FCC-Austin

5th Annual 2014 FCC-UT Chinese Culture Camp August 4–8, 2014 from 9:00 am–2:30 pm Summitt Elementary Goals To empower our Chinese American children, strengthening their ties to both cultures in sessions teaching Chinese language, heritage, and cultural activities. To expand ethnic identity and build self-esteem, helping better prepare our children to respond to prejudice by developing skills for dealing with racism. To kindle new and close friendships, explore mutual adoption journeys, and build a sense of lasting community among children who share similar histories. Who Can Enroll Children ages 5–13, adopted from China and their siblings are eligible to participate in this camp. Students will be enrolled in a class based on the grade they will be entering in the fall of 2014. Classes include:		spaceholder	As always, the camp was totally awesome again this year! The thoughtfulness, energy, and sheer logistical expertise that goes into it by all the hardworking FCC parents, Auntie Rowena, and counselors is mind-boggling. Our kid (panda group) has already said she wants to be a camper as long as the age guidelines allow, and then she wants to be a junior counselor! So it’s a pretty safe bet for us to speak for her and say ‘Camp Rocks!’ One thing about camp this year that seemed a big hit with our kid was the panel with the adult and young adult adopted people. If that kind of thing can be a regular camp schedule element, I’m sure our kid (and probably many others) will find it valuable. I think having a full grown adult adopted person is key—it shows our kids there are members of their tribe who have walked the path before them. Many kudos for another fantastic camp. We as a family are so grateful for all whose hard work make it happen!
•	Pink Bunnies: Kindergartners
•	Green Monkeys: 1st & 2nd graders
•	Blue Pandas: 3rd & 4th graders
•	Orange Tigers: 5th & 6th graders
•	Red Dragons: 7th & 8th graders
spaceholder High school students are invited to participate as assistant counselors for no fee and should complete the online registration materials available on March 1st as well. Cost & Registration Procedures General registration materials will be available on Saturday, March 1, 2014.
•	FCC member price: $210 first child, $185 each additional sibling
•	Non-FCC price: $245 per child
spaceholder Note: Full and partial scholarships are available on an as-needed basis. Curriculum This year's camp will include the following sessions:
•	Asian Study: To provide language in a pragmatic setting, a sampling of Mandarin combined with an Asian food preparation element will highlight each age group’s class. In addition, some of the classes may explore brush painting, calligraphy, Chinese names, the dragon boat festival, dumpling making and eating, origami, martial arts, the monkey king, paper cuts, pandas, mahjong, writing for publication, the world of Grace Lin and more.
•	Asian Active: In previous camps, students have learned Kung Fu, long dragon, lion dancing, yo-yo, ping-pong skills, Taiko drumming, Chinese dance, Asian animal improvisation, media production and film making, play production elements, and Chinese songs.
•	Adoption Journey: Taught by area therapists, students explore their mutual adoption journeys, read and discuss age-appropriate adoption books. Previously, the oldest group of middle schoolers have watched the documentary Somewhere Between and skyped with Jenni “Fang” Lee from the film. In addition, all the campers learn about famous Asian-Americans in the pride portion of class.
spaceholder Note: Some of the classes remain the same each year as foundation pieces and some of the classes change to offer some new experiences for returning campers. We anticipate this same process this year and will detail these curriculum elements in the brochure and emails.
spaceholder Service Project All the campers participate in a service project designed to give back to the Austin community. Previous projects have included creating art panels for a quilt that hangs in the office of Saheli, the Asian-American Women’s Shelter, pillows for patients at Texas Oncology, art for the hallways at Dell Children’s Medical Center and nonperishable food donations for students at Summitt Elementary School. Counselors We strive for a 1:5 ratio in all classes. We hired college students from The University of Texas China Care program to serve as the lead counselors and accept applications from FCC high school students who serve as assistant counselors. It is possible for these high school students to earn up to 45 hours of community service. Teachers We invite members of the Asian American community to come and share their area of expertise with our children. Camp Leadership Rowena Fong, Ed.D, and Becky Harding are the camp co-directors who design the curriculum and oversee the overall camp structure and procedures. Parents are encouraged to volunteer for a variety of opportunities that are needed to run the camp smoothly. The FCC board of directors and assistant camp directors also oversee many aspects of the camp. Questions can be directed to Becky Harding.