Message from the PA President: Welcome Festival 2026

Dear families,

I hope your children are all settling in comfortably into their new school routine, whilst you watch with relief and pride as their confidence grows daily.

Your PA committee has been hard at work this week by participating in a team workshop to plan for the year ahead. We aim to foster a collaborative culture of unity and inclusivity, thereby creating a supportive environment for our children to thrive. We encourage you to be part of this supportive network by participating and volunteering at all of our events.

Our first event of the year is the Welcome Festival on 27th Feb 4-7.30pm, to officially celebrate the start of the school year. This is a family, picnic-style event, filled with energy and interesting local customs. We will be sending an email out in the next week seeking volunteers to serve at the bar, BBQ and bake stalls, as well as donations of baked goods.

I look forward to meeting many of you at the Welcome Festival, hearing your stories and sharing ideas on how we can make 2026 a fabulous year for our children.

Warm wishes,

Kwai Lee

PA President

Choy Cheng

This year, we have a rare opportunity to introduce “Choy Cheng” to our Lion Dance ceremony at the Welcome Festival. Choy Cheng translates to “Plucking the Greens” in English.

What does it mean?

The “green” in this ceremony is represented by a lettuce. It symbolises luck and good health. A red packet (laisee) is attached to the lettuce, and the bundle is usually hung at a height.

The lion, on spotting the bundle, will dance with excitement and leap up to grab the lettuce. The lion will munch on the lettuce and return to the stage to shower the crowd with the shredded lettuce. This act symbolises the lion’s blessing of wealth, fortune and good health, as well as offering protection against bad luck.

During Chinese New Year, many businesses & families will engage lion dancers to “open their year” with blessings of luck and good health.

The PA committee has prepared limited Choy Cheng bundles (inclusive of lettuce, laisee & photo) for families who wish to participate in this rare opportunity to have their own Choy Cheng ceremony at our festival. The participation cost will be $600 per bundle. More information to sign up will be provided in our Welcome Festival email next week.