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中文学校每周简讯 - 10月13日 10/25/2014 - 2:49pm

中文学校的各位家长、老师，你们好，

希望大家都渡过了一个安静、愉快的周末。我得非常感谢朋友们在微信上的分享（不是给微信做广告），让我足不出户，就可以欣赏到各处五彩斑斓的湖光山色。上个星期日我们请来了Randy Cale心理学博士给我们上一堂"如何为人父母"的讲座，希望大家都有所心得。如果你想更多的了解Dr. Cale的理念，请访问http://terrificparenting.com/. 这个星期我们还会举行一次讲座，是针对中文学习的，请看以下通知。

1．    讲座"如何提高华裔青少年的中文学习兴趣及效果"
宾州费城的姒玉明老师接受校方邀请于10月19日在Albany访问。星期天上午在华社举办讲座和语言课老师交流如何做教案、课堂设计，作为本学年的第一次教师培训。下午姒玉明老师在学校给家长开一次讲座、交流中文教学的一些体会心得，希望促进孩子们的学习兴趣。姒玉明老师长期执教中文，并且自己编著、出版一套中文教材"整全的教育",具体请参见http://www.holisticedu.us/index.html。对我们来说这是非常难得的一次学习机会，希望大家踊跃参与。同时希望大家注意一些事项如下：
-讲座期间进出大礼堂请从二楼后门
-礼堂外面的家长请保持走廊安静，避免打扰讲座
1:15PM    讲座开始
2:30PM    问答时间
3PM    结束

2．    讲故事比赛
一年一度的大家讲故事比赛定于11月9日在华社隆重召开。讲故事比赛报名截止日期为10月26日，细节见附件，请抓紧时间。如果你想参加评委团，请联系孙校长（xufeng.sun@gmail.com）。

3．    青少年义工团活动
上个星期六10月4日下午青少年义工团在Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center开展了本学年第一次义务活动。义工团的表演活动受到了老人们的热烈欢迎并邀请他们再次访问。详细请看Ryan和Jeffrey的报告。

这个星期的一周简讯到此。谢谢大家关注，周末愉快！

陈峰

中文学校校长2014-2015

 

Dear
Chinese School Families,

It has been a quiet and beautiful long weekend. Many of my friends took foliage scenic trip around the region and showed off their fall colors through WeChat, and I did not need to go outside to enjoy the breathtaking views of many places.

On Oct. 5th, we were fortunate to have Dr. Randy Cale give us a talk on parenting. I hope many of you have found it inspiriting. If you need further information, you can go to http://terrificparenting.com/
or follow up with Dr. Cale on Facebook or Twitter. This week we have another seminar specifically targeting language study. Please see details below.

1.    Seminar “how to encourage kids to learn Chinese at home”
This Sunday afternoon we will host Yuming Si, an experienced educator in Chinese language from Philadelphia, to give us a seminar on how to raise kid’s interests to learn Chinese at home. Yuming has been teaching Chinese since 2006 and started a Chinese school in Philadelphia in 2007. Since 2009, he has been editing a set of eight Chinese textbooks “Holistic Education” to address the needs of textbooks suitable for American born Chinese. You can find more information on http://www.holisticedu.us/index.html.
The seminar agenda is listed below.
To avoid disturbance to the speaker, I will need parents to go in and out the auditorium from the back door on second floor during the seminar. Parents sitting outside the auditorium should also try their best to lower their voice to keep the hallway quiet. All of audience would appreciate your cooperation.

Where: Auditorium (Please access through the back door on 2nd floor during seminar)
1:15PM    Seminar by Yuming Si
2:30PM    Q&A session
3PM Adjourn

2.    Chinese Story Telling Contest at CCC
The annual Chinese Story Telling Contest for the school year of 2014-2015 will be held on Sunday, November 9th, at the CCC building (1:00PM – 4:00PM). The deadline for registration is October 26. Please refer to attached announcement for details. We are looking for parents to participate in the judge team. If you like to get involved, please contact Vice Principal Xufeng Sun (xufeng.sun@gmail.com).

3.    Youth Team Activity
The youth team held its first volunteering activity at Eddy center in Troy. It was well received by the senior residents there. We should all be proud of them being able to share their time and care with others. We also thank the parents who encouraged their kids to volunteer and provided the transportation. Please see attached report from the presidents Ryan and Jeffrey. Stay tuned for next activity.

With that, I will wrap up this weekly update and see you on Sunday.

Feng Chen

Principal
CCC Chinese School 2014-2015

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中文学校每周简讯 - 10月3日 10/15/2014 - 12:35pm

中文学校的各位家长、老师，你们好，

学期进入第五周，大家都已经按部就班：有扎堆聊天的，有四处散步的，还有装模作样埋头用工的，当然也有不少聚在教室门口向室内探望的。这个星期我们会在大礼堂请Randy Cale心理学博士给我们上一堂“如何为人父母”的讲座，希望能把大家都吸引过来。附件有Randy Cale博士发表的一些相关文章，这些文章在他的网站（http://terrificparenting.com）上也有转载。请大家多多准备一些问题，越尖锐越有实际意义。除了讲座之外，还有其他一些校务需要大家注意。

1．      毕业以及奖学金
请毕业班的同学开始着手准备申请奖学金程序。今年学校从不多的项目基金里拨出1000元用于奖励在中文学校的优秀毕业生，以表彰他们多年在中文学校的学习，对社区的贡献，以及每个人所取得的优异成绩。申请程序可以在学校网站下载（http://www.albanychineseschool.org/Schoolhandbook/2014-2015/CS_Scholarship_2014-2015.pdf）。

2．      第十六届世界华人学生作文大赛
第十六届世界华人学生作文大赛截稿日为12月31日, 所有参赛习作必须在12月8日前由各班老师统一交给参赛组织者任小波老师。根据以往经验，各位任课老师可以有针对性的利用平时的作业鼓励学生写作发挥，聚沙成塔。希望年底我们有一大批高质量的文章参赛。

3．      讲故事比赛
一年一度的大家讲故事比赛定于11月9日在华社隆重召开。讲故事比赛一年比一年受欢迎，参赛学生不断增加。故事内容和表演形式也花样纷呈。具体的细节将由孙旭峰副校长宣布。如果你有什么建议或问题，请联系孙校长（xufeng.sun@gmail.com）。

4．      青少年义工团活动
星期六10/4下午1:50PM 到3PM青少年义工团将在Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center开始本学年第一次义务活动。活动主要有乐器表演，慰问老人。该敬老院去年在美国新闻与世界报道杂志的全美国16000所敬老院调查中被授予最高的五星级排名。整个纽约首府地区36家敬老院中仅4家获此殊荣。请大家对义工团的活动给予充分的支持，让我们的孩子们在活动中体验社会，在生活中成长。如果你有具体问题，请联系义工团主席Ryan Guo (rguo98@gmail.com) 和Jeffrey Shen (jeffshen321@yahoo.com)。

这个星期的一周简讯到此，谢谢大家关注。周末愉快！

陈峰
中文学校校长2014-2015

Dear Chinese School Families,

The school is moving forward at its full throttle. When I walked around the classrooms, the usual laughter was floating around and I can see most of you have settled except a few parents were still peeking through the windows into the classrooms and seemed to be anxiously interested in what was going on inside. For this coming Sunday, I hope the seminar event will attract all of you to the auditorium so we have a quiet hallway. As announced earlier this week, Dr. Randy Cale will talk about parenting, second language study, and homework in a general sense. He will share his best experience after many years of practice as physiologist. I will appreciate if you can read through the attached articles from him, and bring your own questions, concerns, or your thoughts to share with other parents. There are a few other highlights I want to share with you below.

1.      Scholarship and graduation
For those of you who plan to graduate in the spring of 2014, this is the time to apply for Chinese School scholarship. Application procedures can be found in 2014 handbook or can be downloaded at http://www.albanychineseschool.org/Schoolhandbook/2014-2015/CS_Scholarship_2014-2015.pdf. There is total $1000 allocated for the scholarship fund this year. It is meant to recognize outstanding graduate students of Chinese School for their continuous effort in Chinese language learning, participation in Chinese school, contribution to Chinese community, and academia achievement.

2.      Composition competition
The 16th International Chinese Essay contest has been announced in July with details attached. The deadline is Dec. 8th to submit compositions to Teacher Xiaobo Ren. Every language teacher is encouraged to utilize their weekly writing assignment and have their students participate in this competition. We usually see parent involvement is helpful and promoting a good outcome.

3.      Chinese Story Telling Contest at CCC
The annual Chinese Story Telling Contest for the school year of 2014-2015 will be held on Sunday, November 9th, at the CCC building (1:00PM – 4:00PM). Every year we have a lot of participation, various programs and stories. It is a great platform for your kids to showcase their staging performance and win from a large pool of prizes. Please contact Vice Principal Xufeng Sun (xufeng.sun@gmail.com) for more details.

4.      Youth Team Event
This Saturday 10/4 from 1:50PM to 3PM the Youth team will be organizing a volunteering event at Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center in Troy. They plan to perform musical instrument, have a conversation with the senior residents, and hopefully fill the rooms with joy and laughter. Water will be provided.
Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center was awarded the best five-star rating in 2013 by U.S. News & World Report, in a review of 16,000 facilities nationwide. Only 4 nursing homes received this best rating out of 36 in Capital Region.
I’d love to see parents’ support behind Youth Team’s effort to promote the Chinese Community by bringing your kids to participate and volunteer in this event. Please feel free to contact Ryan Guo (rguo98@gmail.com) and Jeffrey Shen (jeffshen321@yahoo.com) for more details.

With that, I will wrap up this weekly update. Enjoy the weekend and see you on Sunday.

Feng Chen
Principal
CCC Chinese School 2014-2015

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中文学校每周简讯 - 9月26日 10/04/2014 - 10:38am

中文学校的家长们，你们好！

中文学校进入第四周，注册基本结束。上个星期课程结束后，我终于有时间把教学区大致走了一遍。不走不知道，一走吓一跳。上下两层楼共三十间教室加走廊，我一共捡了8张糖纸，5根棒棒糖柄，以及其他一些食物垃圾。当然还有一些我没有注意到的，或是已经被捡起来的。也就是说我们一再强调在教学区不准带食物和饮料的规定并没有得到很好的执行，这给学校的管理带来了很多隐患。上个星期，我已经收到Colonie学区的反馈意见，基本和我的观察一致，就是大问题没有，小问题一串。我请大家引起注意，从自己做起，带动身边的家长，共同维护学校的清洁卫生。

其他一些学校的工作和大家通报如下：

1．青少年义工团选举结果
华社青少年义工团上个星期天进行选举，共有43人参加，包括三对6名候选人。每对选举人向大家做了自我介绍以及工作设想，并且回答了来自听众以及我的问题。所有候选人都对过去一年的工作做了回顾，一致认为今后的工作还可以做的更多、更好。在“更多、更好”的大方向下，每个候选人的思路和具体想法各不相同：Bill和Michael侧重于如何帮助中文学校和华社作更多、更细致的工作；Ryan和Jeffrey想拓展义工的范围，发挥华裔青少年的长处，走出华人的社区，更多的为全社会服务; Aaron和Bryan注意到义工团参与度不高的问题，想努力提高大家的积极性，包括作学生家长的思想工作，鼓励大家参与，改变社会上存在的“华裔青少年只知道读书用功”的一些片面印象。他们每个人的想法都是自己努力思考的结果，对问题以及解决方案的阐述有条有理。最后的选举结果如下：
Ryan和Jeffrey，17票，当选主席。
Bill和Michael, 13票，当选副主席。
Aaron和Bryan, 11票，当选秘书。
还有两票弃权。选举的结果是相当的接近，没有一个人获得半数以上的票，说明他们的提议和想法都是大家所关心的。在这里我祝贺他们并希望这三对候选人在工作中互动互补，把青少年义工团的工作上升一个台阶。

２．2014-2015学年预算
上个周末在董刚主席的召集下，开了本学年第一次董事会，主要是商议本学年的财政预算。根据上个周末的统计，今年的收入约为11.5万美元。开支主要分为三大块：老师以及校务人员的工资和补贴为65%，学校的固定开支（租金，保险，财务审计等）为21%，其他各种项目（故事会，期末庆祝，老师培训等等）为14%。今年的收入和去年持平，头两项开支也大致相同。主要的区别在于本学年学校将增加在老师培训、教育性讲座两方面的力度，主要目的是为了提高师资力量和促进家长参与，激发孩子们学习中文的积极性，从而提高中文教育质量。因为我们收入和往年一样，在老师培训、讲座上加大投入必然会影响到其他一些项目，比如期末庆祝活动的资金就会受到影响。在这方面，家长会代表们足智多谋，一致认为困难是可以克服的。所以财政预算得到全体董事会会员赞同，全票通过。如果你想知道预算细节或有其他问题，请联系我或董刚主席。

３．各班级家长代表
除去两个成人中文班，我们共有28个中文语言班。每个语言班，学校要求不论班级大小，必须推选一位家长代表，协助本班级老师工作，包括安排家长值日，作为家长会与家长之间的纽带，传递必需的信息等等。家长代表是学校管理当中核心的一部分，希望大家积极担任。作为家长代表，还可以免除学校PTA 值日。

本期简讯到此。谢谢大家关注，星期天见！

陈峰
中文学校校长2014-2015

Dear Chinese School Families,

The color of fall is unfolding before us. Every leaf is like a rose in the spring but differs in its own color. Many of you probably have started planning the annual foliage scenic trip. When you are out in such a trip, take the opportunity to teach your child what is “霜叶红于二月花”, and explain the scientific reasons behind it. Hopefully after the trip, you will become know-it-all daddy or mommy.

As the registration drew to an end this week, I finally had time to take a walk around the classrooms by end of the day and talked to the custodians who were cleaning up the rooms and hallways. During my walk-around, unfortunately, I was needed to pick up various garbage including candy wrappers, lollipop sticks, crackers etc. As we all have a
common understanding that food and beverage are not allowed in the classroom zone, it was not observed and followed strictly at least last Sunday. If I had to serve as the last guard, we have a broken system to keep the classroom zone clean, because I could not cover all the corners in five minutes. For the same amount of garbage I picked up, there were probably more left somewhere else. Only with help from each one of you,
especially parents on duty, either for school or classroom, we can accomplish the goal of keeping the rooms neat and clean. A simple remind to yourself or people around you will be a step forward. With that, I’d like to direct your attention to a few highlights of past and coming weeks:

1.      Youth Team Election Results
Total 37 youth members besides all 6 candidates participated in the Youth Team election last Sunday. Each running team had a few minutes to introduce themselves and presented their ideas of how to run the youth team this year. By end of their speech they addressed questions from the floor and me. All of them were well prepared so the competition was intense, which can be told by the vote counts below. In the end, the
members decided the team for this year with their votes as the following:
Ryan Guo and Jeffrey Shen       17 votes        Co-President
Bill Dong and Michael Huang     13 votes        Co-Vice President
Aaron Zhang and Bryan Zhou      11 votes        Co-Secretary
There were 2 invalid votes.

Please join me in congratulating them being elected to the leadership positions. Ryan Guo and the team have started to form the youth team community. Parents, please have your child forward contact information to Ryan Guo at rguo98@gmail.com at your earliest convenience. The first volunteering event planned is as soon as next week. Don’t miss the opportunity to work with your peers and help the needed.

2.      Budget Update
The school conducted first council meeting last Sunday mainly to discuss and vote for the 2014-2015 budget. Based on enrollment as of last Friday, the projected revenue is about $115K. The expenses include teachers and staff compensation (65%), fixed operational cost (21%) and program cost (14%). The revenue is almost flat compared to last year. Both teachers and staff compensation and fixed operational cost are stable. The only variable is in the program cost. As we plan to initiate and install new programs such as educational seminars and teacher’s training, inevitably we need to cut funding to other programs to balance the budget sheet. The school proposed to reduce year end celebration cost and the council members had a keen discussion as to how to minimize the impact while maintaining our traditions. PTA members made a commitment to keeping our tradition strong and the budget was approved unanimously in the end. We should all be grateful to PTA members who bridge many gaps when needed.

3.      Classroom Home Parent
By now every classroom should have identified a home parent no matter the size of the classes. Home parents serve a few critical functions and share the responsibilities with teachers for classroom maintenance such that the teachers can focus on teaching and education. All the home parents should send their contact information to PTA chair Jian Xu (jxuonline@gmail.com). If your classroom has not found a home parent, please consider volunteer this role. And you will be exempt from PTA duty assignment. As we encourage our children to participate in the Youth Volunteer Team, we can also act as a role model by participating in school duties.

Wish you all have a good weekend and see you on Sunday again.

Sincerely,

Feng Chen
Principal, Chinese School 2014-2015

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中文学校每周简讯 - 9月18日 09/27/2014 - 12:39am

中文学校的家长们，你们好！

中文学校进入第三周，教学活动都已进入正轨。

语言课基本调整结束，文化课程可能还有少量调整。一些没有付费或未付全的家庭，请及时向校方确认，或取消相关课程注册，或及时交清费用。

其他一些学校的工作和大家通报如下：

1．青少年义工团选举
华社青少年义工团将在这个星期天（9月21日）2:30PM至3PM在教室C206开会进行选举，鼓励在校初中生（7年级）以上学生参加义工团，九年级以上学生参加选举。参加选举的同学请在这个周五晚之前把个人简历及工作设想提交给校长。如果需要帮助，请与校长联系。

２．新增加文化课：击剑入门
学校新增加一门文化活动课－击剑入门。由SUNY-Albany大学的助理教授梁子扬博士任教。梁子扬博士曾代表中国香港击剑队参加比赛并多次荣获冠军及其它各种奖项。梁子扬博士还拥有多年指导青少年击剑的经验。击剑课已经在网页上开放给大家注册。据梁博士介绍，入门击剑器具费用不高，如果注册人数足够，可以集体从中国网购，费用会更低。击剑是一项对脑力思考要求极高的运动，非常锻炼运动员的快速反应、观察思考判断能力，对青少年身体协调能力、智力发育有很好的促进作用。请感兴趣的家长及时行动。

３．青少年教育讲座
针对中文教、学中的老大难问题－如何提高学生的兴趣、并培养良好的学习习惯，学校正在紧锣密鼓的准备一系列的讲座。计划邀请教育界的一些专家学者来学校办讲座交流，希望能给大家带来一些新的思路、新的方法，共同促进中文教育的质量。最近的两次讲座预定在１０月５日和１０月１９日，请大家留心布告。

４．学校时间表
再次提醒大家一下，学校是１２：４５PM开门，４PM需要准时关门。延时会增加学校的运营费用。请大家３：４０PM下课后及时收拾各自物品、教室，４PM前离开学校。如有尚待解决的问题，请以后再联系学校人员处理。谢谢大家的配合。

５．家长兴趣活动俱乐部
请参加各项兴趣活动俱乐部的家长，包括篮球，羽毛球，乒乓球，舞蹈，务必在俱乐部以及学校网页登记。学校需要为使用校方场地、设备的每一个人人身安全负责。只有在学校登记，才能享受学校统一购买的保险并且合法使用学校的场地设备。

６．董事会
这个星期天3PM到3:50PM会在学校召开本学年第一次董事会。主要议题是本学年的预算开支以及学校工作安排。届时所有校务人员，家长会代表和教师代表都要参加。需要找校务人员的家长，请安排在第一，二节课来。

本期简讯到此。谢谢大家关注，星期天见！

陈峰
中文学校校长2014-2015

Dear Chinese School Families,

As temperature drops, the autumn starts to color the edge of leaves. Soon we will have a full spectrum of fall, the best season of the year.

Going into the third week of Chinese School, I hope most of you now have finalized registrations for your child. There are a dozen families who still have balance due probably due to changes of classes. Please make your final decisions and have the balance cleared before the third class. Beginning the next class, all teachers will start to check roster and confirm class size.

I have a few other things to share with you regarding coming events.

1. Youth Team Election
The Youth Team election will happen this Sunday 2:30PM to 3PM at room C206. The members of youth team need to notify their teachers
for earlier dismissal to be able to participate in the election. The deadline for candidacy is end of this Friday 9/19. If you plan to run for a position in the executive team, please send me resumes of you and your running mate if you have one. A sketch of 2014-2015 plan is also required. If you need help to put together a plan, I can share with you activities organized by previous committee.

2. New Culture Class - Fence for Beginners
I am happy to announce that a beginner’s fence class will be offered beginning this Sunday. It will be taught by Dr. Ricky Leung, an assistant professor of SUNY-Albany. Dr. Leung had competed on behalf of Hong Kong Fencing team and won many championships and awards. He also participated in World
University Games (Universiade) in 1995. Dr. Leung is a certified Fence coach and has had many years of coaching experience for both children and adults.
The equipment cost is less than $60. If we have enough kids to sign up, we may consider a group purchase that may significantly lower the price.
The fence class is now open for registration on school website. Please sign it up if you are interested. According to Dr. Leung, fencing is a physical “game of chess.” It will train your coordination, improve your ability to calmly observe, analyze and respond to dynamic situations. It requires strategic thinking, quick reflexes and endurance to succeed. It is a fun and team sport for children and teenagers.

3. Seminars on How to Learning Chinese
Learning Chinese whether as a heritage speaker or as a second language in an English environment is always a huge challenge, because Chinese is fundamentally different from English as the former is ideographic and the latter is alphabetic. We, as parents, should all appreciate the effort our children have put into the language study and be proud of the
progress they are making. In the meantime, we need to knowledge the challenges, many times the struggles we have in keeping our children on track of language study.
A lot of parents have asked for help how to motivate their children to learn and practice Chinese in a sustainable way. As a response to this outcry, the school starts to organize a series of seminars on topics of how to help our children learn Chinese. We hope to inspire discussions, deeper thinking and actions among ourselves. The details of seminars
will be announced once we finalize all the logistics. The tentative dates as of now are 10/5 and 10/19 respectively. Please book your calendar and stay tuned.

4. School Operations
I’d like to remind everyone of school operation time. School opens its door at 12:45PM and needs to close by 4PM sharply. If you need help from School staff after 4PM, please use email or phone to contact us. We must vacate the building by 4:00PM on time. Otherwise additional rental charge may incur and we will need to pay a bigger bill next year. All classes need to end by 3:40PM so there is enough time to clean and re-organize the classroom back to original state.

5. Clubs for Parents
For parents who join badminton club, basketball club, ping pong club, dance club and drum club, please complete your registration at http://dreamschool.com/albany/. The Chinese School is held responsible for facility usage with certain insurance coverage. It is imperative that each of users register and be protected by the umbrella policy in case of emergency.

6. Council Meeting
The school council will hold its first meeting this Sunday from 3PM to 3:50PM, to discuss and vote this year’s operational budget before a penny can be spent. This is an important meeting that requires commitment from all school staff, teacher representatives and PTA members. Therefore, most of us will not be available during the third class. If you have any questions or need help, please stop by school tables earlier.

I hope all of you have a good weekend.

Sincerely,
Feng Chen
Principal, Chinese School 2014-2015

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中文学校每周简讯 - 9月12日 09/27/2014 - 12:44am

中文学校的家长们，大家好！

2014-2015新学年在一个天晴气朗的周末开始了。很高兴与许多旧交新识见面。特别欢迎新同学，新老师的加入，你们已经开始了在中文学校的旅程。

在翻过学期第一页之后，教学工作将从第二周起走上正轨。在此我和大家强调一些注意事项以及课程变化，希望大家能及时做好相应的安排，避免第二次课出现不必要的调整。

(1)    注册和学费
学校将于9月13日周六晚12点关闭网上注册。如果之后有注册变化，请与学校校务人员联系。学费按规定必须于第二次课结束前全部付清。否则学校保留取消相应注册的权利。

希望各个家庭上完第一节课后都已经作出相关决定，是否换课或退课。请及时登陆学校网页修改你的注册信息。学校才能知道每个班的准确人数。谢谢你的合作。若有问题，请联校长或陈建华先生(jchen_9898@verizon.net)

(2)    课程调整
一些文化兴趣课需要进行调整，具体如下：

-象棋班：由于学生象棋水平参差不齐，该班将分为两个班。增加一个初级班，由新老师Zackary Calderon教，教室安排在A205。Patrick Chi任教的班将针对中、高级水平的学生，仍在现有教室B108。请相关家长及时调整注册。

-舞蹈1班：根据老师要求，1班将从体育馆搬到B102教课。请家长主动帮助维持教室整洁，做到物归原处。

-舞蹈2班：从1班挪上来的学生家长，请及时在学校网页上更新注册信息。

-数学班：每个班都进行了摸底考试，评估学生数学水平。陆群老师会联系相关家长做相应的调整。如果你没有收到陆老师的通知，请及时联系、确认。

-绘画3班：该班是针对中、高级水平的学生。请家长根据自己孩子的水平调整班级注册。绘画1班和2班是针对初级水平的学生。

(3)    家长代表
学校要求每个班级选派一个家长代表，各班家长轮流值班，协助老师维持教室次序，切勿挪动教室的东西，更不能让学生独自留在教室。请家长们下星期天上课前到教室和老师取得联系，每班选一名家长代表，安排教室值日，各班家长代表请与学校家长会主席徐健先生联系(jxuonline@gmail.com)。

(4)    青少年义工团
青少年义工团主席、副主席以及秘书的选举定于第三周9月21日。为了更好的进行选举活动，明确职责，学校出台了青少年义工团执行条例，见附件。如果你的孩子准备参加选举，请仔细阅读该条例。如有任何疑问或详细解释，请与校长联系。我们欢迎每个高中生积极参与，做个好公民的代表。

学校将逐步把现有的一些具体操作程序条例化、规范化。目的是增加学校各项活动、运作的透明度、规范度。在这个过程中，不可避免的会有些遗漏，希望大家能理解并积极向校方提意见。

(5)    注册情况
截至到9月10日，共有325名学生注册中文语言课，37名学生注册中文第二语言课，以及232名学生注册各种文化兴趣课。和去年相比，略有上升。感谢各位家长牺牲周末休息时间陪同孩子们上学。相信你们的努力和奉献一定会有回报

(6)    教材
需要教科书的家长，请及时与老师或学校联系，购买教材。提醒大家不要批量复印教科书，这是违反版权使用的。学校的复印机仅限于教学使用。

(7)    华社会员
华社会员会费退款将于第三周开始。相关事宜请与在校的华社代表联系。

最后我要感谢第一天执勤的家长代表。正是你们的辛勤工作保障了校务人员能集中精力处理繁杂的校务、教务事项。

谢谢大家，星期天见！

陈峰
中文学校校长2014-2015

 

Dear Chinese School Families,

Welcome back to Chinese School!

The school is off to a great start and we were so delighted to see old acquaintance and new faces in the first day of school. I hope everyone now starts to settle into school routines, and your child may have made one or two new friends. A special welcome is offered to our new students, new families and new teachers, who just began their journey in Chinese school.

Now we are moving onto the second week while most students have started learning a few new Chinese characters or reading new stories. There are a few things I’d like to share with you in a hope to help you assimilate quicker into the Chinese School routines and culture.

(1)    Registration and Tuition Payment
Registration will be closed by end of this Saturday 9/13/2014. Any registration change request after 9/13 will have to be handled by a school staff. Tuition needs to be paid full before and during the second school session. According to school registration policy, if full payment is not received after two school sessions, school reserves the right to cancel associated registration to allow students on the waiting list to register.

I hope after the first class most families have settled and made their decisions. Please take a moment to log into your account to update your enrollment information. We are relying on your prompt actions to have a better count of class size. If you have problem in updating enrollment, you can always reach out to me or Mr. Jianhua Chen(jchen_9898@verizon.net).

(2)    Class Updates
There are a few adjustments regarding some culture classes. The affected classes are:

-Chess class: due to wide range of levels, the chess class will be split into two classes. A beginner’s chess class has been added for current students of entry level. This class will be taught by Zackary Calderon in room A205. Patrick Chi will remain as instructor of current chess class for intermediate and advanced levels in room B108. Please adjust your enrollment accordingly.

-Dance class-1 (7 and under): per request of the teacher, this dance class will take place in B102, instead of gym. Parents of this class: please help keep the classroom in order after the class is done.

-Dance class-2 (8 and above): a few students registered to dance class-1 have switched to this dance class upon recommendation of teachers. Parents: please reflect this change in your account so school can keep track of class size.

-Math class: a series of pre-test has been given to evaluate the levels of registered students of all math classes. Recommendations and adjustment will be handled by Ms. Qun Lu who is in charge of Math classes. Hope at this point you have received communications from Ms. Qun Lu. If not, please contact her (shen4@yahoo.com) to confirm the status.

-Art-3: this art class is for intermediate and advanced level students. A separate communication has been sent to parents of this class to adjust class registration based on their child’s level. Art-1 and Art-2 are designed toward entry level students.

(3)    Classroom Home Parent
As we are getting to know each other, each classroom needs to have a home parent to help the teacher organize classroom parent duty assignment, and a few other things. Just like in public school, being a classroom parent is a privilege to serve the classroom and be a role model for your child to follow. Please consider volunteering the role, particular for classrooms of new teachers. They will need you to step up and work together for your children’s education. Please contact PTA chair Jian Xu (jxuonline@gmail.com) to register as home parent.

I can’t stress more for the importance of keeping the classroom clean and neat. No food and beverage is allowed in the classroom and hallways. We have had a good record last year with just a few complaints. Sustaining and improving the record will require each one of us to pay attention to what we do everyday. The first day is a good example that I’ve not heard any complaint from North Colonie School District, which is a good sign. I have belief in you, particularly home parents who lead the effort.

(4)    Youth Team Election
The Youth Team election is planned on the 3rd week of school 9/21. To help guide the election and clarify responsibilities, the school has established a Youth Team election policy as attached. If your child is planning to throw the hat into the ring, please read through the policy carefully with him/her. If you need any help or have questions, please reach out to me directly. We welcome all senior students to participate and demonstrate a good sense of citizenship.

There is an initiative in the school administration to put best practice into words of guidelines and policies to help clarify the rules and avoid misunderstandings. As we start to push toward better operation and transparency, we realize we may not be able cover all the corners. If you have suggestions, please do not hesitate to share with us.

(5)    Enrollment Update
As of September 10th, we have 325 students enrolled in Chinese language classes, 37 students enrolled in Chinese as Second Language classes, and 232 students enrolled in culture/enrichment classes. Thank you all for your commitment to your child’s education. We all wish it is another fruitful year.

(6)    Textbook
Textbooks are available for purchase at school at the same cost as online purchase. The school makes no profit out of textbook sale. Please do not use copied textbook, which violates the copyright rule. The copy machines at school can only be used to make copies of excerpts for class use.

(7)    CCC membership
CCC membership refund will start from 3rd week of school. For those of you making a separate donation to the CCC, please stop by the CCC table and ask for more information.

Lastly, I’d like to extend many thanks to parents on PTA duty in the first day of school. They did a wonderful job in keeping many things in order amid a huge crowd and allowing school staff focus on what they should be doing. Please keep the good work up.

Thank you all for your attention.

Sincerely,

Feng Chen
Principal, Chinese School (2014-2015)

 

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