Che Cheng Elementary School in Nantou County’s Shueili Township has a history of 60 years. After it sent off its last batch of graduates on Monday last week, the school itself is set to “graduate” and take its place in history. In response to the declining birthrate, the county government turned Che Cheng Elementary into a branch campus of Shueili Elementary School one year ago. It also decided that, from August this year, the students from the branch campus would be incorporated into Shueili Elementary School. After the school held its final flag-lowering ceremony, Che Cheng Elementary also officially marked its closure, making the teachers and alumni who took part in the ceremony rather sad.
Shueili Elementary School principal Chou Chin-ko made a point of joining the branch school’s graduation ceremony. Chou said that, with the trend of a declining birthrate and ever-fewer new students in Che Cheng Elementary’s district, the county government had no choice but to merge these small schools to make their learning environment more competitive and efficienct. To allow the students to smoothly adapt to their future learning environment, the school arranged some time ago for students to go to Shueili Elementary on Fridays to attend school club activities, in the hope that group interactions would help the children to quickly get used to their new surroundings.
Che Cheng branch campus kicked off the graduation ceremony with a display of old photos showing the classes of years gone by. Many alumni who had heard about their alma mater’s closure rushed to the school to attend the ceremony, where they talked to the younger generation of students about the school’s past. The school’s 15 remaining students presented the dance skills they have learned, and four graduating students sang a farewell song, seemingly expressing their sadness to their guests. Finally, after everyone gathered on the playground to attend Che Cheng’s last flag-lowering ceremony, they bid an official farewell to the school that has been a part of the community for 60 years.
Photo: Liu Pin-chuan, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者劉濱銓
(Liberty Times, translated by Zane Kheir)
有六十年歷史的南投縣水里鄉車埕國小,上週一歡送最後一批畢業生後,學校也要跟著「畢業」走入歷史;縣府因應少子化,一年前車埕國小已成為水里國小的分校,並核定今年八月起分校學生併入水里國小,校方上週一舉行完最後一場降旗典禮後,車埕國小也正式畫下句點,讓參與師生和資深校友相當不捨。
水里國小校長周進科特別參加分校的「畢業」典禮,周進科說,因應少子化趨勢,車埕地區新生數愈來愈少,縣府為讓小校有更具競爭力的教學環境與效率,併校也是不得已的做法。為讓學生順利銜接未來的學習環境,校方早就讓學生每週五到水里國小上社團課,盼藉團體互動能讓學生更快適應新環境。
車埕分校「畢業」典禮在展示各屆老照片中揭開序幕,許多得知母校即將「畢業」的校友也都趕回來參加,並向學弟妹訴說當年的校園往事,而全校十五名學生也以舞蹈展現學習成果,並由四名畢業生演奏驪歌,彷彿是向與會嘉賓表達不捨,最後大家操場集合參加在車埕的最後一場降旗典禮後,正式向陪伴一甲子的學校說再見。
(自由時報記者劉濱銓)
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