Gung Hey Fat Choy!
Downes Elementary Celebrates Chinese New Year!

On February 19, the students at Downes Elementary School rang in the Year of the Tiger with a parade that featured musicians from Mr. Ambrosino’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th general music class.  Some members of the “Year of the Tiger Performing Ensemble” played recorders, others accompanied on percussion instruments such as gongs, wood blocks, and recycled metal pipes to create the music for the parade based on traditional Chinese styles.  In addition to the music, other performers improvised a dragon dance featuring an 8 foot red and gold dragon and its entourage that included a handler, fire bearers (waving red scarves to represent flames), a fan bearer (to keep the dragon cool along the way) and the dragon “pooper scooper” (to add a bit of comedy to the festivities).  Art students from Ms. Beck’s art classes created lanterns and other traditional decorations for the hallway.  Two students painted a lifelike tiger banner to lead the parade. This unit incorporated music, visual art, dance, reading, and geography. To prepare for the dragon parade, we read books, listened to music, studied maps, and found research on the Internet to discover how and why Chinese American communities celebrate the lunar New Year.