Changhua School News

On October 17th, 2024, the National Taiwan College of Performing Arts came to Chungshan Elementary School, bringing an exciting opera music concert for everyone! The performers were high school students from the Opera Music Department. They introduced different opera instruments and played beautiful songs, helping the students understand more about traditional opera music. The older students’ incredible musical skills amazed everyone, allowing the younger students to see the beauty of traditional music. The National Taiwan College of Performing Arts works hard to pass on traditional culture. With this special performance, students who usually don’t hear much opera music got a chance to enjoy and learn about this part of our culture. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

On October 8th, Datong Elementary School held a press conference for a special book donation. Principal Lee expressed deep gratitude to Amy Lin, the head of Books for Taiwan, for her dedication to bringing valuable English books from both U.S. public and school libraries to Taiwan. These books, which had reached the end of their circulation period, are now being repurposed as free resources for students, offering them new opportunities to learn and grow. The president of Datong’s Parent Association, Mr. Chen, along with the Wujangde Charity Organization, generously covered the shipping costs from the U.S. to Taiwan, ensuring these resources reached the school. Luke Lin, founder of My Culture Connect, played a crucial role in connecting the school with this wonderful initiative. Thanks to the kindness of so many people, the students’ English education will greatly improve. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

September 28 is not only the birthday of Confucius, the great teacher, but also Taiwan’s annual Teacher’s Day. To show appreciation for teachers' contributions to education, Minsheng Elementary School held a special event on September 25 at the activity center. This year, the school invited a distinguished alumnus, Haozi (Xie Xin-Hao), to join the Teacher's Day celebration. Haozi, a famous graduate, led the students in a special ceremony where they pulled out “wisdom pens” to symbolize gaining wisdom and knowledge. This act showed respect and gratitude to their teachers. Haozi was named the school's Outstanding Alumni in 2016, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he couldn’t return to accept the award. On September 25, he finally received the honor today, along with former Principal Hong Rong-Yan and Parent Association President Lin Jun-Teng. Minsheng’s teachers are dedicated to teaching with passion, focusing on the importance of character education. The school also promotes its core SMART program, which encourages interdisciplinary learning. On this meaningful Teacher's Day, students followed ancient traditions by participating in a "teacher respect" ceremony and pulling out "wisdom pens." In the past, this tradition involved pulling hair from a sacrificial cow to symbolize gaining wisdom. Today, the students pulled pens instead, hoping to gain wisdom and do well in their studies while showing respect for their teachers. Principal Zeng Jun-Yao of Minsheng Elementary thanked the Parent Association, led by President Lin Zi-Qiang, and alumni for organizing the ceremony. He expressed his hopes for the students to grow healthy and happy at Minsheng and thanked the teachers for their hard work. He also encouraged teachers to follow Confucius’ teaching spirit, giving every child the best care. Finally, he wished all the teachers a happy Teacher's Day. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

To help students and teachers know what to do during an earthquake, schools across Changhua County had an earthquake drill this morning. Everyone followed three important steps: "Drop, Cover, and Hold On." They also remembered the “three don’ts”: "Don’t talk, Don’t run, and Don’t push," and quickly went to a safe place. At 9:21 a.m., when the earthquake alarm went off, all the schools did a one-minute drill. Deputy County Magistrate Lin Tian-Fu visited Beidou Elementary School to see how they practiced. Deputy County Magistrate Lin said that after the alarm, all the students followed the rules well and quickly moved to safe areas with their teachers. The teachers helped keep everyone calm and made sure all the students were safe. The Changhua County Government said that the county has drills like this every year to help everyone stay safe during real disasters. Beidou Elementary School was chosen as a model school this year, and they worked with the fire department to practice helping injured people and putting out fires. Principal Yu Mei-Wen of Beidou Elementary said that besides the earthquake practice, they also had fun activities to teach students about disaster safety. There were booths showing things like fire safety, earthquake safety, and emergency kits, and students played games to learn how to stay safe. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

(9/12/2024) Under the guidance of the principal and Teacher Jade, Teacher Chialun led the second graders from Class 203 to the meeting room for a fun English and agri-food activity centered around making pizza. Teacher Jade taught the students the names of different pizza ingredients in English. The principal then guided them step-by-step through kneading the dough, spreading tomato sauce, adding toppings, and baking the pizzas. Soon, the delicious smell of freshly baked pizza filled the room. The students' smiles showed how much they enjoyed the activity, and their spoken English demonstrated how they were learning in a fun and practical way. We look forward to more exciting events where English and agri-food learning come together! -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

August 30th, 2024, marked the beginning of the new school year for all schools in Changhua County. English education and bilingual education have played a vital role in the county, and this year, we welcomed even more foreign English teachers to our schools. On September 4th, a total of 51 foreign English teachers gathered for their monthly meeting at Minsheng Elementary School. The meeting was divided into morning and afternoon sessions, focusing on curriculum planning, teaching experiences and administrative updates. During the morning session, several teachers shared their insights on teaching methods and classroom management. Julianne presented her co-teaching experiences, Dan discussed best practices in effective classroom management, and Gera introduced strategies to prepare for a successful school year. Updates on personal websites were also shared to improve communication and resource-sharing among teachers. In the afternoon session, Ms. Jenny Lu, a Committee Member for the Ministry of Education’s Curriculum and Instruction Consulting Committee on Language Arts, led a workshop on creating learning materials for students from grades 1 to 9. Ms. Lu guided the teachers on how to develop resources that will help students in Changhua County describe local foods, scenic spots, and cultural elements in English. The materials aim to enhance students' abilities to engage in conversations about their local communities, promoting both language development and cultural pride. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

On August 30th, Beidou Elementary School in Changhua County welcomed a bright new generation of first graders. The school kicked off the new academic year by organizing a series of enjoyable activities to ease the young students into a fun and exciting learning environment. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

On August 20th, Changhua County hosted the "113th Academic Year Elementary, Junior High, and High School Development Conference" at Lu Jiang International School in Lukang Township. The event brought together over 200 school leaders, with County Magistrate Wang Hui-mei in attendance to encourage the principals and honor outstanding schools with awards. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Hello and welcome! We're excited to share the incredible journey of 14 high school students from the CCC Chinese School in Albany, New York. From July 2nd to July 8th, these students volunteered in Changhua, Taiwan, for a week of teaching and cultural exchange. This event was made possible through collaboration with My Culture Connect. Each morning, our dedicated volunteers visited Jhonghe Elementary School, where they assisted in teaching English to the enthusiastic young campers attending the summer program. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn