School's International Day Offers Passports to Learning

Woodland School parent Yee Jao gave some students of the school a glimpse into what some of their classes may sound like next year during the school's third annual International Day.

Participating in the program on China, Jao and other parents taught students their first words of Mandarin Chinese.

"We started with teaching the children how to greet people in Mandarin, which led right into a brief presentation on China," she said. "Upon exiting 'our country,' the children were given the traditional 'hong bao' (red envelope) containing a real yuan from China after successfully saying, 'Gong xi fa cai,' which is a traditional new year greeting meaning 'I wish that you will be prosperous.'"

The International Day program is lead by the volunteer parents, who set up stations in the school's gym and classrooms to offer various glimpses into the represented nations' cultures. In addition to China, students were also able to learn about India, Greece, Germany and Spain. Students rotated through the various countries, participating in activities, which included food, dance and music lessons, in addition to geography and other factual presentations.

The students Mandarin lessons may be a precursor to some students' classes next fall, as the school distict is looking to add Mandarin classes to the middle school foreign language program.