Seattle Chinese School

2007 CULTURAL EXPLORATION OF GREATER CHINA

INFORMATION

Background

The “Cultural Exploration of Greater China” program was launched in 2001 by Seattle Chinese School. The purpose of this program is to grant teachers an opportunity to explore Chinese culture and to acquire personal experiences with Chinese people and their culture by taking a 15-days trip to China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In the past few years, many teachers and their companions have participated in the program and were rewarded with a lifetime experience that combined in-depth educational themes and exciting adventures in a challenging itinerary. This year, the Seattle Chinese School will support two teachers to participate in this exciting program. All teachers from the Bellevue School District, IssaquahSchool District, Mercer Island School Districtand Lake Washington School District are welcome to apply. Upon completion of the trip, the teachers are expected to make the commitment of sharing the knowledge and experiences gained from the trip with colleagues, students, and Seattle Chinese School.

The Seattle Chinese School was founded in 1966 and is one of the earliest Chinese schools in the Pacific Northwest Region. It has provided the local community an opportunity to learn and appreciate Chinese language and culture. Currently, there are about 380 students, between the ages of 6 and 18, enrolled in 19 classes that consist of 11 grades according to the students' age and language capabilities. The school is in session on Saturdays from 9:00am to noon at Tyee Middle School in Bellevue. The funding of this Cultural Exploration program is made possible through our PTA’s fund-raising, and donations from the local business community.

Trip and Accommodations

This trip will take place this summer of 2007, between the 2nd half of July and the early part of August tentatively. The Seattle Chinese School will pay for expenses such as airfare tickets, accommodations, and food during the 15-day trip in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, except for personal charges (such as visa fees, excess baggage charge, phone bills, tips for tour guide or driver, and etc.). The teacher will join a premium class tour in Seattle to visit the following major cities or territories in China such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Xian. During the first 10 days in China, the group will visit world famous historical monuments such as the Great Wall, Forbidden City, and the Terra-Cotta Warriors of Qin-shi-huang. Then, volunteers or parents from our school will receive the teachers when they arrive at both Hong Kong and Taiwan airports. For the next 5-day stay in Taiwan and Hong Kong, the volunteers will serve as local tour guides to show the teachers major attractions in Hong Kong and Greater Taipei area and pay a visit to local schools.

If the applicant has any specific medical conditions requiring special accommodation or diet, please do indicate so on the application form.

Application Process

The application form is available from the website of . All completed application forms and an attached resume must be e-mailed to by March. 1, 2007 in Windows Word file. The candidates will be interviewed on March. 17th. The Seattle Chinese School will inform the applicants of the decision on March 31st. The selected teachers will be introduced to all parents and students of SeattleChineseSchool during our 2007-graduation ceremony scheduled on June 16, 2007.

2007 CULTURAL EXPLORATION OF GREATER CHINA

APPLICATION FORM

Name of applicant and school:

Telephone (both work and home):

E-mail Address:

Teaching subject and/or professional specialty:

List all teaching related experiences:

Please answer the following questions as much as you can. There is no limit in length.

1) Describe how you relate your current teaching or work experiences to this program.

2) Explain how you expect this travel experience to enhance your teaching material.

3) Upon your return, how do you plan to share your knowledge gained from this trip with your colleagues, students, and parents?

4) Describe your previous traveling experiences encountering different cultures. Also, please do list any unique diet requirement(s) or any medical condition(s) that require special attention during your traveling abroad.

Thank you for your participation