Dear BCS Families:
I’d like to extend a warm welcome to both new families just joining Bergen Chinese School as well as returning families. As you may know, the principal’s torch has recently been passed to me by Charles Shyy, who has served as principal of Bergen Chinese School for a total of 10 years. Under Charles’s leadership, Bergen Chinese School has become a vibrant and diverse community, uniting families representing many different ethnic backgrounds in our common interest in Chinese language and culture. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank him for his service and leadership through the years.
Founded in 1972, the BCS community continues to thrive because of the strong partnership between parents, teachers, and administrators – all for the common goal of teaching our children Chinese language and culture. Our administrative staff and PTA reflect this diversity; ours is as much an American story as it is Chinese.
Our curriculum has 2 tracks to accommodate the diversity of our families. The “Heritage” track, or “CHL” track, is geared towards those families who speak Mandarin at home, while the “Chinese as a Second Language” track, or “CSL” track, is geared towards non-native speakers or those who are just starting to learn Mandarin. BCS offers a range of classes starting from Pre-kindergarten to Adult Conversation.
Cultural activities, such as arts and crafts, calligraphy, and holiday traditions are integrated into classroom instruction for younger grades. Higher grade students take dedicated cultural activity classes 6 periods each semester, and can choose from Chinese calligraphy, arts and crafts, Chinese chess, and Chinese yo-yo, to name a few. We also offer children’s folk dance and lion dance classes, as well as adult tai chi, ikebana, Chinese brush painting, and watercolor painting through third-party teachers.
In addition to learning language and culture in the classrooms, students and families participate in major Chinese holiday festivities, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year (also called Spring Festival). Twice a year, students participate in school-sponsored academic contests: story-telling/recitation contest in the fall and a traditional Chinese character recognition contest in the spring.
There is much to share with you, and we will do so as the year unfolds. Meanwhile, please visit the school website frequently for announcements, highlights, photos, and feature articles. Your classroom teachers will also communicate with you by email every week regarding class progress and important reminders.
Finally, I encourage you to get involved and to seek out opportunities to support the BCS community. Whether it is as a class parent, a PTA officer, or a dean of students, any involvement will serve to build the very environment that nurtures your childrens’ learning and growth here at BCS. Experience tells us that children do best when parents are involved; and when parents are involved, children become engaged and participate more in the classroom – a critical factor when learning any language. I got started as a PTA volunteer working on designing BCS spiritwear, then as PTA treasurer, and now principal. Those who are interested in teaching language and culture can seek opportunities for teacher training; those who are able to share their organizational skills and experiences can take on administration work; and those who can spearhead event programming and fundraising can join the PTA. Along the way, wonderful memories are created and lifelong friendships are forged.
With that said, welcome again and we look forward to continuing the strong traditions of BCS together with your help!
Warmly,
Raymond Chung (鍾文祥)
Principal, Bergen Chinese School