The guests were led in to the nursery by magnificent and majestic lion dancers; their skilful display of strength and artistry both entertaining and representing the bringing of good fortune and prosperity to the nursery. As guests were led to the multimedia room, Early Years 4 pupils were preparing themselves for their moment to shine.
After a brief speech, the pupils took to the stage and with the support of Ms PeiHua and Ms Sarah, singing four songs whilst happily switching between Chinese and English – not only between the songs but also throughout them. Ms Sarah did tell me that prior to entering the room, the children were telling her how excited and nervous they felt. Ms Sarah felt rather excited too, as all communication was in English, showing how easily the children have settled back in to life here at Hiba Nursery.
Our special thanks to the following pupils for demonstrating courage and talent;
EY4 Zebra: Enzo Liu, Leo Li, Sky Huang, Xi Xi Lang, Vivien Chen, Nicole Cao
EY4 Giraffe: Richardson Wang, Jason Wang, Emma He,
EY4 Monkey: Lorraine Shu, Iris Shu, Xi Xi Song, Bali Ma, Jason Wang, Kele Zhai
EY4 Elephant: Cathy Xin, Arissa Shen, Thea Tong, Ryan Xu, Timothy Zhai, Matthew Liu
You should all be very proud of your achievement.
Photo opportunities followed which focussed on the presentation of gifts to our invited guests. Hearts made from the beautiful wooden terracing at our first nursery were individually decorated by pupils, resulting in unique pieces of art and wonderful keepsakes of a time gone by.
Then it was off around the nursery to explore and see what the pupils were up to. It makes such a difference to the formation of an impression when the pupils are here, bringing the nursery to life. Showing someone around an empty building identifies where things are and how they may be used. What it doesn’t show is how they really are used once you include a gathering of small, inquisitive human beings. The area that is set out with construction suddenly comes alive with communication, teamwork, negotiation, problem solving, creation, innovation, testing, confidence-boosting, and promotion of self-esteem. You can’t see this without the pupils present; they are the evidence that supports the why – why we do what we do.
The event culminated in the planting of a mandarin tree in the nursery garden. Yuki and I chose a mandarin tree not only for its representation of luck and good fortune, but for its simple and elegant beauty – what more could you wish for than a tree that changes with the seasons of the year and bears fruit for pupils to use in their learning? Felicity Kirk joined Yuki and I to plant the tree, although I must admit that much of the work had already been completed for us! It was a truly fitting way to end the event and our guests and colleagues left happy and content.
So, back to my question: what do you call a collective of wonderful people? How about a family? Apparently, there are more than a dozen fish that can be labelled ‘sardine’ in the fish market, therefore in this case family means a large grouping, rather than parents and children. That’s us, a large group, all of whom are from different backgrounds yet still considered as one ‘family’.
(Definition adapted from http://mentalfloss.com/article/551081/collective-nouns-groups-animals )
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