The Last Bell

No stuffy graduation ceremonies here in Russia! This is the time of year when bells are ringing!!! Students in the 11th grade have completed high school and this is their final celebration. They march in singing the school song.-- the girls usually wearing white blouses, white bows in their hair, and dark skirts; the boys in suits. This is the same way they dress when starting 1st grade. Then a first grader riding on the shoulders of an 11th grader rings the last bell. Each school has different traditions, but they usually include: singing, dancing, poetry, and speeches. There is nothing boring about this day! After the ceremony is completed, the students are free and usually go on a picnic to the forest and have "shashleek" -- Russian barbecue. Sometime in June the students will return to school and complete their final exams and begin studing for entrance exams for the university.