Serving as emcee for the ceremonies, Vice Principal Al Hicks welcomed all and sundry to the event. He began by thanking all of the people who had made the day possible, and reflected on the fact that he himself has been back in the school now for six years. So he saw these young prodigies at a different age, back when he could not predict their future greatness.
“This is my youngest group,” Hicks said jokingly. “When I first came back here six years ago, I had these guys in Grade 7 Science. I don’t know if I would have picked all of them to be up here right now, but congratulations.”
Pastor Geoff Unrau gave the opening prayer. He has a strong connection with the grad class, as his son Caleb was among the members. He talked of how time moves quickly, how it seemed like only yesterday they were dropping the kids off to kindergarten teachers Roxy Anderson and Kim McKay in “this big, scary place called school.” Now they are ready to leave “this safe space called school”. He gave the grads some advice. More important than the “what” in life – where you will live, what you will do – is the “who” in life, who you are going to be. Dad gave the example of this from his son Caleb, who had brought home a report card that was not all it could be. Caleb’s answer was to look at the bright side.
“At least you know I’m not a cheater,” Unrau said to big laughs. “You can’t argue with that logic.”
Mayor David Stead gave congratulations from Boissevain-Morton. He talked of what a great community we had and how the graduates should be proud of what they achieved and what they are going to achieve.
“You’ve got your youth, energy, diplomas, everything you need for success,” Stead stated. “I wish all of you all of the success you can achieve.”
TMSD Superintendent Tim De Ruyck told the grads they had a lot to be proud of, and added they needed to strive to continue learning, no matter what path they took in life. He added people often talk about doing something in life that makes them happy. De Ruyck recently read a book called The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. In it, the author refers to what most of us think – happiness comes after success. However, this might not be true.
“The author, though, suggests it might be the opposite,” DeRuyck explained, “that in order to be successful, first we must be happy. Waiting for happiness to happen to us limits our potential for success.”
He said remaining positive helped lead to happiness and thus success. Also from the book, he talked about football. The players who got the most attention were the ones who scored – the quarterback, receivers, running backs. But without the grinding offensive line, none of that would be possible. De Ruyck said that when QB Joe Montana was getting credit, he was giving it to his O-line.
“Social relationships are important. They help us make it through the tough times. We each need to have our own offensive line. The fact you are all here today is evidence you all have an offensive line.”
Once again, there were several students who made the honour roll, eight in total, many who made it with the highest distinction with marks over 95%. These and the impressive awards for individual subjects showed Boissevain School is still producing good and intelligent citizens.
Again, the community and other groups were generous with our grads, giving out thousands of dollars in scholarships and bursaries for continued education. Halfway through these awards, the student representatives Anja Nell and Hudson Mealy gave their address. There were the normal thank-yous to the patient teachers who helped them through the many years, as well as the good-natured digs at classmates and the little in-jokes that speak of a lifetime of camaraderie.
Mealy admitted the group did not start off so smart, but eventually realized the effort they needed to put in and the discipline success required. Nell looked both back and forward when she thought about her school years.
“The memories we’ve created,” Nell said, “are ones we’ll cherish forever. I hope you will achieve all you dream of.”
As the new Class of 2018 left the auditorium, with their tassels properly turned, one hopes they remember the words of Marc George, who presented the scholarship in memory of his father Ross. They are important ones for young people feeling their way in the world.
“When you go through life, there may be things you regret,” George said. “Being kind is not one of them.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff