Henderson Elementary School hosts community and student meals

Henderson Elementary School provided food for thought in celebrating Lunar New Year in January, providing meals for students and the qathet community, as well as a cultural experience.

Henderson principal Matt Hull said this year, through grants from the provincial ministry of education, Henderson committed to preparing meals for the community as well for the students for Lunar New Year. He said the school has held community dinners previously during the school year, and on January 19, the school celebrated Lunar New Year with a unique meal preparation.

“It was a cultural celebration, talking about the culture and the stories, and trying to focus on things that are more traditional for Chinese New Year,” said Hull. “We reached out and I was put in contact with four women from China and Taiwan who volunteered their time to teach people how to make dumplings. It was awesome.

“We had 54 people show up in the evening and it worked out really well because people could get a demonstration on how to make the dough, rolling it out and cutting it, then inserting the filling. On average, families went home with 30 or 40 dumplings each.”

Also at the meal, dumplings were boiled and fried, and there was also fried rice made at the school for the meal.

“We went through a lot,” said Hull. “Families ate and we had leftovers which we served for lunch for the next day.”

Hull said the school isn’t just targeting those families with food insecurities, it is targeting all families.

“Lunar New Year was an opportunity to take that cultural teaching we’ve traditionally done, such as making lanterns and dragons, and we added in that food part,” said Hull.

January 23 featured the school meal, where chow mein was cooked and served to the whole school, along with dumplings.

Hull said having community members come into the school to help prepare the community meal, and having other community members participate, was a great asset to the cultural experience. He said it is important to introduce new concepts, and next year, he’d like to see an expansion, where activities such as dance and items such as clothing are introduced.

“We’d like to bring the Chinese community into the school, a little more in advance, giving students a taste of more than we read in books,” said Hull. “Cultural recognition, diversity and equity is a big part of what we are trying to accomplish at the school. Today, we are seeing the importance of diversity and bringing it into schools. We are finding kids to be more accepting.

“We have a long way to go, and I don’t think any of us are foolish enough to say that we’re there, but we’re definitely excited to work on these kinds of programs. We’re working with kids to help with appreciation.”

Lunar New Year fits with the school’s goal for larger community engagement, according to Hull. He said when he started at the school in September, community was really important to him, and bringing people into the school for positive activities, such as movie nights and food, is important.

Hull said Lunar New Year was also built into the school’s literacy piece, where stories could be read and told, embracing Asian culture. He said the goal was to find culturally authentic stories rather than Anglicized versions.

“There is a lot of representation in books that is authentic,” added Hull. “Our teachers are amazing. I was fortunate to come to a school with teachers who are passionate, compassionate, and aware of the importance of empathy and diversity.”