Open Days
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On November 20, our campus transformed into a hub of empathy, learning, and celebration in honor of World Children’s Day. Spearheaded by our high school Social Impact leaders—the Sea Dragon Service Ambassadors—the event brought the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to life for our elementary students through immersive, experiential learning.
The seeds for this event were sown earlier this year at the Conference for Hope in Guangzhou. There, our Service Ambassadors collaborated with peers from other Nord Anglia international schools across China, brainstorming ways to make World Children’s Day impactful. Returning to campus inspired, they took charge of the curriculum, designing a series of learning centers intended to teach complex rights through engaging play.
The elementary students rotated through various stations, each designed to highlight a specific aspect of the UNCRC. Rather than a traditional lecture, the Ambassadors ensured the younger students learned by doing.
Service Ambassador Selina Xiao explained the student response to the experiential learning:“Those students really like the activities that we made, they seemed to be really enjoying it.”
At one particularly powerful station, students faced a unique challenge: stacking cups into a pyramid while wearing bulky oven mitts or being blindfolded. As they struggled to complete the task, classmates stepped in to provide guidance and physical help. This activity was designed to illustrate Convention 23 of the UNCRC, which states that children with disabilities have the right to full participation in society. The students learned that "full participation" often requires providing equitable supports—like the help of a friend—to ensure everyone can succeed.
Service Ambassador Yian Ying detailed some challenges the group overcame to ensure the delivery of fun and effective activities: “The student grade levels were not the same, so many introverted children do not want to socialize with children outside their social circle.”
Even with the challenges faced, the Ambassadors were able to bring together elementary students across grade levels for a great learning experience.
At another station, the atmosphere turned theatrical. Students participated in a game of "Rights Charades," where they were given specific rights from the UNCRC and had to act them out for their peers to guess. This creative approach helped students internalize abstract concepts by translating them into physical actions.
Service Ambassador Lindy Jiang detailed her favorite moments from the event, “I saw children participating actively in the activity. When I asked about their life experiences, they raised their hands and answered the questions. It showed that they were really interested in what we were doing. They were cute and had great imagination. They gave me different perspectives that surprised me a lot.”
The event culminated in a shared artistic expression centered on this year’s World Children's Day theme: Hope.
After rotating through the learning centers, every elementary student was given a blue leaf. They were asked to write down a personal hope for the future or their favorite children’s right. One by one, the students attached their leaves to the "Tree of Hope."
By the end of the day, the Tree of Hope was in full bloom, populated with the thoughts, dreams, and voices of our student body. The event was a testament to the power of student leadership and a reminder that when young people understand their rights, they are better equipped to shape a hopeful future.
