亚利桑那州现代中文学校简讯

Contemporary Chinese School of Arizona Newsletter

CCSA Website: http://ccsarizona.org

2008-2009 学年 第 2 期 Issue 2 November 2008 总第 2 期

General
As the long hot summer winds down, the cool weather is showing up. Well, things are not cooling off at our
school. Board/SEC/SFC members are busy gearing up for a number of events, including Family Fun Event
at Kiwanis Park, Chinese Knowledge/Skill Competition, Benefit Golf Tournament, and many more.

From Teaching Principal Yi Wei

We have more than 500 registered students this semester, a record enrollment in the history of CCSA.
While growing on the strong foundation built up previous years, we continue to focus on and strengthen our
curriculum, recruit and add new qualified teachers to our teaching team.

Chinese teaching is our core. Based on our evaluation and request from many parents, besides offering
Chinese classes using textbooks by JiNan University (JNU), the school has added Chinese classes using
textbooks edited by Ma Liping (MLP) for 1st grade through 3rd grade. The JNU and MLP textbooks are based
on different teaching philosophies. Parents can choose the class that fits your kids the best. In addition,
Beginner’s Chinese, Chinese as a Second Language, and Conversational Chinese tailored to meet different
levels and needs of students have been modified and strengthened.

We have a very experienced Math teaching team led by Mr. Sam Dong. The enrollments in Math classes
from K to 13th grade remain strong. Math League, Math Counts and Advanced Math Counts continue to be
provided for senior students to prepare for standard exams and competitions.

Extra curriculum classes are important part of CCSA diversified teaching programs. We have recruited some
very good teachers for extra curriculum classes this semester. Mr. Robert LaBarge, a graduate student at
ASU, joined Ms. Jennefer Vizuete and Mr. Bradd Milstone in the English Writing teaching team; Ms. Elaine
Swallow, a teacher at Gilbert-Chandler Community College, is teaching SAT English class. We have two
Kids Drawing classes, taught by Ms. Andrea Mao, a talented artist from China, and Ms. Chiu-Chu Ting, a
graduate student at ASU with a Master degree in Art and also a teaching license from Taiwan. Artist Ms.
Judy Wood continues to teach the very popular Creative Art class. Other extra curriculum classes are Music
for Kids by Ms. Aemelia Teguh, Dance by Ms. Shuyun Burton, Wu Shu by Master Li, and Tai Ji by Master
Shi and Master Yuan. One of the areas we would like to highlight in extra curriculum is SAT Preparation, a
new class is currently co-taught by Jackie Xu and Paul Lu, two outstanding high school students with a
perfect score in SAT. They have done a great job in teaching this class, and the feedbacks from students
and parents are excellent.

Yi Wei
VP-Teaching

From Chinese Teaching Committee Chair Sherry Li

To meet the various demands from our students with different Chinese language levels and background,
CCSA offers two tracks of Chinese language classes, one is for students learning Chinese as a heritage
language and the other one is for students learning Chinese as a second language. The Chinese Teaching
Committee has been dedicated to improving our Chinese language teaching quality in the recent years.
Working closely with the Confucius Institute at ASU, we have been participating in a series of teacher’s
trainings, seminars and workshops. In summer 2008, six CCSA Chinese teachers attended the two and a
half weeks’ STARTALK K-12 Chinese language teacher’s training jointly offered by ASU and Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University. Since the beginning of this year, CCSA Chinese teachers have attended six Chinese
language teaching workshops and seminars that were organized by ASU. In August 2008, CCSA Chinese
Teaching Committee also organized its own the first time ever Chinese Teacher’s Workshop.

Sherry Li
Chinese Teaching Committee Chair
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Important Upcoming Dates

11/08/08 Chinese knowledge/skill competition
11/15/08 Youth Chinese Test
11/22/08 Student award
11/29/08 No school – Happy Thanksgiving!
12/06/08 Final exam and parents meeting
12/13/08 CCSA Benefit Golf Tournament
01/10/09 First day of spring semester

Classroom Rules Reminders

We all are fortunate to have this ASU rental facility available for our school to use. Therefore, please do our
part to take care of our classrooms. Parents please help remind your kids to keep the classroom clean and
neat. This is an important message, so parents and teachers please take a special note of the following as
outlined in the CCSA Classroom Rules:
 Always keep the classroom clean
 Make sure the tables and chairs to be back into the layout in which they were initially arranged
 Do not remove chairs and tables from room to room
 Do not allow food and drinks except water in the classroom (preschool & kindergarten are excepted)
 Do not run around and make noise during breaks
 Do not go to the 4th floor of the building
 Do not go to the room without having CCSA classroom sign posted on it
 Teachers (last classes) please stop by the office to sign off your room prior to leaving school

Congratulations
Michelle Wang, a currently registered 12th grade student at CCSA, received a perfect score in her AP
Chinese test recently. Michelle is not only an excellent student in her academic, but also an active student
volunteer at our school. Way to go, Michelle!

CCSA Senior Student Awards Program

The CCSA Senior Student Awards Program aims to foster our students in Chinese learning and recognize
their academic success in completing Chinese classes all way up to 12th grade at CCSA. SEC will be
implementing the program in accordance with the requirements and the selection criteria as outlined in the
Board approved Senior Student Awards Proposal. For more info or questions regarding this awards
program, please contact Bernard Ho, Program Chair, thru his e-mail hofamily@hotmail.com.

School Activity Updates

Communication: On October 29, 2008, CCSA Principal Dr. Su Lin and Board Chair Dr. Jimmy Yu had a
meeting with new leaders of the ASU College of Education (COE) at the ASU campus. Members attending
the meeting from ASU COE are Dr. George Hynd, Sr. Vice Provost & Dean, Dr. Elaine Surbeck, Associate
Dean and Dr. Terry Wiley, Division Director and a long-time supporter of CCSA. Dr. Jimmy Yu gave a
presentation and Dr. Su Lin gave an introduction of our school during the meeting. ASU COE leaders were
very impressed on CCSA’s development and directions, and expressed great interests in exploring
opportunities for long-term collaboration and partnership with CCSA.
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Workshop: As the year moves on, many exciting and meaningful events are just around the corner. The 3
Chinese Teacher Professional Development Workshop, co-hosted by ASU Confucius Institute (CI) and
CCSA, was successfully conducted at ASU campus on October 4. The workshop drew nearly sixty Chinese
teachers in a statewide and a number of visiting scholars from Sichuan Province currently studying in ASU.
Dr. Jennifer Liu, a leading expert in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, presented eight teaching
principals with numerous vivid examples during the workshop, which were published in the Asian American
Times newspaper www.AsianAmericanTimes.us dated October 16, 2008. The Asian American Times is the
first Asian bilingual newspaper in Arizona, serving the community since 1990.

Family Event: On October 25, our school had a marvelous Family Fun Event at Kiwanis Park. We had a
very nice turn out. Everyone had a fantastic time. Kudos is due to Connie He, VP-Activity for coordinating
this event in details, plus her hard-working team members Jane Yang (Basketball), Jimmy Yu and Hai Zhao
(Volleyball), Su Lin (Photography), Zach Yu (Tennis), and many volunteers aboard. Click the link to see
photos posted online http://www.dreamschool.com/ccsa/activities/2008FallKiwanisParty/default.aspx.
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Competition and Test: As we move into November, it is wonderful to say that everything at CCSA is
proceeding along very smoothly! Students have adjusted to their school schedules, and been in full swing
with great confidence in upcoming academic advances. One is Chinese Knowledge/Skill Competition,
which will be held at CCSA on November 8. The competition is a class based activity, and will be supervised
by Chinese teachers in classes. Thank you Sherry Li, Chinese Teaching Committee Chair for managing this
activity. The other one is Youth Chinese Test (YCT) targeting the students age 15 and under, and their first
language is not Chinese. The test is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. on November 15 at CCSA. Please visit
http://www.hanban.org/cn_hanban/hanyukaoshi_more.php?ithd=sehyksyct for more information. A special
thanks goes to Cynthia He, Chinese Teaching Committee member for volunteering her time to coordinate
this test, as well as Ping Lu, a very experienced Chinese teacher at CCSA for offering a seminar to students
for better understanding the topics and format of the YCT.

Adopt-a-School: Our school is planning to participate in the Adopt-a-School Program initiated by ASU CI.
As you all have known, the devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck in Sichuan Province, China on May
12, 2008, killing nearly 70,000 people, leaving millions homeless and many schools destroyed. It is a good
opportunity for children as well as parents to give our warm hands and hearts in perspective of basic life
skills – care, love, giving, hope, courage, reality, challenge, responsibility, leadership and teamwork, CCSA
highly encourage students to participate in this wonderful project. Please begin to have these conversations
with your children. More information will follow through e-mails and notes from teachers and school, as this
is a progression for families and students.

Upcoming Event
The upcoming CCSA Benefit Golf Tournament will be held at the beautiful Ocotillo Golf Resort on
Saturday, December 13, 2008. This event is a school fundraising related activity, which benefits our school
and kids for years to come. Back in 2006, the annual golf tournament proposal was creatively initiated by
Bernard Ho, our school’s long-term volunteer; and has been successfully carried forward since then by Tony
Tam, SFC Chair and his dedicated team members Bernard Ho, Bingrong Jiang, Connie He, Jack Ren,
Jimmy Yu, Rose Li and Steven J. Tu. Parents please help spread a word around a circle of your friends,
business associates and neighbors. Come join the fun! Your participation and support are greatly
appreciated in advance.

Special Thanks
Our school has been receiving tremendous help and support from our wonderful parents. CCSA would not
be the same without those parents, friends, students, teachers and staff that come to volunteer at school.
Among them, is a group of volunteers that have been backing up school, doing the last check and cleaning
up as needed for each classroom at the end of school days since the beginning of this semester. They are:
Bernard Ho, Enyan Deng, Gary Li, Ke Fang, Ruan Li, Wei Ruan, Yangting Zhang, Yi Wei, Ying Lui and Zach
Yu. In addition, we have a number of student volunteers helping check and clean up classrooms after
school. They are: Angela Zhang, Cyndia Yu, Jenny Jiang, Kaileen Fei and Teresa Yu. It is noteworthy that
Eric Liang, a student volunteer, arrives at school 20 - 30 minutes early every Saturdays to help post the
classroom signs on the doors and distribute materials to each classroom. Thank you all for your super help.

Thanks also goes to Steven J. Tu and Zach Yu for your efforts on helping coordinate the volunteer matching
grant program at Intel, and thank you all parents employed at Intel and volunteered your time at our school.
Your continued support greatly helps our school.

There are many opportunities to volunteer and become involved in our school. We encourage more students
and parents to sign up and help. You can drop an email to school administration team at
ccsarizona@gmail.com and we will be sure to put you in touch with the right administration staff.

Quote
"A long, healthy, and happy life is the result of making contributions, of having meaningful projects that are
personally exciting and contribute to and bless the lives of others." ~ Hans Selye

Contemporary Chinese School of Arizona

Newsletter Team

Comments on the Newsletter? Please send an e-mail to ccsa.ccsarizona@gmail.com.

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