In spite of the seemingly endless winter and wet spring, time has moved quickly and here we are already in June.
It really felt like it was just September and school was back in session after one of our typical, lazy, hot summers.
School supplies, new clothes and stuff for lunches were purchased, those big yellow buses, all tuned up and sparkling clean, were lumbering down our roads, pausing to collect passengers and complete their journey to school.
For many, September was a month of firsts. First day of school for a Kindergarten student, first parent student conference, first day in a new school or classroom, first day as a high school student.
On the first day of Kindergarten, I doubt that any parent is thinking about the day that will come 13 years later when they will arrive at a “last.”
That last day is when a son or daughter graduates from high school; no longer a child but a young adult.
My child has arrived at that day and I can’t believe how quickly it has come – you wonder where time has gone.
One moment your child is looking up at you and the next they are towering above you.
While we may be living in the past to some degree, our children certainly are not. They are eagerly waiting the day when the school door closes behind them for the last time and a new journey begins. A journey that could take them to another city, another province or another country, or a new job in that first step to the rest of their lives. Parents and school district employees, from teachers to crossing guards, have all played a role in a support network that has been wrapped around students from the day they enter school to the day they exit for the final time.
As a school trustee, I feel a great sense of pride in our local school system. There is always room for improvement and we continually look at ways to increase student achievement levels, but what our students accomplish is astounding.
In the past few years, students have been awarded external scholarships valued at up to $80,000, as a result of academics, citizenship and community service. Scholarships and gold and silver medals have been awarded to aboriginal students based on successful entrepreneurial business plans.
So far this year, we know students have been awarded entrance scholarships valued from $5,000 to $24,500 and three students at Boundary Central Secondary School (BCSS) have each been granted a $40,000 entrance scholarship.
Students excel in all areas, not just academics. An $18,000 golf scholarship has been awarded to a Grand Forks Secondary School (GFSS) student.
Practical and fine arts, citizenship and community service are all recognized through internal scholarships and bursaries valued at over $80,000 provided by our local communities.
It is an amazing process that our children go through, from that first day when they are shepherded into a Kindergarten class – wide-eyed and ready to learn – to the last day, sitting up on a stage ready to receive their diplomas, having accomplished so much in 13 very short years.
This June, approximately 125 students from BCSS and GFSS will arrive at their last day in our schools. But that “last” is momentary as before us they walk across the stage, collect their diploma, shake hands with their school administrators and continue on, taking their first step as young adults ready to take on the world.
We can only sit and watch in love and wonder as that transformation takes place and wish them good luck and a happy journey.
– Teresa Rezansoff is chairperson for the Board of Education for School District 51