Graduation

New Beginnings

Sameeha Rifaat Al Sayed

The chief guest at the graduation. Courtesy: arab news

Graduation from high school- a new phase in life, a new beginning and the end of a start that took place fourteen years ago. Like a re-introduction to the wild, students step into a new world of exploration with the hope and confidence of shining with the knowledge they've obtained. Best friends part ways, teachers bid farewell to their students, everything done with everyone with quite the same dream; for them to become the star everyone looks for in the sky, to become the star which emits a feeling of warmth and happiness, to become the star which gives hope for the future.

The graduation ceremony of Bangladesh International School, English Section took place in the Riyadh Palace hotel on the evening of July 3, 2011. With a gathering of more than 200 guests, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, the Finance Minister of Bangladesh, was the chief guest of the occasion. The special guest was Shahidul Islam, the Ambassador to Bangladesh in Riyad.

The keynote speaker was Dr T M G Ahsanullah, Professor of Mathematics at King Saud University, Riyadh. Along with the parents of the graduates, the others who graced the occasion were the Chairman of BOD (Board Of Directors), Dr Quamrul Islam and other Directors, Principal, M S M Hussein, Vice Principals Arif Haleem and Nisha Thomas, seven Heads of Departments and other supervisors and teachers.

The ceremony was hosted by Sameeha Rifaat Al-Sayed and Syeda Ahmedunnessa Mina. A total of 31 students graduated. Two special awards were given out to Sarah Rauf and Zahid Zakariya for their extraordinary academic performances throughout their school years. Also, mementos were given to the chief guest, A M A Muhith and the Ambassador, Shahidul Islam. The chief guest, special guest and the keynote speaker, all of them spoke about patriotism and to return to their homeland after preparing themselves to make Bangladesh a beautiful and prosperous country.

During his speech to the graduates, A M A Muhith said, "I am as much of a student as any of you. Education is for life and the gaining of knowledge never ends."

The boys batch of 2011. Courtesy: Adnan Karim

Professor Ahsanullah said on perseverance and interaction," Having decided what is to be done, next you must stay the course however difficult and long. Sometimes you may need to move the goalpost, but that does not change the goal. It means looking at the goal differently."

In addition, the valedictorians Sarah and Zahid said, "Everyone has heard of many inspirational quotes such as, be the change you want to see in the world by Gandhi and many more by Einstein, Nelson Mandela, but little do we know that we have the greatest leaders right here in our school."
The formal setting and programme was enjoyed by all. The organisers were the former grade 11 students. With only two hours in hand, they rather did an appreciable job in setting up the entire hall; the latter confirmed by the hundreds of praises from the guests who attended. The whole ceremony was a memory for the graduates and a piece of pride for the teachers and everyone else who belongs to Bangladesh International School, English Section. Successfully, everyone went home with a smile.

(Sameeha Rifaat Al Sayeed is an A levels student of Bangladesh International School, English Section, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.)

On to the Next Step!

Maleeha Mazen Khan

Back in your fourth grade, did you ever come to think of what is next after you are done sitting for your exams under your institution's name? Well, maybe we did, but in our twelfth grade, when exams are almost over and the emotions related to our school start to sink in. So what is it that we all anticipate to look forward to? Yes, it is our graduation ceremony.

The concept of graduation ceremonies is to award the students and acknowledge their ability. It varies from institutions as to how and where they want it to be carried out. Some schools rent places such as BICC and arrange the events with performances and the formalities of awarding the students.

Based on Dhaka's number of schools, it can be assumed that above forty schools are expected to give their students a graduation ceremony this year. Perhaps, Scholastica, a very promising school had to come up with the ceremony as early as possible.

Scholastica Senior Section, Uttara organised a grand Graduation Ceremony for Class XII on the evening of June 30 2011 from at the STM Hall of the Senior Section, Uttara Campus.

The proud graduates with the guests. Courtesy: Scholastica

The programme commemorated the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore for which a special cultural event was organised. It was beautifully conducted and the students performed no less than the professional singers. The main objective of this cultural event was to enhance students' knowledge on the International Poet & Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, Secretary, Ministry of Education of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh graced the occasion as the chief guest. Yasmeen Murshed, Founder Chairperson of Ascent Group was also present as the special guest.

A total of 136 A Level Students of May/June 2011 Examinations sat for exams under Cambridge International Examination-Board and were awarded graduation certificates from Scholastica by the chief guest.

Until the time of being awarded comes, one can't really feel the emotions of how it is like to get the honour and certificates in front of hundreds of pairs of eyes. Scholastica, with their belief and hardwork in building these smart students, couldn't appreciate them less. And for their performance, today they gave out a grand ceremony, “Our heartiest congratulation to the graduates for their hard work, faculty members of Scholastica for their sincere effort and dedication and to CIE for providing us with all the necessary support and training.”