Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

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  • New Jersey/New York school hosts delegation from Shanghai

    Bilingual Buds Immersion School in Summit hosts Chinese delegation of school leaders

    Independent PressBy Independent Press 
    on May 24, 2013 at 10:30 AM, updated May 24, 2013 at 10:33 AM
    Bilingual Buds Chinese DelegationTwenty-one elementary school principals and university professors from Shanghai, China, visit Bilingual Buds Immersion School in Summit recently.
    Jasmine Volmar

    SUMMIT — “I could not have imagined a more exciting day in our eight-year history,” said Bilingual Buds founder Sharon Huang to 21 elementary school principals and university professors from Shanghai, China.

    The delegation of educators came to the United States to gain insight about current trends in American independent schools, including best practices and innovative teaching models. The group’s two-week visit, hosted by the Asia Society, was led by Professor Zhang Junhua, deputy director of the National Center for Principal Training and Development of the Ministry of Education at East China Normal University.

    Please read more here.

  • Greenville, Michigan Mandarin immersion program

    Chinese teachers excited to get started in Greenville

    By Kelli Ameling • Last Updated 9:47 am on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

    Two teachers from China have arrived in Greenville to prepare for the new school year. From left are Chinese teacher Zu Shule, Spanish teacher and mentor Amber Guerreiro, kindergarten teacher Kristin Mier and Chinese teacher Li Xin. — Daily News/Kelli Ameling

    GREENVILLE — Two teachers from China have arrived in Greenville and are preparing their lesson plans for the start of the school year Tuesday.

    Zu Shule, 32, of the province of Shanxi in the city of Shuozhou, arrived in Greenville on Aug. 3. She will be teaching Mandarin Chinese to middle and high school students.

    “It’s been wonderful,” she said of her experience in Greenville.

    Li Xin, 31, of the province Yunnan in the city of Kunming, arrived Aug. 12. She will be teaching math in Chinese to kindergardeners at Walnut Hills Elementary School for half of each day.

    “It’s so exciting and wonderful,” she said about arriving in Greenville.

    Both Zu and Li came to Greenville through the Chinese Immersion Program, which will allow two classes to be taught at the high school, three at the middle school and split classes at the elementary school.

    Greenville Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Diane Brissette said the program is enrollment driven, so the more students who sign up, the more classes will be offered.

    Please read more here.

    They’ve also got some nice videos up here.

  • New Chinese immersion school opening in San Jose, Calif.

    There is a new private Mandarin/Spanish immersion school opening this July in San Jose, Calif. It is called Silicon Valley International School. The website is www.SVInternationalSchool.org.

    It is a subsidiary of Premier International Language Academy in San Jose, established in 2008.

    There is an Open House on Friday, May 31st from 10am-12pm. RSVPs are requested.

    Info on their Mandarin immersion track:

    School Services

    • Elementary Grades: Jr. Kindergarten – Gr. 4
    • STEM Middle School Program: Grades 5-8th
    • Year-round Schedule: August – June                                           (The lst day of school is July 29, 2013)
    • Before and After School Extended Learning Program
    • On-site Reggio Emilia Preschool
    • School Hours for Grades Jr. K – 8th : 8:30am-3:00pm

    Mandarin Immersion Track

    The Mandarin language curriculum, taught by highly-qualified, native speaking teachers, emphasizes oral speaking skills and full literacy instruction through the content areas. Our Mandarin Language Arts program emphasizes:

    • Traditional Characters
    • Stroke Names, Stroke Order
    • Radicals
    • Content Area Studies (math, science, geography, history).
    • History/Geography of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong
    • Cultural Studies
    • Pin Yin and Simplified Characters taught in the middle school program
    • Zhu Yin taught to Heritage Language Speakers and in the middle school program

  • What homework looks like in Mandarin immersion

    I’ve posted some homework examples and translations on a page on the blog here. If you’ve got other examples please feel free to send them and I’ll post them as well. I’m making my 6th and 4th graders translate them, so it’s good practice….

    mao

  • Looking for families to host Taiwanese students in the San Fernando Valley in July

    Give your kids a culturally enriching summer– Be a Short-Term Summer Host Family (and get compensated too!)
     
    Are you looking for an exciting and culturally enriching experience for your kids this summer? One that also offers the opportunity to make a lifelong friend and possibly learn some Mandarin? Then please consider being a summer host family to one of a few exceptional kids from Taipei, Taiwan. These kids ages 8-12 all attend a high-performing bilingual English/Mandarin immersion private school in Taiwan and would love to stay with a warm and inviting family, preferably a family who has a child close to their same age. These visiting kids will all be attending a summer camp at a private school in Chatsworth, CA for three weeks. The kids would need to stay with the host family from July 12 to August 3. The only requirements are to provide a warm and caring environment, hopefully where they will treated as part of the family, all meals when not in school, daily transportation on the weekdays (plus some weekends for pre-planned activities) to and from the Chatsworth summer camp location for their summer program with drop-off at 9 AM and pick-up at 4 PM, and possibly transportation to and from LAX at the time arrival and departure.  You will receive compensation of $600 for hosting this child for this approximate 3-week period of time. If interested please email Lillian ASAP at lillianyuen@aol.com or call (818) 835-6908 with your name, location of residence, age and gender of kid(s), school of attendance, contact information (email and phone number) and a brief statement stating why you would like to host a child and why you think your family would be a good host family.

  • Waddell Academy in N.C. adds ‘calligraphy immersion.’

    Calligraphy aids language learning

    Updated: 2013-05-17 11:40

    By Caroline Berg in New York (China Daily)

     Calligraphy aids language learning

    A second grader at Waddell Language Academy in North Carolina draws the character for “sheep” in the seal and bronze calligraphy scripts. Yan Weihong / China Daily

    Two years ago, the Confucius Institute at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina initiated a trial calligraphy immersion course in a K-8 language school to accelerate their learning of the Chinese language.

    “Our mission is to teach Chinese language and to promote the culture,” said Yan Weihong, director of the Confucius Institute at Pfeiffer. “Language and culture cannot be separated; so, we’re trying to find out how we can use the culture aspect of calligraphy to support the language learning.”

    Please read more here.

  • D.C. close to approving one-of-a-kind immersion high school

    Local: Education

    Language immersion high school nears approval

    May 16, 2013 | 9:00 pm | Modified: May 16, 2013 at 10:20 pm

    The proposed District of Columbia International School, or DCI, is the creation of five public charter elementary schools with language immersion programs in Spanish, French and Chinese.

    Students who finish elementary school fluent in French, Spanish or Chinese could soon have the chance to sharpen their language skills at an International Baccalaureate middle and high school.

    The proposed District of Columbia International School, or DCI, is the creation of five public charter elementary schools with language immersion programs in Spanish, French and Chinese. The new charter school would offer grades six through 12, eventually serving up to 1,600 students in the former Delano Hall of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Ward 4.

    Please read more here.