ALBUM : : SELA’s Chinese New Year School Celebration

McGRATHPR.com – SELA: The International Private School’s faculty and students recently exhibited cultural art projects and presented performances in a school-wide celebration of Chinese New Year at Hingham Town Hall. The celebration was planned to acknowledge student accomplishments of its curriculum, which offers up to three spoken languages in its full-immersion programs at campuses in Hingham and Norwell. Students in programs from Junior Kindergarten through Elementary School displayed their works of art, performed songs and demonstrated cultural dances to authentic Mandarin Chinese music. The program was performed live and also broadcast to those watching remotely via live stream, to the delight of both audiences. The private school serves the greater region, offering global learning programs for students from infancy through grade 8.

“It has been wonderful to have the opportunity to teach our students about Chinese New Year in preparation for this celebration, by educating them about Mandarin vocabulary and idioms,” shares elementary Chinese teacher Rachel Wang, a pivotal educator in the celebration. “Each project we engaged in at school included vocabulary associated with Chinese New Year, curriculum we have been teaching in our classes for more than two weeks in advance of the celebration.” Wang and Yoyo Lin, another SELA Mandarin teacher, also engaged the students in learning songs that contained their new vocabulary, working through pronunciation and character formation in their writing. “Their performances were outstanding, with very authentic Chinese accents, successfully achieving fluency for their grade level.”

The Chinese New Year (新年) is also known as the Spring Festival (春节), is the most formal annual festival for every Chinese person, celebrated in China for thousands of years, with various forms of activities among the country’s diverse regions. “The concept of the celebration is centered around removing the bad and the old, and welcoming the new and the good,” says Wang. “It’s a time to worship our ancestors, get rid of evil spirits, and pray for a good harvest.” Today, Chinese New Year is observed by Chinese communities outside of China, inspiring SELA’s faculty to join the celebration. Students engaged in language projects, art making, and learning performing arts specialties like the lion dance and dragon dance. Students learned about temple fairs, flower market shopping, and other rich and colorful activities, known pastimes honoring the special occasion.

Album: Chinese New Year Celebration

SELA students demonstrating their new language and performance skills while celebrating Chinese New Year, courtesy video

In preparation for SELA’s Chinese New Year Celebration, the school’s second grade students created dragon projects, gathered to create a colorful and cultural banner. Each students’ name appears in Mandarin language characters alongside their dragon art, courtesy image

Young SELA students, donning celebratory clothing and their art project hats, celebrating Chinese New Year in performance, courtesy image

SELA students Shayla Murphy, of Norwell (left), Hadley Dwyer, of Hingham (middle), Halle Kotsifas, of Cohasset (right)
danced to a Mandarin Chinese song, courtesy image

Rachel Wang (left) and Yoyo Lin (right), SELA’s Mandarin teachers, gave an informative introduction to the school’s Chinese New Year celebration performances, courtesy image

SELA students celebrating Chinese New Year with a performance,
courtesy image

Students Shayla Murphy, Norwell (front left), and Halle Kotsifas, Cohasset (front right) performing with other SELA students during the
Chinese New Year celebration, courtesy image

SELA students demonstrating their new language and performance skills while celebrating Chinese New Year, courtesy video

Founded in 2004 in Cohasset as Su Escuela Language Academy, its private school launched with the goal of preparing English-speaking children to excel linguistically, academically, and socially in global society through instruction in a second and third language. In July of 2011, the academy expanded and opened the doors at its flagship campus in Hingham. Now established as SELA: The International Private School, its educational model has continued to expand, now offering programs for infants through age 5, in addition to the Private Elementary and Middle School programs for Kindergarten through grade 8. Today, with locations in Hingham and Norwell, SELA is the first and only Spanish full immersion school in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Currently, SELA serves nearly 300 students residing in 26 of the region’s communities. Nearly 70 highly-educated faculty members teach in full immersion programs, which includes three spoken languages at its school campuses. SELA’s flagship campus, offering programs serving children from infancy through grade 8, is located in Hingham, while its recently opened second campus, currently enrolling programs for children up to age 5, is in Norwell, where the school will celebrate its 19th birthday and host a ribbon cutting on Friday, February 3, 4 pm, open to the public.

For more information about SELA: The International Private School, its programs, tuition, and more, visit selaprivateschool.com, call 781-741-5454, and follow SELA on social media.