GMS holds recognition and commencement exercises at SWR

Green Meadow School officials, staff, and students converged on Saipan World Resort’s Royal Taga Hall last May 23, 2021, for two ceremonies—an awards and recognition day for non-graduates and commencement exercises.
GMS segmented the morning into four separate time slots—two for the recognition ceremony, one for pre-school commencement exercise, and one joint elementary and middle school commencement exercise. With each ceremony, a different keynote speaker honored the venue with their presence and wisdom.

Awards and recognition ceremony

GMS held the first recognition ceremony at 7am for its Kinder-4, 1st grade, and 2nd grade students. The young falcons were all seated at the Royal Taga Hall’s main stage facing their family members and teachers.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Tai Doram, a certified cognitive behavior consultant, behavior specialist for the Public School System and current chair of the CNMI Behavior Health Planning Council. Doram, as a parent of a GMS student in preschool, urged parents to be the salt for the sake of their children—to enhance, enrich, and nurture their child’s potential.

Soon after the banquet hall was vacated, GMS continued the second half of the recognition ceremony for the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th grade students.

The keynote speaker was Robert Hunter, who is a senior policy adviser at the Office of the Governor. Hunter is a long-time active parent leader for GMS since enrolling his daughter at the school over eight years ago. During his time at the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, he has worked closely with GMS and spoken on several occasions during parent leadership meetings. Hunter shared that his daughter, who was part of the graduating middle school class, and her growth and education has always been his priority.

Commencement exercise

The first batch of Falcons—the term for GMS students—gracing the Royal Taga hall with their little graduation gowns were the Kinder-3 and Kinder-5 class. Seven K-3 and Seven K-5 students walked down the center of the venue for their graduation processional march.

The keynote speaker was Erlaine Evangelista, an early learning specialist and coach from the Evergreen Learning Center, who was speaking on behalf of their program manager, Dr. Jasmin Niedo. Evergreen has worked closely with GMS over the years, alongside with the Child Care Licensing Program Office, to support quality standards in early childhood development in the CNMI. Her message centered around fostering the natural curiosity of young ones, allowing them to find their passion.

The school’s 5th grade and 8th grade graduates then marched down the hall for their graduation ceremony. This graduating class’s keynote speaker was Education Commissioner Dr. Alfred Ada, who shared the many accomplishments and milestones that GMS has already achieved. His message highlighted the theme of the event “Your mind, like the eagle with its mighty wings is capable of soaring to greater heights.” “Education is both your right and it is a need. It is both essential and critical that we all take advantage of this privilege.”

For more information about Green Meadow School, call 235-2185, email info@greenmeadowschool.net or visit its main campus in Chalan Kiya past the Saipan Health Clinic. (PR)