Peters school preserves Chinese culture
Nina Lu, Ally Chen and Stacy Liu, students at Pittsburgh Chinese Academy, perform a Spring Festival Overture dance during the Peters Township school’s Chinese New Year celebration.
Daniel Torres practices his Chinese writing at the Pittsburgh Chinese Academy.
McMURRAY – Ten-year-old Daniel Torres spent the majority of his young life in Shanghai, China.
So when his parents, Samuel Torres and Noedmarie Santana of Moon Township, relocated to the area 19 months ago, they wanted to make sure their son kept up with his Mandarin language and writing skills.
And they found what they were looking for at Pittsburgh Chinese Academy in Peters Township, which draws students from many parts of Western Pennsylvania.
“I actually found the school online when we were still in Shanghai,” said Noedmarie, who hails from Puerto Rico. Her husband, Samuel, is a chemical engineer from Mexico, and the family speaks Spanish at home.
The Peters Chinese school was started in 2009 to provide instruction in Mandarin speaking and writing, as well as Chinese culture. The 40 or so students, who range in age from 5 to 13, meet Sundays at Center Presbyterian Church for classes. All of the teachers at the school are native Mandarin speakers.
“Our school is unique,” said Susan Chang, chairman of the school. “Half of our students do not have a Chinese background. … But, they learn the language and hopefully it will help them in the future.”
“We want the kids to shine and pick up the language,” Chang added.
As part of the Chinese culture learning experience, the school’s students celebrated Chinese New Year on Sunday with dances, poetry recitals and kung fu demonstrations and homemade dumplings. Chinese New Year is considered the Chinese equivalent of Christmas, Chang said.
Each Chinese New Year is defined by the animals from the Chinese zodiac that characterize it. This year, for example, is the year of the monkey. People born under the sign of the monkey are considered adaptable, bright, lucky and charming.
This year, Chinese New Year is Feb. 8, but celebrations traditionally begin about a week before.
The origins of Chinese New Year vary, but all include a story about Nian, a mythical monster who preyed on villagers. Nian, Chinese for year, is scared of the color red and loud noises.
This is why firecrackers are lit and red paper cutouts are hung on doors to celebrate during the holiday, which traditionally runs 15 days, said Ke Wang, principal of Pittsburgh Chinese Academy.
“Drums can be heard on the streets, red lanterns glow at night, and red paper cutouts and calligraphy hangings are hung on the doors,” she said. “Children are given a red envelope with money inside.”
Chang’s daughter, Kathy, 12, served as the New Year’s mistress of Sunday’s ceremonies and introduced each poem, song, or demonstration in both English and Chinese. Kathy also takes classes at the school and said the best part of Chinese New Year is interacting with the other students. That’s also why Torres said he likes the school and participating in Chinese New Year festivities.
“It’s fun,” said Daniel, who has been able to write Chinese since he was 4.
His mother, Noedmarie, agreed. She said Daniel strongly identifies with Chinese culture and she doesn’t want him to lose that familiarity.
“He loves it,” she said. “This year it is a more of a mix of kids, both Chinese and western. We feel there is more of a connector here.”