NWCS 8th Weekly Email Briefings, Fall 2010

Dear All NWCS Fellow Members;

Dear All Parents, Teachers and Students;

Hello Everyone!

1. 重要通知

十一月十三日（第十周）主校放假一周。所有课程进度依次延后。原本安排放假的十二月十八日（第十三周），改为正常上课。调课的原因是：NHS Annual SKI SWAP EVENT。因为这是一个上万人参加的校区/社区活动，势必在交通、停车等诸多方面给我校家长、教师及学生带来不便，本着与人方便，与己方便的原则，特作此调整，请大家配合，并予以谅解。

Important Notification

Due to Newport High School’s annual event of Ski Swap on November 13^th, NWCS Admin would like to adjust our class schedules as follows: No school on the 13^th of November. Please mark your calendar and adjust it accordingly. Originally we have no class on December 18^th, 2010, now we utilize that day to make up the day of 11/13/2010 we missed. As you may know that NHS Ski Swap is the largest annual event of Bellevue School District, with estimated more than 10,000 people attending, traffic congestion and parking in the campus will be of a big issue. Therefore, we NWCS Admin adjust it for the sake of benefits of both. Thank you very much for your understanding.

Nov. 6th	9th week
13th	No School	NHS Ski Swap
20th	10th
27th	No School	Thanksgiving Holiday
Dec. 4th	11th
11th	12th
18th	13th
25th	No School	Winter Break

2. 期中考试

期中考试在即，请家长在百忙之中，多花一点时间，辅导和敦促学生认真复习本学期所学的基本知识，力争人人都考出满意的成绩来。

Mid-term exam is under way. I sincerely urge all parents to spend a lot more extra time and effort to help your kids to review what they have learned in the classroom, and get them well prepared for it, with which I am sure that every one of them will get a satisfactory result.

3. 数学才艺各科

数学、艺术、书画比赛等各项安排均不受上述日程调整的影响，详细内容请参考上周的Briefings.

All scheduled arrangements for Math Programs, Arts, Painting & Calligraphy Competition, etc. will NOT be affected by the above adjustment. For details, please refer to our previous briefings respectively.

4. 温馨提醒

秋去冬来，天多阴雨，气温骤降，请各位家长及时为孩子们添加入时的衣服，预防感冒，因“耍单”而感冒不值得。谢谢。

Winter is coming, with more rainy weather and lower temperature. Please prepare for your kids with proper timely clothes to prevent them from catching cold. Thanks.

5. 家庭教育系列讲座

第二讲将在同一时间、同一教室进行，欢迎继续参加。

Family Education seminar Series will be continued in the same classroom on the same time. Welcome to join us again.

６．　西雅图分校的课程不受主校调整的影响。

Scheduled classes at Seattle Branch will NOT affected by the adjustment of the Main campus.

谢谢大家！

So long,

张涛TAO ZHANG

The Principal

On behalf of NWCS Admin

Serving NWCS with Heart and Soul

NWCS 7th Weekly Email Briefings, Fall 2010

Dear all NWCS Fellow Members,
Dear all Parents, Teachers and Students,

1．仅说谢谢不足以表达我们感激之情
上周六，我们成功地避免了前几周一度出现的一位（车位）难求的困境。为此，大家做了充分的思想准备。一方面，许多义工家长很早就到了学校，在PTA主席蒋海林、马冬的统一指挥下，各就各位，只见他们身着橙装、精神抖擞、步话机在手，认真地疏导着校园内的交通安全和停车秩序；另一方面，我们广大的家长、教师配合得好：他们要么想他人所想，听从统一的指挥；要么，他们是步行来的，正像越来越多的公立学校提倡的那样。谢谢大家！
当然，要从根本上解决诸如停车难、教室拥挤、我们的活动和NHS组织的活动有冲突等问题，还有待校董事会，ＰＴＡ和校行政认真研究对策。
We thank you for all your efforts and cooperation to help solve the parking problem last Saturday. Many parents, as volunteers, came to school way earlier, walkie-talkie in hands, guiding the flowing of traffic in efficiency. The smoothness of the flowing of traffic and the fact of easy parking were also largely due to those parents who either dropped off and drove away, or walked to school as many public schools are campaigning to do so.

2．本周六，十月二十三日，通往NHS校园的各个入口恢复正常。This Saturday, October 23^rd, all entrances leading to NHS campus are back to normal.

3．西北中文学校本学年书画展 Northwest Chinese School Painting and Calligraphy Gallery
本展全部作品将代表我校参加Sammamish学区的文化节（Dec.-Jan.） All works will be shown at Sammamish Art Festival, representing NWCS
1) 展评种类：绘画和书写 2) 绘画部分：内容及画法不限，
尺寸：大于8X11, 小于 11X17

参展对象： 全校学生。

评奖分类： 低年级组4 -6岁;中年级组7- 9岁;高年级组10岁以上。每组各有3名奖。

评委： 全体美术老师 +三位家长

3) 书写部分：可以是钢笔，铅笔，毛笔. 书写内容不限。

尺寸：钢笔/铅笔 11X8.5 （统一作文纸）

毛笔书法尺寸大于8x11, 小于22X34

参加对象： 全校师生及家长。

评奖分类： 低年级组: 1-3年级；中年级组: 4-6年级；高年级组: 7年级以上；成人组：家长和老师 每组各有3名奖

4）时间: 第12/13周展出。送稿截止日期：11/20/2010

5）参展作品可交给班级任课老师也可以直接送至学校，

并附上姓名，年龄，所在班级，以便分组。

请家长老师在鼓励学生积极参加的同时，自己也踊跃报名。贵在参与。希早作准备，学期的最后几周还将有演讲、才艺比赛、期末考试、和春晚节目排练等。

4.筹建流行乐乐队: 报名仍在继续

为了丰富中文学校学生业余生活，培养学生自学能力和团队精神，用有别于古典音乐的形式来培养学生对音乐的兴趣, 参与校内外音乐艺术交流活动。由西北中文学校音乐艺术部组织管理的西北中文学校学生流行乐乐队面向全校招生:
1）西北中文学校注册学生；2）有一定的音乐基础，能够根据录音和谱子学习新乐曲；3）有自己的乐器；4）如果您或您的孩子有guitar/bass/keyboard/drummer/等方面的特长，欢迎参加。
Please contact 'chenpeng2000@hotmail.com' should you have any question. 我们有幸请到了有多年乐队表演经验的陈鹏任乐队指导。敬请大家踊跃报名!

5．西雅图分校将在11月13日举办第二期中文阅读和口语训练班 Time: 2:30 pm -3:20pm; Place: Classroom 139

6．家庭教育系列讲座
本周六，10/23/2010 11am-11:55am Classroom 1112
主讲人：程远教授，来自上海交通大学。讲座主题鲜明、理念先进、重点突出、妙语连珠、图文并茂， 请届时参加。

7. 网站维修NWCS website is running routine maintenance and migration from current computer to a new one with larger capacity.

8．好书好电影推荐
上一期因停车难的“困境”我们谈到了《囚徒的困境》这本书和书中的主人公---冯·诺伊曼。William Poundstone 著，本书文笔隽秀，通俗易懂，妙趣横生，Admin Desk有样书。有希望用自己的Loptop看最新电影《山楂树之恋》（UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE）的，可到Admin来借。请别忘了带耳机。这是一部看了还想再看的作品，没看过的，一定要看，特此推荐。

Thank you all.
谢谢大家！

So long,

张涛TAO ZHANG

The Principal

On behalf of NWCS Admin

Serving NWCS with Heart and Soul

NWCS 6th Weekly Email Briefings, Fall 2010

Dear all NWCS Fellow Members,
Dear all Parents, Teachers and Students,
Hello everyone!
1。重要通知
本周六，十月十六日，因市政施工，经由Factoria Blvd SE 进入NEWPORT HIGH SCHOOL的入口关闭。所有上中文学校的车辆，必须通过NEWPORT HIGH SCHOOL 校园另一侧，位于124th AVE SE的入口方可驶入学校。原本由124th AVE入口进入学校的家长系“轻车熟路”，问题不大，但要想到原本不走这条路的车辆也一起涌来，势必造成塞车和车流减慢；原来习惯了由4333入口进入学校的家长要特别注意，十六日这天此路不通，要改道而行，并注意交通、行车安全。心里没把握的家长，不仿头天晚上BING 一下行车路线，以保证安全、顺利、按时到校。我们鼓励住在附近的学生、家长步行上学。（步行还有其他入口可进入）。
IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION
Northwest Chinese School Admin, notified by NHS earlier, hereby makes an important traffic announcement that the entrance leading to NHS on Factoria Blvd (4333 entrance) will be closed on Saturday, October 16^th, 2010, due to city construction project. All NWCS parents have to drive into NHS campus via the entrance on 124^th Ave. SE. For those who used to get in through this entrance, there is almost no problem except that one has to keep in mind that all traffics will get in through this only entrance, which might create a temporary congestion. For those who enter the campus via 4333 entrance, please BING driving directions before you leave for school, making sure that you are to drive right. For both cases, our Deputy Board Director SHI, HONG suggests, I quote: I use the 124th entrance all the time. Most people including myself keep left as that leads to the closest drop off location, after all it's a two-way street. This Saturday, the safety patrol needs to direct the traffic to keep right in a round-about fashion so cars don't have to make any u-turns.
Here is the map link, which hopefully helps.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=47.568897,-122.172003&spn=0.008035,0.01929&z=16&msid=116600874378891682028.0004928d3492b9d833e1f
2. 一点感想
俗话说“屋漏偏逢连阴雨，船破专碰顶头风”。这两周大家正为停车难的问题伤脑筋，偏偏又赶上了4333入口施工，大部分家长不得不改道而行，尤其是在找车位上吃过苦头，个别的家长还吃了tickets, 一看到上面的通知就可能会气不打一处来。情由可原。换了任何人，包括我在那种情绪下，也都会感到搓火。气归气，毕竟大家都冷静面对，没失态。谢谢。但话又说回来，比起我们早年经历过的留美签证、读学位、拿绿卡、找工作、入籍等等磨难，这点暂时的“困难”又真不算什么，您说呢？关于停车难的问题，学校行政、校董事会、PTA都很重视，许多家长也通过email、电话、面谈等方式表达了他们的关切。我本人非常感动，一定倾力协调，使问题尽快得到解决。
3．还是一点感想
相信酷爱读书的老师们、家长们对冯·诺伊曼并不陌生。近日，我在给家人讲述我刚刚读完的一本有关他的书“PRISONER’S DILEMMA”《囚徒的困境》，很受启发。他发明了军用密码、创建了博弈论、设计了原子弹等等，我们以后再聊。单说他由数学而引发了对两难困境的研究：演绎出《囚徒的困境》、《志愿者困境》、《围捕牡鹿困境》、《分蛋糕困境》等一系列两难多难问题及解决的理论方案，不但对社会学，经济学、国际政治、国际关系有着深刻的影响，而且对我们当前所面临的停车难的问题也颇有帮助。请允许我在这里“现买现卖”：You are sitting at home one night and the lights go out. You look outside and see that all the lights in the neighborhood are out. The electric company will send someone to fix the problem---provided, that is, someone calls to tell them about it. Should you call? Naw---let someone else do it. In a volunteer’s dilemma, someone has to take on a chore that will benefit everyone. It doesn’t matter who does it---but everyone’s in trouble if no one does it.（page 201） 这个故事给我们的启发，使我联想到，如果我们每一位家长都这样想：虽然停车位有限，但又不缺我停车的这一个车位，没必要放下孩子就离开，如此以来，有些家长尤其是到得稍迟一点儿的家长就没有地方停车了。如果我们每一位家长都做如下想：因为车位有限，我放下孩子就将车开走，空出有限的车位给其他即将到达的家长，那停车难的困境就缓解了、解决了。哪位不信，咱们就按后一种方式试试看。
4.筹建流行乐乐队
为了丰富中文学校学生业余生活，培养学生自学能力和团队精神，用有别于古典音乐的形式来培养学生对音乐的兴趣, 参与校内外音乐艺术交流活动。由西北中文学校音乐艺术部组织管理的西北中文学校学生流行乐乐队面向全校招生:
1）西北中文学校注册学生；2）有一定的音乐基础，能够根据录音和谱子学习新乐曲；3）有自己的乐器；4）如果您或您的孩子有guitar/bass/keyboard/drummer/等方面的特长，欢迎参加。
Please contact 'chenpeng2000@hotmail.com' should you have any questions. 我们有幸请到了有多年乐队表演经验的陈鹏任乐队指导。敬请大家踊跃报名!

5．数学方面
AMC 8 (American Math Competition, 8th grade)
NWCS will continue to host the annual AMC 8 in school campus. Please send your registration to nwcsmath@live.com with the participant's name, grade, and phone information before October 20th. (Please skip this information, if the student has already signed up AMC 8 test in his/her school.)

Time (tentative)
12:05 - 13:45 (Saturday) November 20, 2010.
LocationClassroom TBD, in Newport High School
Qualified Participants
Students at 8th grade or below.

其他方面，请参考上周的BRIEFINGS. For all other information, please refer to our precious briefings.

Thank you all.
谢谢大家！

So long,

张涛TAO ZHANG

The Principal

On behalf of NWCS Admin

Serving NWCS with Heart and Soul

NWCS 5th Weekly Email Briefings, Fall 2010

Dear all NWCS fellow Members;

Dear all Parents, Teachers, and Students;

各位家长、各位老师；

亲爱的同学们；

又到了我们每周一次“空中”见面的时间了，我今天要和大家谈点什么呢？要说的很多，当然我们拣最重要的说。没说到的，或说得欠妥的，欢迎你们到大厅找我，我们面谈，教学、教法、教材、行政管理、学校的发展和未来展望，等等。

It is time again for us to meet on the air, to be exact, via internet. What should I tell you today? I am sure you agree that we pick up the topics of importance. For the topics we have not time to touch, or touched, yet not properly handled, you are welcome as always to go to my desk with any themes, teaching, curriculum, textbooks, administration, NWCS long- & short- term prospects.

1. TUITION REFUND POLICY

A 50% tuition is available for withdrawal during the third, fourth and fifth weeks. No refund is available after the fifth week.

2. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

保持教室的整洁、若移动桌椅，务请课后恢复原位。这一点无论怎么强调都不过分！尽管我们反复强调，总有个别教室出问题，显然是没有严格遵守《教室管理细则》所致。

Please keep the classroom clear and tidy, in the original setting. If you have to move the desks and the chairs around, please remember to reset them before class is over. We call everyone’s attention again and again, yet, there are classes where problems found, which indicated our carelessness. I hereby call for your attention to follow the Rules & Regulations of NHS Classrooms Managements.

3. 中国文化知识讲座

The Class of Chinese Culture Starts this Saturday (10/09/2010) at Classroom 1111

为了在中华文化知识竞赛中取得更优异的成绩，我校特聘孙本经老师专门对高年级（8-12）的学生进行为期20多个课时的系统辅导。不另收费，但学生成绩一并计入中文课的总成绩,也就是说成绩单上另加分。If one takes it, one gets an extra besides regular credits. 欲毕业前申请HIGH SCHOOL WORLD LANGUAGE CREDITS的同学一定会受益良多。明年想要免费畅游中国的同学，更要踊跃参加。授课时间为：12-2pm。教材为《中国文化、地理、历史》一套三册。

4.NWCS ARTS SHOW falls on the 13th & 14th week

我校本学年的艺术展将在第13/14周在NHS教学楼大厅举行。有奖书画展。范围包括我们教学范围内、外所有绘画种类，外加硬笔（铅笔、钢笔、圆珠笔）和毛笔字，书体不限，鼓励正楷。所有NWCS学生都可参加，分小学、初中、高中、教师及家长4个组，各评一、二、三 等奖（共12个），鼓励奖若干，评委由老师+家长不计名投票。美术老师收集作品和布展，学校帮助提供场地和奖品。 获奖者及其作品将公布在我校的网站上。

5．关于九年级中文教材的讨论

自上周六以来，由部分老师、家长参与的关于九年级现行教材的讨论（《暨南中文》vs 《实用汉语》可谓热烈。其热烈程度恰好反映了我们老师敬业的程度和我们家长对学校的关爱程度，在此，先谢谢大家。这也正是我们一直倡导的家长、教师和学生三方密切配合的局面。用一句话概括：好得很！就我个人的观点而言，每套教材之所以能够行世，它一定有它的特点，正像人无完人一样，每套教材也并非十全十美，或者说各有侧重，正因为它有“侧轻”，才给了我们教师发挥、补充、完善它的余地和因材施教、因人施教、因地制宜的机会。与其改用其他教材，我更倾向于用其他教材根据课堂的实际需要补充现行教材，毕竟，像我们西北中文学校这样有比较完善教学大纲的学校，绝不能朝令夕改地言更换教材，而是要比较务实地在宏观上考虑、平衡整个学校各个年级教材的延续性及后续问题，乃至我们参加中国汉办、全美中文学校协会统一考试的问题，并在此基础上找到可行的办法。有大家这么高的参与热情，办法是不言而喻的。谢谢。

6．停车难的问题

近两三周以来，人们发现稍微晚一点到主校，就找不到停车位，偌大的停车场，前后上下应有近千个车位，家长们多有抱怨，我们也实属无奈，超出了我们的“权限”，唯一的办法，要么您早来一会儿，尤其是老师，切记有停车难的问题；要么你开车到楼前，drop off孩子，尤其是高年级的孩子，然后再去找车位，上课、停车两不误。大有大的难处，停车就是之一。
7. 数学竞赛

http://www.cie-sea.org

(http://cie.web.officelive.com/Documents/CIE%202010%20MathComp%20Registration%20Form.doc).

中國工程師學會西雅圖分會爲了提高亞太裔青少年學習科學，工程，技術的興趣，于今年11月9日（周日）在 Sammamish High School 舉行青少年數學競賽活動。比賽分為數學競試和科學趣味競賽兩大項，每項為60分鐘，前三名將會獲得由IBM公司贊助的獎品與獎狀。由於場地限制參加者年齡限於三年級到八年級之學童。中國工程師學會在競賽活動以后会为今年荣获奖学金的学生们举行颁奖。數學競賽活動的報名日期截止于10月20日 （周五），報名申請的詳情見 http://www.cie-sea.org，聯繫電子郵件: ciemail@cie-sea.org

8．读书会 《朱元璋与毛泽东》10/16/2010， Room 1112

故事引人入胜，分析入木三分，欢迎光临！11:00am

谢谢大家！

So long,

张涛TAO ZHANG

The Principal

On behalf of NWCS Admin

Serving NWCS with Heart and Soul