Airdrie’s Grade 12 students will once again be celebrating their graduations virtually this year.
Rocky View Schools (RVS) Superintendent Greg Luterbach announced last week that all Grade 12 graduation ceremonies in the public school district will proceed virtually due to continued restrictions on in-person gatherings resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Calgary Catholic School Division, which oversees St. Martin de Porres High School, made a similar decision in February.
In an RVS letter to parents on May 13, Luterbach said he deliberated over the decision to opt for virtual graduation ceremonies for some time, but concluded even small in-person events could not be held safely given the ongoing concerns and public health orders.
“The Class of 2021 has endured it all: change, isolations, health concerns, online classes, and so much more,” Luterbach wrote. “This is not the graduation our students have worked for, planned, and dreamed of. We know they deserve so much more.”
Some local students are feeling the disappointment of the district’s decision, but are choosing to remain cautiously optimistic about their future post-lockdown.
According to Brooklynn Ree, the vice-president of student council at George McDougall High School, although she was disheartened by the announcement, she said she understands the necessity of it.
“I wish that I could have had the celebration but I think at this point… we just want to finish it off, wrap everything up and hopefully end on a positive note with everyone getting vaccinated and hopefully going back to school at the end,” Ree said.
She added she hopes to return to schooling in person in June to wrap up the year with her colleagues, and is wishing for an in-person walk-through ceremony if restrictions have eased. She added George McDougall’s student council will be working alongside school administration to determine a path forward.
“I have had a really unique [Grade 12] experience, and I would rather it not be that, but I think it’s going to end up being a positive thing,” Ree said. “It’s taught me a lot, especially in the last year of high school.
“I think a lot of us have learned to mature faster just because we had to deal with this whole pandemic thing as well as regular [Grade 12] stuff,” she added.
Last year, graduating students in Airdrie celebrated the milestone achievement in a variety of ways, including drive-through graduation ceremonies, video presentations, lawn placards with photos of graduating students and grad-in-a-box, which saw school principals and staff send out boxes to the households of each graduating student. The boxes came with a cap and gown, as well as a tassel and their diploma.
This year, Lutherbach said school administrations and grad committees will be planning for a variety of graduation possibilities, which will include virtual and online celebrations as well as various keepsakes for students.
“Our schools will work hard to make the virtual graduation one that can be remembered and celebrated,” he said. “We will ensure our graduates are appreciated in meaningful ways.”
Like Ree, George McDougall High School senior Dylan Ellingson said his Grade 12 experience has been out of the ordinary. While he was hoping for an in-person celebration as well, he said the announcement last week did not come as a surprise.
“We haven’t really had any predictability whatsoever, we’ve gone online and we’ve come back, and I feel like it’s taking a big toll on a lot of people’s relationships,” Ellingson said. “We don’t have any sports, we really can’t have anything anymore, and it’s just really tough to stay on top of things.
“I’ve been fortunate I’ve been able to keep in touch with some of my friends and things like that, but I just know a lot of people, they kind of stick to themselves. It’s very easy to be introverted in a virtual environment.”
Likewise, Xavier Dalton and Michael Schaan, also Grade 12 students at George McDougall, said they saw the decision coming after the school spent months unsure of the possibility of an in-person graduation.
“I came into [this school year] with a lot of expectations, like prom was going to happen and I was going to have a homecoming football game and stuff,” Dalton said. “But I wouldn’t say I’m too bothered, because I know that this is only one step of the way.”
Dalton added the last two school years have accustomed students to the “new normal,” and so the decision to opt for a virtual graduation was expected by most. He added he tries not to think too much about what the future will bring, and finds staying in the present moment has helped him cope with a lot of the changes the pandemic has brought.
Schaan added he is grateful that George McDougall students were able to attend in-person schooling at all this year, as the majority of last year was spent in virtual classes after the pandemic began.
“We got to do some activities with the school. It wasn’t like last year, where public school basically shut down for good,” Schaan said. He added the school made an attempt to keep sports and extracurriculars going for part of the year, until restrictions made doing so all the more difficult.
The key to staying positive, according to Schaan, has been focusing on what students are able to do despite restrictions, rather than focusing on what the pandemic has taken from them.
Carmen Cundy, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @carmenrcundy
