WuXi and Shanghai, China
Read about how students explored Chinese culture and built friendships through virtual exchanges with schools in Wuxi and Shanghai.
2024
This year, the Virtual Overseas Immersion Experience to Wuxi & Shanghai, China was organised a little differently from previous years. There were 2 segments held separately on Tue, 9 Jul from 8am to 12.30pm and Tue, 27 Aug 7.30am to 1.30pm. All in, 105 students had the opportunity to take part.
The objectives were to:
• expose students to the culture of the local school through virtual interaction with the twinning school students.
• provide opportunities for students to develop their communication skills in both English (EL) and Chinese Languages (CL).
• inculcate the appreciation of the Chinese culture in an experiential manner.
• promote cross-cultural sensitivity and understanding in our students by having the opportunity to experience being student ambassadors of Singapore.
Segment 1 on 9 Jul
105 students from Jiangsu Wuxi Normal University Affiliated Elementary School (Xue Qian, Xin Chen, He Chang, and Rong Cheng campuses) 江苏省无锡师范学校附属小学 (学前、新城、和畅、融成小学) visited the school. They attended lessons with our students and participated in the recess activities for Language Festival. Through these interactions, our students had the opportunity to communicate with visitors from another country. Our students presented the various subjects and programmes offered by our school passionately and assumed the role of ambassadors of UPS and Singapore proudly.
Segment 2 on 27 Aug
Our students participated in a virtual tour exploring cultural and educational sites in Wuxi and Shanghai. They also engaged in a hands-on activity and applied their newly acquired knowledge of China painting flowers, animals, and other symbols of Chinese culture on paper fans. Additionally, they learned about Chinese tea appreciation and even savoured the tea with mooncakes, typically eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They also sampled bean curd, a staple of Chinese-style breakfasts. These activities allowed the students to experience and appreciate the richness of Chinese culture. Overall, the students had a wonderful time, gaining new insights and making friends beyond the shores of Singapore.
2023
The Virtual Overseas Immersion Experience to Wuxi & Shanghai, China, for our selected P5 students was held on Wed, 8 March 23 from 7.30 am to 1.30 pm and 21 Apr 23 from 2 pm – 4 pm.
The objectives of this programme are to:
Expose students to the culture of the local school through virtual interaction with the twinning school students.
Provide opportunities for students to develop their communication skills in both English (EL) and Chinese Languages (CL).
Inculcate the appreciation of the Chinese culture in an experiential manner.
Promote cross-cultural sensitivity and understanding in our students by having the opportunity to experience being student ambassadors of Singapore.
During the first part of the programme on 8 March, our students experienced a virtual tour to the places of cultural and educational interest in Wuxi and Shanghai. They also underwent a hands-on activity where they painted flowers, animals, and other items symbolic of the Chinese culture on the paper umbrella applying their new-found knowledge of China.
Besides that, our students learned about Chinese tea appreciation and enjoyed some authentic Chinese snacks. They even got to savour the famous Chinese dish, Peking Duck during lunch. These activities allowed them to experience and appreciate the beauty of Chinese Culture.
The highly anticipated activity was the school interaction between our students and students from Jiangsu Wuxi Normal University Affiliated Elementary School (Sunshine Campus) 江苏省无锡师范学校附属小学(阳光小学). This session conducted on 21 Apr 23 provided opportunities for our students to use the Chinese Language to communicate with native speakers in an authentic environment. They became ambassadors of UPS and Singapore as they shared passionately about the subjects and programmes offered by the school and the places of interest, food, and festivals in Singapore.
Overall, the students enjoyed themselves tremendously and gained new learning while making friends beyond the shore of Singapore.
