Abercerdin pupils embrace Chinese New Year celebrations

Youngsters from Abercerdin Primary School have marked the climax of the Chinese New Year celebrations with an exciting week of Chinese-themed activities. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Mask painting, dance, tai chi, cooking and calligraphy have all helped the pupils to learn about the country’s ancient traditions, while they’ve also been taught how to say a few simple Chinese greetings. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The school was visited by Chinese tutors from Cardiff University’s Confucius Institute thanks to a link-up that began last autumn. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Abercerdin’s Headteacher Helen Gentle explained: “In October, our Wellbeing Manager and myself were lucky enough to be among the school staff from across the UK to be chosen by the British Council to spend a week in Beijing and Dalian. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We visited a number of schools and it was an amazing experience. From that visit we have been able to work with the Confucius Institute and our pupils have been fascinated by the chance to learn about Chinese traditions and customs. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The Chinese New Year covers 15 days of festivities that bring families together and offers a chance to reflect on the past and celebrate the future. We feel that this is a particularly fitting message for our school as we have achieved a lot in the last few years and have so much to look forward to. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Our goal is to become an accredited Confucius School so that we can broaden our pupils’ education even further, and all of our key stage two pupils will soon start studying Chinese culture and learning Mandarin.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​