The Canadian International School of Beijing (CISB) graduation on June 19, 2012 was a very special event. The ceremony began with graduates descending to the stage in their red caps and gowns with white sashes; the stage was decorated with white halo ribbons.
Principal Douglas K. Prescott was Master of Ceremonies and presented the audience with “O Canada” and the Chinese National Anthem.
Chairman of the Board Dr. Francis Pang greeted all. “Another chapter of life is starting” he said, and bid the graduates well.
Mr. Ward Richards, Attache Security Manager to the Canadian Embassy gave the parents representative speech. He thanked the remarkable group of educators and strong administrative support staff that created the academic excellence that is apparent at CISB.
The yearbook club presented all with a graduation video; the highlight of the ceremony. Each graduate was shown with their graduation photo and other photos both memorable and funny, the video encapsulated the memories the graduates shared and experienced. Also, displayed were the various hobbies and interests of students, a graduate playing piano, guitar, singing, or participating in a sports tournament.
Guest speaker Captain Mike McGrath Canadian Defence Attache to the Canadian Embassy addressed the graduates. McGrath told fellow graduates that in the same month thirty-three years ago he also gave a speech at his graduation as the valedictorian of his class. Yet, much has changed since 1979 he stresses. When he first graduated college he had to work many jobs he said, because of poor employment situations, many of those jobs were not what he had studied for, instead he had to be pragmatic. He told graduates to be flexible and hard working, and do your best in all that you do in life. As an example he cited the time he went to a job interview fully prepared and ready to prove that he was a willing and able worker. The result was that they stopped all job interviews after him; he was accepted to the job.
McGrath’s most valuable piece of advice: “A good positive attitude and outlook on life can open many doors, but without a good attitude success will be limited.”
For more photos from the event click here.
Afterwards, graduates gifted parents with roses and was followed by Duoen Yang’s valedictory speech. Duoen is from Canada and has been at CISB since 2007, he will be attending Duke University in the fall. Christine Wei gave thanks to the valedictorian.Christine is from Taiwan and has been at CISB since 2009, she will be attending Simon Fraser University.
Both speech givers were honored with awards. Duoen: with the Governor General’s Bronze Medal, and Christine: with the Award for Principled Character. Diplomas were then presented and tassels were turned. Principal Prescott ended the evening with an inspiring quote by a fellow North American: “The work you have accomplished is the only work you will have left the world, the final measure of your life is not what you have done but what you have done for the world.”
Graduates have been accepted to Canadian universities: McGill University, University of Toronto, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, University of British Columbia, and the University of Waterloo. American universities include: the Polytechnic Institute of NYU, Duke University, and the University of Miami. Other universities include: Hong Kong University, Korean University, and the University of South Africa.
The recessional led the ceremony to a close, as graduates assembled in the school lobby to shake hands with parents and teachers. Followed by a banquet at the Northeastern Marriott Hotel.
Here is Duoen Yang’s Valedictorian Speech:
Good evening class of 2012, we are finally here! In the past years, as final examinations concluded, we often stood to observe and ponder at the graduating students – we viewed them with awe and jealousy – counting down the years when it would finally be our turn.
Now what do we feel as we put on our Academic dresses, university acceptance letters held tightly within our pawns and about to take the next, biggest leaps of our lives. Is this feeling identical to the one we thought we would feel as we anticipated the coming of this day?
Now what do we feel as we put on our Academic dresses, university acceptance letters held tightly within our pawns and about to take the next, biggest leaps of our lives. Is this feeling identical to the one we thought we would feel as we anticipated the coming of this day?
For me, it is definitely not!
I would have to admit, as I walked through high school, my perception of it was that it was not that of a pretty place… I guess many of you may have shared the same view. Homework often took from daylight to daylight, the scares of examinations often took away the little sleeps that remained and that even frictions between best friends often caused much frustration.
However, as the time to depart from high school slowly nears and finally arrives, what used to seem so horrifying, so dauntingly lightning alarm clocks – may still not seem all that aesthetically pleasing but it seem essential and indispensable – eve.
What I learned through my years as an high school student, and the element in which I believe makes high school so special is that: high school does not only teach you how to be successful in life – how to get good grades, how to get to class on time and how to solve differential equations but instead one of the most important lessons that high school teachers you is how to fail – also one of the first lessons from TOK.
High school taught us how to fail by allowing us to make mistakes – as we stubble through the hazy roads that is our academic purses, our teachers guided us through, instead of dragging us across. As a student, I am very thank for of this. We must keep in minds that many of our subject teachers are the first time ever in their careers to teach a certain subject – To me they are wonderful teachers – the best that I could ever hope for. They are great teachers not because they are unabridged in their knowledge and or experience but instead they taught us to our full potentials through their hard work – they worked hard to understand us to help us learn – making pages and pages of practice booklets (booklets that we used to refer to as evilness in our business class rooms) was the hard work of our teachers – for this we thank you not only for your hard work, but what you taught us through your actions – we must not be afraid of the unknown, as experience is achieved through continuous endeavors.
The teachers here at CISB has taught me how not to be afraid of failing, but, instead, given me chances after chances of making things right. One of my greatest accomplishments within my high school career here at CISB is receiving first place in the science fair in grade 10, with my two closest friends – harry and max. Three students placed in pre ib chemistry with Mrs. Mac. With very little clue to what a pop test was, we conducted an experiment involving acids and metals. However, what made this science fair so special to me was not, only two years ago, under the leadership of the same teacher, I received a science fair grade of only a few percentage above passing – a project that I completed only the morning before the due date. Mrs. Mac – among other teachers, only kindly reminded me of my past mistakes instead of criticizing them. Mrs. Mac’s professionalism in teaching – the assistance and team work granted by my team mates harry and max allowed me the first time to observe how success is achieved – in other words, the start of a great beginning.
During its process, high school may seem only to be a number – a percentage which lied between 0-100… We may spend hours fighting for a tiny increase in our grade. However, as we look back, the most valuable of all are the more, intangible treasures that was given to us – our friends – no matter if there are students of teachers, our experience and our proud parents and guardians.
Therefore before I conclude, as the representative of the graduating class, I would like to give a big thank you to our parents/guardians, teachers/administrators and our friends – no matter if there are among us today or not. For it is you that created the ultimate high school experience for us – the ones whom made school feel like home. You have created the perfect environment for us to learn, to grow up and to pursue our dreams – and for this we are truly thankful. But words are never enough, therefore, for the last few minutes as high school students we would like to make a promise to all of those who worked with us that – we will carry what you have taught us to, the effort that you have put into our success to create our future – we wont let you down, Thank you.
