A Chinese New Year Celebration was held at the Lycée Français de Tamatave, a Confucius Classroom of the University of Toamasina, on the afternoon of February 9th. Over 400 participated, including the students, parents, principal of the Lycée, and instructors, volunteers, and Director of the CI. In his opening remarks, the principal of the Lycée expressed the school’s gratitude for the opportunity to host the Celebration for the third year running, a wish to strengthen cooperation with the CI to offer more Chinese courses, and his thanks to the volunteers and instructors who helped organize the event. Each grade from K-12 had prepared a performance. There was the “chicken dance” of the kindergarteners, a guzheng solo piece, a skit based on the Chinese fable “The Foolish Man who Removed the Mountains”, several group dances, and a taichi kungfu fan display. Laughter and applause rang out in the auditorium as the students put on their impressive performances. At the end of the Celebration, the principal of the Lycée and the CI Director joined CI students and staff on stage for a group photo.

The Celebration was organized and coordinated by the three regular CI staff assigned to the Lycée Français de Tamatave. This is the 3rdtime that the annual Celebration is held at the Lycée, and serves as an opportunity for students to demonstrate their Chinese language skills.