Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 25, 2020
Students find new ways to celebrate graduations and prom
After months of remote learning due to COVID-19 the school year officially comes to end this week, but for many students there will be no graduation or prom to celebrate the milestone.
Life in a Pandemic
“Prom would have been tomorrow and commencement the day after, so there is really no sense of closure in a way,” said Nelson Lee, who is graduating from Marc Garneau Collegiate .
Nelson is the student council president at his Toronto high school and had been planning the end-of-year celebrations long before the pandemic.
“It doesn’t feel as fulfilling,” he said about missing out on so many school events, graduation and other extracurricular opportunities.
He has been accepted to the University of Toronto’s Engineering program. He’s excited about the next chapter, but acknowledges it won’t be normal.
“The university has sent out a lot of information about they will proceed in September, for the larger classes they will be online and smaller seminars will be in person,” he said. “I think it’s a great combination for the best of both worlds at this time.”
In the meantime, with limited options due to the pandemic, he’s taking courses offered by UofT to prepare him for his first semester.
“Just to keep myself engage and push myself to learn new things during this time.”
Some schools are hosting virtual graduation ceremonies to celebrate their students achievements.
Bayview Middle School is hoisting a virtual graduation Tuesday evening, giving staff and students one last opportunity to connect.
“It means a lot to me because I will see my teachers talk one last time, just knowing I’m going to be present there with all my classmates and peers,” Grade 8 student Nadine Al-Junaidi said.
Nadine’s classmate Pradyumn Jha is equally excited about the opportunity to see friends one last time before going their separate ways to different high schools. (CTV)