As spring gives way to summer, the days are becoming ever longer and brighter.
During this lovely season, all three Pao School campuses marked this season
of change and held this year’s graduation ceremonies.
Year 12 Graduation Ceremony
It was an unusual year for Year 12s, with many months spent off-campus. Due to the special period, it was not possible to hold a grand ceremony to mark their graduation from Pao School. Nevertheless, the school did their best to send the new graduates off with warmth and joy.
Philip Sohmen, founder and Executive Deputy Chairman of Pao School, expressed his wishes and hopes for the graduates through a video: “Students, as you go forward to the next steps of your journey, I’d like to make sure that you pack some important things from YK Pao School to take with you. I don’t mean the furniture, I’m talking about our values: compassion, integrity, and balance. You will, I think, find them very useful tools at different stages of your life, wherever you go.”
President Xu Yongchu said in her message to the students: "Life is a big lesson and many things that happen in life are not planned. While uncertainty can make people worry, it also prompts us to think about how we should pursue our goals and persevere in challenging times. As we experience the good and the bad, we learn to ask questions about the meaning of life. I hope that as you step out into the world, and into the unknown, you continue to uphold Pao School’s core values of compassion, integrity and balance, think independently and keep the faith.”
Executive Headmaster Mark Bishop said: “You can judge a year group in many ways, by their academic results or university destinations. While these things are important, they alone are not sufficient to determine whether the students are successful, and they become less significant as the students get older. The most important way to judge students is to see who they are as young men and women.”
In her speech as a teacher representative, Echo Cheng, Head of High School Chinese Four Courses and Politics Teacher , recalled the youthful appearance of the graduates when they first entered the campus and looked back on how they had grown. She noted that the shared experience at Pao School provides a foundation for the students’ future relationships and will always be a bond that will bring everyone back together again one day.
Joe McKee, Head of High School English, shared the meaning of travel with the graduates. He encouraged them to remain enthusiastic and curious about whatever they love to learn, no matter the subject or area. “You'll learn so much as you travel on from here today,” he said. “There will be actual stuff. Cities, people, food, nature. There will be less obvious other stuff too. Ways of living, and thinking, and feeling.”
As they put on their graduation gowns and caps, the students held a bittersweet feeling in their hearts, with the joy that comes with graduating and the sorrow that comes with parting. Student representatives Jessie and Miller each gave speeches in English and Chinese respectively. The two students recalled their rich experience at Pao School, all they had gained from it, expressed their reluctance about being separated from their friends who were preparing to travel far away and emphasized their deep gratitude to the school. They urged their classmates to pursue their dreams with courage in their hearts, to be independent and balanced, to cherish the fond memories of their time at Pao School and to forge ahead into the future with confidence.
Before the curtain fell on their time at Songjiang, the Year 12s put on a variety of performances
Contemporary Duet of
“Through the Crowd” by Cuky and Christine
Libertango Piano Duet by Cuky and Yolanda
Beijing Opera Performance of The Red Lantern
Aria
“What We Should Be”
by Sophia
Martial Arts Performance of
“The Wandering Swordsman”
by Koda
Year 5 Graduation Ceremony
Y5 graduation began with a speech by Siobhain Allum, Primary School Principal in which she expressed her gratitude to the teachers who worked hard for the education and growth of the students, alongside the parents and the PTA who gave great support to the children and the school. In her speech to the graduating students she also gave words of guidance:
If you always focus on the core values of compassion, integrity, and balance then you
will definitely be on the right track. Remember, 'doing the right thing' is far more
important than 'doing things correctly.’ You have a long road ahead of you, but you
will decide how to walk the road of life and I can believe you can choose wisely!
This year, as the ceremony took place online, Head of Primary Music Dominic Murtagh organised the creation of a virtual choir so that the students could perform together despite being at home. In order to do so, each student recorded their part individually, which were then carefully edited together by Mr. Ingo Wilhelm in the Marketing Department to create a video of the performance.
Year 8 Promotion Ceremony
On 23rd June, the Year 8 promotion ceremony was held virtually. Middle School Deputy Principal Peter Kalis first shared some interesting and fond memories with the students. Afterwards, President Xu Yongchu and Executive Headmaster Mark Bishop each sent their best wishes for the future to the students.
The video is produced by the 2021-2022 Yearbook team of Hongqiao Campus
President Xu hopes that the students will understand the truth about life from their experiences at the school: “As classmates, you have spent three years together and become friends with each other. Your learning journey has been full of excitement. You have participated in a variety of activities and met challenges as you’ve done so. You have explored both Chinese and international perspectives, enjoying courses about passing on traditions of Chinese culture, Founder's Day activities, and Global Perspectives Week. You have also been able to take part in wonderful art and sports activities and fulfilling off-campus experiences. These experiences have witnessed your growth, and though you are still a tender age, you have made great progress developing your talents.”
Executive Headmaster Mark Bishop hopes that the students can learn from the recent online learning period that adversity brings out both the best and worst in everyone, saying, “It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself, that determines how your life will develop.” Mark Bishop hopes that as the students feel the care, thoughtfulness, and kindness that surrounds them. As they go forward, he also hopes they can reflect on what they have learned about themselves after these extraordinary months, and how to best deal with various challenges and difficulties.
Y8B Oscar -Piano solo
Y8C Maggie, Y8E Rosa, Y8D Daniel -Flute Concerto
After the student and teacher representatives delivered speeches, Caroline Xu, Deputy Head (Academics) and Middle School Principal, recalled fondly how the students grew up together with the Hongqiao campus, and expressed her best wishes to the students. She noted that the theme of the ceremony is the lotus flower, which has the reputation of "a gentleman among flowers" and also symbolises the purity of friendship.
She said: “I hope that each of you has the gallant spirit of the lotus and that, in the future, your hearts remain pure no matter your surroundings. I also hope that you will always have friends and family around you to support you. In this way, life will be happy and fulfilling.”
Year 9 Graduation Ceremony
On June 23rd, the Year 9 graduation ceremony took place online. Although there was no stage and flowers, and no face-to-face interaction and farewell, the joint efforts of teachers and students allowed everyone to say goodbye and welcome the beginning of their High School journey.
On behalf of the school, President Xu Yongchu gave her blessings to the students, telling them she hoped that they continued their spirit of focus and exploration as they go forward with their studies. In her speech, she encouraged the students to be true to themselves, whilst always maintaining curiosity, a sense of responsibility, and their drive.
Next, Kaikai, Rony, Keith and Frank gave an energetic performance of the song “No ideal person is not sad”. After, student representatives Tim and Zona gave a speech to recall their time so far at Pao School: “If someone were to ask me about my experience at Pao School, the source of my sense of belonging could be summarised as dynamic and full of growth. Pao School is the place where I learn, laugh, enjoy, and make mistakes.”
As the ceremony drew to an end, Executive Headmaster Mark Bishop gave a warm speech to the students.
Graduation video created, written, directed, and performed by the students.
Students, do you remember by the door of our west building, there is a calligraphy
by Sir YK Pao – “Exercise persistently, work diligently, use sparingly” . We hope
every student will take with them – the persistence to get through difficult times
and unknown times and the value of exercise both for our physical health but to
put us in the right emotional state to tackle all such challenges. While your future
lives will bring different challenges, I sincerely hope that every student graduating
from Pao School can gain the strength to move forward. I hope all Pao School
graduates can learn this tenacity, perseverance, optimism, seriousness and pragmatism.
—— Philip Sohmen
Executive Deputy Chairman
