Calendar Sales
Stepping Stones has just started pre-selling its 2011 wall calendar that contains both beautiful and entertaining images of Shanghai photographed by Peter Schlarb, a German expat who recently lived in Shanghai for 8 years and dedicates his free time to his passion, photography. All proceeds will benefit Stepping Stones; each calendar you purchase allows us to provide free weekly English classes to 2 migrant children for an entire year!
The pre-sale period will last through August 20th, during which each calendar will be sold at only RMB70. After August 20th, each calendar will be sold at RMB100, so don’t delay and send in your order for these artistic calendars today ? they’ll look great on your walls and make wonderful gifts for friends, colleagues and family alike! Please see the attached flyer and order form for more details and instructions on how to place your order with ShanghaiCalendar@yahoo.de.
Shanghai Calendar 2011 Information (PDF File)
Shanghai Calendar 2011 Inquiry (PDF File)
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Migrant Education Article
The following article, written by Evan Trowbridge, a graduate of Penn State University, discusses the realities of the Chinese education system that many poor and migrant students face today. Evan interviewed our Director, Corinne Hua, among many others within the NGO community who support migrant education. Please click on the link to read more. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/06/28/96675/chinese-youths-education-decisions.html
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Mandela Day at Shanghai Expo
On Sunday July 18th, 7 Stepping Stones volunteers, 3 teachers and 6 parents accompanied 71 Fenfa School students to Expo at the invitation of the South African pavillion to celebrate Mandela Day. A great time was had by all!
Mandela Day
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New online forum launched
Ned Dana, as part of his summer internship with Stepping Stones, got a long-awaited forum up and running on our Stepping Stones website, where our growing curriculum is housed, and where volunteers can meet online to share ideas. Volunteers can register for access by clicking on the “Register” link found in the top right corner of the main forum page! It will take approximately 1 day for our administrators to confirm your volunteer status. For illustrated instructions on registration, please send an email to intern@steppingstoneschina.net.
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2wheels4girls Supports Stepping Stones
We would like to thank Eleanor Moseman for generously supporting Stepping Stones as she travels by bicycle in China, Mongolia and Russia, raising funds to improve girls education across the globe. Eleanor is Stepping Stones’ volunteer photographer, who has produced many of the beautiful images that we use in our publicity materials. You can follow her adventures and sponsor her at www.2wheels4girls.com. We wish her the best of luck in her travels.
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12 languages in 12 months
Anthony Permaye, who is know to many Stepping Stones volunteers both for the training video in which he stars, and the great volunteer training workshops he has provided to our volunteers, is embarking on an ambitious project to master 12 languages in 12 months! He is seeking sponsorship for this valiant endeavour and is also looking for tutors in 12 different languages. Please click here and visit the project website www.12l12m.com for more information.
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Stepping Stones visits Henan Province
On July 9th, 2010, eleven representatives of Stepping Stones traveled deep into rural Henan Province to teach English. Stepping Stones Director Corinne Hua, her two children Joseph and Dominique, Sylvia Sartori and Maria Vinsentin, Betty Zhang, Lize Odendal, Guy Emerson, Ned, Margaret, and Steve Dana enjoyed a generous police escort as they journeyed to three different schools in Zhecheng County: Mengzhuang Primary School, Songzhuang Primary School, and Zhecheng’s Hope English School, with 70, 100, and 70 students in each school respectively. All the children, whose grade levels ranged from 3rd to 9th, whether closer to or further from the city, were very capable English learners, responding enthusiastically and appreciatively to the volunteer teachers. Zhang Zhongyin, head of the Zhecheng Succor Society, which supports youth affected by HIV/AIDS in the area, was a fantastic host, introducing us to the delicious local cuisine and scenic sights. The locals were so kind as to give us gifts and invite us to their village, exposing us to an entirely side of China. Stepping Stones definitely plans to continue to organise similar trips in the future.
Click here to download Lize Odendal’s personal account of the trip!
Lize, Guy, and Ned teach the "How Are You?" march to students
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Update on situation in migrant schools, June 2010
Click here for information on how education provision is changing for migrant children in Shanghai
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“Small Steps, Brighter Future”
On April 26th, over one hundred and thirty Stepping Stones supporters attended our fundraising cocktail party at Little Face Restaurant! Our guests were treated to a live auction, a raffle, and a song & dance performance by the children of Dongjiadu Lu No.2 Primary School—not to mention free flowing wine and canapés.
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Stepping Stones 2010 summer program
We are planning a 2010 summer program at schools for migrant children and are looking for volunteers to teach English. If you are interested in volunteering please fill out the summer program registration form and return it to us via email at enquiry@steppingstoneschina.net.
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Charity Flea Market for Migrant Schools
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On 13th January 2010, the Shanghai Times ran an article featuring Yu Huiqin, the 3rd prize winner of an English contest “同在蓝天下(Together under one Blue Sky)”organized by East China Normal University for migrant children. Yu Huiqin, 12 years old is from Yunlin village of Chun’an county in Zhejiang province. Yu’s parents, who are a carpenter and a domestic helper, settled down in Shanghai with their daughter when she was just 5 months old. Now Yu is a 5th grader at Shuang Jiang Primary School. Ms. Sun, the Director of Studies proudly showed the news article
to Stepping Stones staff, and told them that because of Yu Huiqin’s success in the competition, Shuang Jiang School would now like to invite Stepping Stones volunteers to resume English classes there, which stopped when the school was taken over by the government in September 2009.
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Stepping Stones in Shanghai Daily.
Shanghai Daily ran a whole page feature about us on 2nd December. Please see the link here.
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Click here to access the News Archive