Year 12 Residential Update from Sanya October 2023

To succeed in the world, our students first explore it! Our residential programme is an integral part of our curriculum here. It broadens our students’ horizons and help them form lifelong friendships. We have worked closely with our service providers to ensure that the students will experience a wide range of engaging and educational activities that include elements of cultural immersion, challenge, and community building.

Date: Monday 23^rd October to Friday 27^th October, 2023

Please see daily updates from Ms. Donnelly, IB CAS Coordinator

Day 1

After a (very!) early start, our journey to Sanya was easy and smooth, as was getting from the airport to our lovely hotel! We enjoyed lunch before checking into our rooms, and then had a really fun afternoon playing beach games and getting a core surf skill lesson. Free time to play against each other at beach volleyball and tug-of-war was the perfect end to this enjoyable and very active afternoon! We are looking forward to a good sleep tonight.

Day 2

It has been a day involving two very different experiences. Half of the day was spent applying yesterday’s core surfing skills, and doing so with the additional challenge posed by heavy rain! Most students managed to surf and there were some outstanding performances from students: in Group 1, Yurina, Billy, Max and Mina; in Group 2, Ivan, Taeyeon, Kristie and Yanxi. Group 1 benefited from much better weather for their session, hence more photographs! All students thoroughly enjoyed challenging themselves to try out this new skill though- their group leaders were impressed by the way the students embraced the true spirit of adventure and resilience. They showed themselves to be true risk-takers, open-minded, and of course, balanced!

The other half of the day was spent visiting Bright Connections, a Center where children with disabilities are looked after. Our students helped by preparing food in the kitchen, cleaning and tidying dormitories, and simply spending time with the children with games and books. It was a humbling experience for the Year 12s; many reflected on how fortunate they felt both in their own lives, and in having had this opportunity to contribute, even in a small way. They also spoke of the joy it brought to make connections with the children despite not really being able to communicate. Perhaps the highlight was Miguel playing piano for the children and center staff to enjoy.

We are looking forward to what tomorrow’s snorkeling and turtle conservation will bring.

Day 3

We were incredibly fortunate to wake up to sunshine and blue skies today! This beautiful weather was the backdrop to the morning activities of fishing and snorkeling. After a short boat trip out students took it turns to put on snorkeling gear and jump into the water to check out the sea life below them. Those remaining on the boat had a chance to fish- with some success! We managed to get a good snap of Florence with her catch of the day.

After a delicious lunch we travelled on to the Turtle Conservation Centre. Our guide gave us a tour and provided insightful information on this project of rescuing turtles and helping them return to their natural environments. Students had a chance to interact with the turtles by feeding them vegetables, something every single one of them thoroughly enjoyed taking part in. Click here to see a video.

This evening we will once again wind down with dinner, reflection and some free social time. Another great day on our Residential!

Day 4

We had an early start to travel to Yanoda Rainforest today, the setting for the day’s activities. After putting on the necessary safety gear, we began the river tracing activity: travelling upstream in a river, through running water, over rocks and across obstacle courses, and being challenged and having great fun throughout. The highlight was climbing up a waterfall- a beautiful, thrilling and exhilarating challenge.

After a much needed shower, change and lunch, we then moved on to an exploration of the rainforest. Our guide pointed out many wonders of this beautiful place, and explained the importance of tropical rainforests to the environment and climate.

We are looking forward to our final evening together when we will also hold a mini awards ceremony to give students of the week medals for their engagement. Find out who won tomorrow!