Students of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School laughed loudly and cried loudly on their farewell day.

As the 'pioneer' generation in the 2018 General Education Program, final year students at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School (HCMC) marked their graduation day with a series of emotional activities.

On the afternoon of May 28, more than 660 grade 12 students of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School participated in a gratitude and maturity program to celebrate their graduation milestone. Before that, they had the opportunity to "go all out" with the water balloon festival, helping to cool off the summer heat and the "heat" from the high school graduation exam that is getting closer.

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The "childish" moment of the school-age couple Quynh Anh and Xuan Khiem, students of class 12A7

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From the afternoon, the program officially began with a series of performances affectionately called “The Last Stage” by the students, because the “specialty” of this 110-year-old school is to continuously have many artistic activities from the beginning to the end of the school year.

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Students of class 12A8 made an appointment to wear pajamas and perform "trendy" dances on social media to the music of Tru mua, Nang kieu lo buoc ... by the once-famous group HKT, making the whole school excited to respond.

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The special feature at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School is the custom-designed robes since 2018. The robes were inspired by the students' uniforms with yellow apricot flowers and three different colored stripes symbolizing the three generations of Ao Tim - Gia Long - Minh Khai. "This is the first time I have worn a robe after 30 years of graduating. This is even more meaningful when my daughter personally puts it on me," Mr. Minh Thong, father of student Thien An (class 12A2), emotionally shared.

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A “gift” that surprised the 12th graders was a video recording each of the teachers’ wishes to the first generation studying the school’s new curriculum. Every time a teacher appeared, the schoolyard resounded with unexpected sounds and excited applause. “This is completely different from the past, studying your lessons carefully will bring you a rain of 10s. I wish all the Minh Khai ‘golden pigs’ enough confidence, enough calmness, enough ambition to conquer all the exam questions,” Ms. Ngo Hong Hiep, the school’s literature teacher, advised.

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Mr. Alex, a foreign teacher in charge of English, wished the 12th graders success in achieving the maximum score in this subject. “Good luck on your exam, 10 points in English,” Mr. Alex said in Vietnamese.

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After the touching “gift”, the students themselves presented their teachers with bright sunflowers. “Minh Khai not only fosters knowledge but is also our second home, where we grow up every day. Here, we not only learn how to solve a math problem, write an essay, understand a chemical formula, but also learn how to live kindly, love and share, learn how to be resilient in the face of difficulties and constantly strive to improve”, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh Vy, a student of class 12A3, spoke on behalf of hundreds of students.

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Another meaningful activity is that students personally pin flowers on their parents' shirts to express their gratitude for giving birth and raising them for the past 18 years. Ms. Thu, the parent of Thien Kim (class 12A6), said she was very happy and touched to see her child growing up. "Today, when I entered the school, I was very nervous, just like the first day I took my child to school. My child loves architecture so much that I also pray that she will pass her favorite subject," said Ms. Thu.

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Generations of integrated class students gather together. “The school has only opened integrated classes for 3 years, so we have always considered each other as a family. Because the number of students in each class is very small, we often join together to participate in art competitions. Our tradition is to design a poster every year to cheer and encourage each other,” said Le Nguyen Truc Linh, a former student.

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Students participate in the “Looking Back” activity. Each connection point represents the impressions of memories they have experienced in the past 3 years of school. “The pink thread represents the indispensable pieces of the past thousand days. The purple thread represents the moments that will be remembered when mentioning Minh Khai. The green thread is for lovely memories, and the yellow one is for the impressions that are not enough to make people ‘wow’”, Truong Nguyen Bao Tram, a student of class 11A7, explains the meaning of the activity.

PHOTO: KHANH UYEN

The moment of “Pétrus Ký boy, Gia Long girl” between Vo Hoang Duy (12th grade student of Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted) and Lu My Vy (12th grade student of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School). The two met through club activities and hope to continue their story of growing up together in the future.

PHOTO: TUAN KIET

The last time student bands performed under the yellow sky of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School

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One activity that brings tears to the eyes of the final year students is giving ribbons. Blue symbolizes friendship, green represents apology and reconciliation, purple is to show gratitude to teachers and those who have guided them on their journey to adulthood, and finally pink is for the “special person”. Many students also prepare their own ribbons with personal messages for their friends.

PHOTO: PHUONG ANH

“Check-in” the moment of giving each other ribbons

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In the quiet music, close friends from the past encouraged each other and shared their regrets as the graduation ceremony approached its final moments.

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A male student could not hold back his tears when witnessing their last moments together, but was quickly comforted in the arms of his friends.

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Closing the gratitude and maturity ceremony was the candle-lighting ceremony, conveying the message of enthusiasm, affection and faith for the future ahead. The first candle was lit by Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Chuong, the school principal, and then continued to spread to each student. This was also a moment for students to calm down and express to each other the words they had not dared to say, such as "I used to hate my class so much, but now I can't bear to part..."

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After moments of confession, the students sang emotional melodies, evoking memories of youth before parting, such as the song Miracle (Maydays group).

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Cry and laugh together in front of the commemorative footage that summarizes our journey together over the past 3 years.

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A group of friends designed posters with humorous words of encouragement to cheer on class members performing on stage.

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Another special feature of the gratitude and maturity program organized by students of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School is the "school year songs" composed by the students themselves. This year, the song for the 2022-2025 school year is called As in the beginning, inspired by the simple things of school age. "The song opens with the harmony of familiar memories such as the sound of rain and birds, followed by deep emotions before the day of separation and climaxes with the main note of the bell, like the echo of our pioneering generation", Chau Le Khang, a student of class 12A3 and one of the authors of the song, shared.

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Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School is one of the schools with a history of more than a hundred years and a reputation in Ho Chi Minh City, having gone through 3 periods: Ao Tim - Gia Long - Minh Khai. Currently, the school has the highest standard score in each 10th grade admission season with a 100% rate of students being admitted to universities at home and abroad. In 2023, on the occasion of its 110th anniversary, the school received the Emulation Flag from the Government .

Mr. Nguyen Van Ba, Vice Principal of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School, said that in the 2024-2025 school year, the school will have 38 city-level excellent student awards, 12 awards for students solving math problems quickly on handheld calculators, 63 April Olympic awards, 2 medals in the 2024 National Phu Dong Sports Festival, 26 medals in the city student sports competition...

"I believe that every Minh Khai student is an independent, valuable individual, and has the ability to create good things for life. You are the pride not only of your family but also of your teachers and this school. Fly far and high in your own way, but also remember to come back when you suddenly miss an old shirt or a summer day of your final year," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Chuong, Principal of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoc-sinh-truong-thpt-nguyen-thi-minh-khai-cuoi-lon-khoc-to-trong-ngay-chia-tay-185250529161501009.htm