Morris School is on the verge of celebrating the achievements of 32 senior students at it’s 2023 commencement ceremony.
The school's grade twelves have chosen Emilie Jashyn and Mikayla Wiebe as co-valedictorians.
"I feel like I am ending a very long chapter in my life," reflects Jashyn. "It felt long, but also at the same time it went by very quickly. I'm just honored right now."
The graduation event is like saying you've finished a major phase of your life, according to Wiebe.
"Like you finished well and now you get to do all the adulting type of stuff that everybody else does."
Many of the graduating students have grown up together.
"At this school we're K to 12, so a few of them I've known all the way since kindergarten, explains Wiebe. "Some joined in middle school. Some joined in Grade 7 and 8, some joined in high school. And we even had a few people join this year. But we all are pretty accepting and we enjoy getting to know each other."
In the fall, Wiebe intends to enroll at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, allowing her to stay in Manitoba while pursuing a variety of course subjects and building friendships.
After a few teachers asked for Jashyn's assistance, she is planning to spend the next year working as an Educational Assistant at her alma mater.
"I feel like I'm cared for here and like they enjoy having me around."
The following year, Jashyn would like to attend a college in Saskatchewan.
"I have many friends there and I found a college that I think suits me."
Jashyn says the student body forms a diverse community within the school with the graduating class being especially tight-knit.
With files from Nicole Klassen