“Captain” of the sailing ship of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School

This article, in fact, is not a story about me. This is the story about Mrs. Le Thi Oanh - the powerful “captain” to many generations of Amsers.

It was an afternoon after class. I rushed to Mrs. Oanh office to get her signature to my application profile. I expected the procedure to end in 10 minutes, just like how other application profiles are dealt with.

What came to me as unprecedented was that, my time spent with Mrs. Oanh gave me a different perspective of her. She asked me what class I was in, what difficulties I was facing while preparing for the test. With her composure, she continued to asked me to share about my future goals. To be honest, I couldn’t remember much our conversation. It was simply because of the fact that such “pep talks” before the examination was so familiar, sometimes even boring for me.

But Mrs. Oanh had something very special. While other teachers mention examinations in such a serious manner, Mrs. Oanh treats the topic differently. She always smiles - not just any typical smile - but a bright and confident smile. Her smile shines, but not too vibrant. It is such a soft smile, yet has the power to light up in the dark. At the end of our conversation, she wished me luck with my choices and reminded me to always reach for success wherever I go.

After that day, my worries were all cleared up. Perhaps. Mrs. Oanh knows her students so well that she is always aware of what to say and do to help her students gain confidence and maturity - the refined manner and attitude of an Amser.

I’m pretty sure that my story is just one of thousands of stories about Mrs. Oanh, for the fact that she is a “mother” to thousands of Amsers. Sometimes, our principal would tell a student who lived far away and had to save his breakfast for later, that “Never miss out on your meals!” At other times, seeing a student observing Ams quietly in a corner, she would approach him and ask “Isn’t it so hectic, both for Ams and you?” Although I heard a majority of these stories by words of mouth, I could myself imagine Mrs. Oanh and her smile in such cases.

We all think of Mrs. Oanh as a strict and disciplined woman, a powerful woman in bright red, a demanding teacher and a distant principal. Of course, a principal needs to invest her time in major problems. As a “mother”, however, she would always fend for her children, no matter what gets in her way.

What we have never been able to learn about Mrs. Oanh is all the little things of Amsers that she cares about, is the motherly side of a strict principal that we can hardly see on the outside. What we see every week on the podium is just a mere figure that is built upon the rules she set out for the sake of the best development for Ams. No one expects Mrs. Oanh to be so friendly, so calm and attentive to her students; to appear in times of hardships and to give such constructive comments that students shall remember forever.

I wish that Ams was smaller. So that all students can feel the love and care from Mrs. Oanh. For the fact that Ams is so big, not everyone can understand how crucial the support of Mrs. Oanh has been. Perhaps, this is why whoever gets a chance to experience that different side of Mrs. Oanh always keep it to themselves.

After 3 years in high school, or for those from Ams 2, or even people who have spent 7 years in Ams, they shall remember the head teachers who have directly taught us and guided us to spread our wings and fly to new horizons. However, never forget that behind all of that, there is one woman watching every step of us into adulthood - the “mother” of Hanoi - Amsterdam.

Thank you Mrs. Oanh for both the grand and ordinary moments you created for us students. Thanks to you, we are now enjoying ourselves under the same wonderful roof of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School!

Reporter: Le Minh Trang – English 1 1417

                  Ho Thi Mai Trang – Physics 2 1417

Translated by Tran Nguyen Hong Minh – English 1 1720