News / Nunn Road / 2023 / June 2023

 Dear Parents,

We hope all fathers are happy to receive your cards and flowers from your child/children during Father’s Day. Did you enjoy their massage?

English Class children have been mixing with Japanese Class children during ring time, outside playtime and lunch time. Recently, they are also together for some artistic work and morning creative playtime. The younger children are happy to play in the bigger space. Big children are skipping together. They love the “big skipping rope”! They stimulate each other and show more creative ideas in their drawings, artworks, ayatori and creative play.

Tanabata Day is around the corner. We wrote down children’s wishes so that we can hang them on the bamboo wish branches (Tanzaku) to bring them back home. We are moved by their wishes for their family members and also for the sick and poor people.

Recently, the children started to make their own lanterns with the paintings that they had done.  They drew sun, moon and stars on their lantern paper. They then cut them out and cover the open spaces with colourful crepe paper.  They will weave their lantern string through the process of ‘twisting’ or ‘guru-guru’ using colourful yarns they have chosen. This string will become the handle for their own lantern.

We have started to practice songs, poems and a dance for the coming Lantern and Summer Festival.  Hence, we would like to extend our invitation to you to join us on that day. Please come on time so that the children can join the performance on time.

 Here is a gentle reminder about Late Arrival, mentioned in the information pack:

Punctuality is important for us to maintain a consistent rhythm. Drop off time is between 8.30 am to 9.00 am. Please arrive on time.  Children who are late do not have enough time for their morning artistic work and creative play.  When arriving late and anxious to join the other children doing artistic work or play, the child may refuse to put away his/her things nicely before joining his/her friends.  If the child is very late, he/she may refuse to clear up during clearing up time because he/she has not had enough time for creative play.  Although the teacher understands the situation, she still has to correct the child.  This can put the child in a poor mood for the rest of the day. 

The class teacher also has to stop what she is doing with the class and attend to every late child when he/she arrives to class.  This disrupts the class flow. The other children cannot fully settle into their work and play when the teacher is interrupted.

The side gate will be locked from 9.00 am.  Parents please use the main gate and the office entrance if coming late.  Let us know if you will be later than 9.30 am so that we know to set a place for your child for morning snack.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                    Teacher Thian and Teacher Ang

July 2023 Activities

 5^th (Wed)    Tanabata Day.

 7^th (Fri)       Public Holiday – Penang Heritage Day

 13^th (Thu)    Lantern Festival. Songs and poems were distributed earlier. Program is attached with this newsletter.

 14^th (Fri)      Replacement holiday for Lantern Festival

 19^th (Wed)   Public holiday – Awal Muharram

 31^st (Mon)   Jannel’s 4 years old birthday celebration

Others:

 Bread day will be on 18^th July.

  We will have Pool Day on 20^th July

Craft circle for big children will meet on the 21^st July .

 Kindly change your child/children’s tooth brush if you haven’t do so in the past two month.

 Tanabata Celebration (5^th July, 2023)

During this day of the year, according to Chinese and Japanese folktales, the Weaver Princess and the Cowherd meet across the Milky Way to renew their love for each other.  The children will make Tanzakuwith their wishesfor this celebration.  Tanzaku and other things placed in the house are a way of entreating better things to come. The teachers will cut bamboo branches on the evening of 4^th July, as we are celebrating the Tanabata on 5^th July.

                                                                                             

 About the Lantern/Summer Festival Celebration

The Lantern/Summer Festival is one of the big festivals we celebrate with parents at Nania.  The Nania Lantern Festival brings together elements from the Chinese Moon Cake Festival and the Japanese Summer Bon Festival.

Bon is one of Japan’s summer festivals and is a time when people make offerings of food and other things to their ancestors and pray for the happiness of their ancestors’ souls in the next world.  It takes place from the 13^th to 15^th of August, and during this time the folk dance known as Bon Odori can be seen in cities, towns and villages all over Japan.

Moon Cake Festival otherwise known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is the third major festival of the Chinese calendar. It is celebrated on the 15^th day of the eighth lunar month. This festival is also known as the Moon Cake Festival because a special kind of sweet cake prepared in the shape of the moon and filled with sesame seeds, ground lotus seeds and duck eggs is served as a delicacy.

This year we will celebrate the festival on 13^th July (Thursday). We will celebrate this festival in the evening at Nania’s garden if it does not rain.

On the festival day, children will make dango (rice dumpling) in the morning for the evening festival snack.  They will start the evening with songs, a dance and then enjoy the snack they have made themselves. Then, they will do a lantern walk with their handmade lanterns.

At Nania we use candles for story time, birthdays and farewells. Candles, as lights on the Earth, are used to represent the lights in Heaven in our cultural activities. The sight of Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon and Mr. Star fill the children with wonder and awe. As Mr. Candle’s light graces their activity it brings a sense of solemnity and dignity to the children. The lantern walk during the Lantern Festival offers a moment of communion in the children’s hearts between the lights on earth and the lights in the heavens.

 Nania Lantern/Summer Festival

     Date:     13^th July 2023 (Thursday)

     Time:    6.15 pm

     Venue:   Nania’s garden

Evening Programme

 6.15 pm  Arrival (please be punctual)

 6.30 pm ~ 6.50 pm  Children’s presentation  (greeting, poems, songs   and dance)

 6.50 pm ~7.00 pm  - Hokkien poem by the ‘big children’   (Bon dance together with the parents)

 7.00 pm ~ 7.30 pm  Light snack

 7.30 pm ~ 7.45 pm  Lantern walk (in the garden)

 7.45 pm ~ 7.55pm    Lantern walk (outside of Nania)

 8.00 pm    Goodbye song

*Please note that Nania will be closed on 14^th July 2023 (Friday) as a replacement rest day.

Notes regarding the Lantern Festival

 School will begin as usual at 9am and finish at 2.30pm on 13^th July (Thursday). The children will come back at 6.15 pm (after dinner) with parents and siblings. Please be on time.

   Family members must do a self-test and send it in the Nania English Class Parents’ group Whatsapp before arrival.

   You can park your car at the rented parking lots at Che Hoon Khor Moral Uplifting Society.

   There will be many people attending the Lantern Festival. Please look after the safety of your child.

   Some Japanese children will wear their traditional costumes for the evening. The English class children are encouraged to come wearing their traditional clothes as well.

   If the weather permits, we planned to have a lantern walk outside of Nania i.e. roads surrounding our kindergarten.  Parents are requested to help to keep an eye on your children safety when they are walking on the road.  Please do not block the children passage way to take their photographs.

   Climbing trees are not allowed especially the ciku tree as the day is getting dark and thus it is dangerous to do so.

Father's Day Celebration