TROY-STAR APPRECIATIONS
On 9/1/2021 the TROY-STAR summer program's Director, Dr. Rui Feng, Co-Director, Dr. Iris Xu, and Program Manager, Austin Deal presented awards of appreciation to Troy University's Student Services department and its latest addition to the campus, the Trojan Fitness & Wellness Center. The Student Services department has provided support to the TROY-STAR summer program for the past twelve years by organizing dormitory arrangements, assisting with meal preparations, reserving building spaces, and numerous other ways. The Trojan Fitness & Wellness Center greatly assisted the summer program in 2021 by lending its spacious second floor and dance rooms for the program's daily cultural dance rehearsals. The TROY-STAR team looks forward to its continued collaboration with these two great partners in the future.
TROY-STAR SUMMER CAMP VIDEOS
Week 1
Registration Day: Welcomed the teachers and students to our 2021 TROY-STAR Summer Camp. After having dinner at the University's dinning hall, Mr. Chen went over COVID-19 guidelines to ensure the safety of our participants.
See more images of Registration Day here
Day One : A wonderful first day of Troy Star! We had a great time at the opening ceremony and exploring the Center of International Languages and Cultures' Exhibition Hall. We also learned about paper cutting and made colorful flowers!
After morning small group conversations with the teacher and student participants we warmed up our muscles with various dances. We even got to visit the Terracotta Warriors located on Troy's campus at the Janice Hawkins Cultural Arts Park! We wrapped up our second day with some Chinese yo-yo fun.
On day 3 of the camp, we had the honor to meet and take a group photo with Chancellor Hawkins. His speech to our camp participants was inspirational and encouraging. The teachers introduced various methods in learning Chinese include learning vocabulary from Chinese songs, videos, and making a quick trip to Walmart to put the knowledge to the test.
Day 4 was a blast for us to welcome our camp participants to Troy University bookstore. At the end of the day, the students learned how to play a well-known tiled-based game, Mahjong.
On day 5, after following the cultural practices schedule and Chinese one-to-two sessions with their assigned teachers, the students had fun playing Mahjong and Chinese yo-yo during their break time. Students from level 1 class learned Chinese vocabulary for human body parts through their cute and favorite cartoon characters. We wrapped up the 5th day of our camp by making bracelets and Chinese knotting.
All of the students have finished the first run-through of the dances and are ready to put the finishing touches on them. The teachers also have something up their sleeves for the closing ceremony and are getting their lesson plans ready for next week!
WEEK 2
Taking a lovely 4th of July break from our regular class schedule and enjoying some fun in the sun at Butter and Egg Adventures. We went ziplining, wall climbing, and boating all morning and had a great time!
The first day of the teacher participants leading their own lessons in class! It was great to see everything the teacher participants have learned about teaching this past week and being able to apply it to create fun lessons for the student participants
A great field trip day to Montgomery. The students got to have an authentic Chinese lunch at MR. Chen's and we even celebrated some birthdays with Chinese Sponge cake! Next stop was the Alabama State Capitol where we got the coolest tour and the opportunity to meet with John Merrill. Our evening ended with a lovely Chinese tea ceremony.
Integrating technology into classes with some live quizzes and competitions is so cool! We had another chance to try applying Chinese at the store by stopping by Walmart this evening!
See more images of Day Ten here
Troy-Star Supermarket was a great time! Everyone got a chance to bargain with the teachers and take home some awesome market items! Our first on-stage rehearsal went on swimmingly and we're getting ready for the closing ceremony in less than 2 days!
On Day 12 of the camp, we practiced and relaxed, getting ready for the closing ceremony on Saturday! We stopped by the International Arts Center and got to look around before having a dress rehearsal that went so smoothly! And finally, just a few fun snapshots from the closing ceremony (Day 13)!