The 2024 KSS Graduation Ceremony will take place at 4:00PM on Thursday, June 27 at Slush Puppie Place (formerly the Leon’s Centre). Please see invitation attached to this email. We look forward to welcoming you, and celebrating this incredible class! The email below includes important information for students graduating this year, and as well as for their guests who will attend our graduation ceremony.
Grad Costs KSS recognizes the importance of equity of access to all school events. In lieu of a mandatory fee, we are requesting a contribution to our grad fund. This optional payment will go towards covering the cost of the Slush Puppie Place rental, keepsake graduation caps as well as grad gown rentals. We request a contribution of $20.00 per graduating student, however families can donate more, or less as they wish. Payments can be made through School Day or by cash/cheque at ceremony registration (details below).
Ceremony Registration: Wednesday, June 26th
Ceremony Registration will take place in the KSS Library on Wednesday, June 26th from 9am-12pm. Registration will include the following:
Caps and Gowns: Students will pick up their graduation cap and gown during ceremony registration. We encourage all families to take photos of your graduate prior to the ceremony. Grad gowns will be returned promptly after the ceremony, so there will not be time for photos with them after the ceremony is over. The 2024 Graduation caps are yours to keep!
Tickets: We are fortunate that we do not need to limit the number of tickets for each graduate this year, however, every guest must have a ticket to enter the Slush Puppie Place. Graduates should know how many tickets are needed when they arrive to pick up tickets at ceremony registration on June 26. There is no cost per ticket.
Grad Fund Payment Students who have not paid through School Day can bring cash or cheque to registration (recommended contribution is $20 per graduate as stated above).
Textbook Return Please return any outstanding library books, textbooks or other items that belong to KSS when you come to graduation registration on June 26.
Arriving at Graduation on June 27
When you arrive to the Slush Puppie Place, please enter the facility using the main entrance off Tragically Hip Way. Graduating students should arrive between 3:30pm and 3:45pm. All guests will require a ticket to enter the Slush Puppie Place. Graduates will not require a ticket. Accessible seating is available.
Photos
As mentioned above, we will collect gowns promptly following the graduation, so we encourage families to take photos prior to the ceremony. That said, we will have a staff member taking photos of each graduate at the side of the stage after they graduate. A link to these photos will be sent to students within a week of graduation.
We are looking forward to celebrating this phenomenal group of students! Please continue to check your email for important updates as we approach graduation. We look forward to seeing you all on June 27th!
Good afternoon class of 2024,
As we approach this final week, please continue checking this email account to make sure you have all necessary information for finishing your grade 12 year. We wish you all the best of luck wrapping up your classes and completing your final culminating tasks- let's finish strong, Bears! The Student Success room will be open ALL WEEK if you need any support getting your final course requirements complete.
LAST CALL: Community Hours & E-learning Requirement DUE NOW for 2024 graduation
Several of you received emails or phone calls this week indicating that you are not currently on our graduation list due to outstanding requirements. We will be finalizing the graduation program, etc. next week. Please ensure these items are submitted asap on Monday to make sure your name will be included for the graduation exercises. If you have any questions, please reach out to any member of the KSS Student Services team.
Graduation- Healthy Active Living Certificates
Mr. Lynn has extended the deadline to submit your name to him by one more week. To be eligible for this certificate at graduation students must have completed:
- 3 Phys ed courses
- 1 additional credit in Phys ed, biology or food & nutrition
- 3 extra curricular activities involving physical activity (inside or outside of school) *Could be the same activity for three years.
Please contact Mr. Lynn if you have any questions ([email protected])
Accessible seating at graduation Graduates should know if accessible seating will be required for their guests when they pick up their tickets at Ceremony Registration on June 26th. Accessible seating tickets will be a different colour. Each guest using our accessible seating area can have a companion ticket for one guest to join them in the area. Additionally, we will reserve seating adjacent to the acessible areas for families and guests within the party if they wish to sit close together. If you have any questions about accessible seating, please email Ms. M-P at [email protected]
Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) Kingston Chapter Scholarship 2024
The Kingston Chapter of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) is pleased to offer one (1) scholarship of $1,500.00 for the school term beginning in the Fall of 2024. Applications are being accepted from students who are graduating from high school in the Kingston area will be attending one of their accredited programs in September 2024. The scholarship application form is attached to this email. Application deadline is July 19, 2024.
Tomorrow’s Trades is still accepting applications for the Kingston program this summer. Kingston is excited to be welcoming a new introduction to the trades program this summer! Tomorrow’s Trades is a full-time 6 week summer program that provides guidance and resources to recent high school graduates who are ready to enter the workforce in the trades. The program helps you gain industry-relevant certificates, starts you with the right gear (tools and PPE provided), and provides a $1000 bursary to every participant to aid in your educational journey. For more information and to apply, contact Rick Townend at [email protected]
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
All grade 12 students must complete 40 hours of community volunteer work prior to graduation in June. See upcoming volunteer opportunities below. *Students who are new to Ontario this year should confirm the number of volunteer hours required with the KSS Student Services team.
- Exam Week- Maple Elementary School: As we head into the last weeks of school Maple Elementary School asked if we have students who have availability during the school day and would like to get some volunteer hours completed at Maple. This could be students who have time as courses wrap up and we enter the exam period. If students are interested they can email: [email protected] Opportunities could include:
- Work 1:1, or with a small group of students
- Help with projects or task around the school
- Organize resources, help staff move classrooms
- Facilitate games or activities on the school yard
- June 20th- Maple Elementary Year End Send-Off: The Ecole Maple Elementary Summer Send Off is an engagement opportunity for the school community to celebrate the end of the school year and to send the students off for a fun-filled summer. The event will take place on the Maple ES grounds and gymnasium on Thursday, June 20th from 5-7pm. Volunteers are needed to make this annual event a success! Sign up here!
- June 22-23- Skeleton Park Arts Festival (SPAF): SPAF is currently accepting volunteer applications for the festival this year (June 22&23). Volunteers have to be available for a minimum of two 2-hour shifts, but students that need more community service hours can obviously sign up for more 🙂 The registration form can be found here. For more information, see Ms. Glatt or email [email protected]
Scholarship & Award Opportunities
- June 15, 2024 Horatio Alger Scholarships: The Horation Alger Association of Canada wants to support the next generation of workers who will contribute to the Canadian economy across a wide variety of vocational and technical sectors. Scholarships of up to $3000 are avilaable for 25 deserving applicants who display integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity and are pursuing paths to employment.
- June 30th, 2024: Russell Alexander Law Scholarship : Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers is very excited to announce that they are offering a scholarship to students interested in studying law and they would like to share this scholarship opportunity with you. The recipient of the Russell Alexander Law Scholarship will receive up to $2,000 toward the tuition for their post-secondary education, in addition to a $500 bonus to help cover the cost of school supplies of their choice, such as technology, textbooks, notebooks, etc. For more information visit Russell Alexander Law Scholarship
- June 30, 2024: Kingston Fair Bursary: Deadline June 30, 2024
- July 19, 2024: Professional Engineers of Ontario Kingston Chapter Scholarship 2024. Application attached to June 14, 2024 weekly email update.
- July 31, 2024: Kingston and District Sports Hall of Fame Achievement Award. Hard copies are available in the KSS student services office. Any students who have been involved in organized sport with KASSAA and has a history of involvement with organized sport should consider applying for this award.
Additional scholarship opportunities can be explored at scholarshipscanada.com and yconic.com. If you require a reference letter, it is appropriate to ask 2-3 weeks prior to the date it will be required.
Upcoming Dates & Deadlines
June 21: Graduation list is finalized for KSS graduation program. Community hours, e-learning requirement and final grades submitted for inclusion on student’s transcripts.
June 26th morning : KSS Graduation registration (caps, gowns, etc.) in the KSS library.
June 27th, 2024: KSS Graduation Ceremony- 4pm @ The Slush Puppie Centre
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sincerely,
Bonney Morris-Pocock, she/her
Head of Student Services
Kingston Secondary School
(613)544-4811 x11169
