Part of the YCIS school motto states that Yew Chung will "align with arts and charity". Students at YCIS Shanghai endeavour to embody the school’s mission in many ways throughout their time at the school. Recently, students at YCIS Shanghai Puxi and YCIS Shanghai Pudong have been coming up with creative and caring ways to make the most out of the current COVID-19 situation.

Members of YCIS Shanghai Puxi Primary Orchestra recorded a song together online that expressed their feelings, celebrated the strength and togetherness of the school community, and conveyed the message of unity. “In this special period, no matter where we are, we should be concerned about the earth and each other,” said Ms Kelly Zhao, YCIS Shanghai Puxi Primary Music Assistant. The musical parts were completed for the ensemble piece through online rehearsals and then edited together with an excerpt from the video of the song "Whole World". The final video, entitled "We Are the World", combined the orchestra music with the background animation to convey the "one family in the world" theme to the audience. “The power and charm of music lie in bringing everyone together, and this song and video did just that. Thank you to the families of the orchestra for their support throughout this special project. It showed us that music allows us to always be together, even though we are apart,” added Ms Zhao.

Secondary students at YCIS Shanghai Pudong are also enacting the school’s motto for a better world. At the heart of the school’s community is our students and another example of the caring attitude they show is a recent project by Year 13 student Shu Min. Working with her peers, and in collaboration with the Shanghai Green Oasis Food Bank, Shu Min helped set up a campaign for the people left jobless and homeless as a consequence of COVID-19.

The Shanghai Green Oasis Food Bank is a non-profit organisation that collects and distributes food to disadvantaged groups in Shanghai. All food donations are stored in refrigerators and are shared with those who need it most. More information can be found by clicking here.

“Currently, the food bank needs support as they are under vast amounts of pressure. During the COVID-19 crisis, many businesses have been forced to shut and lay off workers. No income means that people are unable to purchase food,” described Shu Min. “Every contribution will make a real difference, so I am counting on everybody in our community to collect some food to help those in need," she added.

The YCIS school mission is “to raise globally competent and compassionate leaders with a servant’s heart, who aspire to, and act for, a better world”. These examples from our Primary and Secondary students across both sides of the river show that, wherever they are, our students act out this mission every single day, and can react swiftly and compassionately to major events to make the world a better place.