There was such a large graduating class this year at Ponoka Outreach School the awards night had to be held separately.
‘This is the first time for me since I’ve been principal that we’ve had to split of the grad and awards night,” said principal Scott Lewis.
The awards were held June 5 at the Ponoka Legion and a comfortable, informal barbecue supper complemented the evening.
There were 19 recipients this year, an average number for the school. “The awards are pretty steady. The part that’s unusual is to have the awards separate. I think we might do it again, even if we don’t have to,” said Lewis.
While Lewis already missing his graduated students, he’s proud of how much they’ve achieved.
“(There’s) lots of kids who overcome great challenges and land on their feet.”
Lewis says many of the recipients had to deal with family and transportation issues, pregnancies, and academic and credit deficiencies.
Recent graduate Bianca Jenkins came to the Outreach School part-way through grade 11 with only six credits to her name. A year and a half later she graduated with more than the required amount of 100.
“She’s a poster child for what you can do in terms of accelerating,” said Lewis. People often think their schools are only for kids who need more time, but that isn’t the case.
Other award winners overcame huge learning deficit problems. “Without naming names they were in Grade 10 but literally reading at a Grade 3 level,” said Lewis.
“They just make me feel encouraged about youth.” Lewis is also proud and thanks the community for their support of the outreach students through the awards and work experience opportunities.