Nghe An: Special opening ceremony in the border commune most heavily damaged after storm No. 3
Without the bright flags, the splendid stage, and the abundant material facilities of previous years, the opening ceremony was still solemnly held in the flood-affected areas thanks to the efforts of teachers, authorities, and people. These special opening ceremonies brought joy, hope, and a meaningful start to the new school year for students.
Keep the joy of the opening ceremony for students
As soon as the sun rose, Mrs. Vong Thi Pom (born in 1960, Xang Tren village) was busy preparing breakfast for her grandchild, so that they could leave home on the first day of school. After days of cleaning up the aftermath of the flood, she was worried that this year her grandchild would have difficulty going to school on the first day. However, thanks to the timely and decisive intervention of the government, the school and the people, temporary classrooms were prepared, the road to school gradually stabilized, creating conditions for the children in the village to attend the opening ceremony on the first day.
On the winding roads of Xang Tren village, the silhouettes of children, carrying new backpacks on their shoulders and books in their arms, chattered along with their parents. The children's clear laughter mixed with the bright red flags fluttering in the wind seemed to dispel the gloom of the village after the flood.
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This year's opening day is more special, as preschool students welcome the new school year with their elementary school classmates, while the old classrooms and schoolyard have yet to be restored.
Lu Hoang Lam (born in 2015, Xang Tren village) sat next to his teacher, his eyes still bright and eager for the new school year. Although his house was completely washed away in the flood, he and his mother had to take shelter at a relative's house. But with the love and care of his teachers and friends, he understood that he was not alone and that was the support for him to continue on the road ahead.
Less than 50 meters from the kindergarten, My Ly 2 Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities – which used to be home to nearly 200 students – is now just a pile of rubble. After storm No. 3, classrooms, functional buildings, and public houses were severely damaged; the school yard was covered with up to 4 meters of mud and sand; more than 22 computers, 3 laptops, 12 televisions, 5 refrigerators, 120 sets of tables and chairs, 2 projectors, along with all records, blankets, school supplies, and 1.7 tons of reserved rice were all damaged or swept away.
However, the opening ceremony of the 2025-2026 school year was still held emotionally at two special locations: Xang Tren village and Yen Hoa village. At the main school in Xang Tren village, 59 primary school students and 47 preschool children attended the ceremony in the grounds of My Ly 2 Kindergarten. In Yen Hoa village, the children gathered at the village cultural house, where students from separate locations were also grouped together.
There were no colorful flags or a splendid stage, but the traditional ceremonies were still solemnly held. Ten students of class 1A representing grade 1 were introduced by the principal and homeroom teacher, receiving encouraging gifts from representatives of the Party Committee and government. A small screen allowed the students to watch the opening ceremony online organized by the Ministry of Education.
In that simple setting, joy and hope still shine in the children's eyes. They hold hands with their teachers and friends to walk into the classroom together with pages of books with the scent of ink waiting for them...
Teachers and students "light the fire" for the new school year
Mr. Tran Sy Ha - Principal of My Ly 2 Primary School said that currently, 188 students of My Ly 2 School are studying scatteredly at 5 satellite schools. 16 classes from grade 1 to grade 5 are maintained thanks to the teachers' tireless efforts.
The roads to the schools are still dangerous, the teachers' accommodation is still lacking, many classes have to be combined into 2-3 grades due to lack of teachers. Despite the many difficulties, teachers and students here still persevere in teaching and learning, with the hope of soon rebuilding the new school, repairing the road from the main school to the remote locations, and restoring the suspension bridge in Yen Hoa village.
Amidst the mounting challenges, the aspirations of teachers and students here become even stronger: to soon rebuild a new school, repair the road from the main school to the remote locations, and restore the suspension bridge in Yen Hoa village. These projects will help the children's journey to school to be less arduous and dangerous, and teachers will also have less hardship on their journey to spread knowledge.
According to Mr. Tran Sy Ha, the school is trying to maintain learning at remote locations and temporarily borrowing the cultural house while waiting for the new school to be built. When the new school is completed, the students will be transferred to study in better conditions.
A new school year begins amidst many difficulties, but the studious spirit and solidarity of the entire community in the border area are still kindling faith every day, giving strength to teachers and students of My Ly 2 to continue writing pages full of determination and dreams.
