Durham Academy Chinese Program 德仁学院中文项目

When basketball meets Chinese class… you know it’s game time! 🏀 If you haven’t seen language class like this before, Ms. Wang’s Novice and Novice Mid Chinese students definitely have -dribbling, shooting, and speaking their way through spring for the past two years! We’ve turned the basketball court into our very own language lab… because who says you can’t practice vocabulary while making hoops?

Huge shoutout to Coach Lee (DA ’04, Upper School PE Department) and Ms. Zee (Assistant Director of Extended Day and NCCU Hall of Fame legend! 🏆) for joining the fun and helping judge our basketball skills this year.

👉 Swipe to the end for more highlights from last school year!

In celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’re reflecting on a meaningful service project our Chinese Heritage class was honored to take part in earlier this year through micro-grant funding managed by Ms. Kelly Teagarden.

With this support, students purchased cooking supplies for the Breakfast for Blessings event held at the Orange County Seymour Center on February 19 in celebration of Lunar New Year.

The Seymour Center is a vital community hub for more than 100 Chinese American residents in Orange County. For many seniors, the center provides an essential connection to resources, friendship, and community. Because many residents are Mandarin-speaking, they can also face language barriers and social isolation in their daily lives.

A group of students visited the Seymour Center in Chapel Hill, where we prepared and served breakfast — pork potstickers and chicken lo mein — for more than 150 senior residents, most of whom are Chinese. The event became a special opportunity to celebrate Lunar New Year, share cultural traditions through food, and build connections across generations. Special thanks to Dr. Chingyi Lee (mother of Annika ‘26 and Derick ‘28) and Dr. Fan Ye (father of Andy ‘26 and Daniel ‘34) for handling most of the cooking in the kitchen.

Claire Chen from the Orange County Department on Aging / Seymour Center shared: “We value Durham Academy as a key partner in our mission to remove the barriers of isolation for our multicultural households. This initiative represents a high-level service-learning opportunity, where students gain real-world cultural competency while solving a genuine need for social inclusion among our elderly neighbors.”

As we recognize AANHPI Heritage Month, we are grateful for opportunities like this that allow students to celebrate culture, strengthen community ties, and honor the experiences of Asian American families and elders in our local community.

For AANHPI Heritage Month -and for art’s sake -we’re excited to welcome everyone to Momo’s Masters Restaurant in Chapel Hill this Tuesday (May 5th) at 6pm!

Come enjoy authentic Himalayan cuisine while supporting a great cause—browse and purchase artwork to help fundraise for the UNC Asian American Center.

Swipe to check out some of the incredible pieces that will be available.

This week, our preschoolers rang in the Lunar New Year with so much joy! 🧧

On Tuesday, we had a special pre-assembly lion dance pop-up. The children were absolutely delighted as they reached out to touch the lion and filled the hall with giggles and excitement. The lion loved becoming preschool’s newest (and now best!) friend!

On Wednesday, we came together for our Lunar New Year Assembly, where the students helped act out the famous story of the Nian monster and learned how Lunar New Year celebrations are traditionally filled with bright red colors and festive sounds to welcome good luck for the year ahead.

We also took time to celebrate our February birthdays, singing “Happy Birthday” together in both English and Mandarin Chinese!

It was a wonderful celebration of culture, storytelling, and community. ♥️ A special thank you to 5th grader Douglas Wong, and to these Upper School students who made it happen:
Anna Wood, Ashley Slomianyj, Ananya Mettu, Kristianna McClain, Ashie Sinha, Anne Hoberg.

Need a small pause in the middle of a busy day? Come join us for a Tea Ceremony (茶道) - a chance to slow down, sip some tea, and enjoy a moment of quiet contemplation together.

It’ll be in LC 314 from 10am to 12:30pm on Monday, March 2nd, the 15th day of the lunar new year, aka Lantern Festival. This will be a hands-on experience with immersive philosophical and cultural sharing / no prior tea expertise required (just curiosity and maybe a willingness to slow down for a few minutes).

Feel free to stop by anytime during the session and be our guests - whether you stay for five minutes or the full experience.

Hosts: Bonnie Wang & Meiqing Sun

We promise calm tea, good conversation, and zero quizzes. 🙂

Stop by Smith Assembly Hall for the Upper School Chinese Program Calligraphy & Painting Exhibition as the Lunar New Year celebration continues! Immerse yourself in this gallery of creativity, culture, and storytelling. Each piece reflects patience, practice, and personal expression inspired by traditional Chinese art.

Thank you to our student helpers, supportive teachers, and everyone who helped select and showcase representative works.

We are grateful for the enthusiastic feedback from students and faculty who have visited. Come by, slow down, and celebrate the spirit of the Lunar New Year with us through ink, color, and creativity!

Congratulations to our incredible Middle and Upper School Chinese program for a joyful and meaningful week of classroom celebration in honor of the Spring Festival!

Students rang in the Chinese New Year through hands-on cultural experiences — from learning the art of dumpling making with Guo Laoshi, to creating beautiful paper cuttings of “Spring” (春) with Sun Laoshi, to sending New Year messages and writing heartfelt wish cards for family and friends with Wang Laoshi.

These activities not only brought festive spirit into our classrooms, but also deepened students’ appreciation for language, tradition, and cultural connection. Wishing everyone happiness, good health, and success in the Year of the Fire Horse 🔥🐎

Our Middle School had an amazing week celebrating the Lunar New Year! Walking on campus with the festive door decorations was so impressive! Students enjoyed lively dragon popup, participated in a fun Trivia Kahoot created by the AAPI student leaders, and showed their spirit on Red-Out Day with surprise gifts.

The whole school also shared a delicious hot lunch featuring Asian cuisine, and Guo Laoshi will announce the winners of our festive door decorating contest on Friday to wrap up the week.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this celebration so special! 🧧✨

Join us this Sunday (Feb 15) at 11am for Ms. Wang’s Chinese Calligraphy Workshop, a special collaboration between the DA Chinese Program and the Chapel Hill Public Library. 🧧
Stop by to explore the beauty of Chinese calligraphy through Ms. Wang’s demonstration and a hands-on workshop. Learn how to use a traditional brush, try writing Lunar Nee Year themed characters, and create your own calligraphy art to take home.❤️
All ages welcome. Come write, create, and celebrate the Year of the Horse 🐎
The full event “Tastes and Tales” runs from 11am to 1pm, with the first hour dedicated to workshops and interactive tables and the second hour of Show-and-Tell community story sharing.