Shanghai Community International School

Written by Yein (Grade 10), Noemie Grade 11), Ji Yun (Grade 12), & Jin (Grade 12)

Welcome to the 2022-2023 Edition of #Dragonfit

We’re a school community that cares about each other. What does it mean to be caring? Well... 

Lockdowns. Just this word might have brought a range of emotions. All of us in Shanghai have recently gone through a lot (and continue to), which makes it especially important for us to pay attention to well-being. It’s important to share knowledge and awareness about maintaining an active lifestyle and good mental health habits during these trying times. 

Additionally, nowadays we may have noticed that many teens struggle with their mental health. There are so many societal standards that put so much pressure on students, these range from beauty standards to academic pressures. Often students will go out of their way to make themselves feel validated without realizing it is affecting their happiness, which is why it is so important to check in with yourself and your mental well-being. In addition, there is such a negative stigma around mental health which I want to change because everyone struggles from time to time, so it’s about time we start talking about it. How? A clothing brand that I’ve been building, Belle Âme. “Beautiful Soul” aims to remind teens to seek help.   

Shanghai has lots of events on this topic.  There was a recent lecture by Amir Hampel - a Clinical Assistant Professor of Global China Studies at NYU Shanghai.  His talk hit on the topic of self-help psychology with links to personal growth, academics, risk-taking, happiness, and more. This #SCISDragonfit initiative is a way to participate actively in exploring these topics with a wider audience.   

What's New This Year?

As it is the second year of SCIS Dragonfit, there are a few new things we wanted to update you on!  

Engagement: Last year, Dragonfit was really focused on building participation from students. Many of those who took part were upper school students. However, this year we hope to increase our visibility and call on more community members to get involved.  We can’t wait to hear from parents & families, students at the ECE, Lower School, and across the campuses!  

 

Submission: The 2022-23 Dragonfit Padlet is live!  It’s an easy way to submit! Of course, we also encourage you to submit your work on social media by using the tag @scis.china and hashtag #SCISDragonfit. If you are a student, you are encouraged to also upload your work as an SAA/CAS experience on Managebac. If you are struggling to submit it, you are also fine to ask a teacher to submit it for you. 

Topic & Themes: We have planned many new themes and topics with suggested activities this year that everyone can easily participate in. The topics and themes will be announced at the beginning of each month until May of 2023 through our official WeChat account, so please keep your eyes out for our monthly WeChat article. 

 

Events: We will hold various special events throughout the year. Stay tuned!                    

Join the Discussion

This December, we will explore the importance of health and well-being:  

Respond in your native language: Share 3 words that you view as important in the topic of health and well-being.

Share: Identity a health-related goal using the SMART goal format.

Draw or create a photo collage: Are "health" and "well-being" the same? How might you show the similarities and differences?

Record a conversation: How are views about health and well-being shaped by an increasingly interconnected, global world? 

Remember: You can directly respond to one of the above OR simply reflect in any way you wish on the overall theme of "Re-Defining Health".   

How to Submit

We will be gathering submissions through Instagram, Facebook, and via WeChat PAFA groups. Post your submission to your Instagram or Facebook page using the hashtag #SCISDragonfit AND tag us at @scis.china. 

Giveaway

What's the giveaway this month? A big shout-out to one of our sponsors - Epermarket!

The Bigger Picture

Lifeline is an organization here in China that offers bilingual mental health services. Like last year, we are committed to having a group of students attend an RUOK workshop. We are continuing to explore ways to meaningfully partner with Lifeline.   In the meantime – if you feel obliged – donate and don’t forget to ‘note’ #SCISDragonfit. 

 

SCIS. Positive Contributors.