A Bright New Chapter Unfolds

The International School of Macao (TIS) held this year's Graduation Ceremony at Wynn Palace Hotel on Saturday, June 3rd, 2023. Attended by family, friends, teachers and TIS leadership, as well as guests from all walks of life, the event celebrated the graduation of 73 students. Guests included the Director of the Student Department of Education and Youth Development Bureau of Macao SAR, Mr. Chen Xuwei, and TIS School Supervisor, Dr. Howard Stribbell. 

TIS Class of 2023 have achieved outstanding results and have received offers from universities worldwide. These include the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Cyprus, Ireland, Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR etc. 

“TIS has given us self-awareness, confidence, both the determination and the perseverance to achieve exactly what we want in this life. Anything we chose to do, rest assured, we are prepared for that” Howard Lam, Class Valedictorian “Our school motto reads Knowledge Knows No Bounds, and well, neither do we”

This year’s graduates are about to embark on the next chapter of their lives, pursuing a variety of careers, including Business & Marketing, Film Production, Engineering & Design, Medicine, Biology and Psychology, among others. These graduates have a wide range of majors and interests, demonstrating the academic effort, self-confidence and motivation of TIS students.

To highlight students who have gone above and beyond in their academic pursuits or have made significant contributions to the School community, this year's award winners were as follow:

• Governor General's Award: Eliana Joaquim Ho

• Patrick Mitchell Community Citizenship Award: Jonathan Feather Ruggles

• Neil P. Johnston Fine Arts Award: Jonathan Feather Ruggles

• DSEDJ Lotus Award for Academic Excellence: Eliana Joaquim Ho & Tsun Hei Howard Lam

• DSEDJ Premio Li Bai Award for Academic Excellence in Chinese Language and Culture: Chen En Annie Chang

• Spirit of Canada Award: Jonathan Feather Ruggles

Mr. Lorne Schmidt, TIS Head of School, said in his speech that the achievements of this year’s graduates are a great source of pride. They have demonstrated exceptional abilities and qualities in a variety of subjects, including academics, athletics, extracurricular activities and community service. Their great efforts and perseverance are commendable and have been worthwhile. Mr. Schmidt believes that these graduates will continue to achieve an excellent performance in their future endeavours, making positive contributions to the community and the world.

Bringing the ceremony to a close, the Class of 2023 presented the music video for "Journey Never Ends," an inspiring class anthem led by Kelvin Liu. The video showcased their unity, talent, and celebration of the end of a chapter and beginning of a new journey. The emotional and heartfelt performances left a lasting impression, embodying the very values that make TIS so special. There is no doubt the Class of 2023 will be fairly missed, as they have left a mark on us all.