Students from Granby Memorial High School - Chinese Language ...

A Place of Possibilities 

June 2010 

Principal’s Word 2 

End of Year Report 3 

Awards 5 

Mt. Snow Skip Trip 2010 6 

Students from Granby 7 

Student’s Desk 12 

Father’s Day Gift 14 

Comic 16 

1 

Sundays June 2010 

www.cls-ct.org

Principal’s Word 

“Two more classes to go and you will be done!” 

My husband is counting down the days before I 

step down from the Principal position. He can’t 

wait to have me back on Sundays and doesn’t 

have to help me chugging Chinese School’s 

stuffs around. 

These two years have been a wonderful 

experience for me. I have learned a lot from this 

special position and met a lot of friends. The help 

and support that I have received from the Board, 

Education Committee, teachers, and parents 

was amazing. Planning and working on school 

matters seem just like a rhythm – everyone just 

came in and helped to get things done! 

Looking back, I can see how these two years 

helped me grow and mature. Just comparing 

the Chinese New Year celebrations we had for 

the last two years. We gathered suggestions, 

complaints, and ideas from the first year to 

improve the program, the food serving, seating, 

and the games on the second year. We had 

more than 400 students, parents, friends, and 

guests joining us and we had a good time. This 

is the kind of spirit our Education Committee 

members have been sharing with me – “we are 

not perfect, but we are willing to do whatever it 

takes to make it better every time”. 

I believe it is this spirit that keeps the school 

flourishing -- We have stable enrollment, 

improved curriculum, new PTO, parent social 

and activities (ski trip, food tasting event and A 

Dong trip) for the last two years. (If you missed 

these activities, please make sure you join next 

year… They are a lot of fun!) I believe with the 

leadership of incoming Principal, Wen-Lin Su, 

the school will continue flourishing and many 

more good improvements will come. 

My special thank to my mentor, Jung-Jung 

Su for guiding me and advising me with her 

experiences and her exceptional organization 

skills. With her help and support, I was able 

to cut the learning curve. I want to thank the 

Education Committee members for their 

support and help making things happen; 

without them, we would not have these great 

events and activities. Thanks to our devoted and 

dedicated teachers for making learning Chinese 

language and culture a lot easier and fun for 

our students. Thanks to our generous donors! 

With these donations, the school can continue 

offering affordable tuitions and special activities. 

But last of all, the school would not have been 

here without the work of our Chairwoman, Dr. 

Shyling Lee. Shyling helped establishing the 

school, securing Trinity classrooms & facilities, 

setting up the school 501 (3) © non-profit status, 

and the long-term structure for the school. Many 

heartfelt thanks to our volunteers, parents, and 

friends – all the “unsung” heroes at Chinese 

Language School of Greater Hartford! 

Summer is coming! My term as the Principal is 

coming to an end! I wish everyone a wonderful 

and safe summer vacation! 

Sincerely yours, 

Shumei 

2 

Sundays June 2010

Principal’s Word (continued) 

“ 再兩堂課你就解脫了 !” 先生已經很興奮的幫我倒數我當長的日子 , 期待著我星期天不必去中文 

學校 , 也不必再幫我搬著大包小包的東西。 

其實 , 每個星期天的中文學校對我而言 , 就好像是去和朋友們有約一樣。看到好多的朋友 , 家長 , 和小朋友 , 就 

很開心。尤其是看到從前教過的學生 , 一個個的長大 , 成熟 , 還會來跟我打招呼 , 那種成就感 , 是說不出來的甜 

蜜 ! 

這兩年當校長給我很大的幫助。從這個位子上 , 我學習到了很多做人處事的經驗和交到很多的朋友。理事會 , 教 

育委員會 , 老師 , 和家長們給了我很多的支持和幫助。我也很明顯的看到自己的成長。就從兩次新年慶祝活動來 

比較 , 第一年很多細節都沒有考慮到 , 例如座位也沒有安排 , 領食物要排好長的隊等等。但第二年 , 靠大家的幫 

忙 , 改進前一年的缺點。所以我們有 400 多位來賓 , 學生 , 家長來參加 , 整個活動的進行非常順利也很快樂。我 

覺得這就是我們現在教委 , 老師們的態度 -- 我們並不完美 , 但是我們要一次比一次做得更好。 

我相信就是這種精神讓學校越來越蒸蒸日上 -- 過去兩年來學生的人數穩定 , 新教材的使用 , 家 

長會的成立 , 家長聯誼茶會及一些校外活動 ( 滑雪 , 美食品嘗 , 亞東購物 ) 等等。我也相信明年 

在蘇文霖校長的領導下 , 我們學校會繼續的進步 , 成長。 

我特別要感謝何蓉蓉在過去兩年來給我的指導與協助。她不厭其繁的將她過去當校長的經驗教導于我 , 使我能比 

較快的了解校長的工作 , 了解如何處理校務 ! 她高超的組織能力和耐心是我學習的目標 ! 還有要感謝 

教務委員會各位委員們的支持與幫忙來推動校務與活動。沒有他們 , 學校的活動和事情就推 

不出去了 ! 感謝各位老師平時努力的教學 , 讓中文的學習生動一點 , 活潑一點 , 容易一點。我 

們的但是飲水思源 , 如果當初沒有我們的李世玲理事長 , , 幫忙成立學校 , 取得在三一學院的 

教室使用權 , 取得美國國稅局的免稅證 , 定下了學校的長期目標 , 今天學校就無法存在 ! 同時 

謝謝許多家長 , 朋友們默默的在幕後幫忙 ! 

暑假即將來臨 , 我也將要卸下校長的任務 ! 祝福大家有個快樂平安的暑假 ! 

淑美 5-31-10 感言 

End of Year Report 

By Shyling Lee 

Dear Members of the CLS Community, 

The summer is soon to begin and the classes are 

coming to the end. We are looking forward to a 

break from the routine of coming to CLS every 

Sunday for the last 10 months. It is great that 

every summer we get a chance to break out from 

the serious learning so we will be back in the fall 

refreshed and reenergized. 

Naturally this is the time to reflect on our work. 

We have made a lot of progress in many aspects - 

The quality of teaching has improved because of 

the collaborative effort between the Educational 

Committee and the teachers; the creation of the 

new post of PTA Coordinator has resulted in 

more parental participation in school activities. 

The visibility of our school has increased with the 

promotion effort from the staff and the Board, 

including some word-of-mouth news by many 

parents of our students. Over all, I feel we have 

truly become a big family. Every time when I visit 

the school, I feel the atmosphere is filled with 

(continued on page 4) 

3 

Sundays June 2010

friendliness, joy and animation. 

So our children are making progress in learning 

Chinese and we get along wonderfully. But this 

is not the final goal. I hope in the near future 

CLS will become an elite weekend school for 

learning Chinese. I hope to develop CLS so our 

classes will be competitively sought after in the 

Hartford community because of an excellent 

academic curriculum, creative cultural program, 

diversified student body, exceptional teachers, 

and enthusiastic staff. This requires everyone 

to do a little more to get there. And it is an 

achievable goal! 

The end of a school year is also the time to 

change guards. I want to thank our principal, 

Ms. Shumei Chu, for her dedication these last 

two years. The principal is the most burdensome 

post within the school structure. Remember, like 

all other CLS staff members, the principal is 

not paid. Her only reward is seeing the progress 

of the school and development of the children. 

In addition to proven capability, one has to be 

highly selfless and altruistic to be willing to 

serve as principal. Two years is a lot of time to 

give. It is not reasonable to expect any one in 

this position to stay on for a third year. That is 

why the term of the principal is only two years. 

So Shumei will have a more relaxed year to 

come. But she will stay within the Education 

Committee as an advisor to the new principal. 

Fortunately, we have another selfless and 

altruistic person in line to take Shumei’s place. 

Ms. Wen-Lin Su has taught at CLS for many 

years and has been the vice principal for the last 

three years. Wen-Lin will be at the helm starting 

in July. Please give Wen-Lin your support and 

assistance. 

I also want to thank Mr. Simon Su and Mr. 

Kuo-Wei Chi for having served the Board in 

the last three years. They have decided to step 

down from their positions on the Board to bring 

in new members. I appreciate their dedication 

and willingness to join the Board when we had 

many new challenges. My sincere thanks to their 

efforts in carrying out the tasks the board took 

up in these years. And I know they will continue 

to help out when their schedules allow. On June 

1st, the Board held the annual meeting, Ms. Jung 

Jung Su and Mr. Adam Arnold were elected to 

take the two vacancies. Welcome, Jung Jung and 

Adam. I look forward to working with you. 

In regards to our financial heath, the tuition 

revenue for this academic year still has a shortfall 

of an amount similar to the previous two years. 

But because of our vigorous fundraising activities 

and many generous donations, we have raised 

almost $20,000.00 this year to fill the hole. 

Again, our staff do not get paid. Often they don’t 

even ask for reimbursements for the expenses. 

They are also thrifty in doing purchases for 

CLS. Yet we still have a shortfall. One can easily 

deduce that CLS education is a good buy. We 

do not wish to raise the tuition if we don’t have 

to. Now I am asking you to help keep the tuition 

affordable for everyone without costing you extra 

money. How can this work 

If you pledge to give United Way a donation at 

work, please designate CLS to be the agency 

receiving your donation by writing our school 

name on the pledge card. There are three donors 

who did this last November and we are receiving 

their donations in the current year. We have 

contacted United Way and asked to be on their 

list of agencies. The response is that they will 

not expand the list due to the financial crunch 

in recent years. But they confirmed that donors 

only need to write in the name of their favorite 

charity. United Way will honor the donor’s wish. 

I know you are willing to do this for CLS. We 

will send out a message again this fall when the 

United Way Campaign is getting close. For now 

please remember this action is vital to CLS. If 

most of you designate your contribution to CLS, 

not only will our financial hole disappear, but 

also a nest egg may be in the making for the 

future. 

Enjoy the break. I look forward to seeing you in 

the fall refreshed and energized. 

Shyling Lee, Chairman, Board of Trustees 

4 

Sundays June 2010

Awards 

ACS Annual Chinese Culture Poster Design Competition (4th Place) 

Michelle Tsun 秦穎愉 

Tony Yang 楊東明 

Eric Wang 王昱翔 

Elaine Tsun 秦穎欣 

Audrey Lai 賴澤婷 

Alumni Award 

Keith Lee 李國津 

ACS Annual Chinese Language 

Speech Competition (4th Place) 

Caterina Wang 王昱婷 

Samantha Tsun 秦穎珊 

ACS Student Honor Society for 

outstanding academic achievement 

Patrick Lau 劉楚明 

Hai –Hua Scholarship for outstanding 

academic achievement 

Victoria Tran 陳美鳳 

Parent Volunteer Of The Year 

Joe Tsun 秦耀明 

ACS Excellent Teacher Certificate 

Mei Yen, Yeh 岳梅艷老師 

Wen-Te, Wu 吳文得老師 

Li Jun, Cheng 程麗君老師 

Retired Teacher’s Award 

Ying Ying, Lee 李英瑛 

Marilyn Guerrera 林怡玲 

Retired Education Committee 

Award 

Man Ling, Tang 湯曼玲 

Yea Mey, Lu 陸雅美 

Li-Yun, Hsu 郭麗芸 

Jung Jung, Su 何蓉蓉 

Congratulations to Mrs. Wen-Lin Su ( 蘇文霖 ), our 

new principal of 2010 -2012. 

5 

Sundays June 2010

Mt. Snow Skip Trip 2010 

by Adam Arnold 

During the New Year vacation 2010, a group 

of three families from the Chinese Language 

School of Hartford went to Mt. Snow for a 

three-day ski/snowboard trip. The idea was 

hatched by Meiky Huang, who spends a great 

deal of her winter there with her husband and 

kids, and also volunteers as an Ambassador for 

the resort. Mt. Snow is an excellent choice for a 

local ski trip because it is fairly close (under two 

hour drive) and it is a large mountain with quite 

a variety of terrain. 

We were aided by Mother Nature with an 

eight inch dumping of powder prior to our 

arrival. The first day of the trip (New Years 

Day) the temperatures were fairly moderate and 

we even got some sun. For dinner, Meiky and 

her husband met up with us at a local Chinese 

restaurant. The place was very crowded and 

for good reason—the food was excellent. On 

day two, the weather turned colder as the wind 

began to pick up considerably. We also were 

greeted with another seven inches of new snow. 

Although most went downhill skiing, there was a 

group that went out on their cross-country skis. 

Apparently, the XC trails were in excellent shape. 

By the final day the conditions turned downright 

Arctic. The wind was howling at over 40 mph 

and the temperature was well below zero. Only 

one family was brave enough to venture out in 

this weather. As a matter of fact, most of the 

mountain was closed due to the wind. By that 

time however, everyone had gotten their fill of 

skiing and were ready to go home. 

I think it is fair to say that everyone had a 

wonderful time. I would like to personally thank 

all the families that participated and Meiky, for 

all her help in setting this up. Since this was our 

first trip to Mt. Snow, I was not familiar with the 

accommodations. We stayed at the Snow Lake 

Lodge and found it to be an excellent value. 

The room was clean, the staff was friendly, and 

they had a large hot tub which was a popular 

destination! The only downside is that the 

Lodge caters to the college crowd, so if anyone 

is interested in a more family-oriented inn, there 

are a number of options in the area. One other 

possibility is to rent a large house or townhouse 

which can accommodate up to five families. If 

there is sufficient interest next year, we will try to 

set this up in advance. We are hoping to make 

this an annual event! 

6 

Sundays June 2010

Students from Granby Memorial High School 

Attending a Chinese New Year 

Celebration 

by Hannah Seger 

On Sunday, February 7th I attended a Chinese 

New Year celebration with my Chinese II 

classmates. It took place at the Vernon Center of 

Trinity College. We watched many entertaining 

performances put on by other groups of kids; 

including dancing and singing. Our class also 

performed. First we said a poem about the new 

year. Then we did a fashion show displaying 

Chinese outfits worn by emperors, scholars, 

students, and more. We each got to show off 

our outfit and announce what someone else was 

wearing. There were lots of people watching, 

especially little kids. A lot parents came to watch 

the performances, including my own. After the 

performances there were activities to participate 

in and food to eat, but my mom and I had to 

leave before all of that. It was an interesting 

experience. 

I am attending a Chinese New Year 

Celebration 

by Sara Miltenberger 

The Chinese New Year Experience at Trinity 

College this year with my Chinese class 

was really quite unforgettable. The friendly 

people, the delicious food and the wonderful 

entertainment provided by the students of 

the Chinese Language School was really a 

treat. I really enjoyed listening and learning 


7 

Sundays June 2010

Students from Granby Memorial High School (continued) 

from the other students that performed. My 

favorite performances were the Ribbon Dance, 

performed by the CLS Chinese Advanced Dance 

Students and Little Lion Dance & Singing “Two 

Tigers” performed by CLS Preschool students. It 

is so neat that these students are learning about 

their family history and the Chinese language so 

young. I also enjoyed the MC very much because 

he was very entertaining and funny. 

I was very proud of our school’s performance 

because we had practiced many times and really 

wanted to make Su Lao Shi very proud and I 

think we succeeded. Our costumes were very 

beautiful and during the performance, we spoke 

with confidence of our traditional clothing 

and history of the Chinese people. Many 

strangers came up to me later on, telling me our 

performance was fantastic and they were very 

impressed that we were only Level 2 students, 

who had obviously accomplished a lot. 

I really enjoyed performing at the Chinese 

New Year Celebration and hope that next 

year, we can go again and continue to impress 

the Chinese Language School Community. 

We have come a long way and will only 

continue to better our speaking, reading and 

listening skills. Our Chinese abilities will 

only improve and hopefully next year we will 

attend with a larger class. 

I Am Attending a Chinese New 

Year Celebration 

by Daniel Chapple 

During the Chinese New Year Celebration, we 

saw many performances that showed different 

aspects of Chinese culture. There were a wide 

range of performances including singing, 

dancing, and skits. From going to the celebration, 

I learned a lot about traditions carried out during 

the Chinese New Year such as the exchange of 

red envelopes with money in them. After the 

performances, we ate foods eaten during the 

Chinese New Year. The food included dumplings 

and lo mein. My favorite food we had were the 

dumplings. As we were eating, there were games 

that the younger children could play. I saw many 

different Chinese customs as well. Also, from 

doing our performance, I learned a lot about how 

the Chinese dressed in ancient times. We were 

very fortunate to be able to wear the clothes that 

royalty would have one worn. I was surprised 

that I understood some of what was being said 

by the hosts. 

I think that Chinese New Year is a great 

celebration. There are many traditions that 

are carried out each year that have been used 

for many years. Each generation keeps these 

traditions going on so that the Chinese culture 

will be preserved. Someday, I would like to go 

to China while the New Year’s celebration is 

going on so I 

can be a part of 

it. If I cannot, I 

would like to go 

to Chinatown in 

New York City 

to join in their 

celebration. It 

would be a great 

opportunity to see 

all of the traditions 

that we learned 

about first hand. 

From going to the 

Chinese New Year Celebration, I learned a lot 

about Chinese culture and New Year’s traditions. 

I would like to be a part of this again or 

something similar if we can. I am very happy that 

we were able to participate in this celebration. I 

am especially happy that we got to borrow the 

clothes that we wore. There were very special and 

it is something I would probably not have gotten 

a chance to do. I learned a lot from attending the 

Chinese New Year Celebration and am happy we 

could perform in it. 


8 

Sundays June 2010


Chinese New Year Celebration 

by Chasya Dorenkamp 

Last weekend I went to a Chinese New Year 

Festival in Hartford. I really enjoyed the music 

and performances and food. My favorite part was 

doing the fashion show. 

A lot of the festival was in Chinese. I understood 

a lot of what was being said and it made me 

happy. Our class got to see five performances 

before we went to get ready for our part of the 

performance. We dressed in Chinese clothing. 

I wore a green Chinese dress. The whole class 

looked very good and spoke their lines well. 

After our part of the festival, we got to go back 

and watch the rest of the performances. My 

favorite performance – besides our own – was 

the ribbon dance. The colors and costumes were 

beautiful. Their dance was very well 

rehearsed. Afterwards, I was very 

hungry. The food they served at the 

festive was very good. I had chow 

mien, a pork dumpling, an egg roll, 

and a red bean cake. I ate it all. 

The Chinese New Year Festival was so 

much fun! I will definitely want to go 

next year. Hopefully I will then know 

a lot more Chinese than I do now. I 

really love the Chinese culture and 

delicious food! 


by Victoria Galarneau 

Students, ranging from elementary to high 

school age, gathered at Trinity College to 

celebrate the Chinese New Year on February 

7th, 2010. Various performances took place, 

including singing, dancing, and skits; all relating 

to traditional Chinese culture and language. 

Our Chinese II class performed a fashion show. 

I felt very prepared because of multiple run 

throughs and much class time spent practicing. 

In the end, all of our hard work paid off and I 

thought our performance went really well. 

I hope future GMHS classes can participate in 

this celebration because it was a lot of fun and I 

learned a lot about the Chinese culture. Seeing 

everyone come together to share a common 

heritage results in an unforgettable and magical 

experience. 

I am Attending a Chinese New Year 

Celebration 

by Becca Smith 

I hope that throughout my life I can 

continuously enrich my life with learning and 

submerging myself among different cultures. 

Last weekend I was able to participate in a 

Chinese New Year Celebration at Trinity 

College with Granby’s Chinese 

2 students. Along with our 

performance demonstrating 

traditional Chinese costumes 

there were a variety of acts 

including ribbon dances, songs, 

dances, and more. Having 

never experienced the Chinese 

New Year first hand, it was 

definitely an entertaining, 

exciting, and fun afternoon. 

When I first walked through 

the doors into the celebration there was an 

overwhelming array of red and gold mixed 

throughout the entire room. Traditionally you 

might think red means anger or passion, but in 

China especially during the New Year red and 

gold symbolize happiness and wealth. Everyone 

in the room was bubbling with excitement and 

the walls were adorned with decorations. I found 

my seat and waited for further instructions. 

This celebration was made possible by the CLS, 

and consisted of different groups of students 

and teachers performing and teaching different 


9 

Sundays June 2010


aspects of the Chinese culture. For example, my 

class put on a fashion show modeling Chinese 

clothes representing different positions in 

ancient Chinese history. Another fun part 

of the afternoon was the red envelopes! 

Red envelopes symbolize good luck and are 

meant to ward off evil spirits. Each of us 

were fortunate enough to receive one! The 

rest of the day was enlightening, fun, and full 

of culture. 

I am glad that I had the opportunity 

to partake in this Chinese New Year 

Celebration and I hope that I can continue 

learning and experiencing Chinese traditions. 

I learned a lot and so did my family! 


by Marieta Jedamanova 

The Chinese New Year is the most important 

holiday in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It 

lasts for fifteen days and every day there is a 

special activity, including worshiping the gods 

and families reuniting. Every year is named after 

a different animal. There are twelve animals in 

total: The rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, 

horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. 2010 

is the year of the tiger. At the Chinese New Year 

celebration at Trinity College, we celebrated the 

year of the tiger by performing many different 

Chinese cultural activities. Some include the 

Lion Dance and the famous Chinese Ribbon 

Dance. 

The celebration at Trinity College was a great 

learning experience for me. Our presentation 

taught me about the ancient Chinese culture and 

the costumes that were worn by the Emperor 

and Empress of the Han Dynasty. I also learned 

about the Lion Dance in which people dress up 

in lion costumes and one person controls the 

back of the lion while another person controls 

the front. While dancing, they imitate a lion’s 

movements. The Ribbon Dance was also very 

interesting. In Chinese ribbon dancing, many 

dancers use long colorful ribbons to portray 

different movements of wind and 

water. All of the dances at Trinity were 

elegant and beautiful and they were full 

of rich cultural history. 

Because I enjoyed this year’s Chinese 

New Year celebration at Trinity 

College, I hope to go again next year. 

The performances were all fun to watch 

and the Chinese food at the end of the 

celebration was also very good. It was 

also exciting to do our Chinese fashion 

show and perform on stage in front of 

everyone. I hope that our performance 

was also informational for everyone in 

the audience. It was a good learning 

experience as well as a fun activity 

which I hope to go back to over the 

years. 


Response 

by Wesley Lata 

At the Chinese Celebration there were many 

people, and a lot of culture all bound to one 

room. In that single room held festivities I have 

never seen before, Including the Tiger Dance, 

Singing, and even tongue twisters. I saw people 

I knew; I even got to see my last year’s Chinese 

teacher Kao Lao Shi, along with some new 

people. 

What I enjoyed the most of the Chinese New 

Year celebration was the positive attitude given 

by all the people. My father had met up with an 

old friend while at the celebration. I was stunned 

at the fact that everyone was given a whole lot 

of respect, and then those giving the equivalent 

back to that person, and the next. I thought that 

the Chinese New Year Celebration was a lot of 

fun, because there was a lot of enthusiasm put 

into it. 


10 

Sundays June 2010


In conclusion my over all favorite aspect of 

the Chinese New Year Celebration, was the 

enthusiasm and the effort. The Effort was the 

most obvious part of the whole event, a lot 

of time was put into such an event therefore 

it deserves reconigition. The enthusiasm was 

the best a lot of laughter caught my attention 

and how it brought people together. Over all I 

thought the Celebration is definitely something 

to look forward to. 

Thank you Su Lao Shi 

My Chinese learning experience 

by Andrew Carroll 

A little less than two years ago, I signed up to 

take Mandarin Chinese I in my Freshman year 

of high school. I did not expect to actually be 

able to take the class as a ninth-grade student, 

due to its immense popularity. However, to my 

pleasant surprise, the schedule I received at the 

end of eighth-grade revealed that 

I had, indeed, been selected to 

participate in what would become 

the first Chinese course ever to be 

taught at Granby Memorial High 

School. 

When the first day of my 

Freshman year came, I found 

myself in a classroom normally 

intended for geometry classes. 

Around me were, perhaps, two 

dozen other students that had 

chosen to study the most widely 

spoken language in the world. As 

we waded through the first lessons, 

many of us found our interest in 

the language greatly increased. 

Others, unfortunately, lost interest 

altogether, and dropped out of the class. It 

became apparent as the first semester sped by 

that the majority of people that took the class 

only did so on a whim. Few, it seemed, actually 

desired to speak or write Chinese. 

When the last of those for whom the Chinese 

language was uninteresting left the class, our 

number had decreased to about 15 students. 

However, the quick-paced nature of the class did 

not only discourage those that took it on a whim: 

on the contrary, it proved greatly beneficial 

to those genuinely interested in the subject. 

Within a single year of learning the language, 

the remaining students learned the equivalent of 

what might be taught in two years in a French 

or Spanish course. Little more can be said of the 

first year of Mandarin Chinese at GMHS than 

this: it was a huge success. 

A number of students, including myself, opted to 

continue to Chinese II, but unfortunately, there 

were too few applicants from the middle school 

to offer Chinese I again. 

My personal experience with learning the 

language has been plagued with difficulty. 

My effort, both last year and this year, has 

been inconsistent in the class; accordingly, 

my understanding of the language is 

significantly less than that of my peers. 

However, I have continued my attempts to 

learn Mandarin Chinese for one reason: I 

love the language. 

Despite an endless number of idiosyncrasies 

and quirks in Chinese that I simply cannot 

understand, I find the tongue wonderfully 

simplistic, in speech and in writing. A lot 

of the grammatical concepts do not make 

sense to me, but so many of them do that 

simply following the structure of phrases is 

opium to my mind. 

Perhaps the single most difficult part of 

Chinese, for me, is learning to connect sounds to 

characters. Every other language I have studied 

thus far has had phonetic elements - not so for 

Mandarin. That individual syllables can have a 


11 

Sundays June 2010

(continued from page 11) 

myriad of different meanings is completely alien 

to me, as is the idea that each of these meanings 

has its own character. Learning Chinese feels like 

learning two different languages and trying to 

put them together. 

This issue is remedied somewhat by the method 

of learning new vocabulary. In both Chinese 

classes, new phrases have generally been learned 

individually, using PowerPoint presentations 

accompanied with teacher direction to maximize 

class understanding. This contrasts with other 

language classes, where often students are 

expected to learn vocabulary on their own. 

Such an independent strategy is sufficient for 

those classes, which do not involve foreign 

scripts - only foreign grammatical structures 

and vocabularies. Independent learning is not 

sufficient for English-speakers learning Chinese. 

It is difficult to summarize my experiences in 

learning Chinese, as they are many. I suppose the 

single best way to do so would be to answer this 

question: Were I to find myself in eighth grade 

again, would I still have chosen to take Chinese 

The answer is yes. 

学生 : 賴澤停 

老师 : Mrs. Marilyn Guerrera 

中國傳統節日與我學 

中文的想法 

我是賴澤停 . 我今年十二歲 . 我喜歡滑雪 , 

跳舞和玩電腦 . 我今年上中學一級 . 

我喜歡中國新年 , 可是如果想要紅包我需 

要講中文 . 我也可以講 “ 恭喜發財 ! 紅包 

拿來 !” 

我去中文學校因為我的媽媽要我跟我的 

爺爺 , 奶奶 , 外婆和外公講中文 . 我跟我的 

爺爺 , 奶奶 , 外婆和外公在電話上講話 . 

我希望以後中文可以幫我在中文的聽說 

讀寫更上一層樓 . 

12 


Student’s Desk 

学生 : 甯艾 


中國傳統節日與我學中文的想法 

大家好 ! 我的名字是甯艾 . 我的英文名字是 Agnes. 我住在 Wethersfield, 

康州 . 我是小學六年級 . 我學校的名字是 Highcrest Elementary. 

我有一個哥哥和一個姊姊 . 我哥哥的名字是甯傑 . 我姊姊的名字是 

甯萱 . 他們的英文名字是 James 和 Annie. 

我學中文有幾個原因 . 首先我學會中文比較容易聽得懂我爸爸和 

媽媽在說什麼 . 聽得懂中文也可以讓我在台灣看得懂和聽得懂電 

視 . 所以我學中文因為我覺得很方便 . 

我也要學中文因為很多時候我需要用到它 . 例如 , 在台灣坐捷運也 

要看得懂中文字 . 看不懂中文就表示你不知道那一站要下車 . 看不 

懂中文也很麻煩 . 這就表示你看不懂中文書和不會寫信給你的親 

戚 . 這也是一個原因我要學中文 . 

過中國新年也會用到中文 . 過年的時侯需要會說和聽得懂中文因 

為不會中文就不能和你的親戚交談 . 不會說中文 , 就不能說吉祥話 , 

也就拿不到紅包 . 這就是我為什麼要學中文 . 

我希望長大的時候 , 去台灣學中文 . 在台灣我可以有更多的時間和 

機會練習中文和學習中國文化 . 等到我會說流利的中文和聽懂更 

多的中文 , 我就可以幫助在這裡聽不懂英文但聽懂中文的人 , 當他 

們的翻譯 . 我也可以介紹中國文化給有興趣的美國朋友們 . 

学生 : 何宇欣 



你好 ! 我的名字是何宇欣 . 我十三歲在中文學校和美國學校唸七年級 . 我在 

SIMSBURY, CONNECTICUT 唸 HENRY JAMES MEMORIAL 初中 . 

除夕的晚上 , 我們家請很多人來吃飯 ; 我們請表姐 , 表妹 , 姑姑 , 姑丈和幾位爺 

爺的朋友 . 我們吃很多菜和拿了很多紅包 . 我的奶奶和爺爺只會講中文 , 所 

以他們教我正確的中文用法也教我很多過年的習俗 . 所以我相信學習中文 , 懂 

得中文是很重要的 . 

我的媽媽和爸爸帶我們去過台灣 . 台灣很好玩 , 可是如果我的中文好一點的話 , 

我就可以聽懂別人在說什麼 , 看懂店裡在賣什麼 , 對所有的事都知道得更多一 

點 . 

第二個我想學中文的原因是因為中文現在很受歡迎 . 很多外國的公司和中國 

做生意 , 需要很多懂中文說中國話的人 . 學好中文 , 可能有比較多的工作機 

會 , 而且也可以交到新的朋友 . 

中國的歷史悠久 , 是世界上最古老的國家之一 . 幾千年來留傳了許多文明古物 , 

書籍畫冊和風俗習慣 . 我雖然在美國出生長大 , 但是在家裡大多說中國話 , 吃中 

國菜 . 我的祖父母和我們住 , 所以我們還遵循很多傳統的習俗 . 很多習俗很有趣 , 

因為我的中文有限 , 不能了解故事的由來 . 如果我學好中文 , 我就可以自己去發 

掘 , 更加了解我的背景 , 讓生活更活潑和多元化 . 

学生 : 李知予 


中国传统节日与我学中文的想法 

我的名字叫李知予 , 今年十二岁 . 我住在康 

州西哈特福市 . 我在 King Philip 中学读六 

年级 . 我喜欢拉小提琴和踢足球 , 也喜欢画 

画 , 唱歌 , 和想当一个摸特儿 . 

每年我庆祝中国新年 . 中国新年是一个的 

理由让我在学中文 . 我最喜欢的是 : 中国 

食物 , 表演和游戏 . 中国新年的食物包括炒 

面 , 饺子 , 火锅和春卷 . 我特别喜欢吃好吃的 

火锅 , 跟着白菜 , 虾 , 肉 , 年糕和地瓜 . 我也爱 

学中文 , 因为我喜欢看中国新年表演 . 我 

最爱看魔术表演 , 他们是如何变出来的 

中国新年游戏很好玩 . 我最感兴趣的是中 

国 yo-yo, 和用筷子夹金鱼饼干 , 还有 M&M 

糖果 . 我喜欢吃糖果和饼干。我学中文因 

为我爱中国新年。有趣 , 我学了很多中 

国文化 ! (continued on page 13)

2010 CLS Youth Summer Camp 

Date: August 2, 2010 to August 6, 2010 

Time: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm 

Place: Irving A. Robbins Middle School 

20 Wolf Pit Rd 

Farmington, CT 06032 

Chinese Language School of Greater Hartford offers five exciting days of summer camp for children 

turning 6 and up by December 31, 2010. 

The curriculum includes martial arts, calligraphy, painting, singing, dancing, arts and crafts, Chinese 

Yo-yo, Chinese chess, Chinese cooking, etc. 

Please visit www.cls-ct.org or call (860) 461-4507 for Summer Camp registration details and 

application form. 

七年級 

7th Grade 


另一个理由我在学中文因为我可以用我的中文。当我长大的时侯我可以去中国。学中文可以帮我说话跟另外的中国人住在中国。而且 , 在将来中国会更 

好 , 所以我现在学中文就帮我很多如果我有一份工作在中国。 

当我是一位母亲的时候 , 我要教我的孩子中文 , 让中国文化传承下去。但是不希望发生当我不知道中文。我是美国华人 , 所以 , 我需要把中文学得更好。 

如果我的孩子懂中文 , 那对他们的将来更有帮助。我要让我的后裔值得娇傲中国历史文化的伟大。 

我想我的中文水平还要更多的提高。但是 , 现在我的时间比较紧 , 没有花太多的时间在中文上 , 我要在阅读和写作上花更多的功夫。如果我的写作水平提 

高 , 那我就可以跟我的中国朋友写信交流。如果我的阅读水平提高 , 那我就可以读我们家里订的中文报纸。 

总之 , 我要花比现在在学中文更多的时间。相信我 !! 

學生 : 楊東明 

老師 :Mrs. Marilyn Guerrera 

七年級 


你好 , 我叫楊東明。我在中文學校的七年級 , 可是我在美國學校六年級。我十一歲。我很喜歡藍色。我覺得很幸 

福。我有一個媽媽 , 一個爸爸和一個妹妹。我的妹妹的名字是楊思平。我的妹妹很搞笑 , 因為她有時候會做一些奇 

奇怪怪的東西。 

我為什麼學中文我學中文不但因為我爸爸媽媽叫我學 , 而且去台灣還可以講中文。 

我如果看得懂中文 , 學日文就会比較簡單。可是美國人講中文不标准。 

中文很酷因為中國有很多文化。我有一次去台灣的时候 , 有一個小孩叫我豬頭。如果他們這樣叫我 , 我就会知 

道 , 也知道人家不喜歡我。這是一個台灣的文化 , 是會亂叫人家名字。 

我最喜歡的節日是春節。我今年春節是去莊嚴寺 , 一開始是在幫忙送東西到廚房。我在那裏當義工。很辛苦可是 

沒有關係是因為不是只有我在當義工。我這個運輸组的工作很辛苦 , 因為一直在幫人家拿來的食物到廚房去。那 

一天有好幾千人去莊嚴寺。 

所以我覺的學中文很好 , 因為可以去中國和台灣。我也希望我中文寫作能好一點。我也希望我能看懂很多中文 

字。這樣子我下次寫 yearbook 就不會這麼辛苦。 

老師 :Mrs. Marilyn 

Guerrera 

學生 : 

13 Sundays June 2010 

李知予 Chloe Li

Father’s Day Gift 

By Jane Hsu 

Dad has always been there for us 

in countless ways. This Father’s 

Day, show your dad how much you 

appreciate his support, encouragement, 

and love by giving him this handmade 

Origami Shirt. This shirt will last 

forever; it will serve as a reminder of 

your love and gratitude. 

Video for Making 

Father’s Day Gift 

Correction in video: 1/4 inch, not 1/8 inch 

Origami Shirt Folding Instructions: 

1. Pinch the center of each short side of the rectangle. 

2. Fold both top and bottom edge to the center. 

3. Turn the 

paper over; 

at the top 

edge, fold 

down 1/4 

inch. 

4. Fold it 

down again 

5. Fold the 

bottom edge 

up one-third 

the height of 

the paper. 

6. Unfold the 

top edge. 

7. Turn the 

paper over; 

fold both 

sides to the 

center. 

8. Lift the loose 

corners at the 

center of the 

bottom and 

spread them 

apart. 

14 


(continued on page 15)

Defining the CLS Experience 

It was Winston Churchill who wrote, “We make 

a living by what we get; we make a life by what we 

give.” These words can definitely be applied to 

our many gifted leaders, committed educators, 

and passionate alumni. 

During my ten years as a parent of the CLS, 

I have seen the many ways that the school is 

working to build on the legacy of those who 

came before. I have been impressed by many of 

the engaged alumni. For example, Keith Lee will 

be the first person ever to receive the Alumni 

Award, which will be given to outstanding 

alumnus in years to come. He has helped at the 

Chinese New Year Celebration, the Riverfront 

Dragon Boat and Asian Festival, and Graduation 

ceremonies. He also comes once a month to take 

care of our library. Beginning this fall, there will 

be new opportunities for alumni to get involved 

at CLS. 

We’d love to capture stories about the truly 

powerful and influential role of CLS graduates 

who are out to make a difference. Please go to 

our Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ 

pages/Hartford-CT/Chinese-Language-Schoolof-Greater-Hartford/244466737868ref=ts 

to 

connect with us. Or feel free to stop by at Trinity 

College in Hartford on Sundays for a welcome 

back to CLS. 


9. Fold the 

top edge 

to the 

back, 

along the 

existing 

crease 

that is the 

closest to 

the top 

edge. 

10. Fold the top corners 

down and inward 

to meet at the 

intersection of the 

horizontal crease and 

the vertical centerline. 

You are forming the 

shirt’s collar. 

Our students often give little thought to their 

role as future alumni. To increase their awareness, 

the Library is renewing its efforts to enhance 

our students’ experiences and involvement in the 

school. “Welcome Back Alumni” programs and 

Story Hours will be important components of 

our library experience. 

This Newsletter contains many school updates. 

Dr. Shyling Lee, Chairman of the CLS Board of 

Trustees, received the Outstanding Citizenship 

Award at the Asian Pacific American Coalition 

of Connecticut (APAC) Gala, which was held on 

Saturday, May 1, 2010. Be sure to read her year 

end report on page 3. 

On May 29, many of the CLS students and 

teachers attended the Association of Chinese 

Schools (ACS) 2010 conference in New York. 

Check out who took home the prizes on page 5. 

Turn to page 6 to learn how to make an Origami 

Shirt by following the detailed instructions or by 

watching the video. I hope that you will fall in 

love with Origami that will fill your world with 

creativity and imagination. 

We are always looking for news from you and 

for other contributions to our Newsletter. Please 

contact us at: emykaren@cox.net. Have a 

wonderful summer! 

Hsiu-Chen Hsu 

11. Lift the bottom 

edge up and slide 

it under the collar. 

Press firmly at the 

bottom edge of the 

shirt. 

12. Here is the 

completed shirt. 

15 

Sundays June 2010

Chinese Language School 

of Greater Hartford 

Mailbox 702540 300 Summit St 

Hartford, CT 06106 

This school admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin. 

© 2010 CLS 

16 

Sundays June 2010

Students from Granby Memorial High School - Chinese Language ...

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