Students bond at Graduation Matters Event

HOT SPRINGS – Little ones sat staring up wide-eyed at their idolized older peers as they proclaimed their future endeavors. One wants to be an engineer, another is joining the armed forces and the other wishes to be a dentist. Soon the elementary students found themselves thinking about what they want to be and what the future holds.

The first and soon to be annual Hot Springs school Graduation Matters Event took place on Wednesday, Feb. 3 in the new gymnasium. The event was put on by the Jobs for Montana Graduates class.

According to Superintendent Kevin Meredith, the JMG class was something new this year that was brought about because of a pressing need.

“This was the first year of the JMG class and it is primarily to help them transition from high school to college, the military or the work force,” Meredith said. “We saw the need for our students to prepare them for having those experiences outside of Hot Springs.”

The juniors and seniors in this class are in preparation for what comes after high school – but they wanted to help motivate their younger peers to graduate. This is why they hosted the Graduation Matters Event.

The assembly began by recognizing all of the honor roll and perfect attendance recipients of the last academic quarter. Then the JMG class members each took their station and it was announced what their post-graduation plans were. Afterwards, the younger students were guided to their stations where they participated in various graduation-themed activities.

The first item on the itinerary was to have the younger students make handprints and sign them. These prints helped to commemorate the day so they remember the message. They were then guided to different parts of the gym to play games.

The games ranged from Simon Says and Follow the Leader to Duck, Duck, Goose. They were simple, fun games the kids all knew – yet there was an underlying symbolism to them.

The younger students were listening to those older and wiser, following in their footsteps and chasing after their peers who have gone before them. The fun afternoon was filled with subtleties on the importance of graduation.

“In one of the stations, they were playing the telephone game where they whisper a sentence regarding graduation such as I’m going to graduate in 2025,” Meredith said. “The older students participated in graduation trivia that kept them thinking about graduation.”

Meredith was pleased with the outcome of the Graduation Matters Event and the efforts of the student leaders.

“I think it went well especially for a student-led assembly. The younger students seemed to really get the point,” Meredith said.

The younger students really responded to the message of their upperclassmen role models.

“They really enjoyed it. In a small school it is pretty common place to see them mixed together. [The upperclassmen] know the younger students on a first name basis and there is a closeness,” Meredith said.

The message of the event is so important and is part of a state-wide initiative to encourage graduation. The hope is to keep it going for as long as possible.

“The intent was that this event would be an annual thing and we would take a picture of every class every year so that when they finally graduate there is a line of documentation of their promise,” Meredith said.