The coronavirus lockdown put a major damper on spring graduation ceremonies across the Town and Country This Week region, but schools are cautiously looking forward to the fall to at least have some kind of recognition for their graduating students.
Aspen View Public Schools trustees discussed what was being planned for the five graduating classes in the division at their May 7 meeting. While still very, very tentative, dates have been chosen to celebrate their students’ success.
“I know everything is still up in the air, so we can’t have definitive answers, but I think each school has a little bit of a plan moving forward and I think it’s important to communicate that it’s not a real solid plan, but there is some kind of plan forward for our students and families,” said board chair Candy Nikipelo.
At Boyle School, Sept. 5 has been marked on the calendar; Thorhild Central School will send off its grads Sept. 12; and Vilna School will follow the next weekend Sept. 19. H.A. Kostach School in Smoky Lake is scheduled to celebrate their graduates on Sept. 26, the same weekend as Athabasca’s Edwin Parr Composite School.
Superintendent Neil O’Shea stressed again that every plan is tentative and will be looked at again and again as regulations are lifted as per the COVID-19 situation and directions from the province.
“My direction to all of our high schools was to make sure that they understand that these plans are tentative and they would only proceed if we were allowed to do so, based on Alberta Health Services recommendations and direction from the Alberta government,” he said.
Trustee Dennis MacNeil suggested the division devise a standard protocol for schools around the division to make sure each school is allowed the same amount of leeway to celebrate. For instance, if one school is only allowed a convocation ceremony, but no banquet, that should be applied to other schools as well.
“I think it would be incumbent upon us to put a protocol in place … to make sure there is consistency across the division. I think that would be fair to our students and our communities,” he said.
Vice chair Anne Karczmarczyk commented that based on those she has spoken to, the commencement portion of the celebration was probably more important than a banquet.
“I think graduations are probably the most sacred and traditional events in a lot of our schools and I do believe that our board needs to think very carefully about making a decision that affects all of our schools,” said O’Shea. “I certainly understand the need for consistency, but we need to be a little careful in how big or how small these need to be.”
In Westlock, R.F. Staples School and St. Mary School are also planning to give their graduating seniors a ceremony of some kind, but any such plan has been postponed until the fall.
At R.F. Staples, the convocation committee is certain that some form of celebration is going to happen. What that is, associate principal Perry Kulmatyski says he isn’t sure yet.
A surprise for the 130-person class is involved for early June and students got a glimpse into what it might be on May 11, when they were asked to submit a baby photo and a short bio.
“In terms of the actual ceremony, we talked about it as a division and we’re putting that on hold until the fall. We are planning to do something, we just don’t know what the rules of engagement are,” said Kulmatyski.
Those sentiments are echoed at St. Mary too.
“We’re definitely committed to doing a ceremony for them at some point. It won’t be in the summer. I’m hoping early fall, just because I know that these kids have been through a lot. Our basketball players, when they found out that zones and provincials were cancelled, there were a lot of heavy hearts,” said principal Vance Nakonechny.
He added that what was supposed to be the greatest year of their lives hasn’t transpired that way for the class of 2020.
“We’re trying to keep as many of the traditions that we have been doing. We always have a class adopt a graduate, they do a little biography of them and the kids do a story. We’d like to keep that going. Some of the other traditions that we have, we’re talking about how to keep that going.”
There’s no date set yet for either school. Kulmatyski said determining a date this far in advance would be premature.
“One of the things we’re asking our students: what would be the most important part, if we have to do an abbreviation, for us to try to include in the convocation ceremony? Is it the speeches? We’re definitely thinking of them and trying to ponder how we can offer and what we’ll do.”
At St. Mary, Nakonechny had a meeting with the graduates to announce the plans on Thursday. With the support of parents, they’re hoping for a Saturday in the fall. That way, those who have gone away for post-secondary get the chance to attend.
“For the first time in probably St. Mary history, we’ve got a class bigger than the public gathering allocation. I don’t think that’s ever happened before,” joked Nakonechny about the 18-person graduating class.
With files from Chris Zwick
Chris Zwick,TownandCountryToday.com
Andreea Resmerita, TownandCountryToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @andreea_res
COVID-19 UPDATE: Follow our COVID-19 special section for the latest local and national news on the coronavirus pandemic, as well as resources, FAQs and more.
