ASHMONT – The Ashmont School's graduating Class of 2025 is among the school's biggest graduating class in history. Over 45 students graduated this year.
The graduation ceremony, held on June 2, celebrated the graduating class' hard work, perseverance, but also its collective journey.
The camaraderie and friendship built among the class made school "feel more like a community," said the class' valedictorian Katelynn Jacula, as she recalled the memories of laughter in the classroom, the hallways, and every ride home with her classmates.
"Fellow grads, I encourage all of us to take this joy and laughter into everything that we do in life. I hope we take this laughter with us as we all go our separate ways to achieve something truly amazing," she said. "We have fought hard to be here right now, and every one of us deserves this."
"The sacrifices each of us have made have not gone unnoticed and won't be forgotten," said Jacula. The sacrifices, she said, led to learning and education that can never be taken away.
She also thanked all who made the educational experiences of the graduates great, from the faculty, to the parents, and the community.
When Principal Corina Idzan presented the students' diplomas, Elder Gloria Halfe, who is also a Cree and Aboriginal Studies teacher at Ashmont School, presented each graduate with the eagle feather, as well.
"The gift of the eagle feather is the highest honour in our culture," said Halfe.
First Nations culture believes there is a special connection between the eagle and the Creator. "The eagle feather instills in us the virtues and principles of all mankind - respect, honour, humbleness, truth, love, natural power, strength, courage, wisdom and freedom, for all the teachings are positive."
Halfe said the eagle feather also represents light and dark. A representation of summer and winter; daylight and darkness; peace and war; and life and death.
"For the white tells of summer, when all is bright and the dark represents the dark days of winter," she said, adding the eagle feather is a reminder to the graduates that their lives are also like the eagle feather.
"Graduates, remember what you have learned, for it is you who will choose the path in life that you will follow," said Halfe. "The good way, or the wrong way."
