eagle december 2012

A PUBLICATION OF SHANGHAI AMERICAN SCHOOLDECEMBER 2012/JANUARY 2013

THE ARTSWith big productions on both campuses and trips throughout Asia, students showcase their talents in dance and music. pp. 32–41

SAS GOES GREENStudents take their own initiatives in saving the planet and making a difference both globally and locally.

pp. 10–16

‘TIS THE SEASONFrom gift ideas to cookies for Santa, SAS gets ready for the holiday season.

pp. 20–25

HOME OF HEARTA teacher’s school project inspires self-discovery and a sense of belonging far away from home. p. 8

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- Joshua Barnett, SAS Pudong

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VOL 4, NUMBER 4DEC. 2012/JAN. 2013

4 Real life learning creates lifelong passionKerry Jacobson

Love life, live sustainablyDebra Lane

The importance of conflict and making mistakesJoseph Hill

Third culture kids paint their ‘Home of Heart’A school project shows that art imitates lifeSarah Digges

‘Reading Buddy’ program brings students togetherGIFTS club creates new project to promote literacyNora Millar, Emily Prager, and Noedmarie Santana

Holiday Shopping GuideThe Eagle Shop

SAS-sponsored Jacaranda student gets royal honorJohn Samson meets the Queen of EnglandKathy Vitale

Poetry contest teaches students about ChinaCathy Weng

The true wealth of a nation: happinessSAS’s MUN debates about a feeling versus a country’s bottom lineAllison Fu

Dancing group grows on Pudong campusEdna Lau

PTSA NewsGinger Whissell and Ritsuko Koh

An end to a great season on the courtPuxi varsity girls’ tennis team has a strong showing during their seasonChristine Roules

APAC championsThe SAS Pudong baseball team hits it out of the parkTodd Parham

Annual Swimvitational a big successSwimmers break records and have personal bestsGeorge Carpouzis

2013 Edge for Excellence Annual FundWhat is it? Why do we need it? When do I give?Cindy Easton

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On the cover: Kindergartener Blaise Stevens spins on the Puxi playground right after the Halloween parade. The Eagle chose this photo because we felt Blaise's coat and adorable expression put us into the holiday spirit.

The Eagle is produced by the SAS Com-munications Office, based on both the Puxi and Pudong campuses. Information in the magazine is primarily about SAS people and organizations. We encourage parents, students, teachers, and administrators to submit stories and photography. All submissions will be edited for style, length, and tone. Articles and stories from the Eagle also appear on our Eagle Online website, at www.eagleonline.org.

The Eagle Production TeamExecutive Editor: Steven Lane Managing Editor: Kathy VitaleGraphic Designers: Fredrik Jönsson and Cindy WangAdvertising Manager: Ji Liu

Production Schedule 2013February issue: Copy deadline January 14March issue: Copy deadline February 6April issue: Copy deadline March 11May issue: Copy deadline April 15June issue: Copy deadline May 20

Pudong campus: Shanghai ExecutiveCommunity, 1600 Ling Bai Lu, San Jia Gang, Pudong, Shanghai 201201. Tel: 6221-1445.

Puxi campus: 258 Jinfeng Lu, Huacao Town, Minghang District, Shanghai 201107. Tel: 6221-1445.

Email: [email protected]

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Also: Editor’s note, SAS alumni news, Kendrick’s garden, Students bring their garbage to school, ‘The Mountain,’ A Trip of Value, Library Pages fundraiser, Be on the nice list, Santa's Workshop, Community Service, Operation Hope, 3-2-1 Lego! SmART Goal, Arts, Sports, and Halloween pictures.

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12ROOTS & SHOOTS WINS FIRST-EVER AWARDDr. Jane Goodall, conservationist, presents students with honorBy Venus Tse and Luke Wang

THE COMFORTS OF HOMEMaking room for home country must-havesBy Samantha Xiao

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34MAGIC ON THE STAGEAli Baba performers bring characters to lifeBy Macrina Wang

PHOTO PROVIDED BY TAYLOR HAYDEN

PHOTO BY KARRINA XIE

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JUANITA MCGARRIGLE


Mr. Jacobson, why do we have to learn this?” The student’s ques-tion was a good one and I didn’t

have enough experience at the time to an-swer it well. I was teaching mathematics in a large, rural high school in Kentucky. The kids were bright and curious. And, they wanted an answer. In fact, they wanted answers to this question nearly every day. My inability to provide regular answers led to frustration on everyone’s part. So, I decided to do something about it. One Wednesday afternoon at a faculty meeting, I piped up during the last few minutes with a request: “I’m looking for help in answering the students when they ask ‘Why is this lesson important?’ I’d really appreciate if any of you can give me a concrete example of the daily use of this mathematics knowledge from your own disciplines.” My fellow teachers looked at me with arched brows. On Thursday morning, I circulated my next week’s geometry lesson plans. What I received back from other teachers was remarkable to me: four specific uses of the math skills from four different subject matter areas. The welcome

responses spurred me into a nearly daily routine of sharing the substance of my lessons with the rest of the high school staff. Many kept responding to me with applications of my mathematics cur-riculum from their disciplines. I wasn’t too surprised at the connections from physics, chemis-try, science, and health. But, then I started getting many responses from teach-ers of English, social studies, physical edu-

cation, visual arts and music. Even more, and some of the best responses, came from auto mechanics and home economics and carpentry. And, the subject with the most applications? Agriculture. It was overwhelming. My bank of real life applications grew quickly. By the next year, I could give a concrete, everyday example for most skills.

Pudong campus high school, are leading our strategic planning efforts on one of this year’s desired results: “Students are regularly engaged in real life learning that ignites a lifelong passion for learning.” At SAS, we are challenging ourselves to go one significant step beyond my Kentucky days. Even better than talking about applications, students here are actively engaged in real life situations and learning deeply about the connections our subject matter has with the “outside the classroom” world. Brad and Tonya can explain the plans we have for the future. Already, students are involved in science activities, social responsibility work, artistic performances, and hands-on practical applications. In these ways, our SAS’ers will become endowed with our core values of creativity, collaboration, and compassion and be inspired with lifelong passions for learning.

Real life learning creates lifelong passionBY KERRY JACOBSON, SUPERINTENDENT

“Students are regularly engaged in real life learning that ignites a lifelong passion for learning.”

MissionShanghai American School inspires in all students:• A lifelong passion for learning• A commitment to act with integrity

and compassion• The courage to live their dreams

使命上海美国学校要激励所有学生： w 具有终身热爱学习的激情，w 具有诚信和同情心，w 具有实现梦想的勇气。

사명상해 미국학교는 모든 학생들에게

• 배움에 대한 끊임없는 열정과• 도덕성과 이타심을 가지고 행동 하는 자세와• 자신의 꿈을 이룰 용기를 가질 수 있도록 영감을 고취 시킵니다.

My lessons were better. The kids loved the connections. They talked about them at home. Parents (and one very enthusiastic grandmother) sent in examples from their daily work lives. I lived near a military base and there were all kinds of entries from artillery officers, buck sergeants, nurses, and infantry men. Math was everywhere. The students displayed a real passion for math as they shared their connections to art, music, military history, and archaeol-ogy. I became a lifelong learner, too. Here at SAS, Brad Latzke, our middle school principal on the Puxi campus, and Tonya Parham, our vice principal on the


“Kendrick’s garden,” also in the Going Green section). The National Wildlife Federation recognizes schools for exceptional achieve-ment in “greening” their facilities and grounds, conserving natural resources, and integrating environ-mental education into the curricula. More than 1,800 schools have implemented the eco-schools USA program since NWF became the host in late 2008. Part of acting with integ-rity is to educate our youngest the impor-tance of taking care of our Earth. By acting with compassion and taking steps towards becoming an eco-school, SAS can make this goal a reality.

It started out as an idea — to build an outdoor classroom. Now, it’s becom-ing a reality. The idea was shaped last

spring. I had the good fortune of hear-ing about an Eco Fair in the Cool Docks area of Shanghai and took some students along to check it out. As part of a real life learning goal for the Puxi Elementary School I wanted to see us build an outdoor classroom, so I was curious as to how this fair could help refine our vision around outdoor gardens, composting, recycling, and sustainable design. At the fair, there were many like minded folks who have a vision for Shang-hai of more rooftop gardens, using recycled materials to build gardens and other spaces, and educating people around de-sign of space for efficient energy use. One person we met was Susan Evans, a scientist and founder of the GoodtoChina organiza-tion. GoodtoChina inspires and supports sustainable living through environmental projects, social initiatives, and consulting projects. They have four main initiatives: cool bike, urban farming, cool living, and sustainable design. These are intended to make sustainable living accessible, ben-eficial, and desirable to all Chinese urban residents, accelerating the move towards a lower carbon society. GoodtoChina’s urban farming initiative reconnects people with their food sources, creates a passion to create green cities, and works to create a paradigm shift in the way that people think about and value their food. In talking with Susan I knew she could help us with our vision and be able to educate interested staff, students, and community members. Just a few weeks ago several of our teachers participated in a compost work-shop and walked away with large dumpling steamers, which will be used in first grade classrooms to start our composting program. As concerns rise about our food supply, food safety, and the environment, “urban farming” is set to be a big part of our fu-ture. Currently the focus is on “eco cities,” but the next big evolution of cities will be “green cities.” An eco-city is a city designed with consideration of environmental impact and minimizing of required energy

inputs. But as governments start to look for new ways to feed their escalating urban populations, and urban residents look for alternative food supplies, we are seeing the beginnings of interest in green cities, meaning urban farming is brought to roof-tops, balconies, and vertical buildings. Space is designed to enhance trees, gardens and improve air quality. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, and recreational opportunities. A study at the National Research Council of Canada showed that there is a significant difference in temperature between roofs with gardens and roofs without gardens. Rooftop gardens could decrease smog, and lower energy consumption, according to this study. The exciting news for SAS is that we have gardens sprouting up all over the place and are taking steps towards becom-ing what the National Wildlife Federation calls an eco-school. The Roots & Shoots programs on both Pudong and Puxi cam-pus have created various carbon neutral projects, planned their own gardens, and have plans for their own greenhouses and rooftop gardens. They even won an award for their Million Tree Project (read about it in the Going Green section of this issue). And one student, on the Puxi campus, has even planted his own garden and donated the produce to a nearby senior center (see

Love life, live sustainablyBY DEBRA LANE, PRINCIPAL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, PUXI CAMPUS

Go to www.eagleonline.org for more information about the GoodtoChina green initiatives.

PHOTO BY JON NORDMEYER


It’s like learning how to walk again — conflict

resolution. Teaching our kids how to handle difficult situations has a delicate balance, but also life lessons. As school counselors, we do our best to help students understand that conflict is normal, and to reinforce healthy life skills that include learning how to resolve conflicts. Conflict-resolution is our counseling guid-ance theme for the months of November and December. Counselors equip students with several conflict resolution skills via one-on-one

sessions, small groups, and whole class guid-ance lessons, as well as parent and teacher education. But we have to be mindful of the tension between teaching our children the skills they need, and allowing them to make mistakes and learn from them. So sometimes we (reluctantly) allow conflict to occur without constant adult intervention. Resolving conflict is a lot like taking your first steps. In the beginning, toddlers will fall and fumble, but eventually they get better with practice, time, and loving guidance. Similarly, in order for children to learn how to resolve conflict, we must teach explicit skills and then allow them to fall and fumble, with our guidance and

support when needed. In a recent article in the New York Times, “Raising successful children,” Madeline Levine wrote:

“The central task of growing up is to develop a sense of self that is au-tonomous, confident, and generally in accord with reality. If you treat your walking toddler as if she can’t walk, you diminish her confidence and distort reality. Ditto nightly ‘reviews’ of home-work, repetitive phone calls to “just check if you’re O.K.” and “editing” your child’s college application essay.”

Allowing children to make mistakes in resolving conflicts does not mean that we turn a blind eye when bad choices are made. We do give children tools and strategies to deal with approaching conflict, which will eventually (and hopefully) turn into lifelong skills. For example, when teaching bully-ing awareness, children are taught specific skills: using “I” statements, choosing asser-tive versus aggressive behaviors, requesting peer meetings, making friendship circles, and journal writing, just to name a few. In addition, we also provide opportunities for role-play, written reflection, small group discussion, and further individual guidance when needed. Learning these skills can help soften the hard edges of the learning-from-experience that is also necessary. For example, as a child, I was bullied in the 5th grade for months before I finally resolved the prob-lem, on my own, without any skills at all. But in retrospect, I could have benefited from supportive educators and guidance counselors who would have potentially taught life skills like self-advocacy and

assertiveness. Many months of being bullied could have been managed if I had learned the skills to appropriately handle the situation. However, merely having an adult supervise and intervene every step of the way would have stunted my growth as an individual and may have prevented me from ever learning how to stand up for myself. In other words, the goal is to strike a balance between teaching conflict resolu-tion skills and allowing for those conflicts to happen without constant intervention. At the end of the day, when we see our little ones fall, we should by all means help them to get up — but more importantly, teach them how to get up by themselves. If we try to foolproof the world of conflicts and struggle, we end up raising children who lack depth and the kind of empathy that comes with firsthand experience. Going through, but more importantly, skillfully working through conflict makes us not only more resilient but also more empathetic and ready to deal with the world and its range of challenges.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS

PUDONG CAMPUSJeanine Merrill (PK – Gr. 2)[email protected]

Tracy Murphy (Gr. 3 – 5)[email protected]

PUXI CAMPUSEileen Knobloch (PK – Gr. 1)[email protected]

Joseph Hill (Gr. 2 – 3)[email protected]

Nancy Stevenson (Gr. 4 – 5)[email protected]

The importance of conflict and making mistakes BY JOSEPH HILL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELOR, PUXI CAMPUS

Upcoming Board Meetings for 2012-2013Board Meeting #4: Monday, December 10, 2012 @ 6:30 PMKerry Center, Jun He Law Offices, 32 F, 1515 Nanjing W. Road

Board Meeting #5: Monday, January 28, 2013 @ 6:30 PM Pudong Campus, High School Library Garden Room

Board Meeting #6: Monday, February 25, 2013 @ 6:30 PMPuxi Campus, New High School Building, 1F, Conference Room A103

Agendas and minutes of all Board meetings are available through the Parent Portal of Powerschool under SAS Board Pages.


suitcases (check out Samantha Xiao’s story about the “comforts of home” and what people bring back to Shanghai). Another theme readers will find is a tribute to the arts. From dance and jazz to theater productions and performing for the US military (see Karolina Pek’s Marine Ball article), SAS’s creativity and talent is hard at work. Of course, we cannot forget SAS athletics. Some teams went away with championship trophies, others had overall great seasons. And don’t forget to get to the back pages of the magazine. Even though we are focusing on winter holidays, there are adorable student Halloween costumes worth a glance. Until our next issue, coming out in February, may everyone have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

Each issue, students, teachers, and

staff always impress me by sharing their passions. In this December/January issue, Eagle readers

will see a few themes taking shape. Several stories submitted by eager writ-ers are about the environment and our role in how to protect it. I’m amazed at the pas-sion behind the stories and what students and teachers are doing to “act” and protect our world (read Angela Xiao’s story on car-rying garbage around school). Readers will also notice a holiday theme sprinkled into the magazine (Santa may want to follow the Eagle shop’s holi-day guide). As we gear up for time away from school, we focus on seeing family and friends, as well as what we can stuff in our

Editor’s noteBY KATHY VITALE, EAGLE, MANAGING EDITOR

Season’s Greetings!

Two SAS alumni publish booksBY CINDY EASTON, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

These excerpts and images from the quarterly SAS alumni publication, SASA News, are reproduced by

permission of the editor. To read the whole issue, go to the Alumni page of the SAS website: www.saschina.org.

Augustine Roberts – Finding the Treasure

Bruce Roberts, SAS class of 1950, has writ-ten a book entitled Finding the Treasure: Letters from a Global Monk. The book details Bruce’s remarkable life as a member of the Cistercian order, better known as the Trappists — an order he describes as “largely silent.” Roberts career included 12 years as abbot of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts; founding a new abbey in Argentina, where he now lives; as well as several years travelling the globe visiting Trappist abbeys and convents as an

aide to the Abbott General of the Cister-cian order. Roberts classmate Carl Scovel, ’49, who reviews his book, describes Roberts in his SAS days as a “bright, active extrovert who played basketball and football, went to school dances, did well in his studies, enjoyed his friends, and was elected class president.” His classmates, Scovel says, would never have guessed, “despite an Episcopalian upbringing, two years at Mt. Hermon and two more at Yale, he would enter and stay in one of the strictest mo-nastic orders in the Catholic Church.”The book describes the life of Augustine Roberts, as he is now known, as well as his spiritual journey and evolving relationship with God. The book is published by Cistercian Publications and is available on Kindle from Amazon.

Isabel Best – The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Isabel Best, ’57, published an edited col-lection of the sermons of one of the 20th century’s best-known theologians, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The German Bonhoeffer had an interesting and varied career, including spending time in the US and in London in the 1930s, before returning to Germany, where he was executed in 1945 for his opposition to the Nazi regime. A reviewer of the book describes Best’s achievement in selecting and translating Bonhoeffer’s sermons thus: “In her selec-tion of sermons, with great insight Isabel Best facilitates a unique encounter with one of the greatest and most courageous Christian thinkers of the 20th century. The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is published by Fortress Press.


Many of our students come from somewhere other than Shang-hai. They have experienced the

ups and downs of moving from place to place and adapting in a different culture. In 6th grade, students talk about the idea of having a “home of heart” in their home bases to help them bond and find common ground with one another. Being a third-culture kid myself, I really latched on to the “home of heart” theme and decided that my 6th graders could explore this idea more in-depth in the form of a painting. To begin this project, my students learned how to draw in one-point perspec-tive to create the illusion of space when drawing architectural forms. Then, to personalize the assignment, I turned them loose on Google Earth to find aerial views of their “home of heart” and their current home. From there they learned how to draw their homes in one point perspective. Then came the real challenge. I asked the students to find a way to visually express what they love about their two different homes and tell their audience about their metaphorical journey from their home of hearts to their current home by us-ing a road to connect the two. Here you can read a reflection written by 6th grade student Linden Li.

Home of HeartEveryone has a place in this world where they think they fit in best. In art, we called this our “home of heart,” a place where you feel you belong most. This is important because these types of homes are essential to us because they help us feel like we are part of the world. These places help us think that we are part of an area where people like us. I don’t feel like I belong in Shanghai. I have mixed feelings about it. It is very different from where I used to live in America. Shanghai is a developing and a very diverse city compared to my home in New Jersey. It is also very polluted, which is something I am not used to in the US. When I moved to Shanghai in August of 2011, I thought it was a different world. I remember when it was pouring rain and we got to my new house. We had no food

Third culture kids paint their “Home of Heart”A school project shows that art imitates life

BY SARAH DIGGES, MIDDLE SCHOOL VISUAL ARTS TEACHER AND LINDEN LI, 6TH GRADE, PUDONG CAMPUS

or water, like a poor family. My mom went shopping at a local Carrefour and dropped her iPhone from anxiety. She came back and our dinner was instant noodles. Overall, the huge move had some “bumpy roads” and detours, as represented in the curvy road in my painting. I left behind my friends in America and my routines, but not all is lost, I have learned a lot in China. With the diverse population at SAS, I met talented students from all around the world. It has added a cultural dimension to my learning.

My paintingMy painting represents the two houses I lived in during my life. My “home of heart” is more significant because that is where I feel safest. The background next to my haven in New Jersey has a bunch of trees. These are representations of my backyard. My current home, the background shows the pool at my clubhouse with a

small rainbow ball in it that my sister, Skylar, and I like to play with. The back-ground shows the things that were signifi-cant to me. My road shows the detours and hardships I encountered while moving to China. In the Home of Heart project, I learned many new techniques. My favorite one was learning to draw one-point perspective. I loved the dynamic lines and the 3D fig-ures. I wasn’t really skillful at first, but with Mrs. Digges’s help, I soon got the hang of it. In addition, I learned some different techniques including using a straightedge to paint straight lines and how to paint correctly with paint. Overall, this project was a phenomenal and fun way to learn how to draw one-point perspective and paint. It made me really think of the importance of a “home of heart”! I will always remember the tech-niques I learned, but also the importance of having a wonderful home.

Representing his home in Shanghai and his previous house in New Jersey, Linden Li painted his "Home of Heart" for a school project.


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SAS takes proactive approach to saving our planetFrom gardens to garbage, SAS students have taken the initiative in helping our environment. They have become so passionate about the cause, some of them have even been awarded for their hard work. In this Going Green section, students share their global and local efforts, but also inspire us all to think about saving the planet.

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WWW.EAGLEONLINE.ORG 11PHOTOS BY STEVEN LANE, ANDY MARKS, JUANITA MCGARRIGLE, STEPHEN CAROZZA


SAS students receive top honor from Dr. Jane GoodallFamous conservationist presents Roots & Shoots with first ever award

BY VENUS TSE, SENIOR, PUXI CAMPUS AND LUKE WANG, SENIOR, PUDONG CAMPUS

In a packed lecture hall, the SAS Roots & Shoots club (Puxi and Pudong cam-puses) was honored with the Green Star School Award for their work and their

donations to the Million Tree Project. To top off this major honor, given by Shanghai’s Roots & Shoots organization, the award was presented by Dr. Jane Goodall, founder of Roots & Shoots as well as an internationally renowned primatologist and a UN Messen-ger of Peace! The requirements for the award include: each school donating more than 2,000 trees to the project, demonstrating student leader-ship, and extending activities to more than one level of a school. SAS Roots & Shoots surpassed the expectations by donating more than 25,000 trees, along with more than 10 projects. During the ceremony, which included students from 29 international schools at the Shanghai Academy of Arts and Sciences lecture hall, Goodall encouraged students to continue their environmental impact on the world. She talked about China’s environment and the role young adults play in it. She stressed: “It’s not too late to make a change.” Goodall inspired SAS students to continue their hard work and make a positive change for humanity, our ecosystem, and animals. Goodall, who spent 45 years study-ing chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania, also shared her life’s work with students and told them stories of how chimpanzees compare to and differ from humans. We learned quite a bit from Goodall. She motivated us to make a difference and to continue our environmental role in the SAS international community.

The Shanghai community can hear more about Goodall’s passion for conservation

in an article in the May edition of Shanghai Family. The president of the Puxi Campus

Roots & Shoots, Venus Tse, was nominated to interview Goodall and co-author an article

for the teen issue.

Pudong and Puxi students from Roots & Shoots accept the Green Star School Award from UN Peace Messenger, Jane Goodall, for their work and donations to the Million Tree project.

PHOTO BY COKE SMITH

PHOTO BY CHULI ROULES


Top: Kendrick Tan, grade 8, tends to his vegetable garden on the Puxi campus. He has grown pumpkins, radishes, corn, and Chinese veg-etables. Above: Tan brought the vegetables from his garden to a nearby senior home in Huacao town. The residents were very appreciative of his gift!

PHOTOS BY STEVEN LANE

Kendrick’s garden A science project that's giving back locally

BY BRIAN LI, GRADE 8 PUXI, CAMPUS

On the patch of soil between the middle school music rooms and the gym, there is a lush new garden filled with a variety of vegetables. Growing and adding color to

the SAS Puxi campus, the garden is also helping with the school’s initiative to go green. In September, Kendrick Tan, grade 8, began planting with the help of the SAS gardeners. Mrs. Ruby Hundley, grade 8 science teacher, initiated this project to communicate a message of eco-friendliness and compassion. The garden project resulted from a science ecology experi-ment grade 8 students were designing in class. The students had control over what they wanted to do, including what they wanted to plant. Kendrick chose to plant pumpkins, and soon, with his new found gardening prowess, the pumpkins thrived and needed a bigger space. Gardeners Zhang Jian Wei (张建伟) and Wan Ke Qing (万克勤) helped in transferring the plants. From there the small pumpkin idea expanded into a vegetable garden. Aside from pumpkins, Kendrick planted radishes, corn, and other Chinese vegetables. Soon, the garden flourished from a simple experiment into an example of how SAS students were taking the environmental sustainability issue into their own hands. Students are developing a global-minded perspective on the world’s problems, and the global warming issue is very much at the forefront of this perspective. Kendrick wants to encourage other students and adults to work towards a solution and to contribute by making a small garden, spreading the theme of eco-friendliness. Aside from the theme of caring for our world, the garden serves another purpose. After a few weeks, when some of the plants were ready to be harvested, Kendrick decided to take the project an-other step further and used it to deliver a message of compassion. He took his harvest to the local senior home in the Huacao Town area. It was a gift that was greatly appreciated by the residents. “The look on the faces of the seniors when I gave them my gift made the whole project and experience worth it,” Kendrick said. SAS is becoming deeply involved in the worldwide issue of environmental sustainability, tackling the problem with several green initiatives to preserve the environment and create a bet-ter future for the world. With something as simple as planting a garden, Kendrick has defined what it means in our school to be global-minded and compassionate, spreading to everyone in the community the importance of going green. As SAS’s core values state: acts of compassion and generosity of spirit create a better world; and as global citizens we have a duty to care for the earth and its inhabitants to ensure the well being of humankind.

“The message I am trying to spread with my garden is one of compassion and concern for the environment. I hope this will get people motivated to the cause of saving our planet.” – Kendrick Tan, grade 8, Puxi campus


One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” If treasure translates to knowledge, then the old saying

certainly has proved itself true during the 8th grade Solid Waste Inventory Project (SWI) on the Puxi campus. After completing the “Are you threat-ened?” presentations about endangered species, 8th grade students recognized that humans have had a tremendously negative impact on their own environment and, consequently, on the species that inhabit it. However, what we didn’t realize is how big an impact we ourselves, the 8th graders of SAS, have had on our own surroundings. Through our production of waste, we do contribute to the destruction of habitats and the pollution of our environment — much more than we’d prefer to admit. At the beginning of the SWI, we were each provided with a huge black garbage bag. Our job over the next seven days was to bring in our own trash. Our trash meant only our portion, not the garbage that our families and friends produce. Plastic bottles, cans, cleaned food containers, even food that was left uneaten and fruit peels — all of this is our trash. In the 8th grade corridor, scales and boxes of recycled paper were set up. Every morning, students brought in their wasted food items and the scraps were weighed. Rather than keeping items like an apple core or a banana peel,

Students bring their garbage to school A science lesson about the environment and the waste we accumulate

BY ANGELA XIAO, GRADE 8, PUXI CAMPUS

the food was replaced with an equivalent weight of recycled paper to show the waste it created. It was a burden! As the week pro-gressed, students began seeing their trash bags grow bigger and heavier with garbage. “This was such an authentic learning experience for students to recognize their contribution to the world’s trash and its impact on our ecosystems,” said Brian Hall, grade 8 science teacher. When we carelessly throw out some-thing, we aren’t thinking about where it will end up — landfills. What are now places for our trash used to be a habitat for animals. It really put the environment into perspective. After a week of collecting, we spent a day getting personal with our trash. Each student had to pick up his or her bags and carry it around with them to classes. Catherine Xu, grade 8, said, “It felt like a burden to carry my trash bag everywhere.” “What better way for us to really feel the full weight of our trash responsibility, then to carry it around,” said Mrs. Ruby Sivasothy Hundley, grade 8 science teacher. Rui Daniel, student, agreed. “It made me realize how much trash I was producing. It really made me reduce the amount of trash that I produce because I was the real bad guy, that I could make a difference.” Finally, students then sorted and weighed each category of trash to deter-

mine which type of trash we create most. Shocked at just how much we each made and in particular which category of trash was the greatest, we were charged with each creating our own personalized plan of action to reduce, reuse, or recycle our waste. The plans will be hanging in the main entrance of the middle school. All of that trash really turned out to be a lesson learned — think before we waste.

PHOTOS BY ANDY MARKS

Top: Grade 8 students on the Puxi campus carried trash bags from class to class as part of a school project about waste.

Above: Christopher Feng throws the foot-ball during PE while carrying his trash.


An opportunity to virtually debate a school half a world away about the environment — I was definitely in-

terested. The CISCO Telepresence: Global Perspectives in Science conference was a chance to talk about our carbon footprints. It was also a way for me to come up with feasible and creative solutions in solving global issues. I was ready for the challenge and a debate, but it would come with a lot of work. For weeks, students dove into research-ing about carbon emissions, along with the merits and problems of China’s environ-mental policies. Students skimmed thesis reports, read over graphs and statistics, and researched on the Internet. “I learned that research has to go deeper than a few key words in Google,” shared participant Jillian Kuo. Each student was part of one of six groups: Chinese citizen environmental activists, the Chinese economic advisory team, a Chinese coal company, the science advisory team, the United Nations advisory panel, and the Chinese environmental regulatory agency. Finally, the day had come for us to put our hard work to the test. We got off the bus in our formal attire; clipboards hugged to our chests, and exchanged nervous smiles. I could see the anticipation. We squeezed into the elevator and went up to

A debate around the globe Students tackle the world’s environmental issues virtually

BY HANNA KIM, GRADE 8, PUDONG CAMPUS

the 25th floor. We cautiously entered the Peony Room, and saw a large screen facing two long, curved desks with black leather chairs placed behind them. After some quick rehearsals, we arranged our placards in front of our clasped hands, and sud-denly, the lights came on and we saw Mrs. Paul from CISCO on the screen. I realized how amazing technology has gotten: the high quality of the video, the audio that came from the direction of the person speaking, the real-time footage — it really felt like the US team was physically in front of us. We exchanged our Me-In-A-Minutes, an “artifact,” which was a short speech describing our passions. We read our position statements. And finally, it was time for the debate. Students were timid at first, but as time went by we eased into the rhythm of inter-posing between questions and answers, and soon enough, we were finding it hard to get a word in. “During the event, I saw so many nervous people voice their thoughts, ask detailed questions, and answer difficult, pressing questions,” said student, Terence Li. As the debate wrapped up, SAS ambas-sadors said their closing statements and made time for some off-topic questions. We were asked if we had Xboxes in China, we responded by asking if they knew the virally popular hit “Gangnam Style.” One

student from the US turned the song on his iPhone, and we all started dancing to the all too familiar tune. The Telepresence ended with a virtual high-five. Not only did the CISCO Telepresence help me gain a more global insight into the complexities of our world’s environment, it also instilled a greater passion for learning about the world and myself. Other students agreed. Mimi Lee, a CISCO participant, reflected, “To summarize, CISCO empowered every aspect of learning, and will remain as a lifelong experience for me. Cooperation, preparation, and interactions were the most valuable lessons I have learned.” Personally, I think the Telepresence was a valuable opportunity for me to apply my newfound knowledge in a real-life situation. I felt like I was part of something global and incredible, and that I could actually contribute to my community, society or even the world. “...[the Telepresence] also showed me that hard work and research always leads to a good outcome,” Li said. “It taught me how to stand up for myself.” I felt I grew personally and academi-cally during this journey. I realized that I have the power to live my dreams, but only if I have the courage and commitment.

PHOTO BY STEPHEN CAROZZA


A mountain of trash became the in-spiration for the arts. SAS students were put to the test during a four-

day trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, with the International Schools Theater Association, or ISTA. The theme of ISTA was “The Moun-tain,” which is the large pile of garbage in Jakarta — so large that it forms peaks and valleys like a real mountain. We learned about the trash issue through workshops during our trip. On the first day, we were put into groups to learn about cultural dancing and puppetry. What most of us found really interesting was the puppetry workshop. We learned about bringing characters to life. Our workshop leader was able to make sounds using different breathing patterns and by moving paper. The best part: We all got to try it out ourselves! In another workshop, a speaker from XS, an organization that helps recycle waste, talked about how they are trying to make a difference. They have a unique concept: The XS project helps take trash and turn it into artwork. Their motto: “trash transformed, lives changed!” Some of the things they did were turn wrappers

‘The Mountain’ Theater trip teaches students about Jakarta’s mounting trash problem

BY RACHAEL CHANG, GRADE 7, PUXI CAMPUS

into pretty bags. A designer inspired this specific project after making costumes from garbage. People who pick up trash were paid for each kilogram they brought in. This not only helped the environment, but also gave locals jobs. After days of learning about the trash issue, we put in all our effort to make a theatrical performance. We did it in just four days! The performance was based on the idea of too much waste. At the start a farmer said, “The pile of trash almost blocks out the sun.” We

worked in ensembles and on the last two days we rehearsed to make things perfect and for the smooth transitions for our night show. The performance was amazing. Thanks for our student tech group that managed our shows lights and sounds our show became a true artwork. We learned how to sing a new song called “Big City Life.” Our teamwork turned out to become an astounding performance. ISTA was a fun, memorable event for all of us. And now we know that art can come from almost anywhere.

Students Gabriel Lee (left) and Yi Fei Cheng (right) wait to watch a performance at ISTA.Top of page: Students from the International Schools Theater Association, ISTA, gather in Jakarta to learn about art and the environment.

PHOTOS BY JUANITA MCGARRIGLE


school library during their lunch hour as a part of a new GIFTS program, “Reading Buddy.” Students kicked off the program with Mrs. Elaine Voge’s 1st grade class. The 1st graders loved having high school students read some of their favorite books. It was also a fun and rewarding experience for the high school students. “I thought it was a good experience. It teaches kids that if we love reading they will too,” shared Jackson, a high school sophomore involved in the program. The group had a similar experience with Mrs. Christal Nicolai’s 1st grade class. They also read books with the children and had a lot of fun spreading the joy of reading. GIFTS will continue the program throughout the school year doing monthly “Reading Buddy” sessions. The club will also have fundraisers, along with a Read-A-Thon. “It is important to spread the message of GIFTS, the love of reading, among the youth in our school,” said the vice presi-dent of the group, Yuna Jo. The adventure has just begun and we look forward to sharing special moments with the Pudong 1st graders.

‘Reading Buddy’ program brings students togetherGIFTS club creates new project to promote literacy

BY NORA MILLAR, SENIOR; EMILY PRAGER, NOEDMARIE SANTANA, GIFTS ADVISORS, PUDONG CAMPUS

Using literacy to eliminate poverty is the goal of the Giving Individu-als a Future to Succeed, or GIFTS

club. This year the high school club has partnered with the elementary school to

raise awareness of illiteracy and to promote the love of reading with the young Eagles at our school. At the beginning of the school year 15 high school students went to the elementary

Nora Millar and Jessica Zhang read to a young student during the GIFTS program. Top of the page: Reading buddies, Darran Abkanar and Christian Zakhem read Dr. Seuss’ The Foot Book to younger students.

PHOTOS BY YUNA JO


I thought to myself: ‘What are you doing with that silly, give it back!’ Finally, with a little tug I was able to get the bag back from the cat. Then, I walked back up to the meeting area. “What ya got?” My friend said nudging me in the shoulder. I had the bag in my hand, but I could not find the woman who gave the speech. Worry seared through me as I searched the crowd and edges of the slope. How could I give her the bag if she wasn’t there? This was my last day! I found the woman. Finally, I found her and gave her the bag. Inside it she took out clothing for the children. She pulled out several pencils and began smiling while fighting back tears. She began to cry. Erasers, sharpeners, supply after supply. She leaned towards me and hugged me, and thanking me. As the night drew on, a sudden flow of pride washed over me. I realized I am for-tunate to be able to learn and to help the woman. A burst of wind rushed into the room making the room cold, but I could barely feel it. The warmth of helping kept me safe. I wondered what the younger girls might learn someday when the lady started her school. And then I fell asleep.

The breeze stung my cheeks as I pulled my jacket over my body and walked up the slope with

my friends. All of the Tibetan villagers gathered around in a circle. And the leader began to speak. I blinked in surprise as my friend tapped me on the shoulder. “What is it?” I asked. “Right now a Tibetan woman is step-ping up,” he said pointing her out. “Um, cool. Can you translate exactly what she says?” And it began. And the lady stepped up. She was wearing a dirty dress covered in layers of mud so thick I could barely see her skirt. Her nails were dirty and her hair was tied back into a long braid. Despite her appearance, she had a spark in her eyes, something that caught my attention. She stepped up nervously, and began to speak. “Back in the olden days, women had to be mothers and maids. The men, on the other hand, would go to school and find a job to work with. But the woman? No. None of us cared about learning. Why should we? The girls would never get a job to involve reading and writing. Just taking care of the house. Like us girls were as helpless as ants.” She went on, “Even when I was young, I didn’t mind too much either. Why bother if our future doesn’t have to do with reading and writing? Anyways, the men would get a job, buy the food and soon, I realized it was completely

A Trip of Value A trip to Tibet changes student’s perspective on the world

BY JADE DICKEY, GRADE 5, PUDONG CAMPUS

unfair! Why must only the women have to do all the work at home and never get a job? Why could not we be educated? And I found out. Nobody cared if a woman got a job, and nobody wanted it to happen.” But it was the resilience of the girls that made her believe. “And this, this touched my heart,” she said as I saw her wipe away a tear. “How the girls would never be able to read and write. So I taught myself. And now, I am planning to start a school, to teach young girls to read and write and do everything a man can do. And also get a good job. But since I don’t have a job,” she cried harder now, “I don’t have enough money or materials to begin this school. And I would appreciate it for materials. But I want to prove that girls can be as educated as men.” I burst into tears thinking about the times I refused to do my work, and here are millions of girls who cannot. And they are raised to not care or value teaching. It was unfair. I wiped away the tears and ran down hill into my friend’s house and ripped open my luggage. Where was it? Where was the bag? I searched around everywhere in my luggage. I turned around and saw the cat with the bag, in her mouth. “Meow. Meow!” She tossed the bag across the sidewalk chasing it and holding it in her jaws. She playfully hit it around and began to tear at the rope.

Top (left to right): The only educated woman in the village is on a mission to teach others how to read and write. A group of Tibetan women and children relax in the shade. During this trip, Jade Dickey, SAS student, was inspired to help the villagers.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY JADE DICKEY


Empowering middle school students to take on a leadership role in our school and to promote the use of

our library is the concept behind the “Li-brary Page” program. Barbara Boyer, now the middle school librarian, started this program several years ago. In my new role as elementary librarian, I was excited to give the library pages ownership of a fundraising opportunity on October 23, when they prepared a wonderful international luncheon for the elementary staff. The event brought together several activities in the school that week. Visiting author Anne Sibley O’Brien presented to our students. We also were celebrating

United Nations Day. And to top it all off, we were raising money for a campaign called Eat So They Can, an initiative of the Global Volunteer Network, which provides people around the world with an inspiring way to host a dinner party to help end hunger and malnutrition around the world. During the day, we hosted our “dinner party,” an international luncheon provided by the Pages and their parents. It was held in our beautiful library, complete with poetry from students reading the work they’d performed in their Chinese depart-ment, 3rd grade recorder students playing from Mrs. Wild’s class, and amazing pia-nists entertaining us from Mr. McCuaig’s students.

We also had a wonderful collabora-tive mural on display with the help of 5th grade artists and organized by Mrs. Loftus and Mrs. Iqbal. We put it together with the help of Mrs. Hosssack’s photography skills and coordination. See the video of the “mural in the making” on the Eagle Online under this story. I was so proud of the way our library pages welcomed the teachers, asked for their donation, introduced themselves and showed the staff the offerings of the buffet while leading them to their seats. Our teachers were entertained, well fed and looked after as they contributed to a greater cause; let’s do it again some time.

Library Pages fundraiser brings people togetherBY KIMBRA POWER, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LIBRARIAN, PUDONG CAMPUS

Top: A group of 5th graders paint a mural for the “Library Page” program.

Left: Playing their own tunes, a group of 3rd graders bring music to the library.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY KIMBRA POWER

Go to www.eagleonline.org to view the video of the “mural in the making.”


Stay warm in style with an SAS tracksuit, RMB 200 for the jacket and RMB 150 for the pants. On sale, especially for the holidays — silk SAS neckties; They are a classic for dads. Get him red and blue, RMB 100 each.

Surprise Grandma with a new knitting bag, RMB 100. Every Grandpa loves a new hat, RMB 50. Get the golfer in your life a sporty new golf shirt, RMB 75.

Flannel pajama pants for cold Christmas morning, RMB 100. The stadium blanket/pillow is perfect for movie night, RMB 200. Deck the halls with Centennial ornaments, RMB 120 and RMB 140 (with the stand).

Holiday Shopping GuideFrom the Eagle Shop


Stop by the Puxi campus shop and take home one of four different nutcrackers this year, RMB 80.

The fleece vest is a perfect solution for chilly Shanghai weather, RMB 200. Don’t forget to stuff stockings with plush Eaglets for RMB 50.

Prepare a non-traditional recipe for Christmas dinner from the Centennial Cookbook on sale now. Don’t forget to trim the tree with nutcracker ornaments, RMB 100 for a set of 4 or RMB 30 each.

Every cake baker, grill master, and taste tester needs one of these awesome new aprons for RMB 120!

Eagle ShopsPuxi: ext. 2590

Pudong: ext. 3418 Call ahead about

available sizes and shop hours.

RMB 50RMB 150


The comforTs of home The holidays are approaching, and all of us have different

plans. Some of us are planning to stay in Shanghai for well-deserved relaxation. Others are planning to sightsee

and explore other countries. And, there are those of us who are returning to our home countries to see old friends, visit familiar locations, and buy all the things we are unable to find in China. Not being able to buy all the products available at home can really be irritating at times. It’s very annoying to realize that you can’t just stroll into the nearest grocery store and buy a pack of PopTarts anymore. Or maybe you can, except it’s six times the usual price. And since no one wants to pay six dollars for a single Pop-tart, the only option is to fly back to your home country, go on massive shopping sprees, and stuff a suitcase (or two) full of enough goodies to last until the next break. So what do people like to bring back to China? SAS students and teachers step forward with their answers: “Our favorite (to bring back) is probably Marmite. You can get Marmite at some shops here, but it’s extremely expensive, at least

three to four times more. It costs us 80 kuai for something that normally would cost us 4 New Zealand dollars (roughly 20.5 kuai). And they sell them in smaller jars here, too.”

— Mr. Mangous, HS math teacher

“There aren’t a lot of stationery shops here, so I buy a bunch of pencils, pens, rulers, and writing supplies in Korea and bring it back.” — Ye Lim Yeoum, 9th grader

“Maple syrup. Chinese maple syrup is weird. I’m Canadian. I need legit Canadian maple syrup.” — Rachel White, 10th grader

“I always go back to Thailand and bring back curry paste. It’s from my hometown and it’s better than the ones here. The ones they sell here aren’t spicy enough. I bring back about one kilogram of each kind, total of about five kilograms. I put it in a freezer and it lasts for the whole year.”

— Mrs. Sukjaroen, Flex teacher

What students, teachers, and staff like to bring back to China

BY SAMANTHA XIAO, GRADE 9, PUDONG CAMPUS


The comforTs of home “Video games. I have a Canadian XBox so it can only play Canadian video games. I usually bring back four games every year.” — Max Modien, 9th grader

“Dishwashing detergent. Here they sell it in such small quantities, so it’s cheaper to buy the big boxes in the US. I save up to $9 a box. Each box is six pounds, and we usually bring back four boxes. That’s thirty-six pounds, but we save fifty to a hundred dollars.” — Ms. Boyer, MS librarian

“I bring back video games. Some video games you can’t get here, and sometimes they aren’t as good quality. In America you can get all the newly released games. I have American consoles too, so sometimes Chinese games don’t work or cause glitches.”

— Samantha Ang, 9th grader

“TOMS shoes. TOMS started a movement where for every pair of shoes you purchase, they give a pair of shoes to a shoeless

child in a developing country. I can only find fake ones here, so I like to buy real TOMS because aside from wearing comfortable shoes, you’re also helping a child in need.”

— Ms. Punzalan, AP Computer Science and Digital Film Making teacher

“Double-stuffed Oreos, Cracklin Oat Bran cereal, and white chocolate chips for baking cookies. I can’t buy any of those here.”

— Jason Konold, 10th grader

No matter what you decide to stuff into your suitcase and haul back to China, the holiday season is a time where we have a chance to indulge in and enjoy the familiar comforts of home. Happy holidays and hopefully everyone will have a chance to relax and stock up on all the things they need!

PHOTO BY ALLISON MA


Be on the nice list 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened 3/4 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 11/2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt Cooking spray or extra butter, for greasing cooking sheet

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. or 180 C. Grease your cookie sheet with cooking spray or butter. I prefer to line the pans with baking paper since it does not add ex-tra calories and makes clean up much easier. I cut up the paper when I am finished baking, and use it to put between each layer of cookies.

• Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy. (A hand or standing mixer is easiest but you can mix by hand. Mix well!) Add the egg and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix again.

• In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Bit by bit, add the flour mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture and mix until smooth. Pat the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap or waxed paper. Put the dough in the freezer for about 15 minutes. If you double the recipe, put into dough balls or disks.

• Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is half as thin as your cookie cutters (about 1/4 inch thick). Use any cookie cutter depending on the occasion. Decorate with sprinkles at this point.

• Bake the cookies for about 10 to 12 minutes (I actually bake mine for about 8 minutes). Watch them as every oven is a bit different.

Let cookies cool. If you wish to decorate using icing, do so when cookies have cooled.

糖饼干

1/2 杯黄油或人造黄油，软化的3/4 杯白糖1 个鸡蛋1 茶匙香草汁1 1/2 杯普通面粉1/2 茶匙速发粉1/4 茶匙盐烹饪喷雾，或额外的黄油用于涂抹烹饪盘

y 烤箱预热至350F或180C。 y 用烹饪喷雾或黄油涂抹烹饪盘。我宁愿铺上烘焙纸，因为它不增加额外的热

量，更容易清洁。当我完成烘焙后，我把烘焙纸切割开，铺在每层饼干之间。 y 混合搅拌黄油和糖直到乳化。在黄油和糖的混合物中加入鸡蛋和香草汁，继续

搅拌混合。 y 在另一个碗里，把筛过的面粉，速发粉，和盐混合在一起。一点点把面粉混合

物加入黄油混合物，混合搅拌至平滑。 y 把生面团揉成一个球，并用保鲜膜或蜡纸包裹，冷藏15分钟。如果你用了双份

的材料，就做成两个面团。 y 在一个撒过面粉的平面上揉面团，直到它的厚度是饼干道具的一半（大约1/4

英寸厚）。根据场合的需要使用饼干道具。上面撒一些装饰。 y 饼干烘烤10-12分钟（我实际烘烤8分钟）看着它们，因为每个烤箱都有一点不

同。

冷却饼干，如果你想用糖粒装饰，等它冷却后再用。

Sugar Cookies The Chow Family

1 gallon whole milk 1 cup whipping cream 1 quart half and half 1 1/2 cups sugar 8 eggs 1 tablespoon nutmeg 5 tablespoons vanilla 2 tablespoons rum extract 2 teaspoons brandy extract

• Separate egg yolks from whites; save the whites.

• Combine milk, egg yolks, sugar, nutmeg, vanilla, rum extract, and brandy extract in a two-gallon punch bowl. Mix well.

• Beat egg whites to stilt peaks and fold in additional nutmeg. Whip the cream with additional vanilla and sugar to taste. Place a large spoonful of whipping cream (cream floats) into punch bowl in a decorative fashion.

Serve and enjoy!

杀手蛋酒

1 加仑全脂牛奶1 杯鲜奶油1 夸脱各半（一品脱全脂牛奶 + 一品脱奶油）1 1/2 杯白糖8 个鸡蛋1 汤匙肉豆蔻1 汤匙香草1 汤匙朗姆酒精2 茶匙白兰地精

y 分离蛋黄与蛋白，保存蛋白 y 混合牛奶，蛋黄，糖，肉豆蔻, 香

草，朗姆酒精，白兰地精成两加仑的玻璃碗。拌匀。

y 打蛋白弄结实和加一点点肉豆蔻。调味：打奶油，加香草和糖在奶油里。把几个大汤匙的鲜奶油放进玻璃碗。

Killer Eggnog The Okamoto Family, USA

Parents, kids, and ayis can make Santa something great with these delicious recipes.

*All recipes are in English and Mandarin in the Centennial cookbook, which can be purchased at the Eagle shops on both Pudong and Puxi campuses.


GIVe The PerfecT hoLIDAY GIfTThe 3rd Annual Pets of SAS Calendar is on sale now!

Cost: RMB 100Proceeds go to Jaiya’s Animal Rescue

Pick yours up at Santa's Workshop or write to [email protected] to place your order (specify amount, child's name, and delivery destination).

every year we sell out... so don't miss out!

Santa's Workshop is coming to townTuesday, December 4–Friday, December 7

8:30 a.m.–2:45 p.m.High school office area 1F hallway (runs along side the pool) & 2F gym area

Pudong campus

Elementary students will be able to shop on either Tuesday, December 4 or Wednesday, December 5.

Santa's Workshop is a holiday store that provides a fun way for students to buy gifts for those on their “nice” lists. No gift costs more than RMB 50! All gifts come home wrapped, tagged, and ready to be placed under the tree.

Volunteers needed:Please contact Chris Lomason at [email protected].

For more details: teachers.saschina.org/pudongptsa


were selected as the gift since they are practical and convenient. The Chung Yeung Festival, also known as the Double Ninth Festival, takes place on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which cor-responds to October 23 in 2012. Nine is a yang number. Since nine is the largest odd digit, this date is now looked upon as a day to pay respects by visiting the graves of family members. The Chung Yeung Festival has been declared as China’s day for seniors.

SAS-sponsored Jacaranda student gets royal honorJohn Samson meets the Queen of England after winning essay competition

BY KATHY VITALE, EAGLE, MANAGING EDITOR

Twelve year old John Samson, a SAS-sponsored Jacaranda student met the Queen of England in London on

November 14th. John won the junior prize in the 2012 Royal Commonwealth Society Essay Competition for his story, “The Day I Wore My Best Clothes.” “I talk about my first school uniform and the day I found out that the school (Jacaranda Primary and Secondary School for the Orphans) accepted me for free. In my country, Malawi, it is very difficult to go to school when you are an orphan and when you are poor,” John shared. His entry was chosen out of more than 8,500 entries from countries such as Canada, India, South Africa, Australia, Nigeria, and 54 other member countries of the former British Commonwealth. During his time in London, John gave the Queen a tablet featuring his essay. He even helped her out with the technology too! The founder and president for the Jacaranda school Maria Da Silvia said, “John made us all very, very proud today. Congratulations!”

Read “The Day I Wore My Best Clothes” by John Samson on the Eagle Online: www.eagleonline.org

John Samson presented Queen Elizabeth with a tablet containing his prize-winning essay at a ceremony in London.

PHOTO BY ©CAPSOOL/JOE GARDNER

Community Service Club donates time and towels to local seniorsBY JAY KO, SENIOR, PUXI CAMPUS

A Chinese festival to honor deceased loved ones has turned into a way of giving for the SAS Puxi Com-

munity Service club. In celebration of the Chung Yeung Festival, the group donated 330 towels to 320 seniors at the Huacao Town Retirement Center on October 18. More than 20 students met with and handed out towels one by one to the retirees. “[The elders] appreciated our donation very much,” said Community Service vice president junior Chul Ou Lee. “I think what community service is doing good for them. It is really making an impact on both the students and the elders.” Towels PHOTO BY JAY KO


Operation HOPE volunteers bring joy to Shanghai orphanageStudents make a difference and encourage others to do the same

BY SYDNEY LIU, OPERATION HOPE STUDENT VOLUNTEER, PUDONG CAMPUS

Happy faces. Beaming smiles. As the volunteers enter the orphanage room, each child’s face lights up with joy. This visit is what the children have been looking

forward to each month. “Operation HOPE is changing lives with life-changing expe-riences,” said Kate Vogel, grade 9. For the next hour, Operation HOPE volunteers play with the eager kids and help them let loose and have a lot of fun. With Operation HOPE, the kids have the opportunity to learn. Twice a month, students from SAS Pudong’s Operation HOPE service club visit the orphans at the Hui Xin Orphanage in Shanghai. All of the children have either physical or mental disabilities and have been at the orphanage for most of their lives. The children range from 10 months old to 10 years old. These children may never be adopted because of their disabilities, but we believe that they are not broken. During the visits, the student volunteers teach the children common knowledge and give them a chance to adapt to society. “It inspires me greatly to know that even the tiniest gestures we make will bring a brighter future for the orphans,” said Carolyn Chen, grade 9. At the orphanage, each volunteer is paired up with a child

and is assigned to give special care to their “buddy.” Throughout the hour, the students and children get time to bond, and genu-inely enjoy the time spent with each other. The activities taught to the children range from vocabulary to playing “Ring around the Rosie.” Sometimes students take the kids to the playground. At the end of the visit, kids are running around, volunteers are chasing after them, and smiles are everywhere. For many Opera-

tion HOPE volunteers, seeing the children’s giggling faces makes their day. Being with their buddy makes them happy to have ac-complished the goal of Operation HOPE. The members of Operation HOPE believe that the children can be educated and live a successful life. The organization is dedicated to ensuring that volunteers brighten the lives of the children in this orphanage. Operation HOPE is committed to spreading awareness and raising funds to support these children. During visits, there are opportunities for parents to visit the orphanage with the students as a guardian, or a proctor. In addition, periodic bake sales are held and always welcome support from families. Operation HOPE is a new club and any volunteers help immensely.

Email [email protected] with any questions and for any further information.

Left: A boy from the Hui Xin Orphanage laughs and smiles while playing with Operation HOPE volunteer Michael Grenon.

Right: Melisa Seah, volunteer, is all grins carrying a little girl during her visit.

PHOTOS BY SYDNEY LIU


Passion, time, and effort were visible on stage at a Chinese poetry contest in October. Several international schools in Shanghai participated in

the Shanghai Education Committee’s (SEC) October 18th event at the Jincai Middle School. The SAS Elementary School, Pudong campus, had 26 students ranging from 3rd to 5th grades presenting various styles of poetry: ancient to recent. Students also had the opportunity to learn about the stories of Chinese history and culture rather than just reciting the lines. We consider this contest a challenge, but also an experience to enjoy, appreciate, and pursue host country culture and language learning. We could never make this happen successfully alone. From parents to homeroom teachers, from principals to staff, we always got the understanding and support we needed for this event. Thank you for our big family. We did it!

诗词朗诵大赛中的中国文化学习Translated by Ruby Xu

Elementary Chinese Teacher assistant, Pudong campus

中国诗词朗诵大赛的舞台上展现了大家热情投入比赛准备的时间与精力。10月18日，数所国际学校参与了上海市教育委员会于进才中学举办的这项活动。浦东小学部三年级至五年级共26名学生上台朗诵了古今各种诗体。同学们不仅仅背诵诗词，也藉此活动学习了中国历史文化。这次比赛既是挑战也是感受中国悠久文化和中文学习的良好契机。没有家长，老师，校长乃至后勤的支持和理解我们不可能顺利参与此次比赛。感谢美国学校这个大家庭，同学们在大赛中展现了风采！

Poetry contest teaches students about ChinaBY CATHY WENG, ELEMENTARY CHINESE TEACHER, PUXI CAMPUS

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CATHY WENG

Bottom left: Students Warren and Ethan recite their poetry during the SEC contest. Bottom middle: Reading together, Jade, Anna, Kalen, Adrienne, and Maria share poetry with the audience. Bottom right: Young In, who looks the part, reads to spectators.


Think globally, act locally” is a phrase students embraced at the Global Issues Network Singapore,

or GINSING for short. More than 800 student delegates from 50 international schools across Asia met to discuss and debate global issues November 9–11. They also heard from inspirational speakers who helped motivate students to “act.” “It was interesting to see so many people from other international schools. GINSING was also a great opportunity to share ideas for these issues, and I was able to get ideas for helping society,” SAS Puxi middle school delegate Annie Yang explained. The range of global issues that were discussed at GINSING included animal and child rights, deforestation, climate change, water scarcity, sustainability, and many more. “It’s a great experience that everyone should get the chance to have,” 8th grader Nick Jaccaci commented. “GINSING re-ally changes your view of the world.” The speakers are what the students remembered the most. One of the most inspiring was Rob Dyer, who skateboarded across treacherous terrain in several dif-ferent countries — including the US, Canada, and Australia — in order to improve cancer awareness. Dyer had lost a loved one to the disease. He has raised

Time to act, time to change Students get motivated to talk about global issues

BY ETHAN TEO, GRADE 8, PUXI CAMPUS

nearly $1 million USD with the organiza-tion he founded, Skate4Cancer. It was a message from Dyer and a ma-gician, Scott Hammell, who really put the world into perspective for the delegates. Hammell broke the world record for escap-ing a straightjacket upside down 7,200 feet above the ground. He shared this message: “To escape a straightjacket seems impossible, but all you have to do is to do everything step by step.” Hammell did not want delegates to try crazy stunts, but to learn a valuable lesson: No matter what the situation, you do not have to be a prisoner, but be someone who can make a difference and come up with a solution. He stressed that people need to be “change makers.” “The people who made the conference so inspirational were the passionate speak-ers who devoted their time and hard work to make the world a better place, even if others don’t notice their good deeds,” explained student Candace Wang. Jason Lee, another 8th grader, agreed: “It was a very inspirational conference and I learned a lot from the speakers and the workshops.” This is something that GINSING strives to teach. It is not only to discuss issues, but also to take the initiative. It’s about leaving an impact on the world, whether or not someone is suspended 7,200 feet upside down.

Overall, students and teachers had a good experience. Grade 8 social stud-ies teacher Mr. Tom Musk said, “This conference was one of the best organized conference I’ve ever experienced. This op-portunity for the students and I to attend the conference was very valuable.” “It was a great experience and it really taught me that every person can make a difference, no matter how small or young they are,” added Tomi McGuire. I also took away something from GINSING: If we care about the world and its future but do nothing to initiate action, then who will? If not now, then when? Start small and don’t do it alone; share your passion. If you can dream it, you can achieve it; it can be done. So why not make a difference? Remember that while the issues may be global, the choice to do something about it is personal. It’s time to act. It’s time to change.

PHOTOS BY TOM MUSK

Top (left to right): Annie Yang, Candace Wang, Ethan Teo, Tomi McGuire, Jason Lee, and Nick Jaccaci sport their GINSING T-shirts (Global Issues Network Singapore).

View more photos and story about this article on the Eagle Online: www.eagleonline.org

PHOTO BY TOM MUSK


For eight hours and 35 minutes,165 students debated at the Shanghai American School Middle Years

Model United Nations conference — SHASMUN I — at SAS Pudong in late October. The three-day event focused on introducing happiness into discussions of what makes a nation successful. The theme was inspired by the United Nations (UN) Happiness Project, which first placed happiness on the global agenda and viewed it as a defining aspect and an important measurement of success for a country. SAS’s SHASMUN delegates moti-vated to look at the world from a different perspective. Throughout the three days of intense lobbying, merging of resolutions, and debate, delegates viewed the pursuit of happiness, not wealth or GDP, as an ulti-mate goal in debate, creating much more fruitful and effective resolutions. Mr. Douglas Parker, MUN director, said he was “incredibly impressed with the work students put into the conference as chairs, delegates, secretariat, and adminis-tration staff.” He commented afterwards that he hoped “this conference might in some small way contribute to a paradigm shift, that students may begin to think of the success of a country in terms, not of

The true wealth of a nation: happiness SAS’s MUN debates about a feeling versus a country’s bottom line

BY ALLISON FU, GRADE 10, PUDONG CAMPUS

economics, but in terms of national happi-ness.” SHASMUN I achieved just that, instilling in delegates a more open-minded attitude towards the role happiness can play in solving global issues. Ultimately, the conference helped bring out the indi-vidual voice of each student. Albert Shyong, grade 8 delegate to the security council, reiterated Mahatma Gandhi’s quote: “We must be the change we want to see in the world.” SHASMUN I was both intellectually demanding and stimulating for students, who role-played as diplomats representing an assigned nation, debating and creating solutions to global issues discussed in the real UN. Prior to the conference, delegates were required to do extensive research on their country’s policy and on four issues related to their committee: security, environment, human rights council, or general assembly. During the actual conference, stu-dents merged their written resolutions, and debated, often arguing diplomatically and passionately for their country’s cause. The level of expertise in SHASMUN I was gratifying, considering it was the first MUN experience for many of the del-

egates. The amount of intense, intelligent debate and diplomacy was electrifying. The MUN program at SAS Pudong has been expanding rapidly in both the middle and high school divisions of our school over the past few years. MUN directors Mr. and Mrs. Parker, secretary-general Crystal Lee (senior), chief administrative officer Ivory Loh (junior), and a number of other high school students in the MUN club worked tirelessly to pull off this three-day conference. With nearly 200 middle and high school student participants com-ing from seven local international schools, including our sister campus SAS Puxi, SHASMUN was an undeniable success, a true milestone, and a possible start-ing point for a future international SAS Pudong MUN conference. As secretary-general Crystal Lee said in her closing ceremony speech: “The end of this conference does not mark an end for the delegates’ passion for global issues. I hope that SHASMUN I was a stepping stone for more successes in the future: new friendships, new ideas, and a new love for all the things that the United Nations stands for: peace, prosperity, liberty, and happiness.”

PHOTO BY MIKAS HANSEN


3-2-1 LEGO! Lego League’s robotic club holds first meet, seeks more volunteers

BY BARBARA BOYER, FIRST LEGO LEAGUE ROBOTICS CLUB COACH

Showing off their robots, SAS Pudong’s First Lego League Robotics Club attended their first meet — at

Concordia on Saturday, November 3. It was an amazing learning experience for the 36 students (eight teams) who were all relatively new to programming robots to complete tasks. After seven weeks of meeting after school on Tuesday, these students came ready to learn and left with knowledge, ideas, and a vision for what is possible. Their next opportunity will be on Saturday, February 2, 2013 on the SAS Pudong Campus and the final competition will be held in Hangzhou in April. Many thanks to coaches Kevin David, Shri Chan-dra, Amox Frayco, and Tim Boyer.

What is FIRST LEGO League? According to its website: “FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an exciting alliance between FIRST [the nonprofit group For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology] and the LEGO Group. It’s a robotics program for nine to 14 year olds, which is designed to get children excited about science and technology — and teach them valuable employment and life skills. Teams program an autonomous robot (using a LEGO MINDSTORMS robot

set) to score points on a thematic playing surface, create an innovative solution to a problem as part of their Project, all while guided by the FLL core values (see core values on the Eagle Online).”

Comments from Participants “It’s a learning event, right?” — Alex Liu, Team OP Lego Style“What makes a perfect team?” — Amogh Patil, Team Drabits“Teamwork is more important than winning!” — Sze Huria Chan, Team Tritons

Volunteers Needed!If you are interested in robotics, research, Lego, or engineering, or you like seeing kids achieve, then you are recruited! SAS Pudong will be hosting its first FLL Robot-ics Tournament on Saturday, February 2 from 8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Volunteers are needed. If you are interested in being a part of this event, please email me at [email protected].

PHOTOS BY BARBARA BOYER

Top: Team NXT Generation — Graham Schock, Jonathan Liu, Kevin Yang, Will Boyer, and Alex Martin — take a quick break at the first Lego competition. Left: Daniel Abkenar puts together one of the robots featured at FLL. Right: Amogh Patil and Xing Chen Huang are hard at work trying to figure out the next steps of the competition.


This is going to be the best project ever!” That was the re-sponse from one particular student after I introduced the Independent “SmART Goal” Art project. SMART goals

refer to a type of goal often used in organizations — Specific, Measurable, Artistic, Realistic, Timely — which we used to help students plan for their independent study project. Students were empowered to choose an area of art in which their personal interests lie. They formulated a plan with a spe-cific, measurable, artistic, realistic, and timely goal. They were given guidance, instructional resources, art materials, and two weeks worth of classes to explore, experiment, and create. Project pieces were not formally evaluated; rather, students were responsible for demonstrating the characteristics of a good, effective learner in the areas:

SmART GoalStudents find freedom through projectBY KRISTI THORNBURY, MIDDLE SCHOOL VISUAL ARTS TEACHER, PUDONG CAMPUS

• Activelearningandeffort• Preparationandorganization• Integrityandattitude• Cooperationandcollaboration

Every day, students tracked their progress by taking a photo of their work and recording any changes/modifications they made to their original plan. They finally put together a “process page” that shows how they worked toward their goal, step-by-step. “It was great to have the freedom and responsibility to learn what we wanted to, but nice that Mrs. Thornbury was there to help us when we needed it,” said 7th grader Katherine Juszynski. “I liked the SmART Goals project because there was no limit to what you could do,” shared Abby Clark, grade 6.

PROJECT BY JOANNA WEYRICH


Students take center stageDancing to the beat and playing to their own tunes, SAS musicians, dancers, actors, and actresses have gone as far as Kuala Lumpur to practice their craft. Others have had some of their biggest performances right on our Pudong and Puxi campuses. One thing that holds true with this talented group of students, staff, and teachers — the passion for the arts.

The A

rts

PHOTOS BY JUANITA MCGARRIGLE, CINDY SHIN, SALUS LIANG


With a bang, a poof, and a kaboom, the doors of the cave opened, revealing pots of shimmering gold and other treasures … treasures that belonged to the Caliph ... and all of this from two simple words: “Open sesame!”

Those words had been uttered from the lips of a scrawny young boy from a poor background, with a fez placed crookedly on his mussed black hair. A boy one can only recognize as Ali Baba, the main character of the middle school play, Ali Baba and the Magic Cave. This play was a mystical and deliriously funny production performed by a team of extremely talented actors and actresses from SAS middle school, Puxi campus. The title role was played by Anzi DiBenedetto, who was surrounding by a strong supporting cast including Helen Hutchens as Morgiana, Aggie Pokrzywinski and Julia Meyring as Ali Baba’s mother, Cassandra Mitchell and Marvin Thiele as the leader of the thieves, and Armin Ighani and Ricky Lin as the captain of the guard. The play was set long ago in the Middle East, and it was about a poor boy named Ali Baba who worked with his best friend, Morgiana, to capture a pack of thieves (and their leader) in order to restore justice. The actors and actresses got into character quickly. Ricky Lin, 7th grade, who played the captain, said, “Being in front of such a big crowd did frighten me at first, but in the end I actually enjoyed performing in front of everyone. I felt really free and excited throughout the whole show.” “I also shared the excitement I’m sure the entire cast felt,” said Ali Baba’s mother, Aggie Pokrzywinski, grade 7. “I was nervous before I stepped on the stage, but once I got onto the stage, being in front of the audience calmed me down. Being onstage was the best feeling in the world.” The play also featured, of course, the famous cave, which opened with the words “Open Sesame!” — until the dastardly leader changed them. The opening and clos-ing of the cave was made possible by some ingenious scenery: three-sided rotating columns called periaktos, which could be quickly turned around by the stage crew to show the inside and outside of the cave, as well as other scenes.

Magic comes to life on the Puxi campus Ali Baba and the Magic Cave shines on the stage

BY MACRINA WANG, GRADE 7, PUXI CAMPUS


Magic comes to life on the Puxi campus Ali Baba and the Magic Cave shines on the stage

BY MACRINA WANG, GRADE 7, PUXI CAMPUS

“The sound and light effects when the cave opened set a scary and yet cool atmo-sphere,” said Yichin Tsai, who was in the audience. To achieve the play’s near perfection, the cast and crew put in many weeks of tiring, but ultimately satisfying work. “Like all plays, the cast spent several hours a day rehearsing together,” said Tina Yin, who played one of the thieves. “Eventually we got close to each other. We stuck together and tried to help each other out all the time.” All the cast and crewmembers were required to come for rehearsal during exploratory every Tuesday and Thursday, and it was also mandatory for them to come in after school for approximately two and a half hours every week. “Sometimes it was tiring,” said Pearlie Ngai, a member of the stage crew, “but we had lots of ‘blooper’ moments to keep us entertained.” That hard work paid off because there were also a lot of positive reactions from the audience. “I loved the Badouras. They were hilarious,” laughed Hannah Neri, 7th grader. “It was a great play! My favorite part was when the thieves came out of those olive jars. I also felt that using the periaktos as the scenery was very innovative,” shared Steffi Ong, grade 7. So what was the best part about this play? “I love this play because I love being a part of something. I loved being a part of a community,” said a smiling Emma Bourquin, 6th grade, who played one of Ali Baba’s companions. And, as a member of the stage crew, I am proud to declare that, like the ancient Spar-tans, we did not stop until we made this play the best we possibly can. One thing’s for sure: Ali Baba and the Magic Cave was a play to remember. And on behalf of the cast and crew, I am pleased to announce that the ever-reputable Ms. Juanita McGarrigle did it again! With assistance of the highest quality from assistant director Ms. Deborah Taylor, seamstresses extraordinaire Ms. Emma Hutchens and Ms. Melanie Ryan, chief choreographer Mr. Kirk Irwin, and master set builder Lutz Papenfuss, we were proud to present this production.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY JUANITA MCGARRIGLE


Dance group grows on Pudong campusBY EDNA LAU, GRADE 4 TEACHER, PUDONG CAMPUS

Five years ago, there were 12 high school student danc-ers. As of today, we have 141 student dancers across all divisions. On November 12th and 13th, our dancers

showcased their talents in dancing jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop and even Charleston with our fall performance titled, 5, 6, 7, 8. The performance included many original works choreographed by the directors and the students. The growth of our dance programs would not be possible without the support of our greater SAS community. Thank you!

Pudong dance mission

• SASinspiresinallstudentsthepassionforlifelonglearning. In dance, we are constantly pushing our learning, stepping out of our comfort zone, and being risk takers.

• SASinspiresinallstudentsthecommitmenttoactwithcompassionandintegrity. We are not just performers, we are a group of collaborative, creative dancers, looking out for each other, supporting each other, helping each other grow.

• SASinspiresinallstudentsthecouragetolivetheirdreams. We are on stage. We are dancing. We shine in our own way. That's our dream.

GO PUDONG DANCE!

View more photos on the Eagle Online: www.eagleonline.org


can spend days trying to get a lift down; it is not working, but you still keep trying. You still manage to find a smile even if your muscles are sore. And despite these time consuming three months of back to back practices, you think of all the new friends you’ve made, all the sweat and effort you’ve put in, all the grimaces and winces and “let’s keep going’s,” and can’t help having that big grin creep onto your face. “Come on! We’re starting in 10 minutes!” Turning away from your reflection, you call back, “Coming!” And all that’s in your mind is: I’m so glad I joined dance.

What on earth was I thinking joining after school dance?A dancer’s anxiety leads to happiness

BY LIVIA XIE, GRADE 12, PUDONG CAMPUS

Nerve-wracking. The first day of af-ter school dance is overwhelming. Surrounded by all these talented

dancers and lacking the necessary confi-dence, you feel awkward and out of place. Looking at all of your fellow students, you ask yourself, how could I compare to all this talent and energy? My insecurities mounted, especially when it looked so ef-fortless to the other dancers. But when the music starts you’re lost in a whirlwind from the song to the moves — you try not to stumble and keep up. Drenched in sweat, sore and tired, with a large smile plastered on your face that just won’t fade. And all too soon, the music fades,

and you’re just standing there thinking: Wow. That was fun. I’ve gotta do this again! Fast-forward three months. It’s just before the big performance. Bags piled up, costumes ready, make-up prepared, and students running around. You can’t help but stand there, butterflies fluttering un-controllably in your stomach, hands still at your reflection in the mirror, bright with a nervous energy that makes your eyes glow, and wonder where the time has gone. It was just yesterday when I had spent my afternoons going over choreography again and again until you never want to do it again, but the next day you’re back. You

PHOTOS BY CINDY SHIN & BOB GOULD


PHOTOS BY SALUS LIANG

“I know of one acid test in theatre. When a performance is over, what remains? When emotion and argument are harnessed to a wish from the audience to see more clearly unto itself — then something in the mind burns. The event scorches on to the memory an outline, a taste, a trace, a smell — a picture. It is the play’s central image that remains, its silhouette, which will be meaning, this essence of what it has to say.”

— Peter Brook, The Empty Space

By this measure the high school on Puxi campus performing arts departmentpassed the acid test of theatre, leavingthe minds of PAC theatre-goers scored with lingering images of striking sets, strong performances, and stirring music.

Top: Amneris, played by Helen Hong, is surrounded

by handmaidens — May Chen, Katie Zheng, Hanna Shui, Madeleine

Vella, Alicia Chen, Mercedies Li, Liane Ma, Megan Tan, Erica So, and Helen Wong.

Middle: Dancers Ellen Min, Andrea Su, and Elsie Ling perform to the Egyptian court.

Bottom: Merab (played by Tadashi Beddie) dies in Aida’s (Jessica Fintak) lap as Radames (Greg vanGenderen) looks on.


A high note The high school jazz combo performs at the Marine Ball

BY KAROLINA PEK, PUXI HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND DIRECTOR

Drumroll please … some of the high school jazz band musicians received a special invitation

to perform at the 237th Marine Corps Birthday Ball from Sergeant Samuel Speck. On Saturday, November 3rd, after a rigorous security sweep by both the United States and Chinese security forces, Stephen He and I helped set up the venue for our student musicians. A small group was selected to make up a combo, which is an offshoot of a jazz band without a conductor. Students rehearsed and arranged two sets, which included 16 tunes to arrange. I supervised the process, so that a variety of songs in different genres were represented. The select combo went to Ritz- Carlton Hotel with Ms. Lily Chiang, elementary school music teacher/ chaperone, to perform for the reception of the ball. The jazz combo decided to make a tribute to famous saxophonist

Lester Young by wearing jazz hats for the performance. They per-formed for the honored guests an hour and 15 minutes. Highlights included jazz standards “Hackensack,” “Misty,” ‘Tis Autumn,” “Desafinado,” and “Pent Up House.” “I was very proud of our group to have performed at the Marine Ball,” said saxo-phonist Jeremy Sandfelder said. “It felt like an actual professional gig.” It was a performance to remember for our musicians.

PHOTO BY KAROLINA PEK

Pictured are the 16 students and staff from SAS Puxi who attended the annual 2012 APAC Choir concert festival. It was held at the American International School of Guangzhou November 15-17. A total of 95 participants from six international schools attended the event. Singers from SAS Puxi performed the songs “Words” and “Pass me the Jazz” for the festival.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY FIRMAN SYAH

Musicians:Jeremy Sandfelder, tenor saxophone and leaderWilliam Wu, trumpetJason Jeong, jazz guitarJohn Hikaru Koh, jazz bassColin Brown, drumset


PHOTO PROVIDED BY KAROLINA PEK

Jazzin’ it up in Kuala LumpurWhere the big “cats” play

BY JEREMY SANDFELDER AND WILLIAM WU, GRADE 11, PUXI CAMPUS

On a warm day, a group of SAS students along with music teacher Karolina Pek and chaperones

Isabelle Sandfelder and Jozefina Sterle set out on an adventure to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These students were our school’s finest representatives in jazz. They were a part of the Association of Music in In-ternational Schools’ (AMIS) Jazz Festival. Students underwent a rigorous audition process to make the cut. At the festival, the students of all schools were greeted by a warm welcome by the International School of Kuala Lumpur. The band played a lot of awesome pieces that really made it feel as if you were back in the 1920s or 1940s. With Dix-ieland songs like “Kuala, Kuala” and big band songs like “Honky Tonk Shuffle” and “Sweet Georgia Brown,” the rhythm and feel of jazz came alive. There were also jazz combos, small groups of instrumentalists

and singers who played a few pieces. These cats made it seem as if we were in a real old jazz bar. Along with the band, there was the choir, which sang great songs, like “Java Jive” and “Operator.” Their notes really put a swing in our jazz festival. In the workshop, a group of students learned advanced jazz theory under the guidance of three different professors. They showed off these newly gained technical skills in an informal performance for every-one during a gathering. After the festival, our SAS group visited many locations in Kuala Lumpur, includ-ing the giant Batu Caverns, Islamic Arts Museum, central market, a few shopping malls, and the Petronas towers, as well as taking in a Beethoven concert by the Kuala Lumpur Symphony Orchestra. It was an experience to be cherished and remem-bered for many years to come.

AMIS Jazz Festival 2012

MembersAustin Rice

Helen Hong

Daryl Kim

Raymond Chang

Alex Pan

Eric Yang

Jonathan Jiang

William Wu

Jeremy Sandfelder


it was hard for students to return to Shanghai. “They were so kind to us!” an excited Ben Shin gushed. “I want to go back so bad now.” In the end, all the hard work paid off. Not only did they gain experience in playing their instruments, but they also formed and strengthened bonds between each other. “SEA was so much more awesome than I expected!” said Kevin Yang. “Everything from the inside jokes to simply talking with our homestay families was just amazing.” Students met new friends from the band, had a great time with their host families, and even got to know their fellow mates from SAS much better during the trip. As one student joked, “You never really know a person until you’ve traveled with them!”

Grade 7 band members: Samuel Chen, Kevin Yang, Jody Messick, Amogh Patil, Tiffany Schell, Richmond Brautigan, Ben Shin, Daniel Sandoval, Matthew Lin, Winston Huo, and Jimmy Chung.

Music forms bonds at concert in the Philippines Students question returning home because of all the fun!

BY TIFFANY SCHELL, GRADE 7, PUDONG CAMPUS

Eight hours of grueling practice each day helped get members of the Southeast Asia honor band prepared for their perfor-mance in the Philippines. The band of about 80 musicians

included several 7th graders from the Pudong campus (see list of student musicians on the right side). They played four pieces for the concert, hosted by the Faith Academy in Manila: “Joy Fantastique,” “Old Churches,” “Metrix,” and “The Great Locomotive Chase.” In “The Great Locomotive Chase,” two SAS students were selected to play solos — Samuel Chen of the clarinets, and Jody Messick of the flutes. Both did a fantastic job performing on stage. There was even a guest director from Washington State, Mrs. Jodi Salzman, who flew in to help. She only had a day and a half to rehearse with students before the concert. It was an exhausting, but wonderful experience for the students. Fortunately, they had some down time and were able to hike, swim, relax, and go out to dinner. The students were hosted in groups of three and four with Philippine families. The host families made the trip so worthwhile

CoMMuniTy niGhTshanghai american school

Where: THE FAT OLIVE Jinqiao

When: Every second Wednesday of the month

Time: Dinner hours

Show your SAS ID card and 5% of your total bill goes to the SAS Annual Fund.

688 Biyun road, near lan’an road碧云路688号，近蓝桉路

Tel: 2206 2988


Upcoming Event: PTSA General MeetingWednesday, January 30th10:30 a.m.–12:00 noon at LMC

Pudong PTSA — A Halloween Extravaganza Middle school students dress up and donate

BY GINGER WHISSELL, PUDONG PARENT

Puxi PTSABY RITSUKO KOH, PUXI PTSA

Wearing monster makeup and decked out in Halloween costumes, more than 300

middle school students got together for the annual Halloween Extravaganza on Friday, November 2nd. The afternoon was part of a middle school tradition called “MYG Nite” (gym spelled backwards), which is a student-planned event that is supported by the Pudong PTSA. Several times each year middle school students get together for friendship, bonding, and fun. The students enjoyed

Thank you to our many parent-volunteers for your contributions at the Puxi campus this semester!

We are fortunate to have such dedicated individuals working together to make our school such a wonderful educational com-munity.

music with DJ Mikas, hanging out with friends, glow-in-the-dark volleyball and the Habitat for Humanity haunted house. The haunted house was a wonderful collabora-tion between the high school and middle school. The high school actors did a fan-tastic job! We were able to donate RMB 5 from each ticket towards the Habitat Brick Program to build housing in Asia. The Eagle Ambassadors organized this year’s Halloween Extravaganza. Under the guidance of their advisor, Ms. Tina Bui, they put together a variety of activities that

would appeal to all middle school students. They even had a candy sale that raised an additional RMB 2,000 for Habitat for Humanity. And to add more sugar to the mix, students enjoyed more treats courtesy of our parents. We even had a parent in full costume as our event photographer. I heard some students say that it was the best “MYG Nite” ever. Now, that’s enthusiasm. A very special thank you goes to all of the parents and teachers who volunteered and contributed to the event.

The PTSA needs your continued volun-teer support next semester. There are still a lot of volunteer opportunities for you can get involved in. We hope you will partici-pate in the many activities sponsored by our PTSA. Thanks again for your strong com-mitment. Have a wonderful holiday season!

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY GINGER WHISSELL

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY RITSUKO KOH


Eagle Shop Ad Photo ContestCompetition open to all SAS Pudong community: parents, teachers, students, and staff.

Show us what you’ve got!We are looking for creative photos to use for eagle shop advertising.

Contest rules:submit photos between January 8 and January 18 (deadline 1:00 p.m.)• HardcopyphotodeliveredtotheEagleShop• FilephotosendtoPudongEagleShop@ yahoo.com• Bothphotosneedtoincludecontactname, phone number, and email address

Judging based on:• Creativity• NumberofSASitemsusedWinners will be posted in the eagle shop on Friday,Jan.25andphotographerswillreceiveprizes!


The SAS Puxi varsity girls’ tennis team had an outstanding season this past fall. From the 20 who

tried out, only six could be chosen. The final team consisted of 9th graders Nicole Tan and Franny Fu, 10th graders Mecoly Dong and Jenny Chen, and 12th graders Julie Sand and Natalie Lau. Although the team was young, they were experienced and hard working, and in the tourna-ments they did well as a team and also as individuals. In September, the team travelled to Hong Kong for the China Cup tourna-ment being hosted by Hong Kong Interna-tional School (HKIS). At that tournament, each girl played singles, and also played doubles. The SAS Puxi girls played well, and defeated International School of Bei-jing (ISB) to place 2nd in the China Cup Tournament. The home school, HKIS, won first place. The team members grew a lot from their experiences in that competition. In early October, the team played in

An end to a great season on the courtPuxi varsity girls’ tennis team has a strong showing during their season

BY CHRISTINE ROULES, PUXI HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER AND VARSITY GIRLS TENNIS COACH

the Shanghai SISAC tournament. This event was held at British International School Shanghai (BISS), and consisted of girls from six Shanghai schools. We were allowed to enter two girls as singles, and one doubles pair. Our team ended up placing 2nd out of six in that tournament. In addition, Nicole Tan won 1st place in girls singles. This is the second year in a row she has won that title. In late October, the team played their final tournament, which was APAC. The tournament was held at the nearby Shanghai Racquet Club. The participating schools were SAS-Puxi, ISB, Concordia (Shanghai), American International School Guangzhou (AISG), Canadian Academy (Japan), and Brent (Manilla). Our girls’ team was ready physically and mentally, and played exceptionally well. Going into the last match with ISB, both teams were undefeated. One of the most impressive matches of the tournament was Nicole Tan playing against and defeating the

ISB #1 singles player in this round. ISB, however, beat our other teams, and thus the SAS-Puxi girls’ varsity team came in 2nd at APAC. The last day of the APAC tournament was a single elimination tournament to determine the individual winners. Our team was represented in every final! Julie Sand and Mecoly placed 2nd in girls doubles, Natalie Lau with her male partner Raymond Chan placed 1st in mixed doubles, and Nicole Tan placed 1st in singles. I am very pleased to have worked with this outstanding group of young women. I am proud of them for their many accom-plishments, and I am pleased with how they worked together and grew together as a team. Congratulations to the SAS Puxi girls’ varsity tennis team!

PHOTO BY CHULI ROULES

Photo on top: Mecoly Dong, Natalie Lau, Julie Sand, Franny Fu, and Nicole Tan pose with trophy after the APAC Tennis Tournament.


and Josh Lin; and freshmen Justin Lin and Ben Cherry. In the championship game against ISB we started out down 7-0 in the first inning. The team stayed focused and played good defense and with steady play came from behind with strong relief from 9th grader Justin Lin to win the final game 10-8 and take the championship. Great job Pudong baseball team! All APAC team members from SAS Pudong were Alec Lawler, Jacob Dyer, and Levi Berg. Thanks for a great season!

Back row (left to right): Coach Morgan, Elaine Tu, Natasha Yen, Christie Ho, Arushi Rana, Ellen Ling, Jessica Lin, Hannah Ng. Front Row (left to right): Kristina Larsen, Jessie Dong, Chen Wen Hsu, Samantha Smith, Kith Lee, May Ko, and Sophie Wang.

The Puxi freshman girls capped off a terrific season by winning the SISAC D-2 Division Cup Championship

at the season-ending tournament held at the Concordia campus. The team, who finished in a tie for first place in the West Division standings with a 6-1 record, drew SAS Pudong for its first opponent. The match went to three games, with SAS Puxi prevailing. The semifinals found the girls pitted against a tough Dulwich team, who had beaten top-seeded Livingston to advance to the second round. SAS found itself behind in the third game, 11-3, but fought back behind the pow-erful serving of Kristina Larsen and the never-say-die spirit of captains Samantha Smith and Natasha Yen. SAS caught Dulwich and held on to win 16-14. The championship round found the girls playing against the only team to beat them in the regular season, SCIS of Puxi. SAS was up for the rematch, as the team defeated SCIS in two straight games to finish the season as champions! Every player on the team contrib-uted to our success.

Girls’ volleyball team wins SISAC tourneyPuxi freshmen finish the session as champions

BY BOB MORGAN, GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL COACH, PUXI CAMPUS

The baseball program at SAS Pudong has taken major competi-tive steps in the 2012-2013 season.

The final rounds of the season-ending APAC Baseball Tournament in Hong Kong demonstrated the growth of our team and program as we defeated International School of Beijing (ISB). We completed our regular season with a 9-1 record with one extra inning loss to a local adult Shanghai team. The Brent Ma-nila tournament ended with a 4-0 record and tournament championship in prepara-tion for our trip to Hong Kong. The APAC Tournament at Hong Kong International School (HKIS) recorded sev-eral firsts for the team. Our victories over

APAC Champions! The SAS Pudong baseball team hits it out of the park

BY TODD PARHAM, PUDONG ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR AND BASEBALL COACH

ISB, Canadian Academy (CA), and HKIS, and an APAC championship, were a real joy to the team. The semifinal game against HKIS was a fine game with excellent team play, hitting and pitching throughout the game. HKIS has been undefeated and champions for the last four seasons. Alec Lawler pitched a great game and limited them to eight runs, while we scored 11 with steady field-ing and hitting throughout the contest. Throughout the tournament we had steady and strong play from seniors Jacob Berg, Sherman Chen, Jacob Dyer, David Shang, Daniel Kang, and Aaron Zhang; juniors Levi Berg, Noah Berg, Jared Johnson, and Alec Lawler; sophomores Jacob Andriola

PHOTO PROVIDED BY TERRY LU


Girls’ varsity volleyball team wins APAC championshipPudong players give it their all on final game

BY CHRIS BEEBE, PUDONG PARENT

After a strong regular season that ended with the Eagles placing second in SISAC, the SAS Pudong

girls’ varsity volleyball team headed to Korea to participate in the APAC Pacific Championships. Led by senior captains Anna Dining and Angeline Chen, as well as senior players Lisa Lin, Amy Zhao, Regan Plekenpol, and Marisa Costa, the Eagles were hoping to build on their strong season by posting an impressive finish to the year. Facing the girls in Taejon were Hong Kong International School (HKIS), United Nations International School (UNIS), Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), Seoul Foreign School (SFS) and the hosts, Taejon Christian International School (TCIS). Despite the stiff competition, the round robin portion of the tournament went very well for the team, with the Eagles being undefeated, winning all five of their games

in straight sets to finish the round seeded first. During the elimination phase SAS again dismissed HKIS in straight sets, setting up a rematch for the championship with a hungry TCIS. Despite losing a set for the first time during this tournament, the Pudong girls, lead by powerful play on offense as well as defense, held a 2-1 lead going into the final set of the champion-ship match. In a seesaw battle, the Eagles prevailed in the fourth set, battling back from being down 18-22 to win a thrill-ing final match 25-23, bringing home the APAC crown to Pudong. “Our team evolved so much through-out the season. We had a few injuries, and different players had to step up, which actually allowed us to come out as a stron-ger team at APAC,” a proud Coach Lloyd said enthusiastically. “Our team emerged at APAC as a dominant force and we pushed

forward one match at a time, consistently putting the pressure on other teams. As a coach, it was truly amazing to watch the girls come together and work as a team to win an APAC championship.” In addition to being APAC Pacific Division champs, the Eagles had three girls named to the All APAC team – Angeline Chen, Lisa Lin, and Haley Beebe. Coach Paterson was thrilled to have these players recognized for their contribution to the team, saying, “Our top players performed extremely well during critical moments of our matches. Angeline Chen was the most dominant offensive player of the tournament.” All in all, this was a fantastic finish to the season, and a great send off to the wonderful group of senior players who will certainly be missed! Thank you, seniors, for your leadership and support, and thank you coaches, for a great season!

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JINGDAI BEEBE


PHOTO BY LIGEK WONGSAS Pudong swimmers hold up the winner's trophy after the Annual Swimvitational.

Daniel Lin, 3rd place, 15 & over (Pudong)

GirlsEmily Zhang, 3rd place, 8 & under (Puxi)Isabelle So, 1st place, 9-10 (Puxi)Sophia Miller, 1st place, 11-12 (Pudong)Roseanne Cho, 2nd place, 11-12 (Puxi)Gwen Gustafson, 3rd place, 11-12 (Pudong)Meghan Ingram, 2nd place, 13-14 (Pudong)Josephine Mah, 3rd place, 13-14 (Puxi)Tessa Hart, 3rd place, 15 & over (Pudong) Michael Grenon won the Boys’ FINA Award with a total of 599 points for his 50m free swim with a time of 24.02. Grace Zhou from the British School of Beijing won the Girls FINA Award prize with 620 points for her 50m free swim with a time of 26.70. A great job to all those who partici-pated!

Annual Swimvitational a big success! Swimmers break records and have personal bests

BY GEORGE CARPOUZIS, AQUATICS DIRECTOR, PUDONG CAMPUS

Nearly 500 swimmers from 18 schools competed in the SAS-Pudong Annual Swimvitational

on the weekend of November 3rd and 4th at our aquatic center. This is one of our biggest swim meets of the year that we co-host every year with SAS Puxi and the International School of Beijing. The pool and its surroundings were buzzing! Kids broke several school records and pool records, and it seemed that every-body swam at least one personal best (PB)time. The SAS Pudong parents were ex-tremely helpful. There were parents selling different items such as T-shirts, hoodies, and bathing suits, and nutritious food. Other parents volunteered in one way or another by either marshaling the swim-mers in the gym (a very taxing position), marshaling on the pool deck, starting the events, giving out ribbons and medals, or photographing the swimmers in and out of the water. We also had high school CAS

students (IB requirement: creativity, action, service) who also helped out tremendously. The meet was a great success because of the team effort and help by everyone. Our coaches also had a hard day mak-ing sure the swimmers were ready for their events, psyching them up before their races, giving them feedback after their performance, and organizing the relays. SAS Pudong placed first overall with SAS Puxi placing second and International School of Beijing placing third. Our SAS Pudong and SAS Puxi high point trophy winners were:

BoysAtticus Nordmeyer, 1st place, 8 & under (Pudong)Nolan Liu, 3rd place, 9-10 (Puxi)Jun Sung Tak, 1st place, 11-12 (Puxi)Tristan So, 1st place, 13-14 (Puxi)Michael Grenon, 1st place, 15 & over (Pudong)


The best season yetPudong cross-country team is undefeated

BY STEVEN NAKAI, CROSS-COUNTRY COACH, PUDONG CAMPUS

The 2012 cross-coun-try season for the Eagles will go down

as the most successful season in the history of the Pudong high school campus. The girls’ team finished with a first ever undefeated season and a first ever APAC championship, beating nine other APAC schools. And both the Pudong boys and girls team won the SISAC team championships led by freshman standouts Victoria Chen and Alec Roig. Other top finishers for the year were Joy Yu, Gaby Parsons, Liza Cahiz, Ivory Loh, Melisa Seah, and lone senior Vivian Zhang. On the boys’ side, Royce Chen, Ryan Putranto, Max Wagner, Miles Nakai, Nic Brooks, and John DeCleene finished up a great career. Thanks to the Pudong cross-country runners for putting in the time and effort to be champions!

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY STEVE NAKAI

Top (left to right): Ryan Putranto, Royce Chen, Max Wagner, Alec Roig, Miles Nakai, John DeCleene, and Nick Brooks make up the boys’ cross country team.

Girls' team (left to right): Joy Yu, Vivian Zhang, Ivory Loh, Victoria Chen, Liza Cahiz, Gaby Parsons, and Melissa Seah pose in the water after a cross country meet.

Showing off their blue - T1 Connection, the Pudong high school diabetes club, promoted “Wear Blue Day” to raise awareness about World Diabetes Day in mid-November.

PHOTO BY ROBYN KEMSLEY


Coming Soon: 2013 Edge for Excellence Annual Fund What is it? Why do we need it? When do I give?

BY CINDY EASTON, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

What is it? The Edge for Excel-lence Annual Fund (E4E) is our yearly fund appeal to raise

money for the “extra” programs, items and opportunities for your children that keep SAS on the cutting-edge of international education and are not funded by the core-operating budget.

Why do we need it? Well actually, we don’t. We can continue, doing just what we are doing and produce really great stu-dents, for a while anyway. But to remain at the forefront of international education and to continue to be the outstanding educational institution that we are, we need to think about our future as a school, our brand — who we are and what makes us special. Many of the programs and opportuni-ties funded through the annual fund are helping to set us apart from our competitors. SAS currently is recognized as one of the top-tier international schools in Asia — with outstanding programs, high IB and AP scores, acceptance into the finest colleges. We are a leader in international educa-tion. But, as competition among international schools continues to grow, and the programs and achievement results of other schools begin to compare to ours, we must look for ways that keep us at the forefront. It is imperative that SAS continue provid-ing new and innovative opportunities and items for our students. These innovative advancements: new

programs, new technology, school facility improvements, all come with a cost — a cost that can be covered by our Edge for Excellence Annual Fund. The more we raise, the more amazing opportunities our

students have available to them! With the money raised from the 2012 Edge for Excellence (E4E) campaign we were able to fund:

• The continuation of the Microcampus for both Puxi and Pudong

• A pilot for an in-field research facility/mini campus in Wuxi for HS students

• A centennial Roots and Shoots garden• An outdoor nature learning center• Seed money for playground equipment• A pilot project for e-portfolios

• Technology enhance ments in early child hood classrooms, PE program, and ES library • An in-residency with a professional theatre projectionist from New York

These are programs, resourc-es, and opportunities that our students would not have had otherwise without the fund-ing from E4E.

When do I give? The 2013 Edge for Excellence Annual Fund will begin the first week in February. You can make a donation online (details to come) or turn in your money when the packets are sent home. We hope you will be a part of our community of giving this year and make a difference in the lives of our students.


Yoga: An effective treatment for back pain?

according to studies, at some pointnearlyfourinfivepeople will experience back

pain.Formany,itwillapainfulinterruption in their lives, but will goawayinaweekorso.Fortherest, unfortunately, relief is not so simple. as a specialist in treating back pain, i am constantly search-ing for new alternatives to narcotics or surgery. While new interventional procedures have shown remark-able success, we also recommend other treatments, using our bodies’ own healing powers. many practitioners, including myself, view exercise as a great long-term, complimentary option for pain relief. aerobic exercise improves sleep, mood, and energy levels, and decreases pain. however, findingaprogramyoucanstickwith, and that is effective and safe, is a challenge. Yoga has gained an enthusiastic following for all sorts of healthbenefits,includingmanagingback pain. The current practice of yoga focusing on physical exercise derives from a form of hatha yoga, which is about using physical force to distract one’s mind from external objects. “Yoga can help with many differ-ent back problems, because unlike other forms of treatment, yoga can simultaneously address the physical, emotional, and psycho-logical aspects,” says amy noto, a shanghai-based yoga teacher. This is achieved through the application of asanas (physical poses) and pranayama (breathing techniques).

The evidenceWhat is the evidence for the effectiveness of yoga in treating back pain?Thefirstresearchlinkingyogatomedicalbenefitswaspublished by Dean ornish in 1980. he reported that yoga, as part of a lifestyle-driven treatment program, could be effective in reducing the riskofheartdisease.Followingthis,the application of physically driven yoga became widespread as a treatment of diseases as various as

asthma, cancer, and aiDs. in the management of back pain, thefirstreportsofsuccesscamewith small group studies published in 2004. in 2011, a large-scale study out of the University of York, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, com-pared yoga to standard medical care in managing chronic low back pain in a group of more than 300 patients. Participantsattendedweekly,75-min-ute sessions over three months, withspecificposesgearedtowardmanaging back pain. not only did the majority of participants prefer yoga to standard care, but the yoga group demonstrated better function in their daily activity levels. a follow-up study was published in 2012 in Spine, dem-onstrating the cost-effectiveness and utility of yoga in managing back pain. The yoga group had fewer costs on the medical system and resulted in fewer days missed from work.

Yoga’s health benefits There are several reasons yoga offerssignificanthealthbenefitsinmanaging lower back pain. many people who suffer from lower back pain deal with depression and high stress levels. The self-meditation and breathing techniques utilized in yoga helps reduce these symptoms, which in turn improves relief from the psychological component of pain (referred to as “positive psychology”). at the same time, the concentration

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required during yoga directs the focus away from pain, thereby reducing painlevels.Physically,overtimeyogaoffersthesamebenefitsasaerobicexercise: improving sleep, energy, mood, and increasing your body’s natural release of pain-relieving chemicals. it is important to be patient, how-ever.“Peopleareoftentooambitiousin group classes, attempting to do full versions of a pose before their bodies are ready,” noto says. “if you are coming to yoga for therapeutic reasons, make sure to take things slowly, and consider starting privately with an experienced instructor to learn what is appropriate for your level.” When managing chronic or severe pain, yoga is just part of the equation. a well-rounded program that may in-clude yoga, medication, procedures, running, osteopathic treatment, and in some cases psychological therapy, will typically offer the best results. as always, if you struggle with low back pain, seek advice from a physician specializing in pain management before starting any new workout. This way, a treatment program can be developedforyourspecificproblem.

Dr. Pfeifer is the medical director of IWS Spinal Care Clinic, focusing on minimally invasive, nonsurgical man-agement of neck and back pain. For more information, please visit: www.westernsurg.com.


Yoga: An effective treatment for back pain?

SAS has a partnership with the institute of Western Surgery (iWS) through the services it receives from Caleb Lott and Joe Panchella, two US-trained and certified athletic trainers who work with SAS as part of the IWS athletic training program.


PHOTOS BY AMY HOSSACK AND FREDRIK JÖNSSON

To download these and other photos go to www.eagleonline.org.

Gubei, JinqiaoDec 16 – Jan 4 All Day

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