Tears of happiness and tears of sadness – sometimes both at the same time – were shed during graduation ceremonies held at Clearwater Secondary School on Friday evening, June 5.
A total of 46 students accepted their scrolls from principal Darren Coates and school superintendent Karl deBruijn at the end of the evening.
Thanks to the ongoing generosity of the community, they shared over $41,000 in scholarships and bursaries to help further their educations.
This compares with just 32 students in the 2014 graduating class, and $33,850 in scholarships and bursaries.
Reid Rebinsky and Justin Sutherland were the class valedictorians.
They gave humorous predictions of what some of their classmates would end up doing, and talked about what was to many their favorite lesson in high school: sex ed.
They also praised former CSS teacher Skye Buck.
His words to live by, “The only real failure is the failure to try,” were a constant inspiration, they said.
Buck and his wife Courtney, both former students of CSS, were killed in an automobile accident in 2012.
Teacher Mike Lau was chosen by the class to be special guest speaker for the event.
He talked about his experience of moving from Hong Kong as a child and growing up in two cultures. He used to love Saturday morning cartoons but had to give them up in order to take Chinese lessons, he recalled.
“I’m walking my path now,” Lau said. “This ceremony is the start of your path.”
Principal Darren Coates gave the principal’s welcome.
“The graduates have worked hard to arrive here tonight and should be commended on their accomplishment,” he said.
The principal noted that some students had done up to eight courses (as compared to the usual four) to graduate with their classmates.
His mother was a single parent and often they had to mix powdered milk with real milk because real milk was too expensive.
“Making money is not the end game. Don’t miss out on time with family and friends,” he advised.
Coates also recognized the school district honor students. The four students qualified to wear a gold cord at the ceremonies because they placed in the top five per cent within the school district were Reid Rebinsky, Aliya Bieber, Jenna Zietsov and Calum McLeod.
Mayor John Harwood brought greetings from the District of Clearwater.
“Grow all your experiences and be thankful,” he said.
School District 73 trustees were represented by Shelley Sim.
“We’re excited for you. We’re your cheering section,” the school board representative for Clearwater and Blue River area told the grads.
She gave them advice from Mark Twain – that they should never let their formal education get in the way of their learning.
School superintendent Karl deBruijn addressed a CSS graduation ceremony for the first time.
For the 14 years he was in office, up until he resigned last year, former superintendent Dr. Terry Sullivan always insisted that he represent the school district at Clearwater, deBruijn said.
The graduation ceremonies were held in the gymnasium at Clearwater Secondary, while the prom on Saturday evening was held in the curling arena at the Sportsplex next door.
As of Sunday morning, Clearwater RCMP reported that there had been no impaired driving charges laid during the weekend as a result of grad.
For more about the grad and prom, plus the text of the valedictorians’ speech, see the insert inside this issue of the Times.
Below: CSS grads show off their finery before the prom on Saturday evening.
