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CBC
21-07-2025
- General
- CBC
Flin Flon high school grads raise caps at home after return from wildfire evacuation
Social Sharing The graduating class of a northern Manitoba high school got their diplomas and threw their caps into the air in front of a home crowd on Saturday, nearly a month after their community returned following an evacuation due to wildfires. Only a few weeks ago, a celebration wasn't guaranteed for the 54 Grade 12 students of Flin Flon's Hapnot Collegiate Institute. On May 28, they were among the city's 5,000 residents who were forced to leave when nearby wildfires triggered a mandatory evacuation order. Until late June, the students were scattered, mostly across the Prairies, staying with family and friends. "It was kind of heartbreaking," graduate Robin Hooper said of the uncertainty. "But then, when we came back, everything was all right, and we got our stuff planned. It was amazing." The ceremony recognized student accomplishments, including with more than 50 awards and bursaries, and also the dedication of firefighters who protected homes and people who lost their homes. "We weren't sure we were going to get it, so it is really exciting," graduate Emma White said about the ceremony. "It means just a lot to have something normal again after we all left," said graduate and triplet Aiden Antoniw, who walked across the stage with his brothers, Rylan and Zachary. High school teacher Rachel Wright, who helped organize the event with work starting in September, was determined to give graduates a celebration, even though it was almost a month later than usual, she said. "This is the same group that missed their Grade 8 ceremonies because of the [COVID-19] pandemic," Wright said. "It's nice that they don't have another thing out of their control ruin one of their monumentous occasions. This group has gone through a lot and persevered through it. Giving them something that they deserve and should have is really big." WATCH | Flin Flon graduates celebrate in July after wildfire disrupted earlier plans: Flin Flon high school grads raise caps at home after wildfire evacuation 1 hour ago Outside the Whitney Forum venue, banners bearing the faces of graduates lined the roads. Among Hapnot Collegiate's decades-old traditions is a car parade during grad week — where students douse and get doused with hoses and water guns throughout the city — along with a march down Main Street on grad night. "They're excited, and they should be," principal Jordan Dumenko said. Arm in arm, the grads walked in their formal wear under an orange sun and thick smoke. The event meant a lot to community members, too, who continue to mourn the devastation caused by wildfires that ripped through nearby communities, including Denare Beach. Lifelong Flin Flon resident Lana Nagy said it was the first formal get-together with everyone in the city since their return. "Very thankful to have this day and the kids get everything that they should," said Nagy, who attended the ceremony to watch her granddaughter graduate. Longtime friends Isabelle Kerfont and Scarlett Gunn were grateful to make memories after "the month that we lost," as was Gunn's mother, who made her grad dress while they were evacuated in Winnipeg. "My mom did not stop working on my grad dress," said Gunn, who hopes to attend film school after a gap year. "She would just continue adding all the little things. We even had to scour so many Walmarts and craft stores just to get one bottle of glitter paint." Susan Gunn Saray grabbed materials for her daughter's grad dress as they were fleeing Flin Flon. Assembling and beading the piece was therapeutic amid the chaos and uncertainty of the evacuation, said Gunn Saray, who based the creation on her daughter's sketch using fabric and lace a family friend and a relative sourced for them. "I'm glad I grabbed it. It was kind of a weird last-minute thing. I was on the way out the door," she said. Gunn Saray said she hoped her daughter would get to experience a graduation like she did from the same high school. "It's amazing, because there was a tough moment there when we were on evacuation … when we got the email that the school year was cancelled," Gunn Saray said. "That was my good ugly cry in Winnipeg," she said. "I just kept my fingers crossed … the kids could have this." As best friends Emma White and Braedon Tetlock get ready to leave Flin Flon for universities in Calgary and Kelowna, they're savouring their final moments with family and friends. "It's really special that we actually get to do everything that we would for a normal grad," said Tetlock, who was honoured with awards recognizing him as the graduate with the highest average. "It feels great to be together again and all know that we're here together. Our community's safe. All of our families are safe," White said.


Winnipeg Free Press
17-06-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Flin Flon's school year comes to disappointing end for graduating evacuees
Homesick evacuees from the Flin Flon area were dealt another blow Monday when they learned an out-of-control forest fire had cancelled the rest of the school year in northwestern Manitoba. The Flin Flon School Division shut down three weeks ago when the region was put under a mandatory evacuation order. Citing 'continued uncertainty,' superintendent Tammy Ballantyne has announced that the two high schools and two elementary schools will be reopening to properly end the 2024-2025 calendar. 'We are deeply sorry that our graduates will not be celebrated as we had planned. We will be celebrating our graduates and all of their accomplishments at a later date,' Ballantyne wrote in an open letter to families. SUPPLIED Cassidy Alexander had photos taken recently wearing her graduation gown, but her high school in Flin Flon just announced the remainder of the school year, including graduation ceremonies, will be cancelled due to wildfires that forced the town's evacuation. SUPPLIED Cassidy Alexander had photos taken recently wearing her graduation gown, but her high school in Flin Flon just announced the remainder of the school year, including graduation ceremonies, will be cancelled due to wildfires that forced the town's evacuation. Final grades will reflect student work up to the date of the mandatory evacuations that took place May 28. Similarly, high-schoolers who were on track to receive their credits ahead of the mass exodus will obtain them. Teenagers who were struggling will be eligible to retake courses online through InformNet, Manitoba's virtual Grade 9-12 school, at no charge. 'It's really disappointing and frustrating that I know grad won't be the same, as much as we want it to be,' said Cassidy Alexander, a member of the Class of 2025 at Hapnot Collegiate. The Grade 12 student said these feelings are all too familiar; COVID-19 disruptions prompted her elementary school to cancel her Grade 8 convocation in 2021. This time around, the future of her house, her friends' houses and her dad's business are top of mind rather than a virus, said the 18-year-old, who is seeking refuge in Winnipeg with her immediate family. A wildfire located near the Flin Flon, whose population is roughly 5,000, is about 370,780 hectares — about seven Winnipegs — in size. It remains the largest out-of-control fire in the province, as per the Manitoba government's latest emergency bulletin. Alexander said she's been trying to look at the positives — among them, the family dog is safe — but it's difficult to scroll on social media and see friends from Winnipeg and The Pas participating in 'senior skip day' and other rites of passage for graduating students. Students from Hapnot, as well as École McIsaac School, Ruth Betts Community School and Many Faces Educational Centre, have been assured that they will be able to retrieve personal belongings when it's safe to do so. 'It's really disappointing and frustrating that I know grad won't be the same, as much as we want it to be'–Cassidy Alexander Senior administration indicated Monday that teachers will need time to complete report cards when the wildfire threats subside, but they will eventually be made available for pickup at the board office. Jamie Smalley, a father of two young children, said he's relieved to have some closure, even if it's not an ideal ending to June. Creighton Community School, located just east of the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border — eight kilometres from McIsaac, where his children just wrapped up Grades 1 and 3 — made a similar announcement on June 7. 'The kids are treating it like an early start to a summer vacation, so their mindset is a lot better than mine and my wife's,' said Smalley, who has found temporary accommodation in Good Spirit Lake Provincial Park, thanks to a generous friend with an empty residence. He noted there will be much work to do when they return, from clearing out rotting food in their fridge to cutting a lawn that, based on their home security camera footage, appears to be knee high. At the same time, he said he's grateful it is looking like they will have a residence to return to, because that was not at all certain earlier this month. Teacher Christine Williams, who is currently staying with a friend in Portage la Prairie, echoed those comments as she processed the abrupt end to the school year. Williams said she and all her colleagues are 'ready to go home.' The Grade 1 teacher said she wishes she could give each of her students a hug and proper goodbye, 'and do all the fun stuff that June entails.' Flin Flon's superintendent acknowledged the 'strength and resilience' of students and staff members in her memo Monday. Alexander said she is grateful the hot-pink gown she bought for graduation is safe in Winnipeg and there will be 'something' to mark the end of a public school experience plagued by disruption. Some of her peers had to leave their dresses at a tailor in Flin Flin or could not squeeze them into their evacuation luggage, she noted. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. 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