Dragons, lanterns and dancing help Priory infants celebrate Chinese New Year

Priory pupils celebrate Chinese New Year

Priory Infant School pupils have celebrated Chinese New Year in style by learning some action-packed Chinese dances.

Children in all year groups enjoyed a flamboyant workshop with professional dancers from Dance Days.

The children danced like Chinese warriors, Geisha girls and a fierce dragon. They even created their own moves to represent all the different animals of the Chinese zodiac and finished by performing a colourful parasol dance together.

Dylan, age 5 from Reception, said: “The dragon wasn’t scary: he was a beautiful dragon. I loved it. Wearing the dragon’s head was the best! Everybody had a turn.”

For Reception children the dance workshops were an exciting start to two weeks of Lunar New Year celebrations. Classrooms have been transformed by the children’s vibrant artwork – red and gold Chinese lanterns, paper dragons and cherry blossom paintings festoon the walls and corridors – and children have worked together to make an amazing, huge dragon’s head which is now on display in the main school corridor.

The children have also explored calligraphy, Chinese numbers and have learned some Chinese words. They read about the legend of the monster Nian and the fable of The Chinese Zodiac race. It has been an exciting opportunity for pupils to experience a flavour of a different culture with its exciting food, music and history.

Class teacher Sally Halford said: “It’s so important to fire up young children’s imaginations and get them engaged and immersed in their learning. We know children learn best by exploring and doing. Bringing learning to life makes it so much more valuable and memorable.”

A high-octane, carnival-style parade around the school with their class-made dragon ended two exciting weeks of learning with a bang – quite literally – as children played drums and cymbals at top volume and shouted, ‘Kung Hei Fat Choi!’

Head teacher, Tracey Sandy said: “We are proud to be a creative school where a love of learning is fostered each and every day. Our staff always go that extra mile to make learning fun for all our children- providing exciting, cultural experiences our wonderful Priory pupils will treasure forever.”

Tommy from Purple Class summed it up by saying: “Our dragon was amazing. It was the best day ever!”