From: NWCS Principal

Date: 2/28/2014 6:29 PM

Happy March!
Did I hear it correctly? There is more snow on the way? Yes, it is correct and I hope that everyone is prepared for the next winter storm. Some areas might get another foot or more. The good news is that it is not going to interfere with our Chinese School tomorrow, so finish your Chinese Homework and continue to study for your quizzes.
Benson, our previous chairman, has put together a beautiful Chinese New Year celebration and graduation book. It literally contained over a 100 pictures taken from the event. It is currently on sale. Please come to the breakfast club and take a look at the book … either to re-live the wonderful memories, or to see what you missed if you were not able to make it this year!

I always love to hear about our students’ achievements, either in or out of our school. Recently, I heard of two, not one, but two former NWCS students and their recent published books. One graduated many years ago and has gone on to finish college and medical school. As a matter of fact she is a classmate of our current board member, Francine. Francine was nice enough to reach out to the writer and ask for a dozen copies of her book, written in both English and Chinese. Francine had the books autographed just for the NWCS families. Please stop by and see Francine and purchase a copy. Remember to read “About the Author” (she mentioned that she learned Chinese at the NWCS J). Another student who graduated last year wrote a book about the monkey king. Talk about the talent that our students have! Needless to say, we are so very proud of them and their achievements. Please see Francine and have a look at these wonderful books.

Of course like all parents, after hearing such wonderful stories, I shared the beauty of learning Chinese with my twins. I shared a story … Long, long, ago, there was this emperor who one day dressed in his casual civilian wear and went into the village to visit his people. He stopped by this market place where there were many merchants selling goods. He stopped by one booth and asked about the products. The merchant looked at the emperor up and down and said “Young man, you spoke elegantly and without any accent, I have never seen you before, are you from around here?” The emperor just nodded. The merchant then said “Young man, what is your name?” … The emperor paused for a moment and used a long stick and wrote the character ‘一’(one) on the ground and said “that’s my name”. The merchant looked at the ground and thought for a minute. All of a sudden he kneeled down on the ground and bowed … “Please forgive me for being blind. I did not recognize your honor and show respect in a timely manner ….” Others around them looked puzzled and the merchant turned around and shouted at everyone “Are you guys blind? He is our emperor! Hurry and kneel down to show your respect”! Of course by now I totally captivated my twins’ attention, so I continued on … I explained to them the character for the soil/ground is ‘土’, prounced tǔ, ㄊㄨˇ. The emperor by writing the ‘一’ on top of the ground ‘土’, makes the word ‘王’ which means “KING” (emperor). By the way, the kids learned all three words in the first grade. I proudly finished the story and watched their amazed faces … I wish so much that they appreciate the beauty of the Chinese language…. One of my twins finally said “Man, the dude is so lucky. His Chinese name is just ‘一’ “ ….. Really, seriously, that is what he got out of the whole story!! Unbelievable! Ugh!

See you tomorrow! Classes start at 9am sharp. Please be on time.

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李宜蓉 Eileen Y. Lee
北威校長 NWCS Principal, 2009-2014
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GO NWCS!!!! Visit www.nwcsny.org
or email LearnChinese@nwcsny.org