Participating the ceremony were Dr. Chu Xuan Dung - Director, Dr. Le Ngoc Quang - Deputy Director, and other representatives from the Department of Education and Training of Hanoi. Also, there were school boards of high schools with students joining this year’s national teams as well as leading teachers and 181 gifted students – members of 12 national teams competing in the National Competition for Gifted Students.

The crew was greeted with enthusiasm by commanders of the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Guard High Command. During the ceremony, Brigadier Cao Dinh Kiem – Political Commissar of the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Guard High Command – delivered a congratulatory statement to teachers and students for having outstanding achievements and for being the city’s most brilliant individuals. Cao Dinh Kiem proceeded to wish the students good health and abundant success with the forthcoming competition, looking forwarding to them becoming the nation’s best contributors in the future.

On this occasion, Chu Xuan Dung ­­­– Director of the Department of Education and Training of Hanoi – also thanked commanders of the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Guard High Command for providing the Department of Education and Training of Hanoi the opportunity to hold a meaningful event. He considered the event representative of not only the profound success of Hanoi’s national teams but also the kind of education built on the basis of President Ho Chi Minh.

In the quiet, solemn atmosphere, teachers and students of all 12 teams undertook the proper thurification ceremony to pay homage to President Ho Chi Minh, the beloved father of Vietnam. All 181 students were determined to attain the highest achievements in the forthcoming competition.

After the ceremony, teachers and students of Hanoi’s 12 national teams were showed around the historical site K9 - Da Chong - Ba Vi by the commanders. The stop was a stilt house where Uncle Ho used to live and work during the American invasion of Hanoi and Northern areas. The simple house was also the meeting place of the Party Central Committee. Additionally, the historical site was one of those in their original states. Every artifact was original, preserved almost perfectly intact just like when Uncle Ho was living and working there. Touring the locale, listening to the stories of Uncle Ho, each student gains a deeper understanding of the life, the revolutionary career of President Ho Chi Minh as well as his love for the nation. The country loves Uncle Ho, our beloved leader of Vietnam, too.

Students in the national teams visiting the historical site K9 - Da Chong - Ba Vi

With the competition date approaching, let’s hope the students stay calm, confident, and ultimately win the highest results in the National Competition for Gifted Students 2017 - 2018, since they deserve to become the essence of the thousand-year-old capital.

The Web’s Reporters

Photos: Mai Nhat Minh - History 16-19

Translator: Hai Dang - English 1 15-18