ALL DRESSED UP BUT NOWHERE TO GO

No prom night, no last dance, no grad ceremony. At least not this spring, the way the class of 2020 had been planning. T’cha Dunlevy reports,

It’s one of life’s pivotal moments. High school graduation opens the door to adulthood; but because of the lockdown due to COVID-19, the class of 2020 won’t get to celebrate as planned.

A spokesperson for the minister of education said that although social distancing rules means that proms won’t go on as usual, the government is “reflecting on the topic ... to find a way to mark this important occasion in the lives of our youth.”

The Montreal Gazette talked to students about missing their traditional spring grad, prom and other festivities.

CASSIDY COMEAU, 16, ROYAL WEST ACADEMY

“The dress is a huge thing at my school,” said Cassidy Comeau. “Most of the girls have already picked their dresses and bought their shoes. Mine is sitting in my closet. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to wear it at some point.

“We were supposed to have a big gathering somewhere downtown, with a big dinner and a huge party. They haven’t officially cancelled it but I assume they’ll have to in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s very upsetting, after five years of high school, with everything leading up to this point. Especially at my school, they push you really hard and there’s a lot of work. After all this time, it would be fun to do something fun with our grade. It’s very disappointing.”

ELLA IVANOVICI, 16, AND SKYLER ARYA, 16, THE STUDY

“At our school, we have a lot of traditions,” said Ella Ivanovici, who is on The Study’s grad committee. “We go to a very small school, all girls. They make graduation a really big deal. There are lots of ceremonies. It’s sad for us to miss them, because we have been seeing past graduates go through all this (for years).

“Because it’s such a small school, we feel so close to everyone. Not being able to say goodbye to the experience we had is sad. We’ve been through so much together.”

“They’re saying they’re postponing the prom and graduation ceremony until fall,” said her friend, Skyler Arya. “But the thing is, that’s after CEGEP starts; there’s kind of no point. All the excitement is over at that point.”

CLARA VERNA, 17, KELLS ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL

“We’re doing graduation online, instead. So that’s going to be interesting,” said Clara Verna. “I think we’re doing it on Zoom. Prom was supposed to be downtown. They were even planning an after-party. A lot of people bought their dresses already.

“I feel bad for people (who are upset). For me, personally, it’s not the biggest thing. I wasn’t getting a date, I didn’t buy my dress yet. It would have been nice to go to prom. It’s not like I dreamed of it, but you see it in movies when you’re a kid. It seemed like a fun little thing to do. So it’s kind of disappointing we don’t get to.”

PIERCE BIEGANOWSKI, 17, JOHN RENNIE HIGH SCHOOL

“Our prom was going to be the same as last year — we were going to go on a boat, and have a big dinner and party,” said Pierce Bieganowski. “After that, I was going to go out with my girlfriend and our friends and stay in an Airbnb.

“I had already bought my suit, and my girlfriend had her dress. It’s a pretty big deal. We were looking forward to it. Now I might not get to use (my suit).

“It’s disappointing. It’s a oncein-a-lifetime thing, getting to go to prom and grad. Everyone else is upset about it, too. To work through elementary and high school, and not get that big end-of-year celebration to say, ‘We did it. This is it.’ You don’t get to walk on stage and get your diploma. It’s upsetting.”

SACHA ULOTH, 12,

ST. LAMBERT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Sacha Uloth is graduating from elementary school, but he too is missing out on fêting his achievement because of COVID-19.

“They were going to do a big trip, spend three days in Quebec and go on a boat, where they were to have their first dance with friends,” said his mom, Chloé Cinq-mars.

Sacha also landed the lead role in the school’s production of the Roy lion (The Lion King), which was cancelled, and he plays trumpet in the school band, which will have no end-of-year concert.

“It doesn’t feel so good,” Sacha said. “I missed all kinds of things that were important to me — because I waited for Grade 6 for a long time, to do exceptional things you can do at the end of Grade 6. And now, I can’t do them anymore.”

CRISTINA IACIANCIO, 18, VANGUARD SCHOOL

“(Missing your grad) doesn’t sound like a big deal — so many people have lost love ones,” said Cristina Iaciancio, who turned 18 on Thursday, “but our school is for children with learning disabilities. We spent years trying to graduate, trying to find the proper environment to grow.

“After all this, all our hard work just came to an end. It sort of sucks, but at least we know our friends are OK. I guess that’s what counts.”

JOHN MAHONEY “Most of the girls have already picked their dresses and bought their shoes,” says Cassidy Comeau, with her dress. “Hopefully I’ll get a chance to wear it at some point.”

DAVE SIDAWAY “At our school, we have a lot of traditions,” says Ella Ivanovici, with fellow The Study student Skyler Arya, background. “They make graduation a really big deal.”

JOHN MAHONEY “We were supposed to have a big gathering somewhere downtown, with a big dinner and a huge party,” says Cassidy Comeau.

DAVE SIDAWAY “It would have been nice to go to prom. It’s not like I dreamed of it, but you see it in movies when you’re a kid,” Clara Verna says.

JOHN MAHONEY “I had already bought my suit, and my girlfriend had her dress. It’s a pretty big deal. We were looking forward to it,” says Pierce Bieganowski, a John Rennie student. “It’s disappointing. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, getting to go to prom and grad.”

PIERRE OBENDRAUF Sacha Uloth, who is graduating from elementary school, was set to go to his first dance. “It doesn’t feel so good,” he says.