2017 ~ 2018 School Year

December Newsletter

Thank you very much for donating on #GivingTuesday! Your donation is helpful as we are moving from 700 N. Main St to 104 Landsdowne St.(across S. Main St. from IMAX.) You may still donate to BCS either for the moving process or other causes. As it gets close to the end of school and the holiday season is well under way, we have a few exciting news for you.

First, it is time to register for Spring semester. Here are two forms: 1. Spring 2018 registration for children's classes, and 2. that for adults. Students in Heritage Chinese language classes do not need to register for Spring. Please see course introductions below and on the right side.

Second, on Friday, December 1 at 7pm BCS float will join the Blacksburg Winter Lights Festival Holiday Parade. Please come with your child(ren) as well as grandparent(s)! Thank you for giving us Halloween candies! We are going to give them away at the parade.

Third, so far restoration is going smoothly at BCS new school site on 104 Landsdowne St. We hope we can move books, furniture, and other items from N. Main this month. We would like parents and friends to get involved in the moving and clean-up tasks!

Finally, we are very pleased and honored to have a new school board president, Eagle Wang, to direct BCS! Meanwhile we simply cannot thank our current president, I-Mo Fu, enough for her tireless and extraordinary dedication and hard work for so many years! Under her leadership, BCS has become a school that offers a variety of Chinese language classes and cultural programs to kids and adults alike, nearly 100 in total at several sites.

Mr. Eagle Wang is an Associate Principal at Symphony Health Solutions. He earned a bachelor's degree from Renmin University of China, and an MBA from University of Wisconsin-Madison. We hope President Wang will carry the torch from President Fu, and make BCS even better and stronger.


Spring 2018 Language Programs

Starting from January unless otherwise indicated

1. Heritage Chinese Level 1/2/3/4/5/7 中文母语班- For age 5+ children with basic Mandarin listening and speaking ability. The objective is to introduce Chinese characters along with 5000 years of Chinese history and culture, enhance students' ability of reading and writing skills, and broaden their global perspectives. Will also prepare students to successfully complete Chinese I-IV courses in middle/high school and easily meet foreign language requirement. For advanced students, these courses can also help them prepare Advanced Placement Chinese exam.

2. Non-Heritage Chinese - For age 4-12 children with NO/little Chinese background. Come join us every week for 60/90 minutes to explore Chinese language and culture through games, songs, poems, traditional crafts and more! Learning Chinese is fun and simple!

  • Non-heritage Chinese classes will be on Sat mornings starting on 1/20/2018 for 15 classes.

  • Non-Heritage Chinese after-school classes will start on 1/18/2018 for 15 classes @ Kipps Elementary on Thursdays.

3. Pre-SAT/SAT/AP Class - Meet weekly for 1.5 hours. Designed to prepare middle school and high school students to successfully complete Chinese I/II/III/IV courses and meet foreign language requirement. It can also help to prepare Advanced Placement Chinese exam. Students will explore contemporary and historical Chinese cultures, study a variety of themes related to Chinese Language and Culture, and broaden their global perspectives.

4. Adult Chinese 成人中文班 - Three classes are offered, one focuses on conversational Chinese, one on all four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing Chinese, and a third one covers various practical topics that is taught @CRC.

November Newsletter

Congratulations on the wonderful performances by BCS Flowers Dance team and Yoyo group at VT-ACSS celebration for Autumn Moon Festival on October 14th! Congratulations on the wonderful performance by BCS Yoyo group at the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival celebration hosted by RU Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures on October 21st!

There are several events and holiday celebrations coming up!

The Peacock-Harper Culinary History Friends and BCS cosponsor a talk about the food waste particularly for kids by Susan Chen at Blacksburg Library Community Room between 1--2pm on Saturday, November 11. Ms. Chen is a Chinese-heritage graduate student at VT Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise. BCS students, families, and friends are strongly recommended to attend it!

BCS families and friends are cordially invited to a Fall Potluck Party in the Multipurpose Room @ Blacksburg Community Center between 4:30--7pm on Saturday, November 11. Please sign up for the food you will bring ASAP. Thanks!

There will be no class during the Thanksgiving break. The BCS float will participate in Blacksburg Winter Lights Festival Holiday Parade at 7pm on Friday, December 1st. Signup will be available soon. Come join us, watch the parade, Tree Lighting Ceremony, Santa at the Lyric, and more! Enjoy Downtown Merchants' annual open houses, late night shopping, free gift wrap, snacks and beverages, and holiday specials! We are collecting back the candies after Halloween for the holiday parade. Please leave them in a box@BCS principal's office whenever you bring your child(ren) to class.

Math Kangaroo 2018 registration is open now! The competition for grade 1-12 will be held at BCS test center on Thursday, 3/15/2018, at 3:00 pm. You can purchase the past-year booklets for practice. If you have an existing account, you may have received a new PCAC password; however if you are a new user, please sign up an account first. Contact us should you have not received our email or have any question!


Chinese Language Classes

  • Heritage Chinese Levels 1/2/3/4/5/7

    • H2/H3/H5 @BCS Classroom at 1:30pm-3:00pm

    • H1/H4/H7 @BCS Classroom at 3:15pm-4:45pm

  • Non-Heritage Chinese

    • NH Chinese after-school @ Kipps Elementary. Thursdays at 3:45-5pm

    • Happy Chinese. Saturdays @BCS Classroom at 10:30am-noon

    • Conversation Chinese (Adults) @CRC. Thursdays at 12:30-1:30pm

    • Chinese @CRC. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4-4:30pm, 4:30-5pm

  • AP Chinese

    • Sundays @BCS Classroom at 1:30-3pm


Chinese Cultural Classes

  • Lion Dance

    • Saturdays 11:15am-12:15pm (Time & schedule vary) @ BCS Classroom


BCS parents are encouraged to attend meetings at Montgomery County Public School Board . Our goal is to convince the officials that it is important to offer Chinese as a foreign language at the middle and high school levels at multiple sites in the district. The meetings are regularly scheduled on the first and third Tuesday of each month. There will be two meetings in November, on the 7th and 21st, respectively. If you have any suggestion or question please fee free to contact us .


BCS administrators Contact Info

  • Principal: Jingjing Huang principal@blacksburgchineseschool.org

  • Academics: Spring Liu academics2@blacksburgchineseschool.org

  • PTO President: Xin Zhao pto@blacksburgchineseschool.org

  • Treasurer: Chunmei Wu treasurer@blacksburgchineseschool.org


Blacksbug Chinese School Board of Directors

President: I-Mo Fu

Directors: I-Ping Fu, Carola Haas, Tom Roberts, Eagle Wang, Chunxiao Zhang

12/01 Fri: Blacksburg Winter Lights Festival Holiday Parade @7pm

October Newsletter

We have been through half of Fall semester. Classes, including both heritage and non-heritage Chinese language classes, and various cultural programs, are going well in general. We thank parents very much for watching the door at 700 N. Main on Sunday afternoons! Due to the high volume of cars parked there, it is increasingly difficult to find a parking space, which caused inconvenience for parents and students. Taking turns to watch the door makes it easier for parents to drop off or pick up students in between classes.

In this month we are celebrating one of the most important traditional holidays, Mid-Autumn Festival. Our Flowers Dance group and Yoyo will perform in a celebration organized by VT-ACSSin Burruss Hall on October 14. The Yoyo group will perform in a celebration hosted by the Chinese Club at Radford University in Covington Performance Hall on 21st. Next month we are going to have a Fall party. Detailed info will be available soon. Math Kangaroo 2018 is scheduled on 3/15/2018, and registration starts on 10/22. We will send out email shortly.


Chinese Language Classes

  • Heritage Chinese Levels 1/2/3/4/5/7 中文母语班

    • H2/H3/H5 @BCS Classroom at 1:30pm-3:00pm

    • H1/H4/H7 @BCS Classroom at 3:15pm-4:45pm

  • Non-Heritage Chinese

    • NH Chinese after-school @ Kipps Elementary. Thursdays at 3:45-5pm

    • Happy Chinese. Saturdays @BCS Classroom at 10:30am-noon

    • Conversation Chinese (Adults) @CRC. Thursdays at 12:30-1:30pm

    • Chinese @CRC. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4-4:30pm, 4:30-5pm

  • AP Chinese

    • Sundays @BCS Classroom at 1:30-3pm


Chinese Cultural Classes

  • Chinese YoYo Group

    • Sundays 3-4pm (Time varies. See right side.) @ Blacksburg Library

  • Lion Dance

    • Sundays 4-5pm (Time & schedule varie. See right side.) @ Blacksburg Library

  • Flowers Dance Group

    • Saturdays 6-7:30pm @ Blacksburg Library.

  • Children's Calligraphy

    • Saturdays 11am--12pm @BCS Classroom


BCS parents attended meetings at Montgomery County Public School Board on September 5th and 19th, and on October 3rd. Here is a video recording of the October 3rd meeting starting at 44.53 min, and a public address script by Mrs. Tiffany Trent. A big salute to these parents! Our goal is to convince the officials that it is important to offer Chinese as a foreign language at the middle and high school levels at multiple sites in the district. The meetings are regularly scheduled on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Please sign up for future board meetings!


BCS board meeting

On Saturday, October 7th, BCS board met at 700 North Main location. First of all, the board approved Principal Jingjing Huang's 2017-2018 budget proposal. Then board members discussed various options of potential new classroom locations, and a petition of World Language Diversity Initiatives. Members watched video clips of several BCS parents' public address at MCPS general board meeting on October 3rd (44:53m Eagle, 49:40m Yang, 52:40m Tiffany), and talked about the possibilities of MCEF Grant Proposal.

September Newsletter

Welcome back BCS families! Hope you all have a great summer. New school year has just begun. If you have not registered your child or yourself, please register now! This semester we offer both Heritage and Non-Heritage Chinese language classes to children, as well as adults. In our cultural programs there are calligraphy, traditional dance, Yo-Yo , and Lion dance classes.

In summer we had Heritage Chinese language classes in Levels 1--3, Traditional Chinese Stories class, Intro Calligraphy class, and Yo-yo class.

For the first time we had three summer fund-raising events at both S. Main and University City Blvd. Kroger locations. Students gave out free lemonade and sold home-made cookies and chocolates. We received strong support from BCS students, parents, and supporters alike. All these would not have happened had Ms. Xin Zhao, BCS PTO president, not come up with the ingenious idea. She also organized and carried out through all the events. Our big salute to her! Many thanks to you, BCS students, parents, and supporters as always!

Introducing New Classes......

  • Conversational Chinese Class - Students in the Conversational Chinese class will take away knowledge on greetings, numbers, colors, directions, weather, date, family, in the restaurant, out shopping, hobbies, Chinese holidays, sports, and more. Class will meet at VT CRC. First class in the Wiki conference room. Starts after Labor Day.

  • Chinese Calligraphy class 书法班 For age 6+. Ten students max. Starts after Labor Day. Two classes are offered, one for children 6 years or older, one for adults, both at 700 N. Main St. Time TBD.

  • Chinese Lion Dance Group - How to dance like a lion? The Chinese Lion Dance Group will let the children as well as adults experience this fun traditional Chinese activity and get to know the culture. Location and time TBD.


Current Classes are still OPEN for enrollment......

Please sign up your child(ren) or yourself (as an adult) ASAP!

  • Heritage Chinese Levels 1/2/3/4/5/7 中文母语班

    • H2/H3/H5 @BCS Classroom at 1:30pm-3:00pm

    • H1/H4/H7 @BCS Classroom at 3:15pm-4:45pm

  • NH-Chinese - These courses are designed for age 4-12 children with NO/little Chinese background. Come join us every week for 60/90 minutes to explore Chinese language and culture through games, songs, poems, traditional crafts and more! Learning Chinese is fun and simple! Starts on August 24th.

    • Non-Heritage Chinese after-school @ Kipps Elementary. Thursdays at 3:45-5pm

    • Saturdays @BCS Classroom at 10:30am-noon

  • Traditional Chinese Dance - For 7-11 years old. Saturdays 6-7:30pm @ Blacksburg Library.

  • Chinese YoYo Group - Experience Chinese culture through a cool, fun and attractive traditional Chinese martial art. This class will have the options to perform in NRV areas. This class is for 6+ children and adults. Sundays 3-4pm @ Blacksburg Library

We have initiated a petition to Montgomery County Public School Board to start offering Chinese as a foreign language at the middle and high school levels at multiple sites in the district. BCS parents attended at the MCPS board meeting on August 15. Please sign up for future board meetings! Ms. Shelly Stoddard (of Rainbow Riders) wrote:


Dear School Board Representatives,

We are writing this letter to seek your assistance and guidance in advancing what we consider a critical educational need in our area. Being literate in a language other than English has become an important skill in navigating our country’s military, political system, and global position. This skill is especially notable when the language is considered critical- languages that are less taught nationwide and focus on non-Western/ European languages- like character-based languages.

In the Blacksburg area alone, approximately 23% of the population is Chinese speaking. When including other areas that MCPS serves, the number is even greater. Yet, there are no options for Chinese at the secondary level for foreign language instruction. Our community considers this a disservice not just to the nearly 25% who speak Chinese in their homes, but the remaining 75% who do not have the option to learn a language that ⅕ of the world’s population speaks.

Learning a character based language has many benefits including increased cognitive function, higher executive skills, a greater empathy and understanding for multicultural situations and diverse populations, and increased opportunities in the post secondary world. In our area, the demand for Chinese language instruction has resulted in many grass root organizations leading the way. This includes Blacksburg Chinese School, a non-profit organization, which provides language lessons and tutoring, cultural activities, and provides a bridge between the heritage and non-heritage communities. Another organization is the Rainbow Riders Chinese English Bilingual Program, which offers Chinese language instruction as early as age 3 in a partially immersive setting. Additionally, Little Garden Academy, a privately run organization offers Chinese immersion instruction for school age students. All of these programs seek to fill the gap for the early years of education, but once students have completed elementary school, there is nothing available for them to continue their language journey.

We implore you to aid us in our desire to provide quality language instruction that creates globally aware and competent citizens who can secure our country’s best interests. To meet this goal, we plan to write a petition insisting on MCPS offering Chinese as a foreign language at the middle and high school levels at multiple sites in the district. We ask for your assistance and support to create additional opportunities for our children.


Sincerely,


Heritage and Non-Heritage Families and Community Members


Shelly Stoddard


We are very delighted to introduce our new principal, Ms. Jingjing Huang, to you.

Ms. Huang received a M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language from the East China Normal University in Shanghai, and a M.A. in Chinese Linguistics from the University of Arizona. She has been teaching Chinese Language and culture to learners at all ages in various settings for over 15 years. BCS welcomes Ms. Huang to join us and further strengthen our non-heritage programs!


The following is the contact info of BCS administrators:

Principal: Jingjing Huang principal@blacksburgchineseschool.org

Academics: Spring Liu academics2@blacksburgchineseschool.org

PTO President: Xin Zhao pto@blacksburgchineseschool.org

Extracurricular Activities: activities@blacksburgchineseschool.org


Blacksburg Chinese School Board of Directors

President & Director: I-Mo Fu

Director: I-Ping Fu, Carola Haas, Tom Roberts, Eagle Wang, Chunxiao Zhang


Director Wang wrote:


黑堡中文学校2017年秋季学期开学寄语


作为一位新加入的成员,我谨代表学校董事会向各位新老家长和同学致以最真诚的欢迎。中文学校的发展离不开各位的积极参与和支持,让我们手拉手一道为传承我们共同的文化和语言尽一份心,出一份力。我坚信,我们今天的努力将帮助我们及我们的子孙去守候并发扬光大我们共同的根,同时这也为我们华人社区作为一个团体展现在我们如今生活的这片土地上作出应有的贡献。


BCS 2017 Fall Semester Opening Message


As a newly appointed member to the Board and on behalf of my colleagues, I am honored to give my warmest welcome to all the new and existing students and their parents of the Blacksburg Chinese School. Your involvement and support to BCS has made all our development and growth possible. Let's continue our collaborative work side by side to help our culture and language inherited and demonstrated. I truly and strongly believe that our efforts today will help us and our offspring stick to and expand our shared roots in addition to bring its contribution to present our Chinese community as a tightly connected group in front of our peers on the land where we live.


谢谢!

义国

July Newsletter

Welcome back BCS families! Hope you all have a great summer. New school year starts soon, register before July 31 to guarantee receiving textbook on the first class! CLICK "Register NOW" for further information!!! Also, Fall Open House on August 12 (Saturday), 10 am to 4 pm. Welcome to our campus on 700 N. Main for information and on-site registration.


BCS PTO summer lemonade stand Fund Raising is coming between 4--6 PM on Saturday 7/22@U. Mall Kroger, and Sunday 8/6@S. Main Kroger. Come to support our Chinese School! Remember to share pictures from summer China trip on BCS Facebook.


If you have trouble receiving this newsletter in your regular mailbox, please contact us via info@blacksburghchineseschool.org, we will help you solve this problem through the double opt-in process.

__________________________________

Fall 2017 Language Programs (*Starting from August unless otherwise indicated)

  • Heritage Chinese Level 1/2/3/4/5/7 中文母语班- These courses are designed for age 5+ children with basic Mandarin listening and speaking ability. The objective is to introduce Chinese characters along with 5000 years of Chinese history and culture, enhance students' ability of reading and writing skills, and broaden their global perspectives. These courses will also prepare students to successfully complete Chinese I-IV courses in middle/high school and easily meet foreign language requirement. For advanced students, these courses can also help them prepare Advanced Placement Chinese exam (AP Chinese is a rigorous college level course equivalent to a fourth semester college course in Mandarin Chinese).

  • Non-Heritage Chinese - These courses are designed for age 4-12 children with NO/little Chinese background. Come join us every week for 60/90 minutes to explore Chinese language and culture through games, songs, poems, traditional crafts and more! Learning Chinese is fun and simple!

    • Non-heritage Chinese classes will be on Satmornings starting after the Labor Day for 10 meetings.

    • Non-Heritage Chinese after-school classes will start on 8/24 and ends on 12/7 for 15 classes (No class for Thanksgiving week) @ Kipps Elementary.

  • Pre-SAT/SAT/AP Class - These courses are designed to prepare middle school and high school students successfully complete Chinese I/II/III/IV courses and meet foreign language requirement. It can also help to prepare Advanced Placement Chinese exam. AP Chinese is a rigorous college level course equivalent to a fourth semester college course in Mandarin Chinese. Students will explore contemporary and historical Chinese cultures, study a variety of themes related to the Chinese Language and Culture, and broaden their global perspectives.Classes will meet weekly for 1.5 hours each.

  • Adult Chinese 成人中文班 - Two classes will be offered, one will focus on conversational Chinese and the other will emphasis on all four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing Chinese.


Fall 2017 Cultural Programs (*Starting from August unless otherwise indicated)

  • Traditional Chinese Dance - These classes are to introduce basic dance skills plus traditional folk dance with different styles using many props, such as fan, umbrella, or spinning scarf etc. Traditional colorful costumes from China create a blaze of color on the stage. Students will have abundant performance opportunities for special festivals or events annually, not only in Blacksburg community, but also in the NRV surround areas. We will perform on Mid-Autumn Festival at VT and RU.

    • Preschool Dance Group (For 5-6 years old boys and girls)

    • Children Dance Group (For 7-11 years old boys and girls)

    • Teen Dance Group (For 12+ boys and girls)

  • Chinese YoYo Group - Experience Chinese culture through a cool, fun and attractive traditional Chinese martial art. Children enrolled the regularly attending. This class will have the options to perform in NRV areas. This class is for 6+ boys and girls.

  • Chinese Lion Dance Group - How to dance like a lion? The Chinese Lion Dance Group will let the children experience this fun traditional Chinese activity and get to know the culture.

  • Chinese Calligraphy class - Traditional Chinese handwriting requires brushes (maobi), which is totally different from pens and pencils. Come to enjoy 'drawing' Chinese characters and make fun!