Skolavslutning Posted by Katja on Jun 8, 2010 in Culture
Some of you might know this day as “Speechday”, other might just call it “End of the school year day”. What ever you call it, it is a wonderful day for almost all students. The skolavslutning takes place on different days each year. usually the school term stops in the second week of june.
Most junior high schools have a church ceremony of some sort, without really having any religious point to it. Most of the schools have some singing including the national anthem followed by some typical summer songs. After that each class gathers to say goodbye to their homeroom teachers and if you are finishing 8th or 9th grade you will receive your grades for that year as well.
In some cities there are local traditions of giving flowers to each and every student when they graduate from 9th grade. But in almost every case teachers always receive flowers as end of term presents.
After the graduation ceremony in the morning family gathers to celebrate with cake and presents for the graduate. Even though 9th grade is a big event it is far from as big as graduating from high school.
How do graduating students get celebrated in your country? Is it a big thing or is it played down?
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Comments:
Ida:
Here in Croatia only the high school graduates have a huge bash at the end on the year, they go out on the streets and.. well, create chaos 😀 They douse people in flour, water, eggs, they dance and shout around etc. But usually, in elementary school or even in the lower grades of high school it’s just a normal school day like any other.
Visitor:
What’s the significance of the sailor hats that girls wear when they graduate from high school in Sweden?
Katja:
Most people in Sweden wear a sailor hat when they graduate, not only the girls. The hat is a symbol of graduation and finishing studying, it has been one since the 1800 hundreds.
Katja:
Ida, What does the flour, eggs and water symbolize?
LC in Seattle:
I attended school entirely in the US. The first graduation ceremony I went through was at age 14, but there was no cap and gown, just “Sunday best”. By the time my daughter left kindergarten, there was now a kindergarten graduation, complete with square academic caps made from paper. The event was mainly a reason for parents and grandparents to adore their little ones dressing up and performing, much the same purpose as a school play at that age level.
High school graduation is the full works with cap and gown and Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance No. 1. My school used a concert hall, although other schools may use their own facilities.
In the days leading up to the ceremony various groups hold evening banquets for e.g. scholarship recipients and their parents. In smaller towns, the only banquets may be for high school athletes and their parents.
Another tradition in many US schools is signing friends’ yearbooks, which are usually distributed shortly before graduation. This isn’t specific to graduates, although since graduates won’t return next year they probably have the most interest in getting signatures from teachers and others they won’t see again.