Future Global Leaders Start Here

SCV中文学校

Santa Clarita Valley Chinese School

Empower Tomorrow’s Creative Thinkers and Leaders

培养明天富有创造力的领袖和思想家

Update, 4/2012

Chinese School Granted WASC Accreditation Candidacy Status

Hart School District to Approve Credited Chinese Classes

Standard Chinese Level Test (汉语水平考试)

- Open to all SCV K-12 Students 中小学生 (Free of Charge)

1. SCV Chinese School Granted WASC Accreditation Candidacy Status
Based on two and half years' proven achievements and a team of dedicated caring educators, the SCV Chinese School has applied and been granted Candidacy Accreditation Status by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).  Through its rigorous review processes, WASC confirms that an institution as a whole has in place the resources and practices to achieve its educational goals and has provided evidence of the quality of its educational programs.

All universities, public and most private schools, are regularly reviewed and reaccredited.  Nationwide, however, only a very few language programs like ours ever seek and gain accreditation due to high academic, financial and organizational standards as well as its exhausting documentation requirements.  SCV Chinese School chose this endeavor not only to improve our education programs but to challenge ourselves toward a higher level.
 
2. Hart School District to Approve Credited Chinese Courses
With the WASC review, SCV Chinese School is now working with the William Hart School District on a series of credited Chinese courses meeting the requirement for high school graduation and university admission. These courses will be UC a-g approved (The University of California and the California State University systems) and can account for 30 high school credit units in three years.  Classes will be open to all Hart School District middle and high school students and expected at the start of the 2012-2013 school year.

3. Standard Chinese Level Test (汉语水平考试)

- Open to all SCV K-12 Students 中小学生
To further challenge ourselves, SCV Chinese School is moving above and beyond the WASC and Hart District requirements by aligning our programs with international standards.  Starting this month, we will administer Standard Chinese Level Tests based on international standards including TOEFL, YCT and HSK.  Test scores will help to evaluate student's Chinese language knowledge and skills, and as reference for class realignment.  For students interested in enrolling in the High School Credit Courses, the test scores will be used for level placement.

Our Standard-based tests will be open to all SCV area K-12 (adult ok) students and be free of charge.  Future participation in official tests offered by international or government organizations are been considered - those programs (YCT, TOEFL or HSK) do charge registration fees ranging from $20 to $50 per test.

Our initial set of Standard-based tests schedule is shown below.  For detailed information, please visit our website or contact the school via email or call.

Reminders:

April 22, 2:10 pm Parent Meeting (open to interested public)
   - discuss the above items;
   - review this school year;
   - discuss next school year plans;
   - register for next semester;

April 29 - first round of two Standard Test
   3:30 - 4:30 pm all students

May 6 - second round of two Standard Test
   3:30 - 4:30 pm all students

May 13, 3:30 - 4:30 Celebration and Award Ceremony
   - summer break starts

Happy New Year
2012
新年好

In the News:

The fascinating Chinese dragon-The Signal

SCV Celebrates Chinese New Year -The Signal 

Children of the Dragon (the SCV Magazine)

When will Your Child Start Learning Chinese? 

The Magazine of SCV: Lifting Spirit for Ophans

The Signal: Get Well Cards for Ophans

Santa Clarita Kids Speaking Chinese (Radio 1220)

2011 Fall Semester Update

First Day of Fall Semester Schedule

Special Trial Class for New Students on First Day

Year of the Dragon - 2012 (more pictures)

When will Your Child Start

Learning Chinese?
 

We know our children should learn a second language.  We were often told foreign languages are best learned at young age. And we understand that the most culturally rich, most spoken, most useful and with lifetime benefits foreign language is Chinese.  But, it hasn't really occurred to many that our children should be learning it now. 

To most parents, Chinese is too hard - with countless characters to memorize, complex ways to write and strange sounds to pronounce.  Not to mention, not many at home can understand let alone help.  Chinese is simply too foreign.
 
These problems are the result of parents thinking logically like an adult.  Young children are way smarter when it comes to learning a language.  They immerse in role-play, stories, songs and games to have fun. They learn without thinking they are learning. 

By the way, Chinese has a relatively uncomplicated grammar.  It has no verb conjugation (no need to memorize verb tenses!) and no noun declension (e.g., gender and number distinctions).  The basic word order of Chinese is subject — verb — object, exactly as in English.  Numbers 0 to 9 are all single syllable – the real secret of Chinese students' math superiority, believe it or not.
 
The ultimate environment of learning a foreign language is immersion in which the target language is used as the means of instruction. In-class activities, such as math and those outside of the class, such as meals or everyday tasks, are conducted in the target language.  Students gain almost-native proficiency by age 10-11.   Chinese immersion programs nationwide have grown dramatically in recent years.  Many have achieved stunning success not only in language, but quantifiable improvements across the academic spectrum.   SCV Chinese School has established an exploratory working group to start the first SCV immersion program.  We welcome your participation and support.