Yang Mei

yangmei_szdaily@163.com

EIGHTEEN Shen Wai International School (SWIS) seniors turned their page to the next chapter yesterday as they accepted diplomas at SWIS’s 2020 Graduation Ceremony, marking an important milestone for this dynamic graduating cohort.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the graduation ceremony was moved to the quaint but familiar surroundings of the SWIS Library to accommodate health and safety regulations.

To ensure all members of the SWIS community could celebrate this unforgettable moment and share the joy and pride, the graduation ceremony was live-streamed to reach three graduates as well as a number of teachers and parents who could not attend in person.

The graduation ceremony began with a musical procession performed by SWIS Secondary students and led by SWIS music teacher Malcolm Mawhinney. The Secondary Division Principal Jennifer Hagar opened the ceremony with the Chinese national anthem. Hagar delivered inspiring words and advice for the graduating class in her opening remarks.

Deputy director (Academics) Daniel Legault reflected on the contributions that this unique graduating class has made to SWIS. Graduate representative Ben Wei gave a heartfelt and comedic review of assorted memories shared by these classmates.

The graduating class had invited Natalya Soloveychik, a former SWIS teacher, to deliver an address as an honorary guest. As a teacher, class adviser and developer of the DP Mindfulness Program that focused on maintaining well-being during the pressures of completing the Diploma Program, Soloveychik was an inspirational figure for all of these students.

Following a musical interlude provided by the SWIS choir under the direction of Sherry Liu, the graduates were presented their SWIS Diploma. A number of graduates were also recognized for achieving Academic Merit and Honors Awards.

As of Monday, the SWIS Class of 2020 had received nearly 100 offers from 57 universities and colleges from the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Japan, the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong SAR.