(Karly Jones)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

disappointment

Grad 2020 families upset over cancelled makeup ceremony

Aug 28, 2020 | 1:15 PM

Parents and students from Red Deer’s two Catholic high schools are upset after the school division announced this week it was forced to cancel a pair of makeup grad ceremonies scheduled for Sept. 12.

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools issued a letter Tuesday citing the pandemic and public health guidelines from the province as reasoning for shutting down the events for St. Joseph High School and Notre Dame High School.

2020 St. Joseph graduating student Emily Uebell was shocked to read the news, especially after the relief she felt when the makeup event was announced to replace the originally cancelled ceremony and prom.

“It feels as though the one thing I’ve worked for my whole life has just slipped away,” she laments. “I sat in bed the whole day re-watching the pathetic video they sent out to recognize the graduating class of 2020, that me and a lot of my friends weren’t even involved in. I feel like the school district is just being lazy.”

“I’m completely disappointed and angry that there was so little thought put into this over the last four months,” adds Chelsea Alderson, whose daughter transferred from St. Dominic in Rocky Mountain House to St. Joseph just for grade 12.

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She notes that St. Dominic did a drive-through ceremony, much like what Red Deer Public’s Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School did.

Alderson, as well as Uebell and classmate Rebecca McCrae, also share that they spent hundreds on dresses for the September event at which students were invited to wear prom attire rather than the typical grad gown.

“My parents and I spent around $600-700 altogether on my gown, alterations and shoes. That’s not including the time they all booked off to be at my graduation,” says McCrae. “I would love to see our school acknowledge the fact that we exist still and that we are important.”

Speaking with rdnewsNOW, Acting Superintendent Kathleen Finnigan wants families and now former students to know that this was far from an easy decision.

“We just could not find a way to adhere to the limitations of the 200 person capacity at an outside event, plus with the unpredictability of weather, it wouldn’t be possible to move indoors where there’s a restriction of 100 people,” Finnigan explains.

St. Joseph had 215 grads this year, while Notre Dame had 376.

“In June, we did really celebrate our students. Staff went to each individual grad’s home or workplace and delivered a package with a grad hat, inspirational messages from teachers, and they had a video playing with messages from staff,” she says, noting that feedback they received from parents at the time was overwhelmingly positive.

“We even got them grad gowns that they could have for 24 hours to take pictures, and we heard from families that said they’d never experienced such attention and support.”

Finnigan says it isn’t fair to compare a typical day at school with a one day event because at school, students and teachers will be in their cohorts.

She says at this time, they haven’t considered a drive-through event and nothing else is currently planned.

“It’s a disappointment to all of us, most definitely. I feel bad that those expenses have been incurred by families, and these were our grads. They went through 12 years with us,” Finnigan says, expressing sadness. “But at the end of the day, we have to follow public health guidelines, and we want not only Red Deer Catholic to be safe, but also all of Red Deer.”