by Isabelle Chen
It is perhaps the warmest month of the year and
what elementary children want to do is to enjoy their summertime and cool off
in swimming pools, especially in Texas. However, the “new school year waits for no children”. It is also about time for
them to be back at school.
During the first Saturday of August, inside the
George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, staff working at Taiwan’s
representative booth weren’t sure if they heard correctly. A parent told them
that her youngest son’s name is “Taiwan”! And her oldest son is called “Thailand.”
These two boys’ mother said that she wanted her kids to know it’s a big world
with many countries outside the United States. She hopes that Taiwan and Thailand
will have opportunities to travel to their namesakes when they grow up.
This is the 9th anniversary for the Houston
City Mayor’s Back 2 School Fest. Each year, the City of Houston holds the event
to help K-5 students from economically-disadvantaged families before the new
school year begins. Participants receive free backpacks, sponsored by Shell Oil
Company, with school supplies distributed by exhibitors. The event also
provides health screens, vision checks, immunizations, etc. Pre-registration is
required and should be applied for by school teachers.
This year, the event had an estimated 25,000
students from the greater Houston area. An estimated 100 exhibitors and vendors
attended the event. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Houston attended
this event for the first time. To promote Mandarin language education opportunities
in Taiwan, the Education Division of TECO in Houston designed handmade phonetic
boards as giveaways along with Study in Taiwan stationery such as folders,
pens, and pencils.
Among event sponsors and exhibitors, United
States Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Houston City Council Members Jack
Christie, and Carla Cisneros, Houston City Education Director Juliet Stipeche were
present to support Mayor Sylvester Turner’s “Back
2 School Fest-Houston 2019”.
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| PHOTO (left to right): Director Sophie Chou of Education Division of TECO in Houston, Taiwan and Thailand’s Parent, Taiwan, Thailand, Ms. Isabelle Chen, coordinator of Education Division of TECO in Houston, (back row ) volunteer Mr. Roger Lo, (right1) Executive Director Alice Lee of Southwest Management District. |
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| PHOTO (left to right): Volunteer Mr. Roger Lo, Coordinator Isabelle Chen of Education Division of TECO in Houston, Director Sophie Chou of Education Division of TECO in Houston, Consul Marcy Yu of TECO in Houston, and Executive Director Alice Lee of Southwest Management District |
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| PHOTO: Attendees are in front of the Taiwan booth |
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| PHOTO: Handmade phonetic boards designed by the Education Division of TECO in Houston |
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| PHOTO: Handmade phonetic boards with illustrations created by the Study in Taiwan Program |
