Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Monday, Aug. 24th, marked the beginning of the fourth year of Mandarin Immersion at the San Francisco Unified School District. To help incoming students and their families, parents from Starr King and Jose Ortega offer some advice on what to expect and what to do to help your child’s first weeks of immersion go well.

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On Immersion:

Make sure they know their teachers can understand them and they can always tell their teachers in English if they feel sick or scared or need to go to the bathroom, etc., they just can’t expect their teachers to speak English.

Your kids will be fine.  But do remind them repeatedly that their teachers understand English just fine, and they can ask/tell them whatever they want or need to.

Some kids can get frustrated that they don’t understand what’s being said to them in class. It’s normal for immersion. It really does change at Christmas time, though- have faith! One mom wrote that her daughter had a hard first six months, though not everyone does. But she was very happy the second half of the year and now loves school. “It probably would have been true even if she wasn’t doing the immersion.”

On eating:

My girls did not eat their lunch for a while – too much to look at – so I made sure to have food in the car ready on the way home (or opened the un-eaten lunch box) because they were hungry!

Kids like to get notes in their lunches even if they can’t read yet–make it simple because it’s not likely anyone will read it to them, either, but their name with some hearts, flowers, stars, whatever and an “I heart you” can be pretty comforting in this big scary place called school.

Kindergarten lunch has a lot going on compared to preschool or lunches at home. So for kids who are easily distracted at lunch — protein breakfasts.  We made sure to have quite a bit of protein in every breakfast and it seemed to make a difference in mood at the end of the day.

My son also seemed too busy to use the  water fountain during lunch/recess, so we learned to pack his water bottle with his lunch.

They don’t eat…but they might like to, so try to give them something enticing, easy, and healthful, like a granola bar.

Make sure your kid knows how to open things in her/his lunch or how to raise a hand and get help.

Parents can go in and volunteer during lunch, which is really helpful for kids and parents alike, especially in the early weeks.

On Being Tired:

Your kid will be exhausted. All Kindergartners are (immersion and non immersion alike.) It can take up to a few months for them to get their stamina.
The upside? They fall asleep easier at night.

On Going to the Bathroom:

See to it that they can fasten their pants (or that they have an elastic waist).

My son never wanted to miss out on anything, so he would put off going to the bathroom (all day sometimes!). Ask about their bathroom trips, and you may need to have them pick a regular time to go, such as before snack or after lunch.

On Expecting the Unexpected:

Let them know what a fire drill is and something about what to expect–one happened during K lunch on the second day of school last year.

On Clothes:

Use permanent market to put your child’s name on any clothing they might possibly remove at school

However, one mom notes: As a Kindergartener, my daughter “lost” her jacket almost every month. Sometimes we found it (usually on a chair in the cafeteria or on a bench outside – never in the lost and found or in the classroom), and sometimes it was lost for good. Didn’t matter that it had her name on it. Lesson learned: don’t let your child go to school in outerwear that is valuable (i.e. grandma’s hand knit sweater) to you.

On the Trials of White Shirts:

Both Starr King and Jose Ortega are uniform schools.  At Starr King, the shirt must be white. There’s no hope of keeping those white shirts really white. Give up and embrace the mottled look and you’ll be a happier person.  At Jose Ortega, the shirt may be either white, light blue, or navy.  For the reasons outlined above, stock primarily navy shirts, but purchase one or two white shirts and use them on any of the 10 or so days a year that are hot and sunny.