Recently, Grade 8 received joyous news from FBLA. Grade 8 students who attended FBLA China Nationals (Future Business Leaders of America) in the winter break got high scores, taking National 1st place in 1 of 2 group events and 4 out of 6 individual events, qualifying for the global final round. Most participants also ranked in National Top 10.

The FBLA Middle School Division (FBLA-ML) consists of both group and individual events. This year’s group competition had two components, Introduction to Business and Critical Thinking. Introduction to Business is an online written exam requiring contestants to understand business basics and familiarize themselves with business terms. Critical Thinking requires teams to analyze and propose solutions to a problem in the business world within a specific time limit. This was challenging to students as most had no prior knowledge of the business world. Teams practiced with not only training materials supplied by FBLA but also trained with no teacher guidance on current events. With extensive drilling, teams were able to build synergy and work seamlessly. Finally, one of our teams got National 1st place in Critical Thinking and will be representing Team China in the FBLA-ML Global Finals to be held in May.

As for the individual events, each contestant chose two out of six areas, five of which were written exams based on reading comprehension. Participants from SHSID did extremely well. Three participants earned their spots in the individual events in the FBLA-ML Global Finals.

From this competition, students learned that with effort and teamwork, anything is possible. We hope to bring home prizes in May!

(Written by 8(9) Corrine Pictures by 8(9) Corrine)