Junior Gazette: Insight into Chinese culture for Aspire Academy

Chinese Club is an educational benefit to the children of Aspire Academy.Also it expands Aspire’s cultural knowledge and understanding of foreign lands. It is taught by two Chinese teachers; we get to see Chinese life, food, calligraphy and school. We learn about annual events that occur at different times of the year; the history of China and the geography of China. We have just celebrated Chinese New Year, the year of the pig. The Chinese New Year is the beginning of the luna calendar. This year’s Chinese New Year was on the fifth of February and is often referred to as the ‘spring festival’. The children at Chinese club also learn: family names, food, current technological advances (like bullet trains) and the way Chinese people spend their money. This gives us a clear insight into Chinese life. One of the most interesting and mind blowing parts of Chinese club is the Chinese calligraphy. Chinese calligraphy is the way Chinese people write and speak in Mandarin. Chinese calligraphy is the ‘artistic expression of human language in a tangible form’. It is extremely sophisticated and we are privileged to learn how to do it. Overall Chinese club has managed to engage students in a different culture and learn a variety of words and phrases commonly used in the Chinese language. Chinese club began a year ago and we still love it as much as ever.