CANORA - Upon completion of the 2025 graduation exercises on June 26, Canora Composite School graduates shared the evening and recalled some memorable moments with family and friends at the graduation banquet.
Father Taras Makowsky blessed the meal. He opened with the Lord’s Prayer, and then added “Father, may Your Holy Spirit come down and bless our graduating class, and may they all have a safe journey home tonight.”
Following the meal, it was time for the toasts.
Matthew Makowsky and Briel Beblow opened with the toast to the girls.
“Tonight, as we celebrate this milestone, we want to take a moment to not just celebrate the diplomas, but everything that got us here – the late nights, the endless exams, and let's be honest, some moments where we seriously questioned if we'd make it through. But through all the stress and chaos, it was our friendships that kept us going; the people who shared our snacks, our laughs, and yes, even our panic during finals week. We faced obstacles, whether it was tough classes, drama, or just figuring out who we wanted to be but together, we overcame them. These memories aren't just chapters in a yearbook: they're stories of resilience and connection that we'll carry for life.
“So here's to us – to the challenges that made us stronger, to the friends who made it worthwhile, and to the future we're ready to take on. Cheers!”
Makayla Heshka and Jessee Kopelchuk responded with the toast to the boys, admitting that, “We weren't sure what to say as there is simply too much to talk about. But we feel we should share how things started out.
“On the first day of Grade 9 we sat in Mr. Lowes’ classroom and you could literally draw a line in the middle separating the boys and girls. And that pretty much sums up how our relationship was at that time. Since then we have come to know each other a bit better and even started mixing our original seating plan. As we have started to get along more we have made countless memories including:
- Matthew getting in trouble by any teacher for anything and everything;
- Our countless nicknames oriented from livestock including the heifers and chicken;
- The risk of the boys getting drop-kicked every art class;
- Their science experiment that Mrs. Sznerch would be very proud of consisting of beetle juice, Fanta, croutons, Kit Kats, and many other things that found a home on Ms. Gordon's bookshelf for a good portion of the year; and
- One very damaged truck from a party setup.
“We could keep going on and on about many more memories. But frankly some of them should never be brought back up so we feel we should wrap it up by saying thanks for making us laugh, driving us crazy, and giving us stories we'll tell for the rest of our lives.
“Congratulations boys and good luck in the future because we will not be there to do the group projects!”
Ty Sleeva and Ava Love gave the toast to the teachers, “who helped make this day possible.
“First off, a thank you to our elementary school teachers who started off our journey throughout these past few years. You made learning fun and taught us how important it was to show up and put in the effort.
“Our middle school teachers deserve a huge recognition for putting up with us throughout our worst teenage years. You put up with us throughout the preteen drama, and helped through a point where our lives changed the most.
”Our most recent teachers were the ones who helped us plan this day, tortured us with finals and put up with endless complaining. A thank you to teachers whom we always tried to convince to push that test back, or give us the answers to what might have been the easiest question. Each of our teachers helped us get to this day and equally made their best effort to prepare us for these next years in the real world. Thank you.”
The toast to the parents and guardians came from Aurora Mickelson and Hayden Starecki
“Today, as we stand on this incredible milestone, a moment we've worked so hard for, we celebrate not only the achievements of the class, but also the people who stood beside us through every step of the journey, you, our parents. To the moms, dads, guardians and parent figures sitting here today, this is your moment, too.
“You were there before we could tie our shoes or spell our names. You stayed up late helping with homework, even if you didn't understand it either. You held us when we were broken and cheered us on when we soared. You believed in us when we couldn't see our own potential.
“We love you. We thank you. And we hope we make you proud, not just today, but every day moving forward from this moment on.”
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