BFc) )%){e a)c BFc) )%){e a)c - Pretoria Chinese...

CHINESE DEPARTMENT CHINESE DEPARTMENT

Pretoria Chinese School | YEARBOOK 201698 Nurturing Excellence 99



ALJAZEERAA TV crew from ALJAZEERA (DSTV channel 406) visited our school on Friday 15 January. During their visit, they filmed the Chinese lessons for Grade 2M and Grade 4P class. The story was featured on ALJAZEERA all day on Wednesday 20 January.

Minister from OCACThe new Minister, Mr Wu Hsin Hsing, from Overseas Community Affairs Council in Taiwan, Republic of China, visited our school on Monday 1st August. Ambassador Chen Chung, as well as Director Yang Hsien Yaw from Taipei Liaison Office also accompanied him on that day. The Chinese Department at school prepared a programme for him and showcased our children’s talents in singing, dancing, and speaking Chinese. Ms Angela Liu was invited to the welcome lunch for Minister Wu which was hosted by Ambassador Chen Chung.

Taiwan Youth AmbassadorsThe youth ambassadors from Taiwan visited our school on Tuesday 6 September. This group consisted of over 20 talented students who were selected from various universities in Taiwan. The theme this year was “Dynamic Youth, Friendly Taiwan”. They performed singing, dancing, tai-chi sword and Chinese yo-yo, as well as other exciting performances, which were thoroughly enjoyed by all. The youth ambassadors from Taiwan brought so much joy and excitement to our children at school.

HIGHLIGHTSDISTINGUISHED GUESTS

Another Grade 1 pupil was interviewed by TV crew

Grade 4P class - Ms. Nicole Hsiao was teaching Chinese

A Grade 1 pupil was interviewed by TV crew

Ms Angela Liu

Excitement!




Department of Basic EducationOur school was privileged to be visited by a few guests from the Department of Basic Education.

The guests included Dr Lan Xiaoming, the Chinese Language Teaching Advisor who is in charge of the Curriculum Implementation and Quality Improvement for GET phase, and Mr Braam Ras, who is the Chief Education Specialist who handles FET Curriculum.

They both work closely with IEB to prepare for the matric exams that will be written for Mandarin as Second Additional Language.

The main purpose of this visit was to see how Mandarin has been taught at our school, with the hopes that our experience could be helpful for them to set the standard of Chinese teaching in South Africa.

The guests visited the Chinese classes for Grades 1, 4 and 8, and saw how various skills progressed at different phases.

They were amazed by how actively our pupils responded to Chinese lessons, and were exceptionally impressed with our pupils’ levels.

Thank you to all our learners!

Ms Angela Liu

The Grade 8s were showing off their reading skills

Left to right: Ms Liu, Ms Li, Dr Lan, Mr Gelling, Mr Ras

Ms Nicole Hsiao was teaching Grade 4s about fruits




Radford HouseA group of children from Radford House in Johannesburg visited our pre-school on Friday 25 November.

Mr Gelling welcomed them in the hall, and some of the Grade 00 & 0 girls performed the tambourine dance they had learnt from the Culture Camp to showcase our Chinese cultural talent.

All the pre-school children also sang two songs in Chinese to wish our new friends a Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

The children from Radford House then went to the Chinese classes to learn counting, singing, group activities, martial arts and Chinese sports etc., so that they could have an opportunity to interact with our children.

Everybody had a good time and it was difficult to say goodbye towards the end.

Ms Angela Liu

Note:

Radford House is a small, private primary school nestled in the suburb of Fairland, Johannesburg.

PCS and Radford House children played a Chinese game together

Teacher Sandy was our new Martial Arts Master!

The Grade 00 & 0 girls did the tambourine dance




HIGHLIGHTSCHINESE DANCE TROUPEFor many years, the Pretoria Chinese School has had a Chinese Traditional Dancing Club available for High School Students to participate in. The Club teaches the students different styles of traditional Chinese dancing, from your elegant and beautiful fan and umbrella dances, to your energetic and cute handkerchief dances, and many more besides. I myself was fortunate enough to be a member of this club throughout my high school years while I was still a student at the Pretoria Chinese School. I was given many opportunities to perform, sometimes even at more prestigious events, such as Taiwanese Embassy events or Chinese New Year celebrations held by Emperor’s Palace and Brightwater Commons.

It was sad for myself and my fellow dancer, Nyaradzo Chirima, when we did not have enough dancers left in the group to perform. The girls who used to perform with us were entering matric, a difficult and important year for them, and it was understandable that they did not wish to jeopardise their studies.

However, we could not let our legacy end like this. We decided to form a club for new members, open from Grade 4 up, to train new dancers who would continue the club and carry on performing. The club took place on Saturday afternoons, where Nyaradzo and I worked on training their technique and teaching them new dances.

During 2016, we had a total of 8 wonderful young dancers, from Grades 4 to 6. Nyaradzo and I enlisted the help of Ms Nicole Hsiao from the Chinese Department, and together we specially choreographed two new dances for them.

The first dance was a bell dance, based on the Taiwanese Aboriginal dance style, which the girls performed several times, including at the school’s Dragon Boat Celebration and board member Mr Eugene Kamson’s 80th birthday party. They were even picked out to perform this item at the Double Ten Celebration held by the Taiwanese Embassy on October 10th 2016.

Thereafter the girls learned a water sleeve dance, just in time for the school’s Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration. They did a good job in learning the more graceful and flexible style required for this dance.

On October 16th, the girls were also invited to perform at a Food Festival held at Hatfield Plaza, where three of our girls performed both dances. We received many compliments from the organisers, and are very grateful for the opportunity to represent the school.

Although they are still beginners, they are enthusiastic and willing to learn, and I am proud of the progress they made. I look forward to teaching them again in 2017, and I hope to see some new faces too!

Miss Shin-Yan Chen



HIGHLIGHTSADULT MANDARIN CLASSES

Got together and had good food at a Chinese restaurant

Farhana Rahaman - Little Riding Hood and Chris Visser was the bad wolf!

Gerhard Olivier Aniel de Beer

Chinese New Year lunch in class



HIGHLIGHTSADULT MANDARIN CLASSES

Elsabe Viljoen Ross Holmes

Ilse van Rhyn Vassili Panoussis

Miss Nyaradzo Chirima had her beginners class



Wow, what an experience!

Going into the competition we didn’t really know what to expect, all we knew was what we had heard from listening to other participants and their experiences.

We were told that going into this competition you need to make time and you need to have determination.

I think that if it wasn’t for the Chinese teachers we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what we have and although it took us a while to get used to all the afternoon practices and all the other preparations we were finally able to do it.

On the night before the competition we were very lucky to get the opportunity to get to meet some of the judges for dinner that were going to be judging the competition the following day. Although it gave us a bit of an advantage it was also an opportunity to represent the school as much as we could. The competition this year was held in Cape Town at the Academy of Technology, Maths and Science.

Most schools don’t get to give out this opportunity to their students and to say that we were part of this competition is a privilege, we came third in the whole of South Africa and that didn’t only bring joy to us but to our teachers and fellow students.

We thank the school for all their hard work and for the opportunity that we will never forget. We urge the upcoming contestants to work hard and be open to learning more and meeting new people because that is the best part and that has been the best part of our journey. We were very fortune to learn a lot more about the Chinese culture at the dinner and at the competition, we feel much honored to be in such a school that teaches respect and discipline which is what we saw amongst the people.

Finally, to the school and all the Chinese teachers we just want to say thank you and that you should continue to do what you’ve been doing with the students because it does really create a difference in once life.

Molebogeng Mathlodi

(Grade 11)

HIGHLIGHTSCHINESE BRIDGE COMPETITION



HIGHLIGHTSCHINESE BRIDGE COMPETITION



Chinese new year was on Monday February 8. The Pretoria Chinese School celebrated this day by hosting a whole-school assembly. The day was filled with dancing, fun and games. The grade 7 girls did a traditional Chinese fan dance for the celebration and the school played a question and answer game based on a Chinese New Year video which was played. AT the end of the celebration we all received the red envelopes which symbolize good luck. In Mandarin they are called hong bao. Chinese New Year is celebrated by 1/5 of the world.

Refilwe Mashiane

(Grade 7M)

ACTIVITIESNEW YEAR



ACTIVITIESDRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL

DUĀN WǓ JIÉ

The dragon boat festival is a festival that commemorates the life and death of the Chinese scholar Qū Yuán. This year the Dragon Boat festival was definitely special. We got to play fun activities and win prizes and we got to see performances that we had never seen before. Everyone made posters about the dragon boat festival. They were very interesting and creative.

Although we think the one thing that everyone gets most excited about are the rice dumplings, a classic Chinese food eaten to celebrate the dragon boat festival. The Dragon Boast festival was very fun and interesting this year. Lots of effort was put into it and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Camryn Wilson, Thakane Masia and Luyanda Maseko

(Grade 6)



ACTIVITIESCHINESE TEACHERS WORKSHOP The Chinese Department hosted a teachers’ workshop on behalf of the African Council of Chinese Schools from 9th to 15th August.

Two lecturers from Taiwan presented the course to about 30 teachers who came from different areas of South Africa to attend the workshop.

The aim of this course was to introduce new teaching materials and to learn how to make teaching more effective and productive.

The event was a great success, and all the teachers had a wonderful experience and shared special moments together.

Ms Angela Liu

Opening Ceremony

Farewell Lunch



Moon Festival is an “intangible cultural heritage” of many Chinese and Asian people.

It is a traditional festival celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese calendar, and it normally falls into early September to early October. On the night, the Moon Festival is celebrated by a family and friends gathering when the moon is the highest and roundest of the year which represents family reunion.

The Moon Festival has been celebrated by the PCS for many years. Moon Festival Celebration 2016 was held on Friday 16 September, from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm, at the Hall of Pretoria Chinese School and it was organised by the Chinese Department.

The theme this year is “Appreciate Moon, Appreciate Music and Dances.” This year the festival was celebrated in a unique way. Festivities include several short videos about Moon Festival, live entertainment, Chinese traditional dancing, moon cake eating and more. All of the performances were presented together by the Junior, Senior Phase and College students. Moon cakes were served to all the students and teachers at the end of the festival. This enjoyable festival was marked and ended in everyone eating famous delicious moon cakes together.

Mrs Jennifer Neethling

ACTIVITIESMOON FESTIVAL



This year, the 5th annual Chinese Culture Camp took place from Monday 7th November to Thursday 10th November, and it was such an enriching and productive event. Once again, a group of expert teachers came from China to present various activities to our pupils, as well as special skills that they would not be exposed to otherwise.

Due to an unfortunate schedule clash with the College and Senior Prep exam times, only Grade 00 ~ 4 pupils were able to participate this time. The activities included Chinese Dancing, Martial Arts, Lacquer Art, Chinese play, Calligraphy & Painting as well as Stone Carving (carving their names into stone stamps). Throughout the week, the children were given time to learn and practise the different activities with their respective teachers.

The closing ceremony was held on Thursday 10th November in the hall, where the children had the opportunity to showcase what they had learned. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the program and managed to produce fine work, especially considering the limited time they had to work on it during the camp.

The teachers from China were very impressed with our children’s ability and potential in learning Chinese language and culture, and were absolutely amazed by their creativity and enthusiasm.

According to the Director of the troupe, Mr Xin Chao from the Chinese Language and Culture Education Foundation of China, the Foundation organizes more than a hundred projects each year. However, our school is the only school in the world that has been working with them in this cultural program for 5 years in a row.

They value our participation and involvement as much as we appreciate the diverse exposure of the Chinese culture that we get. I sincerely hope we will continue this good relationship and develop further interaction with them in the future.

Ms Angela Liu

ACTIVITIESCHINESE CULTURE CAMP

Grade 1 children did lacquer art

Grade 2 children made Chinese lanterns

Grade 3 children did calligraphy

Grade 4 children made stone stamps engraved with their Chinese names

Grade 00 & 0 girls did a tambourine dance



All the students at the Pretoria Chinese School have the opportunity to learn Mandarin.

However, we realise that the students have more than just an academic interest in the subject and therefore offer the Chinese culture club to students across all phases.

This, without exception, extends to the junior preparatory phase.

This year, the students had the opportunity to design lion heads, such as the ones commonly worn as costumes at the traditional Chinese celebrations.

For the lantern festival, the students designed some lanterns to decorate the classroom and also as it was the year of the monkey according to the lunar calendar, they also made monkey masks.

To beat the heat of the summer while learning about Chinese culture, we also made some Chinese character and dragon-themed fans.

Ms Nicole Hsiao

CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAMMECHINESE CULTURE CLUB - JP

Chinese Fans

Chinese Fans

Chinese Fans

Making Lanterns Chinese Fans



CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAMMECHINESE CULTURE CLUB - SPI first came to Pretoria Chinese School when I was in Grade 2 (2012).

Coming from another school I never had the opportunity to be in a club, so when I heard about Chinese Culture Club I had attended. Year after year I have been in Chinese Culture Club. 2016 has been the best time in Chinese Culture Club.

We did a lot of dances which was in the Dragon Boat Festival.

I love to dance in beautiful costumes and dance to the music. During those times we learned more and more of the Chinese Culture. I also enjoy doing crafts and arts. I enjoy Chinese Culture Club from the first second to the last second.

The Chinese Culture is beautiful and I enjoy learning about it and doing dances.

Catherine Kruse (Grade 6C)

Grade 6: Umbrella Dance Practice.

Grade 6: Umbrella Dance Dressed

Grade 6: Umbrella Dance on Stage (Dragon Boat Festival)

Grade 4 & 5: Chinese Chess



CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAMMECULTURE CLUB - COLLEGE

The Pretoria Chinese School College Dance Group performed at Monte Casino on Saturday 27 February for a Chinese New Year function.

The senior dancers, which included two alumni students Nyaradzo Chirima and Shin-Yan Chen, did an Umbrella Dance, a Fan dance and a Handkerchief Dance. The guests were very impressed with their elegant moves and oriental appearances.

After the performance at Monte Casino, some of the photos were posted on our Facebook page (Pretoria Chinese School Dance Troupe).

Some hundreds of people were reached, and there were about 1500 post engagement. We really appreciate the support from our parents and friends.

Ms Angela Liu

The senior dancers with teachers Ms Nicole Hsiao and Ms Angela Liu

We make a Fantastic Team!



CHINESE DEPARTMENTPUPIL’S WORK

Chinese New Year Invitation by Narice de Swardt Grade 4C

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