An appeal to have Guelph-Eramosa waive a rental fee for the upcoming Rockwood Centennial Public School Grade 8 graduation had little difficulty making the grade with council.
Graduation committee members Stephanie Cressman and Amanda Polley made the request to council at its April 22 meeting.
Cressman said the graduation ceremony, normally held at the school, has moved because of ongoing renovations to the school gymnasium and the committee is renting the Rockmosa Community Hall and library for the event. She said waiving the rental fee for the hall would give the committee more money to put into the graduation fundraiser.
“Fees for both facilities will take away a large chunk of our budget from fundraising,” Cressman said.
The cost of the rental would have been about $488 for the June 26 graduation.
Councillor Doug Breen suggested the Rockmosa Hall may prove a better location for the graduation than the school gym, which has seen graduations held in warm conditions and overcrowding.
“Both my kids graduated there and this would have been a better place,” Breen said of the Rockmosa location.
“It’s an incredibly important event in the community,” Mayor Chris White acknowledged.
“It’s a very big deal,” Breen added.
A letter to council from principal Kate Creery noted the graduation will also mark the final year Rockwood will have only one elementary school.
“This is the final year the town of Rockwood will have a single school site,” Creery said in her letter. “In my opinion, holding this graduation at the (Rockmosa Hall) is a fitting tribute to the end of an era in the town.”
Council voted to waive the fees for the committee.
New school name
In a related matter, the Upper Grand District School Board approved the name of the new Rockwood school at its meeting the same evening. It will be known as Ecole Harris Mill Public School.
