“Give thanks, make a wish”

2020-12-03

Thanksgiving presents a time of year for us to reflect on our lives. It is a time to be thankful for the people with whom you share your life and situations you find yourself in. There are always things to be thankful for, even in this odd year.

This year at the Xiwai International Middle School，the Xiwai Creative Arts Group, or CAG, decided to make a “Thanksgiving Wish Tree”. We combined the ideas of a traditional Chinese wish tree, where people hang their wishes from a tree, usually at Chinese Lunar New Year, with writing something you are thankful for on leaves. “Give thanks, make a wish” was the motto! Hopefully everyone’s wishes come true beyond their expectations.

The tree itself was constructed from scratch, using many different materials. It involved being creative, art, engineering, science and painting and was a team effort between students and teachers. Over 140 total hours were put into the design and construction and several structural challenges were overcome. Many lessons were learned with the most important one being, once you set your mind to something, nothing can stop you! This was another ‘cognitive learning’ learning experience for our Xiwai Middle school students, learning by doing. They worked as a team, met a strict deadline, overcame challenges and unexpected situations, used gravity to their advantage and had the perseverance to succeed. Life lessons were learned in a fun and productive way!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone from the Xiwai Middle School!