About School

Established in 1983 by a group of enthusiastic parents, the MONTREAL CHINESE (MANDARIN) SCHOOL is an independent, non-profit, purely education-based organization run entirely by volunteers. The founding principles of the school support the apolitical, non-denominational, and equality-based education of the Montreal Chinese in their mother tongue, in addition to the promotion of Chinese culture and cultural exchange among all peoples.

The total student enrollment is approximately 1200, with 43 language classes ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 9, 8 Chinese conversational classes and 13 Cultural classes. The instruction time is two hours per week on Sunday only, either in the morning or the afternoon. There are two semesters per school year with 15 weeks to a semester. While teachers are mostly from Taiwan, our students are mainly from South-East Asia.

Although receiving textbooks from Kindergarten to Grade 9, as generous donations from the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission of the Republic of China, our School Teaching Resources Subcommittee also produces supplementary teaching aids itself. Textbooks for the conversational classes are obtained from the World Chinese Language Promotion Association in Taiwan.

Starting last school year, the Chinese language teaching has been converted to the PINYIN system (replacing the ZHUYIN phonetic symbol system) for the regular classes. The emphasis remains on teaching classic lettering format, standardized pronunciation and quality learning. Higher level students also receive extra lessons, including among others, an introduction to Chinese History and Geography.

The school organization is headed by the Board of Directors, with the school administration and Parents Association as two of the main pillars of support. The current board has 16 directors with a maximum of 19 directorship available. Among the directors, 3 are from the Parents Association, 1 from the school administration (the Principal), and 1 each from the 6 subcommittees; Finance, Public Relations, Education, Publishing, Research and Development and Information Systems. The co-chair of the Board are Mr. Frank Chan and Tony Chan who assume the overall responsibilities of the school. Mr. Woon-Chung Yuen is the Principal assigned by the Board. He is in charge of the school operations, which currently consist of 6 administrators, 30 language teachers and 12 cultural course teachers.

The MONTREAL CHINESE (MANDARIN) SCHOOL plays an active role locally and nationally as a principal member of the Canadian Chinese Language Association, as well as internationally, by sending delegates to various overseas conferences.

School operations are financed mainly on balanced budget principle. Staff members are all volunteers, except for teachers, who are awarded a token amount. Annual tuition fees are as follows:

Classes

Tuition Fee ($ Cdn)

Language Classes:

140.00 - 150.00

Conversational Classes:

180.00

Cultural Classes :

130.00 - 160.00

Family members of school staff may receive partial discount in tuition fees while staff members will receive full discount provided there is no schedule conflict in line of duty.