Though it was Groundhog Day, some BCS students spent part of Feb. 2 learning the cultural importance of rabbits.
At T.C. Roberson High School, Ms. Qing Gan’s Chinese I students have been learning about the culinary and celebratory traditions associated with Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year). Last Thursday, they made paper cuttings of rabbits to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese Zodiac. Quiet concentration filled Ms. Gan’s classroom as her students folded and carefully cut out designs that combined part of the Chinese symbol for spring (春, pronounced “chūn”) with representations of rabbits. In China, people decorate their homes with the appropriate Zodiac animal during each new year celebration.
“They love the language and the culture,” she said. “It’s very nice to have the opportunity to learn the Chinese language in high school.”
Chinese New Year is the most important holiday period in the Chinese calendar, and Ms. Gan’s students marked the 15-day festival by decorating the classroom with Chinese calligraphy, making and eating sugar glazed fruit, tasting spring rolls, and building their language skills.
“When we introduce culture to students, it helps them improve their interest in the language and their understanding of how it’s used,” Ms. Gan said.
To learn more about language learning opportunities in Buncombe County Schools, visit https://www.buncombeschools.org/o/bcs/page/global-education.