Grade 12 students are preparing for graduation with less than a week left before crossing the finish line with diploma in hand! 

Russell Outhwaite is the co-valedictorian for his graduating class of about 25 students at Killarney School. 

Outhwaite says his dozen years at Killarney School were great.  “It’s a small school so everyone knows everyone.  You get lots of help if you need it, and it’s easy to stay with the program if you get lots of help. It’s been good.” 

Approximately half of the Killarney graduates will be pursuing secondary education at university or college.  Outhwaite will be attending Assiniboine Community College in Brandon this Fall.   He says he feels fairly confident transitioning into this next phase of learning.  “My studies will be in Agri-business, and I’d like to get in somewhere along that field. I don’t know exactly where yet, but I’ll see where it goes.  I feel that the courses I took in high school have helped me a lot to prepare for that.” 

The Grad ceremony will take place at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, June 22nd on the Killarney School grounds.   The graduates were given a choice if they would like the traditional ceremony prior to covid, or if they preferred the outdoor ceremony like during the pandemic.  The graduates chose the outdoor ceremony on the school grounds. 

“We thought it would just run a little smoother and it was a little easier for us,” he adds. 

“We’ll have a big stage out in the field, with the cars all around during the ceremony in the school yard, then a parade takes us around town and ends up at the Shamrock Centre where we’ll have our banquet,” he explains.   

The pandemic restrictions that changed learning protocol definitely made the last few years tougher, says Outhwaite.  “You lose focus a little more when you’re at home working on the computer, but I was able to get through it, so that was good.” 

Outhwaite wishes his fellow graduates all the best as they pursue future endeavors.  “Good luck on whatever your future goals are and chase your dreams!”