Student presenters with Chinese teacher Shu Hui Lin, (front row, second from left), Administrative Principal Zoraba Ross (L) and Assistant Principal Alisa McKinney (second from right).
Feb. 24, 2017 -- Heights High students celebrated the Chinese New Year on February 9 with an after school program hosted by the three Chinese language classes and their teacher Shu Hui Lin. The New Year celebration is a very important holiday in China where families gather and observe a new beginning each spring. The event welcomed in the Year of the Rooster.
Four students performed an opening Lion Dance wearing handmade lion costumes.
The heads of the lions were hand painted and students hid under colorful silk fabric attached to the lion heads. The dance is intended to scare away evil and to bring good luck for the coming New Year.
Students and a large Panda mascot performed a popular Chinese dance, the Little Apple.
Chinese 1 students assisted in the Q & A program about the 12 Chinese Zodiac symbols. Students wore Cheongsams, traditional Chinese clothes for the fashion show.
The final performance featured the traditional Chinese song, Gongxi! Gongxi! with good wishes for a happy New Year.
Following the performances, the audience enjoyed candy presented in bright red envelopes with a message of good luck for the New Year.
Chinese teacher Dr. Lin with Panda.
Sophomores Eric Napoleon and Georgie Jolivette of the Chinese 3 honor class were presenters in the program. “Red is the color of good luck in China, so the envelopes with the treats, the lanterns and some of the traditional clothing are red,” said Eric. “We created the red banners with calligraphy in class and painted the lion heads for the Lion Dance,” said Georgie.
The date of the Chinese New Year celebration depends on the lunar cycle and falls between January 21 and February 20. In 2017, the New Year begins on January 28 and ends on February 12.
This is the first year that Chinese Language teacher Dr. Lin has organized a school wide New Year celebration.
“I want to thank the staff at Heights High, parents, and the Confucius Institute of CSU for their support of this event. I was very happy with the students and how they performed,” said Dr. Lin. “Next year we will plan for an even bigger event.”