Crazy English for Mathematicians

Tuesday, 12 May 2015

GRADUATION MESSAGES:

Hip, Hip, Hooray! You did it! Congratulations!
This calls for a celebration, so let's celebrate!

Happy graduation!

Cap and gown. Books are done.
Look out world. Here you come!

Con-GRAD-ulations!
To a real class act-
you made the grade! Congratulations!

Congratulations, Graduate! The sky is the limit!
With knowledge in your hands,
and an open heart,
you'll have nothing but success. Congratulations!

Whatever your dreams might be,
may each become a reality!

Happy Graduation!
Wishing you the special happiness of seeing your dreams come true.

Congratulations on your graduation!

Caps off to the graduate! Congratulations!

Upon your graduation, hold your memories in one hand,
but leave the other open...
for your life is just beginning,
and the world that awaits you is endless.

The future is a rainbow of beautiful tomorrows,
when you hold a dream in your heart!

Congratulations on your graduation!

Now that you have been educated, sophisticated,
matriculated, articulated, and graduated...
Consider yourself congratulated!!

Reach for the stars and always keep dreaming.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Congrats! Hats off to you!

The world is waiting for you. Go for it!

Congratulations! You did it!!!

Every yesterday is a memory of dreams.
Every tomorrow is a vision of hopes.

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you'll be among the stars.

Group 2 Task

Dress the part for a once-in-a-lifetime event that's rich in style and traditions.

Ceremony Basics

There's no greater recognition of a graduate's achievements than a high school graduation ceremony, or commencement. Diplomas are "conferred" or handed out to graduating seniors and the speakers selected for this event often include community dignitaries, alumni and students. The valedictorian, the highest-ranking academic student in the graduation class, usually speaks.

Many schools have to restrict attendance for space reasons. Make sure to check with your school to see if there will be limitations on the number of people you can invite to the ceremony. If your school has space restrictions and you're facing a dilemma about who to include, try these tips:

Talk to your friends and family members and explain that while you want them at graduation, each graduate is allowed only a limited number of guests. Most people will understand and even possibly volunteer to give up their ticket so that someone else may attend.
Consider inviting only one grandparent or aunt or uncle from each wing of your family.
Come up with a creative solution that will feel fair to everyone, such as drawing names.
Let everyone who is not able to attend know they will be invited to the graduation party. Make sure to share your photos and videos to make them feel included.

Ceremony Etiquette

Some schools embrace lively and free-spirited graduation ceremonies. But before you break out the beach balls and noisemakers, consider these factors:

What are the traditions of your particular school? If graduation is a more formal and somber right of passage, it's probably better to replace whooping and hollering with applause.
In most schools, the handing out of diplomas is a quick and orderly process. Make sure that when you show pride in your graduate, you aren't drowning out the recognition of another.
Life's milestones deserve everyone's full attention. Turn off your cell phones and resist the urge to text until the entire ceremony is over. Remain in your seat until the last students receive their diplomas so that they feel properly acknowledged.

The Cap and Gown

Preparing to march to "Pomp and Circumstance" requires wearing the traditional graduation cap and gown, a tradition that dates back centuries to the early universities in Europe.

Here's how to wear your cap and gown:

The graduation cap is worn flat on the head, parallel to the floor. The front point of the cap should be centered on the forehead.
The graduation gown should fall midway between the knee and ankle.
Men should remove their graduation caps during the school song and the National Anthem.
Tassels are usually worn on the right side and shifted to the left when graduates receive their diplomas.
Men generally wear dark trousers and dress shirts and ties under their graduation gowns.
Women generally wear lightweight dresses or blouses and skirts that do not hang below their graduation gowns. They can also wear a detachable white collar that adds a more finished, decorative touch.
Flowers and jewelry should not be worn on the academic gown.
Caps and gowns can be accessorized with specific regalia like stoles and honor cords in keeping with the traditions of the school.

Group 1 Task

It's the end of an era! Graduation means that life as you know it is about to change.

We all try to make the transition as painless, fun, and important as possible by throwing parties, giving $25 checks in tacky cards, taking roughly 14 million pictures, and having very very formal ceremonies in weird flat hats. (When you throw your hat in the air, do be careful, eyes can get poked out when the hats come back down.) This is all good and exciting, but it can also be exhausting. There is a lot of protocol and rehearsal, and you have to have a small talk-y conversation about your future with everyone you've ever met because they're all at your house, eating crackers and cheese and looking at your baby photos. But who cares?! The money, presents, parties, and polyester gowns are all part of our tried and true traditions.

But not everyone does it like America. Some countries do some pretty weird stuff to commemorate graduation:

Argentina: If you are a senior in Argentina, your worst nightmare is the second you're done with your last exam. Imagine you're taking the very last test of your high school career. It's a doozy, and you're all, "Let's DO this, let's get this over with," because then you can relax and celebrate, right? Ummm sort of. Outside the classroom, your friends are waiting to basically assault you with every sticky disgusting, throwable, stinky food they could find. Ketchup, syrup, pepper, bad yogurt! Plus scissors to cut up your clothes! It is like a full-on, super fun, crazy person attack, but everyone is having a great time, because, fun!*

*insane.

Russia: Here, graduation is called The Last Bell. As in "This is the last school bell you will ever have to listen to! Go! Be free and responsible!" The girls all wear black dresses with white aprons in an homage to their Tsarist-era school uniforms, which seems weird, but then you see that they're just mad cute, and it's fun to wear a costume and not a sweaty weird cloak. Then all the graduating students line up in front of the whole school, to sort of be like, "we're out of here friends, have fun" and then leave and party. Ms. Universe type sashes are also worn.

Italy: We found that for a lot of countries, graduation is an exercise in public humiliation, and Italy is no different. There are so many kinds of high schools with different concentrations that the ceremony varies for everyone, but it is often some form of dressing in an embarrassing costume, being covered in food by passers by, or hopping around with your shoe laces tied together. Your mother is also probably there, holding a laurel wreath and beaming with pride. God.

Sweden: This is it. This is where the party is at. You may be surprised, but Swedes know how to let loose. Here's the itinerary:
-Meet at the park for a breakfast champagne toast. Legal.
-Put on white sea captain hats and sashes. (These hats will be covered with notes and well wishes by the end of the day.)
-Meet again at the school. Start chanting and singing as you exit that place for the last time ever.
-As a group, sing your way out to the street where there's a mob of families holding signs with giant embarrassing pictures of everyone's childhood faces.

-Climb into your respective make-shift truck bed/parade float and ride around town all day drinking champagne, singing, yelling, and stopping to take the occasional swim in the public fountains. Tradition! It almost makes high school worth it.

Does your school have any weird graduation traditions?