The school year is over

It may seem a little late but the school year is finally over. Technically the last day of school was the 31st of May. And we definitely ended with a ceremony and final farewell from all the students to the graduating class. But for the 12th form the end of the school year actually took the rest of the month of June while they took the Bacclaurate exams.

In Moldova there is a first bell ceremony and a last bell ceremony. Ring in the new and ring out the old. The last bell ceremony was beautiful and touching. All of the teachers (myself included) dressed in our nicest teacher outfits and wore ridiculous shoes. I had a beautiful pair of heels on that I never would have even picked out in the USA but I was glad I had them. All of the students were also dressed very nicely especially the 12th form. The last bell is really their day.

The ceremony starts by everyone going outside. Our school is small so we often have our assemblies outside when it is warm. The classes arrange themselves in a semi-circle around the front steps of the school from the youngest class on the left to the oldest class on the right. For this day the 12th form stood altogether on the steps in the front. We also had a speaker and microphone set up for the speeches and music. All of the students had at least one bouquet with them while many had whole armfuls of flowers.

In addition to all of the teachers of the school we also had several ministry officials and representatives of the mayor's office. Our director gave an introduction then handed the microphone off to our two MCs, a boy and a girl from our school. All of the classes had some small presentation, such as reciting poetry or singing a song. Then awards were handed out. Students received certificates for best student in their form, perfect attendance, participation in different sporting events and more.

After the awards the various representatives gave speeches of congratulations to the 12th form. I had been told ahead of time that I also would be expected to give a speech. This time however I was allowed to give it in Russian, which made planning it a lot easier then the first bell speech which I gave in Romanian. I tried to think back on all the advice that I had been given when I graduated from high school and I tried to pass on some of those same ideas.

While your time in grade school has ended you have just started your journey. You have the whole world in front of you and it is up to you to decide what you want to do with it. Keep dreaming and believing because those two skills will take you far. Remember your friends and loved ones because they are what help you through life. Never stop believing in yourself.

It probably did not sound as smooth in Russian because of numerous grammar mistakes but I hope that they received the message as it was intended.

After many speeches and presentations some of the 12th form class performed a waltz in front of the school. And in the end all of the students from the other forms lined up in a U-shape and formed a passage of raised flowers that the 12th form and their homeroom teachers passed through to end their time in school.

The very last thing the students did was then pass out their numerous flowers to their teachers. Each teacher came away with their arms overflowing with flowers and a smile on their faces.

The last bell ceremony does not end the day however. It is followed by the last homeroom hour in which parents and students are invited to discuss the end of the year and what to expect next year. I was asked by the director to hand out the participation certificates for the International Writing Olympics. It was a wonderful way to end the school year. All the good that had passed and the achievements that students had attained. It made me excited for the next year and all that could be accomplished.