Harrow Zhuhai delivers an innovative bilingual and bicultural education, creating a blend of East and West, where students can be proud of their heritage but remain in touch with the world. In addition to the bilingual curriculum and innovative learning environment, it is also the responsibility of Harrow students to learn and promote Chinese traditional culture by practising knowledge and improving their Chinese literacy. As such, the inaugural Chinese Culture Week for Harrow Zhuhai was held from December the 20th to 29th.
Chinese Culture Week consisted of five parts: the first Pioneer Congress, a school-wide project-based learning program, visits from outside providers, seminars on science and technology, and a Chinese drama performance. Let’s look back at the highlights of the week!
The First Young Pioneers Congress
The first congress of the Chinese Youth Pioneer Corps and the inauguration ceremony of the School Youth Committee was held on December the 20th, with 13 student candidates for the brigade committee making wonderful election manifestos. Below are the first set of elected Chinese Youth Pioneer Brigade Committee members for Harrow Zhuhai:
Upper School:
Senior Captain: Jacqueline -7A
Vice-Captain: Emily -7A
Brigade Flag Bearer: Ecco -5A
Brigade Organizer: Grady -7B
Brigade Publicity Committee: Allen -7B
Brigade Art and Literature Committee Member: Selena -5B
Lower School:
Brigade Labour Committee: Jonny -G4
Study Committee Member: Alice – G3
On the closing day of the 22nd, the eight brigade committee members were solemnly sworn on the stage to play an exemplary leading role with a sense of teamwork, leadership and resilience.
Starting from the 20th of December, in addition to putting up posters about cherishing food on campus, the newly elected brigade committee members also took turns in the cafeteria, reminding students to take smaller portions and recognizing those who responded positively, demonstrating Harrow’s values of Humility and Fellowship.
In adhering to the values and traditions of Harrow School, Harrow Zhuhai is committed to developing lifelong learning and leadership skills in students from a variety of backgrounds and abilities, allowing them to contribute to society and lead a fulfilling life.
Thematic Learning
Our Chinese teachers worked together to form a thematic structure consisting of 7 daily topics to help students learn and understand Chinese culture. Each subject teacher guided the students to study elements of art and drama, music, literature, Chinese language, geography, history, and traditional Chinese morals and values.
For example, upon the day of “Chinese History”, students learned about Yuan Longping, Tu Youyou, Sun Yat-sen, and Bingxin. They completed work on them across different subjects, from Art to Maths, and Science to English. Students were also able to learn that Chinese cultural spirit and Harrow values are also mirrored in these historical personalities.
In addition, learning was engaging, and the design of the course allowed the students to reflect and explore actively.
Enrichment
The school also invited cultural groups and experts in different fields from outside to teach and perform. For example, on the day of “Art and Drama”, experts from the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe came to Harrow Zhuhai, explaining the origin of the art form and presenting interpretations of classic plays. The best part of the visit included the experts dressing up the Harrow students, allowing them to showcase the culture of Cantonese Opera while immersing themselves in the art of colour and costume dressing.
The students also discovered and experienced the culture of incense and tea, Chinese drums, Kung-fu and Chinese calligraphy.
Lecture on Legal Knowledge
During culture week, Harrow Zhuhai also invited specialists from Hengqin Political and Legal Affairs Office to give a speech about the Protection of Minors. With the adoption of the new Minors Protection Act, families, schools, and society have increased their duties in the development of minors, who must also follow rules and regulations, form good habits, and contribute to society. We’d like to say thank you to the Hengqin Political and Legal Affairs Office for its beneficial contribution to minors’ healthy development.
Furthermore, we also invited experts from the Zhuhai Meteorological Station to educate the students on defending and mitigating weather disasters.
Chinese Textbook Drama Performance
Drama is an essential part of Harrow’s Chinese teaching and a meaningful way to practice and improve Chinese language literacy. Students from Grade 1-8 presented their well-prepared classroom plays during a performance.
The fifth-graders performed “The General and Premier Make up” and “Hailibu the Hunter”, which vividly recreated the brave and wise Lin Xiangru and Hailibu, who sacrificed himself for others. From different perspectives, the sixth graders played two great poets of the Tang Dynasty —- Liu Yuxi and Li Bai. The seventh-grade students’ poem recitation, “Young China”, demonstrated the wisdom and strength of the new generation of Chinese youth, from the costumes to the performance. Finally, the eighth-grade students’ recitation, from the Confucian classic “The University” to the modern poems of Xu Zhimo and Haizi, illustrated what it means to pass on and carry forward culture.
Chinese Culture Week ended with a big applause from the students at the end of the “Cultural Performance”. Chinese culture will always be with Harrow students, stimulating their awareness of their heritage and cultivating their Chinese characteristics with a global perspective. The school will consistently implement the vision of “Educational excellence for life and leadership” so that every student can choose their strengths to develop into an influential leader and live a more prosperous, fulfilling life.
