The past 70 years since the founding of People’s Republic of China have witnessed many great changes and extraordinary developments for our country.
To celebrate its 70th anniversary, Hiba pupils and teachers prepared and conducted a series of activities based around the topic of: ‘My country and Me’, adding yet more excitement to the already jubilant atmosphere.
In the primary school, grade 1 pupils painted themed pictures on the subject of ‘drawing the country in your mind’. They combined their own self-portrait with various Chinese traditional elements in their painting, such as blue and white porcelain, auspicious clouds, encaustic tiles and gates of the Imperial Palace, which provided an interesting contrast of elements.
Meanwhile, grade 2 pupils unleashed their imagination to design ancient and modern Chinese architectural drawings, which expressed their profound admiration for our country.
In the first lesson of the new academic year, Chinese teachers explained to grades 1 and 2 pupils the trials and hardships that we have gone through over the past 70 years.
Under the guidance of their teachers, pupils made five-star red flags and joined in a quiz show which tested how much they knew about China. Pupils and teachers felt a strong sense of national pride when they began to sing well-known songs, including March of the Volunteers; I Love you, China; and My Country and Me.
Pupils in the higher grades put on costumes of different historical periods to show how the past, present and future are strongly related, while reflecting on how China’s thousand-year-long historical culture has affected us.
They couldn’t help thinking, “who were, are and will we be?” As builders of the future, we all need to figure out these questions and propose methods to better carry forward our long-standing history and culture.
Pupils learnt about Peking opera through wearing specific costumes, and exploring some of the fundamental elements of the artform, such as specific movements, repertoires and scripts.
This process of appreciating traditional Chinese opera art helped our pupils to better understand our past while taking pride in our profound history and culture.
In junior high, pupils discussed current national events, covering all types of topics, such as the heroes fighting typhoon Lekima, the rise of Chinese animation such as top-grossing film Ne Zha, and the increasing civic awareness behind the renewed garbage sorting efforts nationwide. We felt that they showed great pride for our country and a keen understanding of how important it is to reflect on society as a whole.
In a peaceful era, we expect every pupil to be capable of observing the world around them while remaining grateful for what they have.
We hope that they stay interested and concerned about national and global affairs and keep pace with the many positive developments occurring across China.
Hiba pupils have many opportunities to learn about different world cultures. However, no matter where our pupils go or which language they use to communicate with others, every pupil should bear in mind that they are a member of the Chinese nation and are representatives of its youth and future.
Our individual ideals need to embody the great causes of our country, demonstrating that we have sufficient awareness of the bigger picture. Then our pupils' minds will be as broad as the sea.
As Liang Qichao, the Chinese scholar and philosopher once wrote: “The responsibility bestowed by the times falls on nobody but us youth. If we are intelligent, China will be intelligent; if we are strong, China will be strong.” We expect Hiba pupils to embrace a set of higher ideals which will help them understand the importance of trying their best to achieve their dreams while reflecting well on their school and nation. What’s more, we hope they will continue to connect with Chinese culture so that they are able to tell China’s story to the world. Today, we put much emphasis on striving to be better. As the saying goes: “Thousands of sails compete, the first must be the hardest”. By constantly progressing with times and trying our best, we believe that the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will come true thanks to striving of generations of Chinese people.
Happy 70th anniversary China！
