Interspersed between classrooms with familiar lecture sounds, in the yard, two groups of students are carefully hanging red lanterns on the trees.
Below, the teachers attentively observe and adjust so that the lanterns are hung in the right position. For many students, this is the first time they have prepared Tet themselves, in a disciplined environment but still leaving space for very ordinary emotions.
In another corner, in the library room, a group of students attentively decorate wall newspapers. Colored papers, letters, and drawings are meticulously completed. Some students meticulously mark each line of text, some students diligently color the spring painting. On the wall newspaper pages, images of apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, and banh chung appear next to lines sharing about family, about the desire to correct mistakes and rebuild life.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Mai Dai Duong - Deputy Head of the Department of Educational Records, Reformatory School No. 2 - Ninh Binh, Tet preparation work at the school was deployed early and has specific plans. Activities such as making wall newspapers, decorating classrooms, living rooms, preparing five-fruit trays are organized synchronously, creating conditions for students to participate together.
The goal is not only to create a Tet atmosphere but also to help children feel care and sharing, thereby having more motivation to practice," Lieutenant Colonel Mai Dai Duong said.
Also according to Lieutenant Colonel Mai Dai Duong, letting students directly participate in the preparation process helps them form a sense of responsibility, know how to cherish traditional values and understand that Tet is not only a time for rest and reunion but also an opportunity for each person to look back at themselves.
Within the framework of a reform school, these seemingly small activities have great significance for the process of educating and reforming students.
Tet days at the reform school have a very unique color. The school will arrange a separate reception room for parents to visit their children. In case the number of visitors is large, meetings will be arranged in rotation to ensure order and time for all families.
Parents are allowed to bring gifts to their children, but must declare them fully. Unsafe foods or stimulants are eliminated right from the inspection stage. That strict process both maintains general order and ensures safety for students during Tet days.
For many families, visits during Tet are short but have special meaning. That is the moment parents see their children with their own eyes after a period of training, the time when words of encouragement and reminders are spoken more slowly and sincerely.
Not only families, before the New Year, Ninh Binh Reformatory School No. 2 also welcomes many delegations from localities. Visits and words of encouragement are sent to each student, encouraging them to strive to practice, well comply with regulations to soon have the opportunity to return to their families and reintegrate into society. For many children, it is a great source of spiritual encouragement, especially when Tet approaches, homesickness becomes more intense.
In a small room, Luu Bich Tram - a female student - shared in a low voice: "Tet is coming soon, I miss home so much. I'm sad because of a mistake that I had to leave my family, not being able to celebrate Tet with my parents.
Speaking to this point, Tram paused for a moment and then continued: "My dad told me to try my best, he will come to visit me during Tet.
For Tram as well as many other students here, Tet is no longer about full family meals or New Year's Eve moments with loved ones. Instead, it is a quieter Tet, within the framework of discipline, but still with warmth from teachers, friends and timely encouragement.
These things help them have more patience and more faith to continue the training process.
Stories like Tram's are not uncommon at Reformatory School No. 2. Each student carries a circumstance, a mistake in the past. But in the last days of the year, amidst the red color of lanterns, the smell of new paper from wall newspapers, the care of teachers and family visits, Tet here is not just a moment of New Year's transition. It is also a moment of silence for them to look back at themselves, nurture hope for a better start, when the door to return to family and society will one day open.
