OfficialKolainuMagazineFinalSpreads(with Bleeds)

Shema Kolainu | Graduation Class of 2016
A Graduation of
Growth at Shema Kolainu
Graduation was a colorful event to say the very
least. The children were ecstatic and proud to have
their parents there. Each class had prepared a musical
performance with the music therapist and as
you looked around each room the work that had
progressed over the year was evident.
Even the most withdrawn children seemed to be
brought out of their shells when they heard the familiar
melody and you could see their eyes light up
when they heard the happy beat and sang along.
Some of the children played instruments when
prompted and others used a microphone to sing
portions of song lyrics. One child, Zachary, chose
to play the piano. He had been gearing up for this
from the beginning of the ceremony and could be
heard exclaiming how excited he was to play the
piano.
In another classroom, all the students sang along to
a cover of the current pop song “The Story of My
Life” in which their teacher had changed the lyrics.
They all came in on the Chorus of the song to passionately
shout “The story of my life: you gave me
love, you raised me right, and now I’m grown and
I’ll keep growing. The story of my life: my teachers’
love, my friends all ‘round, oh how I’ve grown inside.
I’m growing.”
By the end of the ceremony, one parent had tears in
her eyes as she looked on lovingly at the students
and it was clear that each year, students, parents,
and teachers alike, all grow a lot more together.
4 | GRADUATION CLASS 2016 GRADUATION CLASS 2016 | 5