Principal’s Letter to Our 2019 Graduates

The beautiful school hall was the setting and the occasion was new beginnings. This was the last time that the Class of 2019 would gather as one before embarking on the exciting next leg of their educational journeys. Their big day had arrived, and it was time to don their caps and gowns! It was also a special moment for proud family members, friends, administrators, faculty, and staff — all of whom helped graduates to fulfill their potential, providing support and championing their successes along the way.

During the ceremony, our principal also took to the podium to impart some final words of wisdom. Here is the letter of our principal ‘s remarks:

Dear parents, guests, teachers, and students:

Good afternoon!

The campus in May is full of vitality and passion. Today, we are pleased to hold the 2019 graduation ceremony of Ningbo Kent School with incomparable joy and excitement. Also, we are honored to invite all the seated parents and guests to witness such precious moment together. I propose, let us send the warmest applause to the 2019 graduates, congratulations on your successful completion of the high school, now you will go abroad and meet the new future of life! At the same time, we would like to sincerely thank every parent, thank you for your trust and support to the school, and thank all the teachers for their teaching and care! I also hope that you will give yourself the applause to celebrate this important moment of your life.

Three or four years ago, with your dreams and hopes, you came to our school and started a beautiful journey of life. Over the past few years, you have been working hard, chasing persistently and living happily to laid a solid foundation for a better future. You have learned how to study, how to develop good habits, how to be a good person, eventually you managed to apply for good universities with excellent results.

The admissions result is gratifying this year. The admission rate of the top 30 universities in the U.S has doubled compared with last year. The admission rate of the top 50 universities in the U.S has exceeded 60%. We also got offers from the University of Oxford, Vanderbilt University, Tsinghua University and the University of Toronto. As the principal, I am proud of you from the heart. You will be remembered in the history of Ningbo Hanvos Kent School. Under the joint efforts of the teachers and students, in 2018 our school entered the top 100 list of International School in China, becoming the only privately-run school in Zhejiang Province, ranking among the top 34 private schools in China. Students, you have proved with your own growth that our school is moving towards a first-class international school.

Dear students, graduation is only the end of your high school, but your life has just begun. In the future, I hope that all the students can remember the following three things:

Firstly, be a responsible person with a broad vision.

I hope that you remember the first letter of our school motto. “R” means responsibility, it is a quality, a loyalty and commitment to your mission. A person who lacks responsibility will lose the trust and respect of others and lose the basic recognition of society. Responsibility means to have a contractual spirit, obey the rules, and stick to the bottom line. To develop a sense of responsibility, we will be better responsible for the family, the country, and our future. I hope that everyone can recognize that the future competition is not the competition of knowledge or resources, it is the competition of imagination and innovation, the competition of wisdom, leadership and responsibility.

Secondly, be a person who will be grateful and have a sound personality.

Gratefulness is a life attitude and a philosophy of life. It is the basic personality of a modern citizen. I hope that you will keep in mind the school motto “I” means intelligence. Only those who are intelligent will understand the importance of gratitude and learn to be grateful. Learn to be grateful, we will know how to care for others, return to our parents, our school and our motherland, so as to have a fulfilling life. Learn to be grateful, we will learn to be tolerant, we will understand others, accommodate others, and have a spirit of cooperation. I also hope that you will remember the “P” in the school motto, –personality, from the beginning of gratitude, to cultivate yourself as a person with complete personality. Always be grateful, and look at the world with noble style, broad vision, and love.

 

Last but not least, be a person who will persist and have a dream of excellence.

There is a famous saying in China: “Do not forget your heart, and follow it until the end”. As long as you have dreams, goals, and perseverance, you will achieve your outstanding life. Just like the last letter “E” of our school motto, it stands for excellence. What I want to tell you is that in the process of chasing dreams, people will face difficulties, experience failures, and expect to be disappointed or embarrassed. At this time, I hope that you will tell yourself to take the courage to come again, to choose responsibility, to build up strength for growth, and follow your dreams. Failure is not terrible. What is terrible is that you have no confidence to choose your efforts. Efforts do not necessarily make our dreams come true, but without efforts, your dream will fail. Happiness comes from struggle.

Kids, leaving the school gate, the door to the world is open to you. I hope that you will prepare for cultural adaptation, academic adaptation and life adaptation for your future life. I hope that when you go to universities around the world, you can remember the school motto of the school – RIPE, to have a “Chinese soul, and international vision”, to be responsible and intelligent, to have a good personality and be good at pursuing your dream of excellence. Kids, do remember to come back and visit us. Our school will bless you, miss you, and look forward to seeing a better you!

 

Source from：KnowledgeLink Group‘s partnership school ——The Barstow School-Ningbo Campus