Dear DBIS community,
We look forward to celebrating the 2024 Chinese New Year – the Year of the Dragon – next week. We have prepared an exciting week of activities as outlined below:
Date: Monday 5th February
Events:
- Our Year 7 students will explore the CNY Flower Market at Victoria Park to learn about Chinese culture and traditions beyond the classroom while enhancing their language skills.
- Our Year 5 and Year 6 students will make wontons and dumplings during their Mandarin lessons and learn about the significance of these foods in Chinese culture.
Date: Wednesday 7th February (Dress-up Day – EYFS)
What to wear: EYFS students are encouraged to dress in traditional Chinese outfits or red/gold/yellow clothing.
Events:
- A traditional dragon and lion dance performance will take place at our EYFS campus. The God of Fortune will visit each class and give out 红包 （hóngbāo) to our FS-1 and FS-2 students.
- In the afternoon, EYFS parents and guardians are invited to join us at the Temple Fair, where you can enjoy participating in some traditional Chinese activities, such as calligraphy and decorating the wishing tree.
Date: Thursday 8th February
Event:
- Year 1 – Year 6 classes will enjoy a full day of Temple Fair activities, where they can experience interactive, culture-related activities. A lottery-style ‘lucky draw’ will also take place every 30 minutes!
Date: Friday 9th February (Dress-up Day – Whole School)
What to wear: All students (EYFS, Primary & Secondary) are encouraged to dress in traditional Chinese outfits or red/gold/yellow clothing.
Events:
The following events will take place at our Main Campus:
- A traditional teacher dragon dance and lion dance
- Band performance
- Secondary students will compete for their tutor group in various cultural activities, such as designing a dragon, taking a chopstick challenge, cultural quizzes, etc.
Chinese New Year is a hugely significant local festival within our community, celebrating the start of the New Year on the lunar calendar. Celebrations traditionally run from the evening preceding the 1st day until the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first calendar month. This year, the first day of the Chinese New Year is Saturday, 10th February, initiating the Year of the Dragon.
We wish everyone a year filled with joy and happiness!
Xīn nián kuàilè, wànshì rúyì
新 年 快 乐，万 事 如意 !
Gōngxi Fācái! dàjí dàlì
恭 喜 发 财， 大吉大利!
Warm regards,
Ms. Myra Mi
Head of Chinese & Modern Foreign Languages