新学年即将到来。在此之际我们很高兴和我们的校长戴杨，家长会长曹亮就新学年的各项准备工作做了下面简短交流。
9月9号是新学年的第一天，你能告诉我们学校开学准备工作情况吗？
戴扬：从当选的第一天，我就致力于两件事： 一是建设两个团队：团结高效校委会和家长会以及资深精干的教师队伍。二是校舍安排和安全保障。
现在我们可以自豪地向家长汇报：我们已经在非常短的时间里完成了这两项工作。除了留聘几乎华夏所有资深标准中文及文体课老师以外，我们还聘请了两位非常有经验的马立平专家,作为马立平教学的带头人。我们已经安排了在WCC的教师培训。同时我校教师将参加孔子学院组织的中文教师培训。下学年的其他活动也正在筹划之中。
我们已经正式和WCC以优惠的条件签订了2012-2013学年的租约，延续了我们长达十几年的社区合作。租约确保了我校能够在复杂和困难的情况下保持收支平衡。
我们可以保证，新学年能够比往年更加有序地如期开学。
你对那些还不能确定选择哪所学校的家长想说什么吗？
戴扬：我真心地希望，在浏览了我们的网站 www.hxnyc.org，读了我们的最新简讯之后，您能得出一个结论：我们16年教育中文的实践和经验是经过时间检验的。我校是华夏北区唯一具有HSK考试资质的学校，明年将主办多所华夏学校的毕业考试。在拥有得天独厚的雄厚师资力量的基础上，我们选择了发挥优势，开拓创新的道路。我们既有标准中文的绝对优势，也有异军突起的马立平和美洲华语一流教学体系。我们的低年级的马立平班已接近满额。
九月九日，我们将在WCC张开我们的双臂欢迎您和您的孩子。我们整个团队会象对待我们自己的孩子一样对待所有的学生。
如果已经在其它学校注册，但想转到我们学校的家长怎么办？需交滞纳金吗？
戴扬：在过去几天里我已经好几次听到这个问题了。今年的情况特殊，我们理解家长的心情。我们真诚地欢迎所有的家长。我们会免收$35滞纳金。（线上学生注册系统）
你今年有成立教育委员会的计划吗？
戴扬：有。提供高质量的中文教育是我们一直的宗旨。我的目标之一就是建立一个由教师和家长组成的委员会，去思考改进中文教学的方法，去探索怎样让我们孩子的中文水平在早期达到一定的程度，这样他们不会失去兴趣和自信，继续学习中文。
家长会今年的展望是什么？
曹亮：家长会将继续组织传统的学校活动：中秋节，农历新年晚会，华夏运动会，滑雪之旅，家庭烧烤等等。 家长会也将尽全力组织家长值班服务，确保一个安全和安静的学习环境。作为3个孩子的父亲，我非常珍惜家长的意见。家长会将努力做好家长和校委会的桥梁，让家长们对学校课程，教学及课外活动，有更多的发言权。
家长会现在做了哪些工作？
曹亮：我们已经成功地举办了学校开放日。鉴于没能参加上次开放日的家长的要求，我们将于下周日8/26在WCC举行第二次开放日。家长将有机会与我们的一些优秀教师交流，了解课程设置和教育方法。校委会和家长会成员也将在现场回答家长的各种问题。家长可以当场注册登记付费，避免开学第一天排长队。
你最大的愿望是什么？
曹亮：家长会的成功在很大程度上取决于家长的参与。家长可以报名做班级代表，加入安全委员会，或参加组织学校活动 （请与马海文联系 haiwen.ma@yahoo.com）。此外，家长会也欢迎我们刚毕业的学生或高年级学生成为教师助理。（线上TA注册）
我最大的愿望就是更多的家庭能参与我们的工作，让您的孩子在一个愉快，温暖的环境里学习中文和中国文化。
As the school year is fast approaching, we were glad to catch up with our new principal, Dai, Yang and PC Chair, Cao, Liang for a quick conversation. Below are their views on the state of the school.
Q: September 9th will be the first day of the school year; can you give us an update on whether the school is ready?
Dai: Absolutely. As the Principal, my #1 focus has been to secure the best possible teachers and enough classrooms so we can meet the demands of new and returning students and start school on time.
I am proud to report that we have accomplished both in a very short period of time. We have retained most of our senior Standard Chinese and Culture class teachers and hired 2 of the most experienced MLP teachers in the region. Last week, we officially signed the contract with WCC for the 2012-2013 academic year with favorable financial terms, extending our decade long relationship of cooperation in serving our shared community. This ensures that there will be ample classrooms and facilities for our students and their families without a strain on our budget.
Q: What would you like to say to the parents who are still not sure where to send their kids this fall?
Dai: I truly hope that, after visiting our website at www.hxnyc.organd having read our latest newsletter, you will come to the conclusion that our 16-year old track record and experience of teaching Chinese has stood the test of time. In additional to our tried-and-true Standard Chinese teachers, we are making a genuine commitment to teach MLP and MZHY. In fact, our MLP 1st and 2nd grade classes are near full capacity. So please register at your earliest convenience.
Most importantly, we will be ready to welcome you and your children with open arms at WCC on 9/9. Between Liang and me, we have 5 children enrolled at our school. You can count on us to care for your children the same way we care for our own.
Q: What happens if a parent has already registered with another school and decides to switch to our school? Would there still be a late fee?
Dai: I have heard this question many times over the past few days. Given the extraordinary circumstance, we understand if parents decide to return to WCC and we welcome them all. We are waiving late fees of $35 this year. (On-Line Student Registration System)
Q: Do you still plan to form an Education Committee this year?
Dai: Absolutely. Providing top quality Chinese education is an ongoing priority of ours and requires dedicated manpower and resources. One of my first goals is to appoint a committee formed by both teachers and parents to come up with plans to improve our Chinese language curriculum and how best we can help our children to achieve the level of proficiency at an early age so they will not lose interest or confidence in continuing the pursuit.
Q: As the PC Chair, what’s your vision for the Parent Council this year?
Cao: First of all, PC will continue with our great tradition of many school-wide events such as Mid-Autumn festival, family BBQ, Chinese New Year Party, Field Track Competition and Ski Trip. PC will also put our best effort to ensure Parent-On-Duty serves its purpose of providing a safe and orderly school environment. As a parent of 3 children, I understand that the opinions of parents are crucial to our school. This year, parents can expect to have a much stronger voice in managing our school than in the past. PC will look for ways to facilitate timely communications between the parents and the Administration team.
Q: Can you please talk about what your team has been working on?
Cao: We organized a successful Open House at WCC on 8/12. Given the positive response, we will hold a 2nd Open House next Sunday 8/26. Parents will have an opportunity to meet some of our outstanding teachers. Also, we will have our IT members onsite to help parents with the registration. Please come and join us.
Q: What’s your biggest wish at this point?
Cao: As many parents know, the success of the Parent Council in large part depends on parents’ participation. My biggest wish is for the parents to get involved in whichever way they can. Parents can sign up to be class parents or join the safety committee (Please contact Haiwen Ma at haiwen.ma@yahoo.com). We encourage parents to participate in our school-wide events and contribute their talents to further a sense of community and make such events more enjoyable for all. PC also welcomes our recent-graduates or upper-class students to become teaching assistants. (On-Line TA Registration Form) I believe parents’ involvement will truly make a difference in our school and every single one of my team members is committed to facilitate this effort.
My biggest wish is that many families will join us and, together, we give our kids a fun, collegial and stimulating environment to learn Chinese and its culture.