Graduation Day

Last Friday was a big day at the Little Flower Early Education Center: A Graduation Day! It seems a bit odd to have a graduation ceremony in March, but we are so excited to tell you all about three of our children who are moving on from our Early Education Center: Shu, Yang, and Gong. These boys have recently been accepted to Beijing International Bilingual Academy (BIBA), and to celebrate this transition, we had a big graduation ceremony, including poems, gifts and even special graduation clothes!

All three boys have been with Little Flower since they were very little, and are now part of our Little Flower foster families in Group Educational Foster care. Yang even used to be in hospice care – look at where he is today! This energetic kid is often the bounciest, most animated student in the room. 

The graduation ceremony took place in the afternoon, beginning with a presentation of diplomas in the classroom, and then a reception outside. When it began, the boys’ classmates assembled and waited patiently for the graduates to arrive on the stage.

Look at those proud faces! Yang is on the right. He’s a great artist with a good eye for color, and always demonstrates amazing focus and concentration in class. Shu is in the left. As one of the older and bigger kids in class, he has a lot of confidence. Gong is in the middle. He always strives to be a model student. In school, he likes to make sure the other students are following the teachers’ instructions.

The integration of Gong, Yang and Shu into BIBA’s classes is an experiment for both Little Flower and BIBA. Both sides want to learn from these cases, and hopefully it will end in a long-term cooperation between BIBA and Little Flower. Many of our kids in Group Educational Foster Care also attend public school.

In addition to their certificate, they each received a new school bag—the perfect gift for starting a new school.

The entire class gathered for a group picture to remember this special day.

After the ceremony, the classmates gathered outside for pictures and the traditional “throwing of the graduation cap!” It’s been getting warmer here in Beijing as spring rolls around the corner, and the kids enjoyed getting out into the fresh air to continue their celebration.

They took some more photos and threw their caps!

Congratulations graduates! They start at their new school on Monday. We know they’ll do great!