Press release of September 12, 2011

Chinese lessons starting at BH-BL

After-school "Project Chinese" classes in Chinese language & culture for both elementary & secondary school students

BURNT HILLS: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake children are invited to explore Chinese language and culture this fall through two innovative extracurricular programs being offered at BH-BL in cooperation with the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES.

The program is supported by multiple grants, making it possible for BH-BL children to participate for tuition fees of $100 (grades 6 - 12) or $50 (grades 1 - 5).

Other innovative aspects of Project Chinese classes include making use of "Half Day" afternoon time slots when BH-BL children have no regular classes. Also, after their first seven face-to-face classes with Chinese teachers, secondary Project Chinese classes will continue online, using interactive technology for the reminder of the fall semester.

Secondary school students can opt to continue learning Chinese in the spring semester and to take part in a BOCES Chinese immersion program next July.

BOCES program director Peggy Sharkey says her team of Chinese teachers has been working together for four years to refine their techniques for teaching Chinese language and culture to students of various ages. They engage students through various activities (including tai chi, calligraphy, and crafts), and technology helps bring the program to the maximum number of students.

Here's how it works

Parents: for all the details and a registration form, please click on the links below.

Grades 6 - 12:  Extracurricular Sequential Chinese, Level 1A

    Secondary registration form & details as a pdf

    Secondary registration form & details as a Word file

Students in grades 6 - 12 will work directly with Chinese teachers at the BH-BL high school during the afternoon of September 29 (which is a BH-BL half day for grades 6 - 12) from 11:15 - 2:15, plus afterschool from 2:30 - 3:30 for the following six Wednesdays: October 5, 12, 19, 26, November 2 and 9.

Starting in October, secondary Project Chinese students will also take 12 weekly lessons online. The online lessons are 1 - 2 hours each and can be accessed via a computer with high-speed internet access at a time and location convenient for each individual student. A third class component starts in November: weekly 15-minute teacher-student sessions via Skype.

Class size is limited and start soon (Sept. 29), so parents should click on the above link and submit their student's application ASAP. More information will be emailed to you after you register.

Other logistical details:  O'Rourke middle school students taking Project Chinese will be transported by school bus to the high school for the seven face-to-face classes listed above. All parents should plan to pick up their children and transport them home after class on these dates.

A similar program will be offered in the spring semester (Level 1B) plus an immersion program during the summer (Level 1C). High school course credits cannot currently be offered for these classes, but this type of enrichment activity provides material for a student's college application and can have multiple academic, vocational and personal benefits.

If grant funding continues to be available, the BOCES hopes to expand Project Chinese into a three-year program.

Grades 1 - 5:  Half Day Exploratory Chinese Program

    Elementary registration form & details as a pdf

    Elementary registration form & details as a Word file

Students in grades 1 - 5 will explore Chinese language and culture with BOCES teachers at the Stevens elementary school from 12:30 - 3:00 on the four November half days. (That is, on the afternoons that regular elementary classes are suspended so that BH-BL teachers can hold parent conferences.) These four half days are November 16, 17, 29 and 30.

Class size is limited, so parents should click on the above link and submit their student's application as soon as possible. More information will be emailed to you after you register.

Other logistical details:  Charlton Heights and Pashley students taking Project Chinese will be transported by school bus to Stevens on these four half days.  All parents should plan to pick up their children at Stevens at 3:00 and transport them home after class on these dates. Since elementary cafeterias do not serve lunch on half days, parents should plan to send a bag lunch with their students.

For more information:  WSWHE BOCES Language & Culture Resources Center

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