Cathedral Catholic High School is offering a new language for the upcoming year of 2010-11 for students currently in grades 9-11. Mandarin Chinese will be a yearlong course offered every other day from 7:00-8:10 a.m. Currently, Cathedral Catholic offers classes in five different languages – French, Spanish, Latin, German, and American Sign Language. All of these languages offered are UC approved. Furthermore, students can take Honors courses and the A.P. exam in Spanish, French, and German. However, the German program has been phased out for years because a language program with enrollment in single digits is not “economically feasible,” said Curriculum Director Mrs. Anne Egan. Mrs. Egan and Principal Mr. Mike Deely decided to bring Chinese to Cathedral Catholic after considering Italian and Japanese as well. “We chose Mandarin Chinese because it is the language of the 21st century and our global society,” said Mrs. Egan. According to Mrs. Egan, many parents in Carmel Valley have business connections, and parents were interested in launching Chinese in the various schools in the area. The closest elementary school to Cathedral Catholic is Notre Dame Academy, and one parent at the school found a connection to a Chinese teacher. The two schools will be working together to launch a Chinese language program. “Notre Dame Academy will pilot Mandarin Chinese in grades K-8, and our school will continue the program through high school. The ultimate goal is to create that a 4-year program that will lead to an AP Chinese course as well as UC approval for Chinese at our school,” said Mrs. Egan. The teacher  is currently teaching Mandarin Chinese at Grossmont College, using her own textbook. However, she will be modifying her college textbook for the high school level. The class will consist of 6-20 students and will serve as an elective. If more than twenty students sign up, then there will be a lottery to determine who will be given placement. The class is not UC approved and will not count towards any language graduation requirements. The students enrolled will pay a fee in order to decrease the cost of the teacher and materials. According to a bulletin released by Mr. Deely, this class will give students the opportunity to “benefit from the enrichment experience” and they will “advise the administration on the future of a Mandarin Chinese program based on their learning experiences.”