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  • 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.

    US and China Flags

    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

  • Mr. 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.
  • 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.

     

  • In recognition of its potential as a model Chinese language program for the U.S., strong local leadership, demonstrated commitment to international exchange and collaboration, and global vision for the future, the East-West School of International Studies has been accepted as a member of the second cohort of schools in the Hanban-Asia Society Confucius Classrooms Network.

    Along with a start-up cash award of $10,000, EWSIS will work to enhance their existing Chinese language program through unique opportunities such as being matched with partner schools in China and having students, teachers and administrators conduct exchanges and joint projects. They will also receive 1000 volumes of Chinese language learning materials.

    At this small grade 6-12 school, students at EWSIS study Mandarin, Japanese, or Korean each year they attend and most graduate with at least the equivalent of a first-year college level of proficiency. Chinese teachers use a workshop model with skillful incorporation of multimedia and culture studies to engage students and promote effective language learning. According to Mei-Chin Chang, a Chinese teacher at EWSIS who wrote the successful proposal, “learning Chinese language cannot be separated from understanding the culture.” Last year, students of Chinese interviewed students of Korean and Japanese and later used Venn diagrams to examine the similarities and differences among the three cultures celebrating Lunar New Year.

    The Chinese program at EWSIS provides its service to parents and the community as well. For two years in a row,  EWSIS sponsored a free 12-session Chinese class open to the East-West community. There have been more than sixty adults taking their Chinese class on the weekends and the number of the students in the Chinese Program is expecting to grow with new funding next year.

    Located in Flushing, New York, one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in the country, EWSIS prepares students for a career in an international world by supplementing their studies with proficiency in an Asian language.  With the understanding of the important role Chinese language plays in the rapidly globalized world, the East-West Chinese program has gained strong support from students, parents and community. Through this partnership, EWSIS will be able to drastically improve its Chinese program for the benefit of its students and the community.

    The Hanban-Asia Society Confucius Classrooms Network has been established with the support of an International Expert Advisory Committee and in partnership with Hanban, a non-governmental agency supported by China’s Ministry of Education that supports the teaching and learning of Chinese language and culture in all corners of the world. The Network is more than just an attempt to recognize excellence in Chinese language teaching – it is the beginning of an ongoing process of field building with the goal of establishing high quality, sustainable Chinese language programs in all regions of the U.S., and one important step toward strengthening Americans’ understanding of China.

    About Asia Society and Hanban's Partnership

    Hanban and Asia Society have collaborated over the past few years to promote educational initiatives aimed at strengthening the teaching and learning of Chinese language and culture in the United States. Hanban has partnered with the Asia Society in recognition of its network of connections in US education and real experience designing and developing schools that promote global competency for American students.

  • Welcome to the new East-West blog! This is where you can get a glimpse into what goes on at the school from day-to-day. We'll provide news on what we're learning about in our classrooms, as well as school trips, events, and programs. Be sure to bookmark the site and keep checking back for updates.

    As a note, the main school website is still the place for official announcements and general information.

    For those of you who are new to our school, feel free to check out the main website at http://www.ewsis.org and read our "About" page.

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