WILMINGTON — St. Ann Catholic School, home to students Pre-K through 8th grade, is known for its academics and strong parish community. What the school is also known for is being able to send students off feeling ready for their future.
At the beginning of this year, St. Ann decided to add a Chinese program to their curriculum. With this, it added another level to making children more well-rounded.
Principal Pat Grant says “St. Ann School is a global society. We now teach both Spanish and Chinese, giving the students an exposure to everything.”
Chinese classes are taught to grades Pre-K through fifth grade and become an elective as students reach grades sixth through eighth, where they can choose between Chinese and Spanish. The classes are taught twice a week by Chinese teacher Yi Hu.
Yi Hu moved to Philadelphia in 2014. She originally lived in southwest China where she taught English, and where she also met her husband 10 years ago. Along with that she has two children — a three-year-old and a five-month-old.
Not only is she teaching these children at St. Ann School, but she teaches Chinese at a Sunday School in West Chester, Pa. Yi Hu believes that learning the Chinese language, even at a young age, is important. China is the biggest country in the world, making Chinese the most spoken language in the world.
These kids might not be thinking about it now, but Yi Hu said, “learning Chinese at such a young age will give these students more opportunity in the future. It is an important language and it’s increasing in presence in the business world”.
She exposes her children to not only the language but also to Chinese music, culture and art. During classes she likes to sing songs with her students, teach them how to do different Chinese crafts and draw different Chinese symbols. When it comes to the Chinese language, the grammar is not complicated, which aids in the learning process.
To celebrate this new addition of the Chinese class, St. Ann Catholic School is having a Chinese dinner. Those attending will be able to meet Yi Hu. Also, attendees will be able to enjoy a singing performance given by her Chinese students and decorations made by those very same students.
This dinner will be held on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend, and the tickets can be purchased by calling the rectory or through the parish website. The prices of the tickets are $20 for adults, and $10 for children (age 10 or younger).