March 11, 2023

Today was a very special day for the Moganshan students as well as us CIS students. We managed to plan an entire day’s visit with less than a week’s notice as well as many team members being sick. 

The visit started at 10:30 when the Moganshan students arrived. We showed them around HHE as well as the academic building, and then moved onto the dorms during break so the two schools could interact. Afterwards, we went back to the theatre to watch Beyond videos and showed them what we did for the programme. After a short walk to the gym and the field, we had an early lunch so they could have time to prepare for their jumprope performance. At 1:00, we gathered everyone at school between the academic building and dorm building to watch an amazing jumprope performance by the Moganshan primary students, followed up by Iris, Giselle, and Maegan’s dance. We then split into three activities, Indoor fun and games, outdoor frisbee, and a nature walk. Finally, we took some group photos at 3:20, and sent them off. 

This visit wouldn’t have been possible without all the help from our links members as well as the other links leaders , and of course Mr Pollock, Mr Cruickshank, and Principle Zhang. Overall everything went great!

February 15, 2023

For our second semester, two of our previous groupmates left, which only left us with 7 people. This rendered us unable to split into three groups to teach different classes like before: Basketball, Arts & Crafts, and English. So instead, we cut Arts & Crafts from our schedule completely and changed it to Sports & Activities and Academics. Going into this, I was skeptical because I was afraid this would cause confusion for the Moganshan school, but to my relief, they understood quickly and were able to adapt to our change. 

Although I say that they were cooperative, there was something that was… less than preferable. I’m not sure what changed, but for some reason, the students didn’t have the same motivation and energy in class as they did last semester. I am unclear about the Sports & Activities side, but it was a bit awkward this time. Something positive that did happen was for the last hour where everyone gathered at the field and just played around. I played football with most of the boys and everyone had a great time.

November 23, 2022

Today, we returned to Moganshan, ready with new materials and class plans to continue working with the students. After arriving at the Moganshan school early in the afternoon, we settled into a routine we were all familiar with and enjoyed lunch given by the school. While waiting for the student's classes to begin, we continued planning for the classes in the afternoon, gathering materials and looking through the schedule to make any last changes to enhance the experience. We decided to split into 3 classes again, however this time slightly altering the class content to ensure that the students were entertained and interested in the topics taught. We focused on basketball games, watching culturally rich English movies, and fun English games. 

At around 1 PM, we gathered at the classroom and split the students based on the subject they were passionate about, resulting in an even number of around 10 kids per group. The basketball group introduced interactive basketball games to the students, such as knockout, passing and dribbling, and more. These games included both interesting and educational aspects, allowing the students to develop as a team and focus on their basketball skills. The movie group enjoyed movies such a Luca with the Moganshan students, allowing them to relax and use this period to take a break instead of stressing over their studies. The movies chosen were also rich in history and culture, allowing them to learn more about different places and practice their English listening skills in an engaging manner. The other English group continued with their "play" styled learning and incorperated elements like piano playing, drawing, and more to keep the students entertained and willing to learn. In the end, the CIS and Moganshan students also had a short period of time to play and connect over basketball, volleyball, and frisbee. After 3 hours of successful interactions between both schools, we headed back to CIS and started planning for the next time. 

It was heartwarming to see students flourishing in topics that they were truly curious about, and their passion towards these new ideas that were introduced inspires all of us. We can't wait to see them next time. 

November 16, 2022

Today, we met with the Moganshan students for another fruitful session, this time accompanied by special guests, including Mr. Lynch, Mr. Cruickshank, Zhang Xiaozhang, and other staff that came along to visit the campus. After arriving at the school in the morning, we ate lunch provided by the school and quickly introduced ourselves to some faculty members that came in, comprised of both HZCIS and Moganshan’s leadership team. When they left, the Moganshan students were still having a break, so we spent the rest of the period preparing for the afternoon sessions we were going to conduct, such as gathering materials, touring the school, interacting with the kids, or revising the class schedule. 

October 26, 2022

Today was our second official session with the Moganshan Center School, where we were able to conduct more personalized sessions with the students to better interact with them and teach them life-long lessons. After arriving at the school in the afternoon, we had a quick lunch in the library, occasionally communicating with the Principal of the school to ensure all of the teaching sessions were in order and that everything would run smoothly. After lunch, we had an hour in the library to prepare our materials and finalize the class plans, focusing on the three “classes” that we prepared: basketball, English, and arts and crafts. These classes were decided on last week, when we gained knowledge on what the students were passionate about learning, and combined them with our hobbies and interests to create sessions that both parties would be willing to partake in and build connections over. 

Soon, when the Moganshan students finished their break and were prepared to start learning, we split into our 3 groups and allowed the students to choose a session that they wanted to explore. In the end, each group of around 3-4 CIS students was paired up with around 15 Moganshan students, everyone content to start talking to each other. Relying on the class plans that we also produced last week, each group quickly started working with the students at their own pace. The students in charge of basketball focused on ball-handling skills, teaching the Moganshan students how to dribble and incorporate different moves into their gameplay to improve their offense. The competitive yet encouraging nature of basketball allowed the students to motivate each other and work as a team to grow together. On the other hand, the English group provided the students with fun and entertaining worksheets for them to complete, including word searches, hangman, crossword, and more. Through these worksheets, they were able to create a comfortable and interactive environment where the Moganshan students could perform hands-on activities to develop a positive mindset toward English and build a better foundation for their English skills. The group that focused on arts and crafts provided students with colorful paper and worked on folding origami animals together, creating paper frogs, hearts, butterflies, and more, building a mini-zoo full of unique creatures that reflected every student’s personality and identity. 

After 3 hours of working with the Moganshan students, the groups got back together and headed back to campus. Overall, this session was a great success - the personalized and specific sessions allowed the students to explore something that they were passionate about or gave them a chance to step out of their comfort zone. It also allowed us to better connect with them, as we were able to converse about topics that everyone was familiar with, but had different perspectives on. We can’t wait to see these students again. 

October 12, 2022

Today marked the first day of the 2022-2023 HZCIS and Moganshan Center School collaboration, beginning the start of a wonderful experience between both schools this year. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the principal of the school, who introduced us to the history behind Moganshan Center School, such as the reason behind the bamboo arts and crafts scattered across the school. After a quick lunch provided by the school, where we discussed our future plans for this collaboration and what we planned to accomplish today, we had a brief break to explore the school while waiting for the students to finish class. We used this opportunity to walk around the classrooms and field to familiarize ourselves with the environment, occasionally waving at curious students who were eager to talk to us. 

Soon, we met with the Moganshan students, who were only a few years younger than us. Our aim for today’s session was to begin establishing a relationship with these students and adapt to this new setting. Thus, we focused on playing sports to connect with these students, splitting into 3 groups for frisbee, basketball, and volleyball, where each CIS student helped 5-6 Moganshan students. At first, we introduced them to small games in our respective sports that allowed us to work on our reaction skills, motor skills, and hand-eye coordination, as well as getting to know each other more. For example, one group of frisbee players passed the disc in a circle while moving around, providing each other support while playing. After everyone was warmed up, we started to play mini-games with all the students, a simulation of a small competition, to allow them to further develop their skills and encourage team spirit. During water breaks, we sat down with some students and talked to them, learning about each other’s hobbies and brainstorming topics that we could teach next time. After 3 hours of playing sports and interacting, we said our goodbyes to each other and headed back. 

Overall, this was an eye-opening experience where we were able to step out of our comfort zone and meet new people. We are all looking forward to next time’s visit!

- Katie Fu