CIS Splash

As a school which is a proud member of the CIS, two weeks ago we were excited to recognise and celebrate with our school community the Lunar New Year. 

On Friday 12th February, we recognised Lunar New Year by inviting those participating in the celebration to wear traditional cultural dress.  The learners all shared in the story on ‘Nian’ in the classroom, which is a legend associated with the origin of Lunar New Year. 

In addition to this, were very fortunate to have some parents and families within our school community who took the time to help make the celebration across the school even more inclusive and welcoming of the wider community.  They kindly cooked and prepared a celebration lunch for our dedicated staff and decorate the school with the character ‘Fu’.

The Chinese character, Fu 福, is used to decorate the doors and windows during Lunar New Year. It is written on a red paper. In Mandarin, “Fu” means good luck, so the purpose is to bring luck to the family at the beginning of a new year. 

The Chinese character which translates to ‘upside down’, is a homophone with the Chinese character of translating to ‘arrived’.  So, some families will hang their Fu upside down to signal that good luck has arrived in our family.

As a school which promotes and actively teaches strategies to build cultural understanding we are thrilled with the success and participation of students and families during Lunar New Year.  As the year progresses, we will continue to acknowledge celebrations of cultural significance to our school community, including:

• Eid al Fitr
• Vesak
• Yom Kippur
• Diwali
• Christmas

The importance of recognizing these celebrations is two-fold, firstly to build a sense of belonging and connection in our school community and secondly, to enhance cultural understanding with one another.  As we live in an ever-evolving world, the children of today will need to develop skills to understand different cultures and the nuances that occur within them. 

I would like to finish this piece by saying an enormous thank-you to all of those who contributed to the success of Lunar New Year.  Your efforts have not gone unnoticed and we truly value the time and effort you took to share the celebration with us.