May 2012: 

WORD OF THE MONTH:

Powerful Word for the month of May is Black Belt "trustworthiness". Students can access their worksheets in the Student Forum, and parents can access the "Parents Perch" in the Student Forum as well.  Username is student.

TESTING DATES:

Testing -  May 23rd, 24th and 25th. Please remember Full Uniform is required, and Friday is for make-up testing.  Good Luck!

SPECIAL EVENTS, HOLIDAYS, SCHOOL CLOSED: 

We will be closed Monday, May 25th for Victoria Day.

May Day Parade, Saturday, May 12th.  Register at the front desk.

Yuen's Tournament of Excellence, Saturday May 26th.  Register at front desk.

*IMPORTANT*

On friday, June 1 st at 7:15pm I will be hosting an open-floor bullying forum.  I would like the Parents' feedback on local concerns regarding bullying, and the opportunity to present a program that we as an organization have been working on called Verbal Martial Arts.   As a martial arts practitioner and as a school owner I came to a realization last year. THAT THERE IS A HUGE GAP IN WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SCHOOLS AND WHAT WE TEACH IN THE DOJO.  We want to teach our kids to stand up for themselves.  When they do, they are often times labled the problem.  The bullies continue their path.  Martial arts instruction has always focused on what you do once you are in a fight.  It does not have a great history of telling you how to talk yourself out of fights, or how to identify controlling type of bullying behaviours early enough to defend yourself from long-term exposure. It has come to my attention that many of my students are being fed contradicting information as to how to avoid and prevent bullying.  Some from parents, from teachers, from me, from peers. I WANT TO ELIMINATE THAT THIS YEAR.  I WANT TO GET EVERYONE ON THE SAME PAGE THIS YEAR, REGARDLESS OF WHAT ANY OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE DOING.  IT IS BIGGER THAN THAT. I have 3 goals at this open forum.

1.  To gather an understanding of local concerns regarding bullying.

2.  To present some of the key principles in the Conflict Resolution program I have been studying, which started as a program for Law Enforcement officers and has been taught to over 700'000 officers in the U.S.

3.  To present an option of a Parent Participation Mandatory, 4 session workshop designed to put EVERYONE on the same page as to how to better cope with bullying.

This forum is OPEN TO ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN BETTER ARMING OUR CHILDREN AGAINST BULLYING.  Please, parents only for this one, we will be discussing things that may be above the suitability for younger ones. Please let me know if you are interested or if you have any questions, I'd be happy to have you or anyone that is interested.

You get a double punch at Yuen’s. One, a complete martial arts program with a foundation in Taekwondo.  Two, an educational component where students learn life values, like building leadership skills, confidence, and developing respect for themselves and others. Camaraderie, empathy and integrity are just a few of the values that children learn about in their daily mat chats in their POWerful words program.

Owner Kevin van Veen, opened Yuen’s Martial Arts in Port Coquitlam in October, 2007 and now offers 24 classes a week in the studio, providing students with a variety of training times to accommodate families in today’s busy environment.

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