Two students are the first to ever graduate from a Red Deer francophone school.
Seaden Balfour and Taylor Kepper, both 17, were celebrated in front of Ecole La Prairie on Friday.
The kindergarten-to-Grade 12 school had not before had a student complete all 12 grades of education in its 24-year history.
“Studying here will give me a better ability to get jobs in the future,” Kepper said, adding half of her family is French, and studying at a francophone school helps her more easily communicate with them.
Kepper, who is planning to attend Olds College to become a veterinary technician, said she was thrilled to find out she was getting a day to celebrate her graduation.
“It’s really exciting to be here today. I didn’t think I was going to get (a graduation ceremony). It’s pretty nice I can be celebrated for it,” she said.
Said Balfour: “Many students had left by Grade 9 or 10 to go elsewhere. I guess it’s not too surprising, but it’s definitely interesting to be the first (graduates),” he said.
“For me, it felt more familiar here. The teachers are really involved and I don’t feel that’s something you would get in (other schools).”
Principal Jean Doyon said this was a big day for both the students and the school.
“We’ve been working real hard to keep our kids (in Ecole La Prairie) over the last few years, and encourage them to finish their schooling here up to Grade 12 in French,” said Doyon.
“We’re really proud of these two students, who made that choice and have worked really hard to complete their degree.”
Doyon has been principal of the publicly funded school for 10 years.
“We’ve had students in Grade 10 or 11 in the past, but they moved on for different reasons. The teachers are very excited for this day, too, because we’ve been working really hard as a team to make this happen,” he said.
Doyon said he hopes to see more students finish their schooling at Ecole La Prairie.
“I think there are great advantages to completing their degree in French. Hopefully, they’ll benefit from that in the years to come,” he said.
“The French community is not very large in Red Deer. This provides students a French environment where kids do all of their schooling in French.”
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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