New Year’s Party for the Heads of Chinese Schools in the Phoenix City Area

New Year’s Party for the Heads of Chinese Schools in the Phoenix City Area (Written by Tian Lin, Principal of Alberta Hope Chinese School) On January 3, 2016, several Chinese schools in the Phoenix City area…

(Written by Tian Lin, Principal of Hope Chinese School in Alberta) On January 3, 2016, the heads of several Chinese schools in the Phoenix area gathered together to celebrate the New Year under the convocation of Ms. Shuai Zhiruo, the head of the Phoenix Contact Center of the National Association of Chinese Schools. Our Chinese school in Phoenix has had a tradition in recent years that every summer before the start of the new school year, the heads of each school get together to introduce the latest situation of their respective schools. At the gathering in August 2015, every attendee felt that they had more to learn than others. They all said that such gatherings among peers not only exchange information and inspire each other, but also enhance friendship. Everyone encourages each other to continue to contribute to Chinese education. Such gatherings and exchanges should be held at least twice a year. One of the main topics of this New Year's party was to celebrate the resumption of classes at Feinian Chinese School in the central and western part of Phoenix this summer. Feinian Chinese School, located in the heart of Phoenix, is the oldest Chinese school in the area. At this gathering, Principal Cui Zengqi brought good news to everyone. The Overseas Chinese Federation of Greater Phoenix is ​​looking for a suitable school building in the central and western part of Phoenix. The school will resume classes this fall. The heads of each school attending the meeting expressed their congratulations to Principal Cui. They believed that the presence of Feinian Chinese School in the Central and Western District would make the layout of Chinese education in Greater Phoenix more conducive to Chinese and other ethnic students learning Chinese nearby. The heads of each school also expressed their support for Feinian Chinese School in terms of teachers, student information, and books. The school leaders present each introduced the school’s activities last semester and plans for the next semester. Each school has its own unique activities and diverse school running styles. Such exchanges are very meaningful to colleagues in Chinese schools, as they analyze problems and share successful experiences with each other. Principal Shen Meijing of Phoenix Chinese Christian School introduced the school’s recitation competition and traditional Spring Festival celebrations. Lion dance is the highlight of the Spring Festival celebrations at Phoenix Chinese School. The children feel the festive atmosphere and learn about Chinese cultural traditions amidst the sound of gongs and drums. Phoenix Chinese Christian Church Chinese School will open on January 10th at the Phoenix Chinese Christian Church. Principal Cheng Xiuling of Phoenix Chinese School introduced the school’s barbecue party and group recitation competition last semester. The I-movie competition is refreshing for everyone. Students use their own short films to show their Chinese learning achievements, which can educate and entertain and stimulate students' creativity and enthusiasm. Principal Cheng also mentioned that the Spring Festival garden activity will be held in the new semester. This is the school’s traditional activity to celebrate the Spring Festival for many years and has been well received by parents and people from all walks of life in the community. Phoenix Chinese School will start school at MCC (Mesa Community College) on January 17th. Principal Chen Rongji of Tucson Zusun Chinese School shared with everyone the teaching philosophy he has studied with great concentration for many years. Principal Chen’s teaching focus for the next semester is to enable low-grade students to quickly learn literacy in large numbers. We wish Principal Chen’s new teaching methods success, and look forward to Principal Chen sharing his first-hand experience and insights with everyone in the future. The highlight of the next semester of Modern Chinese School is the 20th anniversary of the founding of the school. Now the organizing committee for the school anniversary has been formed, and all aspects of work are being carried out in an orderly manner. Chairman Tian Shaowei warmly invited the heads of each Chinese school to participate in the school’s 20th anniversary celebration. Chairman Tian also mentioned the happy cooperation and mutual help between Modern Chinese School and Hope Chinese School in the past few years. He especially thanked Principal Tian Lin of Hope Chinese School for helping solve the shortage of a teacher at Modern Chinese School before the start of last semester. As the two largest Chinese schools in the region, Modern Chinese School and Hope Chinese School will strengthen cooperation in the future to better serve the community. The Modern Chinese School will start at ASU on January 16th. I hope Dr. Li Jian, the chairman of the Hope Chinese School, took careful notes of this meeting. Principal Tian Lin introduced the school’s recitation competition and the novel large-scale “parent-child” game party held in November, and introduced the characteristics and experience of organizing these activities. In the early autumn of 2016, the China Overseas Exchange Association's "Expert Tour" Chinese teacher training event will be hosted by Hope Chinese School. The person in charge of Hope Chinese School will promptly collect and reflect the suggestions and requirements of Chinese teachers in the region, striving to enable teachers to obtain the latest educational information and more practical teaching skills through this training event. Hope Chinese School will open at MCC (Mesa Community College) on January 16th. Liu Fengxia, the principal of Mencius Chinese School, was unable to attend the meeting due to temporary reasons. At this gathering, everyone started talking about the future development of the Chinese school, and talked about various tasks, including the distribution of student prizes. The four-hour party passed without realizing it. Everyone said that time passed too fast and there were still many topics that were not discussed. The road to overseas Chinese education has never been smooth. Over the past hundred years, the hard work of countless volunteers has made the tree of overseas Chinese education more and more prosperous. The decades of development of Chinese education in Phoenix have been full of arduous challenges, loving dedication, achievements and hope. As volunteers in the Chinese education team, we have made some efforts for this and feel very happy and gratified. We are willing to work with people from all walks of life in the local area who love Chinese education to continue to contribute to the spread of Chinese and Chinese culture among Chinese and other ethnic students. Party photos:

From left to right: Cui Zengqi, Chen Rongji, Shen Meijing, Cheng Xiuling, Li Jian, Tian Shaowei, Tian Lin, Shuai Zhiruo