With physical distancing rules in place this morning, it was difficult to read the emotions of the graduates from Chippewa Secondary School as they participated in the school's first drive-by commencement ceremony, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is likely some tears were shed by the Class of 2020 and their supporters but perhaps not quite as many as elicited by a student-produced farewell video thanking Chippewa teachers and support staff for their guidance and encouragement over the years.
"Dear Chippewa," produced by Makayla Clark and Cade Cardinal — and beautifully scripted by Julia Einarson, Clark and Cardinal point out — was a three-week ordeal the graduating students say was painstakingly tedious and worth every second.
Clark and Cardinal used their savvy social media skills to secretly compile clips from nearly 70 graduates into a heartfelt goodbye their mentors and teachers won't soon forget. When these students could no longer speak to each other in person and discovered the typical ways to give thanks restricted, they found a way.
"We didn't have that opportunity to have that last day of school to personally thank teachers that had an impact," says Cardinal. "We thought it was really important to capture those moments as best as we could and to say our goodbyes to a school that has been such a big part of our lives."
They posted a notice outlining the project on Clark's Instagram and were overwhelmed with the response from the graduating class. Clark shares she had to delete personal files and schoolwork from her home computer in order to store all of the video footage.
Clark, (who will attend Guelph University for criminal justice and public policy) says the unique circumstances of this past school year made the students appreciate the efforts of the Chippewa staff just a little bit more.
"They've done a lot for us over the past four to six years," observes Clark. "But, since COVID-19, you send an email at midnight, there are some teachers who would get back to us in five minutes. No matter what, they had our backs and they looked out for us."
Cardinal, who will study business at Nipissing University adds, "It was important to us that we give back to people who had an enormous impact on our personal growth — inside and outside the classroom."
As he narrates "Dear Chippewa," Cardinal speaks Einarson's words, which Clark says encapsulate the Class of 2020: "We share this moment and we stand together strong, even it means standing six feet apart."
