The annual Year 13 Graduation Ceremony of the Class of 2022 was held on Friday, 3 June 2022 in the Main Yard of The International School of Paphos, in the presence of the Chairman, Μr Theodoros Aristodimou, members of The Board of Directors and shareholders, the President and members of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), esteemed guests, parents and staff members of the school.
In a traditional ceremony that included touching speeches and a wonderful music programme, the students, dressed in their Graduation gowns, were awarded with their school-leaving certificates and additional special prizes, which recognised their outstanding academic and personal achievements.
This special event began with the entrance of the 39 graduates and the welcome speech by the Deputy Head, Mr Nicolas Artemis, who highlighted the importance of the graduation day, for the students and their families but also for the school community. He congratulated the students on their successes throughout their academic journey and relayed his best wishes for their future plans, “You have worked hard, with discipline and dedication; you have overcome obstacles and difficulties; and you deserve to enjoy the fruits of your efforts”.
Subsequently, the Head of School, Dr Litsa Olympiou, referred during her speech, to the enormous challenges of today’s world but at the same time she added that is also filled with opportunities. Dr Olympiou urged the students to “Seize the day!”, to “Remember to act, dream, plan, believe”, to continue their quest for knowledge and to discover their own unique ways of contributing to our society. She gave them pertinent advice by encouraging them to have the following six ‘items’ in their ‘life suitcase’: “Respecting others by respecting yourselves; Shift the frontiers every day, in little ways; Be better than you need to be; Be your own person; Live your own story; Commit to the journey and not the outcome”.
The next to address the audience were the graduates’ representatives. First, the Deputy Head Student, Elli Paphitis, emphasised the fact that time passes quickly and shared the quote “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory”. Next, the Head Boy, Christopher Luizinho, shared his memories and thoughts: “On the first-ever day of school, we walked through the gates of ISOP, eyes wide open with nothing but curiosity and dreams for what lies ahead. Tonight, we leave this school as young men and women with tools handed to us by this school in order to embark on our next journey. Even though we have probably all transformed into such different people from that little boy or girl who walked through these gates, when we leave here tonight, my advice is don’t give up on those goals you had for yourself all those years ago. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “there is no passion in playing it small, in settling for a life, less than the one you are capable of living. Never settle. Be relentless. No regrets”. Equally touching was the speech of the Head Girl, Doan Vu Thuc Nguyen, who focused on changes and how the school had motivated her: “If ISOP has taught me one thing, it’s that endings are scary, that change is terrifying, but change is what propels us further on in life, and for us – it begins tonight… We all will be taking different roads after today, but I hope that tonight’s memories, along with everything in our last year, remains in your heart like it will in mine. And I am confident that whatever road each of you chooses to take – the world will be your oyster, and you should harvest it at any moment you can because I know everyone here is capable of so much.”
A series of prizes were awarded to the students, with the generous contribution of the sponsors organised by the PTA. The winners in each category were chosen by the school, based on their academic results, while also considering the effort and enthusiasm shown for each subject, the student’s character and his/her disciplinary record. The prizes included: Sportsmanship Awards, Music Awards, Papacleovoulou Scholarship for Greek Studies, Arts Prize (Art & Design, Drama, Music) by Almyra Hotel, Biology Prize by WeCare Medical Centre, Business Studies Prize by KPMG, Chemistry Prize by Aristo Developers, Economics Prize by Polycarpos Philippoy & Associates LLC, Humanities Prize (Geography/History) by Papantoniou Supermarkets, IT Prize by Hugge Coworking, Mathematics Prize and Modern Languages Prize (English Literature/French/German) by Michael Kyprianou – Advocates & Legal Consultants, Physics Prize by Aristo Developers, Cambridge Awards French Prize by the Pastoral Team in memory of Beverly Felson and the ISOP Zenon Trophy.
The Graduation Ceremony continued with the award of the leavers’ Apolytirion certificates that included a delightful description of each student separately, referring to their character and achievements.
We are proud of each and every one of our 39 graduates, the Class of 2022, as they take their first steps as global citizens. Congratulations to them and their families!
