This is a speech at SABS HS morning assembly on June 5 2023.
Dear students and teachers,
This is the last month of the 2022-2023 academic year. Each of you have been learning and gaining in all aspects of yourself throughout the year. In the four development domains of our school’s education, ‘Learn to Be’ is the first one and is the most important one. Everyone must learn to cultivate self before he or she can possibly become a happy person and make greater contribution to others and to the world. Traditional Chinese wisdom always teaches us that we should begin with cultivating self, then regulate the family, then participate in governing the country, and then try to pacify the world" (修身, 齐家, 治国, 平天下) . Your journey of becoming a more fulfilled person and a more useful global citizen begins with learning to be a better self.
Therefore, I will propose the theme of June as Balanced and Social Skills.
Balanced（Learn to Be).
You understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for yourselves and others.
Social skills
You work collaboratively and effectively with others.
You learn and demonstrate a variety of skills such as listening skills, negotiation skills, leadership skills, conflict resolution skills, when you work with others.
When you study and live in a school, it is essential for you to aspire to the goal of balanced development. Modern education is not just about gaining academic knowledge and skills but also about developing your physical, emotional, and social well-being and learning to live a happy life.
It is true that academic study is still the largest proportion of your student life in high school. Yet even under the concept of academic study you should also strive for balanced development. In our school, there are seven subject groups which together form a balanced scaffold for academic learning. Two of them are of language learning and literature study, the third group is about individuals and societies or in other words humanity sciences, the fourth is of all sciences, the fifth group is for Mathematics, the sixth group is Arts including Visual Arts and Musical study, and the last special interdisciplinary group is Theory of Knowledge which primarily teaches you thinking skills.
Each of the seven subject groups is led by one expert teacher in this area and staffed by several dedicated and caring teachers. Every student must try the best to choose as diverse subjects as possible and learn from as many teachers as possible. This balanced approach will not only make your high school study more interesting but also create more choices for you when you apply for universities. You will make more friends, see more different perspectives; some of them might be strange at first, but eventually you will know they open more possibilities for you.
Balanced development also means that you pay attention to physical fitness, emotional well-being, social activities, and aesthetic abilities. You should ensure you are getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, and managing stress levels as you navigate through your life. You should also nurture healthy relationships with others, support your community, participate in extracurricular activities, learn and practice artistic skills such as painting and playing musical instruments.
Our school has super art facilities, materials, and teachers, which I think not all schools in China manage to provide. Our school also provides first class laboratory facilities and equipment, which support all students’ interest and needs in scientific experiments. A student in our school should see the advantage of these facilities and support when making decisions in terms of your academic study.
Our school also creates a lot of opportunities for students to enjoy extra-curricular side of school life and to acquire new skills that will balance your growth. For example, the musical concert last Friday was a great event that brings the outcomes of academic study to the light of extra-curriculum. The five graduated students spent years in studying music and creating their artistic pieces. When their pieces were played by other students, the value of their work was greatly increased.
A group of student leaders and club leaders are currently preparing the co-curriculum exhibition on June 13th. This upcoming event will again showcase our students’ balanced development as well as their creativity, abilities of organizing activities, and spirit of community service. I know this event will be organized by a few excellent Grade 10 student leaders, including for example Dora Chen and Helen Cai. From my observation, just through organizing and leading this project, they are developing a variety of social skills such as negotiation skills, conflict resolution skills, and leadership skills.
There are volumes of books and articles written by experts, educators, and business owners about how to improve social skills. I would like to recommend one book that was written by the famous Dale Carnegie. The title of the book is “How to win friends and influence people”. This book has been read by millions of people around the world. Although this book was originally written for business people probably, the principles presented in it can be applied to any area.
For example, after telling many stories with the same feature, Carnegie summarizes,
“There is one all-important law of human conduct…if we obeyed, will bring us countless friends and constant happiness. But the very instant we break the law, we shall get into endless trouble. The law is this: Always make the other person feel important.”
Next I am going to summarize the house point competition in May 2023. R (Ren Bonian) House won the most individual merits in the month owing to their students’ contributions, good behaviors, and achievements. Converted to House Points, the R House earned seven points, Shakespeare and Einstein six, and O’Neal four. As a result, the R House banner will fly in front of the High School building during the month of June.
Looking at the year competition, S House won three times, R House and E House won once respectively, but O House hasn’t won. I hope O House will catch up in the second half of the year.
The running total House Points from January to May 2023 show that E House is still leading with 993 Merits, followed by S House 838 Merits and R House 832 Merits. O House has the fewest number of merits, which is 644.
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