The graduate class of a high school in northern Manitoba obtained its diplomas and threw its caps in the air in front of a local crowd on Saturday, almost a month after its community returned after an evacuation due to forest fires.
Only a few weeks ago, a celebration was not guaranteed for the 54 12th grade students of the Hapnot Collegiate Institute of Flin Flon.
On May 28, they were among the 5,000 residents of the city who were forced to leave when nearby forest fires caused a mandatory evacuation order.
Until the end of June, the students were scattered, mainly in the grasslands, staying with family and friends.
“It was a bit heartbreaking,” said Robin Hooper graduate about uncertainty.
“But then, when we returned, everything was fine, and we got our planned things. It was incredible.”
The ceremony recognized the students’ achievements, even with more than 50 awards and scholarships, and also the dedication of firefighters who protected the houses and people who lost their homes.
“We were not sure that we were going to get it, so it is really exciting,” said Graduate Emma White about the ceremony.
“It means having something normal again after we all left,” said the graduate and triplet Aiden Antoniw, who crossed the stage with his brothers, Rylan and Zachary.
The high school teacher Rachel Wright, who helped organize the event with the work as of September, was determined to give the graduates a celebration, although it was almost a month after the usual, he said.
“This is the same group that their grade 8 ceremonies were lost due to the [COVID-19] Pandemia, “Wright said.
“It is good that they have nothing else from their control ruining one of their monuments. This group has gone through a lot and persevered. Giving them something they deserve and should have is really great.”
Look | Flin Flon graduates celebrate in July after the forest fire interrupted the previous plans:
The graduated class of the Flin Flon high school obtained its diplomas in front of a local crowd on Saturday, almost a month after the community members returned after an evacuation of forest fires of one month.
Outside the place of the Whitney forum, the banners with the faces of the graduates aligned on the roads.
Among the traditions of Decades of Hapnot Collegiate is a cars parade during the postgraduate week, where students pile up and break with hoses and water guns throughout the city, along with a march along the main street on the graduation night.
“They are excited and should be,” said director Jordan Dumenko.
Arm in the arm, the graduates walked under their formal wear under an orange sun and thick smoke.
The event also meant a lot for community members, who continue to cry the devastation caused by forest fires that destroyed the nearby communities, including Denare Beach.
Lifelong Flin Flon resident, Lana Nagy, said it was the first formal meeting with everyone in the city since her return.
“Very grateful to have this day and the children get everything they should,” said Nagy, who attended the ceremony to see his granddaughter graduate.
The friends of a lifetime Isabelle Kerfont and Scarlett Gunn thanked to make memories after “the month we lost”, like Gunn’s mother, who made her graduate dress while they were evacuated in Winnipeg.
“My mother did not stop working on my graduate dress,” said Gunn, who hopes to attend the film school after a sabbatical year.
“She continued adding all the little things. We even had to travel so many Walmarts and craft stores just to get a bottle of brightness paint.”
Susan Gunn Saray grabbed materials for her daughter’s graduate while fled Flin Flon.
Assemble and attack the piece was therapeutic in the midst of chaos and the uncertainty of evacuation, said Gunn Saray, who based the creation on his daughter’s sketch using fabric and lace to a family friend and a relative acquired for them.
“I’m glad I grabbed him. It was a strange thing for the last minute. He was dating the door,” he said.
Gunn Saray said she expected her daughter to experience a graduation as she did of the same secondary school.
“It’s surprising, because there was a difficult time there when we were in evacuation … when we received email that the school year was canceled,” said Gunn Saray.
“That was my good ugly cry in Winnipeg,” he said.
“Simply keep your fingers crossed … children could have this.”
As the best friends Emma White and Braedon Tetlock prepare to leave Flin Flon for universities in Calgary and Kelowna, they are savoring their final moments with family and friends.
“It is really special that we can really do everything we would do for a normal graduate,” said Tetlock, who was honored with prizes that recognized him as the graduate with the highest average.
“It feels great to be together again and everyone knows that we are here together. Our community is sure. All our families are safe,” White said.
