For 155 Grade 12 students at Weyburn Comprehensive School, Saturday will be one of the most important days of their lives. They will be crossing the stage, and receiving their high school diplomas.  

The day will be packed with activities for the graduates to mark the occasion with their families, their friends, the general public and perhaps most importantly, their classmates, some of who have been in the same class for 12 years.  

The day will begin with the graduation ceremony itself at Darold Kot Field. It will start with a punch reception, and be followed by the students gathering in the Eagle Gym. There, they will get into their caps and gowns with the graduation ceremony beginning at 10:30 a.m. 

“That’s open to the public and anyone can attend that,” explained Abby Kradovill. She is the head of the grad committee for this year.  

Following the cap and gown ceremony that will see the students walk across the stage to receive their diplomas, there will be a short break in the festivities to allow for the graduates to grab a bite to eat, get some more photos done, and more.  

Then, the graduates will meet in the parking lot behind Tom Zandee Sports Arena to get organized for what has become a popular tradition in just a short time span – the graduate parade. The idea of the parade started during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to grow ever since.  

“The parade is there for the public to watch and see all of them in whatever outfits they’ve chosen to wear for that, and however they’ve decorated their floats,” Kradovill said of the parade. The parade will start at 2:00 p.m. and go from the Sports Arena, down Prairie Avenue to 3rd Street, south on 3rd Street to Souris Avenue, then over to 2nd Street, up to Bison Avenue, then west to Government Road and then onto Coteau Avenue West back to the Sports Arena.  

After the parade, there will be another short break for the graduates and families, and then off to the evening events, which will include the Grand March. 

“The Grand March is limited to grads and guests with tickets only, and that’s just due to limited seating capacity at the Cugnet Centre. It’s about just under 1200 people,” Kradovill outlined for the event. The students will be introduced, along with their escorts if they have one, and there will be a short program which will include a slideshow as well as some speeches and a few dances.  

Once those are all wrapped up, the guests will then basically be kicked out to let the students commemorate the event themselves with what is being dubbed the Final Curtain Call.  

“The grads and their escorts will stay just to take pictures and hang out just with their graduating class, and kind of spend those last moments together and capturing those memories,” Kradovill described.