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January 5, 2011 - 10:07am
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Blog
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Talent Show 2010
January 4, 2011 - 3:40pm
Japanese acoustic
On December 15th, over 66 students (and one teacher!) showcased their acting, singing, and dancing skills at East-West's 2010 Talent Show. Spearheaded by Ms. Marinos, it was the most successful show the school has seen so far --- for the first time, all tickets were sold out.
The evening included Japanese acoustic, Justin Bieber, tap-dancing, Korean pop, and more. It was capped with an epic 20-minute long student-choreographed group performance that evoked robots, zombies, Michael Jackson, and Romeo & Juliet.
Here are some rave reviews:
Ms. Lopez, Science
That was the best show at East-West! Thanks, I had a great time...Congratulations! Two thumbs up!
Ms. Pechersky, Special Education
This was the most amazing show of talent, dedication, community spirit, and honor that our school celebrates. Congratulations on this exceptional success to Ms. Marinos, students, and everyone else who worked so hard to make this incredible event happen.
Ms. Rhi, Korean/ESLWhat a great show! Every year it gets better and better.Our students shined. They were all shining stars, and most of all they enjoyed themselves.Mr. Sherman, PrincipalCongratulations to Ms. Marinos and to all the people who helped make this into a successful event. The students were the best and Ms. Marinos worked diligently with them, as she always does, to help them feel confident performing on stage in front of our school community.So many people worked on this event doing: fund-raising, selling tickets, making back drops, supervising students, maintaining order, feeding students, purchasing supplies, arranging permits, staying late to supervise students and staff pro-bono, selling refreshments, and other things. You are too many to name.A school play, led by Ms. Hartong, is already in the works for the spring.More pictures under the cut!
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Welcome to America, President Hu Jintao
January 3, 2011 - 8:29pm
By Andy Chio
The students from Chinese 4 created a set of artwork to welcome President Hu Jintao's upcoming visit to America on January 19th. Their teacher, Ms. Chang, mailed the artwork to the Asia Society, where it will be displayed along with art from fellow schools within the Confucius Classrooms Network.
Christian Flores wrote an essay to accompany the art:
Dear Hu Jintao,
Welcome to the United States of America! As a very well respected political figure of China, we want to recognize the significance of your presence in this country. For the past few years, tensions between China and the U.S. have grown, but it is never too late to loosen up and compromise on opposing policies and views. We hope that you enjoy your stay in the U.S. and leave with settlements over issues concerning both of the countries. Respectively, I would love for the U.S. to learn from China and vice-versa. Learning Chinese in the East-West School of International Studies has exposed many of our current students to new ideas, culture, and further exploration of what China and other Mandarin Chinese language speaking countries have to offer. We are glad to have an opportunity to be exposed to Mandarin as a second or third language, which brings cultural attachment to different ways of life, more than anything.
In addition to learning Chinese culture and language, our students are also made aware of the real world situations. We do not live in a perfect world, especially at a time like this, but we can work together to preserve peace and promote a healthier Earth for all our fellow humans. John F. Kennedy, one of America's most loved presidents, said: "But peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper, let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all of our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings." For taking the first few steps towards better relations between the U.S. and China, we thank you, President Hu Jintao.
Sincerely,
Christian Flores & Andy Chio
Class of Chinese 4 at East-West School of International Studies
More images under the cut.
Dear Hu Jintao,
Welcome to the United States of America! As a very well respected political figure of China, we want to recognize the significance of your presence in this country. For the past few years, tensions between China and the U.S. have grown, but it is never too late to loosen up and compromise on opposing policies and views. We hope that you enjoy your stay in the U.S. and leave with settlements over issues concerning both of the countries. Respectively, I would love for the U.S. to learn from China and vice-versa. Learning Chinese in the East-West School of International Studies has exposed many of our current students to new ideas, culture, and further exploration of what China and other Mandarin Chinese language speaking countries have to offer. We are glad to have an opportunity to be exposed to Mandarin as a second or third language, which brings cultural attachment to different ways of life, more than anything.
In addition to learning Chinese culture and language, our students are also made aware of the real world situations. We do not live in a perfect world, especially at a time like this, but we can work together to preserve peace and promote a healthier Earth for all our fellow humans. John F. Kennedy, one of America's most loved presidents, said: "But peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper, let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all of our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings." For taking the first few steps towards better relations between the U.S. and China, we thank you, President Hu Jintao.
Sincerely,
Christian Flores & Andy Chio
Class of Chinese 4 at East-West School of International Studies
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Seen around the school:
December 31, 2010 - 12:34amMr. Sherman:- Flags are flying! Developing student voice and ownership in our school is important to us. Where possible we strive to foster student voice. Examples of this can be seen at Muster, at student government meetings, and now in the hallways with the flags that student government has posted (with Velcro for easy removal) representing the countries of origin of our current student body.
- Thanks to Mr. Marini for hosting the movie “Inception” after school on Wednesday for high school students, and “Despicable Me” for the middle school students last week. It is nice to see high school and middle school developing some separate identities through different activities.
- While we talk about getting our students to write papers, Mr. Marini has guided students through the process of actually making paper. The hand-made sheets are beautiful.
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As EWSIS students climb the stairs every morning to go to their first class, Gandhi reminds them to “be the change they wish to see in the world”. Gandhi’s wisdom is one of the nine voices, including those of Mother Teresa, Max Ehrmann, and Akio Morita, which are featured on the new school banners that hang prominently over every stairwell. Each quote is bound by the words honor, excellence, curiosity, and celebration, the four guiding values of East-West.
Students crossing Stairwell E to get to their language classes know that Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” The glossy professionally-made banners reflect a small ambitious school that has come a long way since taking its first step. The number of students has tripled to 600 since the school opened in 2006, but EWSIS received the highest grade of an A for both middle and high school, the only 6-12 school in Queens to do so, in NYC school progress reports for the past two years. Last year EWSIS held its first high school graduation. With sixty-five students graduating, sixty-four continued on to college and one joined the Navy.
EWSIS and Flushing community leaders will officially unveil the banners in a brief ceremony on January 13, 2011, preceding a meeting of the East-West School Community Advisory Board.