The time has finally come for the long-awaited “Science fiction Stars Awards Ceremony” and the “Science Fiction and Imagination Forum.”

To inspire the imagination and creativity of students, allow them to explore, and cultivate the mindset of the future, the Grade 6 Chinese group initiated a science fiction month called “Embrace Science Fiction, The Future Has Arrived.” As the Science Fiction Month activities came to an end, the guests, students, and teachers converged on the Science Fiction Stars Awards Ceremony and the Science Fiction and Imagination Forum held this week at the Zhongxing Building Theater. The one-month-long immersion in science fiction offered students new perspectives of writing and life. Administrators and teachers of SHSID, Mr. Liu Lian, middle and primary school principal, Ms. Liu Fang, middle and primary school vice principal, Mr. Shen Tianyuan, middle and primary school principal’s assistant and director of grades 6-8, Mr. Ni Minxue, director of middle and primary school teaching affairs center, Ms. Yan Zeng, head of grade 6, and Ms. Liu Qiong, head of middle school Chinese department, attended the event. We are honored to invite three distinguished guests, Mr. Jiang Bo, science fiction writer, Mr. Dingding Chong, science fiction translator, and Ms. Liu Jing, fantasy literature writer and science story editor, to meet and talk to our students.

To start the event, the highlights of the G6 science fiction month were shown through a video. The students went back to the journey of science fiction project-based experiential learning, full of imagination and discernment. After that, Director Shen Tianyuan gave a speech on his ideas about the science fiction activities conducted during the month, mentioned the wonders of “science fiction,” and shared his understandings of what science fiction is. Director Shen’s speech successfully warmed up the audience and set up an enjoyable atmosphere for the subsequent activities.

Mr. Jiang Bo talked about the concept of “science fiction,” why it attracted him, and how he thought “science fiction” could be applied to teaching and learning. Following Mr. Jiang Bo’s speech, the host Ms. Jin Jing reviewed with the teachers and students the contents and activities of the Chinese Science Fiction Month.

Students engaged themselves in various activities such as science fiction movie guides, science fiction novel reading, science fiction story creation, science fiction poster design, and so on. They explored science fiction topics through project-based learning from the perspectives of “I appreciate,” “I read,” “I write,” “I draw,” “I speak,” “I wear,” “I discuss,” “I evaluate,” and “I expect.” Among them, “Science Fiction Speech” and “Science Fiction Writing” are highly praised by teachers and students because they are very challenging on the one hand, and on the other hand, these two activities motivate students to think deeply and critically and work cooperatively, developing their independent learning skills.

Over 240 students from the native Chinese classes participated in these two activities, displaying their wild imagination, passion, and solid language skills. The awards ceremony was not only to spotlight the shining stars of science fiction, but also to applaud everyone for their brave, passionate, and creative attempts in science fiction writing and expression!

Each awardee received a book The Gate of Machines autographed by Mr. Jiang Bo and an elaborate gift sent by the grade 6 Chinese group.

Arden and Alexandra, the winners of Stars of Science Fiction Speech, delivered outstanding presentations about their creative works. The topic of Alexandra’s speech was “Will robots replace humans?” while Arden presented a science fiction story about “a surveillance book.” Mr. Dingding Chong and Ms. Liu Jing, commented on the students’ inspiring speeches and gave helpful advice on their creations and performances.

Coming after the star-studded awards ceremony and the exhilarating speeches, we welcomed a much-anticipated “Science Fiction and Imagination forum.” Victoria, the student host from 6 (5), invited the three guests to the stage to share their experiences and interesting stories of “science fiction.” At the same time, Victoria also asked Mr. Jiang Bo several questions on how to build the framework of a science fiction work and where we can get inspirations for science fiction creation, while Mr. Jiang Bo suggested that students need to develop a scientific vision from now and carefully observe things around, which provided support for students to create science fiction stories.

During this forum, all three writers shared their experiences and insights on science fiction and answered plenty of questions from professional perspectives. The students listened with great interest and asked many questions about science fiction reading and writing, longing for more details and hoping to get answers from the writers, translators, and editors.

To conclude the event, Principal Liu Lian encouraged our students to continue their passion for writing and imagination. He believed that we wouldn’t wait longer until more extraordinary science fiction writers and sci-fi works were created!

The science-fiction journey will not end despite the end of Science Fiction Month, and it will continue on an upward trend. We hope that science fiction can prepare our students for the future and give us more to consider and focus on creative solutions! The future is closer than we think, and we are ready to embrace science fiction!

(Written by Zhao Shuyi, Huang Shiyuan Pictures by G6 Native Chinese Group Edited by Middle School Chinese Department)