Affinity Place was once again the host facility for the Estevan Comprehensive School's graduation ceremony on June 25, and there was certainly no shortage of people in attendance. There was no shortage of selfies either.
Parents, brothers and sisters, friends and family quickly filled up the arena, and shortly after, Principal Pat Jeannot kicked things off with his opening remarks. Upon congratulating the graduates for their achievements, and wishing them the best of luck moving forward, he introduced Colin Keess, president of the Saskatchewan teachers federation, who welcomed the "last students he taught" at ECS. He continued by saying he was glad to be home in his hometown of Estevan, where he noted the exceptional learning experience students receive.
"I'm continually reminded about the excellence of ECS, this community, and its students," he said.
Waunie Thompson, sculpture and pottery teacher at Sheldon-Williams Collegiate in Regina, presented the school with two oil paintings she made early on in her artistic career, one of which was actually purchased by the high school reunion committee prior to ECS' emergence, when it was known as the Estevan Collegiate Institute. It was since salvaged, and repurposed as a gift to the school.
Shortly after, vice-principal Allison Holzer presented the tribute to senior ring and pin to graduates Rebecca Blackburn and Nick Skjonsby , who accepted the gifts and revealed the gift to the school, which was a $1,000 donation, and a large electronic sign. The two of them then continued with their tribute to the parents.
Rebecca emphasized the amount of times her parents helped her "get up and try again," no matter what challenges she was faced with. Nick joked about how he looked forward to the inevitable "mom, dad, I need money in my bank account" scenario he'd eventually find himself in while in post-secondary school. He also said the two of them hope to "grow up and become the parents you inspired us to be."
The parents' response came from Angele Skjonsby and Brenda Blackburn, following their on-stage selfie photo, which was met by a large round of applause Skjonsby reminisced about the whole new world the graduates were introduced to after elementary school, and reassured them that feeling of discovery and excitement will be just as amazing, if not better, once they enter the post-secondary environment, or enter the work force.
Blackburn emphasized the achievements graduates obtained that extended beyond the classroom.
"Look at all the sports you were involved in, what an achievement," she said, after listing off the many different sports teams students were a part of at ECS. She even mentioned the popular cardboard boat races that take place every year at the Leisure Centre, and the creativity students bring to their cardboard creations.
Kale Little and Tate Wrubleski, who took the stage following the parents' response, made the tribute to the teachers. Their speech resulted in some laughs from the crowd.
"We're here to talk about those who brought us here to this moment," began Tate. "Not our parents" continued Kale, "because they didn't really have a choice."
Tate recalled a biology class from this year, which was taught using Barbie's, a Gwen Stefani album, and a strobe light. The graduates seemed to remember this peculiar biology unit well, as they laughed and clapped in approval.
Science and native studies teacher Tom Flath, responded to the tribute to the teachers with a heartfelt speech, which he began by trying to convince the crowd he mirrored his speech from one he saw on YouTube. This of course, was far from the truth.
"There's no doubt in my mind that some of you are fully expecting me to entertain you with one of my infamous stories, like the one about how I used to live in a van down by the river," he said, and listed some other popular tales, which included bears and some sticky situations.
"But this is not my night, this is a night to honour our graduates," he said. "Not all of you have won scholarships or special awards in recognition of what you've done, and many of you haven't gotten the best marks. But tonight graduates, your family members are extremely proud of you, and in some cases, you can't imagine the sense of relief they have," he smiled.
"What an outstanding group of individuals, let's give them a round of applause," Flath exclaimed.
He stressed the importance of having respect for the mysterious, displaying kindness, strength, bravery, wisdom, humility, and having the ability to share.
"Be bold," he concluded.
A video presentation put together by Kyle Goulet was then shown, and included numerous photos of the graduates from the past and present.
Tugche Pehilivan, this year's ECS valedictorian, delivered a short, but sweet speech, thanking her parents, siblings, teachers and friends for reaching a "miraculous milestone."
The end of the program was capped off with a performance by the grad choir, the grad march, and, of course, the hurling of the hats.
