YCIS-SV Community Connection

Dear YCIS Community,

As we return from Spring Break, our campus has been filled with renewed energy, joy, and a strong sense of connection. It has been wonderful to see students, teachers, and families come back together, ready to learn, explore, and grow.

Over the past two weeks, our community has come alive through meaningful shared experiences:

- On Earth Day, our students engaged in activities that deepen their understanding of environmental sustainability and care for our planet. Checkout the assembly highlights on Facebook and Instagram
- In our ECE program, families joined children for parent-child gardening, creating joyful moments of learning, connection, and hands-on exploration.

These moments remind us that learning at YCIS extends far beyond the classroom. It lives in our relationships, our shared experiences, and the sense of belonging we build together.

Looking ahead, we are excited for our upcoming Family BBQ gathering tomorrow, which will bring our community together in a relaxed and welcoming space—continuing to strengthen the connections that make YCIS feel like home.

We are also pleased to invite all families to join us for a special video watch party next Friday, May 1st, from 8:30–10:30 AM in the K–8 auditorium, featuring a talk from CGSS by Isabelle Hau titled Love to Learn: Early Education in an AI-Driven World.We hope this will be a meaningful opportunity for our parent and educator community to come together to reflect, connect, and learn.

Thank you, as always, for your partnership and for being such an important part of our community.

Warmly,
Kevin & Vivian

Join us for the monthly coffee social with our Leadership Team. This coffee social will also feature a watch party, bagels, donuts and of course... Coffee!

Register here for a head count: https://forms.gle/Px1MqhdRmWDFq8Kk7

Congrats to Chloe and Clara! Their art work was chosen and is featured in YCYW foundation calendar for the months of December and July. Great job!

Chloe Hu Gr. 2

Clara Miller Gr. 3

📘 📗 📕

Last Day to purchase is 4/30!

• $38.64 Soft cover
• $45.80 Hard cover

ECE-8th Grade Yearbook purchase link:

https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=1015525824993591

If prompted for a passcode: 1015525824993591

A huge thank you to all our ECE families for joining us during our Spring Social! It was truly wonderful to see our community come together to welcome the new season and spend time together. Thank you to the Parent Organization for providing the supplies. Watching the children take pride in decorating their pots and carefully planting their seeds was the highlight of the day. We hope these little sprouts bring a touch of spring magic to your homes, and we can’t wait to see how all your flowers grow!

Our third graders kicked off their new unit exploring the question: How does entrepreneurial thinking lead to change? To bring this idea to life, students visited the Valley of Heart’s Delight at History Park in San Jose.

During the field trip, students stepped into the roles of innovators and workers from the past. At the Banca d’Italia, they explored the financial side of agriculture and how businesses grow. In the fruit barn, they experienced factory work by sorting “cherries,” canning them, and designing labels—seeing firsthand how products move from farm to market. They also learned about family farming and innovation by assembling irrigation pipes and working together to pick and transport “fruit.”

Through these hands-on experiences, students began to understand how creative problem-solving, collaboration, and new ideas have shaped the way communities work and thrive—key elements of entrepreneurial thinking that continue to drive change today.

We were thrilled to welcome back our alum, Austin Fan, who returned to share his incredible achievements with our 3-8th grade students.

Austin is a member of a competitive FIRST® LEGO® League team, and he came back to give us a firsthand look at what he and his teammates have been working on. It was a proud moment for our community to see one of our own pursuing such impressive work in STEM.

Austin's team competed in this year's FLL "Unearthed" season, themed around archaeology. Inspired by his YCIS trip to Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Terracotta Army in China, the team identified a real-world problem — the dangers of accessing inaccessible or fragile archaeological sites — and built a creative solution.

We are so proud of Austin and everything he has accomplished. Seeing our alumni come back to inspire current students is exactly what our community is all about. Thank you, Austin!

Austin’s team is coached by Coach Steven at Spark Robotics Labs in Cupertino, and they'd love to welcome students from our YCIS community this summer! Here is their flyer.

This week, our students came together for a special Earth Day assembly. We kicked things off with Earth Day-themed riddles and a fun movement break to get everyone energized and in the spirit. We then read aloud This Class Can Save the Planet by Stacy Tornio — a book that challenges kids to think about the small, everyday swaps they can make to protect the environment, from using both sides of a piece of paper to choosing reusable over plastic. The message was simple and powerful: small actions, taken together, add up to real change.

Students then heard a meaningful quote from NASA astronaut Victor Glover, who orbited the Moon as part of the Artemis II mission. He reminded us that Earth is a spaceship, and every one of us is part of its crew.Houses then competed in a lively trivia challenge to test their Earth Day knowledge, with some seriously impressive answers! To close, each House came together to create a poster outlining how their House will help take care of the Earth. Check out these posters on campus.

We are proud to share highlights from the recent CLTAC events, where our students and teachers truly shined. Congratulations to all of our students who participated in the CLTAC contests! We celebrate every child’s effort and are especially proud of those who received awards—your hard work and courage are truly inspiring.

A heartfelt thank you goes to our dedicated parents for their incredible support—whether reading alongside their children, helping record practice videos for the Picture Book Reading Contest, or assisting with drafting speech content and practicing together at home for the Speech Contest. Your partnership plays a vital role in our students’ success.

We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to our teachers for their guidance, encouragement, and countless hours of preparation behind the scenes. Their dedication and passion create meaningful learning experiences and help every student grow with confidence.

We are especially thrilled to congratulate Anqi Wang laoshi on receiving a CLTAC Teacher Award for exemplary leadership in promoting language learning and supporting students’ participation in the Picture Book Reading Contest. This recognition reflects her commitment, expertise, and the care she brings to guiding our students.

In addition, our KA and 1st grade students delighted audiences with their wonderful performances. Their confidence, enthusiasm, and joy on stage captured the spirit of learning and celebration in the most heartwarming way.

Together, these moments reflect the strength of our community—where students, teachers, and families work hand in hand to support growth, creativity, and success.

On April 24, our school successfully held the final round of the Chinese Character Recognition Contest. Students demonstrated strong skills in pronunciation and character usage, responding quickly and confidently under time limits. Their focus, preparation, and enthusiasm were evident in every round.

The contest was based on our YCYW Chinese Character List, covering Levels 1–5 to ensure an appropriate and progressive challenge for all participants . This structure allowed students across grade levels to demonstrate their learning while being challenged at the right level.

Congratulations to all students who advanced to the final round—this is a wonderful achievement and a reflection of your dedication and hard work. We would also like to give a special shoutout to a Grade 2A student, who delivered an outstanding performance at the opening of the competition, setting a confident and inspiring tone for the event.

The 7th and 8th grade classes are continuing their chemistry unit and are preparing to begin their upcoming research project. As part of this unit, students have had the opportunity to learn from guest speakers who connected chemistry concepts to cooking and baking.

We welcomed Ken Devault, who has a background in Food Science and Technology as well as Culinary Arts and Management. He introduced students to the chemistry behind cooking, focusing on variables that affect diffusion such as heat, time, agitation, and pressure. He also explained key compounds involved in brewing tea, including aromatics, tannins, and alkaloids. During his visit, Ken conducted a live demonstration that allowed students to observe how different variables influence the final result. Students were able to see, smell, and taste these differences firsthand. He also provided baked samples to illustrate how acids and bases affect baking outcomes, emphasizing how specific ingredients and their interactions impact the final product.

Students also learned from Jessica Banh, a pastry chef and owner of Fancy Flavors Bakeshop & Cafe in San Jose who started baking at age 12 and won her first culinary competition right after high school. She shared insights into the chemistry of macarons, her specialty. Jessica explained that although macarons are made with only a few ingredients, each one plays a critical role. She discussed how egg whites create structure through foam, sugar stabilizes that structure, almond flour contributes both structure and fat, and heat sets the final product. She also emphasized the importance of precise ratios and proportions in baking. Jessica highlighted that baking is an ongoing scientific process, involving constant testing and adjusting of variables such as ingredients, temperature, and mixing techniques. She encouraged students to think beyond simply following recipes, reminding them that “baking isn’t about following recipes—it’s about understanding reactions.”

Hearing from these guest speakers gives our students valuable real-world insight, helping them connect classroom learning to practical applications and future career paths.

With spring and Easter in the air, Liu Laoshi planned a variety of exciting and engaging activities.

Picture1: Students explored the spring by drawing what they observed and learned, and created sunflower face frames to wear. You can see flowers, butterflies, bees, and rainbows on Michael and Bella's face rings.

Picture2: During the Easter egg hunt, question slips inside the eggs turned the activity into a fun learning experience. All students received prizes for their great effort.

Picture3: Using egg cartons and recycled materials, the students crafted Easter bunnies, such a creative way to combine art with sustainability!

Picture4: Students discussed and designed their own YALP uniforms, then built life-sized versions using recycled cardboard, truly impressive work!

Picture5: To make math more engaging, students selected their favorite snacks, assigned prices, and calculated the cost of different combinations. You can see how much Cady and Olivia enjoyed this hands-on activity.

At YALP Kindergarten, learning is fun every day!

Visit our summer camp page to learn more

FYI Staff Appreciation is the week of 5/4. The Parent organization will be organizing some thank yous to our staff + teachers throughout the week. We’ll share more details soon.

Join us for the spring family potluck

Volunteer to build the YCIS Community

🍉 April 24 - YCIS & PO Family BBQ Potluck

📸 April 27 - 5th & 8th Grade Grad Photo Day/ M.S. Class Pic Day

📚 April 30 - Last Day to Order YCIS Yearbook

☕ May 1 - Coffee Social/CGSS Watch party

💙 May 4-8 - Teacher/Office Staff Appreciation Week

🌴 May 16 - YCIS Community Beach Day