Poetry Competition at Chiao Hsin

Just before Mother’s Day, on May 10th, we held our first poetry recital and competition at Chiao Hsin. I was a bit nervous when I asked each the Chinese teachers to have their class prepare and memorize poetry. The students had a preliminary competition in their own classrooms to determine who would compete in the school-wide assembly. On the day of the competition, I worried that many of our students would be struck with stage fright. I worried that some of the students might be too afraid to go on the stage, or might forget their lines in the limelight. When the performances began, I could not believe my eyes! The performance that surprised me the most was a five-year-old boy. Though he had been at Chiao Hsin over the past year, I could not recall him saying a word. During class time, I only saw him quietly listening and writing. How surprised I was when he was picked by his teacher for the recital - and he did not miss a word as he recited his poem in a broad and dramatic fashion. I was reallytouched by all of our students’ performances. After thematch, our guest judges remarked that our students did an amazing job. Parents in attendance also praised the performances. All of my worries and anxieties about the performances have since left my mind, and I have such confidence in our students. Of course, the success of our recital would not be possible without the hard work and efforts of our teachers – each deserving the highest praise and gratitude. Looking at the calendar, this semester isquickly coming to a close. It won’t be long before Summersession is here at Chiao Hsin. Our summer school runs from June 4th through August 3rd, a period of nine full weeks. This summer as in years past, we are happy to welcome three teachers from Taiwan who will help us during our summer school – this is in addition to our wonderful Chinese teachers. Whether you have registered for our summer program, or have other plans for the summer, we at Chiao Hsin extend our wishes for a happy and peaceful summer. Our first summer school activity is the weekend camping trip at Schabarum Regional Park on June 8th, which will run for three days and two nights. We will send flyers to you with more information as the date is fast approaching. Please reserve your spot as soon as possible.

母親節前夕也就是5月10號，我們舉辦了全校第一次的詩詞朗誦 比賽，我是抱著心驚膽戰的心情告訴了每一班的老師，請他們預 備學生背誦詩詞，這是我們20多年來第一次校內正式的比賽，正 式比賽的那一天，我仍然是心中忐忑不安，因為我怕孩子上了台 以後講不出話來，我又怕孩子不肯上台。可是有誰料到正式比賽 的時候，孩子們在台上表現是可圈可點。孩子們不但個個勇氣十 足的站在麥克風前，而且大大方方，字正腔圓地背誦了他們所要 背誦的詩詞。沒有一個孩子是怯怯場的，最讓我吃驚的是一位只 有五歲的小男孩，從開學到現在已經一年了，我從來沒有聽到過 他說一句話，在我去巡視教室的時候，我也從來沒有聽到過他發 言，只看到他靜靜的聽講丶靜靜的書寫，這一次居然被老師選上 上台朗誦，而且聲音宏亮不漏一個字，大大方方地朗誦他要朗誦 的詩詞，我真的被這些小孩子感動了。賽後三位外請的評審老師， 都豎起了大拇指說「僑心」的孩子真是了不起!家長們也個個的 稱讚「僑心」的孩子們，這時我那膽戰心驚丶忐忑不安的心，早 已拋諸腦後了，我對我的孩子們重新又拾起了信心。當然，這一 次的成功，除了孩子們自己肯學之外，老師們訓練的功勞要排在 第一位，我要向所有的老師致上最高的謝意! 算算日子丶看看日曆，這個學期馬上也要結束了，接下來就是熱 鬧丶開心的暑假生活。暑假至6月10號到8月3號為期九周。除了 本校的老師之外，我們也迎來了在台灣學教育的三位老師加入我 們暑期的教學行列。沒有參加「僑心」暑期班的家長和孩子們， 無論你們去哪裡度假，我們在此都祝福你們暑假平安快樂。 暑期中第一個活動就是我們全校的露營活動，是6月8號到6月10號三天兩夜的露營活動，我們會另外發flyers 給您，因為日期已 經很近了，希望參加的家長們趕快報名。