Recently, the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) 2021 closing ceremony (primary school group) was held online. Shanghai High School International Division (SHSID) achieved a remarkable accomplishment with three Gold awards, eight Silver awards, nine Bronze awards, and two awards in Best in Experiment Design Task in the final round. Congratulations!

IJSO is the best international competition for teenagers that combines physics, chemistry, and biology in natural science field. In 2021, IJSO welcomed participants in primary school for the first time, adding Level 1 (for grades three and four) and Level 2 (for grades five and six).

In March, we had a number of students signed up for the competition in the school. After the first round of selection in school, students used lunch recess time to carry out specific practices and training. There were several students that successfully passed the first round, and at last 20 students won the prize in the final competition.

Daniel, current fifth-grade student, won the Gold prize in Level one after winning the first prize for both individual and team competition in the first round. He has a lot to share:

“Through this competition, I learned plenty of interesting science knowledge, the experiment design, and how to look at the world around us in a scientific point of view. I appreciate that SHSID and the teachers provided me with this unique platform and opportunity to develop. Our teachers used a whole semester to train us and answered our questions in the summer holiday. I also want to thank my teammates who worked together in the first round. Though we didn’t participate in the final round together as a team, they still encouraged me and supported me all the way through.”

Ryan, current sixth-grade student, won two prizes including the Gold Award in Level two and the Best in Experiment Design Task Award in Level two. He said:

“I appreciate that my parents have been helping me cultivate scientific mindset by reading plenty of books on science and discovery since I was little. I also learned a lot from the school activities such as Science Ted Talk and Brainstorm. Especially thank to the science fair, the annual activity held by SHSID, in which I enjoyed doing experiment and explaining my experiment result to my peers. In order to explain an obvious phenomenon, one often needs sound and solid scientific knowledge.”

No pain, no gains. SHSID students made this tremendous achievement due to their hard work and diligence in everyday learning. Our students are not afraid of difficulties and showed positive a mindset to challenges, while in teamwork, they are willing to support each other and share great opinions.

We are looking forward to having more students who can make achievements and work hard to realize their dreams!

(Written by Zhou Hui, Wu Yin Pictures by Nina Kang Edited by Huang Shiyuan, Brie Polette)