YCIS Celebrates Launch of BP International Education Park
On May 9, YCIS held the BP International Education Park (IEP) Foundation Ceremony for over 300 attendees from the Beijing community, including government officials, media, and YCIS parents and staff. The ceremony included a variety of music performances by YCIS students, an IEP movie trailer, and speeches by Dr. Betty Chan and Professor Paul Yip, IEP co-founders and directors of YCIS and YWIES schools. IEP is a pioneering model in mainland China that will have the Yew Chung International School (YCIS) for foreign students and Yew Wah International Education School (YWIES) for local Chinese students. Both schools will be connected by the Scholars International Conference Centre to promote cross-cultural learning and hold seminars and events. YCIS in Yizhuang will provide full stream education from early childhood to secondary education and follow the same educational program as the Honglingjin campus. The new campus will have state-of-the-art facilities for education, music, culture, arts, sports, and entertainment.
US National Merit Scholar: WAB Student Franklyn Zhou
Each year, approximately 1.5 million American students participate in the National Merit Scholarship (NMSC) program. The program began in 1955 to identify and honor academically talented American high school students, including those studying
internationally. In September of 2011, 16,000 students (only 1 percent of applicants) qualified as National Merit semi-finalists, including three WAB students: Herman Chau, Michael Li, and Franklyn Zhu. Winners of Merit Scholarship awards are then chosen based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments. In early April, Franklyn Zhu (pictured here) was chosen as a National Merit Scholar. Zhu received a USD 2,000 per year corporate-sponsored award to fund his college undergraduate tuition. Franklyn has already received acceptance letters to several universities, including Yale University. He would like to study history, philosophy, or psychology. Zhu says, “I’ve been at WAB my entire life; WAB is part of me! It was in this caring, supportive environment that I discovered my passions, set my goals, and reached for my dreams.”
ICVS Relocates to Wangjing
The International Center for Veterinary Services (ICVS) is relocating to a new hospital and pet care facility in Wangjing. The move will take place until June 9 and ICVS will resume its regular operating hours after Sunday, June 10. The new ICVS facility will continue to offer boarding, grooming, full medical services, obedience training, behavior counseling, pet food, pet accessories, and more. Schedule appointments for after June 10 by calling 8456 1939/40/41 (reception). For emergency assistance, call 138 1028 0259 (English and Chinese).
Mon-Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 10am-7pm (Regular hours at the new Wangjing facility resume after June 10). 13-16 Rongke Ganlan Chengshang Jie, Futongxi Dajie, Wangjing, Chaoyang District (8456 1939/40/41, icvs_china@yahoo.com) www.icvsasia.com 北京新天地国际动物医院, 朝阳区望京阜通西大街融科橄榄城商街13-16号
Beijing Jiade Montessori Bilingual Kindergarten Opens
On April 27, Beijing Jiade Montessori Bilingual Kindergarten held an opening ceremony at its Chaoyang campus for guests from the education departments of China and Chaoyang District, as well as the school’s teachers and parents. Jiade is a nursery and kindergarten under the Wisdom Education Group and is officially recognized as the only “Montessori bilingual kindergarten” by the Education Commission of Chaoyang District. It aims to meet the different developmental needs of children aged 2 to 6 from both international and local communities. More than 95 percent of the teachers hold international Montessori teacher certification. The campus includes an outdoor playground, a library, an art room, a gymnasium, and a dance and a music room. The team consists of American Montessori Association (AMS)-certified teachers and academic consultants.
1) Bldg 42, Yushu, 2 Shunfu Lu, Renhe Town, Shunyi District (8945 2591) 顺义区仁和镇顺福路2号御墅42栋; 2) Bldg 221, Bailizhuang Beili, Chaoyang District (8591 8288) 朝阳区八里庄北里221号楼
BCIS Welcomes New Principal and Director of University Guidance and Placement
Beijing City International School (BCIS) recently welcomed Secondary Principal William O’Hearn. O’Hearn graduated from St. Peters College at Oxford University and has over 30 years of teaching experience. This summer, BCIS also welcomes the school’s first Director of University Guidance and Placement, Andrea O’Hearn, who has extensive experience placing students at leading universities. She is developing a university counseling program and supervising enrollment management to address the needs of students and families as they join Beijing’s international community and depart for universities and other destinations.
BISS Winners of the ACAMIS Chinese Oral Presentation Competition
On April 21, Beijing BISS International School participated in the ACAMIS Chinese Oral Presentation Competition. BISS student Belle Chen (pictured here) won first place and Ye Yuxin placed second in the Grade 6-8 category. Third place for the Grade 9-10 group went to Kelsey Yang Shuang Ting. Kim Soo Jeong won first place in the second language competition for the Grade 9-10 group. BISS Secondary School Chinese teacher Ms. Brenda Li says, “Our students did a great job with their individual presentations. Their confident spirit and good manner greatly impressed the judges and audiences. The Chinese teachers also gained experience [as]judges for the competition.”
This article is excerpted from beijingkids Jun/Jul 2012 issue. View it in PDF form here or contact distribution@beijing-kids.com to find out where you can pick up your free copy.