Sewickley Academy students celebrate Lunar New Year
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As Asian culture recognized the start of the Year of the Rabbit, students, faculty and staff at Sewickley Academy also celebrated Lunar New Year.
During the Lower School’s morning assembly on Jan. 24, the students in PreK through fifth grades were treated to a special presentation and performance from the Middle School students studying Mandarin under their teacher Shan Callaghan. A vibrant and rhythmic performance of the Lion Dance was followed by a slide presentation and video detailing the practices, dress, food and legend of Lunar New Year. The 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac was also explained.
Next, seventh grade Mandarin students performed a Kungfu Fan Dance, then all Middle School Mandarin students, accompanied by three Lower School students, sang a Happy New Year song in Chinese.
On Jan. 15, Senior School Mandarin teacher Jing Zhou took a group of SA students to the Greater Pittsburgh Lunar New Year Fair and Show, where they volunteered with setting up, checking in attendees, ushering during performances and more.
With more than 2,000 attendees, the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Chinese Association for Science and Technology (CASTP) and the Carnegie Museum of Art, event co-hosts, greatly appreciated the contributions of the SA students. Additionally, the students had the opportunity to practice their Mandarin language skills as they greeted and directed guests.
Junior Logan Carlson, who is in his third year studying Mandarin at SA, was interviewed on stage during the event to discuss his volunteer experience.
“I’ve always had an interest in unique world cultures, and so when my Chinese teacher mentioned this event to us in class, I realized that this would be a perfect opportunity to become involved in a community that I wouldn’t otherwise be connected to,” Carlson said. “Additionally, our school places a great emphasis on service learning, and so I felt that it would be incredibly worthwhile for me to help make an event possible that is clearly so important to so many people. Easily my favorite parts have been meeting all of these incredibly diverse types of people and seeing how excited they are for today’s performance. Every ‘thank you’ has felt so humbling to receive!”
Additionally, Zhou’s Senior School Mandarin students, Callaghan’s sixth grade Mandarin class, and members of the school’s Asian Culture Club assembled 500 red “lucky bags” containing Chinese candies, cookies and a piece of gold chocolate to be distributed to every student in the academy. This gift represents the red envelopes of money that Chinese children traditionally receive from their elders in the New Year.