On Tuesday, June 24th, we celebrated the graduation of our Grade 8 class. Ms. Tam opened this year’s ceremony with a warm welcome. The graduates then entered the gym to the traditional Pomp and Circumstance by Elgar. Once everyone was seated, the audience enjoyed a compilation slideshow of our students from the time they started at Wesley. For many in this class, it was in our toddler and preschool programs.
After Mr. Schmidt’s Scripture readings and Mr. Pun’s prayer for the graduates, we were honoured to hear special music sung by Mr. Zachary Wilson.
Next, the Grade 8 student awards were given out, starting with some of the Christian character awards – The David Award for Leadership, The Nehemiah Award for Perseverance, The Paul Award for Stewardship and the Barnabas Award for Encouragement.
For the class awards, various teachers in our elementary division went up on stage to present awards for the Gauss Math Competition, Musician of the Year (Male and Female), Athlete of the Year (Male and Female), General Proficiency (highest overall average) and ACE (Attitude, Cooperation, Effort).
The last award was the Principal’s Award, given by Mrs. Serio herself.
Before the moment everyone was waiting for, Mr. Wilson led the audience in singing two worship songs.
This year’s diplomas were handed out by Mrs. Serio. This was followed by another slideshow consisting of some thoughts and memories written by our graduates about their time at Wesley.
Our guest speaker at the ceremony was Pastor Jeremiah from the Olive Branch Community Church in Markham. His message of encouragement to our graduates centred around Romans 12:1-2. He urged them to step into high school not as students but as young disciples of Christ, living lives that stand out and reflect integrity instead of shortcuts. He shared that high school will challenge them and the world will try to make them fit into its mold. However, he encouraged them to renew daily in the truth of God’s Word, be transformed by remaining in God’s thoughts, and to make a difference in their surroundings. He also challenged them to think about how they can be an active part of the purpose that God has for them each day. Pastor Jeremiah ended in prayer and also sharing a blessing from Numbers 6:24-26.
Mrs. Serio closed the evening with some final remarks and a prayer for the graduates. Everyone then went outside for photos before returning to the gym for light refreshments, an opportunity to use the photo booth, and play a few Wesley trivia games.
We are very proud of our Class of 2025 and wish them God’s grace and love as they leave Wesley’s doors. May they take all that they have learned and experienced here into the world and be a light for Christ as they move forward onto new and different paths that God has set before them