Dear Parents, 

Happy April! Here is the newsletter for this month! 

Please mark your calendar for a few events/activities in April:

Parent Workshop |家长工作坊
Our next parent workshop is scheduled for Thursday, 4/17 from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. Agenda will be shared soon. 

Meeting ID

meet.google.com/ytp-cfcu-btq

Edit

Phone Numbers

(‪US‬)‪+1 224-357-7414‬

PIN: ‪404 388 324#‬

NHUSD Summer School｜纽黑文学区暑期班

Our TWDL students will be attending Searles again this year. Additionally, the after-school program capacity has increased significantly—from 150 students last year to approximately 300 this year.
Please note: Students who successfully register but are absent for more than three days will be placed on the waitlist until a spot becomes available.
For more information about summer program, please click on the link: https://mynhusd.org/schools/summer-school-at-nhusd/elementary-school/

EML Cup Chinese Star Contest  |盖英杯中文之星竞赛

The flyers will be sent home this Thursday. If your child is interested in participating in the event, please don’t forget to sign up before the deadline—we won’t be able to accept any registrations after it closes. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to shine and celebrate their hard work in learning Mandarin!To register your child for the contest, please click on the registration link provided below. https://shorturl.at/4m5Kg  For further details and important information  about the contest, please click here.

Students usage of device |学生电子设备的应用

Last Sunday, I took my son to a Math Circle tournament at Gunn High School. The guest speaker, Dr. Po-Shen Loh—a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and the head coach of the U.S. Math Olympiad team—delivered a very insightful and engaging talk to parents. You can check out his video on YouTube titled “How to Become a Creative Thinker” for more of his insights.
Dr. Loh emphasized the importance of encouraging our children to think deeply, especially in a world where artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly prevalent. His message resonated with me, especially as I’ve observed some concerning trends among students.
Recently, I’ve heard that many of our students are spending a significant amount of time playing online games such as Roblox at home with their peers. This has become a growing concern for many parents, particularly when students use district-issued devices and claim they are for school use. In many cases, parents are unavailable to supervise their children's screen time directly.
While playing games can be fun and provide some needed relaxation, it generally involves passive consumption rather than active, creative thinking. Over time, this can contribute to technology dependence, which can negatively impact a student’s focus, motivation, and learning habits.
After discussing this issue with our team and seeking input from the district, we have come up with a few suggestions and strategies for families:

1. Chromeox Parent Control
   To set up parental controls on Chromebook, you can use Google Family Link, which allows you to manage your child’s account, screen time, websites, and app access. Here's a step-by-step guide:

2. iOS (Screen Time) and Android (Digital Wellbeing) let you:
   Set app time limits
   Schedule “Downtime” (device locked during certain hours)
   Block explicit content and limit purchases

3. Router Controls / Wi-Fi Schedules
   Use your home Wi-Fi router (e.g., Google Nest, Eero, TP-Link) to:
   Pause the internet on specific devices
   Set access schedules (e.g., no internet after 9 PM)
   Monitor usage by device

I plan to include this topic in our next parent workshop and would like to invite parents who have experience managing device usage at home to share their strategies. Your approach may not be perfect and might still require ongoing adjustments—as most do—but your insights and practical tips could be incredibly valuable in supporting other parents who are navigating similar challenges.

Warmly， 

Ms. Wu