​The month of May will see the start of a succession of high school graduation ceremonies throughout Peace Wapiti Public School Division.

First up is PWSD's Grande Prairie-based high school, Peace Wapiti Academy, with a commencement ceremony for 110 graduates scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 14 at Evergreen Park's ENTREC Centre. Students will return later that evening for a County Fair-themed grand march beginning at 6:30 p.m.

On Friday, May 20, Spirit River Regional Academy's 40 graduates will gather at 1:00 p.m. for a cap and gown ceremony at the Spirit River Arena, followed by a banquet at 6:00 p.m. and a grand march and candle of knowledge event at 7:30 p.m.

Ridgevalley School will host an intimate event for 10 graduates at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 21. The event, themed Don't Let Your Dreams be Dreams, will feature two guest speakers, teachers Dawn Chapman and Kent Bolton.

Beaverlodge Regional High School will bid a fond farewell to 135 graduates on Friday, May 27 at the Beaverlodge Arena with a cap and gown ceremony at 9:30 a.m. and grand march at 4:30 p.m. On the same day, Sexsmith Secondary School will send off 53 graduates during a cap and gown ceremony at 10:30 a.m., followed by a Great Gatsby-themed grand march event at 4:00 p.m. and banquet at 6:30 p.m. at the Sexsmith Arena.

Eaglesham School will honour 13 graduates on Saturday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the school's gymnasium. The celebration will focus on the theme, Oh, the Places We Will Go, with guest speaker Lori Dirsa, Grade 1 teacher for the Class of 2016.

Superintendent Sheldon Rowe joins with school communities in offering best wishes and congratulations to all PWSD graduates.

"Congratulations to all our graduates. You have worked hard. I encourage you to take time to celebrate your accomplishments with your friends and families before moving on to the next stage of your life. On behalf of PWSD, we are proud of you and look forward to hearing about your future accomplishments."

Peace Academy of Virtual Education (PAVE), the Division's online school, will host a ceremony for five graduates on Friday, June 10, beginning at 11:30 a.m., followed by a barbecue lunch in Dunvegan.

Savanna School, the last of the Division's eight high schools to host a commencement event, takes a unique approach to its graduation ceremony. The school is proud of its "true" graduation tradition, and holds off on their celebration until diploma marks have been released by Alberta Education, ensuring that all students at the ceremony have actually met the requirements for graduation. The small school will say farewell to twelve graduates on Saturday, August 6 at the Savanna Rec Plex, starting with a dinner at 4:30 p.m., followed by the graduation ceremony at 6:30 p.m.

The following is a summary of the details of the 2016 PWSD graduation ceremonies:

In addition to the high school graduation events, nine schools will host farewell events for junior high students:

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