'It was a struggle but we got through it': Sask. grads celebrate triumphant end after turbulent journey

It’s a big week for Grade 12 graduates across Saskatchewan who are marking the end of their high school careers.

For a crew that was denied their last graduation in grade eight and a turbulent end of the year for grade 12, they’re just happy to be celebrating now.

For Ethan Simon, today couldn’t come fast enough and is a relief.

“Honestly the last semester I was so over it with school,” Simon told CTV News.

The last time Simon and the rest of the class of 2024 was supposed to have a graduation, it didn’t happen. So this day is a long time coming.

“Well in grade eight due to COVID we didn’t have our graduation,” graduate Calypso Ifill said.

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The excitement is not being stifled by that reality, but they haven’t forgotten how it all started either.

“The first year was really tough, we only went [to school] every second day, and it was tougher to make friends and stuff,” Simon said.

“In grade 10, things started to get back to normal but was still a little bit bad. Then grade 11 was our first year of regular normal high school with normal classes,” Ifill said.

Then, the teachers' strike—which started in the winter of 2024— added another hurdle, according to graduate Kayson MacDonald.

(Carla Shynkaruk/CTV News)

“It wasn’t very easy with missing days and catching up, not communicating with teachers and not having lunch breaks, it was a struggle but we got through it,” he said.

Iffil recalls the trepidation of missing out on key grade 12 moments when the teacher strike started.

“My first thought was that my senior trip was going to be cancelled. The second thing was my grade that was going to be cancelled, luckily that wasn’t. I was always thinking for the worst,” she said.

Even with those challenges, this graduating class is taking time to celebrate how far they’ve come.

“It felt like it was never going to end, but now that it’s here it doesn’t feel like it’s ending. It’s surreal but it’s good to be done and moving on to bigger and better things,” MacDonald said.

As for Simon, even though he missed playing junior football because of COVID, he still caught up. He is now heading to California to play at the college level.

While this is the end for the class of 2024, it’s also the beginning according to Iffil.

“I’m proud of how everybody has come. Like I said these last four years have not been easy and it’s nice to see everyone celebrate and be graduated.”

Roughly 280 Bethlehem grads walked across the stage at TCU Place to receive their diploma Wednesday.