Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thank you for attending our graduation ceremony. It has been twenty-four years since we started our English immersion program. It is very interesting that Cornel was the first and the only school offered the immersion program in Taiwan and now almost every school claims for having a bilingual program. Over those years, there are countless schools opened and closed. We are proud that Cornel is the only school stays. Our high quality program has kept us on the cutting edge in English education. We are very grateful for having supportive parents who have kept their children in our program for nearly ten years. Some parents even followed us from Hueigh Chung school to Nan Men after Hueigh Chung was closed after the land was sold.

This morning one of our students, David, came backstage with his parents to tell me that he has passed an arduous examination and is now eligible to attend the best high school in Taichung. They thanked me for helping David with his English learning. David has studied at Cornel since he was three and he wants to continue his lessons after he goes to high school. Running a school is a very demanding job for me, but the students’ outstanding performance and the parents’ support is what drives me to keep Cornel the best.

Last week the Ministry of Education announced that a standardized listening comprehension test would soon be implemented for high school students to take. This new policy panicked the majority students because they were worried that they would fail the test. We are very happy that we launched our Rainbow Time program nine years ago, and most of our graduates today were the first subscribers to the magazine. Now they are well prepared for this test.

At the Graduation Ceremony we invited one of our kindergarten graduates, Danielle, to give a short speech. Danielle has become a super star after receiving various awards from government sponsored activities. She is now a little ambassador for the government and even President Ma has summoned her. Danielle is not the only student deserving praise. Later we will also honor other outstanding students for their great achievements at Cornel. We hope that all the Cornel students will become well-rounded bilinguals and one day be able to shine in any field they choose.

Last week I went to China to discuss a collaborative project which will help us expand our program in China. In the meantime, our city government has agreed to introduce our Rainbow Time program to students in all of the 235 elementary schools. Students will gain reading certificates after they complete the on-line tasks. Moreover, the well-known Wen Zhi Zhen Foundation is going to animate and digitalize Rainbow Time magazine for all the students in Taiwan and China. All those exciting projects will allow us to offer Cornel students the most advanced and innovative instruction.

Last but not least, I want to thank all of the Cornel staff for their great contributions. Their devotion and diligence has brought our children the best English education. In these past few months we have worked very hard to prepare a very interesting and entertaining program for you. Please sit back and enjoy yourselves. Thank you for your everlasting support and I wish every graduate the best in his or her life.