The Wu Chien-Shiung Education Foundation was established in 1995 by the four Chinese-ancestry Nobel laureates Chen-Ning Yang, Tsung-Dao Lee, Samuel Chao-Chung Ting, and Yuan-Tseh Lee, in honor and memory of the late great female physicist Professor Chien-Shiung Wu. This civilian foundation is devoted to promoting science education, especially for those science-talented youths, in the Chinese communities worldwide. To achieve this goal, a Science Camp is organized in the summer annually by the Foundation. Four world-class science scholars are invited to the Camp as academic masters. Additionally, more than a dozen local university professors in the fields of physics, chemistry, and life science are also invited to form a jury committee. The professors are in charge of selecting the science-talented students from the applicants nationwide and evaluate their performances in the Camp. A comprehensive program is set up for the Camp, which includes a keynote speech, lectures, face-to-master dialogues, excursion, creativity competition, party, etc. It is hoped that these talented youths can be further enlightened through encounter with Nobel Laureate and distinguished scholars at the camp. (Source: The Wu Chien-Shiung Education Foundation)

Since 1910, the Harvard Prize Book has been an important way for Harvard Club members to help attract talented young people to advance the college study in the USA. The Prize Book is awarded to outstanding students in the next to the graduating class who demonstrate excellence in scholarship and leadership and achievement in other non-academic areas. Over 1,900 high schools around the world have applied it annually.

The Academic Decathlon is a ten-event scholastic competition. Each high school enters a team of nine students as they compete with students from other schools. The Academic Decathlon was created to provide opportunities for students to experience the challenges of rigorous team and individual academic competition. It emphasizes the personal and academic growth of each student who can reap the rewards of greater self-knowledge and self-confidence for the future. The individual events include Art, Economics, Essay, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Studies, Speech and Interview. This year’s theme is “The Civil War”.

On May 1st, PAS put 9 students to the test to compete with other International Schools worldwide. Scores were tallied and PAS was announced as the Champion of the team competition. Out of all international competitors in honors division, Derek Jang came in 2nd and Erica Jang came in 3rd. Stefan Tsai, Patricia Chang, and Alex Hsu won the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in Scholastic division while Jolio Chang, Wayne Tsuei, and Jason Yu stayed the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Varsity division. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded for individual events and total scores.

During the first week of May at PAS, there is a flurry of activity centered on a mathematics competition, the Math Olympiad. Nearly all elementary and upper school students on campus participated in one of student groupings in order to crown this year’s math champions. Students are very excited on the day of the event.

The young students, 3rd grade challenged to make use of the recycling materials to design project, and recognized the geometric figures from each of the projects. How amazing is that how they put together all the geometric figures to build a Mickey’s World, a rocket station, an express….The 4th and 5th graders had been working hard on researching a topic on their interest and organized all the information to present their knowledge over the topic they chose.

The middle and high school students took the written contest in the areas covering Algebra, Geometry, Precalculus, Statistics, AP Calculus, and AP Statistics.

On May 3, the PAS Typhoons Cheerleading Squad set out to perform at a charity fair hosted by St. Joseph’s Center next to the McKay Hospital. In front of hundreds of spectators, the squad got the spirit of the crowd going under the hot noon sun and was presented with a participation award.

Despite the smiles on the cheerleaders’ faces during the performance, each member of the squad went through a hectic day. The morning of the day of the performance, the captain, co-captain and several other cheerleaders were sitting in an NEHS classroom taking the SAT Subject Tests. Only an hour before the performance did the squad have one run-through of their routine and as the cheerleaders walked towards the fairground, each has never felt more nervous.

Nevertheless, with the PAS Typhoon’s chant, “Let’s G. Let’s G. Let’s O. Let’s O. Let’s go, Typhoons. Let’s go,” the cheerleaders ran unto the field and rocked the scene.

By Typhoons Cheerleading Squad - we study hard and we play hard!

When we got there, we saw they had a big buffet restaurant where we would eat all our meals. We spent our days playing in their pool and going on the water slide. At night we bought lots of snacks from the local store, played cards, and watched TV. There was a video game arcade and pool table to use as well. The next day, we woke up early for breakfast and went to the beach. There we practiced skipping stones and played volleyball. Then there was more time to play in the pool before dinner. The last night, there was a Yo Ho Dance Party made by some crazy foreigners. The Grade 5 girls and teachers went while the scared boys stayed in their room eating noodles and other junk food.

Finally it was time to go back to Hsinchu. It was sad to think we had school the next morning. Everyone had a good time together in this graduation trip.

By G5 Eric Liao

During the trip, they got the chance to see all the regular exhibits which included an impressive 14 meter high kelp forest, huge whale shark tank, 3D movie about the prehistoric seas, and even explored the intertidal zone along the coast near the museum. Once the regular public left at closing time, they began their own “Night at the Museum” which began with an afterhours guided tour of both the coral reef, water’s of Taiwan, and whale shark tank. When it came time to sleep, everyone arranged their bedding by the whale shark tank and settled down for the night. Of course, it took some time to get used to a 4 meter shark gliding by every minute or so.

The next day there was time for a daylight exploration of the coral reef exhibit and an entertaining Beluga whale show. Few of the students knew just how playful and curious these small white whales can be. After that it was time to head back to Hsinchu. It was a trip that won’t be soon forgotten and helped everyone gain a deeper respect and understanding of the creatures with which we share this world.

SciFest® 2008 is a Festival of science and technology, and it took place on April 16–19, 2008. SciFest® 2008 features events; including popular lectures, game drives, workshops, robotics competitions, interactive exhibitions. The outstanding achievements of Taiwanese students in SciFest®2008 were reported by the major media in Finland and Taiwan, including:
United Daily News
China Times
Liberty Times
National Chiao Tung University Public Affairs Committee
Robot World
RobotCupJunior Hong Kong
My Robot

After four hours of flight, we arrived in Phuket. They all greeted us with warm smiles. Yulia, a Taiwanese G.O., picked us up at the airport. It was an hour-long bus drive from the airport to Club Med. When we finally got to Club Med, we settled down in our rooms. Our rooms were far from the restaurant and the pool, but it was close to the sports area.

The food there was great! It was buffet for every meal, and there was food from different countries. Once in a week, there would be Häagen-Dazs ice cream. There is a bar next to the pool, and all the drinks are free! You could tell the bartender to make anything. You would almost never be hungry because there is so much to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you are hungry still, there are light snack and ice-cream offered around the bar.

Every night, the G.O.s would put on a show, and there would be special events depending on the theme. There is a dress code for each day, for example, “black and white”, and the night’s show would be about black and white. We could tell that the G.O.s spent a lot of time preparing for the dances and plays. There was also disco dancing every night from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.We never get bored at Club Med because there’s always something going on. Ara Lee, a Korean G.O., helped us to schedule our teenager club. We went to many different activities there: at the trapeze, the pool, the beach, the bar, the basketball court, the golf court, the tennis court, archery, and eating! We never have enough time to do all the activities there! Everywhere we go, we see friendly people from all over the world.

On the last day, none of us wanted to leave Club Med, because it was heaven. We all complained and whined, but we knew we had to go back to Taiwan anyway. During these five days, we watched shows every night, we threw sand balls to each other, we played volleyball in the pool, we played cards every night, we pushed friends into the pool, and we fooled friends or got fooled by friends on Apr. 1st-Fool Day. Everyone had fun and we got to know each other more. Our graduation trip was awesome!

By the way, we’re already planning on our next Club Med trip! :]

By G8 Peggy Lin

Not everyday here in PAS you see high school students wearing glamorous prom dresses and suits. Taking this great opportunity, they all dressed up to look their finest on their Prom “Enchanted” held once a year.

This year’s Prom was held in Ambassador Hotel, Hsinchu on March 27, 2008. It was a night of excitements and astonishments from the unrecognizable faces that we normally are familiar with seeing in school everyday. Each and every one of them had their own unique style. It was a night of Chic and Fashion. Clicks and clicks of cameras continued endlessly as students take the precious opportunity to take pictures of what soon will be a memory that will last forever in their high school life. The night started off with a few greetings and led to the dinner of eating one of the finest food in town prepared by the hotel.

It continued to a night of dancing and fun. Groups of students rocked the fast songs and couples floated elegantly through the slow ones. Some of the teachers also joined in the fun. The whole night ended successfully at 10pm. PAS will like to take this chance to also thank all the people who were involved in making this event run smoothly. We hope you all enjoyed the Prom.