Dancing disco lights, floating balloons, tables elegantly adorned with awards and books, the inviting scent of Chinese and Western cuisine, and the sounds of mystical music were just some of the signs that a special occasion was happening in the Media Room on Monday, April 12, 2021 at the Maple Leaf International School-Wuhan. Students had been working for three long months to write, edit, illustrate, and publish a book, and finally, they could all show the fruit of their labor at their long-awaited book launch of their book, “Mystical Encounters”.  

Preparing for the Ceremony

 A few weeks before the launch, everyone started the preparation for the final stage of the process: inviting the guests, preparing certificates, setting up the site, rehearsing the launch process, ordering food, and writing speeches. On the day of the event everyone was proud to see how it was all coming together. Students and teachers had joined hands in the true Maple Leaf spirit of collaboration and team work to create an aesthetically pleasing venue for the launch. The beautifully decorated site called out to passersby. Meanwhile, the students assumed great leadership skills as they distributed the program sheets at the entrance and led the guests to their correct seats. The seats were decorated with balloons and bows, and the stage was decorated with books, medals, and trophies for the contributors. On the other side of the stage, there were Chinese and Western specialties, such as fried chicken, cupcakes, and dumplings.

The Long-Awaited Ceremony
The launch event began with welcome and opening remarks by moderator, student, Chen Weilin Vivian, who was also an editor of the book. She welcomed everyone and introduced the guests. Among the specially invited guests were The Foreign Nationals School and The Middle School who received a donation of books to their library.

Other special guests were officials from the High School such as the BC Principal, Mr. Michael Brown, and the Chinese Principal, Ms. Maria Ma. Dr Peter Froese, the Superintendent of Schools for the BC program was also in attendance and gave his commendation to the students and teachers who organized the initiative. After that, Mrs. Shaneka Henry-McLean, the teacher who guided the students in the completion of the project, introduced the authors and contributors of the book and congratulated them on their creativity, high standard, committed work attitude and strong leadership in executing the enormous challenge that was placed before them.

The Unveiling of the Book

After that, Chen Ziqi Jack, the team leader of the publishing team, gave a speech to share the experience of writing and publishing the book. After that, the most exciting ribbon-cutting session came. With music and a count down with the whole audience, Jack cut the ribbon as confetti was released, and this heralded the official launch of the book.

To give the audience the opportunity to learn more about the book, students took turns reading stories from the book. As they read their stories to the tune of Tu Fredrick Sicheng’s classical music on his guitar, Liao, Shitian Linda, Zhang, Xiang Ezreal, and Zhou Qingsulei Sophia presented books to the Foreign Nationals School, the Middle School and the High School library.

Awards to the Book Writers and Contributors
Finally, certificates and awards were presented to all the book writers, editors, illustrators, and publishers who made the work possible. Two books were distributed to each student and the authors and contributors of the books were honored with certificates and plaques.

This event demonstrated the outstanding ability and cohesiveness of the Maple Leaf students and teachers and brought out the best of teamwork.