Chinese Language School of Connecticut Open House April 17

Nearly 25% of the world's population speaks Mandarin Chinese. Yet, very few American children study any foreign languages at all.

Please plan to join us on April 17. For more information, www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org


Chinese Language School of Connecticut Open House April 17

-- CLSC Welcomes Prospective New Families to View Classes and Meet Staff --


RIVERSIDE, March 25, 2010– The non-profit, fully accredited Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org) will hold their annual Open House with guided tour and demo classes on Sunday, April 17, from 10:30-12:00 at their Riverside location: Eastern Middle School, 51 Hendrie Avenue, Riverside, CT. Registration for Fall 2010 programs begins May 1. This event is free, but spaces are limited and registration is required.

CLSC Principal Daisy Chen Laone, explained, “We are inviting any families or students who are interested in Chinese language or culture to visit us and find out more about our school and our programs. We offer weekday and weekend classes, Before and After School programs, cultural workshops, winter and spring break programs, summer classes, private tutoring, and AP Prep sessions.

“Anyone interested in attending our Open House should send an email to Principal@ChineseLanguageSchool.org to make an appointment,” she continued.

According to CLSC president, New Canaan resident Susan Serven, “CLSC offers our diverse student body a unique opportunity to explore Chinese language and culture through innovative, hands-on, age-appropriate programs. Students do not need to have prior experience in Chinese in order to attend. We offer interactive, engaging, customized programs with small classes, designed to teach Mandarin Chinese to non-Chinese-speaking students, using U.S. teaching methodologies.”

Serven continued, “CLSC faculty members are all native speaking teachers who are required to undergo a rigorous training process of a minimum of 75 hours per year, in order to make Chinese language learning fun for younger students, engaging and exciting for elementary school students, and fairly rigorous for older students wishing to take Chinese in high school and beyond. We have designed our curriculum to include benchmarks and measurable objectives which allow all students to become as proficient as possible within set timeframes, while engaging their interest in learning about a culture which is more than 4,000 years old.”

New Canaan resident and CLSC Parents Committee Chair, Janet Leung Fonss, noted, “Our daughter, Ava (age 6), loves learning Chinese at CLSC. She doesn't think of CLSC as going to ‘school’, but as a place to play while learning Chinese. Every Sunday is a new adventure - whether it is learning numbers and animals through playing board games or learning about the Silk Road by making paper tissue quilts in Culture class. The CLSC teachers always make learning Chinese fun through age appropriate FUN activities. We could not be happier with our experience so far at CLSC!!”

Old Greenwich resident Robyn Wasserman, parent of a child who is studying at CLSC, said, “"Our family's experience at the Chinese Language School of Connecticut has been wonderful. The teachers are knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and highly educated. They have challenged our daughter to learn Mandarin and have made her experience quite enjoyable. We would definitely recommend the Chinese Language School of Connecticut."

Harrison resident, CLSC Board member Darwei Kung, explained, “[My wife] Terri and I have explored several alternatives for our son’s Chinese Education. After comparing different options, we decided CLSC’s communicative approach to language learning is best suited for our child to learn Chinese.

Pelham resident, CLSC Board member Jeffay Chang, noted, “We have found CLSC to be an engaging and relaxed atmosphere for our children to learn Chinese. With two children already enrolled in the school and a third that will be attending in the fall, we look forward to working with the school to further expand our children's cultural experience.”

Wilton resident and CLSC Advisory Committee member Zheng Wang said, “I was a Board member at CLSC long before my daughter was born, because I believe in the idea of having a community where children with Chinese heritage can get exposure to the language and culture and form a bond among themselves, and I admire the entrepreneurial and can-do spirit of the parent founders, board members and school leadership. I enrolled my daughter last fall when she turned two, and have been going to classes with her ever since. We both enjoy the experience tremendously. My daughter asks every weekend - are we going to Chinese school? I'm impressed with the level of energy and creativity our teacher puts into every session. The 'low-fi' crayon, paper, scissor, glue format really gets the kids engaged.”

Orange resident Sue Chang, noted, "CLSC has continued to build a progressive language program in tune with technology, and is now launching an online-based homework help session that will enhance reinforcement. It's very exciting for this to evolve for our students as our teachers are dedicated to enriching their learning experience."

Manhattan resident, Wendy Feldman Wainapel, explained, "We have sampled other Chinese language learning options [private tutoring, after school programs, small local Chinese schools/classes] but the curriculum and educational goals were not well formulated and there was no continuity of staff..

CLSC has provided exactly what we were looking for: a formalized program; a well trained, committed, stable staff; and, a well-defined, engaging curriculum where each teaching level builds upon the previous one. An extra perk is that there are culture classes which add another dimension to her educational experience.

Our daughter loves learning Chinese! She has made great progress in speaking, reading and writing which has been extremely gratifying to both her and us."

Event Agenda:

• 10:30-10:40—Principal’s opening remarks

• 10:40-10:55—Demo I: For students 5 and under

• 10:55-11:10—Demo II: For students 5 and up

• 11:10-11:20—Registration process and policy

• 11:20-11:30—VP Art & Culture, Katy Chen Myers introduces CLSC Art class

• 11:30-11:50—Tour of the school and culture class observation

• 11:50-12:00—Q&A


To register to attend CLSC’s Open House, please email Principal@ChineseLanguageSchool.org.

The non-profit, fully accredited Chinese Language School of Connecticut (CLSC) (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org) teaches Mandarin Chinese as a second language to children and adults in their weekday and weekend classes, Before and After School programs, cultural workshops, winter and spring break programs, summer classes, private tutoring and AP Prep sessions. CLSC is the only fully-accredited supplemental Chinese language program in the U.S. which uses U.S. teaching methods in order to engage children in learning Chinese.

For information on the Chinese Language School of Connecticut’s language and cultural programs for children and adults, their Before– and After- School programs, special workshops, private tutoring, AP Prep, or corporate language programs, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or email them at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org.

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