By Syed Mussarat Khalil
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — Pakistan International School Jeddah (English Section) held the graduation ceremony for the class 2017 at its School Auditorium recently. Asif Hussain Memon, Pakistan’s deputy counsel general,was chief guest.
Adnan Nasir, principal PISJ-ES, addressed the graduates and said, “Graduation may pronounce the culmination of your school life but in fact, it marks the commencement of a journey where every step of the way must lead you to the new rendezvous of enlightenments, new horizons of learning and new vistas of explorations to become more refined and responsible citizens of your country and the world at large.”
He added, “As I stand here, and see you all clad in maroon graduation gowns, I recollect the short span of just a year with all of you. I recall how your involvement in different day to day activities of school, from academics to extra-curricular have woven a finest drapery of completeness to make you emerge as the pride of PISJ-ES. It’s been an amazing journey and I say that knowing all the bumps and detours between then and now. That day, the sparkle of your eyes shone steadily but now they shine fiercely, brighter than I could have foreseen, and to that I say: I am proud of you.”
Asif Hussain Memon said, “The future is yours: conquer the world with education and be the true reflection of all the knowledge you have acquired and let the world know that we are Pakistanis and we never give up.”
After presenting the souvenirs to the entire class of 2017, the chief guest presented shields to the achievers of the Cambridge Outstanding Learners’ Awards to Wafa Asher for accounting and economics and Chaudhary Haider Ali for AICT.
Teachers’ awards for facilitating students to acquire CIE rankings were received by Muhammad Siddique for accounting, Ms. ErumTaufique for economics and Shoaib Serwar for AICT.
The students from Y12, Maheer Wasti and Muhammad Shaarif presented the Shakespeare’s undyingly popular monologues, ‘To Be or Not To Be, That’s a Question’ to reflect on the uncertainty of time and ‘Quality of Merci is Not Strained’ to re-emphasize that mercy is not something forced from Hamlet and Merchant of Venice respectively.
This segment was dedicated to all the populaces in distress, sufferers who are in pain due to calamities, tyrannies, war, insolences, injustices, affliction or disease. Students named it as the ‘PISJ-ES call for Global Peace’, which captivated the audience attention to the fullest.
Among the high achievers with straight As and A* were Maleeha Masood, Sabha Mohsin , Wafa Asher, Muhammad Abdullah, Arifa Amin, Hafsa Saeed, Haniya Shabeeh, Huda Fawad Ibrahim, Hisham Qazi, Khizar Mohammad Siddiqui, Muhammad Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Atayab Naeem, Muhammad Qasim Noor, Omer Riazuddin Mahmood, Rohail Mohammad Peeran, Ubaid Rafique, Zaki Ullah Khan, and Zubair Muhammad.
Students with special awards were adorned with medals. The valedictorians, Muhammad Qasim Noor and Wafa Asher from Science and Commerce groups expressed in their speeches how this alma mater of excellence has truly instilled in them the courage to stand up confidently and face all the challenges of this fast-paced world with education and moral values.
Nasir then extended his gratitude to all the guests, including parents, for attending this ceremony to celebrate the students’ achievements. He also thanked all the organizers for putting up such a fabulously meaningful event.
The program concluded with the ‘Cake Cutting Ceremony’ and group photos followed by the sumptuous dinner.
Earlier the program commenced with the elegant display of the procession of Class of 2017, led by the Principal Adnan Nasir, the chief guest Deputy Counsel General Asif Hussain Memon and A-Level faculty members, all clad in graduation gowns on the decorative runway of the auditorium in laudable applause of the audience, creating an overall spectacular ambiance.
The event proceeded further with the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an, followed by the national anthems of both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
