Verona’s Mandarin students invite community

to join in Chinese New Year celebration

Verona’s Mandarin students have planned two special events in celebration of the upcoming Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rooster, which officially falls on February 9.

Members of the community are invited to a 2005 New Year Celebration

on January 29, from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m., at Verona High School. Mandarin students from grades one through nine will join students from the Huaxia Chinese School Northern Branch to present a series of performances between 2:15 and 4:45 p.m. designed to introduce various cultural activities, including song, dance, violin, poetry recitation, and karate. In addition, there will be exhibitions of painting and crafts from 1:30 until 6:30 p.m. when the entire program will end.

On Saturday, February 12, between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m., and on Wednesday, February 15, between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m., seventh, eighth and ninth grade Mandarin students will share their learning experiences with interested children and adults from the community. The students will tell stories, introduce culture-related games including chopsticks and others, lead a craft activity, and present a mini language lesson.

Mandarin has been taught in the district since 1987, and the program has steadily grown to include about 300 students from grades one through nine. One of the main objectives of the program is to share what the students have learned with members of the community. Huaxia Chinese school (HXCS) is one of the largest Chinese language teaching institution in the United States. HXCS has 15 branch schools located in the states of New Jersey New York, and Pennsylvania. Founded in spring 1995 in Bloomfield, today’s HXCS has more than 5,000 students registered in its 15 branch schools.

Huaxia Chinese School, Mrs. Chang, Mrs. Hou, and Verona Mandarin program students hope many people will join them to learn about Chinese culture in celebration of the New Year.