Gallery • 8 Photos

Graduate Speakers

Hello to everyone present here today, I hope you guys enjoyed the graduation festivities so far. First of all, congratulations to all of our fellow students graduating today, and thank you to all the parents and teachers for celebrating this special day with us. 

Putting an end to 12 years of school is a major milestone in our lives. We have imagined this day for the past two years and we’re more than excited to be here. 

To be honest, coming up with this speech was not easy;it has been a long 2 years. So much has happened, so much that it was hard to compress everything into a 5-minute speech.

After the countless reflections we wrote throughout the DP, you know…for the EE and CAS and everything…this speech will be our very last one. We tried to mention as many challenges, as well as pleasant memories, as possible. So, here it goes.

It all started in 2020, when we walked into Annexe C as naive, slightly terrified DP1 students. For some of us, it was our first year at SIS, while for others, it was a case of the same school, different building. 

Throughout fall, we coped with the differences between the MYP and DP. SA hours had transformed into CAS, the personal project had upgraded into the Extended Essay, not to mention the completely new beast, TOK. 

Well at least, we could choose our own six subjects. Let’s be honest, the first few months weren’t easy. Everything was harder than the MYP could ever hope to be, and we were all slightly overwhelmed. 

Thanks to all of our teachers, things gradually got better, and everyone began finding their place in the DP. We tolerated and overcame our challenges one by one, whether it be learning a hard subject or managing our time. We helped each other when needed, building friendships in the process. 

Besides our subjects, many of us participated in a variety of clubs, including the Quirky Quibbler and MUN. Additionally, we had several student-led clubs, such as the Math Club, Amnesty International, and the Medical debate club.

Quick thanks to everyone who joined me in the math and medical debate clubs. Before we even realized, we had our first end-of-term exams in November. Do you guys even remember that? And with that, we were all done with our very first quarter of the DP. 

As 2021 began, so did our Extended Essays, and a 4000-word essay was nothing to laugh at. 

Let’s not forget the crazy alternating weeks we had due to covid, the unwelcome guest that had followed us into the DP and accompanied us throughout. 

Thankfully, the pandemic has subsided as we finish the DP, and we can enjoy our graduation here today.

After our TOK exhibitions and another tough round of exams, summer break had finally arrived! Some of us spent our summer on the EEs

…while others did not

Either way, DP1 had come to an end, and by September, we only had a year of high school left ahead of us. I still remember feeling both scared and excited for this final year at that time. 

Now came DP2, which was…hectic to say the least. TOK essay, Extended Essay, all the IAs and wrapping up our CAS, all in a matter of months.  On the bright side, we moved into the OPG and enjoyed being fully on campus again. Before we knew it, we were “celebrating” 100 days until the first day of exams with ice cream. Not going to lie, 100 days never felt so short.  

…especially for the physics class, who took the very first papers of the May 2022 Examination. 

By the mock exams, we felt the DP was starting to come to an end. We got our first taste of what the IB Exams would be like, thanks to our teachers who supervised our exams with an admirable amount of patience.

After a month of final preparation, the IB Exams finally came upon us. The very moment we have been waiting all our two years for. While we were nervous and pressured, we were also thrilled to pass our final gate out of the DP. I mean, who wouldn’t be? We pushed through one of the biggest exams of our lives, which we are very proud of. 

Even now, almost two weeks after the exams have ended, I still don’t think its suck in that the DP is over- and that I’m not back to school anymore. But, here we are! Wearing our white graduation hats, heads held up high. For the past two years, we have experienced and accomplished a lot. We have built several friendships that we will remember and gained many skills that we will carry with us to our future. I’m sure that every one of us students was waiting for this day when we’re done with high school and looking forward to whatever future we want for ourselves. Now we’re finally here, and the world is our oyster. Now, we would like to address and thank everyone that was involved in this journey with us.  

Parents, thank you for your endless support and encouragement. We will continue to make you proud. Teachers, thank you for guiding us through our studies and always pushing us to improve. We will miss being your students. Last but not least, Class of 2022, it has been an unforgettable two years, going through both challenging and glorious times with you all. We have supported each other through our struggles and celebrated our successes together. Now we will walk along our own separate paths, but I am sure that we will all do great. Congratulations once again on your graduation, and we wish you the very best for the future that awaits you. 

THANK YOU!