The intial months here at Hiba Academy Shanghai have been full of laughter, learning and the creation of many new friendships. We asked four of the pupils in Grade 6 – Minnie, Michael, Ricky and Oscar – to tell us how they felt about initial months at Hiba. As you might expect, they had a lot that they wanted to say!
First impressions of Hiba
Minnie – It is a great environment for learning. The classrooms are big, clean and beautiful. Everyone is so friendly, I’ve made a lot of friends very quickly.
Michael – Everything has been very interesting and fun so far. At my last school, I wasn’t so excited to go there, but every day I wake up feeling excited about coming here to meet my friends and teachers and learn new things.
Ricky – Hiba is unique, I really like its British style and look. All of the facilities and resources are very high quality and it is always easy to find whatever we need to learn. The library is great because it has so many books for us to try. There are so many new subjects to explore too, like technology and visual art, both of which I really enjoy studying.
Oscar – My mum’s friend said that Hiba was a great school so she wanted me to come here. I’m very glad that she did because everyone is really friendly here and I’ve settled in quickly.
On learning
Oscar – ICT is my favourite subject. We learn about programming and we can come up with new programs of our own, which is really cool and different.
Ricky – My favourite subjects are Chinese social studies and English social studies. I feel that these are very important subjects because you need to know what is going on in society. We have a lot of problems across the world, like global warming, because people are not aware of them or they do not know how to solve them. Social studies helps us come together to fix these issues.
Minnie – Every subject is interesting but I really like music and performing arts. Our music teacher loves songs and music from Africa, which has been very exciting for us to learn about.
Michael – PE is the best, I love playing basketball. I’m only so-so right now, but I’m looking forward to improving a lot!
On their teachers
Michael – All of the teachers are very professional and interesting due to their different backgrounds. They use lots of different ways to get us interested and excited about the topics we are learning.
Oscar – The most important thing about our teachers is that they are kind. We can learn from them but also laugh with them.
Minnie – Our teachers are all so friendly and teach us many things. I really like how they are not just making us do exams, they also come up with lots of fun ways to teach us what we need to know.
Ricky – The teachers are very kind and have their own style of teaching. Some are very funny, while others are gentle. They all love being here and we love being taught by them.
On the House System
– In my primary school we didn’t have any houses, just different classes. I am in De house and I think it’s great fun to be part of a house and join different clubs and competitions. It’s just like being in a Harry Potter book!
Oscar – Each house is like a special group where we can learn from each other and work hard to get house points. It’s a lot of fun!
Ricky – Every morning we come into our house common rooms and do morning exercises, and every afternoon we come back and pack up at the end of the day as a house too. The house system is a big part of daily life at Hiba and I really like being part of a specific group identity.
Michael – The house system is new for me but I think it is a really good way for pupils to feel proud about their achievements, like getting house points and doing well in competitions. It makes you feel proud to perform well for your house.
On Bilingualism
Ricky – I like learning in two languages because it helps us to grow our English abilities without losing our understanding of Chinese language and Chinese culture.
Minnie – Learning in two languages is not so difficult once you get used to it and it’s fun to switch between them.
Michael – It is a big challenge but I get a lot of practice at home speaking English with my family and the teachers here are very good at being patient and helping us improve our language skills.
Oscar – I enjoy learning in both English and Chinese because it allows me to think in different ways and learn lots of new words.
Our pupils and teachers have enjoyed the initial months to the fullest while establishing an excellent environment for learning throughout the rest of the year. We would like to thank all of our Hiba parents for your generous and continuing support of our efforts to make the school a home of truly bilingual, holistic education.
