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Grade 11: Challenge, Breakthrough and Growth - A Journey of Rediscovery

February 21, 2025

On February 19, 2025, 11th-grade students at SHSID gathered during their first CAS period for fun activities designed to discover themselves and friendships with others. After a brief scurrying of the student volunteers to rearrange the classrooms, the activity commenced with the students being grouped in their respective homerooms.


Each student received four pieces of paper from their homeroom teacher. They wrote down one thing about themselves on each piece of paper that few others knew. After that, everyone showed their cards around the room and formed groups of four, with all members sharing at least two “hidden” attributes. Finally, the team members worked together to create a group poster and elected a captain to introduce their group and the characteristics of their teammates. During the grouping, students not only discovered another side of the students they spent time with but also gained a new understanding of themselves and discovered their own uniqueness. The grouping quickly broke the ice in the classrooms, and the students were off to the challenge activities in their newly formed groups.







There were two major categories of challenges. The individual challenges consisted of six distinct challenges, and the challengers must complete one at a time without help from others. A successful attempt earns the challenger a stamp, and each challenger may repeat the challenge to earn more stamps. During the individual challenge sessions, students independently completed tasks such as Sudoku, dart throwing, Hwa Yung Do, picture hide-and-seek, logical reasoning, and small fish lassoing. In the process, students discovered their strengths in different areas, tried many games they had not experienced before and were left with smiles on their faces and a sense of accomplishment from the inside out.











The team challenge was a much more physical task. For every round, two teams would compete against each other in an exciting match of multi-directional tug-of-war, where each student has a radially outward string attached to their back. There is a task point a few steps ahead of each student’s initial position, and the difficulty of each task corresponds to the number of points a successful attempt can earn. The students stepped confidently onto the grass, but the tension forces soon brought many off their feet. Powering through the difficulties, the students stood up, completed the tasks, and were all panting by the end of their 3-minute challenge. Some students commented that this challenge was the most intense physical activity in months.







As the activity drew to a close, students returned to their classrooms to write down their reflections on themselves and their peers, as well as elaborate thank-you cards for the two other students who were not on the team. During the activity sharing, each student shared their thoughts about the day and new insights about themselves and the other students. Amidst laughter, the students explored themselves, discovered their potential, and enjoyed the joy and sense of accomplishment.













The first CAS activity of the second semester of the academic year 2024 was successfully concluded in an atmosphere full of praise and warmth. Through this activity, all students gained a deeper understanding of themselves and established closer relationships with their classmates. Every student benefited greatly from the activity, and their gains and experiences will help them face their future studies and challenges more confidently.


(Written by Beeno Nie 11-8    Pictures by Zhen Yu     Supervised by Sijia He   Edited by Cody Turner   Reviewed by Qian Zuo)