YCIS-SV Community Connection

Dear YCIS Community,

As we move into the heart of the fall season, we are grateful for the many moments that bring our community together—through shared traditions, meaningful learning, and the joyful connections among our students, families, alumni, and staff. The past two weeks have offered many reminders of the care, curiosity, and sense of belonging that make YCIS-SV such a special place.

We warmly invite our families and alumni to join us for our Moon Festival Celebration this Saturday (Sep 26) , from 9:30–11:30 AM at the K–8 Campus. We look forward to celebrating this cherished tradition together and creating more happy memories as one community.

We are also delighted to share that Ms. Christina Pham has been selected as one of RAFT’s STEAM Educator of the Year award recipients. This well-deserved recognition reflects her creativity, care, and commitment to inspiring students through hands-on exploration. At YCIS, STEAM learning is rooted in inquiry: students are encouraged to ask thoughtful questions, investigate ideas, test possibilities, and learn from the process of discovery. Ms. Pham’s work beautifully brings this spirit to life.

As always, thank you for your continued partnership and for the many ways you contribute to our learning community. We wish you and your family a joyful Moon Festival, and we look forward to seeing many of you on Saturday.

Kevin & Vivian
Co-Principals, YCIS Silicon Valley

The Panda class has been all aflutter with anticipation following the arrival of their real-life baby caterpillars! Sparked by a growing fascination with butterflies, the room has been filled with discovery, stories of butterflies, colorful caterpillar art, handmade wings, and hands-on explorations of the butterfly life cycle. Now, the children are captivated as they observe their tiny new friends grow and transform each day, eagerly counting down the moments until they can watch them spread their wings as fully grown butterflies. We can't wait!

We are excited to offer a wonderful variety of lunchtime clubs where students can explore their interests, develop new skills, build friendships, and have fun! Opportunities include Book Club, Math Olympiad, Friendship Club, Crochet Club, and Lunch Orchestra. Led by our dedicated teachers and school counselor, these clubs enrich students’ school experience by encouraging creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and meaningful connections. Please check the link to see the flyer for club details. We look forward to seeing students discover new interests and enjoy learning together during lunchtime!

Our 8th graders recently explored what does planning a school festival have to do with algebra. They took on the role of lead event planners for a school festival and through this challenge, they applied their understanding of simplifying algebraic expressions to solve realistic planning and budgeting problems. They worked through phases including identifying variables, using the distributive property to compare catering packages, combining like terms to calculate the overall event budget, and evaluating different real-world scenarios.

Projects like this are an important part of middle school learning because they help students see that mathematics is more than getting the right answer. Rather than simply solving problems on paper, our 8th graders had to explain how and why they made their calculations and decisions. This also gave them the opportunity to practice metacognition, thinking about their own thinking and learning. As they presented, students reflected on the strategies they used, considered why certain approaches worked, and identified how they might approach a similar problem differently in the future.

• 🥮 Mid Autumn Moon Festival (Sep. 26)
• 🌻 Fall Break (Sept. 30 - Oct. 2) NO SCHOOL
• 🎂 Founder's Day (Oct. 8) Evening Event for ALL YCIS Community families