LF_013020

10 | January 30, 2020 | The lake forest leader COMMUNITY
LakeForestLeaderDaily.com
Remy and Mr. Little
The Phelps Family,
Lake Forest
This is Remy, and
his loyal companion
Mr. Little. Mr. Little
is..well, little. We
rescued him 12 years
ago, and he still acts
like a puppy with lots
of quirky personality.
Remy is only 2 years
old, and is very reserved, but the pair get along
very well. They spend their days protecting our
home from the roaming deer, an occasional coyote
and the evil chipmunks who have the audacity to
come on our patio.
To see your pet featured as Pet of the Week, send a photo
and information to peter@lakeforestleader.com or 60
Revere Drive, Suite 888, Northbrook, IL 60062.
Posted to LakeForestLeaderDaily.com 1 day ago
DPMS celebrates Chinese New Year with sister school
Peter Kaspari, Editor
The students at Deer
Path Middle School came
together with students
from their Chinese sister
school, Wenling No. 3
Middle School, to celebrate
the Lunar New Year.
Students from Wenling
spent their week at
Deer Path Middle School,
which included the Jan.
21 Lunar New Year celebration.
Dr. Jeff McHugh, District
67’s director of teaching
and learning, said this
was the first time students
from Wenling had come
to Deer Path to help celebrate
the Chinese New
Year.
“It’s just a way to just
get to learn more about
the Chinese culture,” he
said. “It’s more of a culture
celebration.”
He gave credit to
Mandarin teacher Grace
Zhang and assistant principal
Megan Eigenrauch
for helping to arrange the
visit from Wenling.
Deer Path’s celebration
included a performance of
“Mo Li Hua,” a traditional
Chinese folk song, which
was performed by students
from both schools.
There were also stations
set up where students
could learn about China
and its culture, including
calligraphy, origami, learn
how to use chopsticks and
even a game to see who
knew the most about China.
“This isn’t just for kids
who take Mandarin,”
McHugh said. “This is
for any Deer Path student
who would like to come.”
The celebration was
also open to the public.
McHugh said District
67 offers Mandarin classes
at both Cherokee Ele-
Students from Deer Path Middle School and Wenling No. 3 Middle School in China
perform “Mo Li Hua,” a traditional Chinese folk song, at the Lunar New Year celebration
on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Photos by Peter Kaspari/22nd Century Media
mentary School and Deer
Path Middle School.
In addition to the performance,
McHugh said
the Wenling students also
got to go on a field trip
to Chicago to learn more
about the city, as well as
shadowing Deer Path students
to learn more about
how American schools
work.
In all, there were 15 students
from Wenling and
three chaperones.
Although there was a bit
of a language barrier, with
the Wenling students not
necessarily understanding
their American counterparts
and vice-versa,
McHugh said both groups
were able to communicate
with each other in various
ways.
He observed one example
in a math class, where
students were learning
about area and perimeter.
McHugh said the Wenling
students didn’t understand
what those terms meant,
but a Deer Path student
explained to them that
the area is the middle of
the shape and perimeter is
Lila Bock, 7, left, gets some help from her sister, Bela
Bock, 12, at using chopsticks during Deer Path Middle
School’s Lunar New Year celebration.
outside.
“They were able to
solve the problem,”
McHugh said. “That was
neat to see.”
Zhang said she was also
happy to see the students
interacting with each other.
District-wide, there are
about 120 students who
are enrolled in Mandarin
classes.
“Our school district and
the schools are really supportive
of us,” she said,
adding that the partnership
allows the sister school
to come to America and
allow the students to experience
what American
middle school life is like.
Zhang said there’s also
plans to have Deer Path
students visit China as
well.
“We have a China trip
coming up, so we’re going
to visit our sister school,”
she said. “Our kids will
stay with their host family
and explore the Chinese
school life.”