School campuses teeming with Winter Games fervor

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games might have concluded but school campuses in China are brimming with Games spirit, as students kick-start their spring semester with vibrant Olympic-themed activities.

Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon－the mascots for the 2022 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics－greeted students at the gate of Beijing Guangqumen Middle School on Feb 21. The school had invited two students to put on the fluffy costumes to offer an exuberant welcome to the students as they began the new semester.

The school also held an Olympic torch relay at its reopening ceremony in which student representatives from each grade took over a torch from the headmaster, who was a torchbearer at the Winter Olympics, and carried it around the playground.

Kindergartens and primary and middle schools in Hefei, Anhui province, resumed classes last week. Hefei Taishan Kindergarten organized sporting activities such as dryland hockey and sledding to usher in the new semester and help kindle enthusiasm for winter sports among children.

Meanwhile, students at Shanghai XinJing Middle School spent their first class of the new semester last week watching highlights of the Winter Olympics to soak up Games fervor.

A teacher at Shanghai's Hongqiao Middle School dressed as Bing Dwen Dwen to greet students at the school gate, and students were treated to heartwarming anecdotes about athletes during the school's reopening ceremony, kick-starting the new term with vigor and enthusiasm.

Zhu Lei, father of a first grader at Beijing No 2 Experimental Primary School, said his son's foray into Olympic trivia began during his winter vacation.

Thanks to the country's "double reduction" policy that was rolled out in July to alleviate the pressure of excessive schoolwork and off-campus tutoring, his son had ample free time to indulge in extracurricular activities.

"During last winter vacation, my son took the initiative to write a casual essay about the Winter Olympics, and developed a habit of learning something new about the Olympics every day through TV programs and books," Zhu said.

"The 'double reduction' policy has freed the kids from the clutches of excessive academic burdens, allowing them to dedicate their time to whatever they are interested in rather than being buried in homework and extra lessons."

Education authorities in China reiterated their stance earlier this month ahead of the spring semester, calling for homework assignments to be more appropriate, as well as a higher level of classroom teaching and higher quality after-school services to fully implement the policy.

Students spent less time doing homework in the past school semester, and over 92 percent of students across the country voluntarily participated in after-school services, said Lyu Yugang, an official from the Ministry of Education.

Xinhua