John Francis,
Bruce Peninsula Press
Bruce Peninsula District School’s Elementary Graduation Ceremony was held at the school in Lion’s Head on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
The evening began with a group photo at the lighthouse, followed by ceremony, awards and presentations at the school with Grade 8 teacher Melissa Rosenburg acting as emcee. Presentations included awards for excellence in each subject area and for other aspects of citizenship, plus school letters, awards of merit and diplomas.
Principal Lisa Gilbert gave opening remarks; Trustee (and Board Chair) Jane Thomson brought greetings from Bluewater District School Board.
Maddi Thomson won the Art award; Excellence in Dance/Drama went to Owen Cameron. Hunter Bender-Tamulynas received the English award and Shea MacAskill won the French award. The Geography award went to Nate Schenk, the History award to Jake Craddock. Excellence in Music went to Paislee Chabot, Excellence in Math to Tristen Barges. The Phys Ed Awards went to Reid West and Quentin Bernard. The final subject award, Excellence in Science, went to Georgia Myles.
The CUPE Local 1176 Award went to Shea MacAskill, Ms Rosenburg recognized Ruthie McNair with the Growth, Mindset and Perseverance Award. The Mary Cameron Sense of Humour Award went to Autumn Liverance on behalf of the Cameron family. The Leadership Award was presented to Tamara Thompson and the UNESCO Global Citizenship Award (sponsored by BPEG) to Avery Sachs and Owen Cameron. The Bruce Power Science Award went to Sam Carey; the Bruce County Beef Farmers Award recognized Tamara Thompson. The Greatest Improvement Award, sponsored by Hellyer’s Foodland, was presented to Sully Mansfield by Kara Hellyer.
The David Wilton Altruism Award went to Kyren Shearer and Georgia Myles. The Montreal/Ottawa Award recognized the contributions of Easton Collins, William McGuigan and Matthew Gill on the class trip.
The Peninsula SWANS Citizenship Award went to Ronan Waddle.
The Scholastic Award, presented on behalf of the Stokes Bay Community Centre, went to Maddi Thomson. The ETFO Volunteer Award was given to Tamara Thomson and the Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association’s Environmental Science Award went to Ruthie McNair.
The final award, the General Proficiency Award, went to Avery Sachs.
School Letters, which acknowledge participation and volunteerism, were awarded to Jake Craddock, Reid West, Autumn Liverance and Shea MacAskill. Awards of Merit (which include School Letters) were sponsored by the Myles family in memory of Jason Myles. They were presented to Owen Cameron, Tamara Thompson, Maddi Thomson, Ruthie McNair, Avery Sachs and Georgia Myles.
Photo: Teachers Terri McIver (left) and Ali Mielhausen (right) presented Awards of Merit to (from left): Owen Cameron, Georgia Myles, Avery Sachs, Ruthie McNair, Tamara Thompson and Maddi Thomson.
Photo: Teachers Terri McIver (left) and Ali Mielhausen (right) presented School Letters to (from left): Jake Craddock, Reid West, Shea MacAskill and Autumn Liverance.
Ruthie McNair offered a toast to the families.
Valedictorians Avery Sachs and Georgia Myles reminisced about their classmates and their years together.
Melissa Rosenburg brought the ceremony to a close with a toast to the Graduates.
A slideshow was prepared by Sam Carey and Maddi Thomson.
The ceremony was followed by a mix and mingle for students, families, teachers and community members.
