Interested?: South considers Mandarin Chinese Club

   South Hunterdon Regional High School is exploring the idea of starting a Mandarin Chinese Club.
   The idea is to have instruction in Mandarin on a weekly basis during the half- hour free lunch period. The instruction may be once or twice week. “We will explore time slots that do not conflict with other programs offered at this time,” said a spokesman.
   Some students already have already been exposed to Mandarin in elementary school, thanks to generous grants from LAEF. However, students with no prior exposure to Mandarin are encouraged to join the club. This is a club and, as such, everyone with an interest is encouraged to join. There will be no tests or grades associated with learning the language.
   You may wonder why, if South already offers instruction in French and Spanish, a student should study Mandarin in addition to those two world languages. Simply put, other schools across the state and nation are beginning to offer instruction in Mandarin, the official language of China — which represents the world’s second largest economy.
   ”In addition to being educational and informative, we hope to make this program fun,” said the spokesman.
   At the Mandarin classes offered to students at Stockton and Lambertville elementary schools, students were exposed to other aspects of Chinese culture, including art (calligraphy), music, food and history. “We hope to replicate and expand on that learning environment at South,” the spokesman said.
   Contact Gregg Rackin at 609-397-5774 or [email protected] if interested in this program. It is open to all students in seventh and eighth grades.
   . If successful, “we would like to open it to all students (seven-12) in the future,” added the spokesman.