In the 2020 Canadian Chemistry Contest (CCC), under the guidance of subject teachers, our students competed with nearly 1600 Chinese competitors from more than 300 key secondary schools and international schools in China. They achieved excellent results and were qualified to challenge the Canadian Chemistry Olympiad.

CCCis organised by the Canadian Chemical Society (CIC) annually. The slogan of CCC is "Chemists, Engineers and Technologists Working Together", advocating the combination of chemistry, industry, technology and environment. Its purpose is to cultivate students' interest in learning chemistry, encourage and stimulate students' potential in learning chemistry, and let more students experience the academic charm of chemistry. It is one of the chemistry competitions of the Canadian academic authority. At the same time, CCC is also the national preliminary selection competition for the Canadian Chemistry Olympiad (CCO).

The outstanding candidates can be invited to the national final of the Canadian Chemical Olympiad, so as to be selected into the national team of the Canadian Chemical Olympiad to participate in International Chemical Olympic competition.

The Chemistry Olympiad in Canada is a challenging global event in the world. The competition topics are challenging. It examines whether the students have a comprehensive and excellent knowledge reserve and problem-solving ability. The contents of the examination are divided into eight modules: Safety Issues; Organic Chemistry; Acids and Bases; from Structure to Properties; Electrochemistry; Solutions and Stoichiometry, Gas Laws and Prerequisites for Basic Concepts; Thermochemistry, Reaction Kinetics; Chemical Equilibrium. The students of YWIES Shanghai Lingang have achieved such good results in this competition, which provides evidence of their excellent ability in chemistry and science!

Nino Dou, A2 student in our school, won the Special Merit Award (the highest prize in this competition; the top 10% of Canadian competitors can win Special Merit Award, and Chinese students must exceed the score line of the top 10% Canadian competitors to win this award) and a Gold award.

Simon Yang, AS student in our school, won the Regional Honourable Award in Shanghai competition area（The top 15% in each sub-contest region can win this award）.

Nelson Bao, A2 student in our school, won the Regional Honourable Award in Shanghai competition area（The top 15% in each sub-contest region can win this award）.

Here is a summary of the learning experience of these outstanding students:

What kind of preparation did you do to participate in this international competition？

Simon Yang: I had one month to prepare for the competition, along with my study of A Level courses, so the time was limited. Therefore, I mainly reviewed the key chapters of the subject. I did some exercises and solved problems that were similar to those used in the previous competitions. I needed to answer 25 multiple-choice questions in one hour, which tested the accumulation of knowledge and logical thinking. The depth of the examination was several times higher than the depth of usual study. There were many different types of problems to be solved. Therefore, our tutor provided us with exam papers of the past years. The teacher worked with us one-on-one and gave us guidance. I am very grateful to my teacher, Mr Zhou!

How do you feel about getting such excellent results in this competition？

Nelson Bao: This is my first time to take part in a chemistry related competition. I like watching documentaries about chemistry very much, which also stimulated my interest in learning. For this competition, I did a lot of exercises, summarised the relevant knowledge points and reviewed the notes I made. I think it's very important to review notes, which can help us remember the essential knowledge. I achieved better results than I expected in this competition. I don't think my usual chemistry score is very good. I wanted to challenge myself this time, so I took part in the competition. I did not expect that I could achieve such a good result. It made me believe that we should never stop learning. I am very glad that through my own efforts and teacher's help, I triumphed in the exam!

What kind of special experience or tips do you want to share with us on how you prepared for this competition？

Nino Dou：“Interest is the best teacher”; I am interested in learning chemistry very much. Chemistry is a subject that requires a lot of factual knowledge, so usually I review content a lot and practise more. For me, a mind map is very useful. I can link up my knowledge, and it is very helpful to remember the relevant points. I complete a mind map every time before an exam. Indeed, "the harder you work, the luckier you are." I'm very happy that I won the highest prize in this competition. My parents are proud of my excellent achievements as well!

"An excellent teacher makes a good student". The excellent competition results of the students couldn’t have been achieved without the careful guidance of our teacher.

What guidance was provided to the students to prepare them for this competition？

Mr Zhou：This year, the CAIE examination was cancelled because of the pandemic. Instead, it required students providing evidence and the teachers' evaluation. The A Level students needed to provide evidence of their previous efforts. The CCC was for this reason very suitable for the A Level students to participate in. After learning about the competition, the students were very excited and expressed their desire to challenge themselves.

The guidance for the A2 students was focused on problem classification, methods explanation, timely questions answering, and problem solving.
The AS student Simon was facing a significant challenge. He needed to complete four chapters of A2 content in one month. He was also required to complete some new and challenging content, as well as exercises of papers in past years. It required students to work hard to learn new knowledge after class. In the online learning sessions, we seized every opportunity to review content knowledge, analysed a variety of topics, shared problem-solving ideas, and answered questions. To support each other, we also set up a "CCC Dream Team" Q&A Online group. If students didn’t understand questions they were able to submit these to the group. Students answered the questions posted in the group and learnt from each other. As a teacher, what I can teach my students is the things that can be said, but those cannot require students to work hard to study and figure them out by themselves. It has been proved that our students are excellent and hardworking.

What do you expect the students to learn from it?

Mr Zhou: Education is not to let students imitate teachers, but to stimulate students' wisdom, so that students can create new wonderful ideas. The power of the future generation is infinite. I hope I can do my best to let students see the charm of science. When they see it and are fascinated by science, they will continue to acquire new knowledge, satisfy their curiosity, grow up step by step, and constantly surpass themselves. Looking forward to the better version of our students in the future!

Socrates, a famous thinker, philosopher and educator in ancient Greece, once said: "Education is not indoctrination, but lighting of the fire of the mind."Yew Wah is committed to arousing students' interest and desire for knowledge. We always attach great importance to the comprehensive cultivation of students' ability and quality, encouraging students to actively explore and conduct in-depth learning. We provide strong support to students who participate in competitions.

Teachers from Yew Wah are willing to be the guides to light the lamp in students' hearts. As professional educators of Yew Wah, they are not only knowledgeable, but also good at enlightening and guiding students, and creating a good learning atmosphere of equality, respect and appreciation. In this good environment full of "positive energy", on the one hand, our students study chemical knowledge far beyond the depth and breadth of the syllabus. On the other hand, they should continue to prepare for the future CAIE examination. They have overcome all kinds of difficulties due to online learning. Students put in effort and planned their time reasonably. They actively prepare for examinations. Hard work pays off. The students have made great achievements. They showed us their independence, self-discipline and never-giving-up on learning!

Yew Wah Teachers help you to overcome difficulties until you succeed.
Efforts must be rewarded!
Congratulations to the winners!