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The Hometown Newspaper of Downtown Brooklyn%u2019s Historic Brownstone NeighborhoodsEND OF THE YEAR REPORT ON SCHOOLSP.S. 29%u2019s China Day Links Two Worlds and Ends At Madison Sq.GardenBY MARGUERITE PROVENZANOWhat would 70 Chinese tourists considerone of the most important stops on theirfirst visit to New York?No, not the Statue of Liberty this time,but Cobble Hill elementary school, P.S. 29!Some 56 students and 14 dignitaries fromPeking and Shanghai, China, were thecause of much excitement at P.S. 29%u2019s May27 %u201cChina Day.%u201dWhy P.S. 29?It all started in 1964 when students got involved in painting the backdrops for a FeltForum production put on by Jacques D%u2019Amboise, founder of the National Dance Institute (NDI).D%u2019Amboise visited the school, and was soimpressed by the students and atmospherethat he asked the principal, Mary Zagami,if P.S. 29 would participate in a specialdance project with him. Many meetings,dance classes and rehearsals later, the entire P.S. 29 student body and teaching staffwere performing in a professional production of %u201cThe Shooting of Dan McGrew%u201d inJune, 1985, in the P.S. 29 schoolyard.As founder of NDI, D%u2019Amboise bringsdance to as many children as possible. Hehas %u201cdiscovered%u201d many talented young people, including several from P.S. 29. YeseniaGarcia, a sixth grader, and David Moeshel,who graduated last year, were bothfeatured in this year%u2019s production of %u201cOffbeat,%u201d a Walt Disney movie, as the result oftheir work with him. Yesenia is also one ofthe five stars in his annual %u201cEvent of theYear,%u201d shown this year on June 2 in theFelt Forum at Madison Square Garden.THIS YEAR%u2019S SHOW%u201cChina Dig%u201d was the title of this year%u2019sshow, and 56 kids from China came to perform in it. D%u2019Amboise spent tim e in Chinarehearsing with them, and then arrangedfor their trip to New York. Because of histies with, and fondness for, P.S. 29, he asked if the school would host the students andaccompanying dignitaries for a day. Theonly other New York school they saw wasone in Chinatown.Principal Zagami accepted D%u2019Amboise%u2019soffer with enthusiasm and the school gotready for the big day. Substitute teacherDiana Granat was one of the driving forcesAbove: Sixth grader A ngela Dalton withone of the P.S. 29 guests. Bottom, from left:Interpreter Chen Pel-pei shakes hands withYesenia Garcia; 10-year old Shen W enzhuoreads greetings to P.S. 29 students inperfect English; welcom ing Bai Jiefu,former vice-m ayor of Beijing. (PhoenixPhotos by Kathryn Kirk)behind the program. She was assisted byparent Trudy Boxer, who is fluent inChinese. During a two-month period, Granat was responsible for teaching every classin the school a sampling of the Chineselanguage, and, along with sixth-gradeteacher Carmen Farina, she developed acurriculum through which each gradestudied a different aspect of Chineseculture.The sixth grade studied Chinese history.Fifth grade studied China%u2019s art. Fourthgraders learned about Chinese literature.Third grade focused on geography, secondgrade on China%u2019s contributions to the West.The first grade learned all about Chineseholidays. And even kindergarteners tookpart in this comprehensive study by learning about Chinese food. By the end of thesestudies and projects, not one corridor in theschool was left bare. Maps, scrolls, drawings, charts and even strung lanternschanged the atmosphere of the entirebuilding.In addition to the individual class projects, the whole school collaborated on along scroll which opens to reveal smalldrawings, complete with signatures, byevery student in the school.THE BIG DAY ARRIVESAfter all the preparations and plans werecompleted, the day finally cam e.The Chinese delegation of 50 dancersfrom Peking, 6 student musicians fromShanghai, and 14 officials, including theDeputy Commissioner of the Peking Boardof Education, arrived after walking acrossthe Brooklyn Bridge and being met byContinued on Following PageA rtisOut OnTheirBlock forThese KidsStudentsCreate AModel OfProspectParkScience ProjectA t Park Slope'sP.S. 282, Page 21P.S. 58MusiciansTake TheirBand ToCity HailNews o f TheseA nd OtherHonors, Page 21June 19, 1986, THE PHOENIX, Page 17