LOTE (Chinese) 

As Term 1 comes to an end, students across all year levels have been actively exploring the rich traditions of the most significant festival in China, the Chinese Spring Festival (also called the Lunar New Year). 

Our Prep to Year 2 learners inquired about the Lantern Festival later this term and used a guided template to make beautiful 'Year of the Horse' lanterns. As knowledgeable learners, native speakers in Year 2 classes further extended their learning by writing "The Lantern Festival" in Chinese (元宵节), marking the conclusion of the 15 days of Chinese New Year celebrations. In addition, Year 2 students also had an opportunity to practise writing the Chinese character for 'horse (马)' and learned the festive idiom "马年大吉“, wishing you good luck in the Year of the Horse. 

In Year 3 and 4, students designed authentic horse lanterns, demonstrating creativity through personalised backgrounds and artistic choices. One of the highlights was learning to use three different numbers (2, 3, 4) to draw a horse. Moreover, Year 4 learners began researching a Chinese New Year (CNY) Fact File, investigating key traditions, special foods, legendary stories, CNY greeting phrases, and cultural practices associated with this important celebration.

Being open-minded learners, our Year 5 and 6 students explored the Chinese New Year timeline, developing a deeper understanding of the sequence of the cultural celebrations.

As curious inquirers, they also investigated the seven traditional customs of the Spring Festival, enhancing their intercultural awareness and researching skills. 

It has been a vibrant and engaging term of learning, and I look forward to continuing these cultural explorations next term.