Archive for February, 2012

• Letter to Parents——Feb. 6th, 2012

  Date: 2012.02.06 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 386

  Dear Parents,

  Welcome to our drawing class.  The last Sunday class is our first class in the Spring semester, 2012. We have new students. I would like to remind that the students should prepare a drawing pad (sketch), a three-ring binder, a box of crayons, pencil and eraser.  Next Sunday, we will draw and color butterflies and dolphins.

  We just passed by the rabbit lunar year and get into a dragon year.  I wish you a good luck in the dragon year!  Celebrating Chinese New year involves a lot of activities. NCLS has in-school and out-school celebrations. I was also involved in one activity annually. I would like to share this with you. I was voluntarily invited to a Brookline public school to give a sort of lecture talking about Chinese New Year and Chinese brush painting.  It is very much like our class section.  In the first 15 minutes of one hour or so lecture, I talked the tradition of Chinese new year like decoration, greeting words, food, costumes, red-bag, and entertaining activities. In the second 15 minutes, I introduced Chinese brush painting and calligraphy by mentioning the ways, tools, material which Chinese brush painting uses.  In the last 30 minutes, I demonstrated my Chinese brush painting skills by writing calligraphy and brush-painting a dragon.   All these were fascinating their class of students who have not seen any brushing painting like this before(20 or so students, only two  Chinese,still american-born).  Three days later, I received the teacher’s thanks card and 20 or so pages of thanks notes each written by these 3rd grader students, saying that I am “one of the best artists they have ever seen” and how much they appreciate my cookies, red-bags, calligraphic greeting  and painting I gave to them.  I read through 20 or so pages of thanks-notes several times, I was really moved by their words.  Their minds are so kind and eager to learn that I feel no matter how much I do to them is not enough.  Supporting education can be done so easily and everywhere. This is my third year to do this. I hope that I will continue to do it.

  祝龙年大吉！

  Michelle Yu （郁晓梅）， Teacher