The new 2023-2024 school year for West Valley Chinese Academy is now in session.

Classes began on August 20, 2023 in-person.

Whether you are a new student or a returning student, welcome back. Thanks for joining us!

Join West Valley Chinese Academy for another fundraiser at The Stand in Woodland Hills on Sunday, August 21 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. to have some great food while raising funds to support the programs at WVCA. Simply present the following flyer (printed or on your phone) when you are making your purchase, and 20 percent of your purchase will support WVCA.

Please feel free to share this flyer with your family, friends and community. Thank you for your support!

When West Valley Chinese Academy was looking to design a school t-shirt, we turned to our students and teachers for help.

We are pleased to announce that the winning t-shirt submission has been selected — “Super Reading Panda” by Scarlett and Alice Yan.

We were so incredibly impressed by the creativity shown in all the submissions and would like to take a minute to share those designs with our community.

This was WVCA’s first t-shirt design contest — and we received 12 submissions. Thank you so much to everyone who participated!

West Valley Chinese Academy (WVCA) has been providing first-class Chinese language education in the San Fernando Valley area for 18 years. Our school distinguishes itself from other language schools for its small-class sizes, experienced teachers, cultural activities, dedicated volunteers, and our remarkable students and families.

This year, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our school had to cancel all in-person class sessions. In a very short amount of time, we were able to seamlessly transition all classes online in order to provide uninterrupted-learning experiences for our students. We express our gratitude to our amazing WVCA teachers and administrators for making this happen.

The 2020-21 school year began August 23, 2020 in a distance-learning format. We plan to follow Los Angeles Unified School District and Los Angeles Department of Public Health guidelines to decide when in-person classes can resume. We will evaluate the situation and make decisions that best protect the health of our families and teachers.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at (818) 381-9822, or by email at wvca@wvchineseacademy.org.

Click here to access our online application.

Click here to pay online, or calculate your tuition amount for the 2020-2021 school year.

On February 5, 2019, Chinese New Year launched across the world in the grandest of splendor. This year, we celebrate the Year of the Pig (猪年).

The Chinese zodiac, a 12-year cycle of animal years and their applied traits, goes back so far in history. According to the Chinese legend, the Jade Emperor of the Heaven wanted to select 12 animals to be his guards. He sent an immortal being into man’s world to spread the message that the earlier one went through the Heavenly Gate, the better the rank one would have.

The next day, animals set off towards the Heavenly Gate. Rat got up very early. On his way to the gate, he encountered a river. He had to stop there, owing to the swift current. After waiting a long time, Rat noticed Ox was about to cross the river and swiftly jumped onto Ox’s back. The diligent Ox did not mind at all and simply continued. After crossing the river, he raced towards the palace of the Jade Emperor. Suddenly, Rat jumped out of Ox’s back and dashed to the feet of the Emperor. Rat won first place and Ox was second. Tiger and Rabbit came third and fourth. Good-looking Dragon was fifth and Snake ranked sixth. Horse and Goat were ranked seventh and eighth. Then came Monkey, Rooster and Dog. Finally, the Pig arrived as the twelfth animal.

Such is the Year of the Pig. Years of the Pig include 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, and 2031. Due to the pig’s traits of generosity, hard work, and compassion, the Year of the Pig is auspicious indeed. This year is considered the Year of the Earth Pig (土猪). In Chinese element theory, each zodiac sign is associated with one of the five elements: Metal (金), Wood （木）, Water （水）, Fire （火）, and Earth （土）. An Earth Pig comes once in a 60-year cycle. It is theorized that a person’s characteristics are determined by their birth year’s zodiac animal sign and element. A person born in the Earth Pig year is believed to be communicative, popular among their friends, and with a strong sense of time keeping.

Let’s enjoy the Year of the Earth Pig, and join in the celebration with billions of others worldwide.

West Valley Chinese Academy will host its 2019 Chinese New Year Celebration on Sunday, February 10, to celebrate the Year of the Pig.

The event will feature lion dances, cultural dances and music, student performances, and plenty of exciting raffle prizes.

WVCA’s 2019 Chinese New Year Celebration
6025 Valley Circle Boulevard, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Click here for an event flyer, and feel free to share it with your family, friends, neighbors, and community. Everyone is welcome.

See you there!

“In China, from a very early period, calligraphy was considered not just a form of decorative art; rather, it was viewed as the supreme visual art form, was more valued than painting and sculpture, and ranked alongside poetry as a means of self-expression and cultivation.”

West Valley Chinese Academy is pleased to offer a new Chinese Calligraphy class which will held from 11:30 am to 12:20 pm on Sundays.

This Chinese Calligraphy course provides a great way to further your child’s knowledge of Chinese culture.

Contact Xiaoyan Lin at xlin@wvchineseacademy.org, if you are interested in enrolling your child.

The Harvest Moon Festival, commonly referred to as the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节), is a celebration rich in Chinese lore. It involves the tragically romantic story of Chang’e, the moon goddess and her mortal husband Hou Yi. It is celebrated extravagantly with big dinners and family reunions. In many parts of Asia, there are children’s lantern parades, and lion dances. But ask any Chinese person about the festival, and they will tell you it’s all about the mooncakes.

Why? Because this is the time of year when the mooncakes are produced. Often baked and packaged lavishly, the mooncakes are meant as gifts. Families share the delicious confection with each other to celebrate the holiday with joy as they honor the good fortune of the harvest season.

Mooncakes are round like the moon, stamped in elaborate decorations, and rich with egg yolk in the recipe. One (a day) is usually enough to satisfy the craving for this yearly treat. They come with a sweet paste filling inside, often red bean or lotus seed paste, although many other varieties of the filling, such as black or white sesame seed, are also available. One such favorite is mooncakes baked with a salted duck egg yolk in the center, again symbolizing the moon. As a cake, they are usually individually proportioned at approximately four inches each in diameter, but some chefs in China will attempt extremely large mooncakes to commemorate the holiday. In whatever way they are made, they are delicious, and always a welcome gift.

While mooncakes make the Mid-Autumn Festival a special one in Chinese culture, the festival itself was always an importantone to the Chinese ancestors. It was held to celebrate their harvest and all their hard work in the last days of the season before the changing of the weather. The specific day is determined by the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The Mid-Autumn Festival is set to be the 15th day of the eighth month. Always on a full moon, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls this year on September, 24.

The legend behind the festival is also a sad and beautiful one. Chang’e was the wife of a famed archer Hou Yi, and they livedat a time long ago when the Earth was plagued by ten suns. Yi shot down nine of the suns with his arrows, leaving one remaining for light and warmth. His heroic actions were seen by one of the immortals, who chose to give Yi an elixir for immortality. But Yi did not want immortality without his wife to join him, so he kept the elixir in his home. A subordinate of his, Peng Meng, learnt of the elixir and tried to force Chang’e to give it to him, but she swallowed it instead. Flying into the sky with her new immortal powers, she chose the moon as her home. When Yi returned and heard of what had happened, he grieved and offered fruits in devotion to his wife. When the people observed his gifts, they followed suit and worshipped with him.

Truly a special time in the Chinese calendar, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a welcome opportunity to get together with friends and families and share the joy of the season together – with mooncakes!

West Valley Chinese Academy (WVCA), located in Woodland Hills, CA is currently seeking Mandarin Chinese language teachers. We teach Simplified Chinese and Pinyin. Classes meet on Sundays from 9:30-11:20 a.m. for lower grades and 9:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. for higher grades.

WVCA has been teaching Chinese language and culture for 15 years. WVCA differentiates itself from other language schools by its small class size, experienced teachers, Beginner to AP Preparation classes, and dedicated volunteers.

Pay is $25-$30/hr.

Job Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree required (U.S. or foreign equivalent). Must have experience in teaching Chinese, preferably in teaching Pinyin or lower grades.  Must enjoy working with kids.

This is a part-time job. Candidates need to reside in the Greater Los Angeles area.

To apply, send a cover letter and your resume to wvca@wvchineseacademy.org.