Open letter to my former teachers and schoolmates

Hello everyone at ISE. This is Adam Lorentzson (you know, that guy who was always hungry and always wore a hat) writing from Sweden. To be honest, I did plan a speech for the leaving ceremony, but it just did not really work out. So, I decided to write an open letter to share my thoughts.

ISE is a place where you can learn everything you’ll need to know to succeed. The education is top class and the teachers are supportive. I am used to both small and big classes, and there are benefits with both. The class I used to be in was pretty big, I think we had 32 students one year. I liked that quite a lot actually. At ISE the classes are very small, and that is also very good because the teacher has more time help you.

On the very first school-day I got the impression that all students and teachers at ISE are very ambitious, they really wanted to do well. Later on, I realized that the impression I got in the beginning actually was true. That actually surprised me, but in a positive way. If most of the people in the classroom are willing to work, the outcome will be sublime. ISE is a great example of that.

I really enjoyed speaking English every day. It took me some time to get used to speaking another language than Swedish at school, but after a few months I reckon that I got on with it very well. I found it pretty cool that everyone spoke English. I had conversations with people from all over the world, how cool isn’t that?? The English language is fantastic, it can be used almost everywhere and it gives you more opportunities.

I can remember those days before my first exam. It was December 2011 and I had no clue what to expect. My teachers and friends had already explained a hundred times what an exam is and why we have it, but I still didn’t really understand the whole exam-thing.

I’ll never forget on the very first exam-day, when I entered the classroom. I expected a test that would take me like seven hours and that I would be given no lunch. After a few minutes I understood that that was not the case. The test only took me 90 minutes and I was given three portions of baked pork when I finished the exam.

I had never touched an iMac before I came to ISE. That was a great experience, I learned a lot about Apple’s machines by using the iMacs. For me, the idea of typed essays is great. I prefer typing rather than writing with pen and paper, simply because it is a faster way of getting your stuff done and it’s easier to organize your documents and it also saves paper. My writing has improved drastically during my years at ISE and I am very pleased with that. To be able to speak and write in English is a massive benefit that I will try to make full use of in my future studies.

The teachers at ISE are very engaged in their students education. If you need help, doesn’t matter if it is during school time or at 6.00 pm, all you have to do is to send an email. The teachers will in most cases reply within the next two hours. I’ve been sending emails quite frequently to my teachers to make sure I understood the assignments correctly. And they have usually replied before I’ve gone to bed. Superb.

I’d like to thank all my teachers for the help and support you’ve given me. You’ve lived up to all my expectations and requirements during these years. Thank you very much.

I’d also like to thank Ms. Dee for everything she has done as my pastoral advocate.

I’d like to thank all my friends for these years. A special thanks to Dalius for the great moments and memories.

Also, a big thank you to Ms. Dee and Ms. Reelika for helping me to share this letter.

I wish everyone I’ve met at ISE good luck. Only sky’s the limit.

Kindest regards,

Adam Jack Lorentzson

😀