This year at Woodchurch High, we have welcomed many new students and their families, who have recently moved to the UK from Hong Kong. The students have settled in well to their new school, they have adjusted to the cultural differences and adapted to the .

In Hong Kong, China and across Asia, this is a very important time of year as they celebrate the Lunar New Year. At this time, families come together and welcome in the new year with meals together and the giving of red envelopes of money as a blessing to each other for the year ahead.

To mark this occasion at Woodchurch High School, in registration our students have been learning about the significance of the Lunar New Year, with a focus on the cultural traditions and the symbolism of these. The students have learnt why the colour red is associated with the celebration, why people give red envelopes of money and why mandarin orange trees are displayed in peoples homes and enjoyed.

In their Art lessons, students have created decorations which symbolise the red envelopes and mandarin oranges featuring Chinese writing and displaying a message of good fortune to the Woodchurch community for the Lunar New Year. These were used to create a beautiful display in the main reception of the school on our trees.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the new students from Hong Kong were invited to the Head Teachers office. They were each presented with a traditional red envelope containing a few chocolate coins to represent money, as a blessing of good fortune for the new year.

We would like to wish all our community a Happy New Year for the Year of the Tiger and our cantonese speakers – 恭喜發財 – Kung Hei Fat Choi, translated into English this means “Wishing you great happiness and prosperity.”