Students Host Annual “China Night”
Chinese students recount the story of how the Chinese Zodiac came to be.
Gig Harbor High School students hailing from Chinese 1, 2, 3, and 4 came together last Friday, February 13th, at the Gig Harbor High School library to host their annual production of China Night. This year’s China Night offered a wide array of performances, including both modern and folk singing, a live band, poetry, art, plays, and a calligraphy exposition presented by exchange student from China, Kevin Shuai.
China Night’s purpose is to showcase the talents and abilities of Chinese students at all levels, as well as offer a glimpse to parents and fellow classmates the process of learning through Gig Harbor High School’s Chinese program. McKenzie Hensley, freshman, says “China Night was our way of embarking on a cultural mission filled with fun, fascination, and spring rolls. I love the opportunity we get every day to learn Chinese and then taking that opportunity and experience to show everyone at our China Night.”
Senior Max Norstrom playing the harp to provide music for China Night.
Samantha Griffin, freshman, said “China Night was really fun for me from the planning stages to the actual execution of it.” Through the great effort of the students, decorations were constructed, food was prepared, and music was organized to pull off this production. Since China Night was held a few weeks before the Chinese New Year, the theme of this year’s China Night was the Chinese Zodiac. Thus, the opening play recounted the story of how the order of the Chinese Zodiac came to be. The actresses and actors of this play ranged from beginners in Chinese to students with conversational level Chinese. One of the lead actresses in the play, Sarai Knowles, freshman, said “China Night was nerve racking leading up to it, but when it actually happened it was really great. Getting to see how the process of learning Chinese came together in one night was really inspiring, and everyone put a lot of effort into making it as nice as possible. I think that for everyone to come together like that is really special.”
All in all, China Night was a great success. Congratulations to all Chinese students as well as Mrs. Heidi Steele!