In early September, students learnt first-hand how one small act of kindness can multiply many times over and result in making a huge difference to the lives of others less fortunate.

Peace Week began with students and staff buying white ribbons, peace pins and peace bracelets to pledge their support for Peace One Day and the quest for a global cease-fire.  At lunchtime we gathered  on our new astroturf sports field for an aerial photo of each year group spelling out the letters PEACE.  By the end of Day One we had raised enough money to buy 1 goat (actually 2 with locally matched funding!), an Orphan Education, a Teacher Kit, a Newborn Care Package, an Emergency Shelter Kit and mosquito kits to protect four children from malaria.

Day Two, we rose to the challenge again and enthusiastically bought cakes and biscuits from the PTA-run cake stall, and now we’d raised enough to buy a cow as well!

Day Three, we put on our ecological hats and happily bought mini Grow Pots to enable us to buy seeds and agricultural equipment for subsistence farmers in Africa.

Throughout the week, in lesson time, we learned about great peacemakers throughout history, we sang peace songs, we read poems in English and wrote our own poems in many foreign languages.  In Maths we drew graphs to chart the many secret acts of kindness we undertook in form time, in Art we produced white flowers which we made into a huge school peace symbol and in Science we learned about the good and bad uses man makes of scientific breakthroughs.  In PE we were happy to play football for our House in support of  “One Day, One Goal”, an initiative introduced by Jeremy Gilley, founder of Peace One Day, to illustrate that sport can transcend all barriers.

Our week climaxed with a themed dress day – Flower Power – and even the teachers joined in – back to Woodstock, or was it back to their youth?! We had a great fun week, but also learned a little bit about humility, while raising funds to make a tangible difference to the lives of children around the globe. As members of a leading IB school in China, we also became aware of our responsibilities as the global citizens of the future, a responsibility not to be taken lightly.