Redwood City students recently flexed their knowledge of the Mandarin language at the “Olympiad of Chinese Language Learners.”
The Chinese Bridge Competition is the highest level of the Mandarin contest for non-native speaking students across the U.S. and has been referred to as “the Olympiad of Chinese Language Learners.”
The national contest was hosted by the Chinese Consulate of San Francisco in June.
Redwood City School District students who attend the Mandarin Immersion Program participated in the competition as a way of exhibiting their linguistic and cultural talent.
The contest includes a speech and a Q&A session with judges, as well as a talent performance.
The Orion students submitted singing and dancing videos highlighting their Mandarin language and cultural know-how.
Only 12 students advance to the final round of the competition.
Representing Orion Alternative school and RCSD, three students were named by the judges as demonstrating exceptional skill:
National 3rd place - Saoirse Rafferty 罗羽宸 - 2nd Grade
Saoirse wrote the Chinese song “Protect the Earth”
Honorable Mention - Emma Chui 崔安安 - 4th Grade
“Rice Field” singing and dancing performances
Honorable Mention - Tessa Lin 林绚雅 - 2nd Grade
Tessa chorepgraphed the dance for her song performance “U Know What's Up” from the Disney Pixar movie “Turning Red.”
Chinese Bridge competitions have been running for 20 years, while the contest at the elementary level is in its second year for ages under 14 who are non-Mandarin native speakers.
RCSD’s K to eight Mandarin Immersion program brings together both Mandarin- and English-speaking students and families for the opportunity of a promising future of being bilingual, biliterate, and academically enriched.
The Kindergarten to grade-five program is housed at Orion Alternative School and feeds into Kennedy Middle School for the grade six-to-eight strand.
