Mr. Shi Yigong's First Class for Wahaha Students ~ Wahaha International School

This year Hangzhou Wahaha Schools had the privilege of having Mr. Yigong Shi speak at the 2020-2021 Opening Ceremony.

Mr. Yigong Shi is a well-known scholar of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a world-renowned structural biophysicist, and the founding President of Westlake University.

“You are bound to influence the world” is the expectation of Mr. Shi for Wahaha students.

Our students were all very excited to see their idol, and they expressed that feeling in various ways: To welcome Mr. Shi to our school, some students played a beautiful Guqin song upon the arrival of Mr. Shi and the other delegates from Westlake University. Other students presented their artwork, Lego models, and even a handmade seal to Mr. Shi.

Campus Tour

Before the ceremony, Mr. Shi and the Director-General and Party Secretary of Shangcheng Education Bureau Mr. Xiang Haigang, went on a campus tour with our school founder Jane Du, the school leadership team, and two student representatives.

The students thoroughly enjoyed seeing Mr. Shi’s friendly and humorous side, which encouraged them to confidently guide the group throughout our campus, discussing the curriculum and student work.

Ceremony

Two students from WIS and WBS kicked off the opening ceremony. Then the executive principals of both schools spoke of the meaning of the school mottos.

Finally, Mr. Shi gave his speech with three stories meant to intrigue our children.

The first story was about Rong hong, who helped Chinese students go abroad to study and later influenced China.

His second story was about his life and the difference between China then and now. And these changes have been brought by technology, which led to the third topic related to a math problem.

Last, Mr. Shi gave us three tips as gifts: respect, control your time with digital devices, and learn more about science and math.

After Mr.Shi’s speech, students from WIS and WBS introduced our programming course, PBL, UOI, and other exciting things happening in the school.

Exchange Ideas

Following the assembly, Mr. Shi, leaders from the education bureau, and school leadership, had a meeting discussing educational ideas.

Mr. Shi highly agreed with our school mission-producing the next generation of ambassadors for China. He also acknowledged our students are global citizens. They not only have in-depth knowledge and understanding of Chinese culture and values but are also able to engage with the international community.

Wahaha students can make a distinct Chinese voice heard and facilitate cultural and intellectual dialog. Both sides believe in “innovation needs diversity” and that we should encourage our students to be themselves.