by LYIS
LYIS‘s last visit of 2024 took us to Yingya St Peter’s School – Hainan, where we spent the day in the company of International Head of School and LYIS Member, Catherine Cooke and National Head of School, Fanny Fang.
In the morning, we were guests of honour at the school’s Winter Show, witnessing a variety of spectacular song and dance performances. It was amazing to see how far the school has come in such a short space of time.
An intriguing aspect of the show was the appearance and performance of the local Hainan school Ba Wang Ling at the show – showing to serve the sense of community that St Peter’s honours and how it is committed to developing deep relationships with its community neighbours. Could this be a precedent for other international schools to follow I wonder?
Schools are busy places at the best of times and this visit was no exception. After taking in the numerous performances, we were delighted to spend the rest of the morning visiting the various stalls and food vendors at the Winter Fayre. Children taking great delight in showcasing their entrepreneurial skills!
Being afforded the time to speak to individual members of staff was a humbling experience, and learning from their journey of working in a start-up school was a unique insight. Working in a startup requires a specific set of skills and behaviours – not least the resilience to overcome challenges and obstacles that inevitably appear along the way.
In its recent history, as a result of the typhoon, Hainan has suffered tremendous damage to the island and its nature. Realising the loss of habitats for many birds and species, the school has recently hired a local carpenter to begin a programme aimed at restoring these habitats and engaging students in the process.
“Today was all about showing how we are as a community, said Catherine”. When I asked Catherine to reflect on these two years she told me “You can’t spend enough time making sure that you have a safe environment”. The best part of being a Founding Headmistress Catherine told me is “Being able to define the values of the school – and what those values look like on a daily basis”.
I was reminded by the Parents that we spoke with how very pleased they were with the day and seeing their children so engaged with the local community. The event raised over 8,000 CNY for local good causes.
We wish Fanny, Catherine, the staff and students at Yingya St Peter’s all the very best in 2025.
LYIS extends its warm appreciation to Catherine Cooke and the entire Yingya St Peter’s team for making us feel so welcome.
To have LYIS visit your international school, email: andre@leadingyourinternationalschool.com