2013 Schedule of Events

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To view 2011 Events - Click Here

To view 2012 Events - Click Here

 

February 2, 2013 - Chinese Paper Cutting Class

Chinese paper cutting is an ancient art form. Teachers are visiting scholars from China that are here as part of the Confucius Institute at WKU. Appropriate for children ages 6 and older. Class members will be invited to visit the Confucius Institute Museum at the conclusion of the class.

Dates: February 2, 2013 - 9:30am -11am
Location: Confucius Institute, WKU Main Campus, Helm Library 100 (Next to Java City)
Cost: $25/adults $10/children (must be accompanied by an adult)

 

February 5, 2013 - The Confucius Institute partnered with the Office of Scholar Development, and the Chinese Flagship to host a "New Year Meet and Greet Social," with WKU's Chinese Faculty, Staff, and Students (Learning Chinese).  The event brought out 65 individuals from across WKU campus.    

 

February 8, 2013 -  The Confucius Institute at WKU  awards four sponsorships for spring 2013 semester.  These sponsorships provide the winners with $250 to spur originality and creativity on and off-campus for Asian-Themed events, workshops or materials.  This year's winners are:

• Dr. Peng Ke - Modern Languages Department - The funds will be used by WKU's Chinese Club who will organize a Chinese tea ceremony and Chinese Food project in April. In addition, the funds will be used to recognize five students who not only excel in their Chinese studies, but have made significant contributions to organizing and facilitating the student activities.
• Dr. Chunmei Du - History Department - The funds will be used to support two activities related to the Honors History 471: Modern China. First, the group will be treated to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. Second, a group lecture by Prof. Xiao Yi from Wu Han University, currently a visiting scholar at WKU, on the transformation of Chinese language from ancient to modern times, followed by a workshop on Chinese calligraphy and seals.
• Ms. Amy Hersch - Family and Consumer Sciences - Funds will be used to host Monica Hess, who is a Feng Shui Master and licensed Realtor. Ms. Hess has studied Feng Shui since 1995, and will come to speak to the Interior Design and Fashion Merchandising students and other students on WKU's campus to learn about ancient traditions from the East which will broaden the students' scope of other cultures design theories.
• Dr. Jie Zhang - Education Administration, Leadership & Research - Funds will be used to invite guest speaker, Dr. Hong Li, who is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Beijing Normal University. He will present research projects on word learning among native and nonnative speakers of Chinese. The presentation will be designed to appeal to Chinese language learners, educators, and researchers within the WKU community.

 

February 8, 2013  - The Confucius Institute (CI) at WKU hosted a Chinese New Year Celebration Dinner with the Hanban teachers and their host families on Friday, February 8, 2013. In attendance were Dr. Wei-Ping Pan, Terrill Martin Betty Yu, Wu Yanjun, Wang Yuhuan, and Yuan Rujie from the CI and over 25 Hanban teachers. The Hanban teachers are teaching the Chinese language and culture to students throughout the south central region of Kentucky. Many of the Hanban teachers drove over an hour to attend this event.
This was a special time for all to get together and celebrate the upcoming "Year of Snake." Per request, the Jumbo China Restaurant cooked many traditional Chinese New Year dishes: tofu, fish, and roasted duck. Much to the group's delight, they even served homemade dumplings! The dumpling fillings included: chive/shrimp, celery/beef, bok choy/pork and Chinese cabbage/pork. In addition, special dumplings were made with red dates to symbolize good fortune. Many teachers felt extra blessed as they ate dumplings with red dates. Dr. Pan passed out special sweets and traditional Chinese New Year snacks throughout the evening. In addition, CI distributed Hanban Paper cut calendars to the Hanban teachers so they can share and use it to decorate their classrooms. Confucius Institute at WKU is truly fortunate with having such a wonderful group of Hanban teachers! Happy Year of the Snake! ! ! !

 

 

 

February 9, 2013 - Brownie Troupe #1026

Ms. Misti Carrigan and Brownie Troop #1026 visited and spent the morning at the Chinese Learning Center learning how to write Happiness(福fú ) for Chinese New Year and Love (爱ài) for Valentine's Day on red tiles. In addition, they were able to paper cut Double Happiness(喜xǐ) and panda.

Here is a note of appreciation from the Brownie Troop Leader, Ms. Carrigan:

"What a treasure it was to visit the Confucius Institute! The Brownie Troop had a tremendous, educational experience with Betty Yu, Xiaoye Yang, and Chunliu Wang. The girls were taught calligraphy and paper cut while also learning of a country rich in history and culture. We walked away with pure amazement and awe. It also sparked an interest and desire in many of the girls to learn even more. So, I suspect you will see us again! Thank you for sharing your time and love of country with all of us!"

Blessings,

Misti Carrigan and Brownie troop # 1026

 

February 16, 2013 - Crane House New Year Celebration "Year of the Snake"

Through the generosity of Mr. Ted Nixon (CEO of DDW), and Mrs. Mary Nixon (VP of Yum Brands), the Confucius Institute at WKU was invited to join in the festivities at the Crane House's New Year Celebreation at the Henry Clay Building, in Louisville, KY. The CI group consisted of Dr. Wei-Ping Pan, Mrs. Nancy Pan, Ms. Betty Yu, Mr. Dennis Chen, Mr. Terrill Martin, Mrs. Kenyetta Martin, Ms. Yujie Yuan, Mr. Yanjun Wu, Ms. Chinliu Wang, and Ms. Xiaoye Yang. This is the Crane Houses annual fundraising event which generates over $50,000 for educational and programming initiatives throughout the city of Louisville. In addition, the event consisted of traditional Bally Dancing, and was concluded with a traditional Indian meal. The Crane House, "The China Institute, Inc." opened in 1987 in the Old Louisville neighborhood near the University of Louisville. Its focus on China reflected the heritage of founder, Helen Lang, who was inspired to share her expertise and interest in Chinese cooking, history, and culture (the crane is an Asian symbol of longevity). In 1996 the organization expanded its programming to include all of East Asia and the following year, Crane House moved to its current location at 1244 South Third Street. For more information about the Crane House click here.

 

February 22, 2013 – During the period of November 15 - February 8, 2013, the Confucius Institute initiated a Chinese Poster Design Contest for all participating high schools in our program. Each high school will crown a local 1st place winner receiving $50/each, 2nd place winner $25 gift card/each. Of the 1st place winners from each high school, these individuals will be judged to determine a "Grand Prize Winner." This winner will receive an all paid trip for 2 weeks, in China, as part of the Confucius Institute's 2013 Chinese Bridge Program. This covers airfare, visa processing, all expenses paid while in China, with a value of $2,400.00. Click to view the 1st and 2nd place high school winners. With over 780 votes, the "Grand Prize Winner" of the 2013 Chinese Poster Competition and 2013 Chinese Bridge Program is:

• Ms. Amber Johnson - Greenwood High School (Chinese Teacher - Shana Ma) 

   

 

February 22, 2013 - Over 50 third graders from Project Challenge & Primary Talent Pool of Bowling Green City Schools visited the Chinese Learning Center in Feb. The students were divided into 4 groups. Each group spend over 90 minutes learning about Chinese language and culture and also had a chance to tour the Chinese Learning Center.  Here is an excerpt from the BRIDGES teachers:

 

hank you notes from:

Keely P'Pool, Carrie Koedyker, & Judy Glass

BRIDGES Teachers

"Thank you so much for the wonderful and engaging lessons you provided to our BRIDGES students on February 15th and 22nd. The students had an amazing time and loved all of the activities you provided. They enjoyed learning about Chinese culture and history during the very informative and educational museum tour. They also loved painting the Chinese opera masks and learning about what each of the colors symbolized. Learning to pick up cereal with chopsticks was another favorite activity they talked about on the bus ride back to school. They were very excited to receive the Chinese calligraphy tiles they painted after they had enough time to dry. Visiting the Confucius Institute was a wonderful field trip for our students, and we look forward to coming back very soon!

Thanks so much for all your help and for making our visit such a great experience!"

 

March 8, 2013 - Students from Franklin/Simpson came to visit the Confucius Institute at WKU for a day of touring the Chinese Learning Center, calligraphy, tai chi, and lunch served by our very own Panda Express on the campus of WKU.  Below is an excerpt from Denise Reetzke (Franklin/Simpson Gifted and Talented Coordinator): 

"Over thirty-five Franklin-Simpson High School Chinese Speaking Students visited Western Kentucky University's Confucius Institute at Helm Library on March 8th . The visit opened with a lesson on Chinese Knotting, and Chinese Calligraphy was next on the agenda as students painted the Chinese symbols of Joy, Wealth, Prosperity and Love on red tiles. Demonstrations of Tai Chi helped students to build a good appetite for the Panda Express rice bowls. The tour of the Confucius Institute further enlightened students to Chinese Culture as they examined many authentic items, such as, costumes, porcelain, and silk screen art from China. The day closed with a concert by the Western Kentucky University Chinese Music Club and a Chinese Costume fashion show put on by the students. Mrs. Huang and Mrs. Reetzke want to say thank-you to Betty Yu, Confucius Institute Assistant Director and her staff for a full immersion into the Chinese Culture!"

 

March 22, 2013 - Students from Barren County High School came to visit the Confucius Institute at WKU for a day of touring the Chinese Learning Center, calligraphy, tai chi, and lunch served by our very own Panda Express on the campus of WKU. Below is an excerpt from Na Yin (Confucius Institute Chinese Teacher at Barren County High School):

"Students from Barren County High School spent a wonderful day at the WKU Confucius Institute on Friday, March 22, 2013. The students were busy with learning the art of creating decorative art with knots. Another enjoyable activity was that of the creating decorative tiles with the Chinese characters. The final activity of the morning was a demonstration of the art of Ti Chi. All students attempted to imitate the graceful art, some were more successful than others. After a wonderful and delicious lunch at Panda Express, the students were given a very informed tour of the institute. The delightful day ended with an activity enjoyed by all the students. Each student was given the opportunity to dress in traditional Chinese costumes. At the end of the day all the students were able to leave the institute with more knowledge about the Chinese culture and traditions. Thank you to WKU and to the Confucius Institute from the students and their instructor Na Yin."

 

March 26, 2013 - Lost River Elementary School taps into the wealth of WKU to enhance their International Night. Our Hanban Chinese teachers, Shana Ma (Greenwood, Drakes Creek, Warren East High and Middle) and Jenny Qian Xu (TC Cherry) dressed in their traditional clothing and volunteered their time to share their cultures with Lost River elementary students. Smiles abounded as our Hanban Chinese teachers teach the local school students how to write in Chinese using traditional calligraphy brush and spinning handkerchiefs. The items borrowed from Chinese Learning Center sparked many questions from the curious students and the children were delighted to see their names written in Chinese.

 

 March 29, 2013 - Benedicte Bossut and her students from Montessori Elementary School of Bowling Green visited Chinese Learning Center on Feb 22.

Per Benedict:
"As a follow-up from the visit of Chinese interns at WKU who shared crafts from the Chinese New year, on February 22 our class toured the Confucius Institute at WKU Helm Library. The guides, Jasmine and Lydia, led us through the exhibits and showed us some traditional Chinese games. The students were then encouraged to make their own ink and to calligraphy Chinese Characters on tiles as a memento. Here are some of our friends comment:

Zachary: " I especially love the foot and hand games. I had never done this before."

Camron: " It was really cool to play the Chinese instruments on the computer."

Brooke: " I wanted to write more tiles. The ink and the letters were fun!"

 

April 13, 2013 - our Hanban Chinese teacher, Xu Qian (Jenny), who teaches Chinese at TC Cherry elementary volunteered to represent China at the Bowling Green Hot Rods Baseball pre-game pageantry by participating in a procession of international flags.  China led the way followed by Columbia, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Panama, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and United Arab Emirates. Our China flag was greeted with great applause from the audience. The flags were impressive waving in the wind!

 

 

April 2013 - The Confucius Institute is partnering with the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, as Dr. Stephanie Kay Gandy are going to Hanban (Confucius Institute at WKU's Sponsor) to prepare the incumbent "Hanban Chinese Teacher's," as 20 of them are trying to attain official Kentucky Teacher Certification through KY's Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB).  Please click for more information.  

 

May 12 - May 26, 2013 - Follow the Confucius Institute China Experience 2013 via blog Confucius Institute China Experience 2013.  The Confucius Institute will lead the 54 members of the Symphony at WKU to Beijing, and Baoding China, as they perform at North China Electric Power University (Beijing), Beijing Language and Culture University (Beijing), Hebei University (Baoding), and North China Electric Power University (Baoding).  The trip will be a two week adventure, culminating in Xi'an, as Dr. Ching-Yi Lin is slated to perform at the famous Xi'an Conservatory for Chinese students.