Spring is here and the school year is coming to an end for students from kindergarten to Grade 12! Over the next two months, the spotlight will be on the graduating class of 2026.
Congratulations to all students who graduate from high schools in the High Prairie, Falher, Peace River and Slave Lake regions.
Students celebrate an educational journey over 13 years, from kindergarten to Grade 12. Children, youth and families can be grateful for the opportunities for a structured and quality education and the freedom of choice for their education. Graduates can use their passions, skills, experiences, perseverance and further education to reach their goals to enter their chosen field of work or career. For those graduating, all the best in the next phase of your life as you become leaders of the future wherever you will be planted.
After graduating from high school, many graduates will pursue further education to prepare them for their career. Some will immediately enter the workforce and others will travel as they consider and prepare for what the world of life offers.
Graduating from high school is the greatest milestone in the education journey for young people. They are rewarding years when graduates reflect on their school days many decades into the future.
After they graduate, students will learn their basic years of education prepared them to flourish as responsible adults who will positively contribute to society, in their families, communities and out in the world.
Graduates and students can be thankful for everyone who supports them through their education from K-12. Their teachers and educational experiences have groomed them to become mature young adults ready to influence people wherever they are and whatever they do in their career and lives.
While education starts in the home with parents teaching values and morals, schools are also a key pillar in the education of youth.
“It takes a village to raise a child” is a popular statement that shows that education is more than students, schools and teachers. Education extends from the classrooms and into the community and other life experiences. Together, all of life’s experiences can help graduates – and students – grow in their journey of life after they graduate from high school.
Every adult in the community has and can play a vital role to nurture children and youth right from an early age. Children and students often look up to adults as mentors and role models. Whether people have children in the school system or not, adults can be positive examples to the younger generation to follow.
Show youth that you care, love and respect them for who they are. Take a proactive approach to make friends with a child and youth to help and support them on the right track of life.
As children see more supportive adults and parents, they, too, will want to grow up to be like those role models. When more people, from younger generations to seniors, show more respect for themselves, others and the community, life can be so much better, healthier and safer for everyone. Over time and generations, it will make schools and communities more attractive to help build a stronger future.
Education is never-ending in our journey of lifelong learning.
Whether you’re a young student or an adult long out of high school, something new in life always comes along to help stretch us, strengthen us and make us a better person in our world of influence.
Richard Froese