On Friday, December 21st, Yew Chung International School of Qingdao hosted its annual End of Year Awards Ceremony where students, parents, friends and staff gathered together to celebrate the achievements of all our students from Years 1-13, and say goodbye to our graduating class of 2019. The event started with our talented Year 12 Master of Ceremonies and Primary encouragement awards, followed by our students’ fantastic musical performances. Themes of moving forwards, upwards and never giving up embodied the event, from the background designs to the music selected for performance.

Year-level academic, progress and ‘approaches to learning’ awards were distributed to our excited students, whilst parents looked on proudly. Finally, the official conferral of YCIS diplomas was made to our Year 13 graduates.

A particularly emotional moment arrived when Year 6 students came to collect their ‘Moving Up’ awards. These awards symbolize the transition from Primary to Secondary school – for them it is both the end but also the beginning of an exciting new challenge.

After Ms. Shawna Ionescu, this year’s selected teacher speaker, shared her memories of teaching Year 13, two graduates, Kim Bo Kyung and Josiah Mendes, selected from our graduating class addressed the assembled throng, sharing their appreciation for their families and teachers. They have now officially concluded their time at YCIS, and are beginning a new, exciting journey into further education and the world of work.

It was an emotional event filled with pride, happiness and excitement as our graduates prepared for the next stage in their young lives, filled with hope and dreams. We would like to especially congratulate our Year 13 students who have worked exceptionally hard over the last two years of the upper secondary IB programme. This effort has reaped rewards, resulting in our graduates receiving offers from some of the most prestigious universities in the U.S.A, U.K, Hong Kong, and Korea. YCIS Qingdao wishes them all the best for the future. We also want to thank everyone who came together to make this another unforgettable event.