Tucson International Academy

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Chinese Language Programs at TIA

Chinese language programs at TIA
Chinese New Year Celebration

A major component of the Chinese Language Programs at TIA is the annual Chinese New Year Celebration. The family event is designed to showcase the students’ language skills and expand their appreciation of Chinese Culture.

Why Is Everyone So Excited About the Chinese Language Programs?

Everything about the event, from the lively performances, colorful wardrobes, and authentic food, reflects the excitement the children have for the Chinese Program at TIA.  “Our students are the most attentive and eager during Mr. Wu’s lessons. It’s very appealing to them,” says teacher Heather Hilliard. And the reason for their enthusiasm is apparent: Chinese Language Teacher Mr. Wu.

If the kids’ loud cheers for Mr. Wu at a recent celebration are any indication, they love him. “Having a language teacher from the specific country really helps the kids understand and be more concerned with what they’re learning and why it’s important,” Hilliard explains. “The fact that Mr. Wu is from China helps them relate because they know him. He can say, ‘This is where I grew up, and this is what this is like’.”

Chinese New Year, now also called the Spring Festival, is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. Each year the celebration falls on different dates in January or February, and is associated with one of 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Traditional celebrations lasted 15 days, in which family reunions and feasts were an important component. Other traditions include fireworks, a lantern festival, a dragon dance, the color red, and giving children money in red envelopes. The holiday is also celebrated in numerous cities and countries outside of China where there are significant Chinese populations.

New Year and New Opportunities

Just as the Chinese New Year symbolizes new life and new beginnings, the New Year event at TIA symbolizes new opportunities for our students, which are made possible by Mr. Wu and the Chinese Language Program.

What Should Be Your Future Career?

what will be your future career
What Should Be Your Future Career?

Thursday April 5th, 2012 was a beautiful spring day at Joaquin Murrieta Park to open the minds and opportunities of students from Tucson International Academy (TIA) to the future that awaits them. This was not your normal day at the playground, but an opportunity for all TIA students to meet 31 local and national career exhibits and the people representing those organizations to help TIA students find out what will be your future career.

What Career’s Await You After You Graduate?

Every year, TIA brings together faculty and students from their four locations around Tucson to open the eyes of their students to the potential opportunities that await them once they graduate. Many of the careers featured, like working for the F.B.I. or becoming an architect, would require a formal college education. However, students were also exposed to opportunities like joining the police force, border patrol, or construction which do not require a college degree. Each career exhibit brought something representative of their work. Some booths had many pictures or demonstrations of a “day in the life” of a particular occupation, while others gave opportunities for hands-on activities so students could gain their first experience of a required job element.

The diverse jobs represented at the career fair gave students a taste of the breadth of opportunities they can look forward to once they graduate. For some students, the experience further reinforced their initial career choice, while for other students it broadened the scope of choices they were considering. One of the students, Mari, mentioned “There are many types of jobs available to you when you are older” and that the job fair “… gave me other options.”

Expanding Student’s Dreams

Expanding student’s dreams is not the only benefit the job fair provides. Students had the opportunity to ask questions like “Will I get paid more if I have a college degree?” and “What overall qualities or values does your company look for in employees?” Discovering the importance of a good education first hand helps the students connect the dots between what they do right now in the classroom and what they will be doing in their future career.

Each year the depth of experience grows, as businesses in our community volunteer their time and manpower to sharing their vocation, and students crystallize their once far-off dreams into actionable goals. Tucson International Academy is blessed with strong ties to our Tucson community and organizations that are willing to pour into the lives of the next generation to enter the workforce.

TIA Geography Bee Challenge

geography bee challenge award
TIA’s Geography Bee Award

To increase sports competition between TIA schools many years ago, a rubber chicken painted gold was offered to the winning school. Rivalries escalated, fueled by the quest for this golden chicken and its associated bragging rights. Intrigued at the level of school pride that was sparked by the possession of such a bizarre trophy, TIA teachers saw a golden opportunity of a different kind. Why not channel this competition and school pride into an academic focus? This idea led to the establishment of four additional annual competitions: the Geography Bee, Math Bee, Spelling Bee, and Debate.

Geography Bee Challenge

The Geography Bee is composed of six divisions: Kindergarten, Grades 1 and 2, Grades 3 and 4, Grades 5 and 6, Middle School, and High School. Competitions begin within each classroom. Class winners from each division in the same school then compete against each other. Finally, winners from each school compete in the championship, or district level. Many teachers reward winners with their own incentives, but the travelling trophy each year is a beautiful acrylic globe impressed with the shapes of the continents.

More than a gimmick to manufacture school pride, the Geography Bee has precipitated great educational leaps among the students, says Mr. Montemayor, principal of the Broadway  Campus. Teachers are able to emphasize certain regions to correspond with current world events. “We want to teach not only where these places are, but how they affect us,” Mr. Montemayor says.

One piece of evidence that shows the effectiveness of the Geography Bee is the fact that each year it becomes increasingly difficult to determine a winner in the upper divisions. Since students participate year after year, 80 to 90 percent of students now know all the countries, and so more elements must be added, such as rivers or mountains. Many times, a tie-breaker is required.

Where in the World is TIA’s Pride?

Now it’s not just the golden chicken that students are after, but as many of the five available trophies as they can get each year. So where in the world is TIA Pride? Just ask this year’s Geography Bee Winners – it’s on the map.

 

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