Kindergarten Graduation 2024

“My child has graduated. I completely burst into tears”. This is the message from some parents when we posted the story about the kindergarten graduation last Tuesday.  On that special day, we celebrated a heartwarming graduation ceremony for our little boys and girls.

SPEECH BY OUR ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL: MS. KIM MARANTOS

Hello everyone… family, friends, teachers, and our Kindergarten Graduates! 

Today is a special day as we celebrate our wonderful kindergarten graduates. As we gather here, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the incredible journey our children have been on in kindergarten.

For many of us, kindergarten represents much more than just learning numbers and letters. It’s a time when our children have grown not only academically but also emotionally and socially. And this growth is something truly worth celebrating!

In kindergarten, our children have had the opportunity to learn about the world around them, to explore new ideas, and to develop important skills that will serve them well in the future. They’ve also had the chance to build friendships, to learn how to communicate effectively, and to understand and manage their feelings.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the teachers and staff who have played such a crucial role in supporting our children’s learning and development. Your dedication and commitment have made a real difference in their lives, and we are so grateful for everything you do. 

This goes especially for our wonderful, compassionate, caring teacher, Ms. Joanne! Ms. Joanne, along with the support of Ms. Hien cares deeply for each and every one of her students. She spends countless hours dedicating her time and energy to creating a magnificent learning environment for her students, nurturing their individuality, and ensuring they are safe and happy and confident young learners each and every day. On behalf of all of us here, Ms. Joanne… thank you… you are amazing!!!

To all the parents here today, we want to say Thank You to you all for sharing your most precious gifts with us, and for trusting us to lead your children in their educational journey. Together we are partners and we thank you for all your support.  

Congratulations to our kindergarten graduates! Today is just the beginning of all the amazing things you will accomplish, and we couldn’t be more proud of you. Here’s to a bright and exciting future ahead! We love you!!

Thank you.

 

Story and Speech by Ms. Joanne

Once upon a time there was a silly, brave, kind, and sooo loved Kindergarten class. We met together everyday at St. Paul American School with our teachers Ms. Joanne and Ms. Hien.

Everyday we sang a song to share our feelings. We danced to music; jumped on chairs to escape the lava; we played and pretended, laughed a lot, and learned soo much. Everyday was full of joy, magic, and love.

Everyday we explored the wonderful world around us. We rescued snails on wet days and collected cicada skins when the weather grew hot. When a caterpillar was lost and scared in the grass, compassionate Hangyeol found a tree where it could be safe. Explorer Kai, holding Ms. Joanne’s hand, wandered under the trees in search of the smallest, roundest mushrooms to keep and share with his little brother. We even took care of a crab! We learned that all creatures deserve love and care.

We learned how to write. Each day we wrote our own ideas into stories. After each lesson, Yunseol worked hard to improve her writing word by word, sentence by sentence, with so much effort and care. Rosie persevered and found the courage to read her work proudly out loud! We made our stories into shadow puppet shows and movies that made our families laugh and gasp. We were heroes and villains battling ghosts in our castle. We stretched ourselves bigger and greater in the characters we imagined, and kept some courage in our hearts even when play was over.

We learned how to take care of our feelings. Daniel found comfort in a warm hug to heal a broken heart. When we faced disappointment, we found ways to stay positive and solve problems. In Jiho’s words “Ugh,I made a mistake, but I can fix it!” When something felt hard or scary, we persevered. “Md. Joanne, It’s hard but I’m trying my best!” Hayul would say.  

We learned that community means loving and helping the people around us. Minh Phuc shared his snack, toys, and silliness with us everyday, giving generously to make his friends happy. We learned passionately to help our brains grow, like Gyumin hungry for every new challenge and chance to improve. 

We learned that each one of us is special and important. We learned how much we are loved, and how much love we deserve. 

A million little moments make up a year. A million problems, a million solutions, a million ideas and tears and hugs. How special and beautiful to share all of that with a group of people – a community, our Kindergarten. So when our year together was almost finished, it was so hard to say goodbye. We had been happy and safe together. 

Facing a big change felt scary. There’s so much we didn’t know yet. What would happen next year? What new challenges would we face? Would it be hard? Would it be good? Could we do it? 

But, like little trees in a new season, we knew that through change and challenge, we grow. What we didn’t know yet, we’d learn soon. The next season, the next year, like life, would be as good and happy as we were willing to make it. It was up to us.

And at the heart of it all, there’s nothing we will truly lose. Because all of our learning, all the love and joy that filled our year, will be with us always like the roots that help a tree grow. 

And so our Minh Phuc, Yunseol, Rosie, Daniel, Gyumin, Hangyeol, Jiho, Kai and Hayul gathered their courage in their big hearts and stood tall. They looked ahead toward a bright and beautiful future: the things they would learn, the communities they would love, and the wonderful people they would become. And they lived happily, bravely ever after, growing and growing and growing…

The end. And the beginning!

This graduation marks the beginning of many more achievements in their educational journey.

KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION CEREMONY

Captured the memorable moment with families

HAPPY STUDENTS WITH PARENTS

Our adorable children

KINDERGARTEN FAVORITES