20 February 2025
The 2025 Chinese New Year celebrations at St Peter’s College Junior School began in Week 1. One highlight of the Chinese New Year decorations in the reception area near the main entrance was a 3D model created during the holidays by Year 5 student Owen Wu. His work was inspired by the famous ancient Chinese painting “千里江山图” (Thousands of Miles of Rivers and Mountains), created during the Song Dynasty approximately 900 years ago.
All Year 1 to Year 6 students made Chunjie lucky crafts—two “persimmons” using twisting sticks, symbolizing the Chinese phrase “事事如意” (everything goes as you wish). Students also cooked and enjoyed pre-made panda-shaped steamed buns to continue the enthusiasm for pandas from last year. These activities were supported by volunteer Chinese parents throughout Week 1 and Week 2, just as in previous years. Thanks to all the volunteers!
On February 8, some boys from the lower primary were invited to perform at the 2025 Chinese New Year Chinatown Street Party, the biggest and most exciting Chinese New Year celebration in South Australia. Thousands of audience members and performers, along with Senator the Honourable Penny Wong and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, attended the celebration on Gouger Street to welcome the Year of the Snake! More than 30 boys from Reception to Year 3 performed the songs “Courage Bursts Out” and “Panda Song”, earning applause and cheers from the crowd that night. Thanks to all the boys and parents for their participation in this significant celebration of the year!
Last Friday, the annual Chinese New Year Celebration at St Peter’s College Junior School was grandly held in the Memorial Hall. The event kicked off with a small blue lion running into the venue, thanks to Owen Wu (Year 5) and Lucas Lin (Year 5) for bringing us the lion dance, setting the stage for the celebration. Chinese Language Captain Angelos Kasmeridis (Year 6) announced to the entire school that on December 4, 2024, UNESCO officially included “Spring Festival—The Social Practices of the Chinese People Celebrating the Traditional New Year” in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
He introduced the various official names for this significant festival, including Spring Festival and Chunjie, while explaining why the term “Lunar New Year” is not entirely accurate—since the Chinese New Year is based on both the solar and lunar calendars. He encouraged the use of official, scientific terminology to show respect. Following this, last year’s Year 6 student, Sebastian Chen, presented the school with its first Chinese version of the school prayer, written as a Chinese calligraphy piece, expressing gratitude for the school’s years of education and support.
The mother tongue class students performed the song “Climbing Up the Spring Mountain” to celebrate the Spring Festival. Meanwhile, all Year 4 second-language Chinese learners, along with Jayden Chen (Year 6), Ethan Zhang (Year 6), Max Claessens (Year 6), and Peter Zhang (Year 4), performed “My Paper Airplane”, the award-winning song from the 2024 Chinese Singing Competition. Additionally, we invited Angela Zhou (Year 8) from St Peter’s Girls’ School to perform a solo pipa piece, “Send Me a Rose”, which also fittingly celebrated Valentine’s Day. We wish everyone a happy Spring Festival! May the Year of the Snake bring great fortune and prosperity!
Mrs Shelby Baker
Chinese Language Teacher/ Specialist Coordinator
