Hoang Mai High School radiates youthful energy at its '20s'.

(Baonghean) - In the 2017-2018 school year, Hoang Mai High School celebrated its 20th anniversary. The journey so far has been marked by many remarkable achievements, making the school one of the best-performing high schools in the province.

Recalling the beginning of August 2017, right after the Ministry of Education and Training announced the results of the National High School Graduation Examination, the focus of the whole country turned to Hoang Mai High School because it was the first school to have a student achieve the highest score nationwide with a perfect score of 30 points. Calling Mr. Nguyen Ba Vinh, the school's principal, his voice was filled with emotion: "This is the greatest achievement of the school in its twenty years of establishment. We are truly overjoyed because this is the result of many years of continuous effort and striving!"

The joy of teachers and students at Hoang Mai High School on the school's founding day. Photo: Huong Ha.

Also at this exam, in addition to the national top scorer title, Hoang Mai High School had two runners-up and was one of the schools with the most students receiving commendations for high scores in the province. At the end of the 2016-2017 school year, Hoang Mai High School was also one of the schools honored to present a model report at the year-end summary conference organized by the Provincial People's Committee. After the teacher's brief but concise presentation, I noticed that quite a few teachers asked to take pictures of it to use as reference material and teaching experience...

Hoang Mai High School was established in June 1997 from a branch of Quynh Luu High School. Memories of those early days are still vivid in the old color photographs displayed in the school's traditional room.

Back then, difficulties were inevitable, because after its establishment, the school's greatest asset was the 20,000 square meters of land that Quynh Thien commune left to the school. To build 10 classrooms and a meeting room, the local governments of surrounding communes such as Quynh Thien, Mai Hung, Quynh Di, Quynh Vinh, Quynh Loc, and Quynh Trang had to each contribute 15 million VND to the school. Due to the lack of facilities, in the early years, because of the large number of students, teachers and students had to teach and learn in two locations, in two shifts, and had to rely on the premises of Quynh Di Secondary School to have enough classrooms.

However, despite the difficulties, the enthusiasm of both teachers and students in teaching and learning paid off. At the end of the first school year, 10 students achieved excellent results at the provincial level, 100% of students were recognized as graduating, and 20 students were admitted to university.

These promising beginnings laid the foundation for the school's future, especially in teaching and learning. To achieve this success, the school placed particular emphasis on improving the qualifications of its teaching staff. Throughout the teaching process, the school created all the necessary conditions for teachers to develop their abilities and creativity, and encouraged them to engage in self-study and research. Currently, 100% of the school's teachers meet the required standards, including 18 teachers with master's degrees, 15 teachers recognized as excellent teachers at the provincial level, and many teachers with A and B level innovative teaching methods.

Students of Hoang Mai High School on the day of the closing ceremony of the 2016-2017 school year. (Photo courtesy of the school)

Throughout its operation, the school has recognized that educational quality is the internal strength that determines its steady progress. Therefore, under any circumstances, teaching and learning are always prioritized and considered the central and important task for both teachers and students. To achieve this, the school has proposed 10 solutions, with the greatest emphasis on innovating teaching and learning methods, considering this the key solution. In addition, emphasis is placed on building school discipline and order, implementing emulation movements that contribute to the innovation of teaching methods, and organizing activities and movements effectively within the school.

In fact, compared to many other schools in the region, Hoang Mai High School faces more difficult enrollment areas, so the school focuses on classifying and nurturing students from the moment they enter 10th grade. Based on this, students receive a comprehensive education in both knowledge and skills, helping them develop their potential... The school also emphasizes tutoring for weak students and those at risk of dropping out, providing encouragement and motivation instead of criticism; and offering psychological support to students facing family conflicts...

Students from Hoang Mai High School participate in the awareness campaign. (Photo: Archival image)

Thanks to tireless efforts, over the twenty years since its establishment, this school has produced more than 10,000 high school graduates and over 5,000 students who have gone on to university. In terms of academic excellence, the school has produced one national third-place winner in Geography, four Bronze Medal winners, and seven Honorable Mention winners in English through the IOE competition; over 400 provincial-level outstanding students, and many achieving high scores in university entrance exams. Most recently, in the 2016-2017 academic year, the school had two science and technology innovation projects that won second prize, one first prize, seven second prizes, twelve third prizes, and two honorable mentions at the Provincial Student Excellence Competition, rising to 5th place out of 64 high schools in the province.

The success of the training results has also created a foundation and built trust among the government, the people, and parents throughout the school. This is also the "secret" behind the school's successful social mobilization efforts over the years, contributing significantly to achieving national standard school status in 2016. Words cannot express the joy of seeing that in a short time, from the initial 10 classrooms, the number of classrooms has increased nearly fivefold, with four spacious multi-story buildings, a fully equipped office building, and facilities for various organizations. Functional rooms such as those for foreign languages, computer science, the library, and the traditional room have been quite fully equipped with computers and projectors to support teaching and the application of information technology.

In addition to focusing on improving the quality of education, the school also promotes cultural, artistic, and sports activities, consistently achieving high rankings in traffic safety awareness competitions, men's and women's football tournaments, and arts and culture festivals at the district, town, and provincial levels. With these achievements, the school has received high praise and numerous commendations from leaders at all levels, earning the title of "Cultural Unit". The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union received a Certificate of Merit from the Central Committee of the Youth Union, and the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee awarded the school the title of "Outstanding Labor Unit" for the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years.

Students at Hoang Mai High School are having a practical session. Photo: Huong Ha

Evaluating the school's performance, Mr. Nguyen Huu Tuy - Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town - also affirmed: The success of this young school has contributed to creating resources for building Hoang Mai town to develop comprehensively in all aspects, from culture and education to economy and politics... This is also a source of talent, enabling Hoang Mai town to have a dynamic, creative, skilled, and qualified young intellectual workforce.

From the school leadership's perspective, looking back on the journey so far, despite the ups and downs, each step has shown the growth of the school's collective. The biggest lesson learned is that during operation, it is necessary to enhance the leadership and guidance role of the Party committee and Party branches in all school activities. Management practices must be reformed: Management staff must be deeply involved in their work, have scientific and practical plans, assign the right people to the right tasks, and regularly monitor and inspect to provide encouragement or promptly address any shortcomings. Regular reviews and summaries should be conducted to draw concrete lessons learned.

Furthermore, it is essential to build internal unity, where school leaders and administrators are dedicated, democratic, fair, and objective in their work, inspections, evaluations, and reward systems. Simultaneously, it is crucial to educate staff and teachers about their roles and responsibilities in this new era, fostering pride and enthusiasm for their profession.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Vinh, the school principal, shared: "Twenty years of development is not a long time for a high school, but the initial achievements have left a positive mark, affirming the school's position and the trust of the people and colleagues near and far. We also believe that, with the unity and efforts of the school's staff, Hoang Mai High School will continue to rise, excellently fulfilling its political mission in the coming school years and meeting the trust and expectations of the local government and the numerous parents and students..."

Huong Ha