HFS 30th Anniversary...

Hyundai Foreign School just celebrated their 30th year Anniversary... and we had a lot of fun doing so.  First the kids were asked to dress up from the year 1982 or the 80's and there was talk that a lot of the boys were going to be Michael Jackson and the girls Madonna... we were not sure what we were going to do and after trying to persuade Pierce to be a ghost buster which he said NO to... I told him that I would make him a shirt and we could roll up his pants like the good ol' days and wear his hat croocked... he agreed... now I had to come up with a shirt.... this is what we came up with... if you know what this shirt says then you remember the 80's... so fun... but I think only me and handful of the parents knew what this was... Pierce's teacher had no idea...
 

Then all the parents were to come to an assembly for the big celebration, performance of a song and planting of a tree... Here are all the kids lined up on the floor ready for all the speeches... they were so cute.

 

Can you find Pierce... 

 

The new head master did a speech (this is his first year and he did a great job)... his speech even was funny full of 1980 flashbacks...

And the upper school had a speech contest and the winner would get to read their speech at the celebration... This boy did a great job and I was so moved by his speech (even had tears) that I asked his parents if I could share it with you... it really hits home and gives you a good picture of what these children deal with as expat children (third culture kids).  

His speech:

Hello ladies and gentlemen, and teachers, students and members of HHI.

My name is *** and I am a  year 7 student in H.F.S. 

Have you ever looked at this school and wondered about its past and the people who have passed through its halls?

When H.F.S was first built, there was only one building. 

Now you look at this school, and it has 3 wonderful buildings. 

You may think this school is small, but when this school was first made in 1982, there were only 15 students.   So looking back 30 years ago - it was - very small.  We now have 10 times as many students as we did in 1982.

Who loves our soccer field?  Well, 0ur amazing soccer field used to be a not so great tennis court.  
We use that soccer field every day now.  This is just one of the many things we are thankful for.

When you come to the compound from the main gate, you always see the colorful park right next to the soccer field, but that was not there before. 

That beautiful park we see now used to be an old playground that was a bit broken.

Now look at that park.  The floor that used to be sand is now soft squishy tiles. 

The old playground that used to be there, changed into an outstanding climbing frame for children. This is another thing we are  thankful for.

So I am very grateful for our soccer field, the beautiful park, and especially our incredible school, and I'm sure that most of you feel the same. 

I have been at this school for 4 years now, and I have watched many teachers and friends leave 

When the Dysons left this summer it really did shock me. Mr. Dyson was the principal here for 16 years. 

Mr.Dyson’s son, Kory, was a great friend of mine, a friend who helped me from the first time I came - to the very end. 

For example, when Nina left, I expect most of the upper school girls felt the exact same way as I did when Kory left …… depressed.

When Furio left, most of the lower school must have been depressed also.

Although maybe our good friends leave, there are always more - new friends - that we will gain.   …………………………   We can always gain more friends at H.F.S.

 What is unique about this school is that our friendships can be – even stronger - than friends in our own country, and that’s because we are all in this unique situation ……. together, and I am thankful for this.

Although Korea is a beautiful place, it is also a strange place for new kids in this school.

Think about it, our parents drop us off in a new country where many things are different:  people living in tall apartments, driving mopeds everywhere, eating kim-chi and rice every day, and speaking a language most of us don't know.  

There also are a lot of different people in this school, and we are all from different, strange countries – too  …….  But we are - all - in the - same - situation.  

That’s why we rely on each other, and - this - helps us - to become even closer friends. 

This is something you  probably don't have in your own countries friends from: India, America, France, England, Australia, Nigeria, Korea, Egypt, Wales, New Zealand, Croatia, Poland, Canada, Scotland and Norway and more -now that is – truly - amazing! 

Not many places in the world will have so many people from so many different countries.  This is why our school is - absolutely special. This is another thing we should be thankful for.

( P A U S E )

Thousands of bricks were put into these buildings. 

These buildings are great, but these buildings do not make this school …… it is the people who make this school. 

The building doesn’t matter - without the teachers there would be no school, without the parents that help us there would be no school, without HHI there would be no school, and in fact without us - the students - there would be no school. The people make the school! 

We want to say thank you to everyone who has helped make and improve this school, and thank you Mr. Livingstone for celebrating this day.

Then the kids had a suprise for us... a song... The eye of the Tiger...

Then the kids headed outside to put dirt on the new tree... they really made this day special.

Here's the tree and it even made it through the typhoon that hit 2 or 3 days later... 

 

 

 

A great morning and more memories to add to the bucket... really an honor to be a part of a school activity like this... hope all of these memories stick in his head and he can look back at what a blessing this time has been.