Congratulations 2016 Graduates!
Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory” – Dr. Seuss
This was the graduation theme for the Rockway Graduating Class of 2016 which took place on Saturday, June 25, 2016. Fifty eight graduates walked the stage and received their Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Of those, thirty three also receive the Rockway Diploma, an additional honor based on Religious Studies credits earned and additional Community Service committed.
Mark Diller Harder, Pastor of St. Jacobs Mennonite Church gave a creative Graduation Address entitled, “Snap. The World is about to Turn!” Diller Harder affirmed the Rockway experience and posed the following challenge: “Can you help to shape a different vision, a different way of seeing and defining and living in our world?
· To live ‘the already,’ will be more about character than personality.
· More about being than doing.
· More about the quality of your relationships than climbing the social ladder.
· More about finding a calling than securing a job.
· More about pursuing dreams for our world, than personal desires.
· More about hope than despair.
He concluded his address stating that what graduates have experienced and learned here will hold them in good stead. “Grab the moment,” he stated, “and all the moments that are to come. You are ready. Prepared. Set. You will make a difference in our world!”
Rockway Graduations are one of my most favourite events of the year. They are a beautiful mix of formality and celebration. The Graduation Service twins together the acknowledgement of an academic achievement, couched in worship, and the Graduation Banquet allows for more of a celebration of the overall Rockway experience, including a formal induction into the Rockway Alumni.
The Rockway Graduating Class of 2016 is a diverse group of young adults, who will embark on university, college, gap years including victory laps, working and travelling. In addition to completing their academic studies, many of them made valuable and vital contributions to the Rockway community for which we are grateful!
On behalf of Rockway’s Board of Directors, Faculty and Staff, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the graduates! It is our hope that as their experience here of “Forming Faith and Building Character” will platform them successfully as they embark on new challenges and opportunities!
Ann L. Schultz
Principal
