2022 WSC Online

The World Scholar’s Cup originated in the United States. Every year, 50,000 representatives from more than 140 global cities participate in this academic feast. Each year, the World Scholars Cup will focus on a theme , through unique learning methods such as inquiry-based learning, to carry out in-depth exploration and competition in six subjects including science, sociology, history, art, literature, and general studies.

SUISQP MEDALS: 15 silver, 21 gold, team writing champion

On April 17, Six teams attended a World Scholars Cup (WSC) Online event. This was made up of four teams from Grade 7 and two teams from Grade 8. Our students achieved 15 silver medals, 21 gold medals and a Champion trophy for Collaborative Writing.

8D 杜思含

Ariel Du

As a student who has participated in the World Scholars’ Cup twice, the meaning of competition in my mind not only relates to a competition between people, but also to a competition with oneself, to establishing new friendships and to making wonderful memories. I’m delighted to have had another chance to take part in this competition and ecstatic about receiving five gold medals and one silver medals as well as a trophy with my new teammates. I am proud of the achievements we made, and I also feel happy about my self-growth. I hope I can continue my journey of making a ‘better self’ in the future!

8D 徐思琦

Cissy Xu

Because this was the first time I attended a WSC competition, I was a little nervous when it started. However, after the competition, I felt warmth from the experience of facing many academic challenges, which have served to prepare me for higher expectations in subsequent competitions. I’m quite surprised that we received a gold medal for the Team Writing, but I’m also excited and happy about it, of course. Since we had to participate in the competition online, not only did I improve my ability to both withstand pressure and cooperate with teammates, but I also became familiar with a series of procedures for online competition, adding another amazing experience to my junior high school life.

8A 钟蕊西

Sissy Zhong

From Collaborative Writing and the Scholar’s Challenge in the morning, to the debate and Scholar’s Bowl in the afternoon, the schedule for the online competition rounds was quite tight. Therefore, it became particularly important to arrange some reasonable break times between the various activities. I realized that in the process of such a competition, not only were one’s knowledge and being able to craft calm and careful responses important, but also learning to adjust and recover between the different challenges and sessions.

G7B 顾蕊绮

Ricky Gu

Although the regional round was only over two days and all online, my teammates and I were still well prepared and tried our best to achieve high scores. We all really enjoyed this process and were satisfied with the results. After the competition, I realized that we didn’t just gain some knowledge and a new experience, but we also learned ways of working together. It was more precious that we had the chance to collaborate, to participate and to face the different consequences together. I believe that in the global round we will gain more inspiration and achieve even higher results.

G7B 高一衢

Bill Gao

This was my first time joining the WSC, so I did a lot of preparation before the competition. There were 6 topics in total and each of us needed to choose two topics to study for the Team Writing challenge section. In addition, our teacher gave us writing topics each week so that we could practice our writing skills for the Collaborative Writing section. Furthermore, our teacher also organized some debate competitions in class, which helped us a lot. We all enjoyed the process of preparing for and competing in the WSC, and we were all satisfied with the results. We will be better prepared for the global round!

G7B 戴莘怡

Helen Dai

The debate aspect of the World Scholar’s Cup competition is something I am particularly fond of. I believe that you will truly learn to enjoy speaking English when debating with scholars from another school.

The rules of debate in the WSC are quite simple to understand. Firstly, you are given five minutes to prepare. Secondly, you are allocated four minutes to express your opinions. After every speaker finishes their speech, you then have one minute to have a discussion with your teammates. At the end of the debate, you are expected to give comments to your opponents about how they could improve their skills.

The part that I really enjoyed was being given the opportunity to speak English as much as I wanted. It was like giving a ‘free talk’. I loved the process of speaking at a fast speed and crafting firm statements. Of course, experiencing the taste of accomplishment made me addicted to debating. Moreover, you can certainly make some new friends of similar age in the debate sections – you are welcome to connect with them on WeChat. Debating is also a process of making friends with people from all parts of the world.

I would like to sharing some skills that might be useful for you when debating:

1.Make sure that you respect your opponents (be mindful of your attitude);

2.Cooperation among teammates is very important, so please put in some practice before the formal competition;

3.Be firm. At least, make yourself sound firm when expressing your opinions/thoughts;

4.Relax yourself during the debate. Try not to be nervous. At least, don’t show others that you are nervous. (Actually, I was quite nervous during a debate – I could hear my own heart pounding. However, I never showed it in front of the others.)

Team Writing (Process)

Since this Shanghai Round was online, we entered the Junior Team Writing Challenge Room in Zoom. We kept our cameras open in case the judges and hosts wanted to check the scholars to ensure that no one was cheating. During the first 15 minutes, we chose our own topic and started doing research on Google. Some topics were hard to find on the internet. When we were doing our research, we wrote key notes on a piece of paper. The next 25 minutes were devoted to writing time for all of us. We then entered Youkaoshi, the website the WSC uses to type in essays. Scholars must keep Youkaoshi in ‘full screen’ or they would be deemed to be cheating if they didn’t. We typed in our essay and had a little talk about the three topics we chose for the 15 minutes they gave us. We gave suggestions to each other, but it wasn’t that practical since we were not able to edit our essay any further. Then, the Team Writing Challenge came to a conclusion.

G7C 曹梓妍

Cindy Cao

In the WSC competition we were presented with six subjects: art & music, history, literature, science, social studies, and a special area. Every team has three members, and within each team every student manages two subjects. Thus, before the competition, each one of us was tasked with reading the material that our teacher Ms. Marina gave us. Because of that preparation, the probability of our success in the real competition and thus reaching the next round increased.

Due to the pandemic situation in Shanghai, we had to take part in the WSC competition online. On the day of the real competition, we were all rather nervous. The first competing project was Collaborative Writing. We had 25 minutes to prepare for the writing and 45 minutes to write. Finally, we were given a final 15 minutes to talk with our teammates in order to improve our essays.

The second competing project was the debate section. We had 25 minutes to research and discuss the debate topic with our teammates. In the actual debate, there are three debaters on each team. The first debater needed to state their own opinion. The second debater needed to give a rebuttal to the first debater on the opposing team. Finally, the third debater needed to summarize the opinions of the first two debaters. After all the debaters had finished their speeches, we gave feedback to the opposite team.

Other contestants

Ms. Marina Wang

As a new coach for SUIS Qingpu’s World Scholars Cup team, I saw this competition as a precious experience of learning together with our students. During CCA time once each week, the little scholars from Grade 7 gathered to discuss some interesting and critical ideas. Sometimes, a specific idea was given to them to brainstorm in class, which served as a pre-task of their writing homework after class. Sometimes, some exciting debate competitions were held in class, focusing on the practicing of debate strategies. In addition to learning valuable debating skills, a deeper understanding of the world we live in was gained from all of these discussions and arguments. At the same time, I was also impressed by the excellent English and critical thinking abilities of our students. We hope to see their wonderful performances in the national round!

Ms. Veronica Zhan

Although the quarantines and lockdowns have had an impact on the offline regional round of the WSC, the enthusiasm of our young scholars in the World Scholars Cup was not diminished. During the online round, our scholars not only acquired knowledge and new skills, but also achieved a wonderful life experience and gained much growth through the cooperation and collaboration with their teammates.