The Lockdown Cohorte has Risen

Gradutation ceremony for STX and HF students at Grenaa Gymnasium

On June 24th this year’s graduation ceremony was held in the Assembly Hall. A total of 67 HF-students and 59 STX-students were handed their graduation diplomas and they and their parents listened to speeches by Head of School Helene Bendorff Kristensen and Chair of the Student Council Marie Bjørn Henriksen.

There is almost certainly not a single school in the country this year where the covid lockdown experience is not a theme in the graduation speaches as the students graduating this year lived through the full extent of lockdown with all it’s implications. Chair of the student council offered the students’ perspective with a twinkle in her eye:

Suddenly, there were no school parties, no Friday Cafés, no morning assemblies, no food in the canteen – including no salad bar! In stead there was Teams, going to school while staying in bed with half or fully closed eyes, cameras and microphones that never worked, except of course during registration, great breakfast and lunch that one prepared during lessons, etc. In the beginning it was managable, but as it all dragged on and restrictions seemed to get ever tighter, it became tough and some might have felt to give up from time to time. We couldn’t hug and the closest we came to eye contact was via a computer screen. Who would have imagined that one could miss school this much.

Curiosity as the fuel of learning

None the less both Head of School and Chair of the Student Council agreed that this school year with restrictions lifted completely had seen the resurrection of the school community. Here follows an excerpt from Helene Bendorff Kristensen’s speech:

During two and three years we have shared every day life at Grenaa Gymnasium, and it has been our ambition not only expose you to academic knowledge and reflection, but also to a sense of being part of a vibrant community. […] We have shared curiosity on knowledge and on life. But sometimes it has been frustrating for you and for your teachers, for what does on do with knowledge that seems incomprehensible or that you don’t care for? None the less, we now know that you all made it and that requires a minimum of curiosity. Cherish that curiosity and let I lead you to new fields of knowledge and proficiencies, even if at first sight they seem u nintelligible. […] We have also shared the experience of succeeding and of failing. When we sometimes fail it is important that someone is there for you to encourage to try again and supporting the next step. Remember this: when failing one is taking the first step towards learning something new and one needs to be curious as to why the failure and see this as an opportunity to move ahead. […]

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