Maihwa honored PSSCA’s 30th Anniversary by bringing her beautiful landscape paintings to Suzhou with our Mayoral Delegation in 2018. The exhibit was on display in Suzhou’s municipal library, showing the wonders of the amazing scenery in Oregon. Mr. Wei Shujie from the Suzhou Foreign Affairs Office shared with us that, “the bright colors in her painting were a reflection of her pleasant personality.”
PSSCA Hosted Lunch for ACYPL Chinese Delegation
PSSCA hosted 8 delegates and 3 interpreters for lunch Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Golden Horse Seafood Restaurant. There were 21 attendees with PSSCA Directors and guests. Ms. Wang YiHonorary President, Henan Provincial Youth Federation, was the guest of honor. ACYPL representative, Natalie DeVaughn, has been escorting the delegation on their two week trip to Washington DC, Lansing and Detroit, Michigan and Portland, Oregon. Felicita Monteblanco, Chair, Board of Directors, Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District, is the coordinator of their Oregon tour.
After lunch, the delegates toured the Chinatown Museum and then met Maihwa Frances Li and Bonnie Starkey at the Lan Su Chinese Garden, where Frances gave them a tour of the garden which was featuring displays of chrysanthemums for the Ninth Moon Celebration.
Bridges Mural
Portland-Suzhou Bridges Mural
We celebrate with a “Big Thanks!” and share this beautiful mural created by the Woodstock Elementary third graders, from both the Mandarin Immersion Program and the Neighborhood Program, under the guidance of Cooperating Artist - Sarah Ferguson.
Woodstock Elementary third graders, from the Mandarin Immersion Program and the Neighborhood Program, all collaborated and contributed to the Portland-Suzhou Bridges Mural.
Sister Cities, Portland and Suzhou, are both known for their beautiful bridges and gardens. In the Portland-Suzhou Bridges Mural, the bridges span cities, time, and culture.
The concept for this mural originated with the students and teachers. Each of the third grade classes identified a theme to develop for the mural. Liduan Laoshi’s class worked on bridges; Ms. Hillenberg’s class chose animals; Ms. McAdam’s class explored modes of transportation; and Ms. Engstrom’s class contributed the landscape and dwellings.
Students started with painting papers, while learning about collages. They then used the papers to cut into shapes and designs, glueing the parts together to create the individual representations for the mural.
The student work was then composed on a background panel to unify the themes of the mural.
To complete the project, students revisited their collective work to see how the different parts of the two cities come together to create a unifying work of art.
Suzhou Bridges Represented:
Xinshi
Precious Belt
Sutong Yangtze
Portland Bridges Represented:
Freemont
Burnside
Hawthorne
Classes of Contributing Young Artists:
Liduan Laoshi
- Mandarin Immersion Teacher
Ms. Hillenberg
- English Immersion Teacher
Ms. McAdams
- Neighborhood Teacher
Ms. Engstrom
- Neighborhood Teacher
Celebrating Teachers, Encouraging Students, Promoting Portland Suzhou School Exchanges
We celebrate our Portland - Suzhou educators and the students in their care! Together we learn culture, language (Mandarin & English) and how to promote awareness and peace between our great nations. These students are Portland’s future business, education and cultural leaders!
Students from our Suzhou Sister City visited several Portland schools in January and February. Each year various students from our Sister City schools visit Suzhou during spring break and summer vacation. Students are able to participate in home stays, educational opportunities (including Mandarin immersion) and of course tour beautiful natural and historic sites.
The Portland Suzhou Sister City Association is proud to celebrate our amazing teachers who encourage our students to grow to make our cities and nations more prosperous and peaceful.
Thank you!