Farewell Dinner with Host Families on July 27

A Farewell Dinner was held on Friday evening, July 27, on the 8th floor of the school with the American student teachers and their host families.  The San Sin administrators took this opportunity to express their gratitude to the families who served as hosts for the teachers during their one-month stay in Kaohsiung.


Principal Wang spoke to the group, thanking everyone who is involved with the Summer Englsh Program. Dr. O'Kon also expressed her appreciation to those many indviduals who have helped the Summer English Program be so successful for the past 20 years! 

Mrs. Helen Lee and Principal Wang recognized each of the host families.  Every host family was presented with a photo album gift and thanked for helping the American student teachers.  Their gracious hospitality, kindness, and assistance is invaluable to their foreign visitors in so many ways! 



Mrs. Helen Lee was thanked for her continued direction and organization of the Summer English Program each year!  It is a monumental task to organize and direct this program, and over 175 students were enrolled ths year.  Three homeroom teachers were also recognized with gifts for supporting their students and their teachers. They are kind and helpful every day, and they monitor the progress of their students!

And of course, Mr. Shih was honored for his ongoing and invaluable help and support of this San Sin-TCC program. He assists the students and teachers in many ways, and provides transportation, lunch, yoga classes, money exchange, and many other services for the group!  He also provides everyone with outstanding photos from the English classrooms and of most of the group acivities.          
      




Jerry and Ellie Fussell were recognized for their contributions to the Summer English Program from the beginning, and for the help they provide to Helen Lee and the American teachers.












Special thanks were given to Teaching Assistants Jingo, Nasserah, Alex, Roslyn, Candy, Dora, and Susan.  They were so helpful to the American teachers each day in carrying out their daily tasks and with translating for the San Sin students. The TAs are a hard-working and fun-loving group.  They are also great hosts and fast friends with each other and with the American teachers! The American teachers presented a gift bag to each TA with special hugs for them!

Farewell Dinner at San Sin High School, 2012

Summer English Program Closing Ceremony on July 27

The four-week San Sin Summer English Program ended on Friday of the last week with a celebration called the "Closing Ceremony." The principal, Mr. Wang, opened the ceremony, welcoming the students and their American teachers. Then, Dr. O'Kon thanked the principal, Mrs. Helen Lee, the San Sin English Department head, and Jerry and Ellie Fussell for their support and help with the program. She also spoke to the San Sin students to encourage them to continue working hard with their English studies. Two of the teaching assistants, Naseerah and Jingo, served as moderators and translated these comments into Mandarin Chinese for the audience.

Dr. O'Kon said to the students, "Your American teachers have all been impressed with the level of English skills found in many of the San Sin students. The students here truly care about improving their English abilities. And it is an inspiration to us all to see how hard you are working to learn more about English and to use it correctly. The ability to speak and use another language correctly will ensure your success in the future. Keep up the good work!"

 







Next, awards were presented to students for the PBL projects that had been presented the day before. First-year and second-year students were acknowledged for their outstanding work and oral presentations of their projects. The American teachers also awarded the "Most Creative PBL Project" as well as "Outstanding English Speaking" certificates for each level. 
 

 

Students then came to the stage, class by class, and each received a certificate for the completion of the Summer English Program. When all had received their certificates, the American teachers called individual students to the stage to proudly receive their "Outstanding English Achievement" and "Outstanding Participation" certificates for exceptional work in the Summer English Program!

After a short break time, and lots of picture-taking of teachers with students, the second half of the Closing Ceremony began. Performances by different students groups captivated the audience, and the real fun began! Individual classes of students performed singing, dancing, and skits that they had rehearsed, using English exclusively. They imitated teacher David's teaching style and they even delivered a lesson on the Taiwanese language. Not to be outdone, the American teachers presented their own version of "Call Me Mei-Mei."

Closing Ceremony for the 2012 Summer English Program

Teachers David and Frank sang Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love with You."  See the YouTube link at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isQIp_LjAzw&feature=plcp

The American teachers also performed a skit and a song, that can be seen at these links:

Skit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SReqXvH-nPs

Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KNhS53Bkuc&feature=plcp

Afternoon Activities: Trip to Cijin Island

On Monday, July 23, a group of teachers, students, and teaching assistants traveled to Cijin Island by ferry boat.  The ferry ride lasts less than 10 minutes, and the Kaohsiung Harber is scenic.  The ferry takes motorcycles and bicycles aboard, as well as people. Cijin Island has many small shopping areas, open seafood markets, and an historic lighthouse. 


















The group rented "bicycles built for four," which are actually vehicles with seats and pedals for four people.  The group was large enough so that three bicycles were rented, and the group divided into "teams" for racing.  Of course, it is difficult to "race" through the walking area of Cijin Island where hundreds of tourists are strolling along and cars and motorcycles are sharing the road.   


Two of the three bike groups decided to race, anyway.  They pedaled faster and faster down the road, narrowly avoiding pedestrians and motorcycles.  WIth four people pedaling, the bike vehicles travel rapidly, and before they knew it, they were well on their way toward Cijin Seahore Park near the other end of the island.  Some of the group members had less of a commitment to pedaling fast for such a long time!

Nevertheless, they all got quite a bit of exercise going to and from the seaside park, and they enjoyed the breezy warm weather.  They watched the many boats on the water, and eventually pedaled all the way back to the bicycle rental store where they started.  Then, they wandered around on foot through the shops and markets, looking at the large sea creatures (some were still alive) and buying a few souvenirs!