A moment of glory and laughter——A complete record of the 2025 graduation ceremony and talent show of St. Louis Modern Chinese School

Written by: Wang Zhixin

Photography: Tang Zhiwen  Zhang Hao  Liu Shengbo  Zhu Anya

On May 17, 2025, an unforgettable ceremony was held at the St. Louis Modern Chinese School. This was not only a graduation ceremony, but also a confession of growth, a cultural feast, and a spiritual resonance across age and culture.

Just one day before the event, a sudden tornado swept through, but fortunately the school was safe. The sun shone on the campus, and the ceremony and performance on that day were held as scheduled, with warmth and excitement as promised.

Golden balloons and graduation caps interweave into a sea, and the Class of 2025 background wall shines brightly under the lights, reflecting the moment when the graduates set off gloriously.

🎓 Graduation Ceremony

The graduation ceremony began warmly under the auspices of Ms. Guo Yuhan, Vice Principal of the Talent School. She welcomed the guests and parents with a firm and gentle voice, injecting warmth and expectations into the entire event.

Vice Principal Guo Yuhan hosted the opening ceremony and delivered a welcome speech.

In her speech, Principal Liu Xiaoyan recalled the children's ten-year journey of learning Chinese with emotion, and every word was sincere and heartfelt:

"Behind the learning of Chinese is the persistence and love for ten years."

Principal Liu Xiaoyan delivered a heartfelt speech

The graduation ceremony officially began. The graduates were in high spirits, and the teachers and parents were full of satisfaction. This day was destined to be unforgettable.

The graduates wore gowns, and their faces were full of confidence and sunshine. The moment they received their graduation certificates was not only a node to bid farewell to their childhood, but also a starting point to the future.

The principal and teachers told about their interesting stories in the Chinese school when they were young. In a blink of an eye, they have grown into handsome men and beautiful women with high spirits. After walking out of the gate of the Chinese school, they have unknowingly become ambassadors of cultural exchange between China and the United States; they are also the unshirkable inheritors of Chinese culture.

Group photo of Lin Jie's class graduates Sun Shenghan, Lin Mu, Lin Shulin, and Wang Yetang.

This year, five students from the adult Chinese class completed eight volumes of Chinese and graduated successfully. Their ages ranged from 24 to 86 years old, and they persisted in studying in the Chinese school for eight to ten years, truly interpreting the spirit of "live and learn".

Teacher Lin Jie took a group photo with adult bilingual graduates, from left to right: George Gump, Audrey Helbling, Hans Helbling, Linda Kram, Daphne Lui.

During the speech session, Teacher Lin Jie, as a teacher representative, gave a heartfelt speech lasting more than ten minutes. She reviewed the persistence of each graduate in learning Chinese one by one, with both warm memories and growth marks, and every word was full of love.

Afterwards, several graduate representatives also brought their special performances, expressing their cherishment of the Chinese learning journey and gratitude to teachers and parents in the form of recitation, solo, or instrumental performance. Their performance was sincere and moving, injecting the warmth of youth and emotion into the graduation ceremony.

Teacher Lin Jie spoke as a teacher representative Reviewing the growth of students one by one, full of emotion

George Gump, a representative of the adult Chinese class graduates, speaks.

Student representative Sun Shenghan speaks.

🏆Awards and recognition

The school specially recognized the students who performed well in the Global Chinese Recitation Competition, Mathematics Competition, Chess and other competitions, and also paid tribute to dance teacher Xie for her years of dedication and love.

Group photo of the two Chinese recitation winners

Group photo of students from Zhongji Chess Class, teachers and the principal

This year, the school specially commended dance teacher Ms. Xie. With his dance expertise, passion and enthusiasm, he cultivated a team of people who love Chinese dance for St. Louis. This dance team is active in various activities and has made an indelible contribution to promoting Chinese culture.

Talent show, brilliant performance

🔸Recitation of "Geese, Geese, Geese" - Kindergarten class (Teacher Zhang Ruilan) The children recited classic poems in their baby voices. Their innocent looks won the audience's hearts and applause.

The children recited in their sweet voices, which made the whole audience fall in love with them.

🔸"Try Everything" - Children's Vocal Class (Teacher Shen Na) This song from a Disney animated film encourages people to try bravely. Children sing out their dreams and confidence in their tender but firm voices.

The children sang out the voices of courage and dreams.

Learning Chinese is very important--Grade 3 class (Teacher Wang Zhixin) The third-grade children used humorous dialogues to tell interesting stories about learning Chinese, which made the audience laugh continuously.

Children interpret the importance of learning Chinese in a humorous way

🔸"The First Chinese Lesson" - Adult Bilingual Class (Teacher Wang Zhixin) Several adult students from different countries wrote and performed in fluent Chinese, showing their love for Chinese and Chinese culture, which is admirable.

The students of the adult bilingual class amazed the audience with their fluent Chinese.

The grand song of the times -- Teem Chinese dance class (Teacher Fu Weiwei) The dancers showed their youth and passion with their steady and confident stage presence, with their fans flying and skirts flowing.

The two fans waved, and youth soared.

Wanjiang---Adult Vocal Music Class (Teacher Lv Song) The singers expressed their love for the motherland with affectionate singing, and the melody was solemn and moving.

Express your love for Chinese culture through singing.

"Sensual Bachata" Latin Dance - Latin Dance Class (Teacher Liu Zimeng) The adult students performed this rhythmic and Latin-style dance with confidence and enthusiasm, showing the vitality of the Chinese school's multicultural curriculum.

Latin dance is full of dynamics, with a brisk rhythm and showing a confident demeanor.

Dai dance---adult folk dance class (Teacher Fu Weiwei) Dancers danced in folk costumes, with soft and agile dance moves, showing the exotic customs and cultural charm.

Like a peacock dancing, soft and beautiful.

🔸"Better When I'm Dancing" - Singing and Dancing Class (Teacher Shen Na) The cheerful rhythm and confident dance steps are combined, and the children dance to the rhythm and dance to happiness, and the applause continues.

The children danced happily.

🔸 "Hand Clap" - Children's Street Dance Class (Teacher Fu Weiwei) The street dance has a distinct rhythm and the dancers are full of energy, igniting the enthusiasm of the audience.

Dynamic and full of vitality.

A Bite of China - Grade 8 and 9 classes (Teacher Sun Jin) brought Chinese food culture to the stage. The performance was lively and humorous, integrating the charm of language and performance.

Interpreting Chinese food culture through stage plays.

Kung Fu performance - Kung Fu class (Master Qi) The children are heroic and show off Chinese Kung Fu in every move.

Waist drum performance - Waist drum class (Teacher Gu Yujin) The neat rhythm and cheerful drum beats show the power of the group and the rhythm of dance.

The rhythm is sonorous and the momentum is magnificent.

Everything Dances---Ancient Jazz Class (Teacher Fu Weiwei) combines tradition and modernity. The dancers use smooth body movements to tell the oriental charm and youthful style.

Women are as good as men, dancing to the world.

The success of this grand ceremony is inseparable from the silent efforts of the front and back of the stage.

The host, sound and equipment technical support, volunteers for venue layout and cleaning, PTO parent committee, student volunteers, photography team... The successful completion of every detail is due to their cooperation and persistence.

The sound and equipment technical support team is preparing for work.

The management team is a solid backing for the smooth holding of various activities

Principal Zhu Xiaodong said after the event:

"The event ended successfully. The scene was wonderful, lively and joyful. There were both tear-jerking gratitude to teachers and jubilant youth. All this is inseparable from the careful planning and thoughtful execution of each of you. ... Looking forward to another wonderful gathering in the future!"