HSArts Community Newsletter – Mar 24

Mr. Qining Cai, Chinese Teacher

正如大家所知道的，我校高中部分學生正在體驗經歷她們美妙的台灣之旅。借此機會，祝她們旅途愉快、一路順風、收穫滿滿！
出發前，AP Chinese班的學生們，對這次旅行充滿了期待，雖然她們已經具備了很好的中文聽說能力，但是把這種能力運用到台灣純中文的交際學習生活環境中去，還是第一次。本著＂學以致用＂的教學原則，過去的一個多月裏，我在課堂上，利用教學遊戲、觀看視頻、模擬對話情境等方式，鞏固學生們所學知識，加深他們對台灣當地語言文化生活的了解，增強她們用中文與台灣當地民眾進行交流的興趣和信心。通過不斷的學和練，學生們說：＂我們是最好的，一定行！＂請您為我們這些優秀而可愛的學生祝福吧！
這次兩個星期的台灣行，不算長也不算短，既是學生課堂所學知識、能力的一次實踐，也是對中文課教學的一次檢驗。相信台灣之行一定會給學生們留下深刻的印象，我們同樣熱切地期待著學生們回來後，跟大家分享她們美妙的經歷和故事。

As you all know, some of our high school students are experiencing their wonderful trip to Taiwan. I would like to take this opportunity to wish them a happy and fruitful journey! 

Before their departure, the students in the AP Chinese class were full of excitement for this trip. Although they already have good Chinese listening and speaking skills, it is still the first time for them to apply this ability to real life. In the past month, I have used teaching games, watching videos, and simulating dialogue situations in class to consolidate their language and deepen their understanding of Taiwan culture. I hope more practice in daily life has enhanced their confidence in communicating with local Taiwanese people in Chinese. Through continuous learning and practice, the students said: “We are the best, we must do it!” Good luck to our lovely students! 

This two-week trip to Taiwan is not only a practice of the knowledge and abilities learned in the classroom for students, but also a test for us Chinese teachers. I believe that the trip to Taiwan will definitely leave a deep impression on the students, and we are eagerly looking forward to the students’ return with their wonderful experiences and stories to share with us.

Ms. Lucy Cui, Fine Arts Teacher

Recently we are working on a quick sketch study with pencil. This practice trains students to make art decisions in a short time and move on quickly. 

We have long term art studies to prepare students for solid fundamentals, something like the grisaille painting we did last semester. After a while of long term training, students can make great art work, but at the same time, they become too cautious because they want every marker on paper to be correct. Here comes the quick study. Limited each sketch into less then 15 min, sometimes 5 mins or even 1min. For the fundamental skills they have are already good enough, they only need to get used to making decisions quicker and the result can be pretty good. Like the example photo there, the quick sketch practice page made by Coco (7th) and Niki (8th).