A South Jordan Middle School student will travel to Los Angeles in May to represent Utah in a national Chinese speech competition. Cole Hansen, who is part of Jordan School District’s Chinese Dual Language Immersion program, earned a spot at nationals after an impressive showing at the state competition. He started learning Chinese in first grade and now studies five different languages. Last year, he spent 17 days in China, which deepened his commitment to learning foreign languages and sparked his interest in international technology and engineering.
To stand out at the state competition, Cole learned to play the erhu, a traditional two-stringed Chinese instrument, in just three-and-a-half weeks. With seven years of violin experience, he worked with a tutor to prepare a musical performance that impressed the judges.
Now, Cole will compete against students in grades 6-12 from across the country for a chance to attend the international finals in Beijing. No matter what happens at nationals, he plans to keep learning the erhu and hopes to use his Chinese skills in a future career in global engineering.
Congratulations to Cole and all the talented Jordan School District students headed to Los Angeles for the national competition. Your hard work and dedication to mastering new languages and skills are truly inspiring!
Students and staff at the JATC South Student Greenhouse are gearing up for the annual Spring Plant Sale and a hands-on Fairy Garden Class. These events offer the community a chance to kickstart their spring gardening while directly supporting Jordan School District CTE students.