Red. Pink. White and Black were the colors that marked the twin graduation ceremony for Form 5 and Upper Sixth this year at Quality International School. The air was rent with excitement as the students in their colorful attires, accompanied by parents and other loved ones trooped into the ceremonial grounds to take pictures and to admire each other’s outfit. The ceremony kicked-off at 10:30 am with an opening prayer from Mr Ayuk John, who thanked God for such and occasion and prayed that the outgoing high school students would be good representatives of Q.I.S. The occasion quickly shifted gears with the procession of the Form five graduates. Broad smiles could be seen from all the Form fives as they joyfully danced unto the stage to the tune of the song “Jerusalema”. While still on stage, the Form five graduates sang the national anthem and the school anthem. The voices were nothing less than angelic as they chanted the school anthem. The singing of the anthems were honored by a standing ovation by the parents and guests.
The ceremony slowed down a tad for the presentation of certificates and gifts to all the graduates. The parents and students cheered happily, as each student received their certificate. The handing out of a special award from Madam Cynthia Atam Besong by Mr Mbah Charles immediately followed the handing of certificates. Mr Mbah made a brief speech about the JB Foundation, the Cynthia Atam Besong Award. Mr Mbah said the award was for anyone who showed exemplary moral and spiritual values. The recipient, Forkou Joyce and her father, who joined her on stage, beamed as she took pictures with Mr Mbah after receiving it. Another special award was given out to Asang Azinwie Favour for being the most humble student. The taking of pictures and the handing over of the baton of Form 5 from Forkou Joyce to Che Emily who was exhorted by the principal to emulate the same academic and moral values that her predecessor, Forkou had shown followed this. That segment of the ceremony ended when the form fives marched out with an excellent dance to the tune of “Na you dey reign” by Mercy Chinwo. The ambiance of the occasion returned as the high school students danced onto the stage in their elegant robes. They were full of smiles and some of them waved at their loved ones in the crowd. The procession was followed by a speech by Madam Bessem.
Madam Bessem’s speech was followed by a prayer for the High school students by Madam Bessem, Mr Mbah, Mr Ayuk, the vice Manager and the Principal. After that, there was and introduction of two organizations that offered after-high-school opportunities to students namely Joedans Africa and PLASC sarl. The representatives of both organizations briefly explained what they offered to the students. PLASC sarl said it was organizing training session at the Muna Foundation and at Somatel Hotel Biyem-assi. This was immediately followed by handing out of certificates and gifts to the High School graduates. The students and parents cheered as each student received their certificate. The students happily danced out of the stage to make way for the fashion parade of the Form fives. The students posed for the camera while the DJ played a cool song by Ada. The cutting of the cake followed this. The cake was decorated with pink on white with a blue graduation cap. The cake was surrounded by four bottles of sweet wine making it more majestic. The students spelled ‘Jesus’ as they cut their cake.
Next, on the stage was a presentation of a song (Amen) in acapella by Bonono Kempeni and Tchuenmegne Daphne. The ceremony continued with the fashion parade by the High school students. The boys came in first dressed in suits. It was a nice selection of styles, some wore three-piece suits with ties, others took on a more casual style with a turtle necked T-shirts. The girls paraded in with an exquisite selection of red evening dresses. The DJ laced the atmosphere with cool music while the students posed for pictures for a good twenty minutes. This was followed by the cutting of the graduation cake, which was decorated with oxblood on white with a blue cap. Tita Tokah Ryan did a spectacular dance before the students finally danced off the stage. A prayer for the refreshments by Pastor Esoh Angels followed this segment.
There was a mouth-watering array of food: plantain and okongobong prepared with Egusi, fried rice and chicken, fried fish, vegetable salad, and fruit salad. The atmosphere was rent with the delicious aroma of food as the guests and students helped themselves from the buffets, which were in three different locations to serve parents, teachers and students. As the eating went on, there principal called Forkou Joyce (Form 5) and Ndzana Leslie (Upper Sixth) to pop the champagnes of each class. Bateh Kenndy gave a spectacular break-dance performance that sent the students and parents leaping off their seats. The ceremony ended with a closing prayer by the principal. It was an indeed an exciting day at QIS.
