Happy 2009!!

What’s New
New Schedule
Starting on January 5th 2009, the weLearn After-school Enrichment Program will start at 3:20pm. Here is the updated schedule:
3:20pm – 4:00pm Homework
4:00pm – 4:10pm Recess
4:10pm – 5:10pm Selected subject practice
Beginning Chinese Classes are available from 5:20pm – 6:00pm
Mandarin Chinese (Level 1) is on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Mandarin Chinese (Level 2) is on Mondays and Wednesdays
Pinyin will be taught on Fridays
Intermediate Chinese is available from 3:20pm – 4:00pm on Tuesday and Thursday

New Star Chart

• New year, new start, and a new star chart. Students who were here for the holiday party have earned their first point.
• The highest number of stars for year 2008 was 495. The 1st prize went to Jonathan. Congratulations Jonathan! Keep it up!
• The 2nd highest number of star for year 2008 was 433. The 2nd prize went to Samuel. Congratulations Samuel! Great job!

Important Dates
1/1 New Year’s Day – Happy New Year!
1/3 Registration for year 2009 starts from 10 – 11:30am on Saturday, 1/3. Spaces are limited. Come sign-in and reserve your spot
1/4 Staff available for registration from 2 – 3pm on Sunday, 1/4
1/5 Staff available for registration from 2 – 5pm on Monday, 1/5
1/5 First day of weLearn After-school Enrichment Program Spring 2009. Math Class starts
1/6 Reading Comprehension Class starts
1/26 Chinese New Year’s Day – Happy Chinese New Year!

weLearn Bayart 2008 Holiday party

Dear weLearn and Bayart families,

It was our great pleasure to see you at the 2008 Holiday party. Many thanks for taking the time off from you busy schedule to share the holiday spirit with us. We had a great time and enjoyed the food, art display, and the “Guess who” game. Students also had fun with the gift exchange and found the joy of giving.

Once again, thank you for all your great support throughout 2008 and your support in making this party a success. Some parents were not able to come to the party, but extended their support behind the scene; we truly appreciate all your effort. THANK YOU!

We wish all a Happy Holiday Season and a New Year filled with health, happiness and prosperity.

Warm Regards,

weLearn and Bayart

weLearn Newsletter – December 2008

Hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving.

Next, we will be welcoming the arrival of winter break, Christmas, and New Year.

Our holiday party will be held at 5pm on Friday, 12/19. Please mark your calendar. With food & drinks for you to enjoy, we will have a brief review and awards, followed by a gift exchange and game activities. We ask each student to bring a gift suitable for both genders, at a value of $5 - $10 for the gift exchange. Here is the detailed agenda:

Date: Friday, December 19
Time: 5:00pm – 7:30pm
Place: weLearn Campus – conference room
720 Southpoint Blvd., Petaluma

5:00pm – 6:00pm Food and drinks
6:00pm – 6:45pm Gift exchanges, games, etc
6:45pm – 7:30pm Brief Review and Awards

WANTED
Suggestions for good games and or activities for this up coming holiday party

Important Dates
12/19/2008 Holiday party. Please save the date
12/22 ~ 1/2/09 Winter break. No school at weLearn.

weLearn Newsletter - November 2008

Special thanks for the generous donation from Yang, Jun, and Wei. Your support is my inspiration to drive weLearn forward.

What’s New
NEW Star Chart
The new star chart is up on the wall by the door (AKA the Star Wall). Students have been working hard to earn their stars. A prize to recognize student’s good work will be awarded for every 25 stars earned.

Holiday Party Suggestion
I would like to have a year end holiday party prior to the winter break. Your ideas and suggestions are welcome.

Important Dates

• 11/11 Veterans Day. weLearn will be opened from 9am thru 6pm. Welcome Drop-in’s with advance notice.
• 11/27~28 weLearn will be closed for Thanksgiving Day and the following day. Happy Thanksgiving!
• 12/22 ~ 1/2/09 Winter break. No school at weLearn.

weLearn Newsletter - October 2008

We are off to a wonderful start to the new school year. It was great to meet new faces and reconnect with veteran students and parents. We look forward to another great year ahead.

What’s New
New StudentsWe have a total of 11 new students. Warmest welcome to all new weLearn students and parents! After a long day at weLearn, I bring home the joy of knowing that my students have learned yet another way to solve the math problem that stumbled them previously. That joy is a huge motivator for me to strive forward.

New Classes
To meet the increasing demand for Mandarin Chinese, we started a new weLearn Beginning Chinese I class in September. This class is scheduled from 5:20pm – 6:00pm on Tuesday and Thursday. Special thanks to Wei and all other parents for your trust and wonderful support. After the recap review and unit 4 test, we will wrap up Zhongwen vol 1. Students with a test score of B or higher will be promoted to the next level, Beginning Chinese II. This class is scheduled from 5:20 – 6:00pm on Monday and Wednesday. Pinyin (拼音) will be introduced and taught on Fridays starting this week, from 5:20 – 6:00pm.

New Teacher Assistant
Please join me in welcoming Preet to weLearn as our new Teacher Assistant. Preet is a caring, professional and friendly individual. She started last month and has been extremely helpful. Thank you Preet.

Associate Offering
Bay Art is starting a new art class on October 5. If your children are interested in drawing, now is a good time to get started. For details on the art class, please contact Yang Chen at 707.217.9556 or email to bay-art@comcast.net

Important Dates

• 10/13 Columbus Day. weLearn will be opened as usual (weLearn Math 101 from 3:15 – 5:15pm. weLearn Beginning Chinese II from 5:20 – 6:00pm)
• 10/31 Halloween – Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Reminders
Students are requested to bring their homework, work book and normal school supplies, such as paper, pens and pencils.

weLearn Newsletter - September 2008

weLearn After-school Enrichment Program Fall 2008 is fast approaching. First class starts on 9/2.

What to Bring…

• Normal school supplies such as paper, pens, and pencils
• Homework
• Work Book(s)
  

What’s New

• We moved! We are still in the same building yet the new suite # is 214.
• After a long break, Leo is back! Welcome back, Leo!
• There are 3 new students, Stefanie, David and Christina joined us in August. Welcome, Stefanie, David and Christina!

Important Dates

• 9/1 Labor Day – Happy Labor Day to all!
• 9/2 First day of weLearn After-school Enrichment Program Fall 2008. Reading class starts
• 9/3 Math class starts

We look forward to seeing you at weLearn!

weLearn Newsletter - August 2008

weLearn Summer Day Camp was a smooth success; thank you all for your wonderful support! The past sessions of summer day camp were productive and fun. Other than Math class in the morning, reading and Chinese in the afternoon, plus other featured topics such as Chinese Calligraphy, Origami, and Art.

Chinese Calligraphy class was taught by Mr. Luu – a Chinese Calligraphy enthusiast since the third grade. The kids welcomed him with much interest in learning how to write with a brush; and enjoyed a new form of art in writing. Thank you Mr. Luu!

The Origami class was taught by Mrs. Park – an origami expert for many years. The children eagerly awaited her arrival and patiently learned how to make wonderful designs. We all had tons of fun in the class and enjoyed the origami we made - the piano is simple but elegant; the basket is practical and neat; the flower was slightly more complicated, but the outcome was well appreciated. Thank you Mrs. Park!

The Art class is taught by Teacher Yang Chen – born and raised in a family of artists. Teacher Yang Chen and her siblings started learning art in early age with many years of teaching experience. Thank you, Teacher Yang Chen, for your continuous contribution to the weLearn success.

With two more weeks to go, summer will end on a great note and will be followed by the weLearn After-school enrichment program. We look forward to seeing you in class.

What’s New
We have 2 new students, Justin Tang and Justin Su, joined weLearn in July. Welcome, Justin S and Justin T!

Important Dates
8/4 – 8/15 5th session of summer day camp (Feature topics including Math, Art, and Chinese)
9/2 First day of weLearn After-school Enrichment Program Fall 2008

weLearn Newsletter – July 2008

By now, most families are feeling the pain of high gas price and rising food cost. "The last dollar a parent will cut is the dollar they spend on their kids," assured Peg Smith, the ACA CEO in a USA Today article: Summer camp enrollment steady, but not as fast - posted in late May. Hearing this note of optimism from the can-do folks provided me some assurance.

The first 2 sessions of the weLearn summer day camp are quite slow. The good news is that each and every weLearn camper is here with their eagerness to learn. From North Carolina, we welcome Olivia who came to learn Chinese and math. I am amazed at her learning speed. We make learning fun in the afternoon session by practicing Chinese while playing card games.

Roy is another talented student. He enjoys the challenging curriculum and benefits from the fun math at the beginning of our morning program. Simple questions like “There are 5 apples on the table, if you take away 3, how many apples do you have?” will get him going at the start of the day.

Samuel and Tiffany have improved their reading and speaking skills of Chinese since the spring afterschool program. On top of that, they are discovering the fun and challenge of the conversation and pattern drills.

Important Dates
7/4 Independence Day
7/7 – 7/18 3rd session of summer day camp (Feature topics including Math, Origami and Chinese Idioms and Stories)
7/21 – 8/1 4th session of summer day camp (Feature topics including Math, Drawing and Chinese)

Useful links
weLearn website
Map to weLearn Petaluma Campus

Enjoy your summer! Have a safe 4th of July!

weLearn Newsletter - June 2008

Announcement

The 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan China has shaken its cities, many lives, and the world. We are deeply saddened. weLearn will donate 50% of our first Summer Session income to the American Red Cross China earthquake relief fund to aid the recovery effort for the survivors. We thank you for your support and so do the children in China.

Summer is around the corner. Our spring afterschool program will end this Friday. With daily practice, support and encouragement, students’ mathematical concepts and reading comprehension show significant improvement. Many thanks to all involved parents. This can only be possible with your support and involvement.

Important Dates

• 5/30 Last day of spring program
• 6/9 – 6/20 First session of weLearn Summer Daycamp (Feature topics including Math, Origami and Chinese)
• 6/23 – 7/3 Second session of weLearn Summer Day Camp (Feature topics including Math, Chinese Calligraphy and Origami)

Reminder

Please let me know ahead of time if you are planning to drop-in during the 1st week of June, before our Summer Day Camp begins.

Useful links

• weLearn website: http://welearnzone.com/
• Google Map to the weLearn Petaluma Campus
  

Why Afterschool Program

Many people have asked why I choose to run an afterschool program.

"Young people need the influence of caring adults and positive role models in their lives. Good after-school programs can accomplish that by helping youngsters develop the knowledge, skills and healthy habits to achiever their greatest potential." - US Secretary of Education Rod Paige.

Afterschool programs have proven to help students do better in school, gain and practice the critical skills that allow them to compete in the new economy. Children and youth benefit when they spend time engaging in environment where offer them various growth-enhancing opportunities, including activities and experiences that promote academic development.

As we continue to debate what children and youth need to become productive adults, it could not be more timely or urgent to do everything possible to support their healthy development in and out of school.

With all these in mind, I started weLearn Petaluma in our lovely home town. Within our afterschool programs, our key features are the Math Advancement program, and our Mandrain Chinese class. Visit us online at http://welearnzone.com or visit our weLearn Petaluma campus today.

weLearn Newsletter - May 2008

April has came and gone; it was a busy month। Returning from the Spring break, students directed their focus to STAR test preparation। 6th and 7th graders focused on Algebra; 3rd graders practiced their basic math and solving time problems; 1st and 2nd graders got busy with their numbers, currency, and other math fundamentals। It was a productive month!

weLearn had our first Chinese Class Unit Test. All students did well with their oral and written test consisting new word recognition, simple conversation, basic translations and more. I’m very impressed with the improvements they have demonstrated.

What’s New ...
We have 2 new students, Roy and Quincy joined weLearn in April. Welcome, Roy and Quincy!

Teacher Yang Chen from Bay Art has been very kind and agreed to teach Drawing lessons at weLearn in July and August। That means in addition to Chinese, Origami, Reading, etc., we’ll also have Drawing in this coming weLearn Summer Day Camp.

weLearn Summer Day Camp
visit our site to learn more details.

Important Dates

• 5/11 Mothe’s Day – Happy Mother’s Day to all moms!
• 5/26 Memorial Day – no school at weLearn

Reminders

1. Please visit the weLearn website and email me with any feedback. Thanks!
2. We will continue to offer referral discount during our summer programs. When your referred student registers with weLearn, both you and your friend will receive a 10% discount off the next session’s tuition.

weLearn Summer Day Camp 2008

Hi all, I am excited to introduce our Summer Day Camp 2008 at weLearn.

The weLearn Summer Day Camp is tailored for students entering 1st ~ 8th grades. Main focus is to elevate students' mathematic interest and enrich their analytical skill.

2008 Sessions
Session 1: June 9 – June 20, 2008
Session 2: June 23 – July 3, 2008
Session 3: July 7 – July 18, 2008
Session 4: July 21 – Aug. 1, 2008
Session 5: Aug. 4 – Aug. 15, 2008

Schedule
Monday~Friday (9:00 am~4:00 pm)

9:00am~12:00pm - Math Excel Program

Fun Math
Strategies
Exercises
Quiz
12:00pm~1:00pm - Lunch Recess

1:00pm~4:00pm - Fun Program

Reading
Chinese Idiom and Stories
Drawing/Music
Art and Craft
Games and Projects


contact weLearn to learn more

First blog of my life ...

Strange as it may sound to some, this is the first blog I have ever written in my entire life. (very excited as you can tell ...)

Several of my students tell me it's the *thing* to do. So, here we are.

I am the founder of weLearn. I started the company with the goal of providing quality community-based after school programs for 1st ~ 8th grade students. I invite you to visit our website to learn more about us. http://welearnzone.com.

Look forward to writing my next blog.