Jiashan Primary School Project – Building A Solid Foundation

Jiashan Primary School Project – Building A Solid Foundation

The partnership between WAB and Jiashan Primary School continues to be built even as the new school construction nears completion. The rebuilding of the school is the first step in a long-term sustainable project involving WAB, the Jiashan School, the Longnan Municipality, and the World Bank. Robert Landau, Director of WAB, states, "This will be a WAB-driven project and we want it to be an authentic learning experience, especially for our students."

More and more students and staff at WAB are finding ways to become engaged in the project; further developing the relationship between the two schools.

Annabel Howard, grade 5 teacher, was interested in finding a way to connect her students to those at Jiashan. Each child in her class wrote a letter and sent a photo of themselves to be given to another student at Jiashan. In late September, two WAB staff members paid a visit to the region and delivered the letters and photos. In the not so distant future, these students will be able to become e-pals, corresponding and connecting with one another through the use of technology.

In October, WAB hosted a celebration in honor of its 15th Anniversary. During the event, an art auction was held featuring works created by ES and HS students at WAB. The proceeds from the auction were designated for the Jiashan Primary School partnership and the final bids raised more than 25,000 RMB. The pieces included three paintings by first grade classrooms - two of Beijing bicycles and one of the 798 factories. The HS works included a painting of a Chinese man by Jian Shen T. (grade 12), a painting of three Chinese students by Yoon Hee S. (grade12), a painting of Mao in pop art style by Connor G. (grade 11) and three small panel paintings of women representing capitalist China by Hee Jae C. (grade 12)

Two student groups at WAB, 'Build a School' and 'Geek Force' are moving ahead with their student-driven ideas to support Jiashan School.

The 'Build a School' project initially began last year as a grade 8 homeroom initiative to raise money to help disadvantaged children in China. The students hosted a variety of fundraisers; including selling aquariums they had made in science class and holding a student 'lock out'. At the start of this year, they made the decision to put those funds towards Jiashan Primary School and named their venture, 'Build a School'. The students involved in this project are: Karoline A., Leow J., Daniel T., Daniel C., Gabriel S., Melanie A., Isa H., Maral B., Ronojoy M., Colin Z., Zoe M., Erik H., Alex vA. and Cary C.

'Geek Force' members, Cary C., Angela K., Emily H., Gabriel S., and Roy dVB. are hard at work researching and getting ready to prepare the technology equipment (including refurbishing donated computers from WAB), install software, build the network and test the system to ensure that everything works properly. These students plan to travel to Jiashan later this school year to install the system and assist with training of students and teachers in the use of the equipment and software. WAB is currently putting together two groups to lead the project forward: a Founding Board and a Staff/Student Project Committee.

The Founding Board will be comprised of Robert Landau, a WAB Board of Trustees member, a WAB teacher, a WAB host country staff member, a WAB parent, and two WAB students. It was recently announced that the two student members chosen for the board are, Karoline A. and Gabriel S. "These two exceptional 9th Graders have an amazing vision and passion that will serve the project well," said Mr. Landau. Wang Wenjing, WS China Studies Coordinator; David Harrison, Global Citizenship Coordinator; and Trish Smith, Development Director will act as ex-officio members.

The Project Committee will be made up of 10 members to include 5 students and 5 teachers. The group will be organized around 5 project committees: Education, Sports and Recreation, Technology, Fine Arts and Facilities. The Teacher/Student Project Team members will co-chair these 5 sub-committees comprised of students and teachers.

There are other exciting ideas for the project on the horizon. Plans are being made to bring staff members from Jiashan School to WAB in the near future, to learn about and prepare for installation of the new technology lab at the school. Additionally, there is a developing partnership with Apple Computers for training and other ways to support the project, which are still to be finalized.

What began as an outpouring of kindness and support for a school in need has truly evolved into the kind of alliance that WAB had hoped for from the outset. These grassroots initiatives, along with the creation of the Founding Board and Staff/Student Project Committee ensure that this will be a valuable and sustainable relationship for both schools.

  • Lianxi