The community came together to honour 21 graduates at the Canora Composite School exercises on June 29.
Members of the graduating class were: Tate Baron, Kaitlyn Burym, Nicole Burym, Jennifer Flemington, Dylan Fullawka, Blaine Hammerstrom, Desiree Jennings, Samuel Johnson, Jasmine Kapoor, Autumn Kozmanuik, Evan Kushneruk, Jordan Lazaroff, Elvis Lefrancois, Kayla Ostafie, Rylan Palchewich, Branden Pelechaty, Jordan St. Mars, Kaitlyn Statchuk, Anna Marie Stefaniszyn,
Joshua Swain and Andre Travalia.
“The graduation theme this year is based on individuality and being yourself,” said Principal Kim Eiteneier. “This is very intuitive in that you may only have one chance at certain opportunities in life
and that once decision can change your entire life. Wehope that the skills you have learned over the past 13 years will give you the knowledge to prepare you for those life changing decisions and that you will find success in those decisions you make.
“Tonight I look at this group not knowing what the students will become or what they will be doing in 10 years. All I can say is enjoy the moment, seize it and make every second of your life count. You only have one childhood, one shot at adolescence, one chance at being a teenager, and one chance at adulthood. Make the most of it.
“Many grads believe that we as parents want them to be successful. Success can be measured in a variety of ways but the most important parameter of measurement for your parents will be if
you are happy in whatever life choices you make,
“So tonight as you pass through your last night of high school and move into tomorrow, remember that your life is made up of the choices you make,” said Eiteneier.
“You have all left memories in the halls of CCS, which you will understand better 10 years from now when you come back for your reunion.
“So tonight we celebrate and honour you, and while you stand front and centre, pause and take in the feel- Jordan Lazaroff received the Leson’s Funeral Service and Monumentals $300 scholarship
which was presented by Shannon Leson. He also received the Canora Economic Development Commission $250 scholarship, and the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church $200 scholarship.
From arriving at Canora Composite School in Grade 5, these graduates were anxiously waiting to be in Grade 12, said Kaitlyn Statchuk, who gave the valedictory address.
This was the moment we have all been waiting for. We all couldn’t wait to rule the school. “But from this point on life is about to change. We measured our lives in school by classes, semesters, the
time going from one class to the next, the weekends, the summer breaks and most of all counting down the days to eventual freedom.
Here we are now. We have reached that freedom we have all been grasping for Graduates had their moment – now they move on Kaitlyn Statchuk gave the valedictory address at
the Canora graduation exercises. since day one. We are now going to measure the time of our lives by much greater and important things: by life goals, experiences, moments.”
Graduation is an emotional time for not only the graduates but also for the parents, Statchuk said. To the parents, she said: “You dragged us out of bed each morning, made sure we ate breakfast, and even picked out our clothes. You made sure every morning we weren’t late for school by basically pushing us out the door to catch the bus or by driving us to school yourselves. Even though our homework may have been way over your heads you still tried to act smart in front of us and pretended you knew what you were talking about. Not only did you help us pay for school fees and extracurricular activities you also listened to all our complaints and problems.
You came to watch our school plays and sporting events. You helped us out with our daily school drama whether it was about teachers, friends, or relationships. You gave us a shoulder to cry on when life got tough but always gave us the space we needed to work out our issues ourselves.”
To the teachers, she said: “Thank you teachers for unselfishly sharing your time, talent, and knowledge with us. We know it is your job to do so but all of you have gone above and beyond to make our time in school enjoyable. You took the time to explain assignments, sometimes repeatedly because we more often than not weren’t paying attention.
You always had open arms when it came to one of us needing extra help. You put your effort into making class interesting and making us wanting to be there. Statchuk also thanked her classmates. “Thank you for making my years at school absolutely amazing and most importantly, memorable. I will remember my time in school in a different way. I will measure it in all the friendships I have enjoyed over the years. And when many of our school memories begin to fade, that is ultimately how we will measure the time we spent here.
“Graduation is simply one stepping stone from one stage in our lives into the next. It is far better to see it as one beginning among what will inevitably be a series of beginnings in our young lives.”
Based on a fixed set of criteria, 16 scholarships were presented. Nicole Burym received the Access Communications $200 scholarship, the Canora Ambulance $500 scholarship and the Town of Canora $500 scholarship. Tate Baron received the Richardson Pioneer $100 scholarship.
Jordan Lazaroff received the Canora Economic Development Commission $250 scholarship, the Leson’s Funeral Service and Monumentals $300 scholarship and the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church $200 scholarship.
Jordan St. Mars received the Canora Hospital Auxiliary $500 scholarship and the Gateway Co-op $200 scholarship.
Kaitlyn Burym received the Canora Wheatland Lioness Club $300 scholarship. Kaitlyn Statchuk received the RCMP $500 scholarship, the Beta Sigma Phi $200 scholarship and the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League $200 scholarship.
Jasmine Kapoor received the Canora Economic Development Commission $250 scholarship, the Community Insurance $200 scholarship and the Crossroads Credit Union $500
scholarship.
Dr. Bob’s Marine Clinic provides a scholarship for students entering the trades, but there were no candidates that met the criteria this year.
In his address as the guest speaker, Cal Tomilin, a teacher, addressed each graduate explaining why he or she was a member of his favourite class. Kaitlyn Statchuk, in her valedictory address, also
addressed each classmate, explaining what she would remember most about each.
