School History
Planning and Designing the new Mandarin Immersion Magnet School
The Mandarin Immersion Magnet School campus design is inspired by the Chinese character Ming, meaning “bright future” and composed of two Chinese characters—sun and moon. The “sun wing” showcases a lively light-filled three-story learning commons in its core and houses the academic facilities. Its form provides uniquely shaped flex and collaboration spaces to support blended learning models. The “moon wing” supports student and community functions through a glassy façade that reflects Houston’s architecture and maintains traditional Chinese elements.
Our Logo
The dragon and the phoenix are auspicious symbols in Chinese culture, commonly depicted as the animal representations of the yin and yang. The dragon, which in imperial China represented the Emperor and masculine energy, is balanced by the phoenix, who represented the Empress and feminine grace and power. In classical literature and art, the phoenix and the dragon represent rare talent and high virtue. The two have come to represent harmony, balance, and power.
A common expression in Chinese is 龙凤呈祥, which translates to "The Dragon and Phoenix bring prosperity." In fact, it is not uncommon for the symbols of the dragon and phoenix to feature prominently in Chinese marriage ceremonies.
The Chinese phoenix is unlike the phoenix most Westerners know, composed of flame and rising from ashes. The Chinese phoenix, which was master of all feathered creatures, is described in a multitude of ways, but usually as having the body of a pheasant and the colorful plumage of a peacock.
While there are many Chinese idioms which incorporate the idea of the dragon and phoenix, of special importance to our school community is the following expression which boasts of high aspirations for one's children, and can be roughly translated as "Wishing that sons and daughters transform into dragons and phoenix":
望子成龙, 望女成凤
It is our sincere belief that at the Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, all students are capable of transforming into the Dragons and Phoenix.