The children in Reception to Year 2 have been sharing their home cultures, traditions and experiences with their new class mascot Culture Cat. This has included finding out about new countries such as Egypt when Culture Cat joined a family holiday, celebrating Australia Day and Chinese New Year, and learning a Tamil song. Thank you to parents who have signed up for Culture Cat already – please speak to your child’s class teacher if you have a special celebration, festival, holiday coming up so that your child can share (‘show and tell’) their experiences with their class.      
 
Here are some lovely examples…

Culture Cat had a lovely time celebrating Chinese New Year with this boy and his family. This year is the Year of the Dragon. His mum put up spring couplets on the front door to welcome the new year. He received a red envelope, with lucky money inside from his uncle. It is important to say ‘Xin Nian Kuai’ and ‘thank you’ when you accept them. Culture Cat also posed with a fish shaped rice cake. Fish is considered a lucky dish on the New Year’s Eve dinner table, because the sound of the word fish (Yu) also means ‘bountiful and plenty.'

Culture Cat helped this boy to celebrate the Lunar New Year by visiting a Korean temple. Children are given envelopes with money by family members and the whole family get together to enjoy a special meal. They also hold memorials for their ancestors who are no longer here.