Last Friday’s graduation and prize-giving for Waiheke High School’s Year 13 students was a celebration of resilience and perseverance, carried out in an atmosphere of exuberance and flair in the glare of summer heat.
The students were seated between the school’s hall and T block – in yet another adjustment to accommodate public health guidance, while whānau and friends sat on the bank across the driveway to witness the ceremony and applaud the students’ achievements.
The final two years of high school for this year’s 55 graduates has arguably been the most disrupted since World War II. But stepping out from so many difficulties, Friday’s ceremony was a celebration of the students’ achievements – academic, sporting and cultural. Speeches from head girl Teeana Kara and head boy Kyle Edwards described the adversity overcome by the students, while the awards ceremony acknowledged the hard work the students had exhibited throughout the year. • Erin Johnson
Full story in this week’s Gulf News… Out Now!!!
