Kristen Hayes, the parent of a student who attends St. Martin of Tours School in Amityville, spoke to several classes about Chinese New Year. The students participated in a lion dance, which is done to bring good luck and fortune. The students ate longlife noodles and dumplings, which are traditional Chinese New Year foods. All the food was eaten with chopsticks.

Jumping on bubble wrap, the students mimicked the sounds of fire crackers, and they learned Mandarin words and phrases and some got to practice Chinese calligraphy. Hayes spoke to the classes in prek through the fourth grade. Pictured doing the lion dance are third graders, Ashley Ottalloran, Claudia Baginski, Estaban Chica and Bobby Elias.