Possibilities in a Pandemic at Instilling Goodness

Submitted by Thuy Nguyen (Class of 2022) and Amy Liu (Class of 2023)

Despite the pandemic and the transition from an in-person curriculum to an online curriculum, the Fall semester has ended smoothly. Overcoming the difficulties of adjusting to the new way of learning, students and teachers worked together to make the school year as fluid as possible. Students – in-person and remote alike – kept in touch with the school’s core virtues by hosting customary events, such as virtual Honoring Elders Day, interactive clubs, and activities.

This year’s Honoring Elders Day was entitled Paying Tribute To Our Guardians and Envisioning the Future , a theme that has never been more relevant. The event commemorated the service of front-line healthcare professionals, teachers, blue collar workers, and elders. The digital production was made possible through the efforts of students and the guidance of their teachers. The pursuit of knowledge and the school’s core virtues of kindness, filial piety, respect, trustworthiness, fairness, citizenship, integrity and humility, prevails. From immersing in these timely and timeless virtues, the students are empowered to to sustain themselves through challenges and be the models of transformation for others. Here is a free verse that captures the experience:

From face to face –

Now screen to screen –

Settling into a new pace

And in a new direction, we lean.

What unfolds remains untold

But with hope, we persevere, Spreading love manifold,

Welcoming the new year.

“Though we are still learning from a distance, much excitement awaits us as the 2021 school year unfolds. Everyone’s engagement in the classroom and participation in the activities and clubs have made the fall 2020 semester meaningful and purposeful.”

--Dharma Master Jin Jr Shi,

Girls Division Principal.