Hello and a very warm welcome to everyone and I should begin by noting a Very Happy Fourth Birthday to Merchiston International School! 

Let us begin with a round of applause to acknowledge that! 

Having opened in 2018, and building upon the foundations of Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh which opened in 1833, everyone involved in the operations at MIS can be very proud indeed of all that they have achieved. Merchiston Day, therefore, in Edinburgh and in Shenzhen, is an opportunity to celebrate and commend everyone in this Castle Hall and to praise all students, colleagues and parents for their loyalty and contributions. 

Now I must confess that, like the old man I am rapidly becoming, I love foundation days like today. They allow us to focus on not only commendations but also that elusive concept of ‘spirit’, or ‘culture’ if you like.  Days like today, celebrating the founding and establishment of the original Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, and the opening of MIS and also the new Merchiston Academy, are pivotal occasions in forging The Merchiston spirit. 

But - What does that even mean? What does ‘spirit’ or ‘culture’ mean in a school’s terminology? 

Well, for me, it invokes that sense of belonging to a school, and crucially the desire to be part of that environment too. It means embedding and believing in all the values of a Merchiston education, such as high achievement, in all fields, within a disciplined and caring overall framework, with kindness and integrity at the very heart of what we strive to do. In fact, this is at the very core of our Chairman’s beliefs – Mr Lyu is a passionate Merchistonian in every regard and he deserves huge applause for all that he has achieved thus far! 

Likewise, Andrew Hunter, the former Headmaster at MCS and our current Deputy Chairman of Governors at MIS, is the world’s expert on all matters pertaining to Merchiston & we are very fortunate indeed to be able to call upon his expertise and support. I look forward to his video in a few minutes time. Like Mr Lyu, both Andrew and Barbara Hunter embody the rich qualities of the Merchiston culture.

Although I am a mere Merchiston novice compared to Andrew Hunter and many others in this auditorium, I too am very proud indeed to be standing here before you.

I have mentioned previously how my mother worked for a period of time at Merchiston Castle in Edinburgh and, although I attended a separate (rival) Edinburgh institution, I fondly recall playing as a small boy, a wee laddie, at MCS and attending boarding House functions and school plays. I was proud then of my Mum’s involvement and I’m proud now. I mention this to highlight how the nature of a Merchiston education, the culture of belonging, really matters to me on a personal level. It is in my DNA I suppose.

So, Merchiston Day is an event to celebrate, and to recall past history and forge even stronger ties between the family of Merchiston schools, academically and pastorally. In fact, this feeds into the really great success of MIS – the way that it is continually evolving to blend traditions, between East & West, always aiming to create a narrative of British academic culture but within that uniquely Chinese setting.

Well done MIS so far!

Put Your Heart Into Our Family 

Good after everybody. I am here with students, teachers, parents and staff to celebrate the school opening four years ago. I want to say “Happy Birthday to MIS”. Happy Birthday to our big, strong and very warm family.  

Boys and girls, teachers and parents, I have a dream. I hope MIS will be the best school in Shenzhen. I want MIS to be the best British boarding international school in the Greater Bay Area, in China, and in the world. 

How can we be the best international school? I believe there is only one right way – “put your heart into our family MIS”. I believe we must do this in the classrooms, on the school bus, in the boarding houses, in the sports fields, etc. I believe if we want to be better, we need to ‘face to face, hand in hand, heart to heart’. We need to build a bridge between students, teachers and parents.  

I’m so happy because we are building this bridge now. We are building a bridge between Shenzhen and the UK, the US and the other countries now. We have 20 students studying in the Top 30 universities now. God bless our children.  

I remember four years ago, when MIS was founded in Shenzhen. That wonderful moment makes me happy and smile. But naturally we had some problems too, with catering, with the school buses, in the boarding houses. I was worried at that moment, but just one month later, everything became better.  

I remember Mr Andrew said to me that “No worries, Mr Lyu. MCS is one hundred and eighty five years old. Everyday happy, everyday has problems.” If you work hard and put your heart into it, everything can be better and even the best. If you don’t do this, the school can’t be better and can never be the best.” 

Boys and girls, teachers and parents. Today I want to say “Thank you so much for your support to our family. Thank you so so much to our expat teachers because you’ve left the UK 2 years ago. I want to say, “No worries. MIS is your big, strong, warm family. We are your good brothers and sisters. And the boys and girls are your children too.” 

Boys and girls, I want to say thank you so much to our children. Because of you, the school can be younger and vigorous.  

I believe you want to be good singers, writers, dancers, doctors and scientists. I believe you CAN. But I need to tell you that you must study hard and live a happy life in MIS.  Nobody can succeed without this. So studying hard, working hard is so important in your life. I believe you can make your future better. You can serve your family, your company, your country and the world. 

In MIS and MAS, I want us to do five H words. First, Healthy, for you body and heart. Second, Happy, for everyday life. Third, Hold responsible for your life. Fourth, Hard study to be an all-round person. Fifth, High achievement in the curriculum. 

Boys and girls, teachers and parents, in our family, some words are very very important, such as friendship, goodwill, respect and responsibility. High moral quality is the most important. I hope words can turn into actions. 

Thank you everybody. Thank you to every family member. I love you very much. 

Please be upstanding for our school song. 

大家好，热烈欢迎大家参加本次校庆活动，首先我想祝贺深圳曼彻斯通城堡学校四周岁生日快乐！

让我们用热烈的掌声对此表示祝贺！

2018年曼校深圳校区成立，继承了从1833年走来的爱丁堡曼校的百年基业，MIS的每个人都应为自己对学校的付出感到骄傲。因此，曼校校庆日给爱丁堡和深圳校区提供了一个绝佳的机会，让大家能在这音乐厅里共同庆祝和赞扬彼此，并感谢全体学生、家长和教职工对曼校的忠诚与贡献。

我不得不说，作为一个即将成为老头的校长，我很喜欢今天这样的校庆日。因为这样的日子不仅让大家表彰学校的成就，还时时刻刻展现着曼校精神和曼校文化。今天，我们三校同庆，庆祝古老的爱丁堡曼校的成立、庆祝深圳曼校的四周年、也庆祝曼校松山湖书院的成立。三校一心，弘扬曼彻斯通精神。

但是回过头来，“曼校精神”、“曼校文化”究竟意味着什么？

在我看来，曼校文化意味着大家对曼校有归属感和集体荣誉感，意味着大家相信并愿意践行曼校价值观，比如在井然有序、充满关怀的校园环境中，怀揣着一颗善良正直的心，努力全面争取最高成就。实际上，这也是董事会主席吕先生的教育理想，吕先生是一位全心全意为曼校服务的曼校人，在此让我们用热烈的掌声感谢吕先生！

此外，Andrew Hunter先生，作为爱丁堡曼校的前任校长和深圳曼校的董事会副主席，也是曼校专家，对曼校的方方面面都了如指掌，我们很幸运能获得他的专业指导与支持。稍后大家会在大屏幕上看到他从爱丁堡发来的贺电。吕先生和Andrew校长夫妇都拥有曼校文化的优良品质，值得我们学习。

相比于Andrew校长和在场的其他校领导，我在曼校的资历尚浅，但我为今天能在大家面前演讲感到自豪。

先前我提过我的母亲曾在爱丁堡曼校执教，因此尽管我在爱丁堡另一所学校读书，我也仍记得小时候在爱丁堡曼校度过的岁月和参与过的寄宿和校园活动。无论过去还是现在，我都为我的母亲曾在曼校工作感到骄傲。这也是一个证明曼校教育力量的鲜明例子，我对曼校文化所产生的归属感对我而言至关重要，它刻进了我的DNA里。

曼校校庆日是我们共同回顾和庆祝过去的成就、全面加强团结一心的曼校大家庭精神纽带的重要节日。这也正是我们成功举办MIS的原因之一，因为我们总是坚持融合中西方的文化传统，让英国精英文化在独特的中国土壤上生根发芽。

祝MIS再创辉煌！

将心注入，以爱育爱 

大家下午好！很高兴和全体师生以及家长们共庆曼校成立四周年。在此，祝曼校生日快乐，祝强大而温暖的曼校大家庭生日快乐！ 

同学们、老师们、家长们，我有一个梦想。我希望曼校能成为深圳最好的国际学校。我希望曼校能成为粤港澳大湾区、中国乃至世界最好的英式寄宿制国际学校。 

我们如何才能成为最好的国际学校？我想唯一的办法就是“将心注入，以爱育爱”。我相信我们要在课堂里、校巴上、宿舍楼里、体育场上都做到这一点。如果我们要进步，我们就要“面对面、手牵手、心连心”。我们要在学生、老师和家长之间架起一座桥梁。

我很高兴看到我们正在架起这座桥梁。我们正架起一座从深圳通往英国、美国和其他国家的桥梁。如今，我们已有20个毕业生在世界排名前30的大学里读书。 

我想起4年前MIS刚在深圳成立的时候，那是很振奋人心的时候。大家都很开心。但我们也存在一些问题，比如食堂管理、校巴管理和寄宿管理。我当时很担心，但是一个月后，一切就有所好转了。 

当时MCS前任校长对我说：“吕先生别担心，MCS拥有185年的历史，虽然每天大家都很开心，但每天也照样会有问题存在。”如果你勤奋努力，将心注入，一切都会好起来。如果你不努力，学校就无法持续成长。 

同学们、老师们、家长们，今天我想向你们道一声谢，感谢你们的支持。也十分感谢我们的外教，他们因为疫情已经2年不能回家了。我想对你们说：“别担心。曼校是你强大而温暖的家。我们是你的兄弟姐妹。我们的学生就是你的孩子。” 

同学们，我想向你们道一声谢。因为有你们，学校才能够变得青春四射、充满活力。 

你们想成为优秀的歌手、作家、舞蹈家、医生和科学家，我相信你们都能做到。但你们必须在曼校好好学习、快乐生活。只有这样才能取得成功。好好学习、天天向上非常重要。我相信你们能创造更美好的未来，你们能为家人、公司、国家和世界做出重要贡献。

在MIS和MAS，我希望大家能做到5件事。第一，保持身心健康；第二，保持愉快心情；第三，为自己的生活负责；第四，努力学习、全面发展；第五，在学业上取得成就。 

同学们、老师们、家长们，曼校大家庭有几个词非常重要的词汇：友谊、友爱、尊重、责任。道德和荣誉感高于一切。我希望大家能以实际行动展现这几个词。 

谢谢大家，谢谢每一位家庭成员，我爱你们。 

请起立奏唱校歌。