In recent blogs I have tried to share the approach by which we should support our students in making their choices about the future. It’s important, of course, but I sometimes wonder if we think a bit too hard about that, and there are two reasons I think we shouldn’t direct all our efforts to it. Firstly, it’s hard to be sure about the future, and our predictions can be misguided. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, if we are always anticipating the future then we might miss out on the great things going on in the present. The positive psychology movement, some philosophers and several religions all lay great emphasis on being mindful of the moment, and of the people one is with now. Philosophically and pragmatically, we can observe that we only ever experience the present, not the future. So this week I want to focus on two aspects of the now, and illuminate them via specific examples.
The first is the extraordinary range of opportunities for sports that we have. We are a High School of some 350 students, learning in a Campus designed for 1000; that means we have the friendliness and warmth of a small school combined with the facilities, opportunities and ambition of a large one. Last week I saw a UWC East Softball team where the players had only picked up a bat a few weeks ago for the first time; they were competing against a school four times our size against students who had been playing together for more than 5 years. You could tell the difference in experience, but not in enthusiasm or enjoyment. So we win some and we lose some, but I am so proud of our athletes and coaches; we are holding our own through determination, passion and dedication. And in some cases the results are extraordinary – nowhere more obvious than in the recent SEASAC swimming in Bangkok. As a rookie team to win 6 trophies, (including overall top girls), 8 individuals championship records and 3 relay championship records is extraordinary.
Of course none of this happens by accident; the team trains between eight and sixteen hours per week, on land and in the water, with 3 early mornings for the senior/national swimmers, under the masterful supervision of five of the finest coaches in the region. Swimming is the students’ passion, and they’re making it happen along with fine academic records and in some cases, heavy commitment to music too (incidentally, I doubt these are as unconnected as they may appear to be, but that’s another story) . This would be a wonderful example even if we weren’t actually winning, but in sport winning is pretty important too. So these are outstanding results for any school, anywhere, anytime… but 18 months into a new programme and only 6 months with a new Head Coach – these are incredible. And perhaps the biggest accolade for our team was the Sportsmanship Award – because it was given by the swim captains from other schools; our inspirational Director of Activities tells me that this almost never goes to the winning team – so this shows what an impact our rookie team had with their peers.
The second ongoing thing I want to highlight to you is the evolution of the Parent’s Association into an even more impressive and central part of college community life. Demonstrated by the remarkable triple-header of Career’s Fair, Shanghai Nights Ball and Family Festival all in one month, we are lucky to have a parent body that engages so positively with the school in so many ways. This is more than just an add-on to schooling; students spend less than 15% of their childhood at school, and over 50% at home and in the community (the rest is, or should be, sleeping). It’s important therefore that we see schooling as one part of a child’s education – a vital one, for sure, but still only one part. By building links between school, home and community we can send a powerful message that home and school are a partnership working to the same ends, and any synergies we can make will have a massive impact on
student experience.
So we are humbled by the amount of volunteer time put in by the PA. The upcoming Family Festival on March 23rd is the biggest campus event all year and is shaping up to be a huge occasion. Thousands of volunteer hours have gone into organising what will be a great day, by any standards, but again, the important thing is not just the event itself, but the people and community it reflects. It’s interesting to see that the the chief organisers here – just like for the swimming events above – refused to be mentioned by name, because they see things as a team event. But we know who they are and we are enormously grateful! Please drop whatever else you are doing and come.
So these are two of many great things that are going on; things organised and run by great people, to great benefit for our students – our children – now. Please support in whatever ways you can – by attendance, by sponsorship, or by simply acknowledging the effort and ambition of those involved.
