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The student population of IHMS changes at the beginning of each new school year. As students are promoted to the next grade, a new kindergarten class is formed, and everyone else moves up one grade. Of course, students in grade 8 will eventually have to leave in order to attend another school the following September. Students that leave at the end of grade 8 are given a formal farewell in the last big event of the school year – graduation!
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Graduation is always a bitter-sweet affair, and the grads usually have mixed feelings about leaving. Many have been together since attending nursery school 10 years ago (IHMS discontinued the nursery program a few years ago in favour of full time kindergarten). That means many of the grads have known each other since they were only 4 years old! When classes resume in September, the grads will all be enrolled in a new school.
Ordinarily. Mrs. Walton, the current grade 8 teacher, would celebrate this important milestone by organizing a Graduation Divine Liturgy and a Graduation Dinner and Dance. This year, however, neither of these events occurred because of the coronavirus.
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Instead, the grade 8’s had a simple graduation celebration on Thursday, June 25. The day consisted of four separate events:
- Decorating the Gym and Scavenger Hunt (9:00 – 12:00)
- Graduation Lunch (12:00 – 1:30)
- Graduation Program (1:30 – 3:00)
- Drive to Kildonan Park (After 3:00)
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On the morning of graduation (Thursday, June 25), the grads spent the first few hours decorating the gym. They also had some fun participating in a scavenger hunt planned by Mrs. Walton.
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| Grade 8’s decorating the gym for Grad |
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| Grade 8’s participating in a scavenger hunt |
At noon, the grads enjoyed a catered lunch of pizza and salad. Although the lunch was in informal in nature, it started out with Mr. Picklyk asking everyone in attendance to stand and welcome the IHMS graduates of 2020. As IHMS staff applauded, the students began their procession from the gym doors to their reserved seats at the head table.
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After blessing of the food by Fr. Isidore Dziadyk, OSBM, the graduates were given priority in starting the line to the pizza and salad buffet. They were followed by the rest of the guests, including Fr. Isidore Dziadyk, OSBM (Chaplain of IHMS), Sr. Jean Zemliak, SSMI (Director of IHMS), and finally the IHMS staff.
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Due to government capacity restrictions, only the graduates, IHMS staff, and a few special guests were served the lunch.
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The formal part of the grad program began at 1:30 p.m., and once again, only the graduates, IHMS staff, and a few special guests were permitted to attend. Proud parents of the graduates were able to view the ceremony online via a live streaming website called “Zoom”.
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The ceremony began with each graduate carrying a long-stemmed rose from the back of the gym to the front of the assembly. The graduates left their rose in a vase at the front.
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The graduates took turns carrying a long-stemmed rose from the back of the gym to a glass vase at the front of the assembly. This is simply a way for the graduates to take their seat, and also a way to give each grad a moment of individual recognition as they move, one at a time, to the front of the assembly and then to their seat.
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After a short prayer service, each graduate was called up one at a time to receive two important graduation mementos. First of all, they received a graduation certificate from Mr. Picklyk. They also received an IHMS graduation medallion from Sr. Jean Zemliak, SSMI, the current Director of IHMS.
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The grad program included greetings from various members of the IHMS community, including the current Director of IHMS, Sr. Jean Zemliak, SSMI, and Mr. Jason Brennan, Chairperson of the IHMS school board.
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The grad program also included greetings from Khushleen D., the student council president, and from Mr. Picklyk, principal of IHMS. Mr. Picklyk’s farewell speech was followed by a video he had prepared. The video was projected onto the gym wall and documented many of the events of the past 10 years, from sadochok to the present day. The video is one of the most anticipated parts of the graduation – it’s usually both poignant and funny at the sane time.
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The video has become a yearly graduation tradition, and guests always look forward to it. It’s funny and cute watching the graduates back when they were in kindergarten and grade 1. The graduates soon came to realize of how much they’ve changed over the years. They were also starting to realize that their time at IHMS was quickly coming to an end.
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| Mr. Picklyk’s video |
In addition to the grade 8 class, two teachers will also not be returning in the fall. After many years of service, Mrs. Naurocki (grade 7) and Mrs. Wdowiak (grade 4) will be retiring from teaching.
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The graduation program concluded with a speech by Mrs. Walton, the current grade 8 teacher. Mrs. Walton gave a poignant and very touching farewell speech to her class. It should be noted that Mrs. Walton almost single-handedly organized the IHMS 2020 graduation. She was forced to modify many of the school’s long standing graduation traditions and to improvise new ideas to comply with the restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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At the conclusion of the formal program (around 3:00 p.m.), the graduates were free to leave with their parents. The parents drove in a parade of cars to Kildonan Park for the opportunity to take grad photos against the backdrop of the park.
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In the end, everything worked as planned, and the graduates enjoyed a beautiful day with memories that should last a lifetime.
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