Pupils from SK La Salle Klang (center), dressed in red attire, participated in Chinese calligraphy alongside nearly 4,000 teachers and students from Hin Hua High School at the event. This marks the first time Hin Hua High School has invited teachers and students from neighboring secondary and primary schools to join their Chinese New Year calligraphy program. — KK SHAM/The Star
KLANG: In a heartwarming display of unity and goodwill, an independent Chinese high school here has for the first time, included neighbouring public schools in one of its annual traditions.
Hin Hua High School, located along Persiaran Raja Muda Musa, extended an invitation to five nearby schools to participate in its annual Chinese calligraphy competition, lion dance troupe’s pledge and flag presentation ceremony.
“We felt it was important to invite them this year to strengthen our ties,” said the school’s deputy principal Koh Mei Yin.
“Our parent-teacher association has been visiting these schools for years to distribute mandarin oranges during Chinese New Year, and we wanted to do even more this year.”
The event was attended by SK La Salle, SMK La Salle, SK Simpang Lima (1) and (2) and SMK Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, represented by a combined group of 35 students, of whom 22 were non-Chinese.
The highlight of the event was the calligraphy competition, which saw all 3,053 students, aged seven to 18, taking part.
“The results of the competition will be announced at a later date once the winners are selected,” Koh said.
The event also featured a calligraphy demonstration by renowned masters Nai Chuang Hak, Goh Ah Ang and Yap Poh Sim, as well as participation from 18 students from Yinghua Academy in Tianjin, China – Hin Hua High School’s sister school.
Koh expressed hope that the event would foster stronger relations between the schools.
SMK La Salle student P. Dishenath, 14, said he thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Hin Hua.
“I’ve been learning to write basic Japanese characters for a year, and this competition gave me the chance to test my skills,” he shared.
“If they invite us again, I’ll definitely ask to come,” Dishenath added.
