NWCS Chorus – Year End Performance – June 18, 2022, 10:45am – 11:30am
Please come to the school cafeteria on Saturday, June 18, 2022 at 10:45am for the NWCS Chorus Year End Performance!
NWCS Spring ’22 – Newsletter, Week 12 (06/04/22)
Dear NWCS Families, As we start the month of June, we are heading to the final stretch with only 3 sessions left – including the graduation and year end celebration. This week, we will host a General Assembly in Briarcliff Middle school cafeteria – 9:20 ~ 9:50 AM. We cordially invite you to join for
Category Archives: 校長的話 / Principal’s Notes
April 1, 2016
校長的話 / Principal's Notes, 每週通訊 / Weekly Messages
NWCS Weekly Newsletter – 3/19
Dear NWCS families:
We have posted audio tracks of the pilot curriculum Chinese Wonderland online for you to download to laptops and smartphones. This Saturday at 9:30, board member Mr. Harry Villareal, will hold a tech clinic to help parents download the MP3 to your laptops and/or smartphones. Please feel free to bring your laptops, Android or iPhone to see Harry. We want our students to be immersed in the sound tracks so conversations come natural to them. If you consider yourself a techie and want to help (please!), come and join Harry to help fellow parents.
Class parent and communications
We are alerted by recent campus events, though not at Briarcliff school district, that prompt us to be extra cautious with safety and security. We would like each class to have at least one class parent through whom we can quickly propagate urgent messages, preferably through text SMS. Will class parents please let your teacher know?
Moving academic contest to early April
For the middle and upper grades, both A and B tracks, we are looking to move the date of academic contests (speech, multimedia presentation, Chinese culture Jeopardy, and Karaoke) to April 9 so we can submit entries for the ACS competition before April 16. For the ACS Region 2 schools, there will also be a warm up contest on April 30 so we are looking to send students to participate. Please follow your teachers’ instructions to prepare and rehearse. For the lower grades below age 9, we will hold academic contests on April 30 as scheduled on the school calendar.
Picture book of 2016 graduation ceremony and Chinese New Year performance now available for purchase
A must see and keep! The picture book contains beautifully shot and edited photos by chairman emeritus Mr. Benson Louie that you don’t want to miss. Please reserve your copy with board member Ms. Francine Fang. We are still selling raffle tickets. We have Saks Fifth Ave gift cards, a Kindle Fire, a $50 Starbucks gift card, a wonderful arts and crafts gift basket by Ms. Terry Taylor, and books published by NWCS alums as prizes. Raffle Drawing will happen this Saturday at 10am. Please hurry!
Financial planning for college seminar this Saturday
Dr. Tso-hui Ting, and his team are independent brokers based in the Greater New York City area. They have helped hundreds of families in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts for their saving and investment needs. This Saturday at 10:10 am in the Middle School theater, they are going to host a seminar to give an overview on family finance planning, especially to address topics on how to prepare and manage kids’ education fund without impacting grant and scholarship qualification. Please feel free to attend.
Your principal,
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
March 10, 2016
校長的話 / Principal's Notes, 每週通訊 / Weekly Messages
NWCS Weekly Newsletter – 3/12
Dear NWCS families:
Thanks to all the parents who joined us last Saturday to talk about the Chinese Wonderland curriculum. Our Dean Ms. Hsuei Wang, and I heard a pleasant surprise that our parents would like to see more (!) writing assignment within the new curriculum. We can assure you that our aim is to tip the balance back so our students speak Mandarin better, not to discourage them from reading and writing. Many of our students write beautifully and we would like them to continue doing so. Teachers, Dean and I would like to keep hearing feedback from you to fine tune the teaching and learning.
ACS Chinese school academic competition rules posted
The Association of Chinese Schools annual meeting on 5/28 and 5/29 just opened registration for academic competition. Every year, over 50 Chinese schools from Virginia to Massachusetts send their best and brightest so we won’t be absent. We intend to send as many willing students (as well as their parents) to compete according to the entry rules. Competitions include speech, multimedia presentation, Chinese culture Jeopardy, and Karaoke for students aged 9 and above. For the first time in history, Chinese as Second Language students are invited to enter speech contest in a new category. I have messaged our teachers and we will solicit our best and train them to win. See http://www.acsusa.org/acs2016/
Picture book of 2016 graduation ceremony and Chinese New Year performance now available for purchase
A must see and keep! The picture book contains beautifully shot and edited photos by chairman emeritus Mr. Benson Louie that you don’t want to miss. Please reserve your copy with board member Ms. Francine Fang. We are still selling raffle tickets. We have Saks Fifth Ave gift cards, a Kindle Fire, a $50 Starbucks gift card, a wonderful arts and crafts gift basket by Ms. Terry Taylor, and books published by NWCS alums as prizes. Raffle Drawing will happen on March 19th at 10am. Please hurry!
Financial planning for college seminar on March 19
Dr. Tso-hui Ting, and his team are independent brokers based in the Greater New York City area. They have helped hundreds of families in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts for their saving and investment needs. On March 19 at 10 am, they are going to host a seminar to give an overview on family finance planning, especially to address topics on how to prepare and manage kids’ education fund without impacting grant and scholarship qualification. Feel free to attend.
Services and goodies offered by NWCS families
I created a moderated posting to list services and goodies offered by NWCS families and friends. The first entry is from Miss Sarah Seissler, daughter of proud parents Peter and Shuna. Please check out at http://www.nwcsny.org/?p=1265
Donate to NWCS by shopping at AmazonSmile program
Please remember to use Amazon.com through www.nwcsny.org website so we can get 0.5% of the sale proceeds from eligible purchases. The 0.5% would have been pure profit to Amazon if you do not go through our school’s link.
Your principal,
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
March 3, 2016
校長的話 / Principal's Notes, 每週通訊 / Weekly Messages
NWCS Weekly Newsletter – 3/5
Dear NWCS families,
I was very glad that no cancellation was needed last Saturday. Let’s hope today’s strong gust does not result in power outage at our school or anywhere.
Chinese Wonderland curriculum briefing at 11 am
Our Dean, Ms. Hsuei Wang, teachers, and myself would like to brief NWCS families about the pilot program we are implementing with B track (Chinese as Second Language) classes. We aim to emphasize a lot of learning in listening and speaking abilities. Please come joining us. (Apologize about the time since Dean and I both teach.)
Picture book of 2016 graduation ceremony and Chinese New Year performance now available for purchase
A must see and keep! The picture book contains beautifully shot and edited photos by chairman emeritus Mr. Benson Louie that you don’t want to miss. Please reserve your copy with board member Ms. Francine Fang. We are still selling raffle tickets. We have Saks Fifth Ave gift cards, a Kindle Fire, a $50 Starbucks gift card, a wonderful arts and crafts gift basket by Ms. Terry Taylor, and books published by NWCS alums as prizes. Raffle Drawing will happen on March 19th at 10am. Please hurry! (Speaking from experience, last year my son won the grand prize and I ended up paying for it by being principal. This year, if you are the lucky winner of the grand prize, you may end up having my job. )
Mark your calendar: upcoming Breakfast Club events
There is a slight change of plan about the Chinese culinary class. Instead of offering weekly cooking lessons, the Breakfast Club is organizing the following themed events on these dates. 4/16: Dumpling sale, 5/14: Summer Rolls Sale, 6/4 (Open house): cupcake bake sale, 6/11 or 6/18 : BBQ Picnic. I got to say NWCS parents are the most talented bunch!
Your principal,
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
February 26, 2016
校長的話 / Principal's Notes, 每週通訊 / Weekly Messages
NWCS Weekly Newsletter – 2/27
Dear NWCS families,
Welcome back after (only!) six weeks of break. I am sure our students are all looking forward to learning Chinese with their classmates. In this semester, our B track (Chinese as Second Language) teachers will pilot the new curriculum based on Chinese Wonderland that emphasizes more on speaking and listening. We are looking forward to studying students’ learning progress as well as getting parents’ feedback. Our Dean, Ms. Wang, teachers, and myself plan to brief NWCS families about the pilot next Saturday, March 5, at 11 am in the Middle School theater next to the cafeteria.
Raffle drawing to support our school
We are still selling raffle tickets. We have Saks Fifth Ave gift cards, a Kindle Fire, a $50 Starbucks gift card, a wonderful arts and crafts gift basket by Terry Taylor, and books published by NWCS alums as prizes. Raffle Drawing will happen on March 19th at 10am. Please come to the cafeteria during class hours to buy tickets if you have not done so already. Thank you to those who have purchased tickets! Every penny goes to help our wonderful school! (And if you are still interested in donating prizes, please contact chairperson@nwcsny.org).
Seminar in Chinese 如何培育杰出的第二代
Westchester Chinese Christian Church 將在2/28舉辦「如何培育杰出的第二代」講座，
Parent duty list
Our dedicated co-counselor Suzanne has been updating the duty list based on availability requests. We are hoping to send out the next update by Friday.
Your principal,
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
January 9, 2016
校長的話 / Principal's Notes, 每週通訊 / Weekly Messages
NWCS Weekly Newsletter – 1/9
Dear NWCS families,
We will have class this Saturday and then final exam for some classes on the 16th with graduation ceremony and performance starting at 10:30 am.
Chinese New Year celebration performance rehearsal
Our vice principal Mr. Ping-Chuan Wang along with counselor Mr. Kenny Soohoo and board member Mr. Harry Villareal will be at the high school auditorium running the second (also last) performance rehearsal. If you wish to have an early peek and may be helping out, please feel free to stop by. It is really a team effort to ensure the programs go smoothly. We are grateful that NWCS parents are always eager to help.
Luncheon survey
With the change of our graduation and celebration to Jan 16, we would like to find out how many families can attend and maybe help with homemade dishes. Kay and Vivian can then plan ahead to make sure we don’t run out of food. It takes 30 seconds to fill the survey here http://goo.gl/forms/d5QNXw7Q4q so please respond.
Seminar in Chinese 如何培育杰出的第二代
Westchester Chinese Christian Church 將在1/10和2/28舉辦「如何培育杰出的第二代」講座，
Sample lessons from 華語小學堂 Chinese Wonderland
We put a few sample lessons from Chinese Wonderland from books 1, 2 and 5 at https://sis.nwcsny.org/
Your principal,
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
January 3, 2016
校長的話 / Principal's Notes, 每週通訊 / Weekly Messages
NWCS Chinese New Year Luncheon survey, Seminar in Chinese 如何培育杰出的第二代
Dear NWCS families,
Happy New Year! Hope you had a wonderful holiday break with your loved ones! We have two more school days on Jan 9 and 16. Please follow your teacher’s instruction to prepare for the final.
Chinese New Year Luncheon survey
With the change of our graduation and celebration to Jan 16, we would like to find out how many families can attend and maybe help with homemade dishes. Kay and Vivian can then plan ahead to make sure we don’t run out of food. It takes 30 seconds to fill the survey here http://goo.gl/forms/d5QNXw7Q4q so please respond.
Sample lessons from 華語小學堂 Chinese Wonderland
We put a few sample lessons from Chinese Wonderland from books 1, 2 and 5 at https://sis.nwcsny.org/
Culinary school bake sale and dumpling making photos
They have been posted here http://www.nwcsny.org/?p=
Seminar in Chinese 如何培育杰出的第二代
Westchester Chinese Christian Church 將在1/10和2/28舉辦「如何培育杰出的第二代」講座，
Stay warm!
Your principal,
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
December 16, 2015
校長的話 / Principal's Notes, 每週通訊 / Weekly Messages
NWCS Weekly Newsletter – 12/19
Dear NWCS families,
On the last school day before entering 2016, I would like to wish you and your family a Healthy, Happy Holiday and Wonderful New Year! To all Star Wars fans, may the force be with you in getting tickets to see the movie!
Graduation ceremony and Chinese New Year celebration moved to January 16
Our chairman emeritus Mr. Benson Louie received confirmation from the school district that the facilities will be available for us on January 16. I understand families may have plans for the MLK holiday weekend so please let your teachers know as soon as possible if your kids cannot attend. For the kids who attend the celebration, yes, there will be lots of fun and we will hand out red envelopes!
News from Northern Westchester Culinary School
Kay and Vivian have the following message: NWCS families, kindly bring baked goods in for the holiday bake sale this Saturday. Also the breakfast club is holding a dumpling making live session starting at 9am followed by fresh dumpling sampling at 10:30am for purchase. Please come and join the fun!
Donate to NWCS by shopping at AmazonSmile program
Please remember to use Amazon.com through www.nwcsny.org website so we can get 0.5% of the sale proceeds from eligible purchases. The 0.5% would have been pure profit to Amazon if you do not go through our school’s link.
Your principal
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
December 5, 2015
校長的話 / Principal's Notes, 每週通訊 / Weekly Messages
NWCS Weekly Newsletter – 12/5
Dear NWCS families,
We are at Week 11 with three more sessions to go before the holiday break. I hope the warm weather continues until we return for the graduation ceremony and Chinese New Year celebration on January 9. We will have our General Meeting this week. From the principal’s desk, I plan to brief you about our exploration at a new curriculum structure that focuses more on topic-based Chinese learning. Please do join us on Saturday.
Thanksgiving potluck a great success
Thanks to all the amazing moms and dads who made our first Thanksgiving potluck a great success. I was at first fairly suspicious about holding a potluck at 10:30 am but apparently our kids were just happy to line up to try out the many home made dishes. Special thanks to Kay, Vivian and breakfast club for starting a new NWCS tradition. The only photo I took showed two lines of shiny, empty trays, cleaner than my sons’ dinner plates. If you took photos of your proud creations before the feast, please send them to me for web posting.
Donate to NWCS by shopping at AmazonSmile program
Please remember to use Amazon.com through www.nwcsny.org website so we can get 0.5% of the sale proceeds from eligible purchases. The 0.5% would have been pure profit to Amazon if you do not go through our school’s link.
Your principal,
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
November 21, 2015
校長的話 / Principal's Notes, 每週通訊 / Weekly Messages
NWCS Weekly Newsletter – 11/21
Dear NWCS families,
In honor of our first Thanksgiving pot luck, our board chairman Mr. Calvin Chin announced to postpone the General Meeting. He also sent me the following notice to share with you.
Thanksgiving pot luck
The NWCS is having its first Thanksgiving Pot Luck on Saturday at the cafeteria at 10:30AM. Parents – there will be no break at 10AM so feed your children well in the morning. The break will be moved to 10:30AM so all the classes can be dismissed and teachers can join the families for a feast. Some important things to do -
Very limited selection of snacks will be on sale from 9-10:30AM.
1. If you signed up to bring a dish or dessert, please do so before 10:30AM.
2. There will be hot and cold foods and desserts too.
3. water, juices, gatorade, and lemonade will be available for purchase
4. a donation basket for people to give money and offset the costs of the utensils, napkins, plates, cups, etc.
5. Come eat and vote on the best dishes!
6. It is not too late to make plans to be with your NWCS family for this exciting meal
Pilgrims, Native Americans, and other people are welcome to join!!!
Letter of gratitude – 感恩信
In addition to the highly anticipated Thanksgiving pot luck, the Breakfast Club came out with another great idea. We would like to encourage all classes (particularly Grade 4 and above) are encouraged to put together a letter of gratitude (yes, in Chinese). Each class please work on the letter as a team, and have one or more volunteers to present to teachers and families in the cafeteria before food is served in the party.
Calligraphy award ceremony and call for dads to organize Lion Dance for Chinese New Year
Last Saturday, I had the pleasure to attend the award ceremony at Taipei Economic and Culture Center in Flushing, along with our students 朱莉雅, Juliet Rose Weglarz, and 文天娜, Valentina Capshaw. Our school, the Weglarz family and the Capshaw family are very proud of their accomplishments. I took photos of submissions from other Chinese schools to share with Ms. Shen our calligraphy teacher and believed our students truly best other schools’. Congratulations again!
While I was at the Center, I noticed they have costumes for Lion Dance for loan, both adult and kid sizes. Hence I would like to call for 2 to 4 NWCS dads, who have strong arms and do not have a history of back injury to step up for a Lion Dance performance at the coming Chinese New Year celebration. If you are not sure what Lion Dance is about, please seehttp://www.nwcsny.org/?p=1187
Donate to NWCS by shopping at AmazonSmile program
Please remember to use Amazon.com through www.nwcsny.org website so we can get 0.5% of the sale proceeds from eligible purchases. The 0.5% would have been pure profit to Amazon if you do not go through our school’s link.
Your principal,
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
November 13, 2015
校長的話 / Principal's Notes, 每週通訊 / Weekly Messages
NWCS Weekly Newsletter – 11/14
Dear NWCS families,
At Week 9 we are scheduled to have a board meeting. Please feel free to stop by the meeting to participate in the discussion and contribute your ideas. Next week, we will have our General Meeting where your ideas could become part of the agenda. No, you don’t have to be a board member to attend the board meeting and by attending, you will not be volunteered to become a board member!
Letter of gratitude – 感恩信
In addition to the highly anticipated Thanksgiving potluck party on 11/21, the Breakfast Club came out with another great idea. We would like to encourage all classes (particularly Grade 4 and above) are encouraged to put together a letter of gratitude (yes, in Chinese). Each class please work on the letter as a team, and have one or more volunteers to present to teachers and families in the cafeteria before food is served in the party.
Donate to NWCS by shopping at AmazonSmile program
Please remember to use Amazon.com through www.nwcsny.org website so we can get 0.5% of the sale proceeds from eligible purchases. The 0.5% would have been pure profit to Amazon if you do not go through our school’s link.
Reply to this email to get a free raffle ticket to the New Year Festival
Also for high schoolers’ interested in a Math/Social Science project, you are welcome to speak to me to model and predict wining entries of weekly newsletter. With much cooperation from NWCS parents, we expect to accumulate 12 batches of timestamped replies. You may find the data interesting and useful to build a little STEM project.
Your principal,
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
Yuan-Chi Chang 張元極
