Published on: 22 March 2018





Year 7 students studying Mandarin recently visited the Confucius Institute at the University of Western Australia where they engaged in a number of Chinese cultural activities.

A total of 55 boys accompanied by teachers Ms Zhang and Ms Nock attended the excursion which started with a Kung Fu lesson followed by morning tea.

“The boys really enjoyed the cultural experience as there were opportunities to get hands on and learn more about Chinese culture,” said Chinese and French Teacher, Phillipa Nock.

“Almost 40 Western Australian schools benefit from The Confucius Institute’s language support program which is the largest in Australia. The program, which includes both private and public schools, extends as far afield as Albany, Bunbury, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie.”

“As part of the excursion the boys got to paint Chinese opera masks and learn the art of Chinese calligraphy, where they were taught how to write the character fù 福, meaning good fortune in Mandarin.”

“The excursion activities were conducted by assistants at the Confucius Institute including Dongwen Ouyang, our Chinese assistant who helps out in both the Preparatory and Senior School.”

The Confucius Institute at UWA is a non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening educational ties between China and Australia, supporting Chinese language education and increasing mutual understanding.