition, the arts festival and reading festival, which highlight singing and dancing performances and red classics recitation, also enjoy great popularity among young students who are willing to participate in as to express their care about their family and country.
Shanghai Jing’an Daning International School
Different Services for Different Age Groups
While primary school students explore the mysteries in museums, junior high school students may be learning excellent traditional painting techniques… Shanghai Jing’an Daning International School enriches school life for students of all ages by integrating internal and external resources, winning wide acclaim from students and parents.
The school covers nine grades, including elementary and junior high education, which necessitates differences in after-school services for different age groups. At "study time", students from grades 1-5 finish all their homework at school, and those with underachievement can receive tutoring. Students from grades 6-9 try to strengthen their weak points in study and can seek help from teachers, so that they will not have difficult homework to be done at home. There is a "Homework Bulletin Board" at the school gate to inform the daily homework and estimated completion time for each grade and subject, allowing students, parents, and society to witness how the school reduces homework burden.
In "free time", the school also holds diverse activities for different age groups. For example, it invites teachers from Fine Arts College Shanghai University to deliver traditional art appreciation and exploration courses like "A World in a Fan" and "Fantasy Gear" for grades 1-5, and practical experience courses like "Masterpiece Museum" and "Plant Tie-dying" for grades 6-9.