(Note: Misa Kuranaga, 倉永美沙, is a Japanese ballerina at the Boston Ballet. Before joining Boston Ballet in 2003 she was a member of the San Francisco Ballet. In Boston she was promoted to soloist in 2005 and to principal dancer in 2009.)
By Beatrice Lee, columnist of bostonese.com
Misa is leaving Boston Ballet after many years as the principal dancer. My friends and I never want to miss her performances.
(L to R)Misa, Beatrice and JunXiong pose for a picture.
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Feb. 27, 2017, Cambridge, Mass., — Current and former Chinese and Latino Happy Lamb Hot Pot workers held a rally in front of the Cambridge restaurant today. They protested against pervasive wage theft, retaliation, and abuse they have experienced since working at the popular restaurant chain.
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By Andrew Yang, Candidate for US President, Feb. 22, 2019
I spent this past weekend in Washington, DC, and Baltimore for President’s Day. We had a rally in Baltimore on Monday that drew a couple hundred enthusiastic supporters at Charm City Meadery. It was a blast. I bought some honeyed mead to take home, which made my wife happy.
Andrew Yang, standing in front of mead barrels, addresses supporters gathered for a rally On Tuesday.
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By Xinming Li, bostonese.com
Lexington, Mass., Feb, 15, 2019, — Chinese American Association Association of Lexington (CAAL) held Chinese New Year celebration at Battin Memorial Hall on Feb, 10. It was the sixth day of the Chinese New Year of Pig which started on Feb 5. Over 700 people showed up for the celebration.
Dragon dance was a fan favorite (photo by Dongxu Photography).
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By Xiaorong Yan, bostonese.com
Cambridge, Mass., Feb, 11, 2019, — The annual opera performance of Longy School of Music of Bard College, which have long enjoyed a good reputation in the music circle, was successfully staged on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3. This year, The school elaborately selected the masterpiece of Hungarian composer Emmerich Kalman: operetta Countess Maritza. The flawless performances of leading tenor Bingchuan Wan, soprano Jingyi Huang and other performers brought laughter and tears to over 300 in the audience.
Tenor Bingchuan Wan(right) and soprano Jingyi Huang(left) performed on Feb. 3.
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By Xinming Li, bostonese.com
Boston, Jan. 22, 2019, — As the Spring semester starts for local colleges this week, UMass Boston has closed its Confucius Institute, which boasts of a history of 12 years. The news resonated strongly on campus and in the community. Professors, staff, students and members of the community expressed deep regret over the university’s action and some called that the closure of the Confucius Institutes was a sign of “political correctness”.
Picture from 2018 Mid-Autumn Festival celebration at UMass Boson.
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By Xinming Li, bostonese.com
Boston, Jan. 18, 2019, — In less then two years after arriving in the United States in 2017, Chinese dancer and choreographer Yaqi Wu has gained more and more recognition from dance critics and audiences in Boston and New York. Her original dance work “Fountainhead” has won three important awards, including Judge’s Choice, Outstanding Choreography Award and Platinum Award, at the 2018 Taoli World Dance Competition Final, the largest Chinese dance competition in the world.
Yaqi Wu won several awards for her work “Fountainhead”.
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2018–2019 Statewide Testing Schedule and Administration Deadlines
MCAS Tests, Retests, and Field Tests, MCAS Alternate Assessment,
MCAS/EPP Mathematics Test, and ACCESS for ELLs
| Date/Time | ||
| November 2018 MCAS ELA and Mathematics Retests Paper-based administration | ||
| Before Testing | Complete the pre-administration Student Registration/Personal Needs Profile (SR/PNP) process[1] | September 24–October 5 |
| Receive test materials | November 1 | |
| Complete Principal’s Certification of Proper Test Administration (PCPA; Before Testing section) | November 1–6 | |
| Report packing discrepancies, if necessary | ||
| Order additional materials, if necessary | ||
| Test Administration | ELA Composition Sessions A and B | November 8 |
| ELA Reading Comprehension Sessions 1 and 2 | November 9 | |
| ELA Reading Comprehension Session 3 | November 13 | |
| Mathematics Session 1 | November14 | |
| Mathematics Session 2 | November 15 | |
| Last date for regular make-up testing | November 16[2] | |
| After Testing | Deadline for updating SR/PNP information, if necessary | November 19, 3:00 p.m. |
| Deadline to complete the PCPA | ||
| Pre-scheduled UPS pickup/pickup deadline | November 20, 5:00 p.m.[3] | |
| 2019 ACCESS for ELLS Test (Grades K–12) | ||
| Before Testing | Order test materials | October 22–November 9 |
| Receive test materials | January 2 | |
| Report packing discrepancies, if necessary | January 2–31 | |
| Order additional materials, if necessary | ||
| Test Administration[4] | ACCESS for ELLs test sessions | January 3–February 8 |
| After Testing | Deadline to schedule UPS pickup | February 7 |
| Deadline for UPS pickup | February 8 | |
| February 2019 High School MCAS Biology Test Paper-based administration | ||
| Before Testing | Complete the pre-administrationSR/PNP process1 | December 3–14 |
| Receive test materials | January 30 | |
| Complete PCPA (Before Testing section) | January 30–February 4 | |
| Report packing discrepancies, if necessary | ||
| Order additional materials, if necessary | ||
| Test Administration | Biology Session 1 | February 6 |
| Biology Session 2 | February 7 | |
| Last date for regular make-up testing | February 112 | |
| After Testing | Deadline for updating SR/PNP information, if necessary | February 12, 3:00 p.m. |
| Deadline to complete the PCPA | ||
| Pre-scheduled UPS pickup/pickup deadline | February 13, 5:00 p.m.3 | |
2018–2019 Statewide Testing Schedule and Administration Deadlines continued
| Date/Time | |||
| March 2019 MCAS ELA and Mathematics Retests Paper-based administration | |||
| Before Testing | Complete the pre-administrationSR/PNP process[5] | January 7–18 | |
| Receive test materials | February 25 | ||
| Complete PCPA (Before Testing section) | February 25–28 | ||
| Report packing discrepancies, if necessary | |||
| Order additional materials, if necessary | |||
| Test Administration | ELA Composition Sessions A and B | March 4 | |
| ELA Reading Comprehension Sessions 1 and 2 | March 5 | ||
| ELA Reading Comprehension Session 3 | March 6 | ||
| Mathematics Session 1 | March 7 | ||
| Mathematics Session 2 | March 8 | ||
| Last date for regular make-up testing | March 11[6] | ||
| After Testing | Deadline for updating SR/PNP information, if necessary | March 12, 3:00 p.m. | |
| Deadline to complete the PCPA | |||
| Pre-scheduled UPS pickup/pickup deadline | March 13, 5:00 p.m.[7] | ||
| Spring 2019 Grade 10 MCAS ELA Test
The grade 10 ELA test will be a next-generation, computer-based test, and schools are expected to administer it online. (Exceptions are made for students who require a PBT edition as an accommodation.) See the test design for details, and note there will be two test sessions. |
|||
| Before Testing | Complete the pre-administrationSR/PNP process5, [8] | January 30–February 12 | |
| Extended pre-administrationSR/PNP window for CBT | February 13–March 11 | ||
| Conduct an Infrastructure Trial and download ProctorCache software (strongly recommended) | Available beginning February 11
Recommended completion date: March 11 |
||
| Receive test administration manuals and PBT materials for accommodations | March 12 | ||
| Precache operational test content for spring 2019 testing | March 12–25 | ||
| Order additional manuals and PBT materials for accommodations, if necessary Report packing discrepancies for PBT shipments, if necessary |
March 12–22 | ||
| Test Administration | Prescribed administration dates[9]
Test the maximum number of students who can participate concurrently. |
ELA Session 1 | March 26 |
| ELA Session 2 | March 27 | ||
| Administration dates if needed
Test remaining students who did not participate in the first set of dates due to technology/device limitations. |
ELA Session 1 | March 28 | |
| ELA Session 2 | March 29 | ||
| Last date for regular make-up testing | April 46 | ||
| After Testing | Deadline for updating SR/PNP information, if necessary | April 5, 3:00 p.m. | |
| Deadline to complete the PCPA | |||
| Mark students’ tests complete, if necessary | |||
| For PBT accommodations: Pre-scheduled UPS pickup/pickup deadline | April 8, 5:00 p.m.7 | ||
2018–2019 Statewide Testing Schedule and Administration Deadlines continued
| Date/Time | |||
| 2019 MCAS Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt) (Grades 3–8 and high school) | |||
| BeforeSubmission | Order MCAS-Alt submission materials | January 7–18 | |
| Receive submission materials (binders, etc.) | Week of February 25 | ||
| Complete PCPA (part 1) | March 4–22
Schools should complete these tasks as soon as materials are received, |
||
| Order additional materials, if necessary | |||
| Submission | Deadline to complete the PCPA | March 18–28, 3:00 p.m. | |
| Deadline to schedule UPS pickup | March 28, 3:00 p.m. | ||
| Deadline for UPS pickup | March 29, 5:00 p.m. | ||
| Spring 2019 MCAS Tests for Elementary and Middle Schools
Grades 3–8 ELA and Mathematics, and grades 5 and 8 Science and Technology/Engineering Tests Schools are expected to administer all the grade 3–8 tests online. (Exceptions are made for students who require a PBT edition as an accommodation.)
For more information about the tests, refer to the test designs for ELA,Mathematics, and STE. Also, note that the prescribed administration sequence for the grades 3–8 tests is as follows: ELA followed by Mathematics, followed by STE (for grades 5 and 8). |
|||
| Before Testing | Complete the pre-administration SR/PNP process[10] | January 28–February 8 | |
| Extended SR/PNP window for CBT | February 11–March 15 | ||
| Conduct an Infrastructure Trial and download ProctorCache software (strongly recommended) | February 11–March 15
Available beginning February 11 Recommended completion date: March 15 |
||
| Receive test administration manuals and PBT materials for accommodations | March 18 | ||
| Precache operational test content for spring 2019 testing | Operational test content will be available for precaching on or around March 18, but schools should not precache until two weeks prior to the start of their testing window. | ||
| Order additional manuals and PBT materials for accommodations, if necessary Report packing discrepancies for PBT shipments, if necessary |
March 18–28[11] | ||
| Test Administration
|
ELA test sessions | April 1–May 3[12]
(Note: ELA testing ends earlier than Mathematics/STE.) |
|
| Mathematics test sessions | April 2–May 2412 | ||
| STE test sessions (grades 5 and 8) | April 3–May 2412 | ||
| After Testing | Deadline for updating SR/PNP information, if necessary | ELA: May 6, 3:00 p.m.
Math/STE: May 28, 3:00 p.m. |
|
| Deadline to complete the PCPA | |||
| Mark students’ tests complete, if necessary | |||
| For PBT accommodations: Pre-scheduled UPS pickup/pickup deadline | ELA: May 7, 5:00 p.m.[13]
Math/STE: May 29, 5:00 p.m.13 |
||
2018–2019 Statewide Testing Schedule and Administration Deadlines continued
| Date/Time | ||||
| 2019 MCAS/EPP Mathematics Test
The MCAS/EPP Mathematics test is an option for students to successfully complete the mathematics assessment portion of their Education Proficiency Plan (EPP) in order to meet their Competency Determination graduation requirement. The MCAS/EPP Mathematics test has two separate sessions. Individual test sessions are designed to be completed in 60 minutes. |
||||
| Before Testing | Download test materials from the Department’s Security Portal | April 8–May 3 | ||
| Test Administration | MCAS/EPP Mathematics test sessions | April 22–May 3 | ||
| Last day for make-up testing | May 3 | |||
| After Testing | Score students’ answer sheets | May 6–15 | ||
| Deadline to destroy test booklets | May 15 | |||
| Securely transport materials to the superintendent’s office for storage | May 7–24 | |||
| Spring 2019 Grade 10 MCAS Mathematics Test
The grade 10 Mathematics test will be a next-generation, computer-based test, and schools are expected to administer it online. (Exceptions are made for students who require a PBT edition as an accommodation.) See the test design for details. |
||||
| Before Testing | Complete the pre-administrationSR/PNP process[14], [15] | January 30–February 12 | ||
| Extended pre-administrationSR/PNP window for CBT | February 13–May 3 | |||
| Receive test administration manuals and PBT materials for accommodations | May 7 | |||
| Precache operational test content for spring 2019 testing | May 7–20 | |||
| Order additional manuals and PBT materials for accommodations, if necessary Report packing discrepancies for PBT shipments, if necessary |
May 7–17 | |||
| Test Administration | Prescribed administration dates[16]
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|||
By Peter Chan, Boston Chinese Catholic Community
Boston, Dec. 31, 2018, — Two familiar names were on the list of the 2018 Bishop Cheverus Award. Congratulations to Simon Ho, and we at St. James the Greater Church and Boston Chinese Catholic Community(BCCC) are very proud of him.
Simon Ho(left) receives the award from Cardinal O’malley.
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By Zhirui Xiong, International School of the Sacred Heart of Tokyo
In Japan, I’m “despicable Chinese.” In China, my home country, I’m “little Japanese.” I’ve faced different kinds of discrimination.
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