SUIS Middle School 2022-2023 Semester 1 Closing Ceremony
Collaboration, Empowerment and Harmonious Growth
Looking back on the past semester, 57 teachers, over more than 140 days and evenings, have spent great time and devoted much commitment and dedication to our 432 middle school students. Whether our students engaged in offline or online learning, they put their struggles behind them in order to pursue their dreams. We have all gained through our individual and collective efforts, thoughts, and growth.
Teams are resources, teachers are courses, learning is life, and our attitude towards education is shaped from our pursuit of the meaning of life. As the process of that pursuit can improve our happiness and beauty, it deserves our dedication. In the past semester, our middle school students actively participated in various club activities, which opened the doors of knowledge and led them into a world of infinite charm. The student representatives from the four grades shared moments of happiness in their school lives as well as their thoughts about and gains from the past semester.
G6
Isabella Feng, Hitomi Wang, and Sophie Tao from G6A shared their achievements in the World Scholars Cup (WSC). Sophie Tao said that she was not confident when she first participated in this competition, because she was not very confident in speaking or fond of debating. As the course gradually deepened, and after the teachers provided a lot of guidance and simulation training, she began to enjoy debating. She said that participants need to think quickly, express themselves fluently, and determine the weak points of the opposing debater, and at the same time cooperate with their teammates. This process was overly exciting and interesting. She hopes that students will have the opportunity to participate in WSC debate competitions in the future and that they would challenge themselves more.
G7
Grade 7’s Kalifornia Wang shared a series of colourful curriculum activities and exciting achievements from the semester, including her winning of the global gold medal in the Kangaroo Math Competition, and the amazing moment when a group of Middle School students won the overall national runner-up in the 7th annual Spelling Bee! She said that studying side by side with outstanding students was an experience not only filled with spirit and courage, but also with joy and the happiness of success. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Hanfu (a traditional Chinese costume) was worn, mooncakes were made, and the lunchtime concert conveyed the happy magic of ‘non-stop sound’ on the campus. Learning should not be limited to books. Field trips helped everyone understand that tolerance and respect are also compulsory courses in life. The basketball games made everyone understand the importance of teamwork, and the expression and release of emotions through various artistic works made everyone understand the saying “art is the humanistic expression of life”. “As long as you keep working hard,” Kalifornia says, “you can overcome any difficulty.” She hopes that everyone will not be discouraged by setbacks but will have the courage to face them and persevere through them.
G8
Annalisa Hu, Amy Mao, Tony Meng and Dominique Qin from Grade 8 shared some of their gains and experiences from participating in a debate competition this semester. Tony said that “the debate competition this semester was a very meaningful activity. The ability to debate requires that one be able to sort out their thinking logic and self-expression. This is a very important ability for students at our bilingual school. Debate is not about quarreling but is a process that serves to obtain truth amongst confusion. As senior Middle School students, we should cultivate the ability of thinking because it leads to deep thinking, and this in turn helps us achieve our objectives and develops a fair attitude, independent thinking, keen insight, and powerful associative imagination.”
G9
Grade 9’s Mohan Shen shared his learning experience from three aspects: growth goals, learning methods and time management. “Dreams are the starting line for our actions, and knowledge is the accelerator of our progress”, he states. Mohan reflects about his progress three times every day, so he often asks himself, “What is my growth goal?” “Have the learning goals for this school year been achieved?” “What is the goal for the start of the next semester?” After setting his goals, he then determines the best paths and methods for achieving those goals. “Looking for knowledge, sincerity and integrity” has become his motto. While the methods to be used are vital, persistence is even more important. 1.01365 is equal to 37.8, but 0.99365 is equal to approximately 0.03. He hopes that every student will start now, during this winter vacation, to make a little progress every day in order to win a better future for themselves.
Finally, campus Co-Principal Ms. Sunny Huang sent blessings to everyone. Ms. Huang led all the teachers and students to look back on the past. For us, the past semester was both sour and sweet, and full of sweat and faith, perseverance, and warmth. Everything was a kind of harvest and growth! She said affectionately, “In the past three years, facing the general environment of the pandemic, we experienced a lot of troubles and too many unexpected moments. Yet, it is precisely because of the pandemic that our generation will have more perspectives on society and the world. We can develop our critical thinking and speculative ability and anticipate the changes. If we can overcome the impermanence and accidents that result from disasters, we can actively adjust ourselves to get back on the right track by examining ourselves, evaluating ourselves, adjusting ourselves, and internalizing our solutions, so that we can develop a powerful immunity to overcome difficulties. This immunity is a ‘super immunity’ and one which helps us face future unknown difficulties and challenges with great confidence and calmness.”
As we approach the Spring Festival, Ms. Sunny Huang, on behalf of all the members of the principal’s office and all the teachers in school, wished our students and parents a happy new year with their families and a healthy and safe holiday.
Finally, the Tutor teachers for each class helped to organize the students for purposes of holding online homeroom meetings. Core subject teachers explained the winter vacation homework and comprehensive practical activities. The Tutors warmly reminded the students to be pay attention to their health and pandemic prevention, to their safety self-protection, to their psychological well-being, to abide by relevant laws and regulations during the winter vacation, and to spend a safe, healthy and rewarding vacation.
Days and nights go hand in hand with the years; may we walk together until the light of day.