Lunar New Year Celebrations

Chinese New Year is a day away and not much is known about it to most people. The Chinese New Year follows the lunar calendar and is also known as the Spring Festival. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the lunar month in the Chinese Calendar and ends on the 15th. The years are represented by twelve animals from the Chinese zodiac, this year is the year of the Ox. People born under the year of the Ox are expected to be born leaders, being quite dependable and possessing an innate ability to achieve great things.It is traditional for one to give red envelopes filled with money to those who are younger than them, these envelopes are called lai see. The envelopes are to suppress evil spirits. Another popular tradition during the new year is to set off firecrackers to scare off evil spirits from ruining the start of the the new year.

This weekend there is a Streetfest in Oakland Chinatown where many small shops are set up in the streets and there is a large performance with many different acts. Also, on February 7th, there is an opportunity to learn more about the Lunar New Year through arts and crafts activities and performances by Asian and Asian-American performers in the Oakland Asian Cultural Center located above the Asian Branch Library in Chinatown.

----News Flash----

On the local front, Asian Cultural Club is no longer meeting due to prior responsibilities of the officers and college classes.

Importance of Martin Luther King Day

Martin Luther King Day represents a momentous moment in time. Martin Luther King had a dream, a dream of equality and this dream is slowly becoming reality. Here at ASTI, we also have a dream. This dream is to attend college and make something of our lives. Our dream is slowly becoming reality as well, with dedicated teachers, rigorous curriculum, and the amazing opportunity to earn college credits so early in high school. Remember that dreams can also become reality and it requires much dedication and perseverance to achieve.

Club Schedules for Back to School

School is just around the corner and many of you might have forgotten the schedules, so as a reminder, here they are.

Save Club: every first and third Monday at lunch in the science room.
Debate Club: every Monday in the math room during lunch.
Interact Club: every first Monday in Mrs. Corbally's room.
Reading Rendevous: every Tuesday at lunch in Ms. Valdez's room.
ASTI Fishtix: every first and third Tuesday of each month at lunch in the science room.
Addicted to Salsa: every Wednesday at lunch in Ms. Valdez's room.
Gentlemen's Etiquette Club: every Wednesday at lunch in the science room.
Animation Society: every third Thursday of each month at lunch in the science room.
Hip Pop Club: every Thursday afterschool in the math room.
Basketball Club: every Friday afterschool assemble in ASTI's quad.
Asian Cultural Club: every first and third Fridays of each month in the science room.
Political Science Club: every second and fourth Fridays of each month during lunch in Mr. Fargher's room.