According to Mr. David Ward (DHS teacher), a pot luck
dinner was organized at the Ukranian Hall to celebrate graduation.
As time progressed, the pot luck dinner was dropped and the dinner
was catered. Only Grade 13 students and teachers were invited to this
ceremony.
Alcohol was included, but there was never any abuse or any
problem arising from its use. In fact, Mr. Ward commented that during
this evening special friendships were formed in the moment of the
occasion.
As the years progressed, there was a desire by a few student
leaders to organize their own dinner arrangement. In an attempt to make
the
dinner celebrating graduation more inclusive, Mr. Ward and Mr. Brian Kenny
appealed to those students to set the example and attend the organized
dinner and dance.
A formal letter from the school was presented to a number of
student leaders asking them to attend the school organized dinner and
dance.
For that year, Mr. Ward and Mr. Kenny succeeded in their attempt to have a dinner that was attended by most of the graduating students.
However a few students did not accept the offer and voiced their reasons for not attending the event in letters addressed to Mr. Ward and Mr. Kenny
Unfortunately, within a few years, the trend continued and eventually a good number of the students chose not to attend the school sponsored event. They made their own private plans with their close friends and family. A major factor contributing to their decision was the issue of alcohol