COVID-era high school grads get diplomas in front of cameras, instead of parents
The Grade 12 graduating class at Handsworth Secondary school in North Vancouver has spent its entire year under COVID-19 protocols.
That meant no big graduation banquet and dance, and no convocation at the Orpheum theatre in downtown Vancouver. But the district still wanted to make the diploma ceremony at its Lonsdale street offices special.
“What we are doing over the course of two days for our 270 graduates is bringing them in in groups of 20 to cross the stage. That will be presented in a video to all families and graduates on June 30th,” said principal Rupi Samra-Gynane.
“They’re going to come, it will be red carpet, they will see it’s a high production and quality event. And that moment when they have the stage to themselves, they will feel it,” said North Vancouver superintendent Mark Pearmain.
Parents, who waited outside with flowers and cameras, were disappointed they couldn’t witness the big moment in person.
“It is what it is, it was a hard year for all the of the kids, I think. They didn’t get all their grad activities, none of those,” said Rita Macdonald, whose daughter Ainsley is graduating.
“They have missed out on a lot of milestones that traditionally everyone goes through, so it’s pretty different,” said Julia Kauwenhoben, the mother of another student named Nolan.
While it was not the graduation they were hoping for, students seemed to take it in stride.
“There was obviously a lot of effort put in, and that’s nice to see and it’s nice to see everyone,” said student Talia Lal.
“It was good for the circumstances we are in right now, so it’s really nice,” said her friend Madeleine Lister.
Ben Macdonald’s family dressed up in wigs and viking hats and sprayed him with water guns and rang cowbells as he left the ceremony.
“Clearly I have the craziest family out of everyone here,” he said. “Not much of a surprise, I knew something was happening, but I didn’t think it was this.”
“Think about it, for a year nobody’s been able to dress up, be a little crazy. So we were like, why be average? Be ridiculous, right?” said his mom Helen Brown.
As for his solo walk across the stage, in front of cameras instead of his parents? “I think they did the best that they could. It went pretty well, smoothly in there,” Macdonald said.
At Handsworth, this year’s theme was gratitude and resilience, something the principal says the grade 12 students have embodied during difficult times.
“This graduating class has managed to get through the year with a tremendous amount of resilience, and do it with grace,” said Samra-Gynane.
“They are an amazing group, the grads of 2021,” said Pearmain. “They have been forced to become adaptable and resilient and re-imagine what their Grade 12 year is like. A lot of them have had siblings and they watched their siblings go through. So suddenly, this is pretty different for them. But they have also just embraced it.”
As they embark on the next chapter of their lives, the students hope that resilience serves them well.
“We have had to go through a lot, and it will make us work harder for what we want in our futures for sure,” Lister said
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
Man accused of killing two children at Quebec daycare to stand trial in April 2025
The man accused of murdering two children and injuring six others after a city bus crashed into a Montreal-area daycare is scheduled to stand trial over five weeks beginning in April 2025.