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San Diego Unified School Celebrates Chinese New Year

By Ana Tintocalis / Education Reporter,  KPBS Public Broadcasting
Published February 7, 2008 at 1:02 PM PST
This story was published more than 17 years ago.

San Diego Unified's only Chinese-language school celebrated the Chinese New Year today. It's the first time the school is ringing in the holiday. KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis has the story.

(Photo: Students and a dragon celebrate the Chinese New Year at Barnard Elementary in Point Loma. Ana Tintocalis/KPBS )

San Diego Unified 's only Chinese-language school celebrated the Chinese New Year today. It's the first time the school is ringing in the holiday. KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis has the story.

Two people inside a yellow dragon costume delighted school kids. They pranced around the auditorium at Barnard Elementary in Point Loma celebrating the year of the rat.

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Nine-year-old Brittany and her friend Gabriel are learning about the Chinese calendar and they know what this year is supposed to be about.

Brittany : The rat means you're clever and sly. And so I want to be a rat, but I'm not. I'm a tiger. Le How.

Reporter : That's Chinese for tiger?

Brittany : Yes.

Gabriel : We're all tigers!!!
This is the first year Barnard is offering Mandarin language classes. Kids learn Mandarin and Chinese culture four days a week. The Chinese-language trend has spread quickly in schools across the country because of China's growing international influence.

Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.

Ana Tintocalis
Ana Tintocalis was a member of the KPBS radio news team from 2001 to 2011. She first served as a as a producer for "These Days" (now "Midday Edition") and then later as the station's education reporter. After graduating from California State University, Long Beach with a journalism degree, Ana began working as a field reporter and anchor at KLON Radio 88.1 FM in Long Beach, covering breaking news in Orange and Los Angeles counties. During that time she also freelanced for other print and broadcast news organizations, such as Metro Networks, the Associated Press, and Santa Clarita Our Times. In 2001, Ana traveled for more than three months in Cuba where she produced a radio series focusing on the street music in Havana. Upon returning from her journey, Ana freelanced as a reporter covering court cases for the Antelope Valley Press, a newspaper based in Palmdale, California.
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