1 . The campaign to reduce food waste is in its third week, and we’re already seeing some great results. We’d like every student and teacher to join in the campaign, so if you haven’t started yet, read our blog and join in!

Stop wasting food at school.

“The children are making a big effort to think in a sensible way about the food they put on their plates. We now have about 15% less waste and we think this percentage grows as more children join in the campaign,” school lunch director Marge Kaplan said. The school canteen now offers two portion (份) sizes for all main meals: small and large. This week they’ll replace single bread rolls with slices of bread. You can take as many slices as you want, but one at a time.

Latest news!

From next week you’ll be able to put any waste from fresh fruit and vegetables into the special green bin at the back of the canteen. Miss Norris, the school gardener, will empty the bin each day into a giant compost (堆肥) container in the school’s vegetable garden. That can be used to improve the quality of soils.

Stop wasting food at home.

Every year, we waste about a third of our food. In the UK, more than 97% of food waste ends up in a landfill (废物填埋) site. That’s a lot! Come to a special meeting with supermarket owner Carlos Rodriguez to learn how we can save food and money at home!

Campaign meeting!

When: Friday 12 May, 5-6 p. m.

Where: School hall

What: Top tips on how to store food, measure sensible portion sizes and cook tasty meals from leftovers

Students and families are welcome!

2 . Thanks to “double reduction” policy (“双碱”政策) comes out, many students may have time to enjoy after-school activities. Some students can play sports. They may play soccer, pingpong or do Chinese Kungfu.

Some students go to learn music. They sing, dance or play some instruments (乐器). Other students can draw or practice calligraphy (书法) and more. After school activities are fun and good for students.

But why should students do after school activities? Here are some reasons. First, doing an after-school activity is a short break from studying. After the break, students can better focus on the class or their schoolwork. Next, students can make some friends while doing after-school activities. Finally, students can get some new skills from the activities. For example, they can learn some important life skills like working with others or dealing with themselves.

4 . Cambridge Summer School

The Cambridge Scholars’ Programme helps intelligent high school students pursue their passions, prepare for university, explore Britain and Paris, build their confidence and have lots of fun making friends from around the world.

Choose Your Courses For 2023

Course Selections

Click to pick which week(s) you wish to attend. You can pick both. You can then select your course options?

One Week: Saturday, July 15th—Saturday, July 22nd. $2995

Two Week: Saturday, July 22nd—Sunday, August 6th. $5995

Paris: Sunday, August 6th—Friday, August 11th

Why should intelligent high school students apply for Cambridge summer school?

Our aim is to help intelligent high school students aged 14-18 reach their full potential and prepare for their amazing futures. We help you achieve more through:

Outstanding Education

Learn from a wide variety of interesting subjects going beyond the school courses to help prepare you for university learning. Pick and mix from our diverse course list to pursue your passion or try out different subjects to find your favourite.

University Preparation

Live and study in a beautiful Cambridge college to help you prepare for the independence of university life. Practice making new friends, gain experience living away from home, and be inspired by our historic college setting.

Cultural Trips

Learn about British history and culture on our many trips—and optionally continue on to Paris. Visit castles, palaces, museums, cathedrals and more.

Enriching Activities

Quickly make new friends and create lifelong memories. Pick enriching afternoon activities and have fun in the evenings.

We let you pick and choose your courses from our wide selection, so that you can try a range of subjects according to your interests. Unlike many summer schools that save costs by hiring inexperienced students to teach, we only hire the best teaching staff. Our courses help to bridge the gap between school and university, teaching skills and pushing your academic horizons.

5 . For parents in the Pacific Northwest, one constant fear is how safe their children will be at school if an earthquake strikes. Now, children at one school in the Stanwood-Camano School District in Washington State will get a warning ahead of time to take cover before the most sharp shaking begins.

Stanwood Elementary School is the first in the state to be able to send warnings over the loudspeaker before a large earthquake. The school has connected to the ShakeAlert early warning system, which is a system that gathers data from seismometers (地震仪) that can detect the earliest seismic (地震的) waves of an earthquake, sending warnings before the more powerful shaking hits.

Bill Steele, director of communications and outreach for the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington, said the amount of warning students will get depends on where the earthquake happens.

“If it’s an earthquake on the Southern Whidbey Island Fault, it may only be a couple of seconds’ warning,” Steele said. “But if it’s an earthquake, say, on the Seattle Fault or the Cascadia Subduction Zone, you could have warning o f20 or more seconds.”

Students across the state of Washington will practice earthquake safety this Thursday. Stanwood Elementary will explain how it uses the public-address system to tell students to “drop, cover and hold on” after it receives a ShakeAlert.

The main idea is to protect your head and get down so that you don’t get knocked over by the earthquake, and ride it through, Steele said. And then afterwards, teachers will decide whether they wish to make an orderly escape or not.”

At least eight other school districts are exploring connecting to the ShakeAlert system, Steele said. The earthquake warnings are not available to the general public yet. Steele says the aim is to have that ready by October next year.

6 . Science competitions your students can enter

The Clean Tech Competition research and design challenge asks students to find a problem with our natural world and resource use that they want to change, work out a solution and hand in a research paper to the judges.

Top of the Bench (TOTB)is a yearly practical chemistry competition and a great chance for students to put their teamwork and practical skills to the test. Regional heats will be held between October 2022 and January2023, with the wining team from each heat progressing to the national final held later in March.

Quantum on the Clock competition is open to all A-level students in the UK and Ireland. Students are asked to create a three-minute video about any aspect of quantum science (量子科学) or technology . Entries (参赛作品) can be individual or in teams of up to four students. Cash prizes are on offer for the winners and runners-up. The “best individual” and “best team” winners will receive an invitation to a prize-giving ceremony at the Photon 2022 conference dinner (会议晚宴).

The Big Bang Competition recognises young people’s achievements in STEM and builds their confidence in project-based work, focusing on investigation, discovery and use of scientific methods. Students can submit (提交) their project as a written or video report—on any topic in the field of STEM. Students can be in with the chance of winning a range of awards and prizes.

7 . Young Writers Awards

About the Contest

Bennington College has a unique literary tradition. We’ve had twelve Pulitzer Prize winners, three US poet laureates, four MacArthur Geniuses, and two of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. In celebration of this, Bennington launched the Young Writers Awards to promote excellence in writing at the high school level. Students are invited to enter with the following work:

•Poetry: A group of three poems

•Fiction: A short story (1,500 words or fewer) or one-act play

•Nonfiction: A personal or academic essay (1,500 words or fewer)

A first-, second-, and third-place winner is selected in each category. We welcome participation of both US and international students.

Awards & Rules

First-place winners in each category are awarded a prize of $1,000; second-place winners receive $500; third-place winners receive $250.

•No charge for entrance. Fees for accidents caused by participants are required.

•All entries must be original work reviewed, approved and guided by a teacher. We will use your teacher as a contact for the competition should we have any questions. For homeschooled students, please contact one to assist in your writing even if you have experience in such competitions.

Young Writers Awards finalists and winners are also qualified for undergraduate scholarships at Bennington. Young Writers Awards finalists who apply and gain admission to Bennington will receive a $10,000 scholarship every year for four years, for a total of $40,000. Young Writers Awards winners reaching the standard will receive $15,000 every year, for a total of $60,000.

8 . Young students can, and do, make a big difference. As an educator, you have the opportunity to spark (触发) a passion in students that will drive them to do their part to take care of the Earth. Here are activities you could add to your lesson plans to inspire your students on Earth Day:

Make signs for school and at home

Sometimes we just need a little reminder to help us change our habits. Have students think about what they can do at school and at home to help the environment and how they can encourage others to change their habits.

Make a video or presentation urging others to take action

Students can make a bigger impact if they influence others to do their part to protect the environment. Putting together a video or presentation also helps them internalize the material itself — they need to understand it before they can explain it to others. Presentations can be given in the classroom or even to the whole school. Eventually, they may be able to present their lessons and research at a local conference.

Show them examples of other students making a real difference

It's important for students to see examples of young environmentalists so they know they don't need to wait until they're older to make a difference. Learning about the work these young people are doing can give your students new ideas for how to protect the environment. It can open the door of possibilities for how to think about finding solutions to problems they can help solve.

Earth Day isn't just on April 22. It's every day. How will you celebrate Earth Day and help students make a difference year-round?