2019 TIA’s Chinese New Year Celebration

Every year all four campuses come together for TIA's Chinese New Year celebration. The students put on a performance in Mandarin Chinese for family and friends to watch.

Xiuqing Sun - Chinese Program Teacher

”TIA’s very own students perform at the Chinese New Year celebration. Most of the students have no Chinese experience whatsoever prior to attending TIA. We take all students, even Kindergarten, and teach them how to speak Mandarin, pronounce the words correctly.  We teach about Chinese culture and the difference between American cultures and also the similarities. All the students will sing or rap in Chinese, dance Chinese dances while wearing traditional Chinese clothes. Our Schools mission is to prepare students to be global citizens. If you can speak English, Spanish and Chinese, you can communicate with 70% of the entire world population. I try to make the show as exciting as I can. Also, I hope the audience can get a taste of Chinese culture and language, how we speak, how we pronounce words. I hope that the audience can get interested in the Chinese language.”

Dr. Jennifer Herrera - School Superintendent

“This is an annual Chinese New Year’s event. This is a chance to showcase the Chinese Mandarine language that is taught in our classes from kindergarten through 12th grade. The kids are very excited. They get to dance, sing, recite poetry. Sometimes they get to share information that they have learned about in their Chinese class. It’s a very exciting event for our whole community! All four of our campuses are represented here tonight to perform a dance, song, and poem all in Chinese and even to share historical information they are learning in their Chinese classes. We are Tucson International Academy. The reason we put “International” in there is because the world has become a smaller place. With the internet, businesses, and the sharing of ideas - it’s all global now. So it’s very important as we educate the kids, that we constantly give them the global perspective through history, math, and in every subject that we teach. By offering foreign languages of Spanish and Chinese, the students are able to understand foreign concepts that only the language supports. It teaches them how to get along in this world and appreciate the diversity that we have.” Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUnYDyoAad0  

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2019 Chinese New Year Event at TIA

Chinese New Year 2015

Gabriella ran into the house after school and breathlessly announced, “Mom! There was a dancing dragon on the playground today!” Gabriella’s mom might have suspected her tiny daughter with the huge imagination was telling a tall tale if she attended school anywhere other than Tucson International Academy. At TIA, dancing dragons on the playground are very possible! In fact, with Chinese New Year occurring this week, dancing-dragon-crossing signs could be placed all around the school!

What is Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year celebrations, also known as the Spring Festival, start on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. In China, the holiday is the most important social and economic event of the year, traditionally linked to honoring the household, heavenly gods and ancestors. Today, China celebrates Jan. 1 as New Year’s Day, but the country continues to mark the Spring Festival as a time to spend with family and relax from work.  The festival lasts from 15-23 days. The event is celebrated on a different day each year since the Chinese calendar is “luni-solar” which takes into account both the earth’s and moon’s movements. The Chinese New Year for 2015 begins on February 19 and marks the start of the year of the Goat. Each year corresponds to a different zodiac sign and animal. The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animals that denote a person’s birth known as shengxiao: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Each of the animals is named after one favored by the Buddha and is said to influence an individual’s personality. People born in a year of the Goat are generally believed to be gentle mild-mannered, shy, stable, sympathetic, amicable, and brimming with a strong sense of kindheartedness and justice. They have very delicate thoughts, strong creativity, and perseverance, and acquire professional skills well. Although they look gentle on the surface, they are tough on the inside, always insisting on their own opinions in their minds. They have strong inner resilience and excellent defensive instincts. Though they prefer to be in groups, they do not want to be the center of attention. They are reserved and quiet, most likely because they like spending much time in their thoughts. Goats like to spend money on fashionable things that give them a first class appearance. Although goats enjoy spending money on the finer things in life, they are not snobbish.

How do People in China Celebrate Chinese New Year?

Many people clean their homes to welcome the Spring Festival. Families tend to clean their homes in the days leading up to the celebration but all dusters and brooms are hidden during the holiday so that “good luck cannot be swept away.” The holiday itself is usually spent with family, shopping, watching fireworks, and in some cases, involves a religious ceremony honoring heaven, earth, and other deities. They put up red posters with poetic verses on their doors, Chinese New Year pictures on their walls, and decorate their homes with red lanterns. In the evening of the Spring Festival Eve, many people set off fireworks and firecrackers, hoping to cast away any bad luck and bring forth good luck. Children often receive “luck” money. Many people wear new clothes and send Chinese New Year greetings to each other. Various activities such as beating drums and striking gongs, as well as dragon and lion dances, are all part of the Spring Festival festivities.

History of Chinese New Year

According to historical documents, on the day when Shun, who was one of ancient China’s mythological emperors, came to the throne more than 4000 years ago, he led his ministers to worship heaven and earth. From then on, that day was regarded as the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar. This is the basic origin of Chinese New Year. China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1911, so Chinese New Year was renamed the Spring Festival. The red poster with poetic verses was initially a type of amulet, but now it simply means good fortune and joy. Various Chinese New Year symbols express different meanings. For example, an image of a fish symbolizes “having more than one needs every year.” A firecracker symbolizes “good luck in the coming year.” The festival lanterns symbolize “pursuing the bright and the beautiful.”   Let us bring the world to your child and your child to the world. Maybe they’ll see a dancing dragon! Click here to enroll!     Author: Betty Kruszka ~ TheJ3Effect
Chinese New Year TIA 2015Chinese New Year

Chinese Language Programs at TIA

A major component of the Chinese Language Programs at TIA is the annual Chinese New Year Celebration. The family event is designed to showcase the students’ language skills and expand their appreciation of Chinese Culture.

Why Is Everyone So Excited About the Chinese Language Programs?

Everything about the event, from the lively performances, colorful wardrobes, and authentic food, reflects the excitement the children have for the Chinese Program at TIA.  “Our students are the most attentive and eager during Mr. Wu’s lessons. It’s very appealing to them,” says teacher Heather Hilliard. And the reason for their enthusiasm is apparent: Chinese Language Teacher Mr. Wu. If the kids’ loud cheers for Mr. Wu at a recent celebration are any indication, they love him. “Having a language teacher from the specific country really helps the kids understand and be more concerned with what they’re learning and why it’s important,” Hilliard explains. “The fact that Mr. Wu is from China helps them relate because they know him. He can say, ‘This is where I grew up, and this is what this is like’.” Chinese New Year, now also called the Spring Festival, is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. Each year the celebration falls on different dates in January or February, and is associated with one of 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Traditional celebrations lasted 15 days, in which family reunions and feasts were an important component. Other traditions include fireworks, a lantern festival, a dragon dance, the color red, and giving children money in red envelopes. The holiday is also celebrated in numerous cities and countries outside of China where there are significant Chinese populations.

New Year and New Opportunities

Just as the Chinese New Year symbolizes new life and new beginnings, the New Year event at TIA symbolizes new opportunities for our students, which are made possible by Mr. Wu and the Chinese Language Program.
Chinese language programs at TIA