{"id":140830,"date":"2026-06-30T15:29:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T19:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/?p=140830"},"modified":"2026-06-30T15:29:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T19:29:49","slug":"celebrating-vcis-class-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/celebrating-vcis-class-of-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating VCI&#8217;s class of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The last graduating class of the year in Prescott County is ready to boldly go where they\u2019ve never gone before and explore new worlds of wonder.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Class of 2026 for Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute said their final farewells, for now, to their alma mater at the end of a two-hour graduation ceremony June 25 that included a video message from the Honourable Lt-Governor Edith Dumont of Ontario wishing them well and encouraging them to have fun and be the best they can be in whatever they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe future is yours,\u201d said Dumont. \u201cEmbrace it with confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Lt-Governor told grads that their celebration is not just about finishing high school but also marks the beginning of their future importance to the world beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYour graduation is more than a milestone,\u201d said Dumont. \u201cIt is a moment to celebrate not only your achievements, but also the friendships you have made. Your generation has the power to strengthen the province. Your voices and your actions matter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year\u2019s graduating class of VCI numbers 94. Corina Parisien, trustee representative for the Upper Canada District School Board, encouraged graduates to be open to all their potential future achievements as they leave school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs you look to the future, remember that it is full of possibilities,\u201d said Parisien.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among all the honours presented as graduates received their diplomas and Ontario scholar cords for those who achieved merit levels in their studies, three special award presentations highlighted the conclusion of the Class of 2026 ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ontario Principal\u2019s Award for Student Leadership went to Madison Parisien. The Principal\u2019s Trophy and Centennial Bursary was awarded to Alisander Schwendemann. The Governor General\u2019s Academic Medal was presented to Matthew Steele.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The words of reflection, encouragement and advice belonged to VCI co-valedictorians, Soraya McCall Jean-Louis and Madison Parisien.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cToday is the day we\u2019ve imagined for years,\u201d they said. \u201cWe\u2019ve learned important skills, like teamwork, perseverance, and time management. We learned that growth often occurs when we step out of our comfort zone and experience challenges. We\u2019ve learned to adapt, to persevere, and to rely on each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The valedictorians gave credit and thanks \u201cto everyone working behind the scenes helping us out\u201d, with Gis\u00e8le Paquette, fondly known as \u201cMadame Paquette\u201d singled out for special thanks as she also leaves VCI this year to begin her retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019ve been the best,\u201d said Parisien and Jean-Louis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The last graduating class of the year in Prescott County is ready to boldly go where they\u2019ve never gone before and explore new worlds of wonder. The Class of 2026 for Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute said their final farewells, for now, to their alma mater at the end of a two-hour graduation ceremony June 25 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":140831,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actualites"],"acf":[],"featured_media_global":{"id":136894,"title":{"rendered":"VCI grad"},"description":{"rendered":""},"caption":{"rendered":""},"alt_text":"","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","media_details":{"width":1920,"height":1440,"file":"2026\/06\/VCI-grad.jpg","filesize":511141,"sizes":{"medium":{"file":"VCI-grad-300x225.jpg","width":300,"height":225,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":16337},"large":{"file":"VCI-grad-1024x768.jpg","width":1024,"height":768,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":119357},"thumbnail":{"file":"VCI-grad-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":7154},"medium_large":{"file":"VCI-grad-768x576.jpg","width":768,"height":576,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":73811},"1536x1536":{"file":"VCI-grad-1536x1152.jpg","width":1536,"height":1152,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":230888},"Image Size 500x500":{"file":"VCI-grad-500x500.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":48186}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0","keywords":[],"alt":""}},"source_url":"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/06\/VCI-grad.jpg"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Celebrating VCI&#039;s class of 2026 - Tribune-Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tribune-express.ca\/en\/actualites\/celebrating-vcis-class-of-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celebrating VCI&#039;s class of 2026 - Tribune-Express\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The last graduating class of the year in Prescott County is ready to boldly go where they\u2019ve never gone before and explore new worlds of wonder. 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