By James Penstone, Secondary Principal
7 June 2024
The Beautiful Resilience within our Farewells
Last Saturday, we celebrated the graduation ceremony for our Grade 12 students, marking a momentous occasion for our school community. This day, while filled with joy and celebration, was also deeply emotional for the students and their families, many of whom have been with us for many years. This school has been their community, and saying goodbye is never easy.
Today, we celebrated the Grade 10 closure of the Middle Years Programme, featuring guest speaker Alex Staniforth who spoke about resilience. Like the Grade 12 ceremony, we presented awards and shared in the achievements of our students. A particularly special moment was when six students, who are leaving, were honoured with heartfelt words from their peers. The atmosphere was highly charged with the inevitable sadness of parting from dear friends.
In a week's time, we will also say farewell to more of our departing students and their families, as well as some of our colleagues, as we do every year. This includes those who have been with us for a short while and those who have been part of our community for many years.
As I mentioned to the Grade 10 students today, international schools are places where people arrive and depart regularly. This brings the wonderful benefit of meeting new people with diverse and interesting backgrounds, but also the pain of saying goodbye.
The connections forged within our community — whether between students, colleagues, or families — are profoundly authentic. These connections have the potential to thrive and flourish long after we say our goodbyes. Learning to part with grace and dignity is a valuable life skill, and I am highly impressed by the way our students learn to navigate these difficult inevitabilities, as do the adults around them.
Kind regards,
James Penstone
Secondary Principal