It was a bittersweet celebration at the Halkirk Community Centre on Wednesday, June 1, as the school, family, and friends sent off its Grade 9 graduates with a supper and celebration — the last graduation for the school, which closes at the end of this school year.
Four students made up the final graduating class from Mother Teresa Catholic School in Halkirk. Brennen Grice, Mikenna Schauer, Brooklyn Perry, and Abby Musgrove would normally be feted as they would be moving on to new schools, usually Gus Wetter Public School in Castor, while the other students remained at Mother Teresa. This year, with the closure of the school, they were feted as the final graduating class of the school.
Families brought in food for a potluck meal, with tables of both delicious supper and scrumptuous desserts tempting even the most iron-willed eaters into taking a heaping plate.
The graduating students were gifted with sweatshirts and pendants from the Halkirk Elks, bibles from the Knights of Columbus, and had the Bibles blessed by Fr. Donatus Ihekwoaba.
The graduating students thanked their families, their teachers, the Elks and the Knights of Columbus, enjoyed a skit performed by Grade 7 and 8 portraying a potential future life for the students, and shared tales of what it was like growing up together and going through Mother Teresa as students.
While the tales brought a lot of laughter to the hall, there was an underlying sense of sadness present as the celebration was another step closer to the school’s final days.