Celebration, creativity, and community were on prominent display at our celebration of Chinese New Year at Elite Preparatory Academy on February 16, 2026. This event was organized by the Student Government with the assistance of many students and faculty members, especially English and Chinese Teacher Doris Gao.
Our Chinese New Year celebration was a showcase of EPA talent in music, entertainment, and art. The program included solo and group performances by Academic Dean Art DiBenedetto, Dr. Joseph LoSardo, Mr. Jamison Brooks, Dr. Weijing Wang, Bohan Liu, EPA Rock Band and students from the Chinese Class. Audience members loved these performances and described them as “impressive” and “delightful.” Doris Gao said, “I am very happy that this event brought everyone from different cultures together.” The program included three games: “Hot Potato,” “Baby Picture Guess,” and “Number Hug.” The games created joyful moments with the audience.
Many guests joined our celebration, including parents and our friends from The SMILE of Hopatcong. EPA student-artist Angel Zhai created beautiful art for The SMILE residents by writing their names in Chinese script.
Our Chinese New Year celebration was enjoyable and memorable. The event put a spotlight on an important marker in our community calendar. It gave us a way to celebrate the meaning of this annual festival with each other, our friends and our neighbors.
*Special Thanks to Tamara Gillon for her wonderful photographs.
Joseph Richard Preville is an English teacher at EPA.
Pere Payeras Pons is a Junior at EPA.