The WindowNWCA Monthly Newsletter

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3 APRIL 4, 2017

Inside this issue:

Hong Bao 2017 . . . . . . 1-2

Hong Bao from students . 3

Thank you . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Xie xie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

NWCA Mission & GoalsThe Northwest Chinese Academy provides an outstanding educational foundation in the true immersion of Mandarin language, fostering the total development and highest potential in the individual child.• To immerse children in Chinese language and culture as well as providing bilingual and

bi-literate education so they are comfortable as responsible global citizens.• To provide a school environment that supports co-operation, creativity, resourcefulness

and the love of learning.• Todevelopchildrenwhoarecreative,criticalthinkersandself-confidentinwhothey are.• To encourage mutual respect, honesty and multi-cultural understanding.

Hong Bao Gala 2017 Was a Success!Mrs. Stacy

The 2017 Hong Bao Gala was our most successful event yet, raising over $112,000! In the time we’ve spent wrapping up the donations and thank youlettersandotherdetailsafterthegala,Ihavehadachancetoreflecton the evening’s events and everything that went into it. I am always looking forward to the gala when the Chinese New Year activities begin. Arriving at the Portland Golf Club the day of the party, I couldn’t help but feel the excitement of everything I had been anticipating--the party had started and the room was grand! Beautifully dressed people were checking in, picking up their bidder packets, chatting with each other, checking out the silent auction items, purchasing bottles from the Wall of Wine, sampling appetizers brought around, and enjoying a beverage or two with friends in the NWCA community. continued on page 2

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3 Page 2

Continued from page 1...

It is wonderful to see the parents I quickly greet each day in a relaxed mode, chatting with each other and soaking up the party atmosphere. SeveralfourthandfifthgradestudentsweresellingchancestowintheGoldenTicketraffleand the opportunity to play the game Heads or Tails. I am proud that our students take on the sometimesdifficulttaskofsellingraffleandgametickets. It is fun to see them dressed up and at work, too!The tables were decorated with Chinese New Year themed displays, and they were eventually filledwithparentsandfriends.TheamazingteachersandstaffmembersofNWCAwereseated at several tables, and it’s always great to see these hard-working people relaxing and enjoying themselves, too! Once it was time for the entertainment began, we all turned our attention to the staging area. KGW’s Drew Carney was our emcee again this year and was joined on the stage once more by professional auctioneerKellyRussell.Theyareaterrificteam!They started the evening by choosing the winner oftheGoldenTicketRaffle.Itseemsthatthisyear’s winners are planning to attend a professional sporting event! They next led the group in a very fun game of Heads or Tails. Of course, the gala centers around our friendly bidding war! The excitement in the room is always high during the auction portion of the night, and it’s anyone’s guess who will win the auction items.

It’sfuntoseewhomakesthefinalbidandwillgo home with the coveted items. My son and daughter-in-law were gifted the 4th grade art project by a generous family. They were touched by this gesture, and will hang the piece in the nursery of their baby, who is due to arrive in September. Vesna Ader made a speech about Huang Laoshi and the reasons why she chose to come to NWCA with her family. Learning about our teachers, parents, and students and how NWCA is an important part of all our lives is always a wonderful experience, during Hong Bao events and all year round!It is also great to know that NWCA has such a great community of people that we can all attend such a fun, beautiful, and important event. Hong Bao Co-Chairs LaTosha Wilson and Maryanne Stebbins did an amazing job and worked tirelessly for this gala to be such a success. Thankyoutothesetwofineladiesandtothemany NWCA parents who helped them with art projects, procurement, decorating, and many more important tasks that go into planning our yearly fundraiser and party. Your work ended with a wonderful evening that reminds me, as I have reflectedovertheHongBaogalainthelastfewweeks, that I am part of an amazing community of people at NWCA!

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Hong Bao From a Student Point of ViewTheyearlyHongBaogalaisalotofworkandalotoffunforNWCA’sparents,staff,teachers,andcommunity of friends. There is one more group of people at the party each year--our NWCA students. OurfourthandfifthgradestudentsvolunteertocometothePortlandCountryClubdressedintheirfinestpartyclothesandhelpthingsmovealongfortheauction.ThesestudentsaretaskedwithsellingraffleticketsandnecklacesfortheHeadsorTailsgametheattendeeswilllaterplayduringtheliveauctionportionoftheevening.Thefourthandfifthgraderstakethe time to learn a script and then join the party guests, working to sell their tickets and necklaces. It’s animportantpartoffundraising,andtheireffortsaregreatlyappreciated!Sawyer, Elliot, and Eli took the time to write a report on what fundraising is like from a student point of view. A look into what they did and what they learned is below. Thankyoutoallofthefourthandfifthgraderswhohelpedoutthisyear!Youtookpartinawonderfulevening, and your hard work was a part of the success of this year’s Hong Bao gala!What is Hong Bao? Hong Bao is a fundraiser for Northwest Chinese Academy. Each class makes an art project, and at the gala and auction, parents and guests bid on the art projects. There are also many packages that you can buy. Why is Hong Bao important?Hong Bao is important because it raises money for the NWCA. It is our biggest fundraiser of the year. Every Hong Bao ever has been successful. One reason it’s successful is because we have great people that put it together. Maryanne Stebbins, Latosha Wilson, Drew Carney, our amazing auctioneer, and many other wonderful volunteers have all put so much thought into Hong Bao.What was it like to sell at Hong Bao?Walking up to people takes a lot of nerve--one second your customer isn’t interested, and then the next second they are spending money. -Sawyer and ElliotWhat are your thoughts on Hong Bao?When I was there, I had to sell golden tickets foraraffle,andifyouwontheraffle,youcouldchooseoneofsevendifferentplacesto go. When I went there, I was very nervous. Selling tickets is hard! I think Hong Bao is important because it gives the school money to buy materials for the school. -Eli Jackson

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Thank you Hong Bao Families$8,000-$10,000Lin and Aurora MaLaTosha and Mark Wilson$5,000-$7,999Elvia and Ryan HarmonJanie BullockTina Jenq and Michael Terrett$2,000-$4,999Eloisa and Elisabeth ContrerasKanok and Prunprapai BoridboonsomsinDr.JeffTynerLiz SmithMichael Rosenstein and Kathy KitayamaBrian Schenck and Fangxiao XiangRon and Judy StebbinsHarold Sun and Joyce LeeMelissa Tom and Michael JugoJingzi Zhao and Christopher Perkins

$100-$1999Richard and Vesna AderNorma AguilarPrem and Benny ArcotAllizon and Michael BiekerKate BrookBritta and Gregory CabanosMichelle Cardenas and Alex PaulsonEmily GaoJamie GaughanKelly and Matt HammondHeather Singmaster and Gabriel NadelJay Iglesias and Danita TomBrad and Kate JacksonJacinta and Eric KilberSara KushnerStephanie and John LiuAlfonso and Berta LuleChunxiao Lv Stacy PayneCharlotte TownsleyObie and Tanisha PerryStephanie ReckJennifer and Doug RicksMelissa and Travis McFeronBenjamin and Holly McHughChristine and Jim Mitchell

Andrew MoultonDeirdre and Kevin O’MearaDr. Chrispin ChinnSusan and Alan ComptonEmily Culbert and John NusserAnita DeHannWilfredo FigueroaRon and Karen FortlanderSean and Jenny SmithAndrew and Maryanne StebbinsAriel Olson Surowidjojo and Arya SurowidjojoDebra Syna and Dirk MorganChun TanArthur Wu and Limei HuangEric Zimmerer and Grace Yin

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Xie Xie!Hong Bao - Year of the Rooster was a huge success! I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for investing in our school. Our auctioneer, Kelly Russell, is always impressed with our community. As a professional auctioneer, she sees her fair share of fundraisers. Just recently she did the last fundraiserbenefitforGRIMM.Ithinkitisimportantforyoutoknowthatourschoolisreallyamazing.Theparents,thestaffandourwonderfulkidsarethemagicthatbringsaneventlikeHongBaotolife.This year, our parents stepped up in a big way. We had the volunteers at the front desk answering phones, preparing mailings, making crafts and entering donated items into the database. The preparation of each item made it easy to put together really cool packages for the live and silent auction. Parents also donated their talent by taking photos, creating videos & slideshows, creating decorations, and soliciting businesses for donations. And we all came together for the focused giving of wine & scrip purchases. Every family did what they could and it is appreciated.Wecannevertellourstaffthankyouenough.Theteachersweresoflexiblewhenitcametopullingkids out of class for a photo shoot or having to do an art project. I’m sure it interfered with their lesson plan, but they always had a smile and made it work. Miss Anita was instrumental in creating duplicable processes that will ensure that anyone can jump in at any point and be able to help. Her attention to detail and her ability to anticipate a need kept us moving forward towards our goal. And Mrs. Stacy does an awesome job every year promoting Hong Boa to the kids. Their excitement and love for her getsthosepaddlesraisedeveryyear.Thankyoutoourwonderfulstaff!AndourNWCAkidsneedtobethankedaswell.Theyaresogoodatgoingwiththeflowandmakingeverything fun. I had the pleasure of seeing their little personalities during the photo shoot and my heart just melted. Our kids are very special. They are leaders, caring leaders. They create beautiful art, which is the highlight of our live auction. They volunteered and they encouraged each other. Getting the opportunity to watch our children as I worked on Hong Bao gave me hope for our future. They were my fuel to keep going and give it my all. NWCA is a very special community that is made up of caring parents, loving teachers and the best kids. A special thanks to each one of you for making Hong Boa more than just a night out. Hong Bao represents the magic of a community coming together for a common cause; the success of the Northwest Chinese Academy.