Despite rain Glenboro graduates sparkled and shined

The Glenboro Graduation Class of 2026 was celebrated with messages of pride, encouragement, and optimism as students marked the completion of their high school journey.

Due to persistent rainfall, the ceremony was moved from its planned outdoor venue to the school gymnasium. Thanks to the hard work and flexibility of staff, the transition was seamless, ensuring graduates and their families could enjoy the special occasion despite the weather.

Principal Ryan Diehl praised the class for their resilience and contributions to the school culture, describing them as an exceptional group of students destined for great things.

“Over your time here, you haven’t just learned lessons from textbooks,” he said. “You’ve shown resilience through assignments and provincial exams, participated in sports, drama productions and choir concerts while demonstrating kindness, school pride and community spirit through volunteering and internships.”

He encouraged them to carry their unique talents, energy and determination into the future while remembering the values they learned along the way.

“As you take your next steps, treat people the way you want to be treated,” he said wisely. “Whatever you do in the future, do it with a smile and to the best of your ability. We are proud of the Class of 2026, and please never forget where you came from.”

Jenny Parsonage brought greetings on behalf of the Prairie Spirit School Division Board of Trustees. Following previous year’s tradition of gleaning words from a recently read book, Parsonage drew from Angela Duckworth’s book Grit. From Grit, she reflected on the qualities that contribute most to future success.

While academic achievement, athletic accomplishments and leadership experiences are valuable, Duckworth’s research suggests that “Grit” … a combination of passion and perseverance is one of the strongest predictors of long-term success.

Parsonage reminded the graduates that perseverance means continuing to show up, work hard and move forward despite challenges. Passion, meanwhile, is often discovered through experiences.

“The first step in cultivating passion is discovering and developing interests that you find fascinating and enjoyable,” she said gazing at the class. “That discovery process can be messy at times, but it is often the most important stage.”

Her words encouraged the graduates to embrace uncertainty and explore new opportunities as they move into the next chapter of their lives.

“If you are one of the lucky few who already know exactly what you want to do, congratulations,” she said. “But if you’re still figuring it out, that’s ok too. This is your chance to explore and discover what inspires you, while hopefully having fun along the way.

Guest speaker Bryce Watson, a teacher and coach who has worked with the students for the past six years, drew laughter and applause as he reflected on his experiences with the Class of 2026.
Noting that the graduates were his first Grade 6 class, Watson joked that they had asked him to deliver a heartfelt speech.

“Anyone who knows me knows that usually isn’t my forte,” he told the crowd.

Instead, Watson shared a collection of humorous stories and memorable student quotes gathered over the years, offering several lighthearted life lessons on responsibility, relationships, goal setting and perseverance.

While the anecdotes prompted plenty of laughter, his message carried a meaningful reminder about the importance of teamwork and support.

“It is important that in whatever path you take, you find the right people to help you achieve your goals,” he said.

As he concluded, Watson shared a letter written by Austin Dubyts to his future self in Grade 6. The message centred on kindness and treating others well, a lesson Watson encouraged graduates to carry with them into the future.

Class of 2026 Valedictorian, Maryn McGill reflected on memories, resilience and looking ahead. She had the graduates and guests laughing as she revealed she turned to Chat GPT for guidance on how to write a speech when she learned she would be delivering the valedictory address.

“So without any further ado,” she said, “these are the steps, as listed by AI”.Using the suggested outline as a framework, she guided classmates through a collection of shared memories spanning 13 years together at Glenboro School.

Among the moments recalled were the infamous, “ice cream pail bucket hat,” a new cellphone dropped into a pond, a failed batch of blueberry muffins that inspired the Home Economics classroom’s “Epic Fail” board, and the swift banning of the Cookie Clicker game on the school chromebooks.

She also reminded classmates of the challenges they faced together, including a lice outbreak, affecting much of their first grade class during the Christmas concert!

Despite evoking laughter, Maryn highlighted the determination and grit defined by the graduates.

“We persevered through the global pandemic, the transition to online learning, and returning to school while trying to maintain social distancing,” she reminisced.

She noted that the class adapted to learning in gyms, theatres and outdoor classrooms while continuing to excel academically and in extracurricular activities. Their efforts resulted in the highest divisional average on the most recent Provincial English examination, along with numerous zone and provincial championship banners.

Maryn also praised her classmates for their commitment to mentoring younger students through coaching, tutoring, internships and peer support programs.

“This resilience is something we should wear as a coat of honour,” she said emotionally.

She then turned the page to the future and acknowledged a challenge familiar to many graduates … Burnout.

“I know that in the past couple of months, the temptation to give up on things because we were so close to the end grew significantly,” she said.

Rather than offering the traditional life advice, Maryn encouraged her classmates to recognize the importance of balance while they pursue their goals.

“There are such incredibly creative people sitting here, and I would hate to see any of us take on too much and quit something that we could make incredible,” she said.

Looking ahead to careers ranging from teacher, nursing, engineering to farming and other countless paths, she expressed confidence that the Class of 2026 will persevere and thrive.

She concluded by thanking teachers, coaches, guidance counsellors, family and friends for their unwavering support.

Her final message was encouragement to classmates to remember that success is not simply about pushing through every challenge.

“Taking a break does not make you weak or incapable,” she said. “True strength is when you know your boundaries and hold firm to them.”

Quoting one of her favourite songwriters, she left her classmates and guests with a message of home and perseverance: “As long as we are fortunate enough to be breathing, we will breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out.”

“Congratulations, Class of 2026,” she exclaimed, “We did it!”

PHOTO CAPTION: GLENBORO’S CLASS OF 2026 … (front row l. to r.) Emily Anderson, Austin Dubyts, Jacob Radford, Reese Morrison, Maryn McGill. (back row l. to r.) Nathan Nepinak, Charlee Nickols-Neale, Charlie Shearer, Tucker Forbes, Brooklyn Cronin, Grace Sholdice, Evan Griffin, Courtney Holmes, Hunter Feschuk, Jack Sholdice. PHOTO COURTESY OF THERA’S PHOTOGRAPHY