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The Year of the Dragon was ushered in at GIIS campuses in Singapore with enthusiasm, echoing celebrations all over Singapore. GIIS Queenstown Primary Campus welcomed students and teachers from Maple Leaf International School, Dalian, China, while students and staff from Dalian Pei Geng Primary School, China were invited to GIIS Balestier Campus to share the joy of the Chinese New Year. Celebrated in January 2012, Chinese New Year one of the most important festivals on the Singapore calendar as it heralds the beginning of a new year. Traditionally, it is ushered in with a family reunion dinner and festive celebrations lasting 15 days.
To celebrate the spirit of the festival at GIIS Queenstown Primary Campus, students presented a skit about preparations for New Year celebrations in a Chinese family. The skit depicted different rituals and stages of preparations leading to Chinese New Year. Students touched upon important traditions such as spring cleaning, decorating the house with auspicious red, the reunion dinner along with ‘Tossing of the Salad’ or ‘Yusheng’, greeting elders followed by giving of Hong Bao and oranges. The students performed a graceful Chinese dance and wished everyone Gong Xi Fa Cai. At GIIS East Coast Campus, the students, teachers and staff celebrated the Chinese New Year in a very unique way. They
invited neighbours for the celebrations. Various activities were conducted as a part of the Chinese New Year at different levels in the school. The secondary students were very excited about celebrating the Lunar New Year. They designed and prepared special Chinese New Year cards for neighbours. The students enthusiastically visited the neighbourhood to greet the neighbours on this special occasion with cards and oranges, a symbol of prosperity. One of the neighbourhood residents, Mr Chua expressed his admiration for the GIIS East Coast Campus students making an effort to visit the neighbourhood families to wish them for the Lunar New Year. He saw this as a good endeavour by the school and its students to make resident neighbours feel inclusive and as part of the GIIS community.
Kindergarteners had a special assembly to mark this Chinese New Year, where they learnt about various aspects of the Chinese culture. Several neighbourhood residents graced this special assembly and highlighted certain do’s and don’ts for the Chinese New Year celebration for the benefit of and cultural understanding amongst students. Guests enjoyed the presentation by the kindergarteners, the highlight being the Lion Dance which excited them all. Singapore’s Bedok Green Primary School (BGPS) had invited 10 students of GIIS East Coast Campus from Class 5 to be a part of their Chinese New Year celebrations. The celebration included martial art skills showcased by BGPS students, a Lion and Dragon dance and games involving logic. GIIS East Coast Campus students also met their pen friends and gave them small gifts. The beautiful programme ended with a Chinese New Year song, and distribution of token gifts from the BGPS student team. The local festivity reached its peak at GIIS Balestier Campus where the notes of celebration began with a lively assembly depicting the story of the Lunar New Year. The traditional Lion and Dragon dance in the auditorium brought the house down. The children were truly overwhelmed and leapt with joy when the ‘dragon’ descended from the stage right among them. Students enjoyed experiences such as presenting the Principal with the traditional Hong Bao. Students and staff from Dalian Pei Geng Primary School, China, who were invited to GIIS Balestier Campus to share the joy of the Chinese New Year, were truly impressed with the New Year celebration at the campus and attended interactive Indian traditional dance and yoga sessions along with GIIS Balestier students. They also enjoyed attending an interactive English session conducted by Primary Coordinator, Ms Rekha Varghese for GIIS and Dalian Primary students. The Lunar New Year celebration became a perfect forum for a Student Exchange Programme! Across all GIIS campuses, students took home glimpses of the Chinese tradition and culture, as well as an understanding about the local festival. |
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