Tag: mrbrian

Front Page news, Newsletter

March is Respect Month

Front Page News
March 3, 2023
Mr. Brian Nieh, Back in Action, Back at it again, Back pains

R. E. S. P. E. C. T.
Find out what it means to HSArts and our community.

In the comments below!
For me, as an elderly man, I would hope for some of that classic “respect for your elders”. I try my best to live up to that ideal everyday when I talk to other adults, patiently listening to what they have to say even if I’d rather be sleeping or eating or desperately need to use the restroom. 

I’ve also grown up on the “Golden Rule”, which says to treat others how you want to be treated. When you show someone respect, be it respecting their privacy, respecting their personal space, respecting their thoughts and opinions, etc. it’s something you should do and hopefully that garners a similar respect from the other person.

What about you? Share what you think “respect” means (down in the comments below), such as what kinds of respect should people show to each other or how you show respect to those around you in your everyday life. Respect, kindness, empathy… these are all things we all could use more of and we should share with each other whenever we can.

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Front Page news, Newsletter

February is Honesty Month

Front Page News
February 3, 2023
Mr. Brian Nieh, Honestly Mr. Brian and not a fake I swear

As the name implies, February is our Honesty Month, and we are hoping to see our students embody this important trait in their everyday conduct. As they say, honesty is the best policy, and who can honestly argue with that.

The truth of the matter is, honesty goes beyond just telling the truth. Of course, telling the truth is very meaningful as Dr. Sherry noted in her remarks. But sometimes truths can be hard truths to tell, especially to people you care about. How you say it, when, using what kind of words and what tone you take all factor into how well someone can take it. So you need to think about your audience when you speak, especially when it’s important truths to tell.

What other ways can you demonstrate honesty? What have you done so far that you consider honest? Please share in the comments below, or you can find me floating around school and tell me about it then! I’d be happy to read or listen anytime, honest.

*Editor’s note: Now we’re craving some Honest Tea. Go figure.

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Front Page news, Newsletter

Beware! Tiger!

Front Page News
January 27, 2023
Mr. Brian Nieh, Probably not a tiger, definitely not a furry >:O

*Editor’s note: Some readers were confused regarding the zodiac for the year. To confirm, we are exiting the Year of the Tiger and entering the Year of the Rabbit. If you go by the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, then it will be the Year of the Cat.

*Editor’s tangent: In ancient times, they held a race with all of the animals to determine who would be the 12 Chinese zodiacs. There are many interesting tidbits regarding the race itself, but one interesting note is the cat and the rat rode atop the ox through the race. Near the finish line, crossing a wide river, the rat tricked the cat into the water, and the cat lost its chance to finish the race. So that’s why the cat isn’t one of the 12 Chinese zodiacs, and why cats have disliked rats throughout history, as the legend goes. Speaking of legends…
Legend tells of a legendary warrior, whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legends! His name? John Wu Song. His game? Drinking and hunting tigers. Lucky for him, Andy’s Local Pub and Family Friendly Dining Establishment (name pending) has plenty of moonshine in comically oversized clay pots and there seems to be a ferocious man-eating tiger on the loose!

The story starts off in a small village at the foot of a forest, guests are greeted by Andy, owner and lead server at Andy’s Local Pub and Family Friendly Dining Establishment. Ignoring the warnings of a tiger sighting, the locals go about their day until…tragedy strikes! Oh no! While a band of hunters band together to hunt it down, the real hero, John Wu Song, steps in to save the day. What will befall our hero?

Tonight, we shall see the epic tale in the form of a dance drama that features students and staff and other distinguished HSArts community members. We hope you’ll be there at the performance to enjoy John Wu Song Fights the Tiger.

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Front Page news, Newsletter

What does Chinese New Year mean to you?

Front Page News
January 20, 2023
Mr. Brian Nieh, an ‘ABC’ (American born Chinese) with very Asian parents

It may just be another holiday where you get a day off from school to some. However, for many Chinese (and Asian) families, this is the biggest holiday of the year; bigger than Christmas and Thanksgiving and Labor Day combined.

This holiday is based on the lunar calendar’s 1/1, as opposed to the Gregorian calendar more widely adopted. The lunar calendar follows the cycle of the moon, which is why CNY shows up on different dates depending on the year. Curious what your “lunar birthday” is? There are a handful of websites that will calculate it for you, including this site. Apparently my birthday is May 4, 4686. So either I’m reallllly old if it’s B.C. or a time-traveler? Let’s…get back to the holiday…

For two weeks, families travel for however far they live to join together and feast, similar to Thanksgiving. They celebrate family, being together, family ancestry and respect for elders. Also, there’s loads of food. It’s typical to prepare 10 fancy dishes, which include fish (魚 yú sounds likes 餘 ‘surplus’, and there’s a saying 年年有餘 nían nían yôu yú, ‘wishing to have a surplus at the end of the year’, ask your Chinese teachers for more details), dumplings (they are shaped like ancient silver ingot bars, so eating them will bring you fortune), and chicken (雞 jī, which sounds similar to 吉 meaning ‘good luck’ or ‘prosperity’). Best part: if you don’t finish it, you take a break and then continue eating after.

During the two week celebration, there are several customs, such as hanging lanterns (which ward off bad luck), adopting a kumquat tree (in cantonese, kumquat is gam gat sue, where gam 金 is the word for ‘gold’ and gat sounds like ‘good luck’)

lighting fireworks. Hanging door couplets and other red things at your door is said to ward off the dreaded ‘nían’ monster, which terrorized small villages during new years, until a monk passing through taught the villagers to scare off the monster using fireworks and the color red, like an anti-bull, before the monk finished it off using his magical powers. 

But really, most people know Chinese New Year for the wonderful tradition of red envelopes 紅包 hóng bāo. The older generations were tasked with giving red envelopes filled with money (or coal if you’ve been bad), as long as the younger generations show filial piety and respect to their elders, and of course saying the magic words:

恭喜發財，紅包拿來

gōng xî fā cái, hóng bāo ná lái

Wishing you good luck and good fortune, now hand over the red envelope.

(alternatively, if you’re cantonese, you can say gong hei fat choy)

While unfortunately we may not celebrate for the full two weeks, we have 3 separate days of celebration to enjoy, including our full-time dumpling celebration dinner, no school on Monday, and our HSArts Community CNY Celebration next Friday. Hope to see you all there! 新年快樂 xīn nían kuài lè!

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Front Page news, Newsletter

New Year, New You?

Front Page News
January 13, 2023
Mr. Brian Nieh, Resolution Maker, Resolution Breaker

New Year’s resolutions are like marathons. Each person making them approaches it differently. Some take it slow and steady and can persist throughout the year. Others, like myself, sprint very briefly, slow down to catch our breaths, stop to rest, lie down to rest some more, cry a little, give up, and then wait for next year. (Or is that just me?)

Presented with these two extremes, it’s clear which one we should aspire towards and which one we should try avoiding. But if you’re still struggling, worry not, because as the resident (self-proclaimed) expert of new year resolutions, I’m here to help with three easy suggestions:

First, make resolutions for self-improvement. Don’t resolve for a new pair of shoes. Resolve to sleep earlier, or paying more attention during class, or playing on your phone less. Or resolve to help others, be nicer to those around you, give out compliments to your friends and classmates and teachers and staff.

Next, be your own biggest supporter. Don’t wait for other people to remind you, remind yourself! Having a strong will and encouraging yourself goes a long way. What the current ‘you’ is doing now is to make for a better and happier future ‘you’. Your future self will thank you.

Lastly, don’t forget you have all of us at school here to support you. Just reach out and let us know! You have a whole team of people who want to help you and see you succeed and see you happy.

With Chinese New Year right around the corner, it’s a perfect time to make new resolutions (or renew your Jan 1 ones). So, who’s ready to be resolute?

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Front Page news, Newsletter

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week

Front Page News
November 18, 2022
Mr. Brian Nieh, Kindness Supervisor and Teacher “Appreciatee”

Teacher and staff appreciation week epitomizes our Kindness Month and showcases the artistic and thoughtful creativity and warmth of our kind students. From carefully crafted Thank You notes to special mugs and plenty of delicious treats, everyone has been so kind!

During Monday’s assembly, our students transformed construction paper, markers, and glitter into wonderful messages of appreciation for our hard working staff and teachers. Our staff eagerly awaits the tsunami of kindness that’s sure to pour through the pages. I know I am!

While we don’t actively promote the need for gifts, (I, for one, pour my soul into my work and classes only for the smiles and success of our students… and my paycheck), little birdies have informed me that our students have been accumulating presents to give to their teachers. That’s wonderful! Thank you! But please don’t spend too much on the gifts. It’s the thought that counts, and once you factor in the value of your thoughts, then any gift you give becomes priceless. Math.

So thank you for all the thank yous from students and parents! Enjoy your Thanksgiving break!

*No newsletter next week 🙂

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Front Page news, Newsletter

Kindness Awareness Month

Front Page News
November 11, 2022
Mr. Brian Nieh, Kindness Supervisor

November is our Kindness Awareness Month (™ pending), highlighting one of our character pillars integral to our whole-child education. And already we’ve seen our kind students take this to their kind hearts. 

Some students have missed some time, due to different kinds of reasons, medical or otherwise. Other non-absent students have shown great kindness by offering to share notes or catch them up on their classes. So kind!

We’ve also seen several shadow students spend their day with us this past week. Our students have kindly offered their hospitality and assistance to our student visitors, helping them feel at home.

Residents of the lunch line have been kinder. So far, no cuts, butts, or fights over who got there first to report. Kindness!

HSArts is truly a wonderful place, made even better by the kindness of our students, staff, and families. Our community is truly… one-of-a-kind.

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Academics News, Newsletter

Featured Academic Class of the Week: Pre-Algebra

September 29, 2022
By Mr. Brian Nieh, Math Teacher +

Hello! Our students just completed the Chapter 2 test on fractions, and as a class showed good overall improvement…yay! With Chapter 2 behind us, we move on from fractions to decimals and percentages. Just as there are an infinite number of numbers between whole numbers 1 and 2, there is a boundless world of math waiting ahead of our students beyond simple arithmetic. But in order to get there, we need to keep practicing, doing problems, and getting very familiar with times tables, converting fractions and decimals, and order of operations (in other words, our first chapters). 

To all the students: Don’t fear homework, it’s good for you. It builds character. Keep up the hard work! Your future mathematician self will thank you 😀 

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Front Page news, Newsletter, Student Life News

The Circle of Student Life

Front Page News
September 22, 2022
By Mr. Brian Nieh, Student Life overseer

From the day students arrive on the campus, and blinking, stepped into clubs, there’s more clubs here than we have had before, more to do than can ever be done.


You may recall an earlier post announcing all of our clubs, and that’s a big part of our student life here. During after school times, besides study hall, we have clubs aplenty: art club, origami club, yearbook club, student council, basketball club, games club, and more! You can really feel the bonding happening with our students, and I’m all for it.

After our very exciting Mid-Autumn Festival, we have more events on the way. Spirit week is coming up October 3-7, with plenty of opportunities for students to show their school spirit. The week will culminate in a fun Field Day on Friday with indoor and outdoor activities, and, of course, great food and treats in tow.

Looking ahead, we have lots to look forward to: fundraisers, movie nights, Halloween and other holidays, and more! Stay tuned in the circle, the circle of student life.

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