The latest from CAIS

Last weekend Chinese Program Director Kevin Chang, Assistant Head of School, Curriculum/Middle School Director Elizabeth Larose and curriculum consultant Ann Johnson presented at the annual ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) conference on behalf of CAIS. ASCD provides expert and innovative solutions in professional development, capacity building and educational leadership essential to the way educators learn, teach and lead. Comprised of 140,000 members — superintendents, principals, teachers, professors and advocates from more than 134 countries — the ASCD community is vast.

Kevin, Elizabeth and Anne co-presented on a subject that each is involved with at CAIS: Implementing mapping to the core curriculum in a bilingual bicultural Chinese American school. During the presentation the trio shared how they engaged faculty and administrators school wide in upgrading and mapping a viable 21st century curriculum in English and Chinese by using three essential curricular questions to guide decisions: What to keep? What to cut? What to create?

Participants learned about the structure used to support the project and also about implementation strategies that school leaders and the leadership team have used to help develop a plan and support the work across the grades. Kevin, Elizabeth and Ann also shared with conference participants professional development strategies to help schools align to the Common Core Standards, other language standards and participate in an interactive exploration of the richness of a bilingual education.

It’s time for spring CAIS family camp! The spring installment of the ever-popular CAIS family camp is happening the weekend of April 26-28 at Mt. Diablo State Park, located in the East Bay near Walnut Creek. Please note that the group campsites will only accommodate about 27 families total. Sign up here to reserve a spot!

Additionally, there will be a second camping trip at Olema on the weekend of May 17-19. More information about that trip will be sent out in the middle of April.

These camping trips are incredibly fun and a great way to spend time with families in the CAIS community. Please sign up -- everyone is invited to join the fun!

If you have specific questions, please contact parent organizer Mary Powell. Sign up forms must be filled out and sent back via mail. Detailed information is available on the registration form.

If you are in need of camping gear for family camp or in anticipation of camping season, check our Sports Basement! Sports Basement will give all CAIS families an ongoing 10% discount on all services, merchandise and rental equipment. In addition, they will donate 5% of your purchase back to the school! They can help you gear up for all your outdoor adventures.

All lower school families currently have access to a program called BookTree, a monthly subscription program geared towards children from infancy to age seven and is a way for parents and children to gain exposure to different types of books. The program introduces children to a wide variety of writing and illustrative styles, concepts and themes.

Each month, BookTree delivers a tote to CAIS containing ten illustrated, age-appropriate books to take home and read. Families can read the books for a month, then return the tote and pick up new books. Each set of books balances fiction vs. non-fiction, stories vs. concepts, authors/illustrators/styles and breadth of subject matter.

To learn more or sign up, please visit www.booktree.us.

Registration for the CAIS 16^th annual talent recital is open. Deadline to register is Friday, April 5. All kindergarten through eighth grade students are invited to participate in this fun CAIS tradition the afternoon of Saturday, May 4 at the beautiful St. Aidan's Episcopal Church. The talent recital gives students the opportunity to perform solo or in a small group in a supportive, non-competitive environment. Singing, dancing, spoken word, comedy and instrumental performance are all welcome.

Please Note

• All music and speech must be memorized.
• K-second grade students will preview their performance pieces for Zhu Laoshi and third through eighth graders with Susan Kennedy the week of April 22.

To Register

• To register your child, email Susan Kennedy
• Make sure to include: Your child's name, your child's grade and class (for example, 3 gold), your child's type of performance (dance, piano, etc.) and your contact email

All registrations must be received by Friday, April 5. Exact recital schedule will be determined after all registrations are received. However, the recital sections are typically divided into K-second, third-fifth and MS, and take place between 1:30 and 5:00 p.m. in three parts.