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Editor's note: The Estevan Mercury is proud to present our salute to the Class of 2024 at the Oxbow Prairie Horizons School. We salute all of the grads on this great achievement, and we wish them the best in the future. We also thank the sponsors for their continued support. 

OXBOW - The Oxbow Prairie Horizons School is getting ready to celebrate what will be a very large graduating class.

The Class of 2024 will be celebrated during ceremonies on June 27 in the school's gymnasium, starting at 5 p.m.

"The kids will receive their diplomas," said teacher Pamela Dmytriw. "We will honour them for what it is they are going on to in their futures. They will be presented with scholarships."

The students will have a salute to their families and to the school's staff members. Nick Heiser is this year's valedictorian and will deliver a speech. Mattias McCreary, who is a former teacher in Oxbow, is slated to return to the school to be the guest speaker.

A grand march will follow the presentation of diplomas, and then there will be a dance for the grads with their parents and escorts.

Following the ceremony, a parade organized by the grad parents will take place along the town's Main Street. The community event started in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been a popular event in the community. The parade is expected to start at 7:30 p.m., and the grads will walk the parade route.

"The town really likes it, because we obviously can't fit everyone in our gym," said Dmytriw. "We have about 600 people that are invited to grad and then everyone else in the town has the opportunity to see the grads and honour them at the parade."

Dmytriw described them as a "very motivated" group of graduates who will be moving onto post-secondary education, whether it be university or a trade school. Other students will be travelling or directly joining the workforce, and Dmytriw looks forward to seeing what they will accomplish.

"They're a really broad group that is going to be successful in their lives. We see lots of promise in this group," said Dmytriw. 

Dmytriw said it has been a wonderful year at the school. The students have really settled into making the best of the year, and the school has been gradually returning to pre-pandemic activity levels with extracurricular activities and more.

The ceremony will be going ahead regardless of the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation's job sanctions, in response to their ongoing labour dispute with the provincial government.