On Friday, February 3, the Lunar New Year was celebrated throughout the MICDS campus from Lower to Upper School! Among the color red, dragons, lions, red envelopes, and yo-yos, the Year of the Rabbit was embraced among the Rams community.
1st Grade Dragon Parade
In first grade, students marched through the Beasley Cafeteria for the annual Dragon Parade. They wore red, played drums, and snaked through the Lower School community for all to help ring in the new year. First graders prepared for the parade by decorating the dragon body with dragon characteristics, Chinese characters, and symbols associated with the Lunar New Year such as lanterns and the rabbit. This celebration ties into a major learning theme of first grade. « In first grade, we study the culture of China as part of our year-long theme of community, » explains First Grade Homeroom Teacher Kara Pracht. « Through virtual field trips, books, discussions, and hands-on activities, we learn about the language, foods, ways of life, landmarks, and celebrations of Chinese culture. » MICDS first graders have written their names in Chinese characters, practiced using chopsticks, and built their own Great Wall of China with LEGO® bricks in addition to participating in this Dragon Parade in honor of Lunar New Year.
Prior to the parade, the first grade classes discussed what they already knew about the Lunar New Year and then came up with questions on what they wondered about the celebration. « We read books, watched educational learning videos, and had class discussions on the different traditions celebrated during the Lunar New Year. We took what we learned and created our dragon body and participated in our own Dragon Parade, » Ms. Pracht shared. « At the end of the unit, we talked about what we learned about China. »
Overall, the parade was such fun for the first-grade students! « Students were very excited to participate in the Dragon Parade, » Ms. Pracht reflected. « It’s a lot of fun because they remember watching the Dragon Parade when they were in Junior Kindergarten/Senior Kindergarten, and they are so excited to have their turn to celebrate this tradition. »
Lunar New Year Assembly in Upper School
Hopping over to Upper School, students celebrated the Year of the Rabbit with the annual Lunar New Year Assembly which can be watched below!
Six students participated as lion dancers, including Jeremiah Clay ’24 and Camden Miller ’24 (yellow lion), Jada Greer ’24 and Cade Miller ’26 (red lion), Mac Froedge ’25 and Taaj Saddler ’25 (blue lion); and the two students who played the drum and cymbals were Eliza Dorf ’23 and Elizabeth Schmidt ’23. The Lion Dance has occurred at MICDS since 2015. This year’s instructor was Xing Xue who runs St Louis Shaolin Kungfu School. These students started practicing in mid-December and practiced five times, one hour per practice. At the end of the dance, Head of School Jay Rainey presented a red envelope to the lion dancers to symbolize good luck in the year ahead.
After the exciting lion dancer performance, the yo-yo club at Washington University, YoWU, had an impressive performance for the Upper School audience. Following, MICDS parent Zhui Chen P’26 gave a tai chi performance like he did at the recent Passport Series event. Lastly, Jason Klutho ’23 and Jacob Genin ’26 represented the MICDS Asian Student Association, delivering an informative Lunar New Year presentation.
Happy Lunar New Year, everyone!