這幾年電子煙迅速流行，每五個中學生就有一位抽電子煙。什麼是電子煙？電子煙到底對身體有什麼影響？為什麼它這麼吸引青少年？即使你的孩子不抽電子菸,做父母的我們對電子菸的了解也是非常必須的。電子菸頻向青少年招手,父母準備好了嗎?

丫ㄚ園地特別邀請我們的好朋友Irene 和她的孩子Dimitri Lin，一位積極參與電子煙防制活動的高中生，以其觀察與研究的經驗，來跟華人家長談談這個大家並不熟悉的問題。 Dimitri 在高中階段ㄧ直在學校及社區做電子煙的教育防制活動，在2019年發起禁電子煙廣告petition, 在短短三週就獲得三萬人的簽署，他也與參眾議員開會討論青少年的電子煙議題，目前積極參與美國癌症協會的活動。

以下是Irene 為此活動的介紹, 邀請您來聽聽我們的討論:

青少年電子煙的使用人口雖在2020年，因為疫情必需多待在家中的情形下，有下降的趨勢。但CDC 2020調查的結果，12-18歲每五名中學生仍就有一位有抽電子煙，全美國有三百萬的中學生是電子煙的使用者，其中不乏12歲就開始使用電子煙的孩子。

我的孩子Dimitri Lin在2018年就開始宣導電子煙的防制問題，雖然他的學校學生使用電子煙的問題不算太嚴重（有南加的高中把男生廁所的門都拆了，就是要預防學生在廁所抽電子煙），但學校蠻重視這問題，常常不定時的抽查學生身上是否有電子煙。在Dimitri不斷跟校長溝通的情況下，校長讓他跟家長面對面報告了電子煙的問題和電子煙的種類，與會家長都跟我說他們開了眼界，學到了很多東西。

Dimitri發現電子煙的氾濫是跟煙商廣告行銷有很大的關係，所以他在去年提出修改法案的提案，希望把電子煙廣告跟香菸一起規範，獲得廣大的迴響。在這過程中，我看著他跟我們城市的警局警察聯絡，希望能研究出電子煙宣導方案；寫了許多電子郵件給相關人員及機構（多數沒有回應）；跟市議員、參議員、眾議員聯絡，準備資料，克服膽卻跟些「大人」開會。看到抽電子煙的同學，他也嘗試勸阻宣導他們。雖然他在這個過程中碰了很多釘子，本來眾議員承諾讓他參與的許多宣導活動也因疫情而取消，Dimitri 還是盡他小小的一己之力，宣導防制電子煙的問題，沒有放棄。目前希望跟美國癌症協會合作，看是否能夠促進修法。做媽媽的看到他一路走來，雖然有點挫折，但也學到成長很多，默默感到欣慰。

十月最後一週是傳統的紅絲帶週，一般來說是學校宣導煙、酒的防制問題的時刻。現在遠距教學，謝謝La Jajakids 給Dimitri一個機會，讓他在這個時機跟華人家長談談電子煙的問題，例如孩子房間中有那些可疑的東西，電子煙的種類、相關物品有那些，畢竟孩子們總有一天會返回校園，電子煙的始用屆時可能又會流行。一般華人家長對這個議題不大了解，假如想要有多一些了解，請聽聽我們的討論，Dimitri將用中文來跟大家講解電子煙這個議題，歡迎十月二十四日參入我們的討論!

美西時間十月24日星期六下午三點鐘 ㄚㄚ園地 Facebook live 直播

Hi everyone,
We hope you have been enjoying our Saturday programs! We love seeing your faces every week! In order to attend these classes, you will need to sign up. This is an added safety precaution but shouldn’t interrupt the classes. You will only need to sign up once to be on the mailing list. We look forward to seeing you every week .Hope to see you all there!

Fitness Friends Studio 10:30-11am (PST)

Over the period of quarantine, we are getting more and more attached to our screens, and we start to get tired. That is why we decided to create Fitness Friends Studio! Every Saturday, your child will be able to get up and move! We will also teach some healthy habits!

新冠肺炎疫情全球蔓延，讓各國從政府官員到普羅大眾都擔心不已，目前已經出現停課停市的狀況，希望能盡快將疫情控制。丫丫園地的小記者們一直緊貼事態發展，在上星期把握機會與一位重要人物進行採訪，就是在上個月擔任美國武漢撤僑專機機長～～丁毓麟醫師 Dr. J. Ting !

身兼醫生與機長的丁醫生是一位非常傑出與特別的人物，這次美國由武漢撤僑的專機也是由他負責駕駛。丁醫師熱心公益多才多藝，除了熱愛飛行之外，他也現任加州 City of Hope 醫院的特約醫師，擁有多年豐富臨床經驗。我們很高興這次能邀請他和大家分享他的人生經歷，包括他如何成功載回201人返美的經過，並分享有關防疫的專業知識和重要資訊，更現場接受觀眾的線上提問。

這次特別專訪已經在三月七日在 Facebook 直播舉行，如果您當天錯過了這個精彩的直播訪問，可以點擊以下鏈接觀看錄影視頻！另外，幾位小記者並以文字記錄了當天大家的訪問，讓大家對丁醫師有更深入的認識，千萬不要錯過喔！

這次活動由 INLA 熱情贊助，希望由這次活動能傳遞正確的醫療常識，同時也帶給大家正面能量的訊息。

Personnel in protective clothing approach an aircraft, chartered by the U.S. State Department to evacuate government employees and other Americans from the novel coronavirus threat in the Chinese city of Wuhan, after it arrived at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California, U.S., January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

About Dr. J. Ting

Originally from Taiwan, J. Ting, D.O., received his medical degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1995; completed his pediatrics internship at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in 1996 and emergency medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic Health Systems/South Pointe Hospital in 1999.He has over 20 years of experience in medicine both as a critical care hospitalist, and an emergency medicine physician.Dr. Ting had also worked 11 years with Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers as a stadium physician treating all in-game emergencies. He’s appeared regularly as a special guest commentator in medicine and aviation for Los Angeles’ local Mandarin and Cantonese language radio station KAZN AM1300 and KMRB AM1430.  He has been a flight instructor for many years; currently is an airline pilot for Kalitta Air flying the Boeing 747; after previously flying the Boeing 777 for Southern Air and Embraer 175 for United Airlines.

 

一月一日就是玫瑰花車遊行的大日子，三位小記者 Aaron、Ryan 和 Kyran 來到華航花車記者會籌備現場，評審時間快到了，不知道今年的大獎將會花落誰家？

Aaron Estrada, age 14

With the passage of 2019, the decade has now come to a close giving rise to year 2020, and our entry into a new decade. To begin this new year, the  annual Roses Parade leads us into this next decade with the parade theme “THE POWER OF HOPE”. This theme is meant to communicate that what is wanted can be attained. (tournamentofroses.com)

This year is the 131st running of the parade. On New Year’s Eve LajajaKids junior journalists visited 5 floats: Amazon Studios , Blue Diamond Almonds, China Airlines, Honda, and Pasadena Celebrates 2020.We also met and spoke with float designer John Ramirez his daughter Sofia Ramirez, and various float performers. In the course of our interview with John Ramirez, we learned several interesting facts.  John is the float designer for Artistic Entertainment Services and he designed the Rose Parade float for China Airlines. This year the float includes elements from Taiwan. China Airlines officials approached John and told him they would like to have a music box as part of the float. Immediately he knew what they were referring to because in his past travels to Taiwan he saw that music boxes were a significant part of the society in that they were in airports, malls, and various public areas. The float include a toy plane with the China Airlines logo on it, and food from Taiwan, lanterns, and at the center of the float is the Taipei 101 building. These are things that not only Taiwanese people would recognise, but also people from around the world.

 Later on one more float was being brought out but we had already left by the time it came out of the assembly area.The day was exciting and informative. We took videos of the different floats and recorded the China Airlines performance.

While there, we had the opportunity to ask float assembly personnel questions about their particular float and what kind of message they’re trying to convey, what type of material and flowers the float is made of, and what is their opinion regarding the floats design.

Being so close to the floats was amazing because you could really see all the fine details and workmanship on the float. It’s hard to tell from a quick glance but if you looked close enough you could see small little things put on the floats that you wouldn’t notice by just glancing through it quickly. It really shows how much effort was put into each and every one of these floats.

If you didn’t get a chance to see the Rose Parade this year, you should definitely go next year because the Rose Parade is a great experience. If given the opportunity to report on the floats again, I definitely would because each year every float is so creatively beautiful and unique the experience would necessarily be new and unique! You can find more about information to see the floats next year  https://tournamentofroses.com/events-calendar/post-parade-a-showcase-of-floats/

Kyran Lin, age 12

The sun was shining, the streets were crowded, and people were snapping away with their cameras. It was the day before the 131st Annual Rose parade! When I first got there, I was amazed! This was my first time attending the Rose Parade on New Year’s Eve! There were humongous floats that were filled with flowers, plants, seeds, nuts, and even fruits! Dozens of volunteers were rushing around carrying trays of flowers and seeds, giving the magnificent floats their finishing touches.

    We then approached the float we were going to see, China Airlines’ float, called “Dreams of flying, wings of hope.” The float consists of many items that showed the characteristics of Taiwan, which included beef noodle soup, mango ice, matcha green tea, Chinese lanterns, and much more. The meaning behind this was explained by the float designer Mr. Ramirez, in which he stated, “ Hopefully these are things that not only Tawainese people will recognize, but people around the world.” What he is trying to explain is that he wants other people to know about Taiwan and it’s customs, rather than just Tawainese people. This float was my personal favorite because it had a lot of things that I recognized and liked, like the beef noodle soup! One thing that I found very interesting was that the floats couldn’t pass a certain height because of underway on the Rose Parade.

   We also cover a couple of other floats other than China Airlines’. One example would be Blue Almonds’ float, called “Almond Breeze, the Best Almonds Make the Best Almond Milk.” The float was covered in blooming almond trees and a huge carton of their famous almond milk. I choose the Blue Almond’s float after China Airlines’ because I thought it was the most detailed out of the rest of the floats. I thought all the pieces of the trees were planned with precision and detail, from the bees, to what type of plants they used for the bark of the tree trunk.

    Going to the Rose Parade was a new and exciting experience for me. I was amazed at all the companies’ creations that were filled with flowers, seeds, nuts, and plants. Being able to see the final preparations of the Rose Parade wowed me. I would want to take part in the Rose Parade again next year!

等了好幾個月，迪士尼冰上世界全新溜冰秀 Mickey’s Search Party 《米奇的尋人派對》終於來到 LA 和小朋友見面了。今年的表演除了大熱的 Moana、美女與野獸、小美人魚、魔雪奇緣、Toy Story、阿拉丁等精采卡通人物外，還有全新上場的 Coco 電影人物，是許多小朋友的至愛呢！

兩位丫丫小記者 Phoebe 和 Langie 興奮參加了 Disney on Ice 位於 Staples Center 的首場演出，想知道這場既感人又搞笑的溜冰秀有多精彩？一起來看看她們的感受和現場報導吧！～～

這次的全新演出將給觀眾帶來與過往迪士尼冰上世界不同的感受。特殊旋轉式佈景舞台設計營造出四個精彩場景、令人驚心動魄的空中表演、可愛詼諧的表演元素、炫麗奪目的視覺燈光效果、節奏快速並隊形複雜多變的冰上表演和動人心弦的迪士尼音樂。從燈光、佈景、音樂、編舞、到服裝，迪士尼冰上世界《米奇的尋人派對》將帶來神奇而難忘的視覺饗宴，是每年不容錯過的精彩演出 !

Have you ever wondered what it was like to see Disney characters on ice? Well today, me and my co-interviewer, Langie Tsang, went to the Los Angeles Staple Center to see DISNEY ON ICE. This year’s theme is Mickey’s Search Party. Disney on ice, wants you to take out from this performance to create an unforgettable memories and to become part of the story when Disney on ice presents Mickey’s Search party. This brand new immersive ice skating experience brings the magic closer to the fans and for them to engage to the show. These performers achletism mixes with acrobatic and aerial stunts to bring in ice skating skills to new heights. These adventures is told through multi leveled performances  that immerse fans into the fantastic worlds of Disney. The Disney movies that are in this show is the Disney pixar’s Coco, Frozen, Moana, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Toy Story, and The Little Mermaid. This all new show will be skating into the Southland playing L.A, Anaheim, Long Beach, and Ontario, from December 12th-January 5th.

As I just walked into the Staple Centers, I realised that there would be lots of people going to this show. It looked like there were about thousands of people. As I walked in the stadium, I saw Disney characters skating, and the first one I saw was Coco. I was really amazed about how good they were because if I tried to skate like that, I would just fall. I was so happy and excited to be there because it was so fun to watch the story and how they ice skate. My favorite part is when in the Coco part, there were people going up the bar, and they were swinging all over the place, even though it looked really hesitating to look at but it was really amazing. I also liked when Elsa entranced the door with the main song.

  

by Langie Tsang (age 12)

Today, we went to Disney on Ice Mickey’s Search party at the Staples Center. Here, you can watch many Disney characters perform on the ice. This event will happen from December 12 to January 5. Some of the movies that were in the show were Coco, Frozen, Toy Story, The Little Mermaid.

    One of the things I liked about the show was when they bring back the beginning song from Frozen 1,” Frozen Heart”, about the ice workers that take the ice cubes out of the ground. In my opinion, Disney on Ice made it even better by doing incredible flips on slide-like blocks. For a finishing touch, they added a big flip with Kristoff flipping off all the ice cube props stacked very high. I think that was one of my favorite moments of the show.

    Another one of my favorite parts was when Ariel and Prince Eric did some acrobatic moves in the air with a rope. Their moves definitely would need lots of practicing and the two would need to trust each other. Ariel did a

scorpion on the rope for more than five seconds! They both did unimaginable moves in the air and twists. One of the most wonderful things you have to remember about this show is that all of the dancers are doing their dancing on ice which probably makes it harder to dance and balance. Honestly, I think the show this year was better than last year’s show. Don’t forget to check out this amazing event!

 

 

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WHEN: Thursday, December 12 – Sunday, December 15

Thursday, December 12 7:30 PM

Friday, December 13 7:30 PM

Saturday, December 14 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Sunday, December 15 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

WHERE: STAPLES Center – 1111 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015

A N A H E I M

WHEN: Thursday, December 19 – Monday, December 23

Thursday, December 19 7:00 PM

Friday, December 20 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Saturday, December 21 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Sunday, December 22 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Monday, December 23 11:00 AM & 7:00 PM

WHERE: Honda Center – 2695 E. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92806

L O N G B E A C H

WHEN: Thursday, December 26 – Monday, December 30

Thursday, December 26 7:00 PM

Friday, December 27 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Saturday, December 28 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Sunday, December 29 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Monday, December 30 7:00 PM

WHERE: Long Beach Arena, 300 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802

O N T A R I O

WHEN: Wednesday, January 1 – Sunday, January 5 

Wednesday, January 1 7:00 PM

Thursday, January 2 7:00 PM

Friday, January 3 7:00 PM

Saturday, January 4 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Sunday, January 5 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

WHERE: Citizens Business Bank Arena – 4000 Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario, CA 91764

]]> https://www.lajajakids.com/en/2019/12/21/%e3%80%90%e5%b0%8f%e8%a8%98%e8%80%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%b0%8e%e3%80%91%e8%bf%aa%e5%a3%ab%e5%b0%bc%e5%86%b0%e4%b8%8a%e4%b8%96%e7%95%8c-mickeys-search-party-%e7%b2%be%e5%bd%a9%e9%96%8b%e6%bc%94/feed/ 0 https://www.lajajakids.com/en/2019/11/30/72496/ https://www.lajajakids.com/en/2019/11/30/72496/#comments Sat, 30 Nov 2019 17:56:42 +0000 http://www.lajajakids.com/?p=72496     千呼萬喚，中國彩燈節終於在上星期隆重開幕了，一千多個手工造型彩燈點亮了 Pomona 的夜晚，開幕週末人潮熱鬧得很，兩位丫丫小記者 Amber 和 Phoebe

 

 

千呼萬喚，中國彩燈節終於在上星期隆重開幕了，一千多個手工造型彩燈點亮了 Pomona 的夜晚，開幕週末人潮熱鬧得很，兩位丫丫小記者 Amber 和 Phoebe 這晚興奮來到了彩燈節的開幕禮，與活動公關 Jennifer Becker 進行了專訪，又親身體驗了彩燈節裡各種精彩活動和展示，玩得好開心呢！一起來看看當晚小記者的採訪報導吧！～

這裡的所有彩燈都出自中國自貢的彩燈大師之手。自古以來中國自貢的燈會都非常有名，如今，自貢的彩燈藝人將傳統彩燈技藝與現代工藝結合，所有彩燈都由鋼架框製成，再以人造絲包成「皮膚」，裡面由 LED 燈照亮，再以裝滿各種彩色液體的小瓶子組成類似馬賽克一般的藝術圖形。讓人耳目一新，好像置身夢境一般。

小記者遊記 ~~ by Phoebe Zhang (age 10)

Today, we had a blast looking at the beautiful lanterns that people made at the MAGICAL CHINESE LANTERN FESTIVAL taking place in Pomona Fairplex. This amazing festival happens starting on November 21st, 2019 all the way to January 5th, 2020. Today, we interviewed the creator of THE MAGICAL CHINESE LANTERN FESTIVAL, Jennifer Becker. Starting on November 21st, this festival will return to its holiday season with its brand new outstanding displays themed “Blooming Seasons”. Guests will experience a different kinds of unique displays including nature, plants, and exotic animals such as cactuses, beautiful flowers, snakes, dragons, and way more. This year, there are 60 new lanterns which comes up with 1,000+ lanterns in this festival this year. Imagine you are in a journey in this festival, filled with deep in the vast wonderland filled exotic flowers/animals, trees, insects, mammals, and reptiles in their natural habitat. It an amazing visual representation view for all four seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall, and lastly Winter.

First of all, there is the Ceramic Chinese Dragon. This dragon is up to 100 yards, basically as big as a football field! The dragon traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over, water, rainfall, typhoons, and floods. The dragon is also symbolized as a symbol of power, strength, and good luck for people who are worthy in the  East Asian Culture. Second of all, there is the Chinese Phoenix. This amazing display comes from the myth. Associated with the sun, this Chinese Phoenix obtains a new life form the ashes of the predecessor. Some people thinks that the Phoenix dies in a show of flames and combustion, although on the other hand, some other people thinks that this legendary bird dies and then simply decomposes before being born again. There are different types of traditions concerning the lifespan of the Phoenix, but by most traditions, the Phoenix lives up to 500 years until rebirth. The Phoenix could also symbolize renewal in general as well as the sun time.

The thing that interested me the most in this festival was the Chinese Phoenix and the performances. I liked the Phoenix the most, because I was looking at all the decorations all over it, and I was also wondering how long it took them to make these, because seriously, there was a lot on them. I also enjoyed watching the performance because, I enjoyed the dances that they performed and the joy that were on their faces

One activity that was there  were mythical creatures for kids to ride. As me and Amber were riding them, we were so scared even though the creatures were not even real, that was how real the mythical creatures looked. There were also food and concessions. While we were walking around, we were so hungry because all the aromas of the food. There are also folk art souvenirs that you can get. Also, there is a Santa Claus LANTERN that you can take pictures with! And last of all, there is the performance which includes folk dances and and many other amazing talents that the kids showed us in that performance. We hope to see you here!

 

   

小記者遊記 ~~ by Amber Lin (age 11)

This year and every other year, the Chinese Lantern Festival comes to the public to bring out its specialty: lanterns. Hanart Culture, its producer, features events that promote Chinese art and culture. This exhibition produces over 1000 of paper lanterns, all handcrafted. This year’s theme being “Blooming Seasons”, it depicts bright lanterns of exotic flowers, palm trees, basically a natural medley of the four seasons.

I walked into the festival under the tall, arched gate of the entrance. It was made of many lanterns, As I walked in, I couldn’t help noticing how intricate and lifelike the lanterns were. The dragons on the arch swayed with the winds. The road was lined with cherry trees, and mushrooms grew inside the garden, with chipmunks beside it.

Right after, we were attracted to the roaring sound from the other side. Then, we saw a couple of mythical creatures known in China and European folklore, alive on the grass, such as qilin (or Kirin) and unicorn. The roaring sounds a little bit scary, and however, it is kind of fun to climb up, sitting on the  saddleback while it is moving like “Mary goes round”. My co-reporter Phoebe and I just could not stop playing with them. Nevertheless, we have to continue our job, reporting more fun things in this Festival.

One of the biggest magnificent lanterns is Dragon. The hundreds of blue lights on the Dragon while it’s poised as flying on sky makes it so thrilling in the dark night.  On the other side, while the variety of flowers floating on the water, a few Phoenixes, the Chinese symbol of new life coming out from the fire gather together, as if they were so proud of being part of nature.

After seeing so many animals, we want to look around the flowers that present the theme, “Blooming Seasons”. The Flower Garden exhibits right after you pass the entrance, while it will take a little bit of effort to climb toward the upper hill. You will get paid off by seeing so many different flowers and plants. Of course, the lights make them so bright at night. I was so amazed when I saw the “flowers” decorated on the arches in series. Walking under the floral lights, I felt as if it was the clear sky.  What makes this Festival more fun is that the producer also mixes some Western common elements, such as Santa Clause and East Bunny to this Festival. That brings more joy and hooray to the families, having children.

After one hour and half of walk in the Flower Garden, we felt hungry. You have so many choices, such as Tacos, Chinese food, snacks, soda for kids and beer for the adults. Then, it came to the show time, Chinese Folklore Dances such as Peacock dance. Everyone was fascinated with the kids’ beautiful dress and skill of dance.

I must admit that this is the best experience I had ever seen the lanterns. The Festival exhibits all Chinese legendary creatures and flowers in vivid that presents “Booming Season” so well.  This is one of the must-seen Festivals you don’t want to miss in this holiday season.

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Chinese Lantern Festival

Inspired by the art of Chinese lantern making, dating back 2,000 years ago, guests will experience a vibrant light show with mixed-media lanterns. Throughout the hillside, brilliant lanterns depicting the Amazon Jungle, fruit tree groves, peach blossoms, maple leaves, poppies, cactuses, squirrels, foxes, and more.

Each lantern is made of modern materials and eco-friendly technology with brilliantly-lit colored LED lightbulbs, musical enhancements and sound effects, plus visual moving parts to create larger-than-life imaginative shapes.

The Magical Chinese Lantern Festival will also feature:

– Mythical creature rides for children
– Food and concessions
– Authentic live Chinese folk musical concert and traditional dance show
– Holiday displays, including your photo taken with lantern Santa Claus
– Folk art souvenir booths

Dates: November 21st – January 5th, 2020 (Open Thursday Through Sundays, and Holidays)

Time: 5:30 p.m – 10:00 p.m. (Last admission at 9:20 p.m.)

Location: Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, CA 91768

Tickets $13-$21

Website: https://www.chineselanternfestival.com/

 

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Be Who You Are and Do What You Love!!

【 瞭解自我 + 生涯規劃 】初中生工作坊

Understanding Myself: a Youth Career+Life Planning Workshop

我是誰 ？長大後我想做什麼？怎樣規劃我的未來人生？

每個小朋友都是獨一無二的靈魂，在踏入青少年的成長初期，家長應該讓孩子及早探索自我，而不應以僵固過時的框架來規範孩子的成長。

在新學年開始之際，丫丫園地特別推出《瞭解自我 + 生涯規劃》初中生工作坊，由南加著名升學指導，教育心理學博士 Dr. Kao 高立哲博士親自主持及教學。

針對成長期的少年男女的需求，透過特別設計的科學化調查問卷，配合互動小組討論和遊戲，讓孩子認清自己的性格特質，發掘愛好及能力優勢，塑造積極主動的個性，突破未來學業路向和職業選擇的迷思，以「適性而學」的方式，增強學習效率，展現更優秀的自我，在漫長的成長和學習路上，跨出準確而自信的第一步，迎接更精彩的人生！

主講及教學 : 高立哲博士 Dr. Sean Kao

Dr. Kao 教育升學圖誌主持人、南加著名升學指導、

爾灣加大教育心理學博士，主要研究學習動機及考試學習法

日期 : 8月 3日 星期六

時間 : 9:00 am ~ 3:00 pm

地點： City of Industry

適合年齡 : 本活動專為 10 至 13歲初中生設計

（適合小學 5 年級、初中 6/7/8 年級學生）

費用 : $200 (包括材料費及午餐費)

語言 :  活動將以英語進行

報名 :  電郵 info@lajajakids.com 並以 PayPal 或郵寄支票付款

查詢 : 626-203-3340 or 310-721-5280 (voicemail) 

活動有人數限制，額滿即止，請儘快報名！

來自台灣的醫科高材生 Todd Lien 當年毅然轉投演藝事業，並且發展得如火如荼，如今已是好萊塢著名的創作人和演員。今年年初，兩位小記者 Aaron 和 Phoebe 與 Todd 進行了專訪，與他討論他的全新百老匯音樂劇的創作過程和故事主題的深意，非常有意義呢！一起看看 Aaron 和 Phoebe 的訪問吧！～～

Hollywood Fringe Festival 是歷史悠久的演藝文化活動，每年都有許多新劇在這裡發表，讓更多觀眾認識。Once Upon The First 將在本週末以及下周六上演多場，大家一起來捧場吧！

https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5909

An Actor or A Career in Medicine

An Interview with Actor, Singer, Producer, and Composer, Todd Lien

by Aaron Estrade, age 13

Do you feel that you want to become a singer or actor, but it’s not what your parents want for you as a career? Today, I woke up looking forward for a new and exciting experience. As a La JaJa kids junior journalist, I have had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing many different types of individuals. But today, for the very first time I get to interview an actor. Having limited experience in the acting industry, this should be a pretty interesting experience.

I arrived at the interview location with anticipation and ready to go. The interview was taking place at an art academy in Rosemead, California called StarFactory. I met with my co-interviewer, junior journalist, Phoebe Zhang. Together, we organized how we were going to conduct our interview. Just like me, Phoebe was energetic and excited about the interview. We interviewed a young actor and singer named Todd Lien.

Todd Lien was born and raised in Taiwan. He studied in a career for medicine at the University Of Washington, but all along while studying this, he had a deep interest in the arts. In a bold and courageous move, he decided to pursue a career in the arts. In 2014, he pursued his passion for acting and studied at the New York Film Academy graduating with an MFA degree where he studied, acting, musical theatre, film, music, and directing.

It was a pleasure to meet Todd Lien. He’s very friendly, personable, and I must say a dashing young man who is full of energy and positivity. Over the course of his new career, Todd has been involved in many artistic productions. He has acted on film as recently as two months in a production filmed in Mexico. He has performed live in several musical theater productions, he has directed and produced various artistic productions with the most recent one currently running which he wrote and directed “Once Upon The First”, and he’s a talented and captivating singer.

This interview was an informative, energetic, and fun experience. Even in the context of an interview, Todd Lien is entertaining and captivating. We had such a great time with lots of laughter. He’s also a wonderful acting and singing teacher. It was a pleasure and an honor to get to talk with him on such a personal level. I highly recommend that everyone goes to see his currently running performance at the Hollywood Fringe Festival if possible. Once Upon The First is based on a true life story of one of his students. It is currently performed by a group of 15 of his own talented students, and Phoebe and I are very fortunate to be amongst the cast.

Here are some highlights of the musical “Once Upon the First”

– The only American-born Chinese-American children’s cast performance group at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

-Eighty percent of music and dance is original and supported by Tony Award winner Broadway composer, Jeff Marx.

– The Hollywood documentary filmmaker Selena Moshell is shooting the whole film and it will be released to the mainstream film festivals.

– The director and screenwriter of this drama is Todd Lien. The original music arrangement was done by the talented musician/composer Christina Chen.

This musical had me thinking about times when we feel different or wanted to go a different or nontraditional path from those around us including our own parents.

The show will continue to run the following times and dates if you are looking to attend this show

6/15 Saturday 1pm & 7pm
6/16 Sunday 2pm
6/23 Sunday 11am & 9pm

There are also lots of others shows you can go see with your family. Check out https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/

Be bold and be yourself. Until next time …

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by Phoebe Zhang ， 9 years old

Have you ever wanted to watch a musical or maybe even be in One?? Well today, we interviewed Todd Lien on the musical named Once Upon The First. This play is mostly about a boy that is different from people that is around him in school and gets bullied for it. But in the end, they all become friends because of one reason that changed the thoughts of the bully’s, to not bully anyone because that person is different Todd Lien is an acting teacher that teaches at starfactory in Rosemead. He teaches adults and students.

When he has time off from teaching, he usually goes to acting auditions and also has been in many movies. This year the musical is going to be competed at the Fringe. He had won 2 awards in the Fringe, 2 in a row. He works really hard on his scripts for his students to perform and compete. This year is the first year that his students will compete at the Fringe. He is hoping that his students will win. There will be 8 characters in the musical. The billy’s are Sammie, Jessie, and Ryan. The bullied kid is named Simon. The non-bully kids are ruby, grace, Riley, and Ariana. There are two sets of groups that are going compete the same musical so either of the groups won’t get tired to compete. If you want to know more about Todd Lien and hid acting career, you can look in the description for this topics video.

About the show ~~~

The storyline explores the topics of self-acceptance and love by guiding the audience through the journeys of a girl who is half Chinese and half Caucasian and a boy who pursues his artistic dream of performing Chinese Opera as the beautiful Empress from an ancient Chinese dynasty. An American-born child whose parents are different ethnicities struggles with her own identity of who she really is because of the Asian way she was raised within the melting pot culture of the U.S. While she struggles for the first time with finding out who she really is, she meets a boy who also struggles with pleasing his parents without losing his artistic identity and passion for acting as the famous concubine in Beijing Opera. The new friendship helps both of them to realize that they are both special individuals and they are not defined by the color or their skins or whichever artistic passion they pursue. The bully, the main antagonist, serves as a main cause of all the turmoil theses two protagonists go through in the musical, but the bully ends up going through a change of heart.

Plymouth Elementary School in Monrovia offers a wonderful dual immersion program in Mandarin and English. This Lunar New Year, our junior journalists, Yilin and Phoebe, visit Plymouth and attended its Chinese New Year Family Night last week. They also talked with Ms. Connie Wu, Assistant Superintendent, to learn more about this unique program that benefits families who are learning Mandarin.

The Family Celebration Night took place on Friday, February 8, 2019, at the Plymouth Elementary School. It included performances from several classes in the school ranging from the afterschool program to TK through third grade. The celebration connects Chinese culture to American culture, and over 150 guests enjoyed a wonderful time.

In its fourth year, the Plymouth Elementary Mandarin Dual Immersion program is a 50% & 50% which teaches the students both English and Chinese during school time. What is interesting about this program is that the Mandarin courses are taught not only by Chinese teachers, but a lot of American teachers! The Monrovia school district fully supports this new way of teaching as it allows the student and teacher to get to know other interesting things other than just American culture.

Click here to learn more about Plymouth Elementary and their special program: https://plymouth.monroviaschools.net/

A Time of Celebration