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Spotlight: Michelle Wang (5th Grade) – Artist

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Michelle with her award winning submission (12/22)

Michelle with her award winning submission (12/22)

Michelle's submission (12/22)

Michelle's submission (12/22)

Michelle Wang is a Kids Connection 5th grader who has a passion and creativity for art.  Among a pool of over 300 elementary school participants, Michelle’s talent shone through and earned her a top 10 prize in the Peninsula Chinese Business Association (PCBA) drawing competition!  The awards ceremony was held in December 2022 at the San Mateo Public Library where her artwork, along with other entries, were on display for the community to enjoy.

Michelle’s love of art was apparent at an early age when she first learned to hold a crayon in her hand. She often lost herself in her imagination, working on drawings, watercolors, and crafts projects.  She always had an amazing ability to assemble different colors and gradients in order to express her creativity.

Michelle inherited her artistic sense from her grandfather who was an artist.  He would show her his work during their Facetime chats and she clearly took his teachings to heart. She enjoys creating unique art for her family and friends.  In November, she designed and drew the logo for the soccer team uniform, incorporating the action sound effect of kicking a soccer ball along with all of the members’ team colors.  All of the teammates proudly wore their jerseys and went on to win the tournament!

Michelle likes to improve on her talent through painting lessons and watching drawing videos online.  She plans to learn about more artists, especially Georgia O’Keeffe.

At Kids Connection, Michelle has learned about art since kindergarten.  Art is an important part of the KC curriculum in all grades, encouraging creative expression and motor skills.  Her family always enjoys the artwork Michelle has created at KC throughout the years!

Kids Connection Pandemic Safety Plan for 2022-23 School Year

The Kids Connection 2021-22 Pandemic Safety Plan is based on guidance from the San Mateo County Pandemic Recovery Framework, a framework essential in creating and sustaining the most healthy environment for students and staff to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

Please review the following documents for details:

This plan is built to be flexible so that we can adapt to the ever-changing guidance and recommendations from the health authorities.  At Kids Connection, we take the safety of our students as our absolute highest priority, not only during the pandemic, but always.

Afterschool Activities (2021-2022 School Year)

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KC Afterschool is more than just fun and homework!  Each week students rotate through different activities that are designed to continue their academic and personal development after the traditional school day is over.  Students will participate in activities focused on STEAM, skill building, group games, book club, and more!

* Subject to change

February 2022

January 2022

December 2021

November 2021

October 2021

September 2021

 

Afterschool Activities (June 2021)

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KC Afterschool is more than just fun and homework!  Each week students rotate through different activities that are designed to continue their academic and personal development after the traditional school day is over.  Students will participate in activities focused on STEAM, skill building, group games, book club, and more!

Here is this month’s schedule!

* Subject to change

Kindergarten-1st Grades

2nd-3rd Grades

4th-5th Grades

Spotlight: KC Coyotes Chess Champions – Henry Han, Eric Jiang, Andrew Li, and Serena Liu

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Kids Connection is extremely proud of the KC Coyotes chess team which took first place as the top Elementary School team of the 2021 US Amateur Team West Online Scholastic Championship in February 2021.  The team members were KC friends Henry Han (2nd grade), Eric Jiang (2nd grade), Andrew Li (3rd grade), and Serena Liu (3rd grade).  These teammates found each other through family and a love of chess!  Serena’s brother coaches both Henry and Eric in chess, which brought together three members for a team.  Andrew, who is in the same chess club as Serena, then completed the team as the fourth member.

There were 27 four-person teams in total, spanning elementary school, middle school, and high school.  The teams participated in five rounds of online play and were matched up based on the team average rating, which was required to be under 1400.  What an amazing feat to win the top Elementary School category!

Serena Liu (3rd Grade)

Serena Liu (3rd Grade)

“Kids Connection has influenced my chess skills by always encouraging me to ‘be extraordinary’ and do my best.“

Originally, Serena was not interested in chess!  She admired the trophies her brother won from tournaments over the years, but ultimately her dad is the one who started her journey with chess by describing pieces and introducing the game… before she realized it, Serena was hooked.

Serena finds it exciting when her opponent falls into an opening trap and she is reassured that her correct play forced her opponent to miscalculate the variations.  She enjoys improving by watching chess videos and it has paid off!  In 2020, Serena participated in the California Girls Age-Level State Championship hosted by the Berkeley Chess School.  Using her favorite gambit against an opponent 500 rating points above her, she trapped her opponent into a sneaky checkmate!  Serena realized she could win against any opponent if she tried hard enough and she went on to win all five games and the State Championship for the “7 and under” section!   

Andrew Li (3rd Grade)

Andrew Li (3rd Grade)

“It is great that I have wonderful chess friends here in KC to keep me motivated to improve my chess skills!”

Andrew became interested in chess because of his older brother who also plays chess.  While enjoying the game itself, he also enjoys the social aspect of meeting new friends when he participates in chess tournaments.  When he was asked to join the chess team to play in the tournament, of course he agreed!

Andrew is grateful for the friends he has at KC who play chess and keep him motivated to always improve his own abilities.  He is looking forward to more chess activities with his KC friends in the future!

Eric Jiang (2nd Grade)

Eric Jiang (2nd Grade)

“My KC teachers have told me that to be good at anything you need to keep practicing.”

Eric received a chess set as a Christmas present from his dad and he immediately found it to be a fun and interesting game!  He finds it exciting to use winning tactics on his opponents and force them into a checkmate.  He has such passion for chess that he and Henry study with a chess coach, who is Serena’s brother, which is how the quartet came together to form the chess team.

Eric has been playing chess for over two years and realizes that becoming a good chess player is very difficult.  When he loses, he reviews his games so that he can study his moves and improve from his mistakes.  He’s learned from his time at Kids Connection that in order to excel, practice is key to becoming the best you can be.

Henry Han (2nd Grade)

Henry Han (2nd Grade)

“I have lots of good friends at Kids Connection playing chess. I practice a lot by playing with friends during my free time.”

Henry became interested in chess in Kindergarten after watching a video on how to play chess.  He really enjoys playing because while the rules are easy to learn, the game is difficult to master, which makes it even more interesting and challenging than other games. 

Like every champion, Henry likes to win!  But when he loses, he uses it as an opportunity to learn from his mistakes and improve on his game play.  Henry also enjoys the social aspect of the game and making new friends who share a common love of chess.

We are very proud of Henry, Eric, Andrew, and Serena and look forward to more checkmates and chess wins in the future!

chess_medal_sm

Afterschool Activities (May 2021)

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KC Afterschool is more than just fun and homework!  Each week students rotate through different activities that are designed to continue their academic and personal development after the traditional school day is over.  Students will participate in activities focused on STEAM, skill building, group games, book club, and more!

Here is this month’s schedule!

* Subject to change

Kindergarten-1st Grades

2nd-3rd Grades

4th-5th Grades

Afterschool Activities (April 2021)

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KC Afterschool is more than just fun and homework!  Each week students rotate through different activities that are designed to continue their academic and personal development after the traditional school day is over.  Students will participate in activities focused on STEAM, skill building, group games, book club, and more!

Here is this month’s schedule!

* Subject to change

Kindergarten-1st

2nd-3rd Grades

4th-5th Grades

KC Online Egg Hunt!

** 4/7/21: Congratulations to the winner of a KC throw blanket – Courtney! (please check your email) **
* 4/5/21 8:30pm: Thank you for playing! The Egg Hunt is now over! *

Find eggs!  Win a KC throw blanket!

All entries due by Monday, April 5, 8pm PT (to be drawn by Wednesday, April 7)

Our KC kids had plenty of fun with egg hunts and Easter activities, April Fool’s, Holi, and getting ready for Spring Break today, but now everyone can participate from home in our first online Kids Connection egg hunt! 🐇🥚🐣

Find eggs and earn drawing entries to win a Kids Connection throw blanket!

Colorful eggs are hiding among our Facebook page and our KC website!  Eggs can be found on Facebook in post images and comments made by the Kids Connection account, and throughout the KC website. Look especially hard for the golden eggs!

The fine print egg hunt rules:
– Find the Facebook post and Like it for one entry – https://www.facebook.com/KidsConnectionSchools/
– Each colorful egg found is worth one entry for the drawing
– Each golden egg is worth 5 entries for the drawing
– Find the eggs on Facebook and the KC website to improve your chances
– Email your egg type (colorful or golden) and locations (post name or URL) to Joanne Jennings at jjennings@kc4us.com
– All entries due by Monday, April 5, 8pm PT (to be drawn by Wednesday, April 7)
– Open to all KC families and friends
– Winner will be notified by email
– Have fun!

Afterschool Activities (March 2021)

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KC Afterschool is more than just fun and homework!  Each week students rotate through different activities that are designed to continue their academic and personal development after the traditional school day is over.  Students will participate in activities focused on STEAM, skill building, group games, book club, and more!

Here is this month’s schedule!

* Subject to change

Kindergarten-1st

2nd-3rd Grades

4th-5th Grades

Afterschool Activities (February 2021)

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KC Afterschool is more than just fun and homework!  Each week students rotate through different activities that are designed to continue their academic and personal development after the traditional school day is over.  Students will participate in activities focused on STEAM, skill building, group games, book club, and more!

Here is this month’s schedule!

* Subject to change

Kindergarten-1st Grade

2nd-3rd Grades

4th-5th Grades

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