After the long half-year separation due to the pandemic, students finally united here on SHSID’s beautiful campus. Following yesterday’s Grade 11 and 12 ceremonies, in the morning of September 1st, ninth and tenth graders gathered at the Grand Auditorium for their Opening Ceremony. It was time for students to reflect on their past year and to look forward to this new semester.

High School Vice Principal Liu Min hosted the ceremony. First, she warmly welcomed all the students back to campus and invited High School Principal Ma Feng to start the ceremony with his inspiring speech. Principal Ma recalled the excellent performance of the class of 2022, the academic achievements of outstanding alumni in the past year, and also mentioned the alumni who have worked hard in charity, art, sports, and many other fields – all the sweat they put into chasing their dreams is worthy of respect. Principal Ma encouraged G9-10 students to pursue their own dreams and find their own unique definitions of success in the new semester.

Next, the head teacher of Grade 9, Ms Yu Zhen, warmly welcomed the ninth graders for entering a new chapter of their lives which is high school. High school is more than just moving from the 4th floor to the 3rd floor of the Zhentao Building. It is the journey of more courses, challenging content, and greater pressure. It is also everyone’s chance to find one’s true passions and be a unique self. The G9 student representative shared his experiences in programming. He discovered that he enjoyed the programming class that had taught students practical skills rather than reviewing mere competition questions. He understood now that it was the process of learning, not competition results, that was truly fulfilling.

“Planning is half the battle,” said Ms. Zhang Yueyue, head teacher of G10. Ms. Zhang reminded the tenth graders that they needed to follow their self-made plans for those plans to be effective. She suggested for the tenth graders to draft their “Three-Year Plan” and start preparing for standardized tests. The G10 student representative advised students to pin down their interests by trying out a variety of extracurricular activities be them clubs, sports, the arts, etc. He did so himself and was able to focus his interest in physics and start his own electronics club. He also suggested students to consult with subject teachers for additional help.

Then, TA representative Ms. Chen Lin delivered a speech to help students transit from online to offline courses. She addressed the struggles that students may face during the pandemic: lacking discipline, procrastination, and feeling lonely. Ms. Chen Lin encouraged students to not hesitate to seek help from TAs. For example, TAs offer students mental health support by providing counselling. Next, Vice Principal Liu Min also advised students to prioritize their mental health. She provided students tips for managing their stress such as her own habit of a 3-kilometre run.

Finally, the last highlight of the opening ceremony arrived—the scholarship awarding ceremony. Students who won the Social Activity Award, Academic Achievement Award, and Principal’s List Award all came to the stage. Immersed in the students’ warm applause, the opening ceremony came to an end as a bright, new semester began.

This past semester, although teachers and students could only meet online, everyone quickly adjusted to the new pace of study and life, and activities adapted to all the changes. In addition to completing the online learning, SHSID students also spared no effort playing their roles in different activities such as working as "young translators" and "community leaders" within their housing communities during Shanghai’s spring of 2022 outbreak and monthslong lockdown, as well as "peer advisors" to their classmates online as they contributed their own strengths to the progress of their peers and the whole of society. Despite the lockdown, all the various online activities greatly enriched students’ extracurricular lives and the lectures brought on by the online CAS classes benefited the students a lot as well. Activities such as “Parent School”, and “Online Career Day” tightly combined the student’s family with the school. The excellent performances of the students in activities such as the "Star Club Presentation", "Trick Skillz Challenge", and "Personal Growth Project Showcase" were also impressive. The display of the results of various subject projects highlights the students' solid learning effect and active exploration quality.

In face of the lingering pandemic threat, the new semester was able to begin on time thanks to huge efforts and supports from all parties. In order to protect the health of students and teachers, and build a safe environment, the school has formulated detailed pandemic prevention plans including the deployment of a "digital sentinel" at the school gate, thermometers in front of the teaching buildings, and well-organized on-campus nucleic acid sampling points. All of these together contribute to a lively and warm environment waiting for the students to return.

This semester, students can expand their horizons, exhibit their personal talents, obtain growth experience, and achieve all-around development in a series of exciting activities such as the Sports Carnival, the Science Fair, the Writing Contest & Speech Competition, and the Art Festival.

Best wishes to all students and teachers. Let’s make it a great new school year!

(Written by 10（4）Minhan Zhou, 10（12）Cana Cai, 11(8) Eileen Ji Pictures by 10（7）Coco Chen, 10（4）Vanessa Liu Supervised by Shi Meijun, Wang Mengli, Gao Yueer Reviewed by Qian Zuo）