Congratulations, Grade 8 Grads!

Posted on: June 28th, 2017

Sparkle and dash hit the Rockway halls on June 15th, as our grade 8 students arrived dressed to impress and ready for their ride to Crossroads Restaurant in Elmira aboard our shiny yellow limousine. There, they dined with teachers and principal, in celebration of their successful grade 8 year. After many trips to the buffet and the official paper plate award ceremony, it was back to the school for photos and graduation ceremony… but not without the requisite rounding and rounding and rounding of the St. Jacobs traffic circle, just for fun.

Friends, family and teachers gathered to honour and support our graduates as they made the pivotal transition from elementary to secondary education. Their ceremony included favourite hymns chosen by the students as well as performances by student musicians, highlighting this class’s particular love and talent for music. Valedictorian Aidan Morton-Ninomiya reminisced with his classmates, and encouraged them to find and enjoy the things that make them happy.

Graduation speaker and Aidan’s mother, Melody Morton-Ninomiya, then challenged us to consider the importance of being open to alternate perspectives and gave each graduate a set of chopsticks as a reminder of how one perspective, like one chopstick, isn’t enough.

No longer grade 8’s, we wish this class of brand new high school students all the best as they meet the opportunities and challenges ahead.