Middle School

Longtime readers of the Middle School Update know how much I enjoy the CAIS Lion Dance tradition. A feature of Mass Greeting and Graduation, it was wonderful to see the dancers incorporated…

When the Middle School moved from 150 Oak to 888 Turk nine years ago, we knew the campus was going to provide great community opportunities for the students. What was…

Continuing one of the oldest traditions at CAIS, the Class of 2024 attended Grad Dinner on the evening of June 10 in the 19th Avenue Dance Studio. This event, hosted…

In the seventh grade Chinese class, the capstone project in the Modern China unit is the Panel Discussion on Taiwan-China issues. Students posed thought-provoking questions to the panelists that consisted…

Our sixth graders recently completed a Talk Show performance-based assessment for this unit. The purpose of this Talk Show was to give students opportunities to apply Chinese philosophies to real…

The “Humans of Guilin Rap Project” was born from a simple yet powerful idea: ordinary people have extraordinary stories. Inspired by “Humans of New York,” during our trip to Guilin,…

One of my favorite spring activities at CAIS is Cap and Gown Day, the kickoff event of the CAIS graduation season. Begun in May 2015 when then Middle School Assistant…

I love this time of the school year. All of the signs that spring has arrived in the Middle School are present. The sun is coming up as I’m getting…

Educational researchers have long observed that February is often a low point for teacher morale, with positive attitudes for teaching falling off from their high in September and then bouncing…

Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China, and he had so many magnificent achievements as well as harsh criticism from his people. Was Qin Shi Huang a great…