Passionately run by Mrs Wong, our March ‘Club of the Month’ is the Chinese Calligraphy and Far East Culture Club (CCFCC)!
Club members at SMC have the exciting opportunity to learn about Far East Culture, prepare traditional Chinese food and try their hand at Chinese Calligraphy, all with the aim of challenging members to learn something different whilst maintaining respect and curiosity for different cultures.
We couldn’t wait to sit down with Mrs Wong to find out about all of the creative and fun activities they get up to.
When was CCFCC set up? We had our first meeting on the 6th of September, 2019
When does CCFCC meet? We meet on Monday lunch-times from 1.25-2.00pm on alternate weeks, in Room 55
How many members do you have? There are 12 members at the moment
How can children join? They can visit our school club website for contact details or can email Mrs Wong directly
What happens during an average meeting? During an average meeting, we share different cultural experiences including travelling on holiday to Asian countries and topical issues happening around the word. I may bring in a few items of Far East cultural significance or invite pupils to, focusing on different themes every month or two such as food, languages, movies, books or customs. Sometimes, I even demonstrate simple and popular Chinese cooking such as stir fry mixed vegetable with noodles, Chinese dumplings, tofu and more! I then start teaching Chinese Calligraphy, from learning basic strokes at beginner’s level, to more complex Chinese characters at advanced level.
What is one of your top highlights? That’s difficult to say as there were so many, can I have 3...?
- Seeing club members master the technical skills of Chinese Calligraphy from scratch and produce some amazing works for displays. Also, sharing cooking skills, food preparation and food
- The enthusiasm and helpfulness of all club members
- James M and Patrick D (both in S5 at the time) gave us a fantastic presentation in 2019 on their cultural experiences. James taught us some simple Japanese words and Patrick brought in a book full of different kinds of beautiful Chinese currency.
What are your goals? We have a few long-term, ongoing goals:
- To be creative, have fun and be adventurous
- Enable those who are interested to learn Chinese calligraphy and share their different experiences of Far East culture to enrich one another
- Enhance diversity by being challenged to learn something different
- Be inclusive, by having respect and curiosity for different cultures
- Have links with other educational charity organisations which share similar aims to enrich and make a difference.
Thank you to Mrs Wong and the Chinese Calligraphy and Far East Culture Club for giving us a sneak peek behind the scenes of our chosen Club of the Month!
If you are interested in joining in on the fun, please contact Mrs Wong to join the Club in time for their next meeting.
