Some of us are dragons, others are tigers and a few of us might be rabbits. Pat’s chow mein and fortune cookies on Tuesday could only mean one thing: we are now in the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year.
There are so many fascinating elements to any large cultural festival, and Chinese New Year is no exception. Legend has it that when the Jade Emperor needed to choose twelve animals to be palace guards, the contestants fought hard to be chosen. Well, nearly all: we are now in the year of the pig, who was late for the race. Last week, I wrote about coming together as a community, and my favourite fact about Chinese New Year is that it enables the largest single human migration in the world, as people travel home to visit their parents. In some cases, people journey over thousands of miles, showing real commitment to visiting family and
supporting one another.
Supporting one another continues to be a real focus at Lyonsdown. Earlier this week, our visitor, Claire, spoke to the children about how to deal with big emotions, and the importance of talking about their wellbeing… you may have heard of a monster called Waldo eating children’s worries. There have been plenty of other events this week too. The Year 6 netball team performed admirably at their ISA tournament and we welcomed two STEM workshops, with a number of children enjoying collaborating with visiting robotics experts and a polar explorer. It is wonderful to be able to mix well-established and popular activities with new opportunities for the boys and girls at Lyonsdown and for them to develop their understanding of the world. On that note, I hope many parents will be able to join us next Tuesday for our Parent Talk.
All the best for a relaxing weekend.
C. Hammond