Our New Schedule & School Info

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I can't believe this, we were given our class schedules, our WHOLE year school calendar and advised that the class times will adjust in October for the "Winter" times(funny since there is no Daylight Savings in China). I asked if the calendar/days off will change at all and they said "no, we stick to the printed schedule." Alleluia! We can start to plan out our honeymoon and other vacations.

I will be teaching all 2nd yr students. I have eight 90 minutes classes a week for a total of 16 hrs, plus some other activities for the maximum of 20 hrs per week worked. Two of my classes are for International Trade majors, we will meet once a week for Listening & Speaking. My other 3 classes meet twice a week for Business English majors. We have been given our books and told we have to complete them by June 30, 2011. SWEET!! I love having something to go off of this year instead of whatever we wanted. I am sure there are pros and cons to both.

Con #1 of having a curriculum is that I have to submit detailed plans for the first two units within the next 2 weeks, the college will review them at the beginning, middle and end of each term to make sure we are doing what the syllabus says. I begin teaching on Tuesday, September 7th as all 2nd yr students have military training the first week of class. 3rd yr students start tomorrow, Monday, August 30th.

My class schedule is the following:
1 class Tuesday 10-11:35am
3 classes Wednesday 10-11:35,1:20-2:55pm and 3:05-4:40pm
2 classes Thursday 8:10-9:45am and 3:05-4:40pm
2 classes Friday 8:10-9:45am and 10-11:35am
NO office hours required!!!

Pete will be teaching eight 90 minute classes also. But 7 classes are 1st yr students who start on October 8th and 1 class of 2nd yr students who start Sept 7th. So only 1 class officially in September but Mr Li(Adam) the Dept Head of Business English advised he will do extra activities in September to meet the 16 hr contract minimum. Pete's students are also Business English and International Trade majors.

Pete's class schedule is the following:
2 classes Monday 8:10-9:45am and 10-11:35am
3 classes Tuesday 10-11:35am, 1:20-2:55pm and 3:05-4:40pm
2 classes Wednesday and Thursday 1:20-2:55pm and 3:05-4:40pm

We both have to attend the weekly Business English teachers meeting on Monday's at 1:30pm, which is a huge improvement over last year where we were NEVER involved in any meetings.

As for our Vacation Time or Days Off Schedule here it is:
Wed Sept 22nd-Mid Autumn Festival
Fri Oct 1st-7th-National Day Holiday going to Palawan Island, Phillipines for our Honeymoon
Sat Jan 15th-Sun Feb 20th-Chinese New Year Festival going to India for 3 weeks, Thailand 1 week and China 1 week(Laura, Pete's sister, is joining us in Thailand and China )
Tues April 5th-Tomb Sweeping Festival(Qing Ming)
Sun May 1st-Labor Day should get Mon May 2nd off
Mon June 6th-Dragon Boat Festival
Thur June 30th-Contract Ends

We would love for anyone to come visit so please email us if you want to come. We also get 10 personal days off that we can use max 3 days in a row. Let the travel planning begin!!!!

Quick Facts about Hangzhou Wanxiang Polytechnic College

The name of our school is actually quite interesting when we found out what Wanxiang stood for. It is the leading manufacturer of automobile parts in China. The corporation teamed up with the local Hangzhou Municipal Govt to establish this 3 year college and is fully supported by Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which is a well renowned university in China/Asia.

-3 year college, students receive a diploma not a degree(common in China)
-Enrollment for 2009 was 4,700 students
-20 programs of study for students to choose from in 3 speciality groups: manufacturing, tertiary services and green agriculture
-181 full time teachers: 10 Professors, 50 Associate Professors and 72 holding Doctorate or Master degrees
-Employment rate for graduates in 2009 was 98.83%! (MISSING)
-Received award for Safe Campus in Zhejiang Province (nice to know this as we now live on campus)
-Spring 2011 an additional 80,000 sq meters of floor space will be added to the campus including: library, several teaching buildings, training buildings, admin building and student center.

*Last fun fact, the President of the college lives right across the hall from our apartment. We have been introduced to him and since have ran into him around campus. He speaks English to us as he studied in England.

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Comments

[sunketing]

Fabulous year ahead!
What great schedules! I don't have an actual printed schedule or know when my term finishes, but I know I will soon. If you want any info about India, let me know--I went for 3 weeks in 2009!

[paulette]

Teaching Schedule
Well, it's official. I hadn't read this posting when I made the last comment about actually having a schedule. It seems like you're off to a great start. Paulette