Chinese camp speaks to youngsters
HERALD PHOTO BY KATIE CAMPBELL
Pristina Kuo, one of seven high school students who volunteered as teaching assistants for the program, gives instructions for the first exercise of the day to (from left to right) Lynsey Mael, Makayla Mitchell and Stephen Crawford. Kuo and the other assistants worked with the students enrolled in the camp to keep daily activities on-track and educational without being overwhelming.
HERALD PHOTO BY KATIE CAMPBELL
Teachers assistants Kirsten Elharda, Shania Stubbs, John Patrick and Pristina Kuo and student Lynsey Mael join the class in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot, substituting the English words for Chinese. Though the camp was intended to be an educational program, Liang Wang used games, songs and other fun activities to teach her students.
HERALD PHOTO BY KATIE CAMPBELL
Teachers assistant John Patrick faces off against Ashleigh Rankin. The teachers assistants, encouraging the students and immersing themselves in the Chinese language and culture as well, were fully involved in the daily activities.
HERALD PHOTO BY KATIE CAMPBELL
Lynsey Mael measures out water to mix ink for a calligraphy activity. The students were provided with ink sets to make and use their own ink as well as calligraphy brushes to practice writing Chinese characters.
HERALD PHOTO BY KATIE CAMPBELL
Brandon Skavoneck and Ashleigh Rankin watch as teachers assistant Shania Stubbs begins to prepare the ink they will use in the days calligraphy activity. The activity was a learning experience for both the students and the teachers assistants.
HERALD PHOTO BY KATIE CAMPBELL
Liang Wang, the Chinese teacher at Charlotte High School and the teacher for the summer camp, helps Yeidi Gonzalez properly draw the Chinese characters for the numbers one through 10. Wangs personal background in and experience with the Chinese language and culture has made her a highly effective teacher for her full-time students as well as for her summer students.
HERALD PHOTO BY KATIE CAMPBELL
Liang Wang demonstrates how to draw the Chinese characters for Stephen Crawford while Yeidi Gonzalez tries to copy Wangs examples. Despite the fun environment, the students were still expected to put forth effort and gain from the experience.
By KATIE CAMPBELL
Correspondent
School may be out for the summer, but for one group of students, this vacation is more than just sun and fun.
Charlotte High School hosted a summer camp from June 4-8 dedicated to introducing students to the Chinese language and culture. Seventeen students in grades sixth through ninth were led by Liang Wang, the Chinese teacher at CHS, and assistants Ali Beauchaup, Kirsten Elharda, Lilliana Gomez, Pristina Kuo, John Patrick, Shania Stubbs and Natalie True. Wang’s assistants were her own students from the Chinese classes at CHS who decided to share their experience with the language and culture.
