The phrase “They clean up well” came to life on Friday evening, May 21, as Pudong campus middle school students participated in the 5th annual MYGNITE cruise.  This PTSA-sponsored semi formal event is a social highlight of the year for students, who spent the evening cruising the HuangPu river in celebration of the end of the school year. 

The event began even before the cruise, with a PTSA-provided snack in the cafeteria, and parents volunteering to help with hair and make-up in preparation for the night. Shedding their jeans and flipflops in favor of ties and dresses, the students then boarded buses for HuangPu, and the night that awaited them.

While the MYGNITE cruise is now a well-established tradition at Pudong campus middle school, this year we also tried something new. Under the guidance of Pudong’s resident rocker Mr. Jordan Small, five student bands entertained the crowd just before our buffet dinner was served. Most people then moved up to the third deck to dance and enjoy the wonderful scenery (enhanced by EXPO 2010) on both sides of the Bund.

As we ended our cruise and got ready to dock, Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” played in the background, causing nostalgic smiles to appear on many chaperones’ faces, who remembered their own middle school dances ending with the same song.  Three Hundred plus happy but tired youngsters and adults piled off the boat, with bright memories to guide them in to the summer and next year.

By Jeff Rosen, MS Vice-Principal, Pudong Campus