Do you feel like no one hears your voice? Despite that, do you still think and speak passionately? Worst of all, do you need an activity for college applications but secretly dread it?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then welcome to Unit-E. 

Unit-E is a professional, non-profit, student run magazine across all international schools in Beijing. Yes, it is an activity for college applications and character development and CAS – but our true purpose is to amplify the voices of Beijing students. In the spring of 2010, two students from Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) and International School Beijing (ISB) gave birth to Unit E, and grew it to all international schools in Beijing. Students participated as artists, writers, designers, entrepreneurs, and leaders.

Students, teachers, and parents agree on their favorite part of Unit E – its community. We build a community of readers and writers that inspire and empower each other through art and writing, learn from each other’s experiences and mistakes, and network, socialize, or gain new perspectives. Every year a team graduates, and every year a team begins a new journey within and without Unit-E.

In 2022, Unit-E have daily articles on WeChat and Instagram accounts as well as paper print issues every two months. Our funding comes from associated schools in Beijing, for whom we advertise in print. We have student representatives in Beijing City International School (BCIS), ISB, DCB, Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), Harrow, Beanstalk International Bilingual School (BIBS), Pakistan Embassy College Beijing (PECB), and more, webbing a diverse social network of multiple languages, cultures, and aesthetic sensibilities.

We have five columns to cover every bit of creativity, fun, love, talent, niche, and argument possible: Creative, Academics, Chillax, Student Opinion, and Happenings.

The Creative column includes art, music, photography, dance, poetry, short stories, diaries, personal essays, memoirs, and journals. We help you gain inspiration from and learn about adolescent artistic expression.

The Academics column is every student’s handbook. How to excel in school? How to study for IB/AP/A-level exams? How to study for SSAT and SAT? How and where to intern, become leaders, and do charity work? How to choose universities, agents, and counselors? We have valedictorians and progressing students to answer you. 

The Chillax column is fashionable, fabulous, and fun. We provide a reliable firsthand guide for students in Beijing on where to have a girl’s night out, a romantic date, a shopping spree, what to wear, how to relax, where to eat… it goes on. 

The Student Opinion column is of course, opinionated, and therefore encourages students to be bold and confident. We argue for ourselves in respectful and beneficial ways about relevant issues within Beijing and the international community. 

The Happenings column reflects the wider context——how we students fit in a world that’s ever-changing. From law to economy to movies to galas to royal families, we have everything——do you want to know the latest gossip? Yes, but first, tea at Unit-E.

We are also absolutely thrilled to announce our current recruitment!

Anyone in Beijing with passion and curiosity can join. Based on your interest, you can be an editor, designer, marketing representative, writer, artist, or musician!

Submit your applications to Editor In Chief 2015053040@mybcis.cn, and work to be published through the QR code below——we already have many members, so be quick or give the opportunity to someone else.

 We look forward to hearing from you!

Images: Unit-E

Among the many adjustments schools made in 2020 so they could continue to function, some admissions and marketing officers created virtual school tours for parents. In a normal year, you would contact the admissions department and schedule a time to tour the campus. But with so many prospective families outside of the country, and with strict pandemic protocols that don’t allow visitors to enter the campus in place, pivoting to virtual school tours makes good sense.

Of course, with any media that is planned, filmed, and edited, the director only shows you what they want you to see. Don’t be afraid to ask for more information on a classroom or a common area and request more photos or explanations if needed.

Click on the campus names below for a tour. For live links and updates, visit www.beijing-kids.com.

Beanstalk International Bilingual School (BIBS) :

• BIBS Shunyi Campus
• BIBS Changying Campus
• BIBS Upper East Side Campus
• BIBS Haidian Academy

Beijing World Youth Academy

British School of Beijing (BSB) Shunyi

Dulwich College Beijing (DCB)

• In addition, DCB regularly offers virtual open days. Parents can find out dates from DCB’s website and its official WeChat account “DulwichBeijing.”

Harrow Beijing

HD School

• Password: bx8q

Western Academy of Beijing (WAB)

Yew Chung International School (YCIS)

This article appeared in the jingkids 2021 January issue

Once Upon a Time… We asked students to come up with their own Beijing adaptation of their favorite childhood fairy tales. Thank you to all the students who have submitted their work. We’ll be publishing them online and selecting the best story that fits all the criteria to be included in the upcoming issue of Jingkids.

Alice and Mermaid

By: Candy Su (age 8)

After Alice woke up from her dream, she and her sister went back home. When her sister was reading the book with no picture, she felt bored again! She thought, “I should go to the backyard and fly my kite.”

When Alice was flying her kite, she saw a tree hole that she has never seen before. Of course she walked inside. Alice walked down the stairs. Suddenly, a huge hot spring appeared in front of Alice.

A few minutes later, a mermaid named Cece swam up and said to Alice, “I’m the princess of the mermaid country, but a monster called Wax Diamopa ran inside the country and took the magic ball away. The magic ball is the thing that makes the country powerful! So we must find it back.” “Why did you just tell me?”, asked Alice. Cece answered, “That’s because I trust you. I have observed you for some to,e, and you are a brave and smart girl. We need your help, so I let you see the tree hole. Would you like to help us?” Alice answered, “Yes, I’d like to try.” “Come on and follow me, I will lead you  to the mermaid country,”Cece said.

“Why did you lead me into the hot spring?”, asked Alice. Cece said, “Because the country is under the hot spring!” After a few minutes, they arrived at the mermaid country. Cece leads Alice into a mermaid tail swimsuit shop and bought a beautiful golden mermaid tail for her. At first, Alice couldn’t swim with her tail very well, but after a few minutes of learning, Alice found how to swim with the tail. She felt swimming with a tail was much faster than before!

Then they swam to the Minning castle, which is made of huge corals. The corals are all blue and shiny. The most special thing is the corals even can move if you want they can make some tea for you… Cece took a visitor’s card for Alice. “Now we should go to the Wax Diamopa mountain to snatch the magic ball back from the monster Wax!”, they said together!

A few hours later, they found monster Wax and the magic ball in his hand. When everyone was ready to fight with the monster, he quickly hid in a corner. Everyone was surprised! Alice saw that the monster acted like a baby. There was no evil in his green eyes. So Alice suggested, “Maybe we should talk with him first.”

Alice asked, “Why did you take the ball?”, Wax explained, “I took the magic ball because a  spider called Micala hit me with a big sharp object. Micala was scared of the magic ball, so I took it.” “Can you give the magic ball back if I beat the spider?”, asked Alice. “Deal.”, answered the monster.

Wax lead them to a big round circle and said, “When you step on it, it will down and down until you are stuck on the spider web. The spider needs to weave the web all the time. If not, his web will disappear. And when you on the web, he will use his poison to kill you.” Alice nodded her head. When the spider was sleeping，Alice took his poison and add some magic pearls to it, then the poison lost its power!

The next day Alice stepped on the circle. Suddenly, Alice felt some stars were flying on top of her head, and her head was hurt. Three minutes later, she noticed that she was stuck on a huge spider web. She wanted to get off, but she couldn’t.  Just at this moment, she saw Micala. He was as long as five school buses and as tall as half of a school! But Alice was not scared at all, “How cute a spider!” The big spider stopped for a moment and said, “Don’t you know that you are a meal for me ?” He took the poison out of his pocket, “I will kill you with this!” Micala laughed. Alice laughed too, “Are you sure that I’m scared of your poison?” Micala tried to put the poison into Alice, but it all flew away, “Why did my poison fly away?”, asked the spider. “That because I add some magic pearls!”, laughed Alice. Micala was so surprised that he forgot to weave his web, the web became thinner and disappeared slowly. Alice jumped off the web easily. Micala had lost his poison and web, so he ran away from mermaid country.

The monster Wax was really happy and gave the magic ball back to the mermaids, and they became friends. The mermaids were so thankful. Alice saw many mermaids dancing and singing, she even saw that mermaid baby swam faster than an adult! Cece made a big pearl cake to celebrate. Alice ate so much because the cake was so delicious. “I will open the tree hole when you are the only person in the backyard playing.”, said Cece.

When Alice went home and it was dinner time. “Oh no! I’m too full! ”thought Alice.

Candy Su is an eight year old student at Beanstalk International Bilingual School. Her hobbies include playing piano, dancing, and drama. Su hopes to be an actress in the future and wants to act in comedy because it makes people happy.

KEEP READING: Mark Your Calendar. The Next Roundabout Book Fair is Almost Here

Images: Pexels

Among the many adjustments schools made in 2020 so they could continue to function, some admissions and marketing officers created virtual school tours for parents. In a normal year, you would contact the admissions department and schedule a time to tour the campus. But with so many prospective families outside of the country, and with strict pandemic protocols that don’t allow visitors to enter the campus in place, pivoting to virtual school tours makes good sense.

Of course, with any media that is planned, filmed, and edited, the director only shows you what they want you to see. Don’t be afraid to ask for more information on a classroom or a common area and request more photos or explanations if needed.

Beanstalk International Bilingual School (BIBS):
BIBS Shunyi Campus: https://720yun.com/t/08vkumqe5fe?scene_id=42142240
BIBS Changying Campus: https://720yun.com/t/67vkumqe5fy?scene_id=42142291
BIBS Upper East Side Campus: https://720yun.com/t/f0vkumqe5fw?scene_id=42142360
BIBS Haidian Academy: https://720yun.com/t/69vku7fhr1e?scene_id=41071875

Beijing World Youth Academy (BWYA): www.ibwya.net/schooltour/

The British School of Beijing (BSB), Shunyi: www.nordangliaeducation.com/en/our-schools/beijing/shunyi/our-school/virtual-tour

Dulwich College Beijing (DCB): https://beijing.dulwich.org/admissions
In addition, DCB regularly offers virtual open days. Parents can find out dates from DCB’s website and its official WeChat account “DulwichBeijing.”

Harrow Beijing (HBJ) : www.harrowbeijing.cn/admissions/360virtual-tour

HD Beijing School: https://pan.baidu.com/s/1BX0kb8U-yPE5MfdJvwyvlw  Password: bx8q

Western Academy of Beijing (WAB): www.wab.edu/join/admissions/360-video-tours

Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing): www.ycis-bj.com/en/admissions/visit-our-school

KEEP READING: Jing Educators Award 2020: Arts, Drama, and Music Educators

Photos: Canva

Maria Gustava and her twins Luciano and Stella (ages 18) moved to Beijing from Mozambique in 2018. The twins recently graduated from Beanstalk International Bilingual School (BIBS). As a typical diplomatic family, only three of the seven Gustava family members moved to Beijing. The family is fascinated by China’s rich history, diversified cultures, cuisine, and ethnic groups. Aside from the numerous museums and historical sites in the city, one of the things that the Gustava family loves is the sense of unity and work culture of the Chinese people. “We witness with admiration on how all nations came together against COVID-19.”

Maria

Living in Beijing has been an amazing experience for me and my family. Being a diplomat I really had the opportunity to become an international citizen, to be able to appreciate, understand, and be tolerant with others. I had the chance to move around the world, meet different peoples and cultures, and learn a lot from it. Therefore, my first and primary resource for self-help and self-improvement is the people’s experiences, daily life challenges, books, and newspapers. Apart from the Bible, especially the chapter on Proverbs, one of the books that I found very inspirational and I read it in just one weekend was “Becoming” by Michelle Obama. Also, I like to hear the talk shows of Oprah, since they are motivational. I also love the books from the Mozambican writers such as Mia Couto and Paulina Chiziane.

Luciano

For help and self-improvement resources, one of the most influential platforms that inspires me to improve my way of thinking and view that I would recommend to anyone is the Joe Budden Podcast. The podcast gives you weekly motivational content, knowledge, and advice pertaining to current and past events while being entertaining. It’s a platform where listeners enjoy a broad array of tips that you can introduce to your daily life. Although the podcast may seem boring, I can assure you will find yourself laughing and captivated for hours.

Stella

The Disney Movie “The Princess and the Frog” has always been my favorite since I was a child. I often use Tiana as my inspiration: the first black princess who is resilient with her dreams, hardworking, carries her family and values in her heart no matter the circumstances. This may sound silly to some but this kind of representation creates a meaningful impact on a young black girl. Although she was a frog for the majority of the movie, you could feel her presence and character shining through.

KEEP READING: A Friendship Strengthened by the Pandemic

Photos: Uni You

This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 September issue

Daystar Academy Set To Welcome New TLI Team Members

In order to strengthen their service to the Daystar Community, the Teaching Learning & Innovation team welcomed new members with strong educational qualifications and experiences in specialty areas.

Beijingkids Intern Graduates From BIBS!

This summer break, beijingkids had the pleasure of having Pranav Sundararajan as an intern, working alongside the team to create amazing content for both the beijingkids blog and magazine. Sundararajan’s brilliance spans far beyond the editorial pool, as he graduated valedictorian from Beanstalk International Bilingual School’s class of 2020. We at beijingkids would like to congratulate him and wish him the best of luck as he embarks on his college life in the fall. We would also like to congratulate all the graduates of the year 2020, not only from BIBS, but every international school in Beijing!

YCIS Summer Camp A Roaring Success

This August, Yew Cheng International School (YCIS) Beijing, offered its students, both in Beijing and abroad, the opportunity to attend a fun online summer camp. Led by Mr. Devereaux Poole, the camp was offered as an antidote to students who were unable to enjoy a summer of travel and other fun summer activities. Despite the course being online, it was still designed to immerse the participants in an array of activities, encouraging exploration of new interests, while also giving teachers and students from different grades a chance to interact. The camp ran from Aug 3 to 21.

YueCheng Courtyard Kindergarten Upgrades the Learning Environment

The YueCheng Courtyard Kindergarten (YCCK) is a non-profit member institution of YueCheng Education (YCE). During its first summer break, YCCK upgraded the learning environment. In the new school year, YCCK will open up new areas such as the new Parent Center, STEM Maker-Space, and Performing Arts Center.

BIBA Hosts Univisual Art Show

This past July, Beijing International Bilingual Academy hosted its Univisual Art Show at the Yun Ting Club Center in Shine Hills. It featured various works of art created by BIBA’s own students, with themes ranging from the beauty of life and the joys of summer to 2020, and the year that was. The exhibition aimed to showcase the incredible talent at BIBA, where students are encouraged to artistically express themselves.

DCB Announces Its Dates for Fall Semester

Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) was one of the first international schools in Beijing to announce a return to school for the fall semester. In a recent post on its official WeChat page, DCB announced the reopening on August 24, promising to provide further information to parents about the opening date and any other pertinent information.

House of Knowledge Welcomes New Teacher

This fall semester, House of Knowledge (HoK) shall be welcoming Lior Frey who shall be joining the school’s international Kindergarten section in Beijing as the lead English teacher. This Florida International University Alumnus comes to House of Knowledge with several years of experience teaching both adults and children, via both online and in person. Frey hopes her fun approach to teaching and learning will be just the tonic for her soon to be students.

AP Capstone Diploma Program at AISB-Hope International       

AISB-Hope International is excited to announce that beginning in the 2020-21 school year with their Grade 10 class, they will offer the AP Capstone Diploma as an option for students. As a premier AP school in Beijing, the AP Capstone Diploma program allows students to develop the skills that matter most for college success, such as research, collaboration, and communication. The school is looking forward to a fantastic start for the 2020-21 school year.

KEEP READING: Stay Updated on What’s Been Taking Place at Beijing’s International Schools

Photos: Courtesy of schools

This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 September issue

On Jul 5, International Baccalaureate Organization released candidate results for 2020, and many students were disappointed by their awarded grades, which were significantly below what had been predicted. Close to 10,000 students have since signed a petition, calling for “justice” for their low grades. Another separate petition was also created, pushing for new grades to be issued. Furthermore, the hashtag #IBScandal has been used on social media platforms as students express their frustration.

How were the results calculated?

Under the International Baccalaureate, each subject group is graded on a scale from 1 to 7, with seven being the highest score. Furthermore, up to 3 additional points can be awarded for the Extended Essay(EE) and Theory of Knowledge (TOK). The maximum score for the Diploma Programme is 45 points. This year 170,343 candidates took the IB, culminating in a global average of 29.9. The diploma pass rate is 79.1%.

IB scores are usually calculated using end-of-year written examination results, and to a lesser degree, coursework and in-school assessments. This year, due to COVID-19, the May 2020 series of exams were canceled and the IB announced that results will be calculated based on coursework, internal assessments, teacher predictions, and historical data.

“We will be using vast historical assessment data to ensure that we follow a rigorous process of due diligence in what is a truly unprecedented situation” they announced at the time. “We will be undertaking significant data analysis from previous exam sessions, individual school data, subject data as well as comparative data of schools who have already completed uploading requirements and those who have not. We will require schools to submit the coursework for all candidates. We will externally mark work that is usually marked by teachers, instead of taking samples and applying moderation.”

Criticism of the 2020 grading model

The recent grading model the IB has used to award grades has received much attention, with critics expressed concerns regarding issues such as the socioeconomic status of schools. Furthermore, a widely expressed concern related to the effect of teacher predictions on the scores, as teachers have been found to provide lower predicted scores for students of color and students from disadvantaged communities.

In response to criticism from an article, the IB stated that the recent grade distribution of results corresponds to grades from past years. Furthermore, they are confident that grades have been awarded fairly.

In regard to their grading model, the IB stated that: “It was also checked against the last five years’ sets of results data, to ensure that it would provide reliable and valid grades for students. Prior to the attribution of final grades, this process was subjected to rigorous testing by educational statistical specialists to ensure our methods were robust.”

“The stability of results for students has been maintained for the May 2020 session. The mean total points for May 2020 DP students show small increases in the average grade achieved compared to previous years. The grade distribution level is also in line with the previous four years of results data.”

“The IB is confident that it has awarded grades in the fairest and most robust way possible in the absence of examinations, and the grades awarded to students are of equal value to those awarded in any other year. This level of confidence means that the DP and CP certification documents awarded to students for the May 2020 session will be the same as any other session.”

Candidates react

Linda Yang, a recent graduate from Beanstalk International Bilingual School (BIBS) believes that the issue is more nuanced than students simply receiving lower grades than they hoped for. “Candidates were both harmed and encouraged under the IB’s mode of assessment this year.” She emphasized that each group subject came with different challenges such as oral assessments and internal assessments (IA’s).

“The justice of the IB results very much depended on each independent subject group. The nature of various assessments offered different challenges and requirements for each individual candidate. Additionally, some candidates may have had more opportunities to work/study for their assessments.”

KEEP READING: Trump Administration Backflips on Controversial International Student Visa Policy

Images: Green Chameleon (via Unsplash), International Baccalaureate Organization 2020

The month of hotel Christmas tree lighting is upon us. While most hotels opt for a more traditional tree lighting ceremony, another has gone in a slightly different direction.

It all started a few years back with the Tree of Knowledge at East Beijing Hotel where instead of purchasing a tree, the hotel built a tree-shaped book shelf and asked the local community to donate their second-hand books to help the hotel “build” the tree. All the donated books were then given to Roundabout to help raise money for Educating Girls of Rural China. Since then, East Beijing Hotel caught the gift-giving bug and every year since they have turned their tree lighting ceremony into an opportunity to give back to the community.

This year for the holiday season the hotel not only put in Mr. Dino, a giant T-rex sporting a Santa hat and scarf that looks like it came out of A Night At The Museum, but Mr. Dino’s guarding a massive red donation box collecting clothes, books, and toys all month long. In collaboration with Roundabout, this year’s donations will be given to families in Qinghai and Xingjiang provinces.

The hotel has collected 30 holiday wishes from children in rural Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces and placed them in 30 dinosaur eggs in the lobby. Anyone is welcome to go find out what the kids wished for and help make their wish come true.

To celebrate the joys of Christmas, East Beijing Hotel will be ringing in the holiday season on December 7 at 3pm with Christmas cookies and mulled wine, along with Christmas carols from the kids of Beanstalk International Bilingual School (BIBS) UES Campus right in the lobby.

All ages
December 7 at 3pm
East Beijing Hotel, No. 22 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥路22号

Photos: Provided by East Beijing Hotel, Mina Yan

Blown to balance, these bowls can roll and wobble, but always come back to center

Sam Haydon with students of the Beanstalk International Bilingual School

For more information about studio visits, school trips, or perhaps that perfect piece of groovy glassware (I’ve got my mind set on a customized Chemex), contact Info@Bubblebaker.com

Photos: Daniel Rothwell