Arcola celebrated 2021 graduates on June 28

On Monday evening, the Grade 12 students from Arcola School celebrated their graduation alongside their family and community.

Ten students, who were graduating this year, participated in both a ceremony and parade. The ceremony had a limited capacity, which meant it was a private celebration. But the graduates were still able to have their parents as well as a few other family members come and celebrate the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.

The event was organized as a reverse parade. Unlike in traditional parades where graduates would ride by the spectators, this time the roles were reversed and people from the community passed by the students.

Overall, the graduation was hard to plan due to COVID-19 regulations, but Janine Houston, one of the teachers and organizers of the grad, explained that they were determined to still have one and give the graduates the celebration they deserved.

“It was a challenge this year, just because we didn’t know what we could provide for the kids with the COVID regulations, but they were really big troopers, and we knew we wanted to have the celebration for the kids—we just didn’t know what it would look like,” Houston said.

She also explained that there was great community support, especially as businesses provided financial help when the graduates had done up raffle baskets to fundraise for the event. The community of Arcola also showed their support for the graduates by putting up banners. 

In the end, it was all a great way to congratulate the graduates for their hard work and to help them celebrate the future before them.

Cutline: From left, Shelby Wright, Nya Nelson, Briana McLaren, Mason McArthur, Emma Lees, Jaron Johnston, Desiree Ippolito, Manny Halbgewachs, Dawson Foy, Hailey Dahl were the grads at the Arcola School.