Farewell to the Class of 2017

Twelve years ago, Windsor School kindergarten teacher Doris Gietz bid farewell to the Class of 2017.Today, Free Press readers get their chance to say goodbye to that same remarkable group of kids, a single class of students whose progress we’ve been tracking from snack time in kindergarten to graduation gowns in Grade 12.

It’s been a memorable journey — and Free Press readers have been along for the ride as, year after year, we’ve watched these young scholars move from pigtails and toothless grins to timetables, tests and gender dynamics.

Over the last 13 years, our readers have enjoyed front-row seats as the class has endured the roller-coaster ride of kindergarten, elementary school, junior high and, finally, the packed halls of Glenlawn Collegiate Institute, one of the biggest high schools in the province.

They have experienced exam stress, bullying, making and losing friends. There were victories and defeats in hockey arenas and gymnasiums.

Those are ‘my’ kids, and I watched them grow up

On March 26, 2007, I was asked to photograph a group of Grade 2 Windsor School students exploring Manitoba Museum’s Science Gallery on what was their first school outing. Little did I know at the time these students would become a significant part of my life for the next 10 years.

The kids were part of a Free Press project called Class of 2017, which began in 2005 and followed a group of kindergarten students from their first year in school to their high school graduation. In 2007, they were at the end of Grade 2 and Jon Thordarson, the newspaper’s photo editor at the time, asked me to come on board as the principal photographer for the project and document the students’ school lives until they graduate. Honoured to be given the role, I immediately accepted even as unanswered questions flooded my thoughts: Would the project actually make it through 10 more years? Would the readers stay interested? Would the students drop out? And, where will I be 10 years from now? Although the thoughts were daunting, I didn’t think much more about it at the time; after all, 2017 seemed like a century away.

For the next 10 years, I would drop in and out of their lives, capturing major and minor milestones that would eventually define them. In the beginning, it was things such as facing the fear of reading aloud in front of the class, volunteering with special-needs kids, becoming school patrols and raising funds to have an inclusive play structure built for challenged kids. That chapter — He ain’t heavy — featured a photo I took of Griffin at the end of Grade 7 carrying his little brother Tyler, who has cerebral palsy, to the school’s play structure.

As they got older, the kids dealt with heavier issues — bullying, moving on to high school, getting their first part-time jobs, considering career options.

Class of 2017 through the years

The class of 2017 prepares for life after graduation

It’s the burning issue in Canadian schools — stressed-out students struggling with anxiety and depression.

Earlier this month, in Woodstock, Ont., hundreds of students made national headlines when they walked out of class to demand more help amid a teen-suicide crisis that has seen five young people take their own lives in the last four months.

Closer to home, the Class of 2017, whose progress the Free Press is tracking from snack time at Windsor School to graduation gowns at Glenlawn Collegiate Institute, has not been immune to this burgeoning crisis.

When the Free Press dropped in to see how this special group of kids had fared in Grade 11, their third year at Glenlawn, 16-year-old Naomi, traditionally one of the softest-spoken members of the class, courageously shared her personal battle.

Class of 2017 gains confidence, finds niches and grapples with death

It’s one of the hardest knocks life throws at anyone.

For the Class of 2017 — whose progress the Free Press is tracking from snack time in kindergarten to graduation in Grade 12 — it was a devastating lesson.

For this special group of kids, just wrapping up Grade 10, their second year at Glenlawn Collegiate Institute in St. Vital, it was the first time they’ve had to deal with the death of someone their own age.

On Jan. 9, at the age of 14, Grade 9 student Camryn Guenther lost her courageous battle with cancer.

Class of 2017 not only survived, but thrived in first year of high school

Doug Speirs catches up with the Class of 2017 -- students the Winnipeg Free Press has been following, year-by-year, since kindergarten -- as they finish their first year of high school.

The bittersweet grad: Here comes high school

On one of the last chaotic days of the school year, 13-year-old Griffin fields a probing question.

A middle-aged visitor wants to know what the Grade 8 student will miss the most when he bids farewell to Windsor School, the only school he's known since kindergarten.

It doesn't take more than a few seconds for the hockey-loving, flame-haired young philosopher to share a surprising answer.

"I'm going to miss walking my younger brother, Tyler, to school," Griffin explains with a shrug. "Tyler is in Grade 2 right now. He has a disability that's hard to explain, but he can't walk or talk, so we have to help him walk."

Grade 8: Rules of engagement

Taped to the wall outside teacher Chris Arnold's classroom at Windsor School in St. Vital is a nondescript, handwritten poster.

It may not look like much, but it represents one of the innovative ways the Class of 2017 -- whose progress the Free Press is tracking from snack time in kindergarten to graduation gowns at the end of Grade 12 -- is helping to keep its school safe and free from bullying.

Printed in green ink, this "class contract" lists 17 ways this group of Grade 8 students has agreed to behave -- "Responsible, listen to rules, hands to yourself" -- during the hours they spend together at the 238-student, K-8 school.

"At the beginning of the year, we brainstormed what our definition of a quality classroom looks like, sounds like and feels like," explains Arnold, in his 12th year at Windsor School and one of two homeroom teachers for the Class of 2017.

Reading, writing and responsibility: End of Grade 7

It's not all about you. Some of us never grasp that valuable life lesson, but it's one a close-knit group of Grade 7 students at Windsor School has been grappling with as their rookie season in junior high draws to an end.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Class of 2017 -- whose progress the Free Press is tracking from kindergarten all the way to Grade 12 graduation -- is developing a social conscience.

Their first year in the big leagues at the 238-student, K-8 school in St. Vital has been all about change -- no more recess, no more sitting in the same class all day, and everyone gets their very own locker.

But the biggest change has been the size of the expectations placed on their still-small shoulders. With elementary school a fading memory, it's no longer just about reading, writing and playing with your friends.

Junior high rookies: Starting Grade 7

GRAB your sticks, slap on your skates, and don't forget to do your homework, kids, because the Class of 2017 has finally made it to the big leagues.

For the last six years, the Free Press has been on an ambitious academic journey -- following a single class of Windsor School students from kindergarten all the way up to Grade 12.

We met the kids in 2005 in Ms. Gietz's kindergarten classroom and, over the last six action-packed years, we've seen them go from pigtails and toothless grins to timetables, tests and gender dynamics.

This year, the Class of 2017 is finished with the minor leagues of elementary school. Today, they are trading elbows and flexing their brains in their rookie season in junior high.

End of Grade 6: Doors are opening...dare we walk through?

"BOYS aren’t allowed in the girls’ cabin and vice-versa, but people keep playing knock-knock, ginger,” Naomi explains, standing in front of the Tamarack chalet at Camp Arnes, about 90 minutes north of Winnipeg.

She and the rest of the Class of 2017 -- the Windsor School crew we've been following since kindergarten -- are marking the end of Grade 6 with a camping trip. And with a timeless prank.

"It's like ding-dong ditch, where you ring the bell and run away," Naomi explains, unaware that the game was a hit before her grandmother was born. It dates back to 19th-century England.

Inside the dishevelled dwelling that is the 'B' side of Tamarack -- "It's a boy mess," one inhabitant proudly declares -- Griffin (who just happens to be ginger-haired) confesses: "I got dared. I knocked on the door very loud and walked away."

Grade 6: Twilight of the age of innocence

It's Friday morning at Windsor School and we are in the guitar room doing the Chicken Dance while singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

I say "we" because there are no observers allowed at circle time, only participants.

Silly song-and-dance combos might seem like a strange way to start a morning meeting in your world, but that's how we roll in the Circle of Power and Respect -- CPR as it's known in the Responsive Classroom approach to elementary education. That approach is based on the premise children learn best when they have both academic and social-emotional skills.

In CPR, we connect as a class and listen to each other's stories, hopes and fears without putting each other down. Everyone is seen, heard and acknowledged.

Grade 5: 'Tweeners' enter the wonder years

Generations of fans remember this school year as kind of a cross between The Wonder Years and The Twilight Zone — a coming-of-age tale set in the borderland between imagina­tion and reality.

In 2007, it got its own hit TV show hosted by comedian Jeff Foxworthy. Do you remember Are You Smarter Than a 5th-Grader?

Well, are you?

That's where the Class of 2017 finds itself now, so let's have a look.

Our fourth-graders learn it can be hard to say goodbye

"Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say goodbye. I hate goodbyes. I know what I need. I need more hellos."

-- Snoopy

The wise old beagle was right. We can't hold on to all the people we really like - even the ones who had us at "hello."

Just ask Sarah, a lifelong Winnipegger who met her best friend in kindergarten, "basically in the first five minutes."

Checking in, halfway through Grade 4

Meet some of Winnipeg's busiest citizens. They're currently involved in a long-term development project at one of the city's most important institutions.

In addition to all the reading, writing, decision-making and problem-solving that entails, they've also been learning French, singing in choirs and performing in theatrical productions.

Although their workday officially ends at 3:30 p.m., the busy-ness continues well into the evening -- at swimming pools, hockey arenas, scout halls, music schools, dance studios...

When your full-time job is to develop the cognitive, social and behavioural skills needed for adult life, there's bound to be overtime.