Bonnyville Outreach School celebrated the end of a long, challenging high school journey for nine local students this past Friday, officially awarding them provincial high school diplomas.
Six of the nine graduates were in attendance for a dinner and ceremony in a back room at the Senior's Drop-In Centre.
Katya Brown, Elizabeth Lane, Traylen Mountain, Kelsey Odegaard, April Quintal and Sundance Tourangeau all celebrated their accomplishments with staff, family and friends.
Jesse Martin, Brooke McKay-Dion and Layne Nadeau were the three graduates not in attendance.
“Many of you graduating today have overcome great obstacles to reach this milestone,” said NLSD trustee Gary Kissel. “Your future does look bright. It is up, up and away as you try and reach for the goals you set for yourselves.”
Kissel touched on the theme for the 2015 graduating class, which was “Up, up and away!” A line from the famous Dr. Seuss book, Oh, The Places You'll Go!
The Bonnyville Outreach School program is designed to help students who have struggled during high school and may have dropped out or failed early on in their journey. The students are given extra attention and resources need to help them overcome any obstacles in the way of the receiving a high school diploma.
“From my perspective no other educational program demonstrates Northern Lights Educations mission statement more effectively than our outreach school programs. It fulfills the NLSD promise of working together to help every student learn and excel,” said associate superintendent Roy Ripkens. “I can confidently tell you that these graduates have experienced one of the most effective outreach programs in the province of Alberta.”
After all of the local dignitaries spoke the graduates proceeded through the crowd of family and friends in an official grand march, while individualized slideshows played in the background.
Principal Clint Elliott gave the graduates a few words of wisdom, before several students took the podium to thank their family and staff members for helping them achieve their goal.
“I would like to personally thank every staff member at Bonnyville Outreach School for not giving up on me even when I had personal doubts,” said Tourangeau. “Also for being great life coaches. Words cannot describe how you positively changed my life for the better. The eternal lessons I learned I shall forever hold in my life for years to come.”
The students were then presented with their official Alberta high school diplomas, in what was a teary-eyed, emotional affair.
“I can tell you from experience that life is often a series of endings. Some good, some bittersweet and some you would rather not even face,” said Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr.
“Each end brings us closer to a new beginning and each new beginning brings us closer to new opportunities. Your lives will not be defined by the ends but by what you do with each new beginning.”
