Resilience – that’s the word Ecole Olds High School Principal Meaghan Reist uses to describe the class of 2025.
The class of 2025 will celebrate the culmination of the past four years of their hard work and dedication to their studies on May 30th and 31st.
Principal Reist says this class is unique in that they are the first to complete the entirety of their high school career post-pandemic, so the students have “seen it all” when it comes to entering the modern workforce and post-secondary system.
“This group of students has  had a high school experience like no other,” she says. “ I had the privilege of meeting them in grade eight when I was at Ecole Deer Meadow School as their admin, and we had just welcomed students back to school in the midst of the pandemic, so this group has experienced school online, they’ve experienced it in person, they have seen it all.”
Reist says through the hardships that come with a world after COVID, students have been forced to adapt, which has led to a group that isn’t afraid to advocate for their own learning.
“ Through all of that, they essentially learned how they learn, what they need to learn and most importantly, how to advocate for their learning,” she says. “We’re grateful that the last few years have been stable, but this group of students has had to make up for time when the world stood still.”
“ Their resiliency and their commitment to school and their own learning and each other is present every day with this group for sure,” she adds.
Since the pandemic, streaming the graduation ceremony online has become a longstanding tradition at schools across the country, and Olds is no different. According to Reist, this has allowed for even more community involvement, making graduation more of a public affair.
“We have growing populations here at the high school, and so we’re not able to accommodate the public at a live event in the same way that we might have when I graduated from Olds High and we had it at the arena,” she says. “So every year since 2020, we’ve live streamed and I think last year we had over a thousand people tune in online to watch the Friday night event, and they can also watch Saturday as well.”
Saying goodbye to another class is often the hardest part of the graduation process for staff, especially when students spend all four of their high school years in one place. Still, Reist says one of the most rewarding parts of teaching is often bittersweet.
“ Any high school teacher will tell you that every grad class is bittersweet to say goodbye to,” she says. “ We spend approximately four years with them if they’re with us the whole time, we watch them grow, we watch them mature and we watch them become the amazing adults that they are.”
“We know they’re ready for their next steps, we’re excited for them, but the halls just won’t be the same without the grad class here.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a graduation without a valedictorian, and this year in Olds, it’s Sydney Van Ginhoven. Van Ginhoven is described as a dedicated individual in all aspects of her schooling, and Reist says the grads are lucky to have shared their high school experience with her.
“ She’s dedicated in all areas of her life, she’s passionate and she’s overall just a hard worker in school, in friendships in life,” she says. “The grad class is very lucky to have her as their rep, and she has worked very hard for the title of valedictorian, so we’re proud of her and we know the class is as well.”
The Olds High School Grad Cap and Gown Ceremony is scheduled for May 30th. Links to view the ceremony will be available on the school’s website.
