10 Yr Old Speaks Chinese-Goes to China?!

Nadia Bey Jenkins is organizing this fundraiser.

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Living and Learning in China

Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School is a Mandarin Chinese immersion public School, in order to get first-hand experience using their new language skills, students in 5th grade travel to China before transitioning to Middle School.

As an open enrollment, public Mandarin immersion school in Washington, DC, Washington Yu Ying Public is at the forefront of changing not only education in the District of Columbia, but also the way that US students learn foreign languages.

An important part of learning a language is learning how it can be used and the culture from which it comes. Given the limited opportunities for our students to speak Mandarin outside of school, we are now in the second year of our school trip to China. Despite the distance, this trip truly provides an amazing opportunity for students to have a transformational experience in which they truly see what it means to be a bilingual, global citizen. It is this experience that lead to countless students on last year's trip coming home more inspired to become the next ambassador, international business leader or teacher that could work to bring the US and China closer.

The school has plans to spend more time with our sister schools and give our students a very authentic experience with their peers in China. This is Skyler's 4th year in Washington Yu Ying's FULL IMMERSION program. She will attend their sister school while in China and will be staying with a host family for 6 days. Yu Ying is one of the most diverse schools in the city and the premier Chinese Immersion program in the country. Sky is a very compassionate leader and is pursuing her goal to be a doctor and peace maker. Skyler is also very good with her hands and loves the creative and sustainable arts as well as the energy exchange of money. Yes, she loves the feeling of making money. She has created Peacemaker friendship bracelets to raise funds for the China trip.

We need your help to offset the cost of the travel, as we visit classrooms outside of the biggest cities. The trip will occur in April of 2014 and will see students traveling to the major cities of Beijing and Chengdu, as well as a small "model green" city, Zunyi, where one of our sister schools resides.