Robert Moses Students Celebrate Lunar New Year

Robert Moses Middle School held an afterschool Lunar New Year celebration on Jan. 27. Students gathered to learn about Chinese culture, traditions and foods that surround the start of the new year. Organized by Robert Moses Middle School teacher Melanie Shayowitz and the Student Equity Club, the event offered students insight into how the Chinese celebrate the new year. The school’s Beautification Club created a bulletin board featuring the Year of the Snake. 

Coordinator of ENL, Dual Language and World Language Nicholas Pei spoke to students about some of the traditions and foods for the new year, including pineapple cakes, dumplings, sweets and mandarin oranges. Chinese families ring in 2025 as the Year of the Snake and celebrate for 15 days. Robert Moses students also received red envelopes filled with Bulldog Bucks, a traditional gift given during Chinese New Year, from North Babylon Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kenneth Graham and Interim Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Thomas Dolan. Students crafted traditional Chinese lanterns out of paper to take home and display.