Fifteen new graduates are on the cusp of an adventure. Neilburg Composite School held their formal graduation exercises May 4, marking the beginning of a new adventure for these young people.
The graduates marched into the gym to the strains of Don't You Forget About Me by Simple Minds. The class of 2013 was introduced by Stephanie Gibbons and included Dailyn Antoine, Angela Courtepatte, Chad Graham, Adam Houlton, Erich Johnson, McKayla Lillico, Shannon Putnam, Marissa Brockhoff, Ashlee Goodfellow, Dustin Hafner, Eli Jacquest, Shayla Koedyk, Avery Moir, Chantal Ryan and Thomas McDuff.
The theme for the event was Life is an adventure - embrace it with passion. Twins Jenna and Jory Walde, former graduates of NCS themselves, were the joint masters of ceremonies for the evening program. Those gathered were led in the singing of the national anthem by Anri Steenkamp and Laura Hegel.
After some introductory comments by the Walde sisters, Thomas McDuff greeted the audience on behalf of the graduating class. Principal Worman brought a brief principal's message in which she also thanked Brenda Gross, the current vice-principal, for all her hard work organizing this, and other graduations in the past. Mrs. Gross is retiring and this is the last class she will officially assist in making preparations for graduation.
Shayla Koedyk introduced the guest speaker, Brandi Rolfe. After a brief stint intern teaching in Abbey, Ms. Rolfe came to Neilburg and began her teaching career at NCS. When she first arrived, the students on the stage were in Grade 7 and she taught them all English and social studies that year and again in Grade 8.
Ms. Rolfe is currently teaching at Holy Rosary in Lloydminster. As an English teacher, Rolfe likened the road of life to a "choose your own adventure" novel. We all have many choices to make and, depending which options we select, we will have a different outcome than if we decided to take another option.
She also encouraged everyone to live in the present. "You weren't born plugged into anything," she said, suggesting more effort could be made to detach from our ever-present electronics and instead pour time and effort into creating dynamic relationships with one another. Dustin Hafner formally thanked Ms. Rolfe for her kind words and for the role she played in the lives of the class of 2013.
Angela Courtepatte and Ashlee Goodfellow then presented some humorous grad histories and futures. The ceremonial passing of the colours was performed with Shannon Putnam and Dustin Hafner passing the torch on to Kasey Schmidt and Laura Hegel, students in the NCS class of 2014.
Eli Jacquest and Shannon Putnam brought the valedictory address. It was very touching and brought the audience to laughter several times. The pair was also presented with the Neilburg Community Council's Valedictorian Shield by Karen Putnam.
Principal Worman presented the Governor General's Medal for 2012, to the student with the highest academic average after departmental exams are concluded, to Brenna Tyler. Mrs. Worman also advised that congratulatory letters and certificates for the graduates were received from both our Member of Parliament and our Member of the Saskatchewan Legislature and would be distributed to the graduates at a later date.
A PowerPoint presentation, with many heartwarming baby pictures and shots of the graduates growing up, was compiled by Ashlee Goodfellow, Avery Moir and Shannon Putnam and was well received by the audience. Finally, Erich Johnson made some general closing remarks before the recessional, Good Life by One Republic.
After a short intermission to rearrange the configuration of the gymnasium, a grand march was held at the school. This was a change from the usual format where everyone would relocate, up the street, to the community hall. Also, in a departure from tradition, fruit plates and meats and cheese were served at the graduation social instead of the usual sandwiches and sweets. Since there wasn't a deejay, people were encouraged to linger and visit with the graduates and their families until approximately 10:30 p.m.
