Terrific sendoff for Daysland Grad Class of 2015
The Grade 12 class of Daysland School held their graduation ceremony in the school gym on Friday, May 1, with the theme ‘The world awaits.’
Graduates were toasted by guest speaker and Vice-Principal Patrick Whittleton, who told them that the first time he’d spoken to a graduating class was 20 years ago, when Mrs. Omoth was in Grade 12, “Now her son is on stage.”
“I promised the grads I wouldn’t write my speech until the night before, just like their assignments,” Whittleton said.
He read off the top 10 grad themes, and told the class, “I think you’ve actually accomplished every one, so your theme is very appropriate.”
He talked about the marvels of social media and technology, but reminded students that, “A picture says a thousand words, but real life is better… to be in the moment, is what I think is important.
“Think about your natural memories of today and tonight; remember this moment because it will never be this way again.
“It’s a huge, scary, terrific, and more important, amazing thought, how are you going to affect the world.
“It’s a tough place, a hard place. Like Rocky Balboa says, ‘It ain’t about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward.’
“Keep moving forward, no stopping… the journey is the reward.
“Enjoy your journey, your rewards are going to be plentiful.”
Fellow graduate Rafael Krahn roasting his fellow grads with the ‘Most Likely’ list was a high point in the evening for much of the audience. His ‘most likely’ was ‘to be a politician,’ not surprising as he already has excellent public speaking skills.
Principal Payne had the last word of the evening, he thanked everyone who had a hand in making the graduation a success, thanking volunteers for many hours of work.
He reminded those grads who were eligible to get out and exercise their right to vote.
“I have confidence you will have every success in whatever field you happen to be in,” he told the class in closing.
As seen in the May 5, 2015 edition of The Community Press. To purchase a copy of that week’s paper, please call our Killam – 780-385-6693 or Sedgewick 780-384-3641 offices. Or, to view online, become an E-Subscriber today (please allow up to 48 hours account activation).
Leslie Cholowsky
Editor
Leslie Cholowsky & Jae Robbins photos
