East Antigonish grads go Grade Primary to 12 in same school |

East Antigonish Education Centre/Academy graduates chuckle at a funny line from valedictorian Morghanne Boudreau?s speech during their grad ceremony June 26. (Richard MacKenzie photo)

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With their graduation ceremony June 26, East Antigonish Education Centre/Academy marked a significant milestone.
?This is the very first class to graduate from East Antigonish Education Centre/Academy having begun here in Grade Primary,? acting principal Glenn Austen said, a reference to the 2012-13 graduating class having spent their entire grade school days in the same school.
?That?s quite a distinction and, as Ms. [Janice] Gough [principal on-leave] said in her speech, ?this is a very special group.??
The graduating class totalled 42 students and last week?s ceremony began with the singing of O? Canada by graduate Julie Murphy.
Dignitaries on-hand to offer congratulatory words, as well as encouragement and advice, included Antigonish MLA Maurice Smith, Municipality of the County of Antigonish Warden Russell Boucher, Paqtnkek First Nation Chief Gerard Julian, Strait Regional School Board (SRSB) administrator Lisa MacNamara and local member Jamie Sampson.
Alumnus Cpt. Gina (Snyder) DeCarie was the guest speaker. The Afghanistan veteran talked about learning from mistakes and perseverance amongst other important traits the graduates should carry forward.
?For some of you, high school is merely a warm-up and for others, learning may take other forms outside of the classroom,? DeCarie said.
?But, make no mistake, your education is far from over. You will gain life skills
as you step into adulthood, make mistakes and learn from
them. Opportunity can sometimes bring hardship and struggle
so having the fortitude to preserve in order to achieve
your goals makes all the
difference between success and failure.?
After the ceremony, DeCarie commented on the overall message she wanted to impart on the graduates.
?As long as they have a goal and are prepared to follow it, anything is possible,? she said, adding she was ?honoured? to be asked to be guest speaker.
With the presentation of awards, as well as the listing of scholarship and bursary recipients, graduate Taylor DeGruchy was the name most often called out, including earning $20,200 in the latter categories.
DeGruchy topped the list for Academic Honour Roll, both for this past year and the accumulative grades 10 to 12, and was also the Queen Elizabeth II Medal and Governor General Medal winner.
She was also one of two graduates, Miranda Bouchard the other, picking up an award for volunteer work with extra-curricular programs and committees.
?It?s amazing ? surreal,? DeGruchy said as graduates mingled with family and friends at the close of the ceremony.
?My parents have helped me so much, my teachers have been so supportive. All phenomenal ? [the evening] is emotional,? DeGruchy said.
Her plan for next year is to attend Dalhousie and take science with the ultimate goal of entering medical school. She talked about the financial aid she earned through the scholarships and bursaries.
?It?s great,? she said. ?You apply for all of that never thinking you would actually get it, but I got it and it?s great.?
As for her classmates, DeGruchy was already talking about when they?ll get back together as a group.
?I?m going to miss them so much,? she said. ?But we?ll put a reunion together so we can all come back in a few years, meet up and see where everyone is at.?
Amongst those classmates is graduation valedictorian Morghanne Boudreau.
In her emotional speech, where she led the way in displaying a range from tears to laughter, Boudreau talked about losing friends and a classmate, a reference to the November, 2011 automobile collision which claimed the lives of Nico Landry and Cory Mattie.
The two young men, both East Antigonish students, were remembered often during the ceremony including in a moment of silence and in Gough?s speech near the conclusion of the evening?s events.
?It was hard but manageable,? Boudreau said of delivering her speech, a definite highlight of the ceremony which received a stirring standing ovation.
She talked about the message she wanted to get across.
?That no matter what you?re going through, you always have friends and people there for you,? she said, noting she and her classmates continually stepped up for one another.
In her speech, she quoted the famous line from American author E.E. Cummings: ?It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are,? and noted one of the ?scariest? words in the English language now facing graduates: ?responsibility.?
?And although there were many days when each and every one of us dreaded coming here, I couldn?t imagine being here with anyone else except this amazing graduating class,? Boudreau said.
Austen said it was a ?successful? evening.
?Each of our graduates brings unique gifts to the table and I think a lot of those came through in the valedictorian speech as well as the comments from teachers and administrators,? he said.
?This is the last time they?ll be together as a group and I think you can see, in the crowd and with the graduates themselves, the emotions that come from that,? he added, amidst a sea of hugs, camera flashes and well wishes as folks made their way out of the school to conclude the 2012-13 year.

Source: http://www.thecasket.ca/archives/30163

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