“Liceu” awards diplomas of merit to students

Escola Secundária Jaime Moniz once again distinguished the academic merit of students in years 10 and 11, who stood out with averages equal to or greater than 18 points in the 2022/2023 academic year.

On “School Day”, a ceremony held this year on January 15th, the students with a high-level academic achievement were honoured in an event with limited attendance, for reasons of room limitations and security. Retired teachers and staff were also present in the ceremony. Today, it was the moment to contemplate all the other students who, in the previous year, invested heavily in their academic training, obtaining extraordinary results.

The president of the ESJM praised the students' meritorious work, hoping that they will continue to be “enchanted with the school”, always “committed to lifelong learning”. It is worth mentioning, as a pertinent note, the fact that, for the first time, three students from the Vocational Courses were also awarded.

In her speech, Ana Isabel Freitas highlighted the importance of the various agents in building the success of each student, since “no one educates themselves”. Alluding to current society, which surprises us every day, with signs of collapse in some areas, he argued that it is imperative to “value knowledge” in order to “transform” the world. In this resilient journey committed to the construction of knowledge, Ana Isabel Freitas sought to dismantle the erroneous myth that today only the sciences count, remembering, with great emphasis, the primordial role of the humanities, as “we need to know how to think, to dare to think, such as Enlightenment philosophers already warned”. Therefore, “all knowledge is equally important”, giving equally important importance to the “acquisition of new skills”, essential in changing the world and its paradigms.

The year 12 students from the previous academic year, awarded for their academic merit, but absent from the ceremony due to their current university academic commitments, certainly have unforgettable memories and challenges from their time in “Liceu”. Ana Isabel Freitas hoped that the school will foster in them “a desire to always want to learn”, also taking advantage of the opportunity to launch the challenge of being able to choose the profession of teacher, in a rewarding journey through a wonderful career of relationships and discovery of knowledge.

Leonor Nunes, aluna distinguida pelas notas obtidas no 12.º ano, marcou presença na cerimónia e leu um texto da sua autoria, titulado “Orgulho-me da Nossa Escola”, partilhando a experiência inesquecível de ter entrado em 2020 e saído em 2023 com um espólio pessoal riquíssimo de memórias e aprendizagens. De forma criativa e sentida, a agora estudante universitária de Direito, traçou um roteiro mental de um dia de aulas comum no “Liceu”, prestando homenagem aos profissionais que a ensinaram a crescer, às experiências extracurriculares vividas, nomeadamente no teatro, bem como a todos quantos a apoiaram a crescer e atingir o mérito escolar, desde a família aos docentes e funcionários. Memórias irrepetíveis que a aluna tão bem descreveu com evidente nostalgia. Por fim, todos os alunos receberam o seu diploma de mérito pelos resultados obtidos, tendo-se seguido um salutar momento de confraternização.