i’m the kind of mom who thinks kindergarten graduations are stupid silly. i mean, i didn’t see my children’s completion of their first year of school as a reason to go all cap and gown crazy. i sort of expected them to make it into first grade. i know there is alot accomplished during kindergarten, but really, a graduation? this could also be because only one actually went to kindergarten. the other two spent several years being tortured taught by me. perhaps they deserved a celebration of sorts when they gained their freedom reported to a regular classroom.
so when the kids’ school had a meeting for the 6th grade families about the upcoming bridging ceremony (bridging ceremony: a ceremony to mark the end of the elementary school years and the moving on to secondary school) i might have rolled my eyes and i’m certain i thought, “really? that’s stupid silly.” because i don’t see the completion of 6th grade as that big of a deal nor the moving on to secondary school – which, i think it is important to note, is on the very same campus as the elementary school and not only that it’s in the very same building. but because i’m an involved parent – which is really not true, i’ve only just recently gotten involved and i have a whole other post all about that (it’s a bit of a downer) – i volunteered to head up the food bit of this shin dig and to try to find someone to take on the decorations – since noone else seemed to be willing.
i think it’s a little funny that the person in charge of getting the ball rolling on the parent end of this thing doesn’t see the point of doing it.
so today was the day. the program was kicked off by the whole audience standing for the king’s song. which – i believe – is how it goes at all public gatherings.
then the students performed a virtue rap they had written themselves.

there were performances by a few students – including a12 on the harp. no picture, batteries were very low. speeches were given by the top student from each 6th grade class, they were very funny and charming. much more confident than i remember being at 12.
the final thing was the actual crossing of the bridge. the leaving behind of elementary school

she seems pretty determined about getting across that bridge
into the jasmine lei bearing arms of secondary school.

then all the other elementary kids were kicked out – unless they were a sibling of a 6th grader – and the party began. many parents volunteered to bring in finger foods from their country. we had swedish meatballs (switzerland), suishi (japan), chicken tandoori masala & nan bread (india), chicken satay (thailand), custard (europe – don’t remember the nation), brownies (america), chips & queso (texas – which is totally a nation), sticky rice (thailand), tempura veggies & spicy dipping sauce (burma), some crusty bread topped with veggies and ham (germany), some pickled veggies – not kimchi (korea), sliced roast beef (america) and there was more, but that’s all i remember. there was also a very lovely cupcake set up.

this amazing 100 cupcake cupcake creation was made even more amazing by the price. baht 700 – which when converted into u.s. dollars came to $20.35.
and as silly as i think the notion is – i will admit it was a lovely ceremony. and the purpose was better explained to me by the person who thunk the whole thing up. (whom i happened to be sitting by and it’s very possible i mentioned that i thought it was an unnecessary (and i might have even said stupid) thing to do – but, of course, that was before i know it was her brain child.) she told me the purpose wasn’t really a graduation but more to allow closure and to make for a better transition for the students into secondary school. it seems that tck (third culture kids) have difficulty with transition so anything that can be done to assist them is a good thing. i’m not sure what i think about that. i guess i’ll see as my kids become third culture kids.
oh, and i just have to share with you what i think is the most fascinating tidbit from the tck wiki link – dr. ruth hill useem, the sociologist who coined the term third culture kids, named her three children flopsi, penny and dipsi. it’s possible the whole third culture kid thing wasn’t her children’s biggest issue. or maybe i shouldn’t believe everything wiki has to say (you can find her obit at that link. and it seems her kids aren’t the namesakes of the teletubbies.)




