Bringing love to others in the community is part of the programme at YCIS, and for YCIS Shanghai’s Upper Primary (Year 5 and 6) Choir from the Century Park Campus, this happened recently during a very special performance at the Shanghai Pudong Special Education School. The YCIS students helped celebrate Children’s Day with the more than 300 students at the Special Education School, which has many children with conditions that include physical or mental handicaps.

The YCIS choir performed two carefully selected pieces. The first, "When I Close My Eyes," is a song about hope and the future. Incredibly, the choir learnt to use basic sign language to communicate the message of the music to the deaf students. The second song was "Dancin' on the Rooftop," which was chosen for its jazzy sound, and it succeeded in its intended effect of getting the local students excited and clapping along.

After the performance, the YCIS students spent time with the children, taking photos together, talking, and exchanging warm smiles. Both groups of students also participated in a paper flower making activity to create a memory to take home.

One YCIS Year 6 student, Ava Clara, wrote about the experience upon returning to their classroom: “Seeing the children’s smiles was magnificent, and we had a wonderful time while we sang our two songs. While I sang, I saw one girl in particular, whose eyes lighted up when we were up there on the stage singing our hearts out. Her face was bright and she was clapping her hands. She was happy, and at the end of the performance she stood up and clapped very loudly. For me, that made my day and I think our songs filled her with happiness. When we left to go back to school, I kept talking about how much fun I had and that I hope I get the opportunity to do it again.”

Ms Rebecca Wright, a music teacher at YCIS, said, "The students were able to practise before a live crowd today, which is always beneficial for enhancing performance skills. But more than that, they were also able to see the positive impact music can have on individuals and communities.”

In alignment with part of the YCIS motto to “align with love and charity”, (http://www.ycis-sh.com/en/enrichment/special-charity-seeds-of-hope) the YCIS Upper Primary choir was not just singing to those students, they were touching their lives.