Thank you for attending the 2007 - 08 Year-End Ceremonies of the Chinese School of Southern Westchester. We come together today to mark the end of another successful school year and to send off our new graduates as they head off to college.

Please allow me to share a few observations about this past school year. The CSSW community continues to grow as we enjoyed record enrollment, the largest number of classes and the largest teaching staff in our 27-year history. Going beyond merely the numbers, the diversity of the backgrounds of our students and families and the weekly level of activity in our school are just some of the notable impressions. CSSW has experienced an influx of very young children, including our pilot Nursery Class for 18- month to 3-year o1ds. Our burgeoning Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st Grade classes also point to a bright future for CSSW.

These days, it seems that everyone wants to learn Chinese. The gradual introduction of the Chinese language into most private school curriculums and an increasing number of public schools only underscores the importance and relevance of the institutional mission that CSSW has implemented for nearly three decades. After all these years, we have reached an inflection point in America's recognition of Chinese as a key world language. As your Principal, I am pleased with this development but I also offer a word of advice. For most English-speaking students, learning the Chinese language is a challenging undertaking. It is not a task that can be achieved competently without sustained effort on the part of students, parents and teachers. I view CSSW as your active and constant partner in this important objective. We seek to make the regular learning of our Chinese language, culture and heritage accessible, convenient and satisfying for our young people as well as for adults who are lifelong learners.

On behalf of the CSSW Board of Directors and Staff, I heartily congratulate the 2008 CSSW graduates and sincerely thank all those who contributed to our school during the past year. I look forward to resuming our work once again in the Fall.

Respectfully submitted,

F. J. Chu
Principal