On the 5th China Field Operations Championship, opened at the beginning of this year, a contest team from Chongming was in the spotlight for their excellent performance. This contest team became the champion of the teenager group. They are students from Hexing Middle School.

Roc is the name of the contestant team. Roc is an enormous legendary bird of ancient China. “Actually, we are a very small team,” said Si Jiangang, the coach of the contestant team. The team consists of 6 members. The average age of them is 13 years old. Hexing Middle School has several hobby groups for students, and Roc is only one of them. “Every Wednesday afternoon, we will offer curriculums, such as art, sports and local culture, to students, who can attend any curriculum they’re interested in,” said Zhu Yongfa, the principal of Hexing Middle School. That’s the origin of these hobby groups for students.

In these hobby groups, students not only have fun, but also get practical knowledge. For example, members of the field operations team need to learn how to treat outdoor sports trauma and give first-aid treatment outdoors. “These skills will bring lifelong benefits to students,” said Si Jiangang. Apart from physical training, teamwork and executive ability is also the focus of training. “They will play a positive role in student’s academic performance. The training helped students have better sense of time, and urged them to hand in homework on time.”

Many students realized their dream to become the champion by participating activities in the hobby groups: Wang Yi made a Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Temple of Heaven with wood chips, and won a golden prize on the 7th Innovative Works Contest of National Labor-technical Education; Zheng Yanjun wrote a composition and won a first prize of the junior high school group on the “I’m a Five-Good Little Citizen” writing competition for primary and secondary school students in Chongming; the boxwood artworks made by Gu Jialu are displayed in the corridor at the entrance of school and praised by her schoolmates.

“My child looks happier and more confident than before. His academic records are not bad. We hope the school would organize more activities like this,” said a student’s parent.

Currently, Hexing Middle School has organized 14 hobby groups to satisfy the different needs of students. In the first semester of 2018, more than 90 students won awards on contests at the municipal and district levels. These hobby groups are growing sturdily, because the parents support them and students love to join them.