Bilingual Buddies Bulletin
双语伙伴月报
Dear Parents:
November-December 2014
I hope you and your family’s Thanksgiving Break was as restful and pleasant as
my own. I trust you and your child are looking forward to returning to the school
day routine. As wonderful as time-off is, I am looking forward to once again
seeing and working with the children. My, my, my, where did November go?
A Couple of Highlights of November
 November Theme Day (Nov. 7th) was a great success! Thanks again to all
you parents who helped to set up, run stations, and in any way contributed
towards making our students’ learning time fun and memorable. I must say
that the kids’ and parents’ costumes really helped to add excitement and an
element of authenticity to the day’s theme. Thank you, dear parents, for
dressing up your child and helping him / her get into the spirit of the theme.
 Attendance at this year’s annual RSA Assembly to Honor Veterans (Nov. 7th)
set new records. Amusingly, the front bench seats, which are normally set
aside for younger students to sit, were filled with honored attendees and their
family members, leaving the “poor” first graders to have the unanticipated
fun of having to sit in the very top seats of the auditorium. Consequently, as
you may have guessed, the often-heard complaint coming from their little
voices was: “I can’t see anything.” Working with kids keeps me young!
An Overview of Our Learning For November
 In Language Arts
After the most recent assessment, the good news is that many students have made
progress in their Chinese character recognition totals. Moreover, more and more
students are bravely venturing to apply learned phrases in class to communicate
with me and with one another.
In reading, Mrs. Cheng continues to faithfully show up on Wednesdays to help
manage a small group and support the students’ growth in Chinese reading. Wow!
The students and I say: “Thank you so much, Mrs. Cheng!!”
Please look for smaller paper versions of the Better Chinese readers to begin
coming home. Depending on the reading ability or assessed needs of each student,
your child’s book may be different from his / her classmate. It is hoped that your
child will take advantage of getting in extra reading practice by going to a website
I have found (I’ll email this to you) to listen to these Better Chinese stories being
read to them and, while looking at the book, will choose to read along too.
Lessons 10 and 11 remain in the Mastering Chinese Language and Culture text. To
date, from the daily lessons, your child has been exposed to approximately 80 –
100 high-frequency Chinese characters and hundreds of high-frequency vocabulary
and phrases. Our Characters Only learning objectives are broken down as follows:
First Trimester Chinese Character Target: Master 70 characters ( Kinder List 50, + 20 new )
Second Trimester Goal: Add an additional 40 characters to the 70 by the end of the Trimester
Third Trimester Goal: Add an additional 20 characters to the 110
Total Kinder / First Grade Combined Character Recognition Target: Master 130 characters.
 In Math
The children are getting a strong exposure to high-frequency Mandarin mathspecific vocabulary. Many parents are wondering how they can be supportive in
their child’s successful acquisition of Mandarin. Well, one way you can make a
difference in the level of your child’s proficiency is to see that he / she attempts to
review the vocabulary appearing in the Chinese math papers that are coming home.
Oft-repeated math terms spiral throughout the lessons, and having your child
attempt to maintain a daily connection to them will lessen the likelihood of them
being forgotten. And at some point, I will be posting a master list of these first
grade level math words to my web page, under resources.
 In Science
Through weekly hands-on science lessons, I am attempting to expose your child to
rudimentary earth, life, and physical science concepts within a small group
instructional setting. In the past month, our lessons have focused on Earth Science
(e.g., weather and seasonal changes, observation, measurement, and predictions)
HEADS UP FOR WHAT’S COMING UP:
Mandarin Support Committee (MSC) meeting Dec. 4th.
For this meeting of the MSC, RSA students whose parents wish to attend may have
their child(ren) join the After School Program (ASC) after checking in at the sign
in table in room 22.
Why you should consider attending:
 Keep yourself better apprised of developments within the Program
 Have opportunity to ask questions, voice concerns, and contribute your good
ideas for overall Program improvement
 Understand ways in which you may be better able to help your child learn
 Learn of opportunities to get involved in helping to plan for future projects
RSA Lighted Christmas Parade – Sat., Dec 6th 6 pm Downtown Redding
For the last 4 years RSA has been an award winning participant in this festive
community event and hoping to continue the tradition again this year, and we need
your help. RSA is looking for help to design the float, donate lights/decorations,
and help with other general needs. Please see the RSA website or RSA News for
more details. Go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0b48aea62fa64-alladins
to sign up.
Winter Scholastic Book Fair – December 9th – 12th -- Community Room
Please go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e45adae22a31-2014 if you
wish to sign up to help.
Also….
 Volunteer Hours – On average, school is asking for 20 hours by first
deadline – Dec 18th.
 All School Assembly time, being Mondays at 10:00, still in effect until
further notice
 Next RSA Governing Board Meeting -- Thursday, Dec. 11th @ 5:45 pm
 RSA’s focus on building strong character – December Character Trait:
RESPONSIBILITY
 Lahey / Dressel Class Pre-Winter Break Party – Thurs., Dec. 18th 12:30 to
2:30
In closing, as we enter December tomorrow, my guess will be that to many of us,
December will no doubt feel like it has flown by as well. After all, the kids only
have 14 school days before once again leaving their next break. Well, I’ll try to fill
our days with fun, cooperative learning activities, various process and skillbuilding experiences, and child-centered instruction – all in Mandarin – and,
hopefully, engage the minds and hearts of our little Chinese Chatterboxes.
Gratefully, your child’s teacher,
Mr. Dressel – Teacher Mai – 麦老师