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Class 5 and The Celestial Empire Main Lesson

25 February 2021

Katherine Arconati’s Class 5 students have been deeply immersed in a renewed Main Lesson, “The Celestial Empire”. Originally created by Susie Hughes in 2017 out of her personal connection to the rich culture and history of one of the most powerful and significant nations of our time, Katherine set out to find her own connection to this unit of work and has been simply delighted by the results.

The children have heard and discussed many myths and legends that describe everything from creation to the invention of silk.  They imagined a migratory bird’s flight to the north-eastern shores of China, stopping at many familiar places along the way (Byron Bay, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Korea) and then drew a simple map of the area.  Visiting Teacher Jing Li taught the children about the traditional art of calligraphic writing using materials that she brought to school in hand from China years ago.  Art Therapist, Julia Byrne also made a guest appearance and led the children to draw the amazing water dragons using oil pastels and citrus turps.

Class 5’s studies culminated with a celebration of the Lunar New Year.  Thanks to Parent Laura, the children made dumplings and experienced some other traditions of the festival.  The class then shared their experience with Classes 3-6 with a performance of songs (in Chinese!) at a Junior School assembly.

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