Sask. Grade 12s who lost grad in 2020 fear deja vu reality
With ongoing job action by Saskatchewan teachers and no end in sight to a contract dispute with the provincial government, some high school students in the province are worried graduation ceremonies could be cancelled.
For students in Grade 12, it would mean a second lost graduation.
Four years ago, high school seniors Gabby Kaban, Zach Markusson and Kyle Conteh were all in Grade 8, facing very similar circumstances to the ones they’ve currently found themselves in because of the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding restrictions.
“Its scary because we didn’t get Grade 8 grad due to COVID, we also didn’t get our elementary school basketball finals because of the teachers stuff so just knowing this is happening again is still a problem, it’s just kinda sad,” Conteh said.
“Just being able to walk the stage, you only get to walk the stage once in your high school career so that’s definitely a nerve, but I feel like hopefully everything can work out and we’ll be able to do that,” Markusson added.
As the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) continues its battle with the provincial government, all extra curricular activities have been paused in schools across Saskatchewan heading into the Easter break, something that has greatly affected many highly involved students.
“Band, choir, music, sports, athletics like all of the extracurricular activities that go on impact all the students and so by taking those away, you’re taking away a big part of the high school experience,” Kaban said.
“Mentally, having a game and then not having a game it takes a toll on you because you build up all this hype just for it to be gone,” Conteh said.
As students, the trio also has seen first hand the issues which STF has been advocating for.
“We’re needing more teachers to come help us in the classroom. I remember even this past semester, the classes just got so large if you didn’t get there early enough to your class, you might not get a desk, you might have to stand at the back just because we had so many students,” Kaban recalled.
With only a few months left until the school year ends, the fear that they might experience a second cancelled graduation is a reality for students.
The STF and the provincial government have been stuck in a stalemate for months with no end in sight. The three students also had some advice to offer both sides. “I think that it’s important that everyone keep in their minds that its not this fight and argument, its really like, ‘how can we put ourselves together as adults to find the best solution to these problems so that our students can have the best opportunities,” Kaban said.
“Just to try to bring it back to the table and talk through it. And try to get both sides to agree to something so that we can have our grad,” Markusson added.
“Try to really listen to each other. I feel like they’re just so focused on what they have to say, they aren’t trying to see the full picture. They’re just trying to see what they’re putting across,” Conteh said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.