GORDON DANIELS Fort River School students take part in a girls' line dance during the Cambodian New Year celebration at the school April 17.Amherst Bulletin
By Mary Carey
Staff Writer
April 25, 2008
They really know how to celebrate the Cambodian New Year at Fort River Elementary School, as the joyful celebration last week of the Year of the Rat made clear.
There was chanting and a blessing from Cambodian monks, a fun presentation of Year of the Rat activities by sixth-graders, a girls' line dance, a boys' monkey dance, a coconut dance and a fashion show. All the students at Fort River attended the festivities, clapped along with the monkey dancers and gave their Cambodian classmates rousing rounds of applause.
Fort River Principal Russ Vernon-Jones said it was the best Cambodian New Year celebration he has seen yet.
"You don't manufacture enthusiasm like our students showed for our Cambodian students today," Vernon-Jones said. "It's a rich cultural experience for all of us."
Cambodians began flocking to Amherst about 25 years ago, often after having spent years in Thai refugee camps after fleeing the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Their children have found a welcoming place at Fort River, largely thanks to Seiha Krouch and Thyda Thy.
Krouch and Thy, who are married, are aides at the school and leaders of the Cambodian after-school club. About 30 children participate, most of whom belong to the 60-plus Cambodian families living in Amherst. Krouch estimates there are about 150 Cambodians in town. The Web site City-Data.com ranks South Amherst 12th among the top 101 cities with the most residents born in Cambodia.
Children love the after-school club, said Torie Weed, an English-language learner teacher at Fort River. "I think the attention that they get from Seiha and Thyda is really important."
"It's interesting to see the kids in a different kind environment," she said. "They really come to life."
Cambodians in Amherst have maintained close ties with each other, said Krouch, who came to Amherst more than 20 years ago and has worked at Fort River for 14 years. A few of his current students are the children of former students. Some Cambodians like Amherst because the cows and fields remind them of home, he said.
"I love the school here; they love Cambodians," said Sok Lim, whose son, Saiyha Ngin, and daughter, Tharranee Ngin, were dancers in the show.
Coconuts, cool masks
The coconut dance and the monkey dance prompted some of the most lively reactions from the audience. According to the slide-show the students presented, the coconuts used in the dance came with ice cream in them, which the students ate before fashioning the coconuts into props.
First, the dancers banged together two coconuts shells that each dancer was holding to make a pleasant clicking sound. Then, the dancers started banging their shells against the other dancers' shells, making faster-paced clicking sounds.
In the monkey dance, the boys began doing traditional steps while wearing student-made papier-mache monkey masks. Later, they took the masks off and performed individual monkey-themed break dances, while the crowd clapped and roared.
Krouch's mother, Svay Sivor, sewed many of the outfits worn by the performers.
"I liked how they used the real coconuts and the way the noise vibrates," fourth-grader Laney Morse said after the show.
"I liked the really cool monkey masks," said fourth-grader Caroline Borden.
By Mary Carey
Staff Writer
April 25, 2008
They really know how to celebrate the Cambodian New Year at Fort River Elementary School, as the joyful celebration last week of the Year of the Rat made clear.
There was chanting and a blessing from Cambodian monks, a fun presentation of Year of the Rat activities by sixth-graders, a girls' line dance, a boys' monkey dance, a coconut dance and a fashion show. All the students at Fort River attended the festivities, clapped along with the monkey dancers and gave their Cambodian classmates rousing rounds of applause.
Fort River Principal Russ Vernon-Jones said it was the best Cambodian New Year celebration he has seen yet.
"You don't manufacture enthusiasm like our students showed for our Cambodian students today," Vernon-Jones said. "It's a rich cultural experience for all of us."
Cambodians began flocking to Amherst about 25 years ago, often after having spent years in Thai refugee camps after fleeing the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Their children have found a welcoming place at Fort River, largely thanks to Seiha Krouch and Thyda Thy.
Krouch and Thy, who are married, are aides at the school and leaders of the Cambodian after-school club. About 30 children participate, most of whom belong to the 60-plus Cambodian families living in Amherst. Krouch estimates there are about 150 Cambodians in town. The Web site City-Data.com ranks South Amherst 12th among the top 101 cities with the most residents born in Cambodia.
Children love the after-school club, said Torie Weed, an English-language learner teacher at Fort River. "I think the attention that they get from Seiha and Thyda is really important."
"It's interesting to see the kids in a different kind environment," she said. "They really come to life."
Cambodians in Amherst have maintained close ties with each other, said Krouch, who came to Amherst more than 20 years ago and has worked at Fort River for 14 years. A few of his current students are the children of former students. Some Cambodians like Amherst because the cows and fields remind them of home, he said.
"I love the school here; they love Cambodians," said Sok Lim, whose son, Saiyha Ngin, and daughter, Tharranee Ngin, were dancers in the show.
Coconuts, cool masks
The coconut dance and the monkey dance prompted some of the most lively reactions from the audience. According to the slide-show the students presented, the coconuts used in the dance came with ice cream in them, which the students ate before fashioning the coconuts into props.
First, the dancers banged together two coconuts shells that each dancer was holding to make a pleasant clicking sound. Then, the dancers started banging their shells against the other dancers' shells, making faster-paced clicking sounds.
In the monkey dance, the boys began doing traditional steps while wearing student-made papier-mache monkey masks. Later, they took the masks off and performed individual monkey-themed break dances, while the crowd clapped and roared.
Krouch's mother, Svay Sivor, sewed many of the outfits worn by the performers.
"I liked how they used the real coconuts and the way the noise vibrates," fourth-grader Laney Morse said after the show.
"I liked the really cool monkey masks," said fourth-grader Caroline Borden.
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