Chinese Language Program

Years 3 & 4 Make Dumplings
The Grade 3 and 4 students at Maiden Gully Primary School had been anticipating for Thursday, 21 June, on which day they made dumplings for the first time. 
Initiated by Xu Lao Shi, their Chinese teacher from the Confucius Classroom at Bendigo Senior Secondary College, and assisted by three other specialists at the school, the event saw a great success. Nearly 200 students participated in the process of preparing filling, wrapping, cooking and eating dumplings. Not only did the students learn how to make dumplings, they also grew more interest in the cultural aspect of the Chinese subject, which in turn motivates them to better acquire the language skills.
The students at Maiden Gully had been learning Chinese for over 4 years, but have only been introduced to the Chinese program by Confucius Classroom this year. It was the first time they had made dumplings at school and for most of them, the first time they had ever seen them. Therefore, they were very excited about this experience. “This is the best food I have ever tasted,” said one student, “and it is not only because of the flavour, but also the fact that I made them myself.”
 
When asked how they found the process of making dumplings, some described it as “easy”, while the others found it “a bit tricky”, particularly making fillings and creating the folds on the wrapper. However, with encouragement from the teachers and fellow students, everyone successfully made one or two dumplings.
The event made it to the Maiden Gully Primary School Facebook page, and received over 80 likes and comments.
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