In celebration of the Chinese New Year, students enrolled in Dina Pinelli’s fourth-grade class at Slocum Elementary School were recently visited by student Joyce Zhang’s mother, Sunny, for lessons on traditional Chinese customs and culture.

To begin the day’s lesson, the students were taught how to properly say “Happy New Year” in the Chinese language, and were presented with treat bags for their successes in correctly pronouncing the phrase. As a craft-based activity, the students were taught by both Mrs. Zhang and Joyce how to properly make Chinese lanterns, carefully following their precise instructions along the way. 

Prior to the conclusion of the event, the students were given tasty treats such as rice crackers and Haw-flavored sweets, based off the popular Hawthorn plant of Chinese origin.

Students enrolled in Kim Grimli’s second-grade class at Slocum Elementary School recently participated in a classroom diversity celebration in an effort to promote tolerance, empathy and kindness amongst the world’s many cultures. After listening to the story, “Is There Really A Human Race?” by Jamie Lee Curtis, the students shared their own personal paragraph explaining their cultural backgrounds and learned that despite the fact that we may have physical differences, we are all in fact human.