Baishan AWS Newsletter March 16th

时间:2021-12-01


 Annie  Wright  News




We are in this Together  



Compared to previous years, people are more eager for the arrival of spring this year.


During this extraordinary holiday, many may have recalled the words of Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Today, human beings are more connected than ever thanks to advances in technology and travel, and appear to share a common destiny where in an event that touches one part of the world will ultimately affect the rest of the globe.


Ergo,2019-NCOVID outbreak has undoubtedly become a global pandemic. For educators, this is a great opportunity to teach the concept of globalization.We believe that in the time of internalization, it is necessary to guide our Childrens' perspective, independent thinking, and optimism - some essential qualities of a true world citizen. It is undoubtedly more important than mastering knowledge and academic skills. 


The warmth of spring has arrived just as eager as the greetings and wishes from our AWS family, hoping we can overcome the epidemic and return to our happy school life soon!





01  Greeting from Mr.Hinman


Dear Baishan AWS Parents, Students, and Friends,


We have now moved through five weeks of distance learning. We hope that everyone sees that the staff is always trying new methods to get the lessons across in as exciting and interesting way as possible. I know that many of our students have mentioned to me that they are tired of being at home and want to get out among friends and have fun. This is completely understandable, and I am sure that this will be the case again soon. In the meantime, I think we should always focus on the positive, and remember that our team enjoys working with our students each day, no matter the format we must use.


It is through our friends and family that we make stressful times an opportunity to show one another that we care.


Robert Hinman

Director1




02   Annie E- learning  



Art with Mr.Brandt 


The Coronavirus-19 did not stop students from learning and creating in Visual Arts.Visual Arts standards and course expectations include learning how to describe, analyze and interpret artwork.Each week,students have been challenged to select artworks by teacher-chosen artists and critique them.Students then created studies of the artworks by trying use the materials they found at home.


To do this, the visual art students used Microsoft Office 365 Teams and Forms to read the lesson and complete a form that prompts them to respond to specific parts of formal art critiques. This includes understanding the historical context in which artwork was created, such as during peace times or war times as doing so can dramatically influence artists’ intentions and viewers’ interpretations.


Although most of the student are using traditional and common art material, they are also encourage to take risk with drawing and painting with materials that are not meant to create artwork, such as painting with tea or coffee.

Although we look forward to returning to the art studio at school, there is much that can be learned using E-Learning.




 

Geography with Ms. Brauer





In World Geography we’ve made the shift from Physical to Human Geography, starting all the way back with the first humans.


Grounding our claims in evidence is so important that we began with a survey of archaeology: What tools can scientists use to figure out the ages of really old things? And how do we piece together the stories of the earliest humans long before they started writing them down?


In our Unit Assessment, the 9th graders started by creating their own early civilizations. Now they’re reverse-engineering an archaeological dig – describing what evidence we’d have to find to support the claims they made within their historical fiction.



Science and Math with Mr. Mackeigan






In our tenth grade class, we looked at the quantum model of the atom,the four primary quantum numbers, energy diagrams, and electron configurations.


In our ninth grade class, we looked at atomic symbols and atomic masses for our science component. In geometry, we looked at the Pythagorean theorem and its converse, trigonometric ratios of special angles, and trigonometric functions of special angles.



03 Students Respond to Online Courses





This is the second semester of this school year, but because of the special situation we are facing right now in China, our school has delayed our opening date. Despite having a lot of issues that stop us from getting back to campus, our school is providing us online courses to help us keep making progress.


Q: HOW DO TEACHERS TEACH, AND HOW DOES THE ONLINE SYSTEM WORK?

A

A: Ms. Brauer, Ms.Roth and Mrs.Hinman are setting up courses on Moodle. Mr.Mackeigan is sending us teaching video including PPT and his explanation also. Mr. Brandt is using Teams, an app like We chat, for us to submit our assignments and communication.


Q:  HOW ARE TEACHERS KEEPING TRACK STUDENTS?

A

A: Teachers are posting introduction videos for students to watch.Teachers are able to know if the students have watched the video and when. This avoid students skipping the videos and missing some details. It makes sure no student is left behind.

According to student Victoria He, “The classes are a little hard but I can manage my own time and make my own study schedule. I have actually improved my study efficiency.” On the other hand, Max Ruan said, “I was struggled with these online courses, I can’t learn stuff on those teaching videos. What we have is only homework and readings.”


As for me, studying online has developed my ability of self-learning. Since teachers are not beside me, I’m forced to think on my own, without asking teachers directly.


I hope we can get over the virus together soon, though, and get back to our beautiful campus.


By Zoey Wang




04  Staying Healthy and Happy


1.Create a Daily Routine: Create a calm environment in your home by creating a daily routine that involves, enough sleep, healthy meals, and movement. It is important to set a time to wake up in the morning and start one’s day as if one did have to leave the house.




2.Stay Positive: Remember to keep calm. Having calm, panic- free discussions can ease emotions around these changes.Take time to acknowledge your own feelings and worries by journaling or talking with friends.


3.Stick to the facts: Look at the facts. Discuss that not everything they hear or see is real.  Let them know that QAIS and AWS is doing everything we can, and you are up to date on current information. It can also be comforting to be reminded that doctors around the world are looking for ways to address the coronavirus and highlight positive news as well.


4.Consider Reducing Media Consumption: When looking online, consider the source and fact-check to prevent fake news, and think before you share. Be mindful of how much media you are checking and minimize how often you are reading stories. Try to keep a healthy balance (both online and offline).


5.Eliminate stigma: It is important to be aware of how the coronavirus is explained to your children to avoid any person/group being blamed. Communicate to your children that if someone has a fever or cough it does not mean this person has the coronavirus.







6.Boost Your Coping Strategies: When anyone has change or uncertainty this can create some levels of worry or anxiety. When this occurs, it is important to use positive coping strategies to manage those emotions. Coping strategies can include: positive self-talk, discussing hardships you have lived through in the past, singing, dancing, reading, drawing, music, Netflix/movies, create a gratitude list, meditation, yoga, coloring, exercise, cooking/ baking, talking to a friend or family member, or doing other activities that are fun or give you joy and make you feel good.


7.Set Goals - This can be an excellent time to learn something new that you haven’t had time to learn. Set a goal and list daily steps to reach that goal within your 14-day quarantined period. Feeling accomplished can be an excellent remedy to anxiety.







We are always ready to help.

Baishan AWS

Qingdao, China

info@baishanaws.cn














Our Affiliations: Qingdao Baishan School Qingdao Amerasia International School Annie Wright Schools Technical support: leixun online