NEHS Yu-Ting Liu Wins the 2010 International Junior Science Olympiad Gold Medal

In December 2010, the seventh annual International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) held in Nigeria came to an end. Sophomore Yu-Ting Liu of the science class represented Taiwan and won first place in the competition. IJSO aims to cultivate young students’ interests in science. It combines all scientific subjects (mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and geology). This year, Taiwan won four gold and two silver medals, ranking first nationally. Yu-Ting has also won third place in the 2010 Academic Abilities Contest for Physics. We wish him the best in his pursuit of higher education and the ultimate success in life.

NEHS receives special recognition in the 2010 National Service-Learning Project Competition

NEHS High school department’s service-learning project “See the Rainbow Once More” receives special recognition in the 2010 National Service-Learning Project Competition. The mission of “See the Rainbow Once More” was to help students build a strong character.  Specifically, students were able to experience “The three aspects of having character": " Be an individual with character," "Do quality work," and "Live life with style." This project divided the students into distinct units according to their homerooms and allowed each class to discuss during homeroom hour how they wanted to build character. Students were strongly encouraged to perform service through participating in activities such as cleaning the beach, collecting receipts, tutoring children in academics, etc. Appreciation is given to the homeroom teachers who participated in this project and contributed their time and efforts. This project allowed students to understand and experience the true meaning of building a strong character in life.

NEHS Students Shine in Language Competitions

An-Juh Kuo from Class 302 represented Hsinchu City in the 2010 High School English Speech Competition, and brought back great honor from the middle region category. Jia-Yin Shieh from Class 202 also gained recognition in the middle region English Essay Competition. In addition, Kai-Chung Huang from Class 202 and Yi-Ting Chung from Class 203 participated in the 2010 National Chinese Language Competition, winning second place in the high school division of the Hakka Recitation Competition, and fifth place in the Chinese Speech Competition. NEHS students also shone brightly in the 2010 Jui-Jang Literature Award, with Class 202 Fan-Chang Gan placing second with “A Journey to Nan-Liao” and Class 203 Yin-Ting Chung and Class 102Shih Fang Pwun receiving recognition for “Illustrating the Wind City” and “Exploration of Science – the Monologue of a Middle School Graduate,” respectively.

The Guidance Office Holds a Series of Trainings on "Comparing Life Issues Across Cultures"

   The guidance office held a teacher-parent-community group training in the first semester of year 2010. The theme of the training was "Comparing Life Issues Across Cultures" and the school invited Ms.Chen Yun-Lin, one of the channel hosts of the IC Broadcasting Company, as the lecturer. The training, with meetings on Wednesday mornings from nine to twelve o'clock, was carried out through book studying, movie viewing, small group discussions, and large group activities. Ms. Chen led parents to discuss about life and death issues with the help of books and movies such as My Life as a Dog and Ordinary People. Moreover, she emphasized about gender equality and life education via movies such as The Swordsman in Double Flag Town and Tokyo Story, to construct harmonious parent-child relationships. They ended the session with great enthusiasm on December fifth, discussing life and death in the movie Three Colors: Blue. This training was greatly appreciated by the trainees.

End of 2010 Performances Give Thanks and Joy

December marks the beginning of the month of joy and giving, and the various departments of National Experimental High School all performed wonderful Christmas activities and performances. Starting with IBSH’s Christmas Concert on both December 17th, 6:00~9:00 and December 18th, 3:30 ~ 6:30, NEHS’s holiday season began with outstanding musical performances from both the students of IBSH and the newly formed orchestra. The High School Department joined the holiday fervor with their selection of Christmas classics on December 20th and the 24th, performed by the string orchestra and choir, respectively, in the central staircase, followed closely by an exciting tap dance routine presented by teachers of the middle school and high school department. The elementary students, in addition to writing ‘thank you’ cards to their loved ones, welcomed Christmas to NEHS with a Year End Celebration on December 24th, from 8:40~10:30. The event began with a singing contest and ended in a heart-warming skit, named “Ten Cents Man”, acted by the teachers of the elementary department, warming children and parents alike to the spirit of Christmas. Meanwhile, the kindergarten students had a very different holiday experience this year; they were asked to go from one who only receives to one who gives to others. (continued on page 12)