Upcoming Events:

• Apply to join the BCIC board by April 5! 

• BCIC Transition to High School Panel
  • Tuesday, March 31 from 6:30-8:00 pm
  • BHS in Upper Atrium
  • Registration for all attendees required (student + recommended adult)

• BCIC Transition to Middle School Panel
  • Wednesday, April 1 from 6:30-8:00 pm
  • Station Middle School in Media Center
  • Registration for all attendees required (student + adult)

• Character Bee
  • Thursday, April 16 from 5:00-7:00 pm
  • Countryside
  • Registration for all attendees (participants + adults)
  • Sign up to volunteer (we really need judges)

• BCIC Graduation Party
  • Sunday, April 26 5:30-8:00 pm
  • Pier 91 at Barrington Boat Club
  • Purchase tickets on RevTrak by this Friday, March 20

• BCIC Booth at Barrington KidFest
  • Saturday, May 2nd from 11:00 am-3:00 pm
  • Citizens Park
  • No registration required, but volunteers needed.

• BCIC Open Board Meeting with guest speaker, D220 Director of Equity, Race, & Culutral Initiatives, Nate Rouse
  • Thursday, May 7 at 6:30 pm
  • Barrington Area Library
  • Registration required. It will be on website & in April newsletter

• Year End Party
  • Wednesday, May 27 from 5:00-7:00 pm
  • NBS
  • Registration coming in April
  • Volunteer sign up coming in April

• Encourage incoming kindergateners to register for CI! 

The BCIC Board is seeking several board members. Please fill out this brief Google form to express your interst by 11:59 pm on April 5. You will then be invited to a board meeting (April 9 or May 7) for an interview. If you have questions in the meanwhile, please reach out to any of the current board members for more information. 

Becca Patchak President

Deepta Ramesh Vice President

Yiming Wang Treasurer

Leeann Chang Secretary

Michelle Chase Director

Zaoli Zhang Director

Erin Lales Director

Kate Xu Director

Matthew Benkert Director

Tracy Lauffer Director

All current 8th graders and their families are invited to join BCIC for a panel discussion about the transition to high school in the Upper Atrium of Barrington High School. After the panel discussion, there will be time for the current 8th graders to informally chat with the current high school students and/or teachers. At the same time, current 8th grade parents can informally chat with current high school parents and/or teachers.

This is NOT intended to be a drop off event; students and their parents will benefit from hearing from our panelists. Students should attend with their parents or another trusted adult.

This is a FREE event, but registration is required. ALL attendees must be registered to attend. This means you should click “+ Add Guest” for each additional person in your group attending.

You may submit as many questions to the panel ahead of time via this same registration form. Questions submitted on this registration will be asked annonymously during the event. You can also directly ask questions at the event to our CI high school students serving on the panel, Mrs. Yang or Ms. Stumpf (our CI high school teachers), parents of current/past high schoolers, and BCIC reps.

All current 5th graders and their families are invited to join BCIC for a panel discussion about the transition to middle school in the media center (library) of Station Middle School. After the panel discussion, there will be time for the current 5th graders to informally chat with the current middle school students and/or teachers. At the same time, current 5th grade parents can informally chat with current middle school parents and/or teachers.

This is NOT a drop off event; students must attend with their parents, guardians, or trusted adult. Both students and parents will benefit from hearing from our panelists.

This is a FREE event, but registration is required. ALL attendees must be registered to attend. This means you should click “+ Add Guest” for each additional person in your group attending.

You may submit as many questions to the panel ahead of time via this same registration form. Questions submitted on this registration will be asked annonymously during the event. You can also directly ask questions at the event to our CI middle school students serving on the panel, Mrs. Weerts & Mr. Yu (our CI middle school teachers), parents of current/past middle schoolers, and BCIC reps.

What is the Chinese Character Bee?

The Chinese Character Bee is an opportunity for participants 1st through 5th to showcase their knowledge of Mandarin Chinese characters. Students will engage in friendly competition, promoting language proficiency, and celebrating the richness of the Chinese language.

Event Schedule:

4th & 5th Grade
Check-in: 4:45 PM
Bee Begins: 5:00PM

1st, 2nd, & 3rd Grades
Check-in: 5:45 PM
Bees Begin: 6:00 PM

Study Guides by Grade Level: Grade Level Study guide will be provided by the classroom teacher.

Here is the links to the Character Bee rules and procedures.

Save the Date and Spread the Buzz!

Mark your calendars! The Character Bee will be a highlight of the academic year, bringing our community together to celebrate the beauty and complexity of the Chinese language.

For more information or inquiries, please contact bcic220@gmail.com.

We look forward to your enthusiastic participation in the Chinese Character Bee!

Have you bought your tickets to the Class of 2026 Graduation Party yet? If not, be sure to do so by this Friday, March 20.

We welcome our graduates' family and friends to celebrate this special celebration. BCIC, will be joined with some of our teachers, administrators, and school board members; everyone looks forward to celebrating the achievements of this amazing cohort of students. 

Emails with the link to Revtrak to purchase tickets and sponsorships have been sent to graduates and their parents. Please check your email. If you did not recieve these emails have questions or are interested in volunteering, please contact Becca Patchak at beccapatchak@bcic220.org.

BCIC was able to give each Chinese teacher an arts and crafts supply stipend to help with providing a special activity for their classroom either for Lunar New Year or another Chinese culutre art event in the classroom. Several teachers sent us photos of the wonderful fun students had. These types of opportunities are thanks to our generous donors/families at our (fun and fundraising) Lunar New Year event as well as to when families contribute to BCIC each year when registering. Thank you for your continued support.

The Barrington Park District is bringing this FUN and FREE event back this spring! It is a great opportunity to connect with the broader Barrington area community and build our pipeline of new students! Bring your kids to enjoy the event and volunteer for a shift at the BCIC booth while you are there! So join us at Citizen's Park on Saturday, May 2nd from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm. Even if you can only cover an hour or two, your time would be greatly appreciated! Please reach out to Erin Lales at ErinLales@bcic220.org if you are interested in helping!

Thank you: Lunar New Year!

On February 28, Barrington High School transformed into a festive hub as BCIC and D220 welcomed current families, alumni, staff, and community members to its Lunar New Year celebration of the Year of the Horse.

The main program showcased the talents of Chinese Immersion students across grade levels, with performances in Mandarin, a crowd-pleasing lion dance by the BHS Chinese Club, a captivating Chinese opera-style performance by singer Lucy Xu, a traditional Guzheng instrument played by Anne Sui (8th grade), and elegant performances by Nan Arts Dance, giving students a meaningful stage to share their language and heritage.

Students also took the stage to showcase traditional and creative attire in a Fashion Show, which featured Bella Caravette (5th grade), who designed and made her own outfit. Families explored cultural stations that included calligraphy-based art, Chinese crafts, and traditional games, along with a raffle and silent auction that help support our Chinese Immersion program.

The year of the horse Lunar New Year Party was a culturally-immersive day of celebration, learning, and community connection! Go Broncos!

BCIC gives thanks to the many middle school, high school, and adult volunteers who generously gave their time and talent! Without your dedication to BCIC, this party could not have been pulled off! Thank you for making this a safe, successful, and fun event for all. 

Thank you to the administrators, school board members, and  teachers that were able to join in the celebration. Esteemed guests included Dr. Craig Winkelman, Dr. Melissa, Byrne, Becky Wiegel, Barry Altshuler, Harathi Srivastava, Steve Wang, Allison Hudson, Diana McKee, Lily Wang, Shu Zander, Elizabeth Schenck, Xia Du, Lu Pauwels, Hangxin Yu, Mary Weerts, & Yang Yang, 

We are also grateful to the generous donors that financially helped back our special event. Community partners including W. Kim Taekwondo, Skyward Fencing, Volition Tea, Xilin Northwest Chinese School, and PL8 Restaurant enriched the afternoon with engaging demonstrations, tastings, and experiences that connected local businesses to district families.

Many thanks go to our BCIC Board Committee: Leeann Chang, Michelle Chase, Yiming Wang, Terry Pischke, & Bella Caravette.  

Our upcoming class of 2026 graduation party, year end party, KidFest, and future events need your help! 

You can help in the planning process or the day of event, but we need you to sign up to be on a list to contact. Every small contribution has a big impact. Please see how you can support our group for the benefit of your children and their classmates.

Fill out the form below or email Becca Patchak at beccapatchak@bcic220.org

Every spiritwear order helps support BCIC!

Do you need a BCIC shirt to wear to our LNY event? We've got t-shirts & sweatshirts--and lots of other fun gift ideas too!

Adults, grab some CI gear to wear around town or at upcoming BCIC events like LNY.

Kids, grab some new CI gear to wear on Fridays to show your school spirit.

Your donation will help us to more generously support our events, students, & teachers! BCIC welcomes donations of any size. We very much appreciate all company matches. 

This link is a general donation towards BCIC that helps with all the things we support.

This link is specifically for a donation towards books to be used in our CI classrooms.

This link is specifically for a donation towards recruitment efforts. 

DISCLAIMER: BCIC is not a sponsor of, affiliated with, or otherwise connected to the organizations or events below. The appearance of our name, logo, or any reference to our organization in connection with this/these event(s) does not constitute endorsement, approval, or support of the event, its organizers, or its activities.

We have not authorized the use of our name or branding for promotional purposes related to this/these event(s). Any views, opinions, or representations expressed in connection with the event are solely those of the event organizers and participants and do not reflect the views or positions of BCIC.

For questions regarding this/these event(s), please contact the organizations below as shared.