It was a momentous day for students and the community, as the first cohort of Grade 12 students graduated from Jasper’s newly built Jasper Junior/Senior High School, May 29.
Wearing traditional garb, 31 students proudly walked down the centre of the gym two-by-two before taking their seats on the school’s new stage.
“This spring our school received an award for the best new school facility in Alberta and you, class of 2015, are the first graduating class: how exciting,” said Betsy DeClercq, a school board trustee for the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division.
“In Alberta our most recent Grade 12 completion rate was only 74.9 per cent, so be proud of yourselves. You have accomplished a very big step.”
In addition to being the first class to graduate from the new building, the group is also the first French immersion class to graduate in Jasper, having signed up for the program when it was first offered at the Jasper Elementary School in 2002.
Prior to the speeches, Mark Crozier, the school’s principal, and Leslie Currie, a Grade 7/8 teacher, took time to introduce each student, highlighting their accomplishments and occasionally poking fun at an odd habit or two.
“It’s hard to believe that we are finally graduating high school,” said Mattie Smith, the valedictorian.
“Not too long ago we were learning to tie our shoes, wetting our beds or playing fishy on the playground.”
During her speech, she reminisced about elementary school and junior high and urged her friends and classmates to dream big.
“These next few years are ours to dream big and to make mistakes, to fall in and out of love and to make some pretty big decisions.”
She encouraged her classmates to pursue their goals even in the face of adversity.
“It is my hope that every grad has the courage to pursue their aspirations, even if feels like an uphill battle at times, because, after all, how do you think Christopher Columbus proved the Earth was round instead of flat? He sailed off the edge and it turns out the fall wasn’t so bad.”
After the speeches, diplomas were handed out and then students and families watched a slideshow highlighting various moments the students shared together over the past 13 years.
On Saturday, students traded in their caps and gowns for summer dresses and suits for their prom at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.
Paul Clarke
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