Graduation is a timeless occasion at John F. Kennedy High School. It’s when successful Grade 11 students get dressed in black gowns and tassled “mortarboard” caps to receive their hard-earned high school diplomas.
For Vanessa Conde-Torres, this year’s graduation ceremony represented a proud moment. Not only had she completed five years of secondary studies, she also received the National Assembly Award, which recognizes excellence in teamwork and initiative on school projects.
But for Conde-Torres, her emotions didn’t fully kick in until another ceremony Spiritual Graduation was held at JFK a few days later. For only then did it really dawn on the Grade 11 student that her time at JFK was all but over, and that the people in her high school world will be going their separate ways.
“We realized we are all leaving and this is the last time we’re together as a group,” said the 17-year-old. “I got really emotional and I was crying.”
“Thank god I didn’t wear makeup.”
But for all the tears, it was all good. Spiritual graduation, which JFK staged on June 4 this year, tends to do that to kids. After all, it’s a moment when the school community pays its respects to the values of graduating students. The event, which encourages graduates to consider the meaning of their lives and how they will contribute to society, features inter-faith prayers, readings by student members of various religious groups, spiritual reflection and inspirational videos.
“Spiritual Graduation is to recognize the spirituality of each of the students,” explains Frank Lofeodo, the spiritual community animator at JFK. “It’s a recognition of the person they have become and how they relate to other members of the community.”
That message wasn’t lost on grads like Conde-Torres, who occasionally took their old school for granted.
“So many people care about us, even though we don’t see it every single day,” she said. “And we’ve been through so much together. That part (of the spiritual-graduation service) really touched me.”
In fact, spiritual graduations are held at many schools across the province. The tradition dates back to an earlier time in Quebec, when religion played a central role in schools. In those days before major school-board reforms of 1998, John F. Kennedy used to hold an end-of-year mass every June. But times change, and so has the service. Nowadays, it is a multi-faith commemoration, which respects students from different faiths and backgrounds.
“We had a given tradition and we wanted it to go on,” explains Joseph Marra, principal of the school of 566 students. “But we wanted to make sure all our of children were included.”
Marra describes the thriving school today as “multicultural and multi-ethnic,” with a fast-growing Asian-Canadian population. Many faiths and traditions are represented in the student population today, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism.
“Basically, we want the students to be proud of what they have become and who they are – no matter what religion they practice,” Marra said. “They have a spirituality that we want to encourage.”
For other JFK graduates interviewed just after the spiritual graduation, the ceremony also struck a poignant chord.
“I’m so excited to go on to college next year and I worked so hard,” said 17-year-old Cassandra De Masi. “But today I’m crying. I don’t even know why.”
De Masi, who won this year’s Governor-General’s Award for academics and was also class valedictorian, reflected on how much she has achieved at JFK, and how far she has yet to go in life.
“You spend five years with all of these people. And you get attached to them, even though we are all leaving and going on to greater things,” said the 17-year-old, who delivered a Christian prayer during the service and shared a few personal thoughts with the graduating class.
She said the spiritual aspect of the ceremony was an important part of the service, no matter what religion students practise – if any at all.
“I think (the spiritual graduation ) was about a personal relationship with yourself and god,” she said. “Some people go to church. I don’t really go to church, but I do have my own personal relationship. I believe there is a higher being and that’s how I see it.”
She said that one of the best ways to develop a spiritual awareness is by giving back to the community, and that’s what many students at JFK do all year.
“We’re really involved in community service and helping out around the school,” she said, “with ceremonies, with a soup kitchen. We went to various types of activities that help our community.”
To Steven Raspa, the spiritual graduation represented both an opportunity for students to look back, and to examine what kind of development has taken place within.
“It was a time to reflect on the past five years,” said the 16-year-old. “But I thought it was more of a culmination of all of our achievements and efforts, a time to look back and gaze upon how far we’ve come.”
And Raspa, who delivered a Christian prayer at the ceremony, had plenty of achievements to think about this year: He won awards for English language arts, physics and chemistry. He made the Principal’s Honour Roll, won the McGill Science Award, and took home the Emmanuel Duborg Award.
Despite all of his outward success in school, he doesn’t underestimate the role of spirituality in the internal lives of students.
“I think spirituality is a guiding light in life, a compass to orient your morals and your values, so I think it’s extremely important,” said Raspa, who described himself as a non-practising Roman Catholic.
Spirituality also depends on the path you choose in life, according to Conde-Torres.
“When I look at spirituality, I look at it not so much as religion. I see it morally,” she said. “It’s emotions rather than thoughts. It’s the way we connect to each other, and love each other, and let the love of our family and friends guide us through our most difficult moments.”
And one of the keys to keeping those bonds strong is respect, according to De Masi.
“You have to respect yourself and you have to respect others,” she said. “It’s a large part of life, because everything comes back to you.”
Source: The Montreal Gazette
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