Ryan Cheng – Kinesiology 

When I wrote this article, it was the end of my first year at UBC, and I was about to start summer school. In my opinion, I think university life is “wider” than my high school in two dimensions. As some of you already know, I spent a lot of time outside of schoolwork participating in the UBCs E-Sport Club, and some of the events organized by the UBC e-sport team. The first thing I want to talk about is schoolwork. I study kinesiology, a faculty that studies anatomy, physiology, and also psychological training. Obviously, you need to learn a lot about the human body, like the names of muscles, bones, and neurons. Some grade 12 content is already difficult to understand and put into words. However, after I suffered through my first year in kinesiology, I realized all that was just too “easy”. So, there is the first dimension I want to talk about: the quantity and difficulty of the content in first-year of university is insane. And I am pretty sure this is not only true for kinesiology, it is true for all faculties. 

Let’s throw away schoolwork and talk about clubs and events. Due to the size of our high school, the number and variety of the clubs you can choose are limited. So, when it came to the club day at UBC, I was shocked by the number of clubs we had. Initially, I was thinking about choosing two clubs: Thunderbird Sports Club and E-Sport Club. I truly underrated my laziness though. One quick question: if club attendance is not mandatory at all, would you still go out and do exercise? My answer was no. So, I didn’t even go to the Thunderbird Sports Club once. Instead, I spent all my time off school on the e-sport team. In class, sometimes you would see some strange face only appear during midterms or finals because they never attended class. Some classes record and mark attendance, but other classes don’t. That’s the second dimension: university gives you the freedom on how you spend your time.   

Scott Shi – Food and Nutrition 

I like university more just because the location and nature of my school are breathtaking. The University of British Columbia sits on the west coast of Vancouver, in BC, Canada. As one of the most desirable provinces in Canada for tourism, BC possesses vast forests and neighbours the Pacific Ocean. There are even silent mountains standing in the far north. UBC campus is a collection of eye-catching nature attractions in BC province. Along three sides of UBC is Wrecked Beach – which allows visitors to watch the sunset land in the sea while the ember of the sun lights up the tips of clouds. Traveling from building to building, as you walk through the campus cherry blossoms fill the April sky; when autumn arrives, the chill wind blows off warm brown oak leaves from their giant lichen-covered bodies, leaving the acorns to squirrels. At the end of the main mall, Rose Garden reveals herself, behind her is a placid bay and mountains embellished by snow. How could one’s heart not be moved by such so pleasant atmosphere!  

Ammie Du – Pharmaceutical Science 

I think yes! First-year > high school because the learning content in university is harder than in high school. In high school, a “one-night miracle” worked for me when I was in Grade 12 but it did not work in university. The content in high school is less and easier compared to university. Take chemistry 12 and Chem 121 as examples. The test material for chem 12 was 5 chapters in the final exam but for Chem 121, all the material from Chapters 1 to 12 is testable. So, it is a good idea to start reviewing several days in advance. Moreover, the pace of teaching in a university is also faster than in high school. Teachers in high school use your time to ask questions and try to practice questions during class but in university, those actions should be done after class which requires students to spend more time after class. Overall, although the learning content is harder, I still enjoyed it more than Grade 12 because I love learning! 

Levi Liu – Applied Science 

I think yes! First-year > high school because university not only requires students to understand the course content but also focuses on creative thinking. In university, students need to transfer the knowledge they learned during the lecture to the actual products in real life. For example, students were required to use the knowledge of coding and structure design to produce a claw in the course APSC 100 and 101. In addition, you’ll find that a lot of science is interlinked when you go to university. For instance, students are required to understand the knowledge of derivatives and integration from Math 100 and 101 in order to perform the calculation for PHYS 158. So, it is a good idea to review the knowledge points that have been learned before starting learning new materials. All in all, I love how everything is connected and I think getting hands-on practice is super valuable for me in the future! 

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While Tim currently studies in McMaster’s business program, Roy studies engineering at the same school. In their presentation, they spoke about their current courses and knowledge acquired at the university. They also shared their university application experience during their senior year at Luwan. Amy, currently studying in Canada, through the group chat reminded the students at Luwan that “the learning career in university will not be easy since students are expected to be studious independently and rigorously.” The alumni also offered students the opportunity to find out more about their programs, especially for those who were interested. 

Finally, Tim and Roy advised the students to develop reading skills in order to prepare for the future. Many found the presentation quite invaluable since they gained a better understanding of life at university. 

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On September 17th, Aileen delivered her presentation. She first explained the reasons why she chose Waterloo, then introduced the courses that she was studying and presented some photos of the university. As this was her first week studying in Waterloo, Aileen said she could feel the huge differences between the life at university and in high school. Students found the lecture useful, inspiring, and helpful. 

Aileen began her presentation by addressing an intriguing question of “Why I chose to go to Waterloo instead of U of T” followed by a list of advantages of going to Waterloo. One important factor was that she could establish a better relationship and rapport with the professors in a smaller class size there. Moreover, the unique co-op program in Waterloo allows students to spend an extra year earning work experience, which would give students a competitive edge upon graduation.   

In the second part of the presentation, Aileen talked about the mathematic faculty and her program. She highly recommended students with interest learn basic coding to better prepare for the program. Aileen also compared the study habits and workload at university and in high school.  She realized that she has become more self-disciplined and independent, as she now doesn’t need others to be around to force her to study. “This is the biggest difference. Compared with high school life, everyone is a lot more focused since he/she is solely responsible for his/her own learning at university.” 

We really appreciate the time and effort that Aileen devoted to helping us learn more about studying at university in the future! 

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The graduation ceremony was attended by Mr. Jose Sia, Consul and Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai, Ms. Wu Xiaoning, Trade Commissioner (Education), Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai, Mr. Yuan Gang, Chairman of Baihui International Education, Mr. Mark Wuerch, Principal of BC Program, Shanghai Nanyang Model Private High School, Ms. He Li, Principal of Luwan Senior High School, Ms. Chen Yi, Secretary of Party Branch of Luwan Senior High School, Ms. Mei Jie, Vice Principal of Luwan Senior High School, Mr. Cao Yiping, Vice Principal of Luwan Senior High School, Ms. Chen Yanan, Director of International Programs of Luwan Senior High School, Ms. Naomie Fortin, Principal of BC Program at Luwan Senior High School, and Mr. Gordon Chang, Vice-Principal of BC Program at Luwan Senior High School.  

At around 1:00 pm, the MC, Mr. Keith Bisnauth, announced the entrance of the graduates. Accompanied by solemn symphonic music, the graduates entered the venue dressed in their graduation gown. Their pace was smooth and confident, and their faces were full of joy. After three years of hard work, these students have grown from a group of young teenagers into mature and responsible young men and women, becoming the pillars of the country. After the graduates were all seated, the graduation ceremony officially started. 

At the invitation of the MC, the guests, teachers and students stood up and sang the Chinese and Canadian national anthems “March of the Volunteers” and “O, Canada.” 

After a brief introduction of the guests, Ms. He Li, Principal of Luwan Senior High School, gave a speech. She began by congratulating all the graduates on their success in the 2020-21 school year with 180 offers and a total of $123,000 in scholarships. At the same time, she also encouraged the graduates to keep striving to enter a prestigious school as a new start in life. Principal He gave the graduates three reflections: to brighten the path of their studies with the heart of serving the country, to respect each other’s differences with the spirit of tolerance, and to achieve the greatness of governance with the nature of purity. If you do these three things, you will be able to go to a post-secondary institution abroad in the future to study with ease.  

After that, Ms. Naomie Fortin, the BC Principal of Luwan Senior High School, also gave a speech. She recalled all the great memories she had with the graduates over the past year and how proud she was to have had the privilege of knowing and teaching these excellent students. By listing different new things that had previously made the graduates feel fearful of the unknown, Ms. Fortin encouraged them to step out of their comfort zone and to dare to try new things. Only by being progressive and experimenting with different things can we be invincible in the fast-changing society of the 21st century. As the teacher who has taught this class for three years, Mr. Gordon Chang, Vice-Principal of the BC Program at Luwan Senior High School, also gave a speech to congratulate the graduates on their achievements and encourage them to keep moving forward. 

Then, our special guest, Mr. Jose Xia, Consul and Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai, delivered a speech on behalf of the Canadian government, congratulating the graduates on their successful graduation and wishing them the best of luck in their future. 

The graduates listened to the speeches of the principals, guests and teachers, and gave each of them a warm round of applause. Now that they have reached this new starting point in their lives, the teachers’ speeches gave the students motivation to keep trying their best to have a successful future. 

After all the speeches, the much-awaited graduation certificate distribution and award ceremony began. The graduates walked up to the stage one by one to receive their Luwan Senior High School Certificate from Ms. He and their BC School Leaving Certificate from Ms. Fortin. Each graduate had a chance to take an individual photo with them. While the MC announced the list of student award winners, the BC teachers presented the awards to the students with outstanding performance in various aspects. 

During the graduation ceremony, some students also presented great performances that showed their talents. The audience well received the students’ performances from: 

1. Christina, Irene, Vanessa–“A Million Dreams” 
2. Jacky, Jeremy, Peter, Tom–“Autumn Leaves” 
3. Jacky, Ryan, Tim, Tom–“Secret Base” 

Beatrice Ding, the Valedictorian, gave a farewell speech as the representative of the graduates. She looked back on their three years in high school, looked forward to the future, and expressed her heartfelt thanks to the teachers and parents who worked so hard for them. 

At the end of the graduation ceremony, Ms. Zhou Xuemei, former class teacher of this year’s graduating class, and Emily Wang, one of the graduates, sang a song composed by Ms. Zhou Xuemei herself entitled “For You as a Teenager,” as a gift to the 2021 graduates of BC International Programs. Ms. Mao Yuehua accompanied them on the piano, playing a beautiful and nostalgic melody. 

As the ancient Chinese poem goes, “Knowing the way of the world from afar, we will not be disappointed with the people who travel far.” The graduates are about to open a new chapter of their lives and pursue their dreams far away from home. With the will to strive for the great rejuvenation of our nation, the blessings of their teachers and seniors, the fond high school memories, and the ambitions of each one of them, the class of 2021 will indeed become outstanding individuals among their peers and create a new glory for the country, the school, and themselves. 

Congratulations class of 2021! 

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To clarify at the very beginning, I’m not writing to lecture you guys, but just to share some of my experience. I’m not going to spoil too much about what you are going to face in another country, since that’s the fun part, I’ll leave it for yourselves to find out. To make your lives easier in a foreign country, I’m going share two pieces of advice here: strengthen your English skills and make friends, all kinds of them. 

Let’s start with the topic that takes the highest priority in my opinion: develop your English skill by all means. I guess this is also one of the most important reasons why you are in this school instead of the domestic ones. One thing you need to keep in mind is that entering into a university is not the end of your way of learning English; instead, it’s just a beginning. In an English-speaking country, you will find out that a great deal of their choice of words can be non-sense, since these words are of colloquial use only which is something that you could have never learnt from a textbook. Thus, the only way to understand what people are talking about is to force yourself to keep speaking English with local people. If you find it hard to talk to a random person on the street, I highly recommend you take some Asian study courses. Trust me, if you are afraid of using the wrong words or stuttering while speaking, then this is the perfect place for you. Think about it, why are these people taking Asian studies? Of course it’s because they are interested in it and they do not discriminate against Asian people! Thus, don’t be afraid of making mistakes, they are definitely willing to help. 

Now let’s shift gears to our second topic: making friends. It can be hard to make friends in university since people all have different time schedules, so if you find that a person is taking more than 3 of the same classes with you, talk to that person, it’s highly possible you guys are going to take other classes together in the future. Another reason it can be hard to make friends in university is because people’s backgrounds differ a lot. Therefore, you’re unlikely to find a person who shares exactly the same value as you on everything. In this case, learning to accept divergence can be a vital lesson. However, some of the divergences should not be accepted such as saying the derivative of e^x is x*(e^x-1). If you can’t get the joke, time to learn some calculus. One thing you need to consider is to be alert of something we called toxic relationships. Google it yourself to see what it means. (This is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing you need to learn in a university) If such a person does exists in your life, get rid of him or her as early as possible. University is like an microcosm of society, so finding a way to communicate with others is a big lesson, it’s like an AP communication course for society.  

We humans are gregarious animal, so what I’m trying to convince you of through this whole article is to go out and get in touch with other people. Studying is not everything you need to focus on in your four-year university life. Students who just graduated from universities basically share the same level of background knowledge in their major realm. Thus, for new graduates to find a decent job, information gathering is crucial. Moreover, it’s hard for one person to gather all the important information and this is the moment you should be asking your friends for help. 

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The second semester has begun! On the first day back from school, we had an assembly to open up the semester. All the students and teachers were excited to participate as semester 1 ended abruptly due to a COVID-19 scare. During the assembly, Mrs. Fortin awarded the students who worked hard and got into the honor roll and principal’s list in the last term. Mrs. Fortin also gave all the students the goals and expectations for the new semester. She said the teachers are pleased with the effort students had put in last year, and she hoped everyone could keep up their effort and keep working hard. Ms. Fortin also gave an impressive admonishment to students, especially to grade 12s: you’ve done well, but it’s not the time to slow down and relax, it’s the time to work even harder as you rush through the end of the run. Mr. Chang also went up to the stage, he enumerated the coming events in the coming month. All the teachers and students were excited and looking forward to the new semester, the new beginning. Hopefully, the passion people had, could last for the entire year.  

After the assembly, the Luwan BC student council planned an interesting game, called name tag ripping. All the students and teachers gathered on the football court and took part in the game. 

Students took part in the game as house teams. Every student had a name tag stuck on their back. They needed to rip the other house teams’ students’ name tags using all sorts of strategies. Almost everyone thought the tallest people would be the winners because of their longer reach. Surprisingly, it ended up that tall students were the first group of people to go: because short people were able to run nimbly and quickly.  

At first, people spread out and competed one on one. Later on, students found out that attacking in groups was more efficient and safer. Some teams created their own smart strategy. For example, the orange team decided to send one person to crush into the other teams’ circle, and other teammates would try to attack the single person. This smart strategy made orange team last for the entire game as the team with the most players remaining.  

The game ended with happiness. There was laughter throughout the whole event on the field. People were running, leaping, and dodging, they were laughing, shouting, and screaming. What a wonderful way to start the second semester off right! 

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Luwan BC High School Principal

As Principal of any high school will tell you that one of the most anticipated and rewarding experience for them in any school year is graduation. This year has been a most unique experience for me in that it was the first time I was involved with Luwan graduation and I had to watch it from a distance because of COVID-19. While this required a lot of planning from a distance, the grad was a great success for our students.

In my pre-recorded message to the graduating students I said, “One thing that is for certain – this graduation year 2020, will be remembered for a long time.” To be sure, this year has certainly been one of unforeseen challenges for all stakeholders. But I was particularly impressed by how our grade 12s – our Luwan BC grads of 2020 were able to rise to the challenge and perform exceptionally well throughout this year.

All our grads have received multiple offers to universities, and all have declared where they are intending to go for the 2020-21 year. I have in particular been impressed by the many artistic talents our grads demonstrated throughout the school year and at the ceremony. Not only are they academically very strong students, they are also creative in many ways. I had the privilege of interviewing all the grade 12s earlier in June for their Capstone Project and was thoroughly impressed by how their future academic and career plans weave together their formal academic training to their creative passions. For example, a number of students have interests in fashion, design, textiles and sewing and want to work in the fashion and/or textile industries. All are obtaining degrees in such things areas as marketing, finance, textile and environmental engineering and want to use those degrees as springboards to move into career areas that they are passionate about. Their thoughtfulness in their career pathways all truly impressed me greatly and make me believe that they will undoubtedly be successful wherever their paths lead them.

As a staff, we at Luwan are very proud of our grade 12 students. We look forward to watching each of their career paths unfold and look forward to reflecting, with more than a little pride, that we played a part in the infancy of that success.

We congratulate all our Class of 2020 students and wish them nothing but the best of success in all their future endeavours.

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Every Spring grade 12 students, their parents and school staffs all over the world wait… . It is not an easy wait to be sure, but they have no choice. It is a time to be anxious, nervous, but still they have no choice, they wait…and wait… and wait…and then it happens! Finally! Universities start presenting offers for admissions to their institutions.

Each year Luwan British Columbia High School (LWBC) students, like students from around the world, worry about their admissions. And each year, Luwan students distinguish themselves and our school by receiving multiple offers from excellent universities in Canada and around the world. This year’s class of 2020 is no exception. As a matter of fact, this year’s grad class has distinguished itself by receiving more offers than any previous grad class. It is clearly a point of celebration and with it an acknowledgement of the quality of LWBC students.

Some facts:

Number of 2020 graduates: 30

Total number of university offers as of May 22, 2020: 129

Average number of offers per student: 4.3

Many of our students are attracted to Canadian universities; however, this does not preclude our students from applying to and being accepted to universities in Australia, the U.S. and the U.K.

Total offers to Canadian universities: 113

Total offers to Australian universities: 6

Total offers to U.S universities 6

Total offers to U.K universities 4

Many of the LWBC students have been accepted to one or more prestigious Canadian universities. These include:

University of Toronto: 18 offers

McGill University: 5 offers

University of BC: 13 offers

McMaster University 13 offers

University of Western Ontario 12 offers

Queens University 5 offers

University of Alberta 10 offers

Faculties

In addition to the numerous offers to diverse universities, Luwan students also have been admitted to a number of faculties from the universities where they have been accepted.

Applied, Life and Environmental Sciences – 42

Engineering – 24

Mathematics and Statistics – 25

Management, Business and Commerce – 20

Humanities and English – 14

Design, Fine Arts and Media Studies – 13

As one can see, Luwan BC graduates this year have demonstrated their strong academic abilities and are to be congratulated. They have continued to set the bar high for future graduates, which we fully expect will meet the challenge

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“After the orientation, it’s all mid-term weeks.” That’s how things go at the University of Toronto. My last orientation event ended in late September, and the first round of mid-term exams started in October. I heard people screaming at 3 in the morning. I saw my roommate cry after taking her first test. I felt extremely stressed because I was afraid of not getting into my second-year program. We got all those negative moods and they may happen to you in the future.

It is very likely to get a class average in the 50s, so not passing is normal. However, cheating is inexcusable in universities. Before I took those exams, all my professors emphasized the importance of obeying the exam rules. They said they hate the time when students cheat in the exams or on any assignments because they have to treat them with the strict academic penalty. It can be giving the student a zero for the course, limiting the number of courses the student can take in the following semester, or even kicking the student out of the university.

Universities are serious. The test environment is stricter than that of high schools. You will see more than 2 TAs in your exam room invigilating you. Therefore, you should never think about cheating. What can help you get a good grade is studying on a daily basis. “One-night miracle” may work well in Grade 12, but it will not in universities. Please at least make it a “one-week miracle.” Besides, be careful of your citations when you use any reference in your essays and assignments. Copying or the missing of citations will bring trouble to you. Taking rules seriously always makes life easier.

Work hard, and don’t forget to play harder. Different student groups and student governments organize all sorts of activities, like boat cruises, semi-formals, festival celebrations, etc. You can always have fun somewhere and get rest after the exams and due dates. After all, it’s life.

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Most of you guys, especially the Grade 12s now, must have gotten into the habit of going over tests the nights right before the exams. I had this bad habit a year ago as well, and sometimes I was able to get full mark for biology and chemistry using this method. However, from the first month experience in the university, I guarantee that the “One-night miracle” strategy does not work at all.

I would like to study in commerce program next year and let me explain how different the university studying environment is from the high school’s. I believe most of you have heard a scary story from your high school teachers that you will have to read 30 pages of textbook a week. Now I find out that this is not even an exaggeration, as you may have to read more than that if you want to get a satisfying mark. All of the professors will assume that every student knows about the knowledge in the textbook and during lectures, so they do not explain the definitions or the concepts in the chapter but beginning directly to solve the problems and to explore deeper meanings of these basic knowledge.

In addition to study, it is also significant to become an out-going and sociable person. There is a stereotype among you guys that there will be a large number of Chinese students in the university and they capture a large proportion. In fact, that is totally wrong. Many of them have a Chinese face and you assume that he or she would speak mandarin with you. However, most of them grew up in Canada and their English skill might make you shocked. Therefore, practicing your English more! Better late than never! Value the chit chat period if this activity still exists!

After reading the paragraphs above, I am sure that some of you will say, “You are lying. I got 110 for TOEFL, I got 8 for IELTS, I got 30 for listening, I got 9 for reading…” You need to know that they are just qualifying exams for going abroad, they are not the indicators of your English level. No student can guarantee that he or she can get such a high mark on these exams all the time, just like I can’t say you are a professional gamer if you only get an MVP for one round.

Besides, when you go abroad, do not feel that you are inferior because of your yellow skin. When you are discriminated by others, tell your RA or other professors directly, and the university will try its best to protect your dignity. My classmate Jerry was the only one who went to a university in the U.S. He is a kind man since he never expresses his anger to others. However, in the first week, two local students forced him to change the dorm room with them because they want to be closer to their friends. When I heard this, I was sure that Jerry would compromise easily. To my great surprise, he rejected at once and solved the problem by himself. This is the only time that I admire him so much.

I have so much to say and to suggest, but when you guys really start your university life, you will get all the experience I shared. For now, just do your best to get high average and practice English more!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am waiting for you (Grade 12s) at U of T!

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