by Frances Chiang Dayman
PEF Board of Directors
What a privilege it was to celebrate Chinese New Year’s Eve at Field Elementary Mandarin Dual Language Immersion School. 100+ parents and relatives were there with staff and students at their Friday Morning Assembly on the playground. It was a bright sunny day and children were dressed in colorful Chinese New Year costumes and shiny red traditional clothing. We watched Fourth Graders proudly perform a Lion Dance parade with Chinese drum music as they wove their way around the stage. Dragons are a symbol of China’s culture, and they are believed to bring good luck to people. In the middle of their dance, the music stopped, and the dragon dance got a fun modern twist as the students started dancing to the song, “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz.
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It was exciting to be able to share my own Chinese New Year memories of a special red envelope with money from my Grandma and hot pot dinner with my family. Many little ones were very excited when I waved my red envelope!
It was truly a delightful way for me to meet parents, teachers, and students, join the festivities, and thank the everyone for their generous contributions to the Field Annual Fund and to PEF.
PEF Board Member Frances Chiang Dayman is the PEF Board Ambassador to Field Elementary Mandarin Dual Language Immersion School. Frances has lived in Sierra Madre/Pasadena for 30 years. Her son Blake has attended PUSD schools since kindergarten at Don Benito, Field, Wilson and PHS. Blake graduated from PHS App Academy in 2017 and is currently at Westmont College majoring in computer science. In addition, Frances serves on the Board of Pasadena PTA Council. Find out more about the PEF Board of Directors here.
Field Elementary School’s Mandarin Dual Language Immersion Program (MDLIP) integrates native Mandarin speakers with non-native Mandarin speakers to promote academic achievement towards bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism for all students. Find out more about Field Elementary here.
