It was challenging to say goodbye to our seniors. After all these years we were together, it was finally time for them to graduate from school and move ahead to achieve more significant goals in life.
We all still remember how our rivalry started over a game of basketball. We, the students of XI class, constantly challenged the XII standard students when we got a chance. We never got the true winner because it usually ended up as a tie and it became difficult to have a tie-breaker. But the best part of these matches was building friendships with our seniors and getting to know more about them; we always had fun playing against them and got to learn about the game more and more. We all used to hang around not just in court but outside the court, too.
After all these years of partying, playing and learning together, we could not let them leave without a fun, entertaining and joyous party. So, on 25th January 2024, Vapi Public School, Vatar, hosted a farewell ceremony, "Hearts on the Sleeves", for the Class XII batch of 2023-24 students. The students of Class XI organised the event together as a team to bid a memorable and joyful farewell.
The ceremony commenced with a welcome speech by the MOC team. This was followed by the melodious song sung by the students about the shared memories at school together. Then, the event proceeded with a heartwarming speech by the respected Director Principal of Vapi Public School, Dr Alpa Kotadia madam, who has always looked after her students and shared her wisdom for the betterment of others. She talked about their time at VPS and wished everybody luck for their future. We then proceeded with the ceremony by launching the school Yearbook at the hands of the honourable Dr Alpa Kotadia madam, which contained the Dreams, Confessions, Activities they liked the most in school, Values and Skills they learned and the words of our respected Director Principal they always carry with them.
After the launch of the Yearbook, the juniors planned some fun games for their seniors. After some fun and competitive round of matches, we moved to the award ceremony for class XII Science, Commerce and Humanities, where the students of XI standard awarded mementoes to all the students of XII standard by announcing some funny, relatable titles of students given by their classmates. This was followed by a Fun Skit performed by the juniors by recapping the year they had. After sharing waves of laughter throughout the room, the talented students of class XI had a dance performance coming up, which was aced by their stylish moves and some great showcasing of skills. After the entertaining performance by the juniors, the senior students shared a few words on stage about their experiences at VPS and all the things they will miss about the school. They shared how blessed they were to have teachers who helped them throughout the journey and how lucky they were to have a student-friendly environment at school every time. Moving ahead, students of XII science and humanities showcased their talented dance skills on the stage.
Reaching towards the end of the event, we had a cake cutting ceremony for the students graduating to celebrate the end of an era and the beginning of their new journey. The precious day ended as the students captured some memorable pictures together and with the teachers before they were served delicious food and beverages.
Rudra Naik
XI Science
