Bidding Adieu to High School

The graduates from left to right:  Adityavasu Vakil, Parth Solanki (Jojo), Natacha Upra (Nonnie), Saksith Shukla, Shruti Jha and Suryanshi Singh (Dolly)

There was a bittersweet feeling on the thought of leaving school for good. The school is the place where we spent the majority of our time with the purpose of acquiring education, knowledge and experience. Finally, the day that most have been waiting for since the beginning of this year had arrived. The Commencement Ceremony! Hence, our countdown for the major step in the journey of our lives (the Alma mater phase) began from then on wards.

An aesthetically pleasing background

T.Pam instructing us to begin entering

Our Commencement Ceremony was held on the 11th June at the new auditorium of IPS. My friends looked like a level-headed group of young adults wearing their graduation robes (which is rare on typical days!). Nonnie helped me wear my robe and mortarboard, while others were talking about how surreal this moment felt.

T.Parminder called us to start the "Pomp and Circumstance" of the event. We entered the hall in the alphabetical order.

T.Tricia enthusiastically gave us the introduction!

T.Tricia told us to remain standing for the King's Anthem and the School song, as she dazzled in a white dress which lay specks of black dots. The Year 6 students choir sang the IPS song with T.Nora's assistance. I shifted my eyes around the room to see everyone's families. T.Nora pressed a key on the piano as an indication for us to be seated.

Subsequently, T. Alka and our chief guest of the event congratulated us for the completion of our secondary education. They also gave several words of advice for our future. The main advice was never to quit no matter how many failures you have encountered. This is because those failures will give you lessons for life.

After that, we heard a young talent, Brave from Year 9. He excellently played a classic song on the piano. He won our hearts, and we proved it with rounds of applause.

T.Tricia called Parth on stage to start his graduation speech. He started off by explaining how much he envied school. He had cursed his school life in most of his education process. He then described how he began developing an interest in school, and ended his speech with how he looks forward to his future.

Next up was Suryanshi. She thanked everyone individually for their contribution and support for her success in education. She had a wide grin on her face throughout her speech, which was spectacular to look at.

After Suryanshi's speech was over, the Year 6 students melodiously played the violin lead by the harmony of T.Nora's piano. They played the classics beautifully indeed!

Natacha was the next one. She first talked about the main highlights of this year, which included the participation in NASA Ames Space Settlement Competition. We had won the "Honorable Mention" category, so she thanked everyone for making it an indelible experience. She also talked about how the teachers made her fond of the subjects that she hated when she first joined IPS. She then continued to thank her parents, T. Alka and T. Pam (Better known as T.Parminder). Lastly, she thanked us for being her friends and having her back throughout this journey.

It was my turn! I started off by explaining that this school didn't just provide me with knowledge, but experiences through extracurricular activities were given as well. I continued by saying that it takes teamwork to get to the place where I was standing (in the hall!). The teamwork consists of my parents, teachers and friends. I thanked all of them for their continued support. Also, I assured my classmates that our memories will be cherished in my heart forever.

Then, Aparna from Year 10 was invited on stage to perform a song through her vocals. Her sweet voice continued to seep in our ears.

Saksith went up and talked about his incredible nine years in this school. He talked about how he felt that Year 11 was the most magnificent year of our lives, as we had several musketeers in the class. He also thanked everybody for their contribution towards his success.

Last but not the least, Aditya gave a short speech about how much he is going to yearn for everyone. He also stated that this school was his second home and T.Pam had become his second mom. He ended with an inside joke they had in their science classes (which apparently I couldn't understand!).

Column 1: Saksith, Suryanshi, Aditya Column 2: Parth, Shruti and Natacha

After that, the graduate's journey were displayed on the projector through a slideshow of our pictures. All of us looked so adorable when we were younger. *chuckles*

T.Micheal then came forward and gave an enlivening speech about how important it is for us to become good role models in today's world. T.Paul also appreciated our existence, as he stated that he couldn't have received a better class for his homeroom. He continued to call our names to give us the certificates on the completion of our high school.

T.Parminder also came forward and spoke about how we have evolved over the years and how we are unique from our other classmates. She talked about how we are moving to a new phase of life - Alma mater. She ended her speech by saying "Carpe Diem".

The Year 12 students had planned a surprise for us, where they spoke about how much they are going to miss us. Aleena broke down to tears during her speech. It made us go "Awwww" and also made us emotional for a few minutes. They also handed out some certificates for extraordinary reasons. Here is the list of people who received the awards.

1. Parth - Part Time Student Award

2. Suryanshi - Bookworm Award

3. Shruti - Sunshine Award

4. Natacha - The Mission Impossible Award

5. Saksith - Dr. Evil Award

6. Aditya - Paparazzi Award

Finally, we were instructed to shift our mortarboards from the right to left. We flicked the mortarboards up in the air, which felt like the weight on my shoulders had disappeared. We ended by dancing to our class' iconic EDM track - Tremor. "Lol, Jojo....I think we look stupid", Saksith squealed.

Soon high tea and snacks were served thereafter. We all had a sigh of relief at the thought of having holidays for two months until the university opened.