Graduation 2014 introduces Veritas Diploma

School NEWS

GRADUATION 2014introduces VERITASDIPLOMA

The graduation ceremony for the Class of 2014 saw the inauguration of a new honours diploma awarded for the first time in the school’s history to select students in recognition of their “commitment to the ideals of the school through academic excellence, citizenship, leadership and commitment to the French language and culture.” Graduates of 2014 who received this new honour were: Alexandre Chénier, Luca D’Angelo, Nikolas De Stefano, Jamie Denham, Thomas Leblanc, Jonathan Mirarchi, Samuel Skinnerand Head PrefectKarl Valentini.

In his Valedictory Address, Valentini thanked parents Headmaster Hannaford, prefects and faculty for their dedication and tolerance toward the class of 2014. “As a class, we’ve developed a character of great guys that work hard, stand by each other, we don’t get pushed around, we’re loud, we’re in your face, we have a great sense of humor and one thing you can never call us is boring.

“But who, exactly, are we?”

Here Valentini chose to abandon his normally serious style and recall a littany of pranks and hijinks that must have made him and his classmates candidates for expulsion.

“But these guys helped me get out of my shell, they made me laugh more than I ever thought I would, and it’s because of these guys I looked forward to coming to school,” Valentini said.

“You guys helped keep me sane,” he said. ”Selwyn has been my anchor, my second home, a constant in my life.”

Headmaster Hannaford’s address tied the disparate topics of Shakespeare, the blues, veritas and Grade 11 graduate Stephen Lighter into a unified theme.

He related Polonious’ “To thine own self be true” speech in Hamlet to the “true to yourself” clause in the Selwyn House Vision Statement.

He pointed to the West African Yaruba culture and their concept of Itutu, a term they use to describe “a person who has been connected to his or her inner divinity.” This, he said, was thought to be the origin of the Western concept of “cool”, and is the root of the blues.

“Clearly,” Mr. Hannaford said, “Shakespeare and his friends in West Africa were all about cool.”

“At the heart of our vision we have hoped that throughout your experience here at Selwyn House, you will have developed some sort of commitment to being true to yourself.”

Which brings us to Stephen Lighter, a student whom Mr,. Hannaford could always count on for his advice on how the school could improve itself. “He really cared,” Mr. Hannaford said. “My pal Stephen understands what it means to be true to one’s self.” ■