For the final project before our winter break, students worked on creating their own comic books to share. They worked in teams to write the stories, draw the characters and scenes, and put them together in a book to present to their friends at a special book shop event. It was amazing to see how well they worked together, taking on different parts of the process and planning together. You could really see the pride they took in their achievements when presenting their finished creations. Great job, everyone!
We really appreciate all the incredible work they’ve done this year and we’re excited to see what they’ll create next.
Every year at Halloween, PlayThrive students get the chance to celebrate and show off the final products that they have been working on over the past several weeks. Teachers create a haunted house so that all students could present their works, from simple machines built by upper graders, to basic physics experiments from 2nd graders, and to biology facts of common insects from 1st graders. Our TK and K students even showed their creative flair and presented their personal pumpkins. We are so proud of every PlayThrive student, and excited to celebrate their achievements with a fun and festive Halloween party!
The outdoor booths that students hosted were as popular as the haunted house. We had Sweep pumpkins, Face painting, Temporary tattoos, and the Scary Box. And at the end of the party, we had the most exciting part—Trick or Treat!
A Huge thanks to all of our haunted house helpers from 2nd grade and our upper-grade class. Their incredible efforts made this fun event possible.
And of course we couldn’t have had any of this festive Halloween joy without our amazing teachers, who’ve spent the past weeks helping students complete their projects and pitching in to create all sorts of fun surprises!
PlayThrive is seeking new members to join its Board of Directors. PlayThrive is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting whole child education in a Mandarin immersion environment. In addition to administering the PlayThrive School, PlayThrive fosters a community of parents and educators that supports Mandarin whole child education and inspires students to appreciate Chinese culture.
This is an exciting opportunity to join the board during this unique time to help promote PlayThrive’s mission and serve the community. If you have a passion for whole child education and experience in strategic governance, business planning/operations, fundraising, or community outreach, please send a brief description of your background and interest to serve on the board to board@playthrive.org by Sunday, May 31.
This summer, give your kids the chance to meet with schoolmates, make new friends, and continue their Mandarin education during Summer with the activities they’ll love.
All 3 weeks will be Mandarin Immersion camps where children will play and do projects while practicing Mandarin with the support of their teachers. These three camps, each a week-long, will follow PlayThrive’s educational philosophy of providing PBL (Project-based Learning) with a student-centered approach. Attendees are expected to have basic Mandarin understanding to participate in group activities.
June13-17: Toys Workshop
Students will be able to design, prototype, create, improve on, and then play with their own toys with friends. There will be toys about simple machines, aerodynamics, electronics, and more. (these toys will be different from last year’s workshop)
June 20 – 24: The Great Inventions of Ancient China
Papermaking, the compass, printing techniques, and more were developed by the Chinese in ancient times. Students will learn about these historical events and expand their knowledge of science and technology.
June 27 – July 1: Loong (Chinese Dragon) Camp
Loong, also known as the Chinese dragon, is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology and culture. Students will read and act-out Loong stories, experience Loong dance, and write creatively about Loong.
Signups will be available through this sign-up link, which will be activated on March 23 at 11 am.
Camp Details
Time: Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Classroom ES2, Orion Elementary School
Address: 555 Ave Del Ora, Redwood City (pick-up/drop-off at Myrtle St entrance)
Grades: Rising 1st – 5th grades
1:12 teacher-student ratio or better
Fee: $450 for 1 week, $825 for 2 weeks, $1100 for 3 weeks
Discounted rate for current PlayThrive families: $420 for 1 week, $780 for 2 weeks, $1040 for 3 weeks
Capacity: Limited spots are available. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis with priority for current PlayThrive families.
Additional Information
For non PlayThrive families, the student should have basic Mandarin skills to participate in the camp.
What to bring: Water bottle, lunch, nut-free snack, sunscreen, and hat
Refund Policy
Minimum and maximum attendance requirements exist for all camps. PlayThrive reserves the right to cancel or change any scheduled activities due to lack of enrollment, unforeseen weather conditions, etc. A full refund will be issued in this case.
If requesting a cancellation,
between now and April 30: Receive a full refund minus a $25 processing fee
between May 1 and June 1: Receive 50% refund of the paid tuition
after June 1: Refunds will not be available
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at admin@playthrive.org.
PlayThrive is currently seeking two new members to join the Board of Directors: A Director of Operations and a Director of Communications. PlayThrive is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting whole-child education in a Mandarin immersion environment. In addition to administering the PlayThrive School, the board of directors serves our community by inspiring students to appreciate Chinese culture and fostering a community of parents and educators that supports whole child education in a bilingual environment.
If you have a passion for whole child education, experience in strategic governance, marketing and communications, or operations, please send a brief description of your background and your interest in either of the positions to board@playthrive.org by Friday, 04/30. This invitation to express interest is open to all. Enrollment of your children in PlayThrive is not required.
Both new board members will support PlayThrive’s overall goals:
Develop and implement PlayThrive’s strategic plan.
Oversee the effectiveness of PlayThrive School of Mandarin Whole Child Education.
Participate and productively contribute to board meetings.
Approve PlayThrive’s annual budget, audit reports, and business decisions.
Partner with other board members to ensure that board resolutions are carried out.
Serve on committees or task forces and take on special assignments as needed.
Represent PlayThrive to stakeholders; act as an ambassador for the organization.
The Director of Communications’ specific responsibilities include:
Own and execute the communications strategy for PlayThrive’s board including quarterly outreach to the PlayThrive community.
Oversee the PlayThrive School’s communication including website development, recruiting communication, community events and support for the Head of School and teachers.
The Director of Operations’ specific responsibilities include:
Oversee the formulation and implementation of policies and processes related to PlayThrive School operations; provide guidance to the Head of School and administrative staff in addressing operations-related issues.
Work with other board members to develop and execute a strategic plan to further professionalize PlayThrive’s operations structure to position the organization for successful long-term growth.
Board Members are expected to:
Commit to a 2-year term (renewable).
Commit to Playthrive’s vision, mission, and policies.
Attend monthly board meetings and the annual board retreat.
Invest 3-5 hours/month to perform duties and tasks.
We’ll be learning about, making, and playing with children’s toys. There will likely be a toy that spins, one that moves, and one that flies!
6/28-7/2 Games Camp
Not only will we be playing with all kinds of games, your child will have opportunities to create their own games and rules, independently or with friends. There will be nature, math, science, and sports games for all to enjoy!
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Classroom ES2, Orion School, 555 Del Ora Ave. Redwood City
Grades: Incoming K – 5th grades
Teacher-Student Ratio: 1:10 or better
Fee: $400 for 1 camp, $760 for both
Capacity: Limited spots are available. Registration is on a first come first served basis.
Refund Policy
Minimum and maximum attendance requirements exist for all camps. PlayThrive reserves the right to cancel or change any scheduled activities due to lack of enrollment, unforeseen weather conditions, etc. A full refund will be issued in this case.
If requesting a cancellation,
between now and April 30: Receive a full refund minus a $25 processing fee
between May 1 and June 10: Receive 50% refund of the camp tuition
after June 10: Refunds will not be available
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at registrar@playthrive.org
It has been a wonderful back-to-school week! All the kids are energetic, joyful and ready to learn more!
Mandarin learning this week:
This week’s theme is 新年愿望 New Year’s Resolutions, the kids shared their happy moments in the holiday and the presents they have got. They also made their wishes about the year of 2021!
My new year’s resolutions are: play more piano, read more books, play with my little brother, and receive a lot of presents!
I want to make paper space ships!
I want to go to Hawaii again and I want a cat as a pet.
I want a lot of presents!
I will draw a beautiful flower, look at the stars, and memorize bike routes.
Growing up, I enjoyed celebrating the moon festival 中秋节 as one of my favorite traditional holidays. My memory of the festival is full of the aroma of moon cakes, the fragrance of sweet osmanthus flowers and chants of old poems.
Fast forward to 2020, our PlayThrive teaching team has brought this tradition to our kids in a completely modern form: virtual celebration! On 09/30, 5 classes of PlayThrive students and teachers joined a 40-minute event to celebrate the holiday.
The event started with our K grade kids chanting the poem “little rabbit” (rabbit is a symbolic animal of moon festival) in their cute rabbit masks.
First grade kids presented imaginative artworks with painting and Mandarin writing to answer the question “What’s the moon like?” Some of our kids answered this traditional question in Silicon Valley style: “moon is like an alien’s home” （月亮像外星人的地球） – our ancient poets would not have dreamed of that.
Our grade 2+ “poets” presented and sang their own poems in Mandarin. The poems are filled with great imagination! Some of the poems were about how mice, cats and kids from different countries and cultures can perceive the moon differently. I’m impressed not only by their language skills, but also their perspective-taking ability learned from a bilingual environment.
The event ended with sharing mooncakes, lantern crafts and lots of laughter!
At PlayThrive, we hold our mission of “inspiring passion for Chinese cultures” in our hearts. Celebrating traditions is a big part of culture, but to us “tradition” doesn’t mean we only follow the “old”. We want to inspire our kids to instill new meaning in old traditions, through creative and inquiry-based activities.
This is our first time holding a virtual event with a large group of kids. We learned so much (e.g., dealing with technical hiccups), and we hope to bring our cultural events to wider communities in the future!
PlayThrive is currently seeking new members to join its Board of Directors. PlayThrive is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting whole-child education in a Mandarin immersion environment. In addition to administering the PlayThrive School, PlayThrive fosters a community of parents and educators that supports Mandarin whole child education and inspires students to appreciate Chinese culture.
This is an exciting opportunity and unique time to join the board to further PlayThrive’s mission and serve the community. If you have a passion for whole child education and experience in strategic governance, business planning and operation, fundraising or community outreach, please send a brief description of your background and interest to serve on the board to contact@playthrive.org. This invitation to express interest is open to all. Enrollment in PlayThrive School is not required.
Key Board Member Responsibilities include:
Develop and implement PlayThrive’s strategic plan
Oversee the effectiveness of PlayThrive School of Mandarin Whole Child Education.
Participate and productively contribute to board meetings
Approve PlayThrive’s annual budget, audit reports, and business decisions
Partner with other board members to ensure that board resolutions are carried out
Serve on committees or task forces and take on special assignments as needed
Represent PlayThrive to stakeholders; act as an ambassador for the organization
Board Members are expected to:
Commit to a 2-year term (renewable).
Commit to PlayThrive’s vision, mission, and policies.
Attend monthly board meetings and the annual board retreat.
Invest 3-5 hours/month to perform duties and tasks
Come see friends, meet new schoolmates, and refresh on Chinese the week before school starts. We’ll be learning about, playing with, and making different children’s games and toys. There will be something that spins, something that moves, and something that flies!
Limited spots are available. Registration is on a first come first served basis.
Dates: August 10-13, 2020 (4 days) Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Orion School, 555 Del Ora Ave. Redwood City
Fee: $350
To register, please check back April 17th for details and instructions.
The $350 fee invoice will be sent to registered families in June.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
PlayThrive reserves the right to cancel or change any scheduled activities due to lack of enrollment, unforeseen weather conditions, etc.
Between June 1 and June 30: Receive a full refund minus a $25 processing fee
Between July 1 and July 15: Receive 50% refund of the camp tuition
Refunds will not be available for cancellations after July 15
If you have any questions email us at registrar@playthrive.org
