Saturday’s graduation day for the Weyburn Comprehensive School was certainly one for the books — and may it never come again, or need to be done like that again.
The Class of 2020 did the best they could with their big day, and organizers put on a great reverse parade event, in spite of the heat and humidity that made it tough for the grads who were on their feet for most of two hours.
The event was fairly unique amongst the grad celebrations held around the province, in that the graduates lined up along Weyburn’s picturesque Saskatchewan Drive, and residents, friends and family members could drive by and wave and give their congratulations.
While the day was certainly hot at some 32 degrees, it was the stately old trees overhanging the road that provided the welcome shade for the grads.
In addition, volunteers ensured that there was plenty of cold water provided for anyone who needed it, and police and fire personnel worked to do the necessary traffic control.
There was a line of vehicles back all the way to 18th Street to eventually make their way to King Street, and then west on Saskatchewan Drive to see all of the grads.
Weyburn’s new police chief, Jamie Blunden, was on hand personally to keep an eye on the traffic flow and to make sure the grads were all right.
The grads for the most part seemed to enjoy the event, especially when friends or family came along, some cheering, some with signs, to help them celebrate this milestone of the end of their secondary education.
The virtual grad was well done, with the advantage of having introductions of every graduate, along with videos of the speeches, such as principal Ryan Fowler walking through the empty hallways of the Comp, and his face rendered into a semi-animated feature as he spoke.
It was also nice to have personal messages from a number of grads as they talked about what they will miss from their years at the Weyburn Comp and their wishes for the future.
All of the speeches were really well done, I thought, and show what a tremendous quality of young people who are now going to move on to post-secondary, work and the rest of their lives.
