cais connections (fall 2011)

Fall 2011

CAIS CONNECTIONS

Chinese American International School

CAIS Connections is a quarterly publication with the goal of keeping the community informed and connected to the vibrant events and accomplishments at Chinese American International School.

CAIS CELEBRATES ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY中美國際學校歡度三十週年校慶

SAVE THE DATE

30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND

December 9-11, 2011

Please join us for a festive weekend with old and new colleagues as we reflect on our past achievements and look forward to a bright future.

For more information, please contact JP Lor at [email protected] or (415) 861-0866.


CAIS ConnectionsFall 2011

MEET PARENTS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT, FIONA SMYTHE認識家長會會長，FIONA SMYTHE

With the new school year brings a new Parents Association President and this year CAIS is happy to welcome Fiona Smythe, (mother of Chloe, first grade) to the parent-elected role. Although she may be new to the job as PA President, Fiona has been a CAIS parent since 2007 and sat on the Parents Association Council during the 2010-2011 school year as PA secretary.

This year the Parents Association is concentrating on supporting a vibrant and stimulating school community. The Council conducted a series of evaluations, assessing their strengths and weaknesses to help hone in on the parents’ and school’s needs, and as a result, are focusing on three different areas this school year. These areas include:

2011-2012 PARENTS ASSOCIATION COUNCIL MEMBERS

Fiona Smythe, PresidentKiko Guedez, Vice PresidentMary Martinez, SecretaryBrad Chou-Green, Treasurer

Lisa AuerCynthia BarberaJudy ChanJenny ChangDana EllsworthHarry EngJoachim LiEd LukawskiMary PowellStephanie ReynagaLynda SakseangviratGrace Wei

• Further incorporating Chinese culture and language into the extracurricular activities at CAIS.

• Encouraging greater incorporation and participation from all members and grade levels of the community.

• Continuing to foster communication between parents, faculty and staff.

Fiona and the PA are taking on a lead facilitator approach that will enable parents to participate in the school community and in turn gives inclusion and ownership to each individual. Rather than taking on events, for which the PA is known, Fiona strives for a process by which a parent with a great idea can come to the PA, make the pitch and in turn, the PA will assist with the tools, process and organizational memory to make it happen at the individual level.

In pursuit of fostering communication, Fiona and her PA team have launched a new community wiki, also known as a community portal or webpage of information for all things extracurricular. Parents can add and update content on the site on their own. The wiki is a collaborative effort of all the site visitors.

With a background as a project manager at Amazon, Fiona sees the value of teaming with different committees of the Parents Association, using everyone’s strengths to help facilitate a collaborative working group with measured and obtainable goals. “We have a group of hard working parents who give a lot of their time to the school, and we see ourselves as the conduit to harness that energy and make their ideas and work come to life,” Fiona said.

Fiona hopes to make a lot of headway during her two-year term as PA President. From her steadfast project manager mentality and goal oriented decisiveness, it looks like she’s on her way.

For more information on community events, please visit the CAIS Community Wiki.

http://bit.ly/caiswiki


CAIS Connections Fall 2011

CAIS DONORS CELEBRATE SUCCESSFUL YEAR IN GIVING中美捐款人慶祝年度捐款活動的成功

On September 21, CAIS held the Leadership Donor Reception to thank the many CAIS families and supporters who gave generously during the 2010-2011 school year. Special recognition was given to our past parent Class Captains whose community outreach efforts led the way for so many parents to participate in Annual Fund.

The Annual Fund is the most essential and biggest yearly fundraiser to support the sustainability of our programs. Tuition only covers 85% of the total costs of a CAIS education. Gifts to the Annual Fund allow CAIS to moderate tuition increases and achieve a student body that is more economically diverse. In addition, the gap offers an opportunity for other constituencies to become financial supporters of the School. By making a tax-deductible charitable contribution, donors are a part of a vital and growing tradition of helping to ensure that a CAIS education remains the premiere Chinese dual language and culture program in the nation. Every gift from current and past families, foundations and friends matters and makes a difference in the lives of our students and teachers.

At the reception, Michelle Stauffer and Kenneth Tse, long-time Annual Fund Co-chairs, reported Annual Fund donations of approximately $610,000 during the 2010-11 school year with 91% parent participation; far surpassing the parent goal of $550,000.

When asked why they give, donors responded with the following reasons:

• We give to CAIS, so we can support diversity.

• I give to CAIS because it’s a great return on my education investment.

• I give to CAIS because my company matches my donation.

• We give to CAIS because we care.

• We give to CAIS because we love it!

• I give to CAIS because my daughter *hearts* her school, teachers and friends!

• We give to CAIS because our school is a pioneer whose time has come!

• We give to CAIS because the world needs multicultural, bilingual people!

• We give to CAIS because our teachers deserve our support!

• We give to CAIS because it has changed our lives for the better...

Thank you to everyone who gave in the 2010-2011 school year. We appreciate your continued support of our programs.

For more information on giving opportunities at CAIS, please visit www.cais.org.


CAIS ConnectionsFall 2011

MID-AUTUMN MOON FESTIVAL CELEBRATED THROUGHOUT CAIS中美歡慶中秋節

The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, which takes takes place on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, represents one of the most culturally important of the Chinese celebrations.

Traditionally, family members come together to celebrate the year’s harvest. The whole family comes together to share a meal called tuanyuan fan 團圓飯; the three characters literally mean “together, round and full (like the moon), meal.” This year, Zhong Qiu Jie, or Mid-Autumn Moon Festival was celebrated the day before the actual day as part of the CAIS back-to-school picnic.

Cultural activities at the picnic included traditional archery demonstrations, clay moon cake-making and Chinese knot tying. These activities rounded out the week of classroom activities that students from every grade level participated in during the entire month of September to learn about the cultural significance of Zhong Qiu Jie in a meaningful age appropriate way.

The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival helped bring cultural-based activities to the student body beyond what they are learning in the classroom, incorporating cultural elements, which are intertwined with the Chinese language itself, and in turn strengthening CAIS students’ cultural and language competence in an informal, outside of the classroom setting.


CAIS Connections Fall 2011

NEW FACE AT CAIS - LOWER SCHOOL DIRECTOR, PETER MOORE中美新成員 – 小學部主任，PETER MOORE

The 2011-2012 school year at CAIS begins with many new faces; and one of the more significant changes to our educational leadership team is new Lower School Director, Peter Moore. With less than eight weeks on the job, Peter has hit the ground running – literally – and is quickly learning the ins and outs of the lower school community.

Peter comes to us with a variety of teaching experience, most recently at The Nueva School in Hillsborough where he taught fourth grade. During Peter’s career, he has been fortunate enough to work at three very different schools. Through this experience he has learned that great schools are those that create strong and lasting relationships amongst students, parents, faculty and staff. He is tremendously passionate about education and believes that children can be inspired to do incredible things if they feel cared for and understood.

A highlight of Peter’s professional career is that he has had the opportunity to work in many areas of education. He has been a second, fourth, fifth and sixth grade classroom teacher and has taught technology to kindergarten through six grade. He has been a Director of Technology, mentored staff, written curriculum and watched that curriculum implemented and grow, and has coached sporting teams through successful seasons. These varying roles have given him a great appreciation for different areas of education.

When asked about his first weeks on the job at CAIS, Peter was eager to share with us his impressions about our children, faculty and community. If he had to sum up his thoughts about CAIS in one word, his choice word is impressive. He is impressed by the number of programs taking place in the classroom and the fresh perspective of his faculty as well as the amount of teaching collaboration that takes place outside of the classroom. His days are packed: meeting each lower school faculty member and teaching associate individually, getting to know students and parents, while still making time for classroom visits and meetings, Peter summed up his first weeks on the job as running on adrenaline.

Peter feels fortunate to have been given the opportunity to help move the lower school to the next phase of growth in an organization like CAIS that is evolving as we enter our 30th anniversary year.

150 OAK STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102TELEPHONE: 415.865.6000 FAX: 415.865.6006WWW.CAIS.ORG

MISSION STATEMENT

Chinese American International School educates students for academic excellence, moral character and international perspective through immersion in American and Chinese culture and language.

ABOUT CAIS關於中美

In 1981, a group of multi-ethnic San Francisco Bay Area parents, educators and civic leaders implemented a compelling vision. They created a school with a dual language, dual cultural curriculum in Chinese and English to prepare children for an increasingly interconnected world.

Shirley Lee, a founder and the Head of School for 15 years, began teaching four young students in two modest classrooms. CAIS was the first school of its kind in the nation and remains one of the few independent Pre-K through eighth grade Chinese-English immersion programs in the U.S.

UPCOMING EVENTS中美行事曆

Admission Open HouseOctober 27

Parent-Teacher Conferences, No SchoolNovember 2-4

Thanksgiving Luncheon, Noon DismissalNovember 23

Thanksgiving Break, No SchoolNovember 24-25

Winter Program, Herbst TheatreDecember 8

Alumni Reunion Day/Founders’ ReceptionDecember 9

30th Anniversary Celebration, Four SeasonsDecember 10

Winter Break, No SchoolDecember 19 – January 2

This bold experiment has become a shining model of success. Today, the school enrolls close to 500 students. Under the leadership of Head of School, Jeff Bissell, CAIS graduates continue to enter leading high schools and universities.

cais connections (fall 2011)

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