Transcript Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto

Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto
Overview
Since the establishment of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-Chi Foundation
Canada in 1992, one of our missions was to bring education to our new home.
In September, 1997 we founded Tzu Chi school of Academy in Toronto.
The mission of the School Academy is to cultivate the young students’ abilities in
intelligence, wisdom and virtue.
Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto
Objectives
Following the teaching from the Venerable Master Cheng Yen, the objective of
the Academy are :
Emphasis on “courtesy and virtue”, focus not on quantity but on quality.
To teach students self discipline, respect and love for themselves and other.
To teach the students to make right choices and care for themselves.
To teach the students to lead a calm and simple life
Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto
Characteristics
Other than the basic Chinese language teachings, there are four main
characteristics in our school:
1. The teaching of Jing Si Aphorisms from the Venerable Master Cheng Yen –
Based on the teaching s from Jing Si Aphorism, we create simple yet
lively teaching materials according to different grade levels in order to
teach our students to speak kind words and do good deeds.
2. Volunteers’ Assistance – There are over 80 Tzu Chi Volunteers to assist the
teachers, take care of the students and be their friends. They follow the
Tzu-Chi spirit by cooperating with the teachers and guiding the students
in their development of a good conscience and virtuous behavior.
Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto
Characteristics
3. Group Recognition Development – We ask all students, teachers and
volunteers to wear appropriate uniforms and name tags at school. The
purposes are to develop a sense of pride for belonging to the group, to be
recognized as a group member and to prevent unwelcome intruders from
walking into the school thus ensuring the safety of the students.
4. Provide an Encouraging Environment for Learning – Teachers and volunteers
set positive examples to demonstrate the Tzu Chi humanitarian spirit in
order to create an environment full of “caring and appreciation”. This is
accomplished by employing the bodhisattva’s wisdom and parents’ love
so that the students will grow up in a loving environment and be strong
individual.
Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto
Class
Our school has twelve different grades as follows: Junior and Senior
Kindergarten classes, Elementary Grade 1 to 6, and Advance studies Grade 1 to
4. We also have bilingual classes for students whose mother tongue is not
Chinese. We advocate small classes in each grade.
Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto
Teaching Material
Chinese Teaching Material
Junior Kindergarten students have study books suitable for their age group;
teachers also prepare practice material to be used by all students. We teach in
Chinese tradition form; as to phonics, we teach Chinese phonics (ㄅㄆㄇ…) for
JK-G6 and we use Hanyu pinyin for G7-G10 and Bilingual Classes in order to
provide the needs for non-Chinese speaking students.
Jing Si Aphorisms Teaching Material
Using the teaching s from Jing Si Aphorisms and material provided from the Tzu
Chi Teachers Association, we have developed a set of “Jing Si Teaching Guide”
which includes good words, stories, short essays, pictures and study methods as
our teaching material. We designed a contact book to provide three-way
communication among parents, students and teachers.
Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto
Our Teachers
Our teachers are university graduates who have to pass the Tzu Chi Teachers
training program. They are also required to participate in “Tzu Chi Teachers
Study Class” and “Education Humanities Camp” regularly. This results in
teachers who are patient, caring, dedicated and experienced. We strongly
believe that the success of the education system depends on the teachers. A
dedicated and well-trained teacher is the key to cultivate responsible youths for
our society.
Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto
School Activities
During Chinese New Year Celebration, we have lion dance, and many other
activities so that our students will have first hand and experience of the new
year celebration.
Once a month, we have a Recycling Day, and we encourage teachers, students,
volunteers and parents to recycle, reuse and protect our environment.
Jing Si Aphorism composition contest.
Jing Si Aphorism Story telling/speech completion.
Jing Si Aphorism Poster competition.
We organize Parents meetings twice during the school year, on the second
parents meeting is also the school opening day, parents are invited to join the
class and share the teaching activities with their children.
We organize biannual parent-children camp which provides a variety of fun
activities to enhance the parent- children relationship.
The teachers organize various activities to encourage students to participate in
Tree planting on Earth Day, support Food Bank for low-income families, ale of
used goods for charity, knitting scarves for homeless people.
Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto
Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies in Toronto
Enrolment Information
If you are interested in enrolling in the Tzu Chi Academy of Humanistic Studies
or want to know more about our school, please contact Tzu Chi Foundation at
905-947-1182, or visit our website at
http://academy.tzuchi.ca/canada/academy/toronto/home.nsf/homeC/index
for more information. You may also contact us during school hours on Sunday
morning between 9:00-12:00am either by phone – 905-947-1907 or visit our
school at 2300 Pharmacy Road, Scarborough Sir John A. McDonald Collegiate
Institute.