Ji Yi stayed in summer and set sail

Ji Yi stayed in summer and set sail – Remembering the 2015-2016 graduation ceremony of Hope Chinese School in Asia (written by Tan Rui and photographed by Yi Liubai)…

– Remembering the 2015-2016 graduation ceremony of Hope Chinese School in Asia

( Written by Tan Rui and photographed by Yi Liubai) On the afternoon of May 8th, hundreds of teachers, students and parents of Hope Chinese School gathered together at the beautiful Campo Verde High School to hold the graduation ceremony for the 2015-2016 school year. The graduation ceremony was hosted by the versatile teacher Zhu Xuewei. Chairman Li Jian and Principal Tian Lin delivered speeches to celebrate the students' outstanding achievements in Chinese learning, thank the volunteers and teachers for their dedication to the school, and bid farewell to the 2015-2016 graduating class.

The principal of Mesa Community College, Mr. Pan Shou'an and three other people, and the principal of Chandler Gilbert Community College, Dr. Guerriero, attended the graduation ceremony as special guests. MCC Principal Pan Shou'an, head of MCC community partnerships Pat Esparza and Ms. Neva Hansen accepted the certificates presented by Hope Chinese School Chairman Li Jian and Principal Tian Lin, thanking MCC for its strong support to Hope Chinese School in the past twenty years. Principal Pan Shou'an immediately delivered a speech, praising Hope Chinese School for its outstanding contributions to the Chinese community and sending his best wishes. Then, Mr. Li Jian introduced Chandler Gilbert Community College, the new partner of Hope Chinese School. Mr. Guerriero, the principal of CGCC, first expressed his cordial greetings to the teachers, students and families of the Chinese school, emphasized the importance of the Chinese school joining the community college, and wished that the new cooperation between the Chinese school and CGCC would be fruitful. At this historic moment, all members of the board of directors of Hope Chinese School took the stage to take a group photo with the principals of CGCC and MCC. In the fall of 2016, Hope Chinese School will move to Chandler Gilbert Community College. At the new site, Hope Chinese School will continue to serve the community and run the school seriously.

In the past school year, our school successfully held a number of activities. One of these is the annual Lower School Literacy Contest and the Upper School Essay Contest held in March. At the graduation ceremony, teachers presented trophies to the winning students. When the students who won the first, second and third prizes stood on the graduation ceremony stage holding glittering trophies with their names on them, the children looked at their parents and elders with bright smiles on their faces. The parents couldn't help but raise their cameras and mobile phones to take photos and videos of their children.

As a large-scale Chinese school in North America, our students have also actively participated in essay competitions outside the school, including international ones. In the 2015 Lu Xun Youth Literature Award Overseas Chinese Youth Composition Competition, among the eight award-winning students in North America, two students from our school, He Anqi and Yang Meiwen, both won the award. He Anqi stood out even more. Her essay was awarded the only first prize among more than 500 Chinese schools in North America. When Shuai Zhiruo, honorary president of the National Association of Chinese Schools, presented the trophies to He Anqi (instructor Li Suhui) and Yang Meiwen (instructor Shen Haojin) who won the second prize, the audience continued to applaud. It is not easy for children to study Chinese for six years. This year’s graduation ceremony awarded sixth grade students with sixth grade graduation certificates. Encourage children to persevere. Sixth grade students from Jinan class and Ma Liping class received certificates. The overjoyed students raised the unusual certificates with both hands and showed them to their parents.

If learning Chinese for six years is not easy, then persisting in learning Chinese for 12 years can become a milestone. Yu Xiaochun, Gao Rubi, Zhang Ailin, Lu Luxi, Chen Meiling, and Zou Kaiwen of the twelfth grade graduating class of Hope Chinese School finally stepped onto the stage of this year's graduation ceremony and received the hard-won diploma from teacher Li Suhui. In recognition of the twelfth grade graduates’ perseverance and outstanding achievements in learning Chinese, Chairman Li Jian and Principal Tian Lin awarded them the Hope Chinese School Scholarship. At this moment, the six excited graduates expressed their heartfelt words to their junior students about the priceless gains they had gained from learning Chinese. Their fluent Chinese and emotional expressions pushed the graduation ceremony to another climax.

I hope that dozens of teachers who love teaching at noon school will be active on the podium, at desks, on the playground, and in the dance room, and have worked hard for our school's 26 Chinese classes, 10 math classes, and 23 cultural, sports and art interest classes. At today's ceremony, students from different grades sent flowers to the teachers. These beautiful flowers are also the students' sincere wishes and thanks to the teachers. The graduation ceremony performance kicked off with the affectionate speeches of four graduating students. They were about to leave school, but they took the initiative to say, "Graduation is just a stop on the journey, but it is not the end of learning Chinese. I hope our school will be more perfect." Just like that, they stood in front of the microphone. They became the hosts of the cultural performance that day. They were the most watched stars in the entire performance, and they also added a beautiful scenery to our ceremony. The graduation ceremony on May 8th coincided with Mother's Day, and the children's thoughts were, "Today is not only our graduation ceremony, but also a great Mother's Day! Here we wish all the mothers here!" What is touching is that every student present stepped onto the stage of the ceremony, not only to participate, but also to express their pride. Singing, expressing their feelings, dancing, and showing wonderful performances, the parents in the audience truly felt the love returned by their children. In recent years, I hope that Chinese schools will push students to the front when organizing various activities and provide students with opportunities to showcase their talents as much as possible. When this year's graduating class hosted the entire performance, their language was usually coherent, witty, and true to their feelings. Their outstanding performance left a deep impression on everyone and set a good example for the younger students. The graduating class kicked off the graduation performance by performing instrumental music and singing "Victory". The six graduates were full of vitality and vitality. They presented a great gift to Mother's Day with their outstanding talent performances and left a mark for the Chinese school they love.

The cute dolls in the lower grade group recited and performed "Mom is a big tree, and I am a little bird on the tree. I am by my mother's side every day, jumping happily." The parents in the audience were so moved that they couldn't put down their cameras and mobile phones and kept taking pictures. Under the conductor of Teacher Cai Shangao, the accompaniment of Teachers Dai Yuhua and Teacher He Hao, and the lead singer of Teacher Zou Xiaotian, the students of the middle grade group sang "Farewell" in pure children's voices and recited "Wandering Son's Song" in unison, which resonated with the hearts of their parents. The senior students performed in a unique way. They not only performed ancient songs and recited famous poems from Tang Dynasty, but also demonstrated their interpretation of ancient poems through poetry and painting creations presented on the big screen. Teacher Zou Xiaotian’s solo “Heartbeat” shocked the audience, and her emotional singing instantly moved the audience. The only thing quiet in the huge theater was Teacher Zou's singing. Even the children in the lower grades were listening attentively. Our teacher Xiao Zou not only has a good singing voice but is also top-notch. The collective chorus of the old volunteers of Hope School added to the excitement and splendor of our graduation ceremony, once again demonstrating the spirit of unity and cooperation of Hope School. Just like the graduation ceremonies in previous years, the students in the dance class and martial arts class, and the mothers in the adult dance class, have always been the performers who brought us wonderful performances. This year, under the guidance of Teachers Jiang Lin, Teacher Tang Ke, Teacher Wen Linglin and Teacher Grace Li, they brought many refreshing programs to our graduation ceremony stage. The audience applauded continuously and climaxed one after another. People all sighed: This is full of love.

Historical dance drama "Yi Shui". "Farewell" is based on the historical story of Jing Ke's tragic death. The outstanding performances of teacher Shen Haojin and classmate Yang Hanwen, mother and son, brought tears to the eyes of many mothers in the audience. The dance "Like for Love" performed by the children's dance class uses dance as a narrative. While the children learn to perform dance, they can understand the true meaning of love in the world. The children's dance "Auspicious Family", the beautiful cheongsam mothers performed "Drunk Beauty Cheongsam" and the beautiful folk dance "Beauty, Beauty" are like a set of dance epics, implying the harmonious theme of "home is the most (drunk) beauty". The heroic mothers performed a energetic YMCA group dance with music and moves that were so handsome and exciting that the children in the audience couldn't help but sing along and move. The atmosphere was very lively. The moves performed by the students in the children's martial arts class are full of vitality? - Our children chase the martial arts. The mothers of the Phoenix Dance Painting Class performed the soft ballet body dance "Invisible Wings" - the busy mothers are fulfilling their dreams of youth.

The graduation ceremony is over, but Hope Chinese School is a song that remains in our hearts. It makes us happy with our children, and it makes us grow up with our children. At the moment of farewell, there are too many words to say how much I cherish you. At the end of the performance, the host teacher Zhu Xuewei once again invited every graduate to the stage. The graduation ceremony is the last gift that Hope Chinese School gives to the students, but the most sincere blessings and past help from teachers and classmates are the most precious memories in everyone’s hearts that are worth cherishing forever. I wish the six graduates can always stick to their dreams, work bravely, and gain a more brilliant tomorrow!