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Your LOCAL Media since 1918! VOLUME 107: ISSUE 43
Ryley Sports Day story and photos on page 22 & 23
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Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Cornerstone Christian Academy in Kingman celebrated 10 high school graduates on Saturday, June 21. L-R: Samuel Hauch, Hannah Bueckert, Noah Fines, Isabelle Loewen, Logan Loewen, Samuel Otto, Sierra Volkman, Sieben Bowick, Sierre Spruyt, Jacob Pouliot. JACLYN WIEBE PHOTO
CCA celebrates 10 graduates Kari Janzen Staff Reporter
Cornerstone Christian Academy (CCA) in Kingman celebrated 10 high school graduates on Saturday, June 21 with a program and banquet in the school gymnasium. “We've come to gather together for a graduation and there are three things that we want to celebrate,” teacher and athletic director Zach Burgess, one of the emcees, said. “Firstly, we gather to honour God and thank him for all he has done. Secondly, we celebrate our graduates and proudly recognize their accomplishments. And thirdly, we gather to express our thanks and appreciation to the families and supporters who have brought these 10 young people to the place that they are tonight.” Once each grad had been introduced and seated, Principal Alan Welde read the theme verse the graduates had chosen.
“The class selected the theme verse from Matthew 5:16 for tonight's ceremony, and in the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven,” Welde said. Graduate Jacob Pouliot gave the tribute to the parents, expressing appreciation for raising the students into the men and women they are today. “We need to say a humongous, heartfelt thank you to all the people who made this possible, the ones who have been our biggest cheerleaders, our tireless support, and our source of love; our parents. As we stand on the edge of this new adventure, we might be feeling a mix of excitement and a little bit of nerves, but the one thing we know for sure is that we are incredibly well prepared, not just academically, but spiritually and emotionally, because the foundation our parents helped
build for us,” he said. In response, Pouliot’s father John spoke next, and he expressed pride in the students and encouraged them as they move forward in life. “As we all sit here as parents this evening, we are looking up to you kids with the gratitude of our Lord for the blessing of having had you in our lives for this short season. I love to go to our forefathers who had children in the Scriptures. I think of Abraham, who so longed for children and had to wait so long to receive his promise. David, who had multiple kids, whom he loved so much that he was willing to let the kingdom go, to not lose his son. Jacob, or Israel, who had a cherished son. If you have indulged and feasted in these stories like I have, you will without of doubt know that all these men were failures at many points of their lives. If we are honest with ourselves, we
know as parents that we have failed or lowered our standards. We have had downfalls in which our children have suffered, just like Isaac, Absalom, and Joseph did. But what we can't forget is this, there is one who is the God of redeeming love, who works with broken pottery to turn it into a work of art. This is what we are when our lives are in Jesus Christ and we let the Spirit work. I say this because success is generally the key thought in a graduation environment. “And I believe that true success is generally measured with an inappropriate plumb line of materials and achievements, and not the heart. It won't be long before you graduates realize that all the external achievements lose their charm when it comes to looking at their worth to your eternal life. Saying this, I do believe that as parents, we can have some
sort of measure of success when we see our kids thrive,” John Pouliot said. Personalized and fun introductions, as well as future plans, were read for each of the students by the emcees, Burgess, Welde, and assistant principal Michelle Stewart. Pastor Mark Bueckert brought greetings on behalf of the CCA board, encouraging the students to keep their eyes on Jesus. “Whatever it is that you seek to do, seek God first. Seek to do the good he's planning for you to do, and do it with all your heart. That's our desire as a school, as parents, and as a pastor, that you will seek God first, be obedient to him first, and everything else is just all over the place. Congratulations. On behalf of the board, good work. Continue to strive and serve God,” Bueckert said. Following a slideshow, guest speaker Pastor Richard Schultz spoke, holding a toolbox as a visual aid for his message. “No manual came with you when you were born,
and if it had, I think some of your moms would have said, return. Your parents chose to send you to this school, a private Christian school, and made sacrifices to make sure that your tuitions were paid. I'm going to make a very obvious conclusion this evening, that you graduates are followers of Jesus Christ. “The foundation of your life has been laid. Now build your house. The house you build is your life. If you are in Christ, I declare to you that your toolbox is full, that you have every tool you need to get through every day ahead of you, till your dying breath. There are moments where you're going to say to yourself, how am I supposed to fix this problem? Mom never told me about this. Or even worse, Dad never prepared me for this. In Christ, you can do all things and go through all things, it’s his promise, because you are building on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Continued to page 4