End of term ceremony and speech from the principal

This morning’s end of term ceremony was spellbinding with 800 garden torches lit all over campus, beautiful musical performances and a farewell speech from the principal.

Enjoy some footage from this mornings ceremony and read Principal Carina Nilsson’s speech here.

Dear Students,

the autumn term is now over and you are all about to go on a well deserved Christmas break, but first I’d like to say goodbye and send you off with these few words.

Most of you will receive Christmas presents or some other form of gifts during the holiday season. I would like to ask you to take a minute to reflect on the gift you are given here at SSHL. The gift of education lasts a lifetime. You may not open your gift this Christmas, you may not open it for many years but that is what school is about. We give you a gift which contains keys, keys that will prove useful to you in the years to come when you face new challenges. These keys help you open doors to new worlds and here you will receive tools you need to understand concepts which were previously incomprehensible to you. Keys which lead to the magical world of chemistry, to the worlds of mathematics and language. What’s more, at SSHL you are also given the keys to navigate social life and become good humanists.

When you come home this Christmas and your parenst ask you “What have you learned this term?” most of you will find it difficult to articulate an answer. The first time I realized how difficult this can be to articulate was when I was serving an internship for my teaching degree. As a 21-year-old intern, I stood in front of 25 students in a 7th grade humanities class when it suddenly hit me, “as a future teacher it is now my turn to pass on knowledge to the next generation”. This wouldn’t have been possible without the fantastic support I received during my school years, without all the teachers who spent time and effort on my development ensuring I receive the education necessary to become a knowledgeable member of society. When I got home that evening, I wrote a letter to the school that I had attended, Strinneskolan in Bjärtrå, thanking my teachers for the gift they’d given me through the years.

But it is not only the school I attended that I would like to thank, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you, all the wonderful students here at SSHL.
Thank you to all boarding students for the lovely dinners we’ve shared this autumn.
Thank you to the day students for giving the school a genuine connection with the surrounding community.
Thank you Student Council for our great collaboration.
Thank you students for brightening my days and greeting me so happily.
Thank you student organisations for your work.
Thank you everyone who has represented the school at various events.
Thank you everyone who has been brave enough to seek me out to address difficult matters.
Thank you everyone who has spoken their mind.
Thank you everyone who spreads joy around themselves.
Thank you for all your hard work this autumn term.
Thank you all for making this school so fantastic.

Take your time this holiday break to reflect over who you’d like to thank. Maybe it is your teachers/houseparents who have the taken the responsibility to equip you with the keys to face future challenges. Don’t forget to articulate your thoughts. The staff does a fantastic job every day here at this school.

I wish you all a well deserved Christmas break and I look forward to seeing you all again on the 8th of January. A warm welcome back, but until then, I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Carina Nilsson,
Principal