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本校於4月6日星期日參加北加州中文聯合會所主辦的學術文化比賽。計有謝阜庭(Michael Hsieh)得即席演講A組第三名；陳思潔(Penny Chen)作文A組第一名；李明欣(Tiffany Lee)作文B組第三名；張海淨(Hai-Ching Chang)閱讀測驗A組第二名。
該日我們抵達會場報到時，有一位陪兒子參賽的家長上前與我們寒喧。她問及：是否我們參賽的同學皆為一時之選？我們聽了不禁莞爾，說：我們學校人數很少，而且我們向來鼓勵同學參賽，一方面增廣見聞，另一方面舒解身心，所以他們皆任意選擇自己所感興趣的項目參加。她驚訝之餘，指指身旁的兒子說：我們學校共有一千多名學生，所以來參賽者都是學校的佼佼者。我們心裏不由得升起：這些代表學校參賽的同學，其實參加即得獎了，真是難能可貴。不過看看我們的同學，談笑於緊張的會場外。我們每年都是最特別的一群。這位女士忍不住說：「你們的同學真不同。」「是啊！」我們異口同聲的說：「平常心是我們的家風，而且同學們一向是志在參加，不在得獎，所以能怡然自得。」
會後主辦單位向遠道來參賽的我們致意，而我們也對他們在海外不遺餘力的宏揚中華文化的精神表示敬意。事實上，我們發現大家都有一共同信念，那就是：希望中華文化能在下一代紮根、結果。
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On Sunday, April 6, students of Developing Virtue and Instilling Goodness Schools participated and won awards in the Academic Culture Contest sponsored by the Association of Northern California Chinese Schools. Michael Hsieh won the third place in the extemporaneous speech contest; Penny Chen won first place in Writing Group A; Tiffany Lee won the third place in Writing Group B; and Hai Ching Chang won the second place in Reading Comprehension Group A.
When we arrived at the contest location, a parent who was accompanying her son at the contest chatted with us. She asked, “Are these your school’s most outstanding students?” Hearing this, we smiled and said, “We don’t have that many students to choose from. Besides, we encourage students to participate in the contest to increase their knowledge and experience on the one hand, and to relax their minds on the other. Therefore they can choose to participate in whatever contest they are interested in.” Surprised, she pointed to her son and said, “There are over a thousand students in his school, only the best ones get to participate.” We thought, “These students are already awarded by being chosen to represent their schools. This is quite commendable!” However, look at our students who talk and laugh outside of the auditorium. Each year our group is the most special one. This lady couldn’t help but remark, “Your students are really different!” “We always encourage students to remain calm and not treat this as anything out of the ordinary,” we reply together. “Their aim is to participate, not to win. So they are happy and relaxed.”
After the contest, the organizers expressed their appreciation for our coming such a long way as well as for our efforts to propagate Chinese culture overseas. Actually, we discovered a common hope that everyone shared—to plant the seeds of Chinese culture so that they can bear fruit in the next generation.
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