Staff at École-Collège Régional Gabrielle-Roy in Île-des-Chênes and the Niverville High School (NHS) have had to get creative this spring in order to make plans for their schools’ upcoming graduation ceremonies. The schools will be graduating 52 young people apiece this year, but getting them across the finish line has been, to put it mildly, a bit complicated.

In both cases, the respective school divisions—Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine and the Hanover School Division—have provided the staff with a great deal of autonomy.

Gab-Roy: Postponed Convocation

The grads and parents of Gab-Roy overwhelmingly voted to postpone their traditional convocation and banquet. Their plan is to hold the event just like they normally would, only delayed until the fall.

“We have booked November 12 for our convocation at La Cathédrale de St-Boniface and our grad banquet and dance at the Victoria Inn the following night, Friday, November 13,” says Gab-Roy’s vice-principal, Joel Mangin. “This is during university reading week, so we should be able to have a good participation at the festivities. We expect to have our valedictory address, administrative speeches, and official photo opportunities for our scholarships at that point.”

The March school closure happened before formal graduation photos could be taken. Now that provincial restrictions are easing, all Gab-Roy grads have been invited to cap-and-gown photo sessions on June 18–19 at the school. Students will also have the option to take the cap and gown home for a weekend of family photos.

Scholarship winners will receive notifications via personal phone calls from either the donor or a designated school staff member.

“Twenty-one out of 52 [of our] students have qualified for an entrance scholarship at Université de St-Boniface,” says Mangin. “This speaks to the academic success of the group as a whole, as 40 percent of the class has qualified for a bursary because of their grades.”

This, he adds, happened in spite of losing the final three months of in-class education.

“University isn’t the answer for everyone, but when two-thirds of the class will attend university in the fall, it shows how strong a group it is,” Mangin says. “Most of the remaining one-third will be enrolling in a skilled trade or apprenticeship program which shows how, across the board, this group cares about getting a valuable education and has big plans for the future.”

NHS: Socially Distanced Convocation

The NHS has also been working in cooperation with its grads and their parents. Their official graduation ceremony is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the high school. The curbside convocation will take place in the parking lot.

“We are still working out a few details, but the main pieces are in place,” says Principal Kimberly Funk. “The curbside convocation will have the traditional pieces, such as a guest speaker, valedictory address, and receiving of diplomas. Most of the program will be prerecorded, with the exception of the diploma ceremony, and will be viewed on a big screen like it would at a drive-in movie.”

Two large portable outdoor screens have been rented for the affair. Effectively, social distancing measures will happen naturally as grads and their immediate families remain in or near their vehicles for the majority of the event.

One by one, grads will be called forward to publicly receive their diploma in cap and gown. The event will culminate with a parade through Niverville. The parade route will be posted in advance to allow members of the community an opportunity to wave and cheer on the graduates.

NHS award winners will be posted after the convocation on the school’s website and the entire ceremony will be uploaded to YouTube for extended family and friends to view later.

“The response has been very positive,” Funk says. “Once we realized that a traditional grad was just not going to be possible this year, everyone got on board with this new concept quite quickly, realizing it’s a pretty good option, all things considered.”

As for the banquet and after party that typically follows convocation, Funk says the grad/parent committee is still hopeful that a celebration will be possible as restrictions across the province continue to ease up.

Dealing with Disappointment

Even so, both principals recognize that the postponement or complete restructuring of grad celebrations will come with some level of disappointment for the graduates.

“Although we think a curbside convocation is a pretty neat idea, the students will definitely miss out on spending time together and celebrating face-to-face with one another,” says Funk. “Sitting in cars on a parking lot is just not the same as a whole evening event with your friends… We know that students get most excited about dressing up and attending the banquet and Safe Grad dance… Grads look forward to buying a beautiful dress or snazzy suit, and this year those special items did not get purchased or will remain on the hanger for the time being.”

In spite of the disappointment, Funk encourages the grads of 2020 to see this as yet another challenge which they successfully overcame in the wake of the pandemic.

While Gab-Roy grads have no assurances that their fall celebratory plans won’t be spoiled by a second wave of pandemic restrictions, Mangin says the school’s administration already has a backup plan.

“I have nothing but optimism for this group of grads,” says Mangin. “As much as it is unfortunate that they had to deal with all of this uncertainty, it is a group that is extremely well equipped to overcome uncertainty and achieve their goals.”