Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

recent posts

about

  • Officially bilingual, many in Canada want Spanish or Chinese, not French

     

    Students get french words off the board in the Grade 2 class of Natalie Ruel at Mother Teresa elementary school in Calgary, Alberta, June 21, 2012.+

     

    Is bilingualism still relevant in Canada?

    TAMARA BALUJA AND JAMES BRADSHAW

    The Globe and Mail

    Published Friday, Jun. 22 2012, 9:06 PM EDT

    Last updated Saturday, Jun. 23 2012, 3:25 AM EDT

    For three days in April, Chantelle Prentice camped outside in Salmon Arm, B.C., guarding her place in line – not for concert tickets or the latest iPhone, but to snag one of 17 coveted French immersion spots at Bastion Elementary School for her five-year-old son, Taylor.

    An anglophone who hated her own high-school French courses, Ms. Prentice still feels strongly that bilingualism is central to Canada’s identity, as well as a gateway to other languages.

    “I don’t think there’s enough young people speaking French and keeping it going in our country,” she said. “But I also appreciate diversity. So Mandarin and Punjabi, all those are absolutely great. If my son has an opportunity to dabble in other languages, then I would definitely be supportive of that as well.”

    Demand for French immersion programs has been steady or rising across the country for the past decade.

    But with more than five million Canadians speaking a mother tongue other than English or French as of 2006 – and projections say that number will rise when the 2011 census data is released this fall – school boards have begun adding other languages to the curriculum. Employers will say that while French is still highly valued as a second language, others are gaining ground, notably Spanish and Mandarin.

    Please read more here.

  • Houston to open new K-8 Mandarin immersion school

    Starting the 2012–2013 school year HISD’s first-ever Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion Magnet School will be located at Gordon Elementary. 

    HISD is currently accepting applications for students in prekindergarten to second grade, and students currently enrolled at Gordon are encouraged to apply.

    Click on the link for more information about the program and how to apply.

    Gordon is also being expanded from a K-5 to a K-8 campus.


  • Does Mandarin immersion promote “resentment toward a class or race”?

    Kind of fascinating. John Huppenthal is the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction who has banned state funding for ethnic studies programs in the state, based on a state law which bans “classes that promote resentment toward a race or class.”

    However he seems to be in favor of Mandarin immersion.

    I do wonder if this would be the case if Arizona had a large Chinese population, in which case such programs might be considered divisive and not contributing to assimilation. Certainly that was one of the arguments made in New Jersey by those opposing the Mandarin immersion charter school near New Haven. They also opposed charters in general, but there was a strong “you should just assimilate” air about it as well.

    What have people in various parts of the country experienced along these lines? Is it an issue where you live?

    Beth

    =====

    from an Arizona blog.

    But, That’s Different…

    I received a report from one of my top correspondents who attended yesterday’s meeting of the Arizona-Mexico Commission.

    John Huppenthal made an appearance. No word on whether he tried to nail a campaign banner to the wall.

    Anyway, Huppenthal tried to sell attendees on a Mandarin immersion program.

    It’s early in the morning, you’ll have to excuse me for not being able to wrap my head around this. The man who has presided over the continuing dismantling of cultural studies and bilingual education actually said to a group of civic leaders interested in strengthening ties between Arizona and Mexico that students need to learn Mandarin.

    Hmm. Maybe after Huppenthal is done with any program that smacks of Chicanismo, his successor will need a program to campaign against. He wants to set this one up just so the next guy can bloviate against it.

    Hey, doesn’t make any less sense than anything else that has gone on in politics here lately.

    Written by: Tedski

  • An interesting model for a Mandarin summer camp

    Dragonfly Design Announces 2012 Creative Explorers Summer Camps

    Dragonfly Designs, a mobile jewelry-making company based in South San Francisco, unveils its new Creative Explorers Camp this summer.

    SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 17, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ — Dragonfly Designs, a mobile jewelry-making company based in South San Francisco, unveils its new Creative Explorers Camp this summer. After three years of bringing jewelry making camps in English and Mandarin to students throughout the Bay Area, the Creative Explorers Camp will offer an inquiry-based method of learning to encourage children to explore a variety of materials and techniques in the creation of innovative art projects.

    Open-ended art projects allow students to use their creative freedom by choosing from art mediums such as metal, clay, paper and leather as they are led on an adventurous exploration of innovative projects from enameling to jewelry design, etching, resin, beeswax, and so much more.

    Dragonfly Design’s expert staff helps facilitate learning through thought-provoking discussions, an introduction to formal critique and technical assistance. In addition, the camp exposes students to the broader creative world by bringing in specialists who offer instruction in many different fields, including architecture, wood working, yoga, dance, gardening, local ecology and much more.

    The Creative Explorers Camp runs Monday through Friday from June 18 to August 24th at 150 Oak St. in San Francisco at the Chinese American International School (CAIS) from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Students have the option of attending a full week of camp for $355 or a half-day camp for $270 for the week. Students can drop in for a single day of camp for $75. Extended-day care is available from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., with before care from 8 a.m.-9 a.m. and aftercare from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

    All camps are eligible for reimbursement from childcare spending accounts. “Offering students a creative class with the opportunity to make choices fosters independence in young artists and frees the students to attempt more challenging tasks without fear of failure,” said Dragonfly Designs’ owner Stacee Gillelen. “They develop divergent thinking skills, which is the ability to discover multiple ways to solve problems, and in the process, students tap in to their inherent talents as they make basic materials come to life.”

    In addition to the Creative Explorers Camp, Dragonfly Designs will also be offering their traditional Jewelry Making camp, a Design Your Line camp and a Mandarin Immersion camp. To sign up, visit www.jewelrybydfly.com under the “Camps” tab or call (650) 303-1900. Single Day and Half Day camps are also available.

    About Dragonfly Designs

    Stacee Gillelen, a creative mom of four, founded Dragonfly Designs in 2005. Dragonfly Designs’ mission is to offer exceptional handmade jewelry and the opportunity to create it, while promoting social justice, personal style and fun. In addition to offering Bay Area summer camps, Dragonfly Designs hosts jewelry making classes for adults and children, birthday parties, fundraising opportunities, homeshows, private parties and more in the following counties: San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, Contra Costa & Santa Clara. A portion of all proceeds are donated to their non-profit partnerships with organizations that serve the needs of underprivileged women and children in communities both locally and abroad.

    —

    Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com

    Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/756774#ixzz1yGFXOx3D

  • Beaverton, Ore. Mandarin charter

    Katie Currid/The OregonianMolly Heywood, one of the founders of Hope Chinese Charter School, puts a helmet on the head of Julian Heywood, 3, as her daughter, Brooklynn, rides her bicycle around the block.

    Students at Beaverton’s newest public charter school will spend most of their days this fall reading, writing and singing in Chinese. 

    Hope Chinese Charter School, housed inside Korean Mission Church in Cedar Hills, will open in September with kindergarten and first grade. Organizers plan to teach three-quarters of the school day in Chinese and the rest in English.

    The school’s founders, a group of parents and educators, expect to add a grade level each school year, eventually reaching eighth grade.

    Much remains to be done before the fledgling school can open Sept. 4. Church meeting rooms, which are being converted into classrooms, need bulletin boards and books. Walls need fresh paint.

    Please read more here.

  • Dance at an immersion school

    Legacy of dance grant will live on

    By Clint Riese on June 13, 2012 at 10:41 am
    • Perpich Center for the Arts grant went to LILA in FL

    LILA teachers Raul Arroyo (Minneapolis), Jenni Muras (Hugo), Fred Moreno (Oakdale), Claire Gilbert (Forest Lake) and Jade Hibbard (White Bear Lake) enthusiastically demonstrate the five elements of dance: body, action, space, tempo, and energy. LILA developed Spanish curriculum materials as part of the Perpich Center dance grant. (Photo submitted)

    It’s Monday morning at Lakes International Language Academy, a Spanish and Mandarin Chinese language immersion public elementary school in Forest Lake.

    “Attention, attention, Lilavision will begin in one minute,” blares over the loudspeakers in Spanish, prompting students to turn on their classroom televisions for the student-produced morning news.

    First is an announcement inviting students to an upcoming family dance night with an international “Carnaval” theme. A later video shows four students dancing to the music of a Native American chant. The student announcers explain that the performers choreographed the dance themselves.

    In a fifth grade classroom, students applaud and make plans to use the gym during recess to create their own dance. Afterwards, their teacher leads them in a morning meeting activity. Students create actions to represent natural disasters and the class combines them into movement sequences. Dance making and movement have become student-led and commonplace at LILA.

    Please read more here.

  • Maintaining a language at home

    Passing down a language

    THIS STORY APPEARED IN
    Boston Articles
    June 10, 2012
    Classes are taught largely in Spanish at the Amigos School in Cambridge. (Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff )

    When my brother and I were kids, our parents would sit us down for some evening conversation with a little girl named Hélène. Hélène was French; she lived with her apron-skirted mother, tassel-shoed father, and a brother name Pierre. On our 12-record box set of language lessons, Hélène would do things like oversleep, causing her family to break into song: “ Bonjour Hélène, bonjour Hélène/ C’est le matin, c’est le matin!’’

    As the turntable played I thought, nobody ever sings when I oversleep. We were utterly bored with the record, but for our Haitian parents, who spoke French and Creole at home, Hélène had a vital importance. She was the girl who would make us a French-speaking family, and ensure their heritage did not die with them.

    Please read more here.