課 - 09-21-2020 Leadership Club

For the second meeting of the Leadership Club, Shu-min Coolidge got every student ready with their bicycles and helmets. They took a 15 minute ride to the temple in the Bafen area of Sigang District. In front of this temple is a huge Banyan Tree that has overtaken an old building. She-min gave a tour of the exterior and interior of the temple, providing a culture and history lesson.

After the tour, the group proceeded on bicycles to a culture center in the King Dong area of Sigang District. She-min described how the government took over an old ancestral home to renovate it and preserve its beauty in order for it to be used by the community.

課 - 09-14-2020 Leadership Club

Shu-min Coolidge welcomed the 25 new students of the Sigang Junior High Leadership Club for the 2020-2021 school year. The students were in the classroom for the first hour to discuss what the club was about. Shu-min discussed the history and culture of Sigang. She wanted her students to have a better understanding of their hometown, so could develop deeper roots.

The purpose of the club is to connect students with their local community and install a stronger sense of identity and self-confidence. Getting to know a local temple and a Japanese-era railway depot in Sigang was a new experience to many of the students.

課 - 04-02-2018

Mr. Wang's student and new assistant for the training session.

Today, the Elite Leadership Club members from Sigang Junior High School participated in their second training workshop at Master Wang's Woodcarving Studio in Sigang District. They rode their bicycles to the studio and were escorted by Shu-min and Tony Coolidge and two other volunteers from the local community.

Students listen to their instructions.

When they arrived, they were greeted by Mr. Wang and his new assistant. This time, the woodworking master and his assistant provided each team of students with a small rectangular piece of wood, and learned how to smoothen and polish their pieces of wood, using different grades of sandpaper.

Learning how to use sandpaper to smoothen and polish wood.

Students also worked in teams with the lathe and created different shapes, which looked like bowling pins.