Dear Maple Grove Community,

Over the past few weeks, we have had several opportunities to come together and celebrate the year, individuals, our school, our grads and our achievements over the course of another challenging school year; as we exit the thick of Covid. I would like to thank everyone for a wonderful 7 years at Maple Grove. I am honoured to have been your principal and will fondly remember my time with you.

Quite a few parents have asked for a copy of the Principal’s Remarks from the Grad Leaving Ceremony. So, here you go….

“Good Evening,

Welcome parents, family members, loved ones, and of course grads, to this, your Graduation Leaving Ceremony 2022. Grads, please turn and thank your parents and the staff for getting you this far!

What a good looking group… you scrub up really well! I need to say some thank you’s before we start… so,

1. Parent Grad Committee:
   Thank you for being so dedicated; conscientious; hard working and thoughtful in their approach to how this grad would look.  The pride, time and effort was amazing- AND they’re so ultra-organized. Thank you for making this event happen.
   
2. Mr. Land: it started with a phone call asking if he could fill in for me for 2 weeks… that turned into 2 years. Mr Land thank you for all your work and support for the school
   
3. Madame Val: She is so ready to have a school of her own… and really has been so flexible and accommodating these past 2 years.  Thank you, Madame Val.,
   
4. I also want to apologize: Essentially I’ve missed the last 2 years of your schooling and I want you do know that doesn’t sit lightly with me. I’ve known many of you since your Kindergarten year, so missing the last 1.5 years , I’m just sorry – it couldn’t be helped.
   
   Grads, You’re leaving us.
   • And in the “Book Of Life”, you are ending a chapter called, “elementary school”. But, like all great books, the turning of a page is symbolic of beginning a new chapter- and of course, the rest of the book.  Your books will vary.  There will be good times- and bad, happy times- and sad, undoubtedly there will be tragedy, and perhaps there will even be first love (much to the chagrin of many of the parents in the room today).
     
     Grads, if you take nothing from us, since Kindergarten, take this.  “You have a lifetime of decisions and choices ahead of you- They are yours to make- nobody else’s. Remember that. So, Make good choices:
   • Make choices that reflect positivism- not dismissal
   • Make choices that reflect compassion towards society- not contempt.
   • Make choices that reflect a decision made from thought and understanding- not anger.

• Trust your instincts and think for yourself.  We are proud of your accomplishments and contributions to the culture of this school.  Each of you, in your own way, has played a role in shaping our school culture. High School awaits you.  It’s a vast opportunity just waiting for you to grab hold of it. 
  
• Undoubtedly, you will meet people who will try to silence you or entice you to compromise your principles in any number of ways.  They’ll try to gain your trust and distract you with money, power, security and perhaps, most dangerously, a “sense of belonging”.  Don’t let them; it’s just not worth it.  One of the biggest threats to our world is the culture of silence and compromise.
  
• I’m not going to tell you about school stuff; courses or rules… Instead, I want to remind you about the advice I gave you back in September:
  • Be yourself
  • Expose yourself to new ideas.
  • Look for the core of what makes each person human, and appreciate the details that make them unique.
  • Find something that moves you or bothers you, and do something about it.
  • Be brave. Be bold. Take action.
  • Speak up, especially when something tries to keep you silent.
  • Take a stand for what’s right.  You may not always be popular, but you’ll be part of something larger and bigger and greater than yourself.
  • Raise a ruckus and make a change.  And REMEMBER, Change is inevitable- except from a vending machine.
    
• Thank You”

Keep building a great learning community. I will be around the district next year on a part time basis filling in for various administrators.

Report Cards go home today! This is the last day of school. Thursday is an Admin Day- no school for students.