St. Joseph’s Institution International School Malaysia (SJIIM) recently held its first ever graduation ceremony on 23 May 2018 at its Tropicana PJ Campus auditorium. The ceremony which was attended by scores of graduates, school governors, parents, sponsors, teachers and VIP guests alike was graced by its Guest of Honour, Dato’ Br. Paul Ho FSC who is the Brother Auxiliary Visitor of the Lasallian East Asia District and the Brother President of SJI Singapore, sister school of SJIIM.
41 students graduated from SJIIM’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme this year which is a remarkable figure for an international school with its first graduating batch. Dr. Nicola Brown, the High School Principal of SJIIM was seen beaming with pride at the sight of the graduates’ achievement and performances. She congratulated the graduates on making it through the IBDP Programme with flying colours and mentioned that their presence in school has benefited SJIIM as much as they have gained from the teachers’ teaching. She further urged them to face life’s challenges head on. She also has confidence that they will do well due to their ability to view the world positively, with the will to succeed as well bringing others along with them.
Guest of Honour Dato’ Br. Paul Ho
Eng Ying Xuan receiving the Tan Sri Tan Foundation Book Prize Award from Dato’ Richard Ong
Besides receiving their graduating certificates, the inaugural graduation ceremony featured musical performances and inspiring speeches from the graduates which left everyone in awe and near tears. A total of 14 student honours were given out during the ceremony comprising 6 Academic Prizes and 8 Major Awards which includes the Sportsperson Of The Year Award, Outstanding Achievement Award, Lasallian Service Award, Academic Excellence Award, Principal’s Award, Arts Award, Tan Sri Tan Foundation Book Prize Award and the coveted Josephian of the Year Award.
Br. President’s Josephian of the Year Award and Tan Sri Tan Foundation Book Prize Winner, Eng Ying Xuan delivering his speech
Students’ Choice Speaker, Cheah Hui Qin delivering her speech
Eng Ying Xuan who hails from Penang, had the honor of being SJIIM’s first recipient of the Josephian of the Year Award. A true Lasallian all-rounder who excels in academia, music and service work, Ying Xuan credits the school’s Lasallian ethos which is rooted in faith, service and community and his teachers for his success and unbelievable education experience for the past 2 years. In his speech, he mentioned that he has never been in a school that has such strong focus on character formation as SJIIM. He exemplified this with proverbs in Mandarin, Malay and English that focused on reflection, gratitude and passion which, are some of the important non-academic lessons he has picked up from SJIIM. Ying Xuan also received the Tan Sri Tan Foundation Book Prize Award which was presented to him by Dato’ Richard Ong, Council Member from the Tan Sri Tan Foundation, one of SJIIM’s IBDP Scholarship Programme Sponsors. As for his tertiary education plans, he will be heading to the Ivy League, University of Pennslyvania in the US for a Degree in Computer Science.
One of the musical performances by Eng Ying Xuan and Catherine Khaw
Outstanding Achievement Award Winner, Catherine Khaw with her proud family and IBDP Coordinator Ms. Maureen
Cheah Hui Qin who was the Students’ Choice Speaker was equally elated and surprised with her nomination. In her speech, she thanked and credited her teachers and peers for her success and recounted the many happy memories she had in school. In particular, she paid tribute to her excellent Economics teacher, Ms. Smyth who inspired her love for community development and her future devotion to “The Last, The Lost and The Least” of the community. An experiential person by nature, Hui Qin will be performing stints with a Malaysian Think Tank and a local press before heading off for her tertiary studies.
The ceremony concluded with two musical performances by the graduates along with the singing of the school rally at the end. Everyone in attendance were also treated to a graduation dinner in the school after the ceremony to celebrate the graduates’ success. They took the opportunity to thank their parents and teachers one more time for their education in SJIIM. Many thanks again to all who came for your attendance and support. Ora et Labora!
Major Awards 2018 The Brother President’s Josephian of the Year Award Eng Ying Xuan Academic Excellence Award Tan Hong Xuan Principal’s Award Lee Mei Yen Sportsperson of the Year Annabel Leong Outstanding Achievement Award Catherine Khaw Hui Yang Lasallian Service Award Lam Yee Jane Arts Award Marc Lipit Academic Prizes Academic Subject Prizes These prizes go to Year 13 students with the top academic performance in each of the subject groups. Group 1 – Studies in Language and Literature Hana Ryaz Patel Group 2 – Language Acquisition Rachel Goh Group 3 – Individuals and Societies Linda Ridzuan Group 4 – Experimental Sciences Joshua Law Group 5 – Mathematics Visagan Ravindran Group 6 – The Arts Ooi Jing Ying| Eng Ying Xuan - Br. President’s Josephian of the Year Award Speech |
| _ |
| Cheah Hui Qin - Students’ Choice Speech |
