Thanksgiving and Recent Events in China: Around the KL Network

This past month, all campuses celebrated Thanksgiving, and the two campuses in Barstow took part in outside activities. Learn more about the events around the country.

Barstow Ningbo – Lower School
Farm Trip: Katelyn Warner

In November, Haishu Hanvos School, the Ningbo branch of Barstow School in Kansas City, took a trip to a farm just outside of Ningbo. It was an opportunity for students to get outside the walls of the classroom to experience nature, while learning English and Chinese vocabulary that correlated to the life skills they were learning. There, they picked oranges, dug up sweet potatoes, participated in art projects that related to farming, and watched locals make sticky rice. Teachers enjoyed their time just as much as the students, and the quiet, satisfied lull that echoed through the bus on the way home was both a stark contrast to the joyful singing that took place on our initial ride that morning, and a good sign of the hard work everyone had put forth.

Katelyn Warner – a teacher at the program – shares some photos of the experience:

Barstow Ningbo – Upper School
Community Service

In addition to the Barstow Haishu program, students at The Barstow School of Ningbo High School program took part in community service activities focused on caring for stray dogs at a dog shelter.

All students in the school network must participate in community service and to celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving, Barstow Ningbo students and staff gathered items to bring to the dog shelter. Leading up to the visit, students and teachers gathered together donations, including food, dog treats, or clothing, to give to the dogs at the refuge.

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Students prepared treats, food and warming blankets for the cold winter.

As resources for stray dog care are lower than in developed countries, such shelters heavily depend on donations and the time outsiders can give. Students traveled to the refuge on a Monday – where they learned that the shelter is home to nearly 1,400 dogs. This was a new learning experience for many students. They saw the conditions in which stray dogs live with their own eyes, and learned how those who operate the refuge must dedicate themselves and believe in such a cause to make a difference.

Students greeted the dogs at the shelter.

St. Mary’s Zhengzhou and Wuhan
Thanksgiving

At St. Mary’s Zhengzhou & Wuhan, students created a handcrafted “Thankfulness Tree” and “Thankful Leaves”, by writing their thanks on dried leaves. Some students requested “additional break on the weekend”, while most expressed their gratefulness for family, friends, health, and happiness. Some students specifically thanked their teachers, all of whom have brought great value to their lives. One student thanked Mr. Dean at St. Mary’s Wuhan, by writing: “I am grateful for my awesome teachers, especially Mr. Dean. Your class is as nice as you!”

In addition to the Thanksgiving activities, Students Zhengzhou students learned the value of a good ol’ day of labor, by shoveling snow at the campus. Instead of holding a pencil, students’ callus free hands grasped a shovel and went to cleaning up the campus.