2020 is an unusual year.
On the very first day of school, President Carol announced the theme of this semester: “Positive Thinking”. Thinking in a good way means setting off on the right foot. Learning is a process that involves both teachers and students, and it’s a joint effort that makes a school better.
The pandemic interfered school life and students have had to take the online courses at home during self-quarantine. The outbreak also forced cancellation of the long planed graduation ceremony.
Graduates can’t wear graduation gowns, receive diploma in the hall, but it is still a ritual and a huge part of QEAer’s journey. QEA teachers sent their best wishes toward graduates in different ways.
Looking back, we had activities during the past year, witnessing QEA students’ growth and many unforgettable memories.
Opening Ceremony
As the highlight of the first week, QEA prepared many necessities for the students. After receiving school uniforms, they took the admissions test, played games and experienced simulated classes. The Opening Ceremony set a good start for this year.
QEASC Election
Candidates contributed their ideas on how to improve campus environment, develop more activities and make campus life more convenient. After the vote and approval by the teachers, the new Student Centre was finally formed. We hope they can bring
vitality to the school.
University Visiting
In autumn, students and guide teachers visited several prestigious universities in Ontario. Communicating with university admissions, students learned much first-hand information that they could refer to when deciding what college they will choose.
Public Lecture
QEA held various public lectures, from IELTS to college application. These lectures not only gave the school an atmosphere of intellectual earnestness, but allowed students to communicate and experience the university-mode classes in advance.
School Trip
Trips are opportunities for students to widen their horizons. QEA had organized many trips to different cities in Ontario. Students appreciated the culture and beauty of Canada in different seasons. Last year, students experienced Skiing, watched NBA game, had a Christmas party and visited Parliament Hill. QEA hopes to do more of this in the future.
QEA online courses
Everyone is facing a really tough time because of the outbreak of Covid-19. QEA opened online classes with flexible schedule and various platforms. The first online semester wasn’t easy, but students and teachers are now used to it. Grade three students graduated on time, and are waiting for the new challenges of college life.
Covid-19 Protection
QEA teachers headed to the designated location on time and brought back all bags of protective equipment the Chinese government prepared for the students. Each bag sealed by a sticker read “work together against the virus”. Students took photos on the
day back to school. Some recorded videos and put them online to encourage people around the world.
The past year also witnessed many academic achievements of QEA: QEA represents squeezed in the top 25% in the Canadian Senior Mathematics Contest. IELTS students raised their grade from 5 to 6.5 within only 2 months. On the Canada Youth Business Competition, QEA contestants analyzed business cases from different aspects with the knowledge they’ve learned and displayed their work to judges and audience. Passionate speeches on class enlightened students’ love for studying. The third QEA online school provided high quality teaching. Students also overcame difficulties and adapted to the new mode of learning, and graduated on time. High school learning is of great importance – it is not only to set the foundation for higher education, but also to benefit everyone’s future careers and lives.
By far, 412 offers from various prestigious universities have been sent to QEA graduates, including: University of Toronto, McMaster University, University of Waterloo, Queen’s University and other institutions in Canada and around the world, like University of the Arts London, The University of Sydney, School of the Art Intuition of Chicago and King’s College London. College majors covered a wide variety of professions, including business, computer science, biology and other popular majors. The scholarship provided for QEA students had an amount of 375,000 CAD.
A year of hard work went into a bright future. Graduates are excited for their college life. However, parents are overwhelmed by worries, after all, they are the people who cared for their children the most. During this graduation season, parents also had a full range of emotions, hesitation, concern and happiness. QEA received a load of letters from parents. They expressed their gratefulness to QEA and expectations for their kids.
Schools are seeing off graduates and welcoming new students. QEA left many memories for graduates – the clean and bright classrooms, the support from teachers, lifelong classmates, and the friends, who have shared all kinds of activities with one another. Students also left messages online, to show their wishes.
2019 was a wonderful year, and 2020 will be full of new challenges. The pandemic is still spreading itself in the world, but QEA graduates have to be brave, and up to new difficulties from college studies. QEA will always stick to its education principle and cultivate more great international students.
