WAB High School students spent the week immersed in Chinese culture.
The week of China Studies Trips is a unique and essential element of the WAB experience and curriculum. 316 students in Grades 9-11 had the choice of 21 total trips each day during the week.
"Trips like China Studies remind us that there are opportunities to learn all around us. It’s easy to become hyper-focused on grades and the next test and forget that there is so much we can learn from getting out into the world," said High School Principal Melanie Vrba, who joined trips with the students this week. "One thing that makes our trips special to WAB is the focus on sustainable tourism and an element of giving back to the community. Another thing is that the experiences students have are truly unique to our school community."
For example, on the "Food Heaven" trip, students not only ate some of China's most famous cuisine, but they also had the chance to meet and dine with Master Chef Frank Sun, who comes from the family that brought Chinese food to North America. For art exploration, students visited galleries in Beijing's famous 798 Art District and took part in a painting workshop with a local artist. Students who traveled to Beijing's Olympic Park took a curling lesson with professional coaches.
Other trips available to students included an exploration of centuries-old architecture in Beijing’s historic hutongs, learning kung fu, harvesting vegetables at a local organic farm, touring Beijing by bicycle, hiking the Great Wall, investigating China’s most significant historical sites, and learning to make tea with at China’s most famous tea center.
Math teacher Ben Newman accompanied students on the trip to Jinpoluo Village to visit the organic farm.
"The trip was much more than planting trees and harvesting vegetables," he said. "It was also about community and economics. We learned how ownership of the village land and its economic gains are divided amongst almost all of the village and how its model of shareholder and organic farming benefits all members of the community."
Some students decided to take an opportunity to give back to the local community through teaching a physical education program to students in a local migrant school.
Thank you to the teachers who shared their photos with us!
