ISC-6 October Celebrates 10 Years
History is recorded in books, kept in chests & on minds, & narrated to later generations. However, some events that had passed us are often too special & close to our hearts that we long to relive them again.
The International School of Choueifat – City of 6 October, a school –or rather, a home-, had taken us on a journey of 10 years, in a sheer 5 hour period; five hours of non-ending entertainment, festivities, shows, and reminiscing, appreciative speeches, & all types of activities that plastered prominent smiles on the faces of the youngest toddlers to the eldest grandparents.
The event started with soft, lounge music to go with the heavenly, elegant lounge area where parents relaxed and socialized. After a while, Mr. Robert Kleynhans, our school director, took the stage & started his “Unforgettable Memories” speech, which literally took our minds down the memory lane. He recalled the founding of the school, tough times, times we laughed, & couldn’t imagine how much we increased in number – from a mere 84 to almost 1400!
After that, a student got on stage & beautifully recited a poem about the past 10 years. A couple of minutes later, we welcomed the band “Glass Onion” on stage. This band plays covers of The Beatles; their music was truly breathtaking & they sounded exactly like The Beatles. We were amazed when one of our grade 12 girls actually got up on stage & sang with the students. After the band was done, we were presented an astounding cheerleading dance routine with pop, up-beat music. The unique Dabke show then followed, with the traditional Dabke costumes & Lebanese moves & music.
We were given some time to hang out & enjoy the many food vendors, photo booth, origami corner, kid’s art corner, a Play Station spot, face painting, pop corn & cotton candy, jumping castles, & softball. Soon after, Mr. Ayche was on stage, ready for his “Birth of a School” speech. He left us with a video that rushes through the years, & showed us quite funny & embarrassing photos of our friends, & others that left us in awe & disbelief at the desert plot of land that became an amazing campus.
Shortly after the video, the grade 6 choir & our pioneers (students who joined the school in 2003) took the stage& sang our school anthem, supported by our loud cheering & singing along.
The 10-layered cake was then presented on stage, & we prepared for the extraordinary fire show. The fire show started with real flames dancing to some music, & ended with colorful fireworks that clouded the skies of Dreamland, & a kindled “10 YEARS” sign, each letter individually on fire! We were swelling with pride, & couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces. We then proceeded to give out over a 1000 cupcakes with the 10 year logo icing around the audience.
At the end, we thanked everyone, & our dear sponsors; National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Canadian Cardiac Care, & Promo Print, & were left with two hours of non-stop dancing. This is when it was teachers, students, parents, and workers really came together! One School, One heart, One team!
The event was an excellent wrap up to the 10 years, and was special in every single aspect. It had put our emotions in a whirl; we’ve rejoiced, laughed out loud, had tears in our eyes, & felt overwhelming pride to be the lucky students of ISC-6 October. Although it’s been 10 years on the calendar, it’s really been a whole lifetime for most of us here.
