12 Feb 2024
On behalf of Plumpton High School and personally I would like to wish our community a Happy & Prosperous Luna New Year.
Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is the most important traditional holiday in many Asian cultures including China, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, and others. A significant portion of our Plumpton community are from these cultures. It marks the beginning of a new year according to the lunar calendar, which is based on the cycles of the moon. Celebrations often include family gatherings, feasting, giving of red envelopes (containing money), and various cultural and religious rituals.
The Year of the Dragon in 2024 is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and related to the Chinese calendar. The Dragon is the fifth in the cycle, following the Rabbit, and preceding the Snake. It is said to be the most powerful and auspicious sign in the Chinese zodiac, symbolising strength, luck, and power. Each Chinese zodiac year also associates with one of five elements: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire, or Earth, which can further characterise the year and influence according to Chinese astrological beliefs.
Plumpton High School teaches Chinese Language as a part of the curriculum and is currently working to offer Philippine language (Tagalog) after school. The attached video is our Year 8 Chinese language class and thank you to Ms Zhang for her work in implementing our Chinese language program.
Our Taiko ensemble was also invited to play at the Blacktown City Luna New Year celebrations over the weekend and we thank Mr Symes for his commitment to this important event in our calendar.
Tim Lloyd, Principal