More than 500 stuents in APS’ Chinese-language program attended and performed at the annual Chinese New Year celebration, held this year at Maynard H. Jackson High School. In this “Year of the Tiger” celebration, Coan Middle students performed “The Story of Nian”; Jackson High students performed “Happy New Year”; Toomer Elementary students performed “Pulling Out the Turnip”; North Atlanta High students performed “Joyous Chinese New Year”; and Carver Early College students performed three “Short Stories.” The audience was also treated to a professional puppet show from the visiting Tiger Tales Performance Troop.
The language program is part of the Confucius Institute Atlanta, a partnership between APS, Emory University and Nanjing University in China. This year APS has assumed stewardship over the program in what is basically a rotating responsibility with Emory. “We’re focusing a lot this year on making sure students progress in terms of language acquisition as well as cultural awareness,” said Anita Lawrence, coordinator of world languages for APS. “And this year it was very important for us to bring in a professional performance so our students could see an authentic aspect of Chinese culture.”