This week, our Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Faculty, student clubs and members of House and Sports Division organised a wide range of fun arts and sports activities for our students to celebrate VPA Week! From activities like the competitive Sports Combine to see which SCIE Varsity Team is the fittest, to the Music Concert, and the fun TikTok remake of the “Sticky Note Wall Run”, athletes, teachers and students of the school came together to celebrate the week through friendly competitions that is comprised of our talented community. Please see below for some of the fruitful activities that went on throughout the week!
A few months ago, after some heated discussions, our chamber music group finally picked two pieces for the music festival performance: Schubert’s Erlkönig and Handel’s Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major, Op. 6, No. 10. Since then, Monday rehearsals became a routine. At first, none of us knew each other that well, but our love for music brought us together. From those clumsy early practices to becoming in sync, we got a deeper understanding of the music and found many lifelong friends.
We had our final rehearsal in the practice room the day before the performance. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the sheet music, carefully fine-tuning every detail. At that moment, it felt like all the prep work had culminated in this one piece of music. The air in the room was thick with both tension and excitement.
Our group has this funny tradition—every performance, without fail, someone forgets to wear the standard outfit or even shows up without shoes. But, surprise, surprise, this time no one messed up! Thinking back to past group photos, there was always that one person in a white shirt standing out like a sore thumb or someone rocking sneakers, looking so out of place among the “serious artists.”
Backstage, waiting to go on, we were buzzing with excitement and a touch of nerves. Some of us were humming melodies under our breath, while others were quietly doing deep breaths. When the curtain slowly rose and the spotlight hit us, with the audience’s light and applause washing over us, it felt like the entire theater belonged to us—and to the music.
As soon as the first notes played, all the tension disappeared. It was just us, the rhythm, and the flow of the music. As our fingers danced across the strings, we weren’t just playing music; we were carrying forward voices from centuries ago. The performance went perfectly, and the endless applause during the curtain call felt like the ultimate recognition of months of hard work.
The two pieces we chose showed off the contrasting charm of classical music. Schubert’s Erlkönig was especially challenging, with its dramatic melodies and tense rhythms weaving a gripping tale of life and death. It showcased the emotional depth of Romantic music while pushing our group’s precision to its limits with those rapid, tight notes.
On the other hand, Handel’s concerto was a beautiful blend of elegance and power from the Baroque period, with its intricate structure and rich harmonies embodying the aesthetics of that era. These pieces are not just treasures of music history—they’re profound expressions of human emotion and thought. By performing them, we hoped to preserve the timeless value of classical music.
Afterward, we could finally relax. The nerves from ten minutes ago were completely gone, and we were back to being our goofy selves, striking silly poses and taking loads of photos—like “birthing a violin” or re-creating The Creation of Adam. These snapshots didn’t just capture fun moments; they marked all the effort and growth we’d shared along the way. This performance will go down as one of the most unforgettable and joyful memories for our group.
During Art Week, the Mosaic DIY ECA showcased the DIY creations made by its members since the beginning of August. There are Mosaic collage coasters, picture frames, pen holders, and Mosaic lights.
At the same time, led by Ms. Melissa, we designed and drew a Mosaic SCIE check-in mirror. The mirror contains four colors: red, yellow, blue, and green. Each color corresponds to the house color of our school, and the members also drew the house mascot. Each member who participated in this project has left their name on the mirror; please see the picture below.
As WSC conducted more and more club activities in the past 4 months, the ambience of the club has evolved from being suffused with awkwardness into a vibrant community. Our voyage commenced with a brief introduction to sailing as a sport, then we investigated various types of racing boats, followed by the analysis of the physics behind sailing; eventually, we dived into the navy blue ocean, slicing through the waves with white sails fluttering above our heads.
Although our ECA members have disparate backgrounds related to sailing-some- some- some of them only heard of the term ‘sailing’, some of them had departed from sailing years ago, while a few others are quite adept at sailing- we cohered through discussions held in the classroom and collaboration carried out on the sea. Upon being informed of the Visual and Performing Arts Week ECA exhibition plan, we agreed to share our joy as well as thoughts on sailing with others by creating a collage poster. During the manufacturing process, we each contributed our uniqueness and specialty with a precise distribution of work, and we were all proud of the final product. ‘Sailing is fun!’
The sky was clear and fresh; the breeze was gentle and cozy. The Zhaohui Chinese Orchestra Club organised a VPA week Chinese Traditional music workshop at Shuiwei Square.
The performers either sat upright or stood vigorously. Playing the qin, the zheng, gently plucking the strings of pipa and ruan, as well as blowing the flute, the sheng, forms the harmony of Chinese traditional instruments. It's truly an audio-visual entertainment, even doubtless enjoyable.
Passing teachers and students slowed their pace and listened to the beauty of traditional Chinese music; we also shared discussions with people who have the skills as well. At the end of songs, take a break and briefly introduce the history and performance techniques of such instruments.
This event not only promoted knowledge of traditional Chinese music but also showed people's interest in it, allowing more people to see the vast potential of development for this Chinese traditional aesthetic culture.
Bacamera Filmmaker Club is proud to be the longest-running filmmaking ECA on campus. Last Tuesday afternoon, we held a screening of our short films, all of which were entirely crafted by our talented club members. The directors of these films are part of our "Director Program," a thoughtfully designed curriculum that guides new members in directing their films from the ground up. The four films showcased a variety of themes, from family conflicts to the feeling of loneliness at school.
This screening was a testament to the passion and artistic skills of SCIE students. As the chairperson, I had the privilege of being on set for most of these films. Seeing our hard work and creativity appreciated by a larger audience was truly incredible. There's nothing like seeing a movie on the big screen, and this event reinforced my belief in that experience. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Ross Cheetam for accommodating this event in the busy schedule of VPA week and the ECA division, providing us with this fantastic opportunity.
Have you ever seen those YouTube videos of people pulling a van with nothing but a rope?
That’s what went on Monday lunchtime outside the rock-climbing wall, where groups of SCIE strongest students gathered to take turns lugging a 2-ton van with nothing but a thick rope and a mentality to pull it past the finish line. It was surprising to see how strong some of the students were as they got into position and slowly made progress in moving such a monstrous weight all with their own bodies. With people cheering them on, and the time ticking, it was a race to see who would come out with the fastest time to pull it 10m to the finish line. It really was the greatest feat of strength.
An activity inspired by the popular sports of Dodgeball and Frisbee; Dodge-bee was hence introduced to our VPA week. Where the rules of Dodgeball were infused with that of Frisbee, the game was very appealing to lovers of these two sports on a sunny Tuesday afternoon on the football pitch.
Led by the Frisbee Club ECA, students were able to enjoy this new game as the members explained the rules while playing. In the end, it was great to see how students could be united under an unfamiliar game as we look to incorporate Dodge-bee more later. The game showed promising interest among the student body and may appear as a more widely played sport both in ECAs and recreational activities in the near future.
In the sporting world, the worst thing that can happen to an athlete is unwanted injury. Being sidelined and having to be away from the game they love, it is a pain that many can relate to. Hence on Tuesday afternoon, one of our very own House and Sports Prefect, Chris Wen, gave a workshop outside the outdoor volleyball court on rehabilitation from knee injuries, a common injury that plagues many athletes from all sports.
Through presenting posters, hand-drawn diagrams, and his very own X-Rays, Chris gave a great demonstration of the knee structure and explanations on what kind of physical actions can irritate it, and ultimately lead to it being injured. They were extremely crucial lessons to our volleyball and basketball players, who rely predominantly on their lower body while playing, putting it at risk when it is overused.
Chris also gave helpful advice on the rehabilitation process and how it is a lengthy process which requires a huge mental fight. He instructed those on how to sparingly use their knees, and to limit their actions while playing sports to preserve their lower body from further damage. Thank you Chris!
While scrolling through TikTok or 小红书, you definitely would have come across a rather attractive activity where people take turns running up an inclined mat to smack a sticky note as high as they can.
On Wednesday lunchtime, those brave enough to take on the wall outside the sports halls came forth to challenge themselves to see how high they could put their sticky note. Through running up a small, inclined mat, it was a challenge that required speed, a long wingspan, and most importantly, intent. Players of different houses came together for this friendly competition to see which house can stick their notes the highest. Overall, it was a great and fun activity to test the players’ limits on how high they can reach!
Whether it is the NBA, NFL, or the MLB, all professional sports leagues around the world host an annual sports combine before their draft to gather more information on the top prospects that are eligible to be drafted.
Taking inspiration from the big leagues, SCIE hosted on Wednesday afternoon in the sports halls our very own sports combine to see which varsity team is the most athletic! Several players from our varsity basketball, volleyball, football, flag football, and cross country teams came together for the friendly competition. As all the players signed up, the PE teachers set up the drills and tests, resulting in a very formal and mock-like set-up of a real-life sports combine.
With tests ranging from the half-court sprint to the vertical jump test, everybody gathered together to compete against not only their sports teams, but also each other to see who would be crowned as the athlete with the highest jump, or the most agile, or the one with the biggest grip strength. Athletes were all given a score after they finished each test, and the scores would culminate in an overall rating for the athlete, where athletes’ ratings would be added together for each sport to see which team has the highest score.
Overall, it was the basketball team that was crowned as the fittest, but the volleyball team had some very impressive individual performances too, including the only player in the entire combine to run the half-court sprint under 3 seconds. We thank all athletes for participating in the combine, and hope to see more come along as we hope to host such an event in the future!
Chris Wen hosted on the football pitch on a chilly Thursday lunchtime his Ice Bath demonstration to raise awareness on sports science recovery. Through demonstrating how ice baths are commonly used among professional athletes after matches and trainings, Chris showed the importance of maintaining a good habit of recovery after a session of working your body.
Article｜Toto Zhang, Renne Chen, Sarah Chen, Thomas Feng, Kevin Shi, Carmen Deng, Ms Melissa
Photography｜Admissions
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