Issue #7: June 2026
Read the Chinese version here.
Upcoming Events:
Summer School will begin in July. The school offers an immersive summer program filled with traditional arts, music, storytelling, and cultural celebrations.
July 6 - August 7, 2026: Summer School
Virtue of the Month: Celebration
Our June virtue was Celebration. I discussed with the Pre-K class that graduation was coming up and what it meant for our school. I also reviewed what celebrations we had shared throughout the school year and what they meant to us. I also touched upon how celebrations tie back to gratitude. I reinforced this concept with the students through movement and the songs “Celebration” and “Graduation.”
—Braz Chau, ESL Coordinator
Iowa State Standardized Testing Results
Congratulations to our students and teachers on their hard work this year. Once again, students performed wonderfully on standardized tests; most performed 2 or 3 grades above grade level!
NYS Department of Education requires that religious schools comply with external standards. Our test results confirm that an emphasis on Dafa cultivation and virtuous habits yields strong academic outcomes!
Well done, students!
—Liam O’Neill, School Board President
America the Beautiful Festival
On Saturday, June 13, students in Grades 2–5 had the special opportunity to perform alongside renowned American vocalist Sgt. Maj. MaryKay Messenger. Last year, she performed at the America the Beautiful Festival, and she also watched our choir perform. She was so impressed with our students that she accepted an invitation to have a vocal session at our school.
This year, when the festival invited her to perform at the Opening Ceremony in Port Jervis, New York, she also invited our choir to accompany her. Our students took the stage right before the West Point Military Police Color Guard performed. Sgt. Maj. Messenger then graced the stage and sang the national anthem. Next, she performed “God Bless America,” to which the LLA students sang the refrain. We express our sincere thanks to our guest choir conductor, Andy Wang, for leading the children in singing “Ode to Joy” in English, Spanish, and Chinese.
Later in the day, our students returned to the stage for the Falun Dafa exercise demonstration. The audience listened as the emcee explained the benefits of the meditation exercises. Our school also had an info booth at the festival. Our teachers provided arts and crafts for our visitors. We would also like to thank everyone for their generous donations at the festival.
—Virginia Blanco, English Coordinator
America the Beautiful Arts Competition
Our students achieved outstanding results in the America the Beautiful Art Competition, winning First, Second, and Third Place awards. Please join us in congratulating our talented students!
First Place
Yihan Chen, A Wish for Peace, $75 Award
Second Place
Yizhao Chen, Freedom, $50 Award
Third Place
Nathan Ding, National Day, $25 Award
We would like to thank all participating students for their hard work and creativity, and thank our parents for their continued support and encouragement. We hope our students will continue to pursue excellence in the arts and achieve even greater success in the future. Congratulations again to all of our award winners!
—Jessica Huang, Art Teacher
Readers Delight Competition
Little Lotus held its annual reading competition during the last week of school. This friendly competition consists of students reading a list of books throughout the school year. The second to fifth grade classes were assigned a list of 20 to 30+ books across different reading categories based on their grade level. The upper grades participated in teams while the lower grades competed individually. The contest consists of answering questions about the stories. The competition encourages our students to become avid readers while testing their memory and reading comprehension.
The competition opened the doors to new worlds through reading, tickling their imagination, enriching their vocabulary, improving their reading comprehension, and expanding their knowledge across different topics. The Classics included Treasure Island, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Pollyanna, and others. Some biographies read were Meet George Washington, Marie Curie, and Alexander the Great. Some science/nature books read were The Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle, Sea Life, and Cheetahs, etc.
Often, I would hear giggling, excitement, or amazement in their voices during English class as the students shared their favorite passages from their assigned books with me.
The winners of the Readers Delight Competition were:
5th & 4th Grade
Team Fancy Penguins, Lauren Hedges, Britney Xiao, Angel Tang, 1st Place
Team The Nerds, Tianqi Lu, Aaron Wang, 2nd Place
3rd Grade
Lingxi Nie, 1st Place
Amber Hedges, 2nd Place
Jason Dong, 3rd Place
2nd Grade
George Tao, 1st Place
Alexander Chen, 2nd Place
William Tao, 3rd Place
Congratulations to all the students for their hard work, and keep reading! “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”
—Elizabeth Chung, English Teacher
Class of 2026 Graduation
On the last day of school, Little Lotus Academy proudly celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2026. The ceremony began with inspiring opening remarks from our Board President, Mr. Liam O’Neill, and our Principal, Ms. Sophie Liu, who congratulated students on their hard work and encouraged them as they continue their learning journey.
We then recognized students from every grade with special honor awards, including Perfect Attendance, Excellence in Exercise Practice, and Outstanding Student awards. One of the highlights of the ceremony was hearing two heartfelt speeches from our graduates. It was especially meaningful to celebrate one graduate who began first grade in 2021, the very year Little Lotus opened its doors. The ceremony continued as our graduates proudly received their diplomas and celebrated this memorable milestone with joyful smiles.
The celebration continued with bilingual performances by all grades. Through recitations and songs, students confidently showcased what they had learned throughout the year. This year also featured a special first, a delightful dance drama, “Pigsy Eats Watermelon,” choreographed by our dance teachers and performed by students from Pre-K through Grade 5. The performance brought laughter and applause from families and guests alike.
To conclude the event, students from the Grade 4 and 5 English Fa study group recited the English Lunyu. Since the beginning of the 2024 school year, our upper-grade students have been studying the Fa in English twice a week. In addition to reading Zhuan Falun in English, they have dedicated much of their study time to memorizing the English Lunyu. Their confident recitation reflected their perseverance and commitment over the past two years.
As another wonderful school year comes to a close, we are grateful for the dedication of our students, teachers, parents, and volunteers who made this year so meaningful. Congratulations once again to the Class of 2026! We wish all of our graduates continued success as they take their next steps, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back for another exciting year at Little Lotus Academy.
—Charlene Xu, Math & Science Coordinator
Last Day Meditation
After a day of celebration and fun, in Little Lotus tradition, we ended the day with peaceful meditation. The students, like clockwork, lined up in two straight lines in the hallway. It was the last time our graduates took part in our school exercise session. The moment was slightly bittersweet yet tranquil. We hope our graduates leave our school with composure and control as they begin their new journeys.
—Lily Wang, Chinese Coordinator
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