LION DANCE: Princeton Friends School students celebrated Chinese New Year with an array of entertainments and cultural presentations by PFS students and visiting artists and organizations. The Chinese language program at PFS has thrived over the past 20 years. (Photo Courtesy of Princeton Friends School)

By Donald Gilpin

Skits and other presentations by students in pre-K through eighth grade, traditional music performed by the school’s string ensemble, a master craftsman demonstrating the traditional art of Chinese paper cutting, a Kung Fu martial artist, and representatives from Peace Ever International TV, affiliated with the United Nations community, were all part of Princeton Friends School’s (PFS) annual Chinese New Year celebrations, held Tuesday, the fifth day of the 16 days of traditional New Year festivities.

“I love how we do the Chinese New Year celebration,” said seventh-grader Nikki Saffar. “It lets the Chinese students show what they are learning and their interest in Chinese culture. The celebration brings some of the Chinese culture to our society and lets us know some history and culture of China.”

Eighth-grader Noah Hinsdale added, “Chinese New Year at PFS is very amazing because you get to see all different age groups perform Chinese skits, songs, and speeches. It is very important for everyone to know and understand Chinese culture and to really experience all of the traditions.”

Interest in Chinese culture has been an important facet of the PFS experience over the past 20 years. In 1997 the school received a Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation grant to be part of a statewide initiative that launched Chinese language instruction for the first time in 11 New Jersey elementary schools.

“In China, practically every child begins learning English in elementary school,” said PFS Head of School Jane Fremon. “In order to prepare our students for global citizenship, we need to make more widely available the opportunity for U.S. children to learn Mandarin. And the earlier they begin, the easier it is.”

The Chinese language program has been enhanced over the years, Fremon added, by an array of cultural offerings, including KungFu fan dancing, traditional brush painting, and the observance of the Autumn Moon Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival in the early summer. In recent years PFS has enjoyed short-term visits from elementary and middle school students and their families from China, who are seeking to experience U.S. education.

A number of PFS alumni have built upon the foundation provided by Mandarin instruction in their elementary years to continue Chinese language study in high school and college, many spending semesters and more in China and pursuing careers that involve their bilingual skills.

“Once a year PFS shows its respect for the Chinese culture by holding a whole school celebration on the day of that culture’s most important festival,” said PFS Chinese program director HungYun (Nancy) Lee. “The students who learn the Chinese language have a chance to show their language skill and also give other students a chance to learn about and appreciate Chinese culture. The Chinese curriculum fits at PFS because PFS teaches students to be tomorrow’s leaders and global citizens.”

This year’s observance of the New Year also included a trip to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia last Friday for 19 fourth- through eighth-graders, plus three visiting students from China to view the exhibit of “Terra Cotta Warriors of the First Emperor,” featuring 10 statues from Xian, China, along with other ceremonial artifacts from China’s first dynasty.